livinglot | ⇨ Test Drive Meme: EDEN (Rescued Captives)

⇨ Test Drive Meme: EDEN (Rescued Captives)

WELCOME TO THE SHOW!↴

Or, more specifically, Lost Carnival's test drive meme! We've changed a lot this time around and have introduced a whole new method of entering the game. Before we get started, let's lay down some details:

You can (and should) read the plot FAQ here.
Reserves and Applications are currently OPEN.
This round, new characters will be entering as rescued captives. Initially stolen away into this world by the leader of Eden, they will be rescued by current characters as part of an in-game event.
You can apply as a newcomer or as a "veteran" character who has been in the carnival for up to three years. In the case of veteran characters, you will need to come up with an explanation of why they haven't been around the carnival recently. They will arrive in the carnival grounds with no entry log necessary.
TDM threads can be used as game canon after the fact if both characters are accepted, the players agree to it, and it makes any sense contextually.

CURRENT SCENARIO↴

⇨ GARDEN OF EDEN ⇦
Eden is a magical, almost idyllic realm created by a powerful nephalem, with the specific purpose of finding a way to craft the perfect mortal soul. Above ground there are beautiful forest, gardens, and architecture that is otherworldly in its splendor. You, however, don't get to see most of that, because you have been brought to its underground prison, locked away like a zoo animal to be studied by the locals. This is extra weird because everyone living in Eden is some kind of uplifted animal - the beings attending to you are a diverse assortment of species, all with the ability to talk and apparently bend reality.

The underground garden you're being kept in doesn't look like a prison at first. Despite its lack of natural light, it's well decorated with plant life and various water features, its trees growing enough fruit to sustain you indefinitely. But there's no way out. It's just you and the other captives, and occasionally one of Eden's beasts coming in to check on you, or drag someone out to be examined. It's like being abducted by UFOs if the UFOs were talking animals, and the spaceship was a magical realm.

You may have noticed by now that, eventually, individual test subjects stop being returned to the garden. You could imagine this is because they've been released, but realistically, you suspect it's something much worse.

► THE MIRROR: The first thing you remember of your stay in Eden is seeing a mirror, its pristine silver surface being all that you can focus on. You don't know how you got there, only that the reflection seems to reach inside of you and pull something out, as if it's splitting you in half to create your mirror image. Eventually, you lose consciousness, and wake up in the garden prison. It took you a while to get the chance to talk to any of the animals, and they are disinclined to give you anything but the most basic of information - what to eat, where to sleep. They don't seem to want to get attached.

► THE GARDENS: There's not much to do in the garden, besides lounge around and maybe speak with your fellow captives. They have more information for you than any of the animals will - some of them are human, but some of them are obviously alien, telling tales of different worlds far beyond your experience. The lights dim at night and brighten in the day, but there's no outdoors to be seen. There are cushions and blankets laying on the grass for you to sleep on, but there are no beds. No one who has gotten violent towards the animals that attend to you has come back after being hauled off.

► SOMETHING MISSING: Since the moment you've arrived, no magic or powers you had previously have worked. More than that, you feel like something inside of you is missing - like some part of your soul never came back from being split into that mirror you saw. Maybe that's an abstract idea for you, maybe you don't believe in souls. Yet, now it's an instinctive feeling that is hard to put out of your mind. What did they take from you? Can you get it back?

► WILD CARD: Want to try some threads with the assumption that your character is already with the carnival? There are a lot of possibilities and you're free to explore them. Check out the rest of the game info or the locations page for additional inspiration. Want to run the obstacle course? Hang out in the Backyard? Choose whatever appeals! These prompts will be considered non-canon, unless you are applying as a veteran.

Recruits from this month will be signing on with the carnival in an entry log that will be posted around the start of August. You can view the in-game calendar here.

ENTRY STATUS↴

Approved characters will arrive as part of an in-game event log which will cover their rescue. TDM threads are meant to be pre-rescue circumstances, and current players will be tagging in as NPCs or other captured characters.
Characters rescued from Eden can have been imprisoned in the gardens for anywhere from a single day to up to three months. Good luck keeping track, though, there's no clocks down here.
Characters rescued from the gardens will be mostly depowered at the time, but will get their powers back by the end of the event.
Characters will be imprisoned with only the clothes on their back. All items will have been confiscated, but can potentially be retrieved in the event log.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The badger Temel is far from aware of just what will happen to the 'peoples' they have been tasked with checking in on, but they are likewise no fool to the obvious. More than a few times, someone has crossed a line, and someone has had to be taken off for....who knows what really, all that Temel knows is that it is not their responsibility at that point.

They are not supposed to care, or grow attached, but with recent tensions 'outside' they cannot help but take notice of people getting closer and closer to such a point. So the badger coughs, making a pointed look toward Haruhi. More problems are the last thing anyone needs.

"....I might recommend banishing such thoughts," she warns, clicking her tongue. She carries some sort of notepad, and a pen sits atop her ear. If not for the circumstance, perhaps it could have been humorous.

"Ah!"

Jesus. She will never get used to this whole...talking animal thing. This isn't Alice in Wonderland and she is no Alice. But the badger had initiated conversation and it is only polite to respond. Even if she is just...talking to an animal. She still remembers when she burst out laughing when one first talked because she thought it was all apart of yet another Host Club scheme. But it is quite obvious now that it is not the case. Haruhi runs her hands over her eyes to make extra sure that she isn't dreaming before she finally responds.

"Right. Let me guess. You're gonna tell me that I'm never going home or something, right?" She asks. "Will you actually tell me the point of this whole thing?"

Edited 2018-07-28 20:16 (UTC)

Oh, honestly! The badger looks quite annoyed, as if the idea that any of this could be shocking were utterly ridiculous.

It could also just be the fact that they're talking about escape and not trying it. "No," she tsks, gently taking her pen to start jotting a few things down. "I am going to tell you that peoples who think the way you are now, have a habit of eventually thinking themselves escape artists or warriors. At which point, they're someone else's responsibility," Temel notes, tapping her pen against the board a few times.

"...And they have certainly never returned here when that became the case. Not that I know where they go," she continues- and indeed, she doesn't- "But I doubt it's whatever place you came out from. So banish those thoughts, and enjoy what you have," the badger huffs.

Haruhi really did not want to believe that she just got threatened by a badger. She also did not want to believe that it may or may not have worked. The young host loosens the tie to her school uniform, only slightly wishing she wasn’t stuck in some mystical garden with an outfit that wasn’t too comfortable. “Oh yeah, nothing more enjoyable than being trapped in what feels like a human zoo. Who could possibly complain?” Sarcasm to hide the slight fear of what the possibility of rebellon will bring.

“Anyways, could you at least tell me why I’m here? Because I’m not exactly the person you should kidnap for ransom.” Actually, no. She is sure the hosts would do whatever they could. But this isn’t exactly a normal kidnapping situation. She is surrounded by talking animals, for pete’s sake. “And while you’re at it, can you explain why you’re carrying around a clipboard like that? Are you observing us for research or something equally sci fi-ish?” It is best to ask questions now. Maybe she’d be able to get some answers out of this...talking badger.

Edited 2018-07-29 02:41 (UTC)

Threatened! How insulting! She's saying it like it is. She even wrinkles her nose. "...'Zoo'...this is hardly a 'zoo', really," the badger grumbles. Rather than answer immediately, she crosses her arms and holds her clipboard to her front.

"I will answer for you what I can, on the condition you try to enjoy yourself then," she hums, nodding her head. It's an absolutely fine idea, if she says so herself. "As I said- it's not my responsibility once you peoples begin causing a ruckus." She learned very quickly not to grow attached to you things, and for good reason.

That said- "I'm making sure the temperature is optimal- you peoples have certain tolerance ranges that we need to make certain are met..."

Enjoy herself? What a weird condition to be met. And a nearly impossible one to boot. It’s enough she smells like rose petals on a daily basis but not to be permenantly surrounded by them? This really was some kind of 9th circle of hell, huh? Had she actually managed to get herself killed? She bets a while five hundred yen that she choked on the weird amount of petals that often seems to accompany the Host Club.

”So, you’re taking care of those of us that are captured by making sure certain habitat requirements are met.” Haruhi lightly pounds her fist into the palm of her hand. A thought! “Like how someone cleans a fish tank. Or making sure enclosures are cleaned. You know...” She glances at the badger. “...like a zoo.”

Haruhi is in deep analysis mode. “Why not just lie about the real reason we’re all here?” Not that she knows the real reason herself but...you know. Sometimes you have to shake the tree to see what falls out. ”It’s hard for anyone to relax when they wake up in a strange place and met with talking creatures. Making them even more uncomfortable is not proper ettiquete and will make it hard for anyone to enjoy themselves.”

"I don't believe in pretty lies," is the curt response.

Does she know about the host club? The rose petals? Certainly not. She couldn't even begin to guess, but all the same- "Frankly," Temel explains, "We're a little tired of finding you peoples whisked away because you couldn't simply sit still. Could you blame us for holding our distance?" Granted, there are reasons other than escape attempts for them vanishing but...

...Well those reasons are just as much if not more of an unknown, at this point. So she won't dwell on that. "And it's not a zoo!" she adds, grumbling a bit more. "You are here, because it is your place now. That is that."

Haruhi laughs. She really didn’t mean to, she was trying to keep her composure. But this new development is simply hilarious. “Aww. You guys are just little tsunderes then.” Cute tsundere animals. How could anyone resist that? It is like something out of those little short cartoons with the chibi animals. Haruhi resists the urge to pat the badger on the head. That’s a little dangerous. Plus they are the enemy at the moment.

“Well, this place is really nice and all. But us “peoples” need something better than the supplies we’ve got at least. Some people have back problems, you know? You’re gonna ruin the environement and probably get sued. And no one likes getting sued.”

For a moment, she looks as though she intends to ask whether or not 'tsundere' is meant to be some sort of people insult. She restrains herself.

As it is, she would have been absolutely furious if she was pat upon the head. She's no dumb beast, madam!

"No one will be getting 'sued', I assure you," she huffs, scribbling away her notes on the clipboard. She does, however, pause to squint at Haruhi.

"Explain about the 'back problems'."

Haruhi is happy to explain.

“Well, back problems are a common thing in us humans. It may come from leaning over your desk too much due to studying for exams or maybe even sleeping in an uncomfortable position. There are some remedies to this, of course, but the most affective is a comfortable bed with maybe some medicines as well.” Haruhi explains with ease. “Of course, untreated back problems lead to crankiness. A bunch of humans in an enclosed space feeling cranky due to their bad backs. You can only imagine the chaos that would erupt. I’d say you’ve only got a lucky few who don’t seem to be suffering from it but good things can’t last forever, you know?”

Temel is silent for a few moments.

She does not seem to have been taking any of what Haruhi said seriously in that silence, however. "....Hn! I thought you were speaking of serious worries!" she eventually huffs, tucking her pencil back behind her ear. "You have nothing like that to worry about. There are plenty of pillows for sleeping on, and I can show you which ones are best for it with backs like 'yours'," she adds in, before any arguments of species and their needs arise.

"At the least it sounds as though my point stands firmly. You should enjoy your time away from these...'exams'," the badger insists, even chuckling somewhat.

“Everyone needs to do their best to prevent the tragedy that is back pains.”

Okay, maybe that wasn’t true. But there was probably someone in here with back pains, damn it, and she’d get them a proper bed one day. At the mention of getting away from exams, Haruhi freezes for a second before the proper oh shit moment sinks in. “Oh shit.” There it is. “Exams, my studies...will I get a pass for being kidnapped?” But the real question was if they would actually believe her story when she got back home. No ifs, only whens.

“This isn’t exactly the best vacation away from stress, you know. I actually like breaking my back doing homework. If anything, I want a break from the club. But not like this!”

Edited 2018-07-29 04:36 (UTC)

Oh good grief. Temel watches the poor girl go through her momentary crisis, patiently waiting for it to be at least half over.

"I have told you, repeatedly," she notes, sighing, "That this is quite permanent. In fact, you should hope yourself that it stays that way. It's quite nice here." Certainly nicer than wherever the peoples always vanish off too when it's time to leave for whatever reason, she's certain.

As it is. "You might as well consider it a permanent vacation- there are no 'studies' and 'exams'!"

Haruhi glances over at the badger. Really? No sympathy at all?

Well, they were just talking animals and they usually were the type to keep their distamce, huh. Curse that adorable face though! Though, Haruhi will not give in. She is a lot stronger than that. The young girls sighs, her posture completely collapsing. “It’s not that simple. That means all my hard work was for nothing. It’s like building a house of cards only for the wind to knock it over before kicking the cards into a gutter.” She explains. “Do you understand?” Probably not.

Do you know how many peoples she has seen in her day Haruhi she has seen So Many Peoples.

Not to mention the personal distance she's had to employ as a Scholar.

Yet....she does seem to be tapping her board some. Eventually she glances over her sheet, flips it over, and takes her pencil again.

"Very well...what sort of 'studies' were so important that you would feel it all for 'nothing' now, hmm?"

This is not very encouraging at all. But it's something, probably.

Oh, well that’s easy.

“Well. It’s just mainly my grades. My scholarship in Ouran requires me to be at the top of my classes at all time. No slacking.” Haruhi explains. “I was actuallu hoping that, through Ouran, I could get into a pretty good law school. So, I guess the studies are just your usual school fanfare stuff though...you probably have no idea what that is.” She forgot she was talking to a badget there for a minute. “Math, language arts, history, science...the basics. And I was reading this one law textbook...” Haruhi smiles fondly at the thought.

“But, yeah. All my hardwork means nothing now at this point.”

Considering all of the insults, the badger is doing a remarkably good job of ignoring them. She simply snorts when she hears 'probably no idea what that is' and carries on listening, scribbling on the back of her page.

"So, if I understand you then..." She stops scribbling, ears pointed toward Haruhi. "...Your studies were so that you could continue with studies."

You said Law 'School', after all. "Well...a mild enough hobby, I suppose," she chuckles, as if she were speaking to a child.

"Well, yeah, that's it. Studies on top of studies until you're ready for the big leagues. That's just how things are." She would prefer if things weren't like that along with any Japanese high school student ever but they just were. But it was just another obstacle to prove that you're ready for that dream job.

"Hobby? Well, I wouldn't put it like that. When you were a little badger baby did you picture yourself holding a clipboard and taking care of humans in a human zoo." Again with the zoo thing. She wasn't letting it go. "I'm sure you wanted to be...a dancer or something."

"Quite frankly, you would be best off not making assumptions about my history before this place as a whole," she huffs- a sound that seems quite typical for the badger. Regardless, she doesn't seem very keen on even trying to remember being a 'baby badger', potentially because it was a very boring time that involved caring about food, sleep, and little else.

"We are all here for a purpose," she continues, raising her nose to the air. "...We all contribute one way or another. I certainly have no interest wasting my days studying for the sake of studying- and you would be better off finding hobbies more suited for this place as is."

Finding out a hobby that suited this place, huh? Haruhi places her hand on her chin. There isn't much to do here anyways. She never really tried gardening before but it really could not be that hard. Hm. "Well there isn't much to do here. Can I have a job like yours then? The best person to take care of people is a person themselves, you know?" That is her logic, anyways.

"Unless there's a secret to this place that requires us to do simpler things..." She glances to the side. "Like a zoo." Now she's just teasing at this point.

Alas, 'Zoo' simply has her unaffected this time.

"No," she curtly answers. "You may have a hobby to entertain yourself, in here. A hobby is not a job," she huffs, shaking her head. "You will not be leaving, so you may find something to do within the confines. That is all."

"Well what kind of hobbies do you suggest?" She is actually curious as to what the badger thinks. Because, really, there is nothing for her to do here. "Gardening? Building pillow forts?" Those were the only things she could think of to do. "Can't you just...suggest video games to whoever owns this place? Video game tournaments are pretty popular." Haruhi never plays video games as she has a lot more important things to sink her money into but she wouldn't mind playing them now.

"A hobby that involves staying in here," she scolds. "I am going back to work- remember what I warned you of," the badger insists. "I don't enjoy watching you peoples being hauled off to...wherever!"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. You really do care." Haruhi says with a laugh. "Good luck at work, Badger-san."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

⇨ Test Drive Meme: EDEN (Rescued Captives)

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