⇨ 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

Some point after the trial...

[periphrasing]

Whether he likes it or not, it doesn't take long for Peridot to seek him out the next time they're both back on the farm. The moment she spots him, she sits bolt upright and then scrambles hurriedly in his direction.

"Steven!" She greets him in the usual way, yelping out his name in an energetic frenzy. This time it's the bad sort of energetic; she has clearly been worried about him since the technicians took him away, and she stops short just in front of him, flicking her eyes over him for any sign of harm. "Are you in one piece?? What happened, what did they do to you!?"

Seems like she hasn't noticed the dent where his gem should be just yet.

[starseedling]

Steven hasn't been avoiding her or anything. He was just generally too dazed and in shock to think of seeking anyone out - actively trying to talk to people seemed bad somehow, like he'd be contaminating them with his own misfortune.

He almost wants to try to hide himself, though, when Peridot arrives suddenly and starting to look him over from injury. He crosses his arms around his belly, partly concealing his missing gem and finger. Her first words come through unclear, like she's speaking through a layer of static.

"Peridot..." he starts, and doesn't know how to finish it off. He can't answer her questions without lying, so he doesn't. "I... I dunno."

[periphrasing]

"You don't remember--? So, they erased your memory!?"

Even though he seems fine, she's still clearly very nervous about this, tail twitching behind her like an anxious cat's.

[starseedling]

He kind of wishes they did, and while he's almost tempted to lie about it, he knows it won't last. He very slowly and hesitantly unfurls his body, carefully raising a hand to show Peridot the missing finger first.

"No... I remember..." he says, with the vestiges of humiliation still on his mind. It had felt so terrible, not being able to do anything. It was like he was with the Rose Queen again, but even she never did anything quite like this.

[periphrasing]

Peridot leans in reeeeal close to the spot where that finger should be, squinting at it with a thoughtful frown.

"They took your finger...?" she asks, perplexed. She pauses, staring at it for a moment longer before drawing back again, hunching with her arms crossed nervously at her chest. "Well... I suppose that could be worse?" she says uneasily, making some vague attempt at comfort. It's hard to know what to say in this situation.