⇨ GAME START INTRO LOG!

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE!
When: NOW!
Where: Around the carnival grounds, and in the Cookhouse.
What: Carnival worker orientation, Ringmaster style.
Warnings: Alcohol consumption, maybe drugs. Other things?

BRAVE NEW WORLD↴ ► THE NEW: It doesn't matter when you entered the tent to discuss your new contract with the Ringmaster, you exit it beneath a blanket of stars. Pointedly alien stars at that - currently the carnival grounds are being treated to a show of shooting stars, and what appear to be unnaturally large and living green moons hanging just a bit too close. The carnival was bustling when you entered, but now it's in the latter stages of being shut down for the night. If you manage to find a clock, it states that it's around 8PM. Workers from during the day will be passing through the grounds, attending to various pieces of business. None of them will seem very surprised or concerned by the goings on, though some may be sympathetic enough to pause and answer your questions. If you put some effort into finding out how it became nighttime, you may discover that it's been anywhere from a few hours to 7 days since you originally signed your contract. Someone may explain to you that it was probably some kind of time bubble, meant to keep you out of the way until the Ringmaster had time to deal with you. Every few minutes another new person will pop out of the tent, looking just as confused and under the impression that they had only just finished discussing things with the Ringmaster. Weird. She passed you a note before you left. Opening it up, you'll see you've been assigned a trailer number, and been given the instructions to drop off any excess belongings and do what you can to get settled in. You have until exactly 9:36PM to do so, because that's when you'll be expected to attend what is listed only as "WORKER'S ORIENTATION". This is, perhaps, more abrupt than you were expecting - but what can you do? You're here for the long haul. ► THE OLD: If you've ever seen a mass recruitment before, then this is no surprise. People enter the tent when they're recruited, and then sometimes how up again days later when the Ringmaster is ready for them. She isn't a big fan of wasting her time on individual orientations when she's expecting a crowd. Maybe you're too jaded to all of this to care much, but you'll see the newbies wandering around, probably confused and maybe a bit lost. Maybe you're the kind whose is sympathetic enough to pause your role in clean up and give them some directions, and maybe a word of confidence. Maybe you'll just jeer at them, because you're some kind of asshole. Either way, you expect you'll have the chance to see them later tonight. Whether by world of mouth, radio, or written note, supervisors will be passing out the following message: all workers are to report to the Cookhouse at 9:36PM sharp for "orientation." If you are at all familiar with how things go around here, you probably have a good idea of what this implies. Mandatory Karaoke Night. MANDATORY KARAOKE NIGHT!!!↴ At 9:36PM, the main dining hall of the Cookhouse will be found heavily decorator with various coloured lights and at least one disco ball made of what is ostensibly high karat gems. There are a bunch of cushions and additional seating set up along with the usual tables, and at the head of the call there is a state set up - a karaoke stage. For veteran workers, this is no surprise. Karaoke nights are fairly frequent as activities go, even if they are not usually mandatory. Some of you probably have signature songs already prepared. The karaoke machine is set up with mostly karaoke tracks that would be popular in the 90's and 00's on the average modern earth, with a few that are more recent. It also has some other random stuff from other worlds that people rarely sing because they are confusing and in languages no one understands. Here is a big karaoke list for your inspiration! The more stereotypically karaoke the better. Beyond that, there is plenty of food and snacks that were prepared by the cooks earlier, as well as a bar set up for alcohol and other vices. The selection is, as most things in the carnival, eclectic. Music will be played in between if nobody is singing, and otherwise veterans are encouraged to bring along their own fun and show the newbies a good time. The Ringmaster does ask that vets attempt to be courteous to their new coworkers. It's just being a good host.

Comments

[fragileandsoft]

Those kinds of worries have already run through Greg's head, and they'll keep circling around indefinitely over the next year. There's nothing he can do about it, for the time being, so... he'll have to swallow those fears down, at least for the moment.

Greg readily catches Steven in his arms as soon as he's close enough to reach.

"I guess... it's always nice to take a trip." Like Empire City, which had rocky parts, but it was a net positive. If he tries to think of this like an extension of that, it might not be so bad. Block out all the magic, the trickery, the dangerous unknown, and it almost feels like something he could be okay with. "Exotic sights, new friends..."

[starseedling]

"Everyone seems really nice so far!" Steven bubbles up to add, enthusiastically. "Even the Ringmaster was sort of okay, except for the part where she doesn't know how to do a regular job application process!"

She'd made sure to let him know he could have something in return, after all, even when he would have taken a job without provocation. Her concepts of debt and exchange are really confusing, but that doesn't mean she's bad.

"I bet we can make all kinds of new friends here," he says. "And our friends back home won't have to be worried about us, either."

Little does he know.

[fragileandsoft]

He can't help but snort at that. "It took me so long getting used to how the Gems did stuff, I hope I can get the hang of how things get done around here faster." He's going to start needing a different term for all this stuff than just "magic," if it's all as different as it seems.

"Yeah... yeah. Everything back home will be just where we left it." A year isn't so long, right? Especially when it's literally no time at all, in the end. All they have to do is get there.

"You..." He hesitates. "Ahh. Never mind." Steven's looking on the bright side. If homesickness starts up later, they can talk about it then. "Did you check out the trailer yet?"

[starseedling]

"Not yet, I guess I've been kind of... hanging around."

He titters a little and then pulls his note out of his pocket since Greg is busy holding him. He reads it again.

"We're number 21! I mean... I guess I don't really have anything with me except for the lion we got. I hope they have more clothes we can use."

[fragileandsoft]

"Wouldn't be the first time I've worn the same outfit for a month or two." Ha ha! Fun and jokes with poverty.

Greg bounces Steven a little to adjust his hold, and starts off down the row of trailers. "They're sure to have something for you, though. Big man on the stage, gotta have quite the wardrobe. Betcha you can find an outfit in any color you want!"

[starseedling]

It's not like Steven doesn't wear the same shirt almost constantly, though its not actually the same shirt, so much as a selection of exact duplicates. He's been wearing them since he was a baby.

"Maybe they'll tell us about that at 'orientation'. I definitely don't want to perform in a real carnival in just my jeans!" He grins. "I love making costumes! The last time I really got to do that was at Beachapalooza!"

[fragileandsoft]

Having a truckload (or vanload) of unsold merchandise allows for some cost-saving measures with a kid. So long as the kid is like Steven and cool with the same shirt for the first few decades of life.

"Ahhh, that ol' performers' itch. Once a year just isn't enough!" This is the true family curse that Steven's inherited. The ultimate struggle of Universe legacy.

His pace slows as they near the trailer. "Uh... huh. Looks like this is the place." Even out here, it looks like better accommodations than he was expecting. Also, two or three times bigger than the van. "You ready for the tour?"

[starseedling]

It's a pretty good shirt.

Steven looks at the trailer, filled with curiosity. He's about as jacked about this as he was at the idea of going to a motel - pretty much anything is exciting in his book when it comes to new experiences. He shifts so that he can drop down from his dad's hold, to more easily explore.

"Yeah! It's so big!" Not bigger than the beach house, but bigger than the van by far, which is his current model for mobile living. He opens the door and immediately runs inside. "There's a kitchen in here!"

[fragileandsoft]

Greg can't hold back a low whistle as he walks inside. "Mobile living gone deluxe..."
Give the credit where it's due, this place is ritzier than he thought a mobile home could get.

"Would you look at this? It has cupboards! We're gonna have to get cups... do they have a store here..." He's hit with a sudden, intense thought. "You think this thing's got indoor plumbing?"

Caught in a mystical circus of whimsy, magic, and mysticism, creatures and people from all planes of reality, what puts Greg Universe in awe is the thought of owning a shower.