⇨ 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

[whattaprick]

Lambert and Shima are signing up for this, time to find out what fae consider “social experiments”

[worldlyafflictions]

A positive CR building experience probably! Shima’s signing up with Lambert.

[ringleaders]

Since this is something that will take a while for you to work out ICly and OOCly, I am going to give you the deets on this one right away.

The character will be brought into an empty, white room, with no windows or vents. Once the door closes, it is practically gone. They will be given the following instructions, by voice over some kind of intercom:

1) They will be informed that there will be no base points awarded for this trial. All time spent in this trial will be actively taking away from what they could have been earning at the Farm. The trial will run as long as it has to.

2) While in this room together, the two must together decide which one of them will be promoted and which one will be demoted. The one that is chosen to be promoted will be instantly raised to the next classification rank, even if that classification rank is Delta. The one chosen to be demoted will be instantly lowered a classification rank, even if that rank is Theta.

3) Their powers will be returned for the duration of the trial. It will not allow them to leave the room, but they will be able to act on each other in any way that does not control the other's will directly.

4) Killing the other person in the room will automatically allow you to make the choice for both parties on your own, as the last one standing. If both parties are killed, both will be demoted.

5) Both subjects will remain in the cell until the decision is made, no matter how many hours or days it takes.

Please thread out, summary post, or OOCly negotiate the outcome and the discussion between the characters here, until they reach a final decision.

[worldlyafflictions]

Shima, who had slowly spread himself out on the ground in relief as the shitty hunger effect fades, just kind of cocks his head back up as the directions are given before he looks at Lambert. He's trying not to laugh but...

"Haha, whoops?"

[whattaprick]

This is exactly along the lines of what Lambert was expecting, with one exception: the points not counting. That’s what he gets for actually signing up, he supposes, with a roll of his eyes.

The good news is that it’s better in one respect than the scenario he was expecting: at least the death isn’t mandatory. He flexes a hand idly, exhaling a short, brief blast of flame just because he can. At least that proves they weren’t bullshitting about the powers.

“I took a day off for this?” Would the bodysuit shift to accommodate a dragon form? Probably, if the besuited ‘taur Carnival workers are any indication. Alternatively maybe it wouldn’t expand and he could just choke to death or something and leave Shima to make his mind up about it.

[worldlyafflictions]

"I wouldn't mind taking at least a couple days off ta give this decision the Care 'n Thought it deserves..."

Heck yeah he'd skip out on more field work when he can't see any point of trying to recover after this.

[whattaprick]

"Stay here long enough and we're both getting demoted anyway," Lambert answers evenly. He's starting to walk along the edge of the cell, energy relieved with the effects of the suit lifted, and starts to inspect their surroundings.

"They never said they'd stop evaluating productivity while we're in here, or that they'd raise or lower our ranks depending on what it was when we stepped in." Blank wall, blank wall, blank wall. He can barely even tell where they stepped through, and he runs his fingers along the surface.

"What's your choice?"

[worldlyafflictions]

Grumbles a little, mostly just watching Lambert do that from where he's sitting in case he does happen to find anything.

"Ya think...? I mean I guess, but in here or out there they're just setting people up ta fail 'n get desperate anyway, so might as well enjoy not pointlessly suffering for a while if one of us is gonna have ta no matter what."

[whattaprick]

"I've still got work to do." Lambert shrugs. "Can't afford to sit around here for too long."

He looks Shima over, then raises his brows.

"You don't seem too desperate yourself."

[worldlyafflictions]

Finally getting up and straightening up again with a sigh, moving to idly take a closer look at the walls and such himself.

"I wouldn't be in here if I wasn't, ya know? But the system's so opaque and purposely keeps ya in the dark about basically all the details, resorting force ta get people ta do anything instead of even pretending it's worthwhile ta be here. Makes ya wanna be obtuse."

[whattaprick]

There isn’t much of anything, of course. They may have been granted their powers back but it doesn’t appear it’ll avail them anything in this case. Hard to say how they’re even being watched right now, but even if he wants to get back out there, it feels like they should be able to do something.

“Their methods might be shitty, but it worked, didn’t it? We both got baited.” Rita had been right, when she’d called it a farce. Strange and Syrlya and now even Childermass are all taking it seriously, but the uncertainty pisses Lambert off. If it was just up to him, he’d say fuck the fae and damn the consequences for dropping to the bottom — it doesn’t look like the top is much better. But now he has to actually think about what that’ll do to someone else...

“How much do you know about the Mother of Invention?”

[worldlyafflictions]

Perks at that topic shift. It's probably not the best idea to do too much info sharing while they're presumably under observation, but he kind of wants to know what actually can provoke these technicians to have an actual reaction. At the very least he'll say enough to see where this goes.

"Don't think I know too much, other than Acquisition's acquisitions. She's noted for being willing ta experiment with iron, right?"

[whattaprick]

"Willing to experiment on changelings with iron," Lambert agrees. Sure, they're being more explicitly observed here, but it's still a chance to talk out what's been on his mind with someone who presumably has a different sort of perspective from some of the others here.

Shima'd been a scout, once, and he's been in Acquisitions since. However indifferent and demotivated he's acting like now, there's a brain ticking under all that pink puffy hair. "But so far, I've only heard of one person who's had iron used on them since we got here."

[worldlyafflictions]

"So is that considered an improvement from a couple stops ago?" Seems to think that's kind of funny, though probably not what Lambert is getting at.

[whattaprick]

"It means they're either warming up, or they want something else out of us."

Then, he shrugs.

"Don't know why they're in such a hurry about it, though. Doesn't seem like you'd get data that's all that interesting, shoving people through all these chores and trials one after another."

[worldlyafflictions]

"Picking out the cooperative types 'n seeing how long it takes for the rest ta break 'n give up? I guess if I had a buncha mortals who regularly went around tangling with the Fae when that's apparently not a thing, how long it takes ta get through 'em all could be seen as kinda interesting..."

Waggles his hand.

"Definitely a waste though."

[whattaprick]

"What makes you say that?" Lambert raises a brow.

[worldlyafflictions]

"That it's a waste? It's probably just 'cause I'm one small human 'n can't help thinking there're more interesting ways ta use people than shoving 'em all through a grinder."

[whattaprick]

"Sounds like they could take a few ideas from you, then," Lambert snorts. Having paced a circuit of the room a couple of times by now, he'll fold himself down into a sitting position, though he doesn't relax one bit -- he's still alert and wakeful, ears twitching idly as though they're trying to pick up sound that isn't actually happpening.

"But it doesn't seem like you're all that interested in playing their game." He may not have been watching Shima closely, but he looked around to see enough. "You're not like the others breaking their backs to get to the top. So why'd you sign up for this one?"

[worldlyafflictions]

Shima scratches his neck, considering his answer... He could go with something flippant, but knowing what they're going through right now and how much worse it's likely to get for one of them, he probably should stick with something more genuine...

"...I don't have bravery 'n grit like a bunch of people here, I just got really tired of people making my decisions for me before I even got to the Carnival. All the trials before this one sounded like excuses ta probe ya 'n do whatever they like. At least with 'social experiments' ya expect ta be given some choices, since the point's ta see what ya do..."

[whattaprick]

“What, you mean deciding between letting them probe you or you getting forced to let them probe you isn’t enough of a choice for you?” Lambert smirks, then sobers up. “I just signed up for this trial because it’s the first one I qualified for that someone else didn’t beat me to.”

He glances around pale white walls. “Bet this wasn’t what you were expecting when you signed on with the Carnival, eh? Rin could’ve warned you.”

[worldlyafflictions]

"I was expecting some hijinks, not like... the Ringmaster's basically running from every Fae ever and also now she's..."

...dead?? He makes a vague gesture that might mean 'dead'. Though there was an egg involved so maybe not.

[whattaprick]

Lambert pauses, brow furrowed, like the thought hadn’t occurred to him until now.

“About that ... this isn’t the first time the Ringmaster has died.” He pauses, considering how much to say knowing they’re being observed. “She’s apparently part phoenix.” Like that helps the explanation be any less absurd.

[worldlyafflictions]

"Oh, good ta know."

That's fine, aren't they both used to monsters and demons and all kinds of improbable stuff? That explanation makes perfect sense to him.

"...So ya think the Huntsman's still got her?"

OOC Note

[whattaprick]

For the sake of expediency and having it formally down somewhere (and so we have an idea of what happens once they put the decision in) this is to formally note that Shima and Lambert will ultimately (after some discussion) agree to promote Shima to Epsilon and send Lambert dropping down to Theta.