⇨ 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

[alphudo]

You know what, though? You know what, Eruka?

That's, like, totally okay. You're allowed to be concerned for yourself.

Yuusei generally tries to put other people before himself, tries to offer his assistance to someone who might need it before returning to his own tasks, but this isn't exactly a normal circumstance. It's already become pretty evident that not everyone will be able to perform at satisfactory levels, let alone outstanding, and while some have attempted to give others the credit for their work, at the end of the day it's going to largely come down to one's own willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve whatever the technicians are looking for.

And it's okay to be worried about that.

He glances over to her with some amount of pity, though without the potential patronisation that might otherwise come with it. This is all a very intense experience, so the last thing anyone should likely be doing is That.

His tail is still missing from the day before, and though they aren't all labelled on the "scoreboard" by name, his identification number still indicates his outstanding performance and the two checkmarks for each of the two trials he signed up for. The only real advice that can be given - for what sort of advice is "work yourself harder," really? - is evident across the whole performance spread even without words.

It's what makes him hope his words won't sound like some insult or slap to the face. "It's rough, isn't it?"

He glances out toward the general direction of the fields they'll have to toil in for yet another day. "Why this kind of work, I wonder? Why only this...?"

[amphibiopathic]

"Are you an idiot?" Eruka moans. "They obviously don't care about the farm, they just want us all to do trials! It's a setup to cut out the weakest of us! "

Lacking a hat to tug, her fingers curl into the ends of her hair instead, yanking and stretching it different ways as it goes half-gelatinous.

[alphudo]

He is in fact a bit of an idiot, yes. Farming would be one of the most efficient methods of 'weeding out the weak'.

"That would make sense... I suppose then the question for the future is what they want with those of us remaining."

[amphibiopathic]

Eruka shoots him a poisonous look.

"It's not like you have anything to worry about," she spits, despite the fact that well, yeah, he kind of does, missing tail and all. But she's too terrified for herself to care about sparing anyone's feelings. "You sure signed up for a lot of trials. You trying to work your way to the top or something?"

[alphudo]

She doesn't have to care, and Yuusei quickly catches on that she likely has no intention to anytime soon; but they're all scared here, to varying degrees, and nothing can really be done to change that. At the end of the day, there's always going to be the looming threat of failure, the uncertainty of what the future holds for them an ever-present obstacle that even the epsilons will have to overcome.

But he doesn't say that. Instead he just stares at the scoreboard for a moment when Eruka interrogates him.

"...I just took them," he says, voice absentminded. "I never really had any intent like 'ranking up' behind it."

I was only curious, he wisely excludes from his answer. I just wanted to do them and see what happened.

[amphibiopathic]

As an epsilon who's on the verge of failing herself, yeah, Eruka knows all too well how real the possibility of failure is. His answer, however, apparently offends.

"Just took them?" Eruka echoes in disbelief, voice rising shrilly. "You didn't even think about it? You, you--" Words fail her. Sans, she can guess, had always planned on going hard -- this sort of sciency crap seems right up his alley -- but this guy ...

"You're the worst," she declares, flatly, before she turns to start stomping away.

[alphudo]

He makes no effort to stop her. Explaining himself to her would be a waste of her time and, likely, an insult to her efforts. Maybe this would only make her angrier, but if they're parting ways here, then it doesn't matter.

He remains staring at the scoreboard, and eventually he pads away himself.