⇨ Test Drive Meme: EDEN (Rescued Captives)

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

pluto ♇ | heaven will be mine

[krunmacula]

This sucks.

That's not really a helpful way to think about this situation, is it? But it's true. Undeniable, even. This place sucks and she- hates it? Is that the right word? No, no, that can't be right. She doesn't have room for hate in that heart of hers, after all. No, she pities it; she pities this place and everyone in it, deeply, irrevocably, like a still-oozing wound on her heart. Gravity means nothing here - it is fixed and stable, with no chance for individual intervention. it is artificial and human in the way that so many earthbound individuals like to brag about. It is absolute in its judgment; humans are animals, meant to stay on the ground.

How closed-minded. How futile. How utterly disappointing.

She is quiet for the first hour, and rapidly becomes an unbearable nervous wreck after that. She paces aroud the edges of the garden; she stands still in random spots, arms crossed and feet tapping and intense concentration flitting on and off her face. Sometimes, her face scrunches up and her teeth grit and it's all she can do to not break down sobbing in public; sometimes, she doesn't even get that far.

Thankfully, she's not crying when she grabs your attention. She's frowning, gentle and soft - a mother's frown in every way. She's not mad, she's just disappointed. She waves in your direction, her movements calm and controlled, and when she's sure she has your attention she speaks. Her voice is soft but weighty, like she expects you to hear no matter how far apart you might be.

"Can you feel it?"

[douchebagsealion]

"What..."

Ornut the sea lion eyes her dubiously. They don't like this one. She's got a vibe about her that they just find... offputting. And here she is asking cryptic questions..?

Ornut shakes out their whiskers disapprovingly and wraps a flipper more firmly around their clipboard, as though hoping to keep this People from peeping at it.

"What do you want?"

[krunmacula]

She doesn't know what to call this one. She should know, and she feels that so strongly. He's left no impression on the narrative-space around her; no, that's not right, she can't feel it and the loss is like an emptiness inside her and all around her.

But it's the best she can do. She doesn't smile when she gets a response, not quite- but she does try. The thing deserves that much, certainly.

"...this place. Does it not feel artificial to you?" She breaks eye contact for a blessed few moments, looking all around the gardens. "The air, the gravity... Empty. Cold. It's like a test chamber."

And then she smiles, oddly genuine despite the topic at hand.

"You want something from us, right? You could just ask. I've got nothing better to do in here."

[douchebagsealion]

The sea lion's whiskers bristle, and they make a blubbery whiskery impatient sort of noise. "I don't want anything, I'm just here to keep an eye on you lot."

They emphasise the 'eye' part by opening one beady black eye very wide and leaning towards her a little bit.

[krunmacula]

"Of course you don't!"

She manages to sound playful, even as tense as this whole situation is. No, it's more than that - she is playful. All of this is just a distraction, another path of stepping stones to cross before her eventual destination. Why shouldn't she have a bit of fun on the way?

"I'm talking about your companions. The ones who asked you to keep an eye on us." And she mimics his action briefly, leaning a short distance towards him before giggling fondly.

[douchebagsealion]

"Well I'm sure they'll talk to you about it when they're ready!" says Ornut imperiously. "What are you so happy about?"

[krunmacula]

"Hmm?" This time, she can't quite help it - a teasing lilt makes its way into her voice. "Isn't that what you'd prefer? Happy test subjects are easier to watch, after all."

And then, almost conspiratorially, she adds- "Should I not be? Happy, I mean."

[douchebagsealion]

"Well -- I --!!" Another indignant whiskering. "Probably not!"

[krunmacula]

Oh, she likes this little one. She almost wants to reach out and pet them - even if she's pretty sure that'd be immensely offensive. "Why's that?"

[douchebagsealion]

IT SURE WOULD!!

"That," Ornut sniffs, "is not my job to tell you about!"

[krunmacula]

"Aw. You're no fun!" It's not a lie, exactly. But she certainly seems to be having fun regardless. "If you won't even tell me that, then why should I bother?"

[douchebagsealion]

"Maybe you shouldn't!!" says Ornut, drawing themselves up imperiously, insofar as a sea lion can accomplish this. They would be sweating, probably, if pinnipeds sweated. (Actually I just googled whether or not sea lions sweat and the results were inconclusive and apparently hotly debated, so Ornut may or may not be sweating profusely from the flippers, depending,,) "Maybe I have much more important things to be doing with my time than answering your, your silly people questions!"

[krunmacula]

"Is that so?" Usually, Pluto's voice carries a hint of condescension in it. On her best days, it tempers out to an even certainty; more often it just seems a little smug. And this- well. This is absolutely patronizing. "Maybe you should be doing them, then. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

[douchebagsealion]

Ornut definitely wants to leave, ideally quickly -- or at least, as quickly as a sea lion can waddle on land. But that feels like it would be letting this impertinent People win.

"Look," they say, slapping a front flipper indignantly against the ground and bristling their whiskers, "if you know something that you're not letting on, you'd -- well, you'd better let on!!"

[krunmacula]

"Oh? Is that a threat?" She sounds, oh so desperately, as if she wants it to be. "And what will you be doing if I don't?"

[douchebagsealion]

"I'll -- I'll be going to get somebody," says Ornut, like they know that this is not threatening in the slightest but are trying their best to sound as if it is.

[krunmacula]

"Oh, good!" Ornut's instincts prove accurate. Not only is it not threatening in the slightest, it seems to be encouraging this uppity human. "What a good guard you are! You'd probably get someone who could get that information out of me, right?"

[apaintingdarkly]

The guise of motherhood makes no difference for Dark. The moment an attractive, distraught woman catches his attention he turns all of his on her. He closes the distance between them smoothly, hands in his pockets, not the least bit rushed.

"You've noticed it? Good. You can't let yourself believe that you belong here."

[krunmacula]

She can't see him, not the way she's used to. He leaves no ripples in narrative-space, no valleys and waves for her to navigate through and read. But he's easy enough to read without it, and she's been slowly getting used to this - seeing without all her senses, talking to other beings instead of just reaching out and contacting them.

But she doesn't need her gravity to understand what he's saying. Noticed it? It's more impressive that she's able to stop thinking about it long enough to speak. She laughs gently, a soft smile finally returning to her face. "Are you so sure about that? It's certainly not the worst lab to wake up in."

[apaintingdarkly]

There are plenty of people in this place who don't seem to know or care that they aren't in the real world anymore. It's almost a relief to find someone who hasn't surrendered to complacency.

He gives her his most charming smile.

"A pretty girl like you doesn't belong in any lab."

[krunmacula]

"Well, aren't you a charmer!"

The words could sound condescending, but for once there's no trace of mockery in her voice - just a bit of pleased mirth. It's funny to hear those words - after all, who belongs in a lab if not her? Space's prodigy, the princess of Cradle's Graces, hand-raised from test-tube to adulthood in perfectly controlled environments...

But that's not what he means, and she knows that, and so she's perfectly content to take that compliment at face value. Besides, it's not like she doesn't know how to handle herself in these situations! She places one hand on her hip, smiling even as she raises an eyebrow his way.

"You're very dashing yourself, you know. Are you going to try and break me out, then? Or just sweep me off my feet right here?"

[apaintingdarkly]

He casts a very wide net, and gets a wide variety of responses. It doesn't bother him.

"That's the general plan, but there's room in my schedule to sweep you off your feet too." He may look skinny but he's plenty strong enough to pull it off.

[impatientdefense]

Beau vaguely noticed Pluto and her pacing earlier, in that half-aware way of being more preoccupied with her own thoughts - and watching their animal captors - than her fellow captives.

But something about Pluto's approach now grabs her attention. Maybe it's the gentle confidence, the weight in her voice, even the disapproving motherly ambiance... adding together to a feeling like maybe this is an intimate conversation, some kind of innuendo as an opening.

So Beau's a little flustered as she responds, leaning back with forced casualness to emphasize her physique.

"Feel... it? I mean, I'm feeling a lot of things. What, uh, what were you thinking of, specifically...?"

[krunmacula]

Pluto watches the way Beau responds - the way her muscles tense for a moment before forcibly unwinding, the way her arms flex into taut muscles after the fact. Now where has she seen this before...? She's at a disadvantage here, being unable to read the gravity of this place, but she's certain she's seen exactly this before-

-and then she remembers the way Mars reacts around cute girls, the way she tenses up and tries to look just a bit bigger, and how every fold narrative-space around her screams to be noticed, to be looked at like that. And even if she can't see the same gravity just yet, Pluto suddenly feels both a bit more understanding - and a bit playful.

So she shrugs herself and smiles, crossing her arms under her chest and looking Beau over with a tilt to her head. "Hmm! I wonder. I guess I'm feeling quite a bit, too." She brings one finger up to her lips, making a show of thinking before continuing. "Have you felt... cut off, since we arrived here?"

[impatientdefense]

Beau's eyes widen a little as Pluto smiles at her, and she leans forward a little more. "Uhh... yeah. I mean, obviously, we can't get out, we're cut off from the world. But... I don't feel the same, either. Like..."

She raises a hand, flexes her fingers into a fist and demonstrates throwing a punch. "My coordination's all off." Really, the punch is fine. Her practiced technique is still there, showing in the fluidity of the motion, but she can tell something's missing from it.

As she talks, Beau's gaze drops a couple of times, noting how those crossed arms frame Pluto's chest. Almost... intentionally, seemingly reciprocating her interest? For all they're talking about unsettling, worrisome things, well. "Doesn't mean we can't, y'know... have some fun while we're stuck here. Something to take our mind off it."