lostcarnival | ⇨ POLARIS

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⇨ POLARIS

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.

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Ginko isn't the only one working hard, with decent experience in it all and for similar reasons. Joker is throwing himself into things as much as he can. Even if he can't impress the Technicians- and he half suspects he won't, since he's not the brightest in their lot on an academic level- then he can at least keep himself in a not shit position. If he's in a not-shit position, then he can do more for the others. Namely, Doll.

Of course, that doesn't mean he's going to ignore his own damn boyfriend, especially when they're working nearby, and Joker glances over at him when such an occasion occurs. "Oi, Ginko."

"Hey." Ginko's ears swivel toward Joker, and he gives a small nod - accompanied by a subtle look-over to make sure Joker isn't showing any signs of strain beyond what one would expect in the midst of all this. "How're you, uh... holding up so far?"

"I'm-" The answer starts to leave him automatically, relaxed and fake, before Joker actually pauses. It's a habit of his, practically second nature, and even that alternate version of himself in an entirely different life had held traces of it. Yet now in his head are a set of split memories, of someone who just... hadn't felt the need to lie, even about the smallest and most inconsequential things.

What a bleedin' trip.

After a second, he continues on. "Shit, honestly." His wings twitch a little bit, almost jittery.

It's always a surprise, hearing this kind of honesty from Joker - blunt and straightforward, without Ginko having to push for it. He wishes it could be a nice surprise, but the circumstances make that almost impossible.

He smiles weakly, and gives a slight nod of his head. "Guess that's no surprise, huh."

"Ha." He can't even fake the laugh right. "Nah, I suppose not." Nothing about this situation is good. In fact, it seems almost hopeless. But thinking that, Joker knows, is the first step to failing completely. Even if he feels that it's hopeless, he has to force himself onwards. It's just...

"Feels like we're gonna be stuck here a lot longer than anywhere else." It's not like the Ringmaster is there to carry them on, after all. This isn't a "stop". "I think that's gonna wear down on a lotta folks."

"...Yeah." Ginko lets out a breath. "Guess it's gonna be a matter of... us lasting longer than this does, huh."

Which is... going to be rough. Especially since they don't know how long 'longer' is going to be.

So they've just got to keep it together as long as they can. Right.

"And that's the trick," Joker says out loud, just putting it right out there inbetween them. "Frankly, I'm not sure how well some folks will manage."

He has his ideas on who will and who won't. On a different list is the types who might lunge forward without thinking and get their fool selves killed... or worse. Anything could happen, after all, and the desperation will only get worse.

"...How ya feelin', Ginko?" On those chances.

"Me, neither. At least we can try and help each other out, right?" There's sort of a sardonic lean to his voice, there. There's only so much they can do for each other - and he's not naive enough to think that everyone among their numbers is going to be interested in helping their co-workers.

He hesitates, and his tail pulls toward his legs to start curling around one ankle - probably kind of a telling gesture in itself. "...I'm not sure yet," he admits. "Guess it's still all... sinking in."

"Ha, yeah." Sure. Sure, Joker will totally help everyone out, and not just, like... the literal handful of people he's invested in. Excuse him as he rubs the back of his neck, here. Hopefully Ginko understands where he's coming from. If it won't cost him any skin off his nose, or might help him in the future, he'll definitely help others... But Ginko knows. There's only so much they can do to help every single person in a situation like this.

Better to talk about the rest of their shitty situation, since there's not much else to talk about. "Well, ya let me know when it's sunk, alright?" he prompts his boyfriend, one wing fluttering out in his direction. "I'm sturdy enough, I can handle this kinda thing."

He does know better than to expect Joker to try to help absolutely everyone there. Hell, Ginko knows better than to expect to be able to do that; as much as he may wish he could, he's not actually naive enough to consider it particularly feasible.

Ginko gives him a weak smile and nod. "...I will. Don't worry too much, though; I should be able to handle it, too."

"If ya ever need a cuddle, I'll be around for ya~." You know. When he's not working his body to the bone. It's fine; Joker would toss aside a whole lot if any of his own were distressed and upset.

"I'll, uh, keep that in mind." He doubts it'll be necessary (and absolutely hopes it won't), but there's still something comforting about knowing that affection is... you know, an option available to him now.

Even if it's really damn weird.

"And the same goes for you, alright?" He nudges Joker gently. "If you start having a rough time, don't just try and hide it again."

Whups. Joker wobbles a little bit, the action matching the almost embarrassed smile on his mouth from being called out like that. It's true. It's a pretty bad habit that they both kind of know about, due to both fuck ups on Joker's end and the occasional bit of actual honesty.

"I'll, ha, try." He really will. It's just... "I won't really, well, have as much of an easy time. Not as much as he-" There's a pause as Joker attempts to get the bizarre facts of his life puzzled together. "Well. Me. When I wasn't all that put together, ha ha. I don't normally have as easy a time as I sorta did back then." At least, one half had it easy.

Ginko lets out a soft, weak laugh in reply. "I... know what you mean."

He knows the halves of himself needed to rejoin, and all that, but it's kind of strange, remembering being able to just... speak up so easily, without fear of overstepping a boundary set by himself or someone else.

Of course, he also remembers being too paralyzed with fear to do or say much of anything for the risk of destroying his own life and all his relationships, but, you know. The other end was kind of nice.

"Guess we've just got to work on balancing that."

"Funny, how all these soul-threatenin' events sure are educational, huh?" Nothing like having your soul literally split into two polar opposites to tell you how much you need to get your shit together on the personal level. Sure, some people apparently just do that naturally in their regular day-to-day lives which don't involve any disastrous threats to life or mind... but, hey. If they were those kind of people, Joker is pretty sure that none of them would have been employed by the Ringmaster in the first place.

Getting back to work before he loses track of himself, Joker hums. "At least if things keep bein' this tedious, we'll have time ta work on it." Which he's pretty sure means things are going to go tits up in, like, two days or something, because that's how they are, but, hey. How long did they manage in the Prince's manor before fucking up again...?

"That probably says something about us, huh." Like, that they're fucking disasters.

Ginko nods and refocuses himself, as well, with a wry smile. "Guess so. Plenty of time to talk, right?"

"Ha ha yeah." Both to them being fucking disasters and also that they'll have plenty of time to talk later. It sure as hell doesn't seem like they're liable to get out of here anytime particularly soon... maybe even a long while.

He tries not to think too hard on that.

"Y'know where ta find me." You know. It's not like they can go anywhere else. "Maybe if we're lucky, we'll even get the same room, and I'll be sure ta keep ya up all night~." Playfully, he winks. Sure, he wasn't the one to initiate any kind of kiss, and they've mostly sort of just... hugged? But listen it doesn't matter.

Anything to help lighten the air.

That gets a snort, and a nudge with one elbow. "Oh, I'm sure you will. You'll just be talking my ear off for hours."

Which isn't to say he has a problem with that, of course.

Is Ginko purposefully not understanding him or just oblivious... Nah, he was dating Psi, this has to be purposeful fucking around. Joker directs his laugh down into his chest.

"You're welcome beforehand."

Yeah, don't worry about that, Joker, he's absolutely just messing with you. Also, though, he doesn't see how they would do anything sexual with these suits on anyway.

"Mm-hm. I'm sure I'll appreciate the lack of sleep." And, more genuinely, the distraction from their circumstances.

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⇨ POLARIS

whatever day before the breakdown

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