ringleaders: (Default)
Lost Carnival Mods ([personal profile] ringleaders) wrote in [community profile] lostcarnival2018-10-03 07:46 pm

⇨ 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.
drrdrrdrr: <user name=sways> (?)

DAY 108

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-10 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
"Psst. Psst, hey, Steven."

Amethyst's been dragging her feet considerably more since Steven came back carved up and traumatised; she's also been keeping him in her line of sight at pretty much all times, even though she knows there's nothing she can actually do except check in on him for emotional support. But something else has been bugging her too, and she really wants Steven's input.

"Have you been having any, like... weird dreams?"
starseedling: (i'm never wearing pants again)

[personal profile] starseedling 2018-10-11 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
"No," Steven says, sounding preemptively defeated about the matter. He assumes she's asking him if he's been able to dream surf, which he hasn't. "That power hasn't been working, either."

He's currently trying to dig a big weed root out of the ground and not having much luck freeing it from the soil. It's one of those cycles where his own frustration with it is making the task itself more difficult to accomplish properly.
drrdrrdrr: <user name=sways> (?)

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-11 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
"No, I mean..." She gets distracted watching him struggle with the weed for a couple seconds, before remembering why she's here; she glances around surreptitiously and goes on, "I mean like other people messing with your dreams."
starseedling: (will scream ‘dog’ when there’s a dog)

[personal profile] starseedling 2018-10-11 05:28 am (UTC)(link)
He pauses, then, realizing she is talking about something that was his first assumption at all. He looks at her, his eyes wide with a bit of confusion and a bit of interest.

"Not that either," he says, shaking his head a little. "Did someone mess with yours?"
drrdrrdrr: <user name=poisonparfait site=plurk> (darn tootin)

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-11 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Kinda," says Amethyst. "I guess I wanted to ask if you had any advice about dream shenanigans... since you're like the expert on that stuff."
starseedling: (loincloths)

[personal profile] starseedling 2018-10-11 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
"I dunno if I'm the expert," he says, trying to pull the weed up again, sounding a little calmer. "Stuff just kind of happens when I'm sleeping and I go with it. But... I guess I just kind of do what makes sense at the time, except it isn't something that would make sense in real life, because it's a dream."

"You can't really think about it too hard, cause it's just a jumbled up movie from stuff in your brain, and if you're interacting with someone else's dream it's a jumbled up movie from both your brains." He frowns, trying to put it into words. "But it's your stuff too, so... you can kind of do whatever you want with it?"
drrdrrdrr: <user name=sways> (hMMMM)

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-11 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
Amethyst nods as he talks. "Huh... I've never seriously messed around with it. Like, sometimes I'll just make stuff stop when it's getting too real, but..." She frowns. "You can even do whatever you want with the stuff that's there from other people's dreams? How's it work if you wanna, like, talk to someone?"
starseedling: (my guy)

[personal profile] starseedling 2018-10-15 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"Um..." He has to think about that one. "Well, usually if I'm in someone's dream they're right there, so I just use my mouth." Dreams tend to focus around the dreamer, usually. "Usually I change myself more than I change other people's stuff, because usually the other person's stuff is there for a reason, but I can interact with it just like they do."

"If I was trying to talk to someone in a dream but I didn't know where they were, I'd probably try calling them on the phone or sending them a message in a way that makes sense in the dream world."
drrdrrdrr: <user name=sways> (?)

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-16 12:09 am (UTC)(link)
"... Huh." Amethyst chews a fingernail thoughtfully. "So, like, if they were sending me a message... it'd make sense to try 'n send one back the same way, right?"
starseedling: (because they seem nice)

[personal profile] starseedling 2018-10-16 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah!" Steven says, sounding a bit more bright about it than he was before. He doesn't really know what this conversation is about, but it's nice talking about stuff he'd actually be good at if he wasn't stuck in a horrible space jail.

"It's a dream, so you can do all kinds of stuff! You could even try sending smoke signals, or fold a note into a paper airplane - maybe they'll see it!" He laughs very faintly.
drrdrrdrr: (Plant Life)

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-16 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
"Cool. I just, dunno if they'd be... still there, I guess? But," she shrugs, and gives him a slight smile, "only one way to find out, right?"
starseedling: (i'm never wearing pants again)

[personal profile] starseedling 2018-10-16 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
Steven nods a little, and then seems to hesitated. After a pause, he'll look back to his root and say in a quiet voice:

"Is this something you need to keep secret?" he asks.
drrdrrdrr: <user name=sways> (FOLDS ARMS..DRAMATICALLY LOOKS AWAY)

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-16 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Mmm... I think so, yeah," says Amethyst. "But it might be something good. I don't wanna get our hopes up or anything, but..." She looks sideways at Steven. "Hang in there, okay?"
starseedling: (because they seem nice)

[personal profile] starseedling 2018-10-16 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
Steven looks over to her again, and then reaches over to put a hand on her arm, smiling as genuinely as he can.

"Okay," he says. "I hope I helped."
drrdrrdrr: (heres my lil bro)

[personal profile] drrdrrdrr 2018-10-16 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
"You did! I knew I was coming to the right guy." Amethyst scoops him into a hug. "I'll let you know how it goes."