livinglot | ⇨ 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

It’s not dangerous for him in the same way that it’s dangerous for her, but she’s not exactly wrong. He grimaces.

“I told you, I’ll sort something out.” It’ll mostly entail getting himself arrested and regaining his powers. He looks back down at her, scanning her face. She seems healthy enough right now.

“You should try not to waste too much energy. How long do you think you’ve been here now?“

He may say that but she does fear him doing something dangerous to get his way. He definitely made her think he is the hot headed type. The type who just took risks.

"Huh? About a day or two. According to the lights, anyways. I really don't know if they're accurate or not." She meets his gaze head on. "What about you? You shouldn't waste your energy, too. You don't have to dote on me."

“I’m not,” he corrects her quite honestly. “I’m warning you. I’m familiar with this sort of thing. You aren’t.” He knows how to conserve his magic, and in a magical realm he wouldn’t slowly lose himself. Haruhi is human, and the kind of places Dark can visit with impunity would unsettle the very fabric of her being.

"Well, I don't exactly end up in these sort of situations but I understand most of what's going on along with the basic rules of this place." Haruhi crosses her arms. "I can handle whatever comes at me with ease."

He crosses his arms, unimpressed.

“Hey, don’t yell at me. I’m not the one who snatched you out of your own world.”

"I'm not yelling at you," Haruhi says. "And that's not why I'm upset either. For one thing, you're not worrying about yourself and think you can just take everything on when you probably can't." She then sighs. "And I also don't need you treating me like I can't handle this. Let's work together here. We both have similar goals, after all."

She’s mad because he’s not more worried about himself? That’s a new one.

He frowns for a moment, trying to decide how to proceed with this girl. His current plan is way too dangerous to get her involved. Really, she isn’t needed. But clearly she’s a girl of action, and trying to get her to sit back and wait for him to rescue her isn’t going to work.

“Fine. You any good at tracking? I need to know where every entrance to this place is.”

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at it." If she can track down the small Honey-senpai then she can track down anything. She places a hand on her chin in thought. "Entrances, huh...I actually haven't been able to find any so they must be very well hidden. Those animals must be coming in from somewhere, after all." She snaps her fingers. Idea! "We should keep an eye out for one of them. Track it down and follow it. Though, I don't know their schedule very well. They seem to come and go as they please."

He nods. That was his idea for her, pretty much. He will probably cause a ruckus while she’s distracted, keep her safe that way.

“Pick one, and don’t let it see you. Remember, we’re not dealing with humans or human senses.”

"It would be pretty hard not to remember that considering how obviously animal like they are..." Haruhi keeps an eye out trying to find one. "Crap. I hope they aren't on some timed schedule or something..."

Dark shrugs. It's easy enough to get carried away.

"They'll be back. They always do."

"Hopefully soon." Haruhi takes a deep breath.

"This is crazy. This plan could totally backfire..."

He chuckles, giving her a sly look.

"So don't get caught. Lesson number one in being a Phantom Thief."

She looks right back at him with an annoyed look. "Oh really? Thanks for this oh so mysterious piece of information." She says, her voice just oozing sarcasm.

"In actuality, we should probably create some sort of fail safe plan. Because, you know, it's only our lives on the line and all." She then deflates, ever so slightly. "God, I really have been hanging out with you way too long. I was perfectly fine with just living my days out here, you know."

He chuckles, partly to himself. It's fun having so pronounced an effect on someone... exactly what he's been missing in this place.

"With that attitude the rest of your days might not have lasted very long. Make sure you plan an escape route, Phantom Thief Haruhi."

This guy. Haruhi silently reminds herself to give him the worst noogie as a form of vengeance. "Riiight...you got it, boss."

Haruhi closed her eyes, doing her best to try and think of an escape plan. "Alright. One thing that could go wrong is that the animals understand our plan if it sees us tailing one of them. I say we just easily lie and claim that we were just trying to privately make a request or something equally as explainable." Haruhi suggests.

"And, if worst comes to worst, and we get caught during our escape plan...I'll serve as a distraction and you try and make your exit, okay?"

He shakes his head.

"Not a bad start. But you focus on getting away, let me be the decoy. I may be able to do more out there than in here." That's his hope, anyway.

"No way," She counters softly. "I really don't mind being the decoy. If you get out, you'll be able to get help faster with those mysterious abilities of yours."

“If getting away means getting back here that’s no help to me.”

"Well then don't come back. You're obviously itching to get out more than I ever was. When in doubt, just send your fellow phantom thieves to come help everyone out."

He snorts a laugh. If he sees an opportunity to get out, he will. In the end he supposes he really has to let Haruhi do what she wants.

"There's no one else like me out there. Don't worry, Haruhi. I'll come back for you if I have to."

"You better. I'm counting on you, Boss." She smiles.

⇨ Test Drive Meme: EDEN (Rescued Captives)

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