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

Dark spends enough time around attractively feminine guys that at this point he takes a school uniform at face value. He assumes Haruhi is a boy, and so doesn't entertain himself by flirting with her. A narrowly-avoided fate, that.

"Thinking of joining the zookeepers as a goat?" He doesn't even look fully at her, stretched out on one of those DIY sleeping bags with his head propped on an elbow.

"A little mud in your hair might pass for horns."

Haruhi blinks in surprise when someone suddenly speaks up. Ah, that guy. She's seen him around before. Mostly just lurking but...around. Haruhi ever so slightly tilts her head to the side. "Eh? I don't think I could. I've done some crazy things before but dressing up as an animal for a zoo? I think I'll pass." She chuckles lightly.

"What about you? Are you planning on dressing up too?"

"Pass," is the immediate answer, complete with his free hand raised for an emphatic thumbs down.

"A master of disguise like me doesn't need to be wasting their talent in a shithole like this. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to make my escape."

Haruhi raises an eyebrow. Is this serious? She crosses her arms. "Really? Admirable but are you sure that's a good idea?" She asks. "The last person who tried it was taken away and I don't exactly think it was to paradise..."

Dark chuckles, shooting her a sly look.

"You scared?"

"Scared of what? The threat of an unknown death? Yeah, I am. I quite like my life, thank you very much." Haruhi responds. "But it's obvious that you're not. You have some sort of death wish or something?"

He snorts derisively, rolling up to his feet in one fluid motion and stretching his arms.

"I've gotten out of more than a few tight spots in my time. A real challenge will be fun."

"You don't know what the beings here are capable of though." She says, feeling as if her attempts at trying to get him to not get himself killed were going unnoticed.

"Come on, dude. We all want to get out of here as well but the chances are a bad zero point five percent. I'm only being realistic when I say you have no chance. At least no chance without any special help."

Unnoticed, and unappreciated. That's Dark for you.

"Obviously you don't know what I'm capable of either. There's 'special help' around here somewhere. I just have to find it."

"Yeah. The only special help you're gonna get is from some random animal you see roaming around here seeing as this is a human zoo and all. I'm sure there's a suuuper high chance they happen to be a huge advocate for the release of humans." She wasn't going to even attempt to hide her sarcasm.

"Laugh all you like," he retorts, not remotely bothered. If he can find the right lock to pick he'll be out of here in an instant. Maybe if he gets himself caught they'll take him someplace he can make a move from.

"Nobody keeps the great Phantom Thief Dark locked up for long."

"I'm sorry. The great Phantom Thief Dark?" She raises an eyebrow. "Did you give yourself that title just now or is that just some ego thing?" Phantom Thief Dark sounded like some host club type. She is sure that some girls would be into that.

"Well? What's your oh so great plan, Mr. Phantom Thief Dark?" She is doing her best to hold back her laughter.

Ah, she's never heard of him. That explains the skepticism.

"You can thank the newspapers for that. And where's the fun if I say my plan outright?"

Spoilers: his plan is 'find a way to get his powers back.'

Just what did this guy do to get into the newspapers? And what news paper was it? Curiouser and Curiouser...

"Riiight. I guess maybe it's for the best you didn't say. There are eyes everywhere. Sometimes even multiple eyes."

He stole shit, obviously! A lot of shit. Over some 19 generations of Niwas and counting.

"Ears too," he notes, tapping a finger to the side of his head in illustration.

"Most animals hear a lot better than you humans."

"You say that as if you aren't human yourself." She tilts her head to the side ever so slightly, a teasing smile on her face. "Unless you really are planning on cosplaying as one of those animals. Don't worry. I won't judge."

He shrugs. Let her think whatever's easiest. It's not like he has either the magic or desire to prove he isn't human.

"What do I care what some random guy thinks?"

She blinks before she covers her mouth, holding back a laugh. Right. She was still in her uniform so she supposed it made sense he would think that. Not that she minded, either way.

"You're right. It is your choice what you do, after all. Just trying to look out for you."

Okay, maybe he cares a little. That stifled laugh pisses the thief off. But that's alright. He reaches over to ruffle the 'boy's' hair.

"That's sweet, but you're 100 years early to be looking out for me, kid."

"Ah, hey!" Ah, great, her hair is going to be a mess now. Oh, wait, she didn't care. Those damn rich people. Actually making her want to take care of her hair and shit. To rebel, Haruhi places her hands into her lap.

"Wait, huh? For one thing I am definitely not a kid. For the second thing, what do you mean by 100 years early? You're not one of those people who think they were born in the wrong generation or something, are you?"

"Ooh?" He smirked outright at her, shoving his hands back in his pocket.

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself. It'll give you something to do besides pull up grass."

"Ah. I already figured it out," Haruhi shoots back. "You're probably just messing with me. That and or you have an ego as big as the sun itself and believe yourself to be beyond the mortal realm or something just as silly." That is her theory anyways. She believes in a world where tiny 18-year-olds can work in host clubs. She did. She really did. She worked with one, after all. But people being beyond a hundred years old? That's just an insult to her intelligence.

"That Phantom Thief Dark facade will only last for so long before it just becomes uninteresting. That's just how most myths and legends go." She pulls up yet another patch of grass, looking at the blades in her hand. Damn. Those were short that time. "But what do I know? I'm just some guy." She says blandly, scattering them back onto the grass.

It's a little bit of everything, really. That's half the fun of being a phantom thief-- he's a character shrouded in mystery, and that annoys the people it doesn't charm.

"Not much, if you've never heard of me. But that's your loss." His ego may actually be larger than the sun, it's hard to say.

Her eye twitches ever so slightly. This guy and his ego...he certainly was something else entirely. "Yeah, yeah. Though I think I'm fine with not knowing who you are. At least that whole Phantom Thief Dark facade you've got going on." She looks away with a smile. "He seems like a total..." What's the word? Jerk? No no. Something stronger than that. She'd...think of it later.

"Well, I'm Haruhi. No super fancy title...sort of."

"It's not a facade," he feels the need to point out. "Dark is my name." No, really. But he eyes her with a look of suspicion that edges towards boredom.

"Isn't Haruhi a girl's name?"

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