⇨ POLARIS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Days 102 - 109
Where: Polaris
What: With the Ringmaster kidnapped and the rest of the carnival imprisoned, characters find themselves at the mercy of a Winter Fae called the Mother of Invention.
Warnings: Graphic experimentation in places.

TRIALS & TRIBULATION↴ After a day of cleansing and processing, where all the belongings and attire of their old lives are stripped away and replaced with something newer and more form fitting, the former members of the carnival will find themselves let loose into the Farm for the first time. A sizable green area, filled with orchards growing inorganic looking fruits and field ready for tending, the Farm is where they will be spending their days for the forseeable future. Food and drink are no longer needed, and so every day is an endless cycle of work. Technicians are seen only when necessary, and when being taken from your place of work to your lonesome cells at night. Every day, there are new postings on the "Production Board", where various dire sound scientific trials ask for subjects. The majority won't be forced, at least not yet, but the system is at work to push its participants to the brink and force their hand. After all, volunteers make the best subjects. ► PRODUCTIVITY: As explained elsewhere, characters will be forced to compete to attain enough Productivity Point to be considered Satisfactory. There are literally not enough points to go around for everyone to attain this, which means that at least some people will be deemed "Below Expectations" by the end of the first four-day cycle. What this means has yet to be discovered, but the Technicians have grimly warned against it. Productivity involves many tasks, including orchard picking, tilling, planting, harvesting, watering, maintenance, and more. Any task you can think of that would take place on a plantation is applicable here. Beyond that, the Production Board awaits you, offering precious Productivity Points in exchange for your cooperation. How you become Satisfactory is up to you, but it's every person for themselves. Only one person can turn in the credit for harvesting or preparing fields, and while you can certainly try to help others by letting them take credit for your work, it's a sure fire way to fall behind the herd, especially if you are already in a low Classification. Fruits and fields will miraculously grow overnight, and will be ready for a new day when you are. You've been told not to eat anything you harvest, but right now you aren't hungry anyway. ► POLARIS BY NIGHT: During the night, you are left alone to your thoughts and maybe an annoying roommate. Solo or in pairs, the entire night will be spent in small sleep pods, as shown on the locations post. Is it possible to sneak out? It doesn't seem like it is, but who is to say? The real question is if you want to dare to try. There is one hour of rest before and after seven hours of darkness. Even if you don't usually have to sleep, you'll find yourself oddly weary and inclined to rest. Supernaturally, almost. ► PARTICIPATION: Sometimes participation in experimental trials is manditory, sometimes it isn't. You are free to handwave your character having been pulled aside for minor examinations, such as blood tests or aura scans. Each time, you will be pulled into a separate part of the station and analyzed by a Technician and heavily automated machinery. Anymore more complex than basic check-up level tests will be posted about in a section called "TRIALS" in the body of the post below.

Comments

Days 102 - 105

[spaghettimonster]

The first night of everyone's new confinment, the split halves of Papyrus are locked in a seemingly inescapable room together, fairly sound-proofed close quarters with no real ability to get away from each other. They spend much of the night in various stages of arguing and silent treatment... but not quite all of it. Despite the fear and anger, being wound up from fighting, they both fall sleep.

SHRIEKING SKULLS | Day 102

And so the first day of confinement, as everyone's released into the Farm and given instructions what they're supposed to do, there's still two of Papyrus. They've split to far sides of the Farm and stay that way, working separately at the new chores for lack of anything else clear to do. They don't seek people out, preoccupied with the question of whether they should bother reforming now. Everything is terrible, half figures, and being in two halves means twice the productivity, the other thinks. Maybe not, but the hurt of being here is too fresh for anything else.

SELDOM LET YOU SNOOZE | Days 103 - 104

But eventually Papyrus gets himself back together. And working hard at these productivity tasks is easier than anything else - for Papyrus - so he keeps at it. Farming and tilling, cleaning and generally helping, he moves around and checks on people with an energy and interest he's not shown much the last few months.

He checks in on peoples' baskets to see if they're okay or need some more produce gifted to keep up with others like himself. Asks around if they're doing okay (for the circumstances, he admits). With people who seem to be struggling, or who he knows them well enough to suspect they're struggling, he offers encouragements. And late in their third day in the Farm, Papyrus goes away for one of the trials... and doesn't return.

SHOCK YOUR SOUL | Day 105

That is, not until the next day. He's still tired, sore, and a bit off after his trial - and after dying multiple times. The (still unsettlingly sleepful) longer night than usual helped with recovery, and he's functional enough to be about and conversational and even work a bit, but not great. And if that's how badly his study went, how badly did anyone else's go?

SPOOKY SLEEPY SKELETONS | Nights 103 - 105

Even with the mysteriously enforced nightly lethargy, Papyrus still doesn't sleep as much as most people. A combination of natural energy, bad dreams, and long habit. While his roommates are awake, he prefers to chat, to check on them and keep them grounded through this latest upset. And while they sleep, or when conversations die down, he turns to the question of whether he can still detach his bones - and if there's anything he could do with it.

[At the time of this posting, Papyrus still has Night 5 free; if you're interested, doublecheck the schedule spreadsheet.]

NightTime

[soft_focus]

By the time Reira is at the cell, she is already yawning. Not in the beaten to exhaustion, pushed to the limit way mind. It's more... 'the day is over, time for bed' way.

She does blink however when she realizes who she's to room with tonight, and after a few blinks has to ask. After all...theu came in with two. "Umm... ...are you the upset Papyrus, the other one, or did you go back to one person yet...?"

Strange, one would think she could tell.

[spaghettimonster]

Maybe not so strange; ordinarily the full Papyrus is energetic and active, but this Papyrus is quietly lying in bed when she enters.

"Hmm?" he asks as he looks up, half-asleep and surprised at her entry, and waves slowly with one arm. "Hi, Reira. I'm back to one me. All together, again."

He thinks so, anyway. It's hard to feel sure, after feeling his body completely crumble to dust a couple times.

[soft_focus]

Yep, there he is. Ah, but this is nice- A Full Papyrus! Reira sighs in relief. "Phew...that's good..." she says quietly, and rather than going straight for her bunk, she takes a seat at the side.

She looks rather uncomfortable, and it soon becomes clear why. "...I... ...I couldn't tell, so..." She puffs her cheeks, resisting the urge to chew her lip. "...I can't feel any of the feelings, so..."

[spaghettimonster]

The full Papyrus! Two for the price of one, a real bargain!

This real deal skeleton has both the concern for others, and the awareness of discomfort, necessary to notice Reira's trailing off in an uncomfortable way. He pushes himself to sitting up for this conversation, and leans forward to check on her.

"You don't feel... feelings? Which feelings?"

[soft_focus]

"Yours," she starts blankly. "...Everyone else's," she adds, shaking a little. "....'m supposed to be able to know what feelings everyone has, and now I can't..."

103

[verbaltic]

One of the people that Papyrus asks if they're doing okay is Hanamaru. She looks up at the skeleton before pausing...and actually answering his question.

"I guess so, zura..." Based on the tone of her voice, she's a little despondent and a lot tired and struggling. She's a school idol, not someone built for manual labor, so all of this is a lot harder for her than it is for others.

She knows this is childish, but Hanamaru lets her childishness win out and indulges in a bit of complaining. "I don't wanna be here," she grumbles. "The Ringmaster...she shouldn'tve died, zura." She's too strong! Too powerful! She shouldn't have died and this shoudln't have happened!

[spaghettimonster]

Well, that's a fair reason for unhappiness, Papyrus certainly can't blame her. He's realized that his work this last nearly-a-year left him better prepared for this than most, even if the fine particulars of farming are new. And for the other reason...

"I'm choosing to believe she's biding her time before her return," he offers after a moment's consideration. "She did the same egg thing she offers everyone, I think she'll come back after a while! Though... it might take a while."

[verbaltic]

Hanamaru doesn't know much of the specifics of how the Ringmaster died, seeing as she was also dead at the time. She knows hearsay and bits of gossip, but didn't actually see the deed itself.

"Where is her egg anyway? Does this faerie have it?"

Maybe that's something they could do? Find the egg, you find the Ringmaster.

[spaghettimonster]

Papyrus was there, but has uncomfortably dual memories of the whole event. That makes it a little trickier to think back and try to retrace what happened.

"Ah, well... The last I saw, the Huntsman had it. I don't think he came along with us."

He's also choosing not to think too hard about what the Ringmaster did with Ignatius after his defeat, or the very real possibility that the same thing's been done to her now.

[verbaltic]

Hmm. That's not very useful. Hanamaru frowns for a moment, thinking things over.

"So when she does hatch, it'll be right in enemy territory, zura." Geez...there's no way you can spin this or think about this situation and have it end up anywhere near 'good.' "And there's nothin' we can do about it."

105, day

[pipers_son]

Joker has already found Alphys in the trash. That much, he thinks, says more than enough on how anyone who went to that trial came out of it.

So when he and Papyrus happen to take jobs near to one another- Joker for his part is gathering fruit- he glances down at him from where he is. "What happened?" he asks bluntly, looking back to where he's gathering the fruit. Having flight-capable wings at a time like this is sure handy, he has to say.

[spaghettimonster]

As Joker flies about overhead, Papyrus travels between the trees and bushes with a water pail, sprinkling water at their roots. He takes a moment to frown at the question, tilting his head as he thinks about it, and looks up.

"What happened... with what?" Papyrus finally asks, not immediately following the thrust of Joker's question. "It's been a while since we talked, and plenty of things have happened... I could go on for hours."

Really, he could. And having done the trial, and gotten that boost in points, he could probably even risk doing so.

[pipers_son]

"Well, the good news is that we have a lotta hours." It's probably the only bit of good news they have, right now, the other being that none of them are dead. Yet. Joker is a firm believer in continuing to strive so long as he's still, by some measure, alive.

"The bad news is that I found Alphys in the trash, earlier, and I know the two of ya went ta the same trial."

[spaghettimonster]

"...Oh. You want to talk about that." Papyrus' voice loses energy for a moment. Nearly anything else would have been a preferable topic right about now, because for all that worse things have happened, it's recent. He sighs and rests the water pail on the ground before continuing.

"The study was about resurrections, and... I remember dusting. I think... we died, a few times."

So it might be more accurate to say that none of them are dead... currently.

[pipers_son]

"Oh."

A beat.

"Shit."

For all that he was the stage manager, sometimes, it's the simplest and more crude words that sum up a situation or feeling best. There's nothing really more to say to that particular news.... At least, not right now. Joker wrenches a fruit from its branch.

"Do you wanna talk about that? I'm just askin' because of Alphys, but I won't push if ya think it'll make it worse than better."

NIGHT 103

[osteothropy]

Sans is so fucking incredibly tired, more than he ever could have imagined himself being. He's never but in a day of physical labour this intense in his entire life, let alone without the use of magic. He was raised an academic, and immediately shifted into the position of 'layabout'. Despite his best efforts, he is finding himself failing.

He gets escorted to his cell, half way to passing out, but is snapped wide awake when he sees Papyrus in there. The door closes behind him, and Sans freezes, caught at a loss.

"So... Where's the other guy?" he asks after a moment, not having caught on that the Papyruses fused yet.

[spaghettimonster]

After two nights rooming by himself, Papyrus doesn't really expect to have a roommate. So he startles at his brother's arrival, and goes through a cold shock at realizing this is the first they've talked since waking up here. Even worse, he's been fused this whole day, and he found plenty of time to talk to people, yet he never hunted down his brother.

Mostly because this is embarrassing to admit.

"Sans! Oh my god, I'm happy to see you." Papyrus presses a hand to his ribcage. "The other guy's right here. I, uh... I need to say sorry. It took a while, and you needed me, and... I wasn't there for you like you were for me. Are you okay?"

[osteothropy]

Sans's sockets widen,apparently equally embarrassed by this revelation. He'd seen Papyrus from a distance a few times today and he'd just assumed he was still split. He hadn't really wanted to seek a split Papyrus out.

"Uh," he starts, clearly caught off guard. "Oh. Hey. Welcome back."

Because what else do you say, really. There isn't much room to move in the cell so Sans just keeps standing there.

"Hell of a thing to merge back into." He awkwardly folds his lower set of arms around himself, used to stuffing them in pockets but having no such luxury here. "I'm... Uh. Alive, I guess."

[spaghettimonster]

"That's good, being alive. It's an important first step," Papyrus chirps, with all the usual fronted good cheer he's been defaulting to for a while.

Then he notices the awkward brightness he said that with, and the awkward everything of Sans' tone and posture, and reconsiders. He shifts back to the far corner of the bed, pointedly moving his legs around so there's room to sit on the other end - or give a feeling of a little more space in the room, between them. Options abound.

"I mean... I'm glad." He smiles ruefully, as much as a skull can half-smile, and carefully sounds out saying less-positive things. "Things aren't... great, right now, but the hunt was frightening. I thought I might get caught up in it for real... But now nobody is dead, or killing, or anything."

[osteothropy]

Sans is quiet for a bit later, his reaction taking a while to calculate in his mind. Finally, though, air seems to leave his body, and his shoulders sink with some kind of defeat. He sees the spot on the bed, and moves to go take it, even while not really looking at his brother at all.

"No thanks to us, huh," he says, thoughts of the Hunt resurfacing for not the first time since they got here. "I really... messed that up."

Day 105, toward the evening

[alphudo]

Well?

Yuusei's out of it during the previous and current days, having spent a portion of each in a trial himself. The second of the two wasn't the worst ordeal in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but the first... Well, he still doesn't have his tail, and if his frequent expressions of discomfort say anything...

It's when he's about to leave the scoreboard alone that he spots Papyrus; he's sure he's seen the skeleton around at other times during the week, but he hasn't admittedly paid much attention to anyone these past few days. Aiming to amend this, he pads over on awkward flipper-feet to greet Papyrus.

"How'd you do?" It's not exactly a stellar opener by any means, but it's a start. He hasn't really spoken to Papyrus since... Well, that wasn't even all of him, either. Bottom line is that he wants to check up on Paps, make sure he's doing okay. Or as okay as any of them can be doing here.

[spaghettimonster]

"'Outstanding', the scoreboard says," Papyrus answers, still peering up at the board. "Which... stands to reason, I worked hard."

It should be cause for personal satisfaction, but being here unwillingly puts a damper on it. And with the disconnect between effort and result, between 'productivity' chores that don't seem to serve much purpose, and the way that... Well. Some of the similarly scored people weren't working hard any of the times he saw them. So how'd they do so well, gifts of others' efforts?

With ha shake of his head to dismiss the question, because manners are a little more important than that mystery, Papyrus turns to Yuusei and smiles a little in greeting.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry I wasn't of more help, getting you to safety. Though I guess none of us got away in the end..."

[alphudo]

There's a disconnect there for sure, though Yuusei probably doesn't notice it as strongly. He didn't pay much attention to many of the others throughout this period, and in addition to the trials he did also work hard. So far, things are adding up, if a bit crookedly. It's all a mess in the end and it's easier not to think about it, but is that what the technicians want? For them to just accept it and not think about it?

"Haaahh, that's alright," Yuusei responds with a short wave of his hand. "You did what you could under the thrall of the Huntsman. I only got out of it because I got stuck back together during it..."

He doesn't want to think about what being in it for longer would entail. "If anything, I wish I could've helped you more, back there."

He glances back to the board, then back to Papyrus once more.

"...how are you holding up otherwise?" He doesn't want to ask directly about Paps' trial, but the skeleton certainly looks a little worse for wear compared to his normal levels of energy.

[spaghettimonster]

"It was all a little more than we could handle," Papyrus says as consolation, the same sentiment he's been telling himself.

The Ringmaster was pretty effectively defeated, even with the kind of power she had, so they had all surely been outclassed, between the speed and numbers the Hunt arrived with. That warning a ways back had been very warranted.

"But I am holding up fine. The work here is a comfortable pace." For him, so long as no mandatory trials come along that injure him. And so long as they don't run out of tasks that provide productivity points.

"I'm not a fan of how they do science, here, but... that isn't really my field anyway! I'll try to stay out of that." Not that he wishes it on anyone else, if it's all so painful.