livinglot | TEST DRIVE MEME #6

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test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME #6

WELCOME TO THE SHOW!↴

Or, more specifically, Lost Carnival's test drive meme! This is an opportunity to try out your characters in the setting before you apply, or to put together samples for characters you've never played before. There are going to be options for both new arrivals and veteran characters. Before we get started, let's lay down some details:

You can read the full premise here.
Reserves and Applications are both currently OPEN.
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.
TDM threads can be used as game canon after the fact if both characters are accepted and the players agree to it.
If you are interested in additional IC and OOC plot responsibilities, consider applying for a Supervisor position. Treasurer, and Wardrobe Manager are currently open. More roles that currently need filling are listed here!

NEW RECRUITS↴

You gotta start somewhere, right? These prompts are for characters who are arriving in the carnival for the first time, and who are destined to sign a contract. How they go about that is up to you, but in the meantime they can enjoy the sights and sounds of something truly out of this world. Visitors to the carnival comes from many different worlds today, as the ringmaster casts out her recruitment lures. Will you become her most recent hire?

► ADMISSION FEES: After crossing into the carnival's realm and passing through the trees, most visitors will find themselves at the front gate - though not all choose to enter that way. If they enter legitimately, however, they will have to pass by a clerk who will trade admission and tickets for various attractions and rides in exchange for "anything of value." What is of value may seem highly subjective, and so some may struggle to produce payment at first, though in actuality the carnival will take anything from mundane currency to items of purely sentimental value.

► MIRROR MAZE: The mirror maze (pictured above) is a big attraction in the carnival, and stretches much further on the inside than it looks like it will on the outside. It's hard to get through, and what's more, after you've been in there for a while your reflections will start gaining a mind of their own - mostly in order to taunt and distract you with personal information. They don't know everything you know, but they know more than they should, and their mind games can be pretty hit or miss.

► GAMER'S CIRCLE: Almost all of the game booths are organized in a large ring around the Cookhouse, called Gamer's Circle. Your can play just about any carnival game you can imagine here, for a variety of prizes sometimes traditional, exotic, or outright magical. Dart tossing? Got it. That game with the water guns? Got it. Most of these booths are currently manned by humanoid spirits who look like they are made of smoke. If they can trick you into earning debt, they will.

► NOT YOUR WHEELHOUSE: Sometimes, even magical ferris wheels get stuck. The carnival's particular wheel is enchanted to create a particular out of this world experience - as you pass along the top, you feel as if they are so close to the sky that you can interact with the stars like baubles hanging above your head. Of course, the novelty probably wears off when the wheel is broken and you've been stuck enjoying the light show with some stranger for the last half hour. How are you going to pass the time?

► TRYING TO LEAF: No matter where you came from, you seemingly emerged from a forest. Obviously, to get back home you should be able to go back in the same direction, right? It turns out you can't. Worse, trying too hard to get through the wood will result in you getting lost, or turned back to the carnival. The trees here are not normal, and are varying levels of alien, including things like trees with glowing fruit or orange flowers that constantly burn like candles.

► WILD CARD: Anything else you can imagine in this setting! 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 make a starter with your character experiencing their first theoretical change? Go for it!

VETERAN WORKERS↴

These prompts are tailored to the carnival's existing employees, the veterans. Odds are they've been here from somewhere between a few months and three years already, and know their way around the block. For them, this is just business as usual - and depending on their attitude towards their job, they may or may not contribute to a few people accidentally getting themselves a contract. Whatever you do, though, don't warn visitors away from the carnival - the ringmaster hates losing business like that.

► DO YOUR WORK: This one's pretty simple - just have your character doing whatever you'd like to have their job be! There is a big list of ideas over here, and you could use this to try things out with a character you intend to be a new arrival, as well.

► WILL O' WISPS: The ringmaster's will o' wisps have gotten free, and she's asked that everyone keep and eye out and help her reclaim them regardless of their official jobs. Wisps are small creatures that burn both hot and cold and comes in a few different variations of the same basic theme. Handling them physically (or psionically, or magically, for that matter) is difficult due to their near intangible nature. Touching and being around them can result in confusion and a sensation similar to being comfortably drunk.

► BREAK TIME: Whatever you were doing, it's break time! It's time for you to relax however you see fit. Do you enjoy some of the carnival attractions yourself, or is that old by now? Do you hang out in the Cookhouse to get a snack? Do you take a nap? Yolo, baby!

► RIDDLE GAME: For a bit of fun, the ringmaster has left a variety of locked chests around the worker areas of the carnival, each with instructions and a riddle written on their lids. The chest will accept three guesses from each worker before refusing to respond to them any further. If you guess the right answer, the chest will open and you will be rewarded with some manner of fun magical knick knack. If you've run out of guesses, maybe you can conspire with someone else and promise to split the prize?

► CAPTURE THE... EGG?: The Ringmaster likes to keep things exciting for her employees, and this time she's devices a game that mixes an Easter egg hunt with capture the flag. She's hidden various metallic "eggs" around the carnival that chime like bells when people get near, and divided participants into three teams (red, blue, yellow of course.) The carnival has been divided into three zones, and the objective is to gather as many eggs as possible for your team (three points for gold, two for silver, one for copper.) However, when you are in a zone that doesn't belong to your team, if they can snatch off your team flag they can take you to "jail" and confiscate any eggs you may be holding for their team. When in doubt, bullshit the rules! This is a prompt, after all.

► WILD CARD: Anything else you can imagine in this setting! 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 do a performance? Hang out in the Backyard? Choose whatever appeals!

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[ooc: I can go action tags or prose alike, feel free to use your preference and I'll match!]

► DO YOUR WORK (► NOT YOUR WHEELHOUSE)

So the ferris wheel has broken down yet again. Fixing it isn't Papyrus' job; his job, as the head janitor, is cleaning up the carnival grounds.

Problem is, bored people on the ferris wheel like to mess around. Some have the foresight to bring things like books, or interesting conversation topics, and while away the wait.

Others, apparently, decide to strip and throw their belongings down at passersby. This is the third sock in ten minutes. He's beginning to reconsider this whole notion of bringing things to the lost and found, if they're so uncaring about their property.

So your character may go by at the right time to see the skeleton waving the sock around and irritably grumbling to himself, in a rather capslocky voice that carries. Or perhaps your character might be the perpetrator responsible for the latest thrown item. Either way... Some days, being the janitor is awful.

► RIDDLE GAME

Papyrus paces back and forth in front of the chest, occasionally glancing at it with a scowl. The magic chest sits nonchalantly under his gaze, unimpressed by his irritation. And the riddle, written on its lid, refuses to give any helpful hints.

What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

It's exactly the kind of awful twisty witty question that makes junior jumble such a pain! He hates this! But it's a puzzle, physically locking him off from something of interest, and he has to at least make the attempt.

1 guess left...

► WILL O' WISPS

Well, Papyrus has found a will o' wisp. That's not the same as catching it, since they're like intangible like ghosts, and nearly immune to his blue attacks like nothing else ever.

But he's radioed that he's found it, his location, and and he's following it around to make sure it doesn't disappear before somebody who knows what they're doing shows up. So now he's following it around, sometimes a little too closely.

And it feels... relaxing. Kind of like he did back at the Celebration, which very nearly ruins the mood. He needs to keep his head about him, and not lose track of the goal! And right now, the goal is keeping an eye on that will o' wisp. Intently.

[Feel free to respond with action tags!]

A: Return (closed to vets/characters apped prior to Celebration)

A young woman has arrived at the carnival, though she seems rather familiar with the place. She looks human, or like she was at one time, but now her skin nearly translucent blue, like thick ice, peppered with darker blue gemstones. Her eyes have no pupils or whites to speak of, but are instead solid dark blue, and appear to be faceted up close. Snowflakes trail behind the train of her dress, and patches of ice glitter behind her footsteps before melting away.

Elsa doesn't know what's happened, but she knows something has gone wrong. There's a depressive feeling hanging over the Carnival that she doesn't like.

When she sees someone she doesn't know but is obviously from a Carnival worker, she comes up to them, gesturing around at the Carnival grounds with a hand. "I'm sorry, but it seems like I've missed a bit of... excitement?"

When she sees someone she does know, she's much less polite, hurrying up with more urgency. "What happened!?"

B: Do Your Job

The Treasurer's "office" only exists when Elsa wants it to. Right now, it's off to the side of the supervisor grove, a little hut made of ice. Usually she likes to make the outside a bit more ornamental, but she's so behind on work that it's just thrown together right now.

If someone comes in, they'll find Elsa bent over a desk of ice, writing figures on a scroll with a pen and inkwell. It's absurdly oldschool, but it's how she works. When she hears someone walk in, she looks up, a bit surprised.

"Ah, were you looking for me?" She waves a hand, and a small chair made of ice sprouts out of the ground in front of her desk. "Have a seat."

C: Taking a Break

Elsa really shouldn't get any chocolate.

She shouldn't, but it smells so good, and it's right there. She can't help but gravitate that way. Within a minute, she has a plate full of desserts, and she's reaching for another when her hand bumps into another's.

"Oh! Excuse me."

At least she doesn't panic when people touch her hands anymore.

[OOC: since I'm looking to app Elsa as a veteran, if you want to work out established CR you can contact me at

dandywonderous or PM this journal.]

Edited 2017-03-26 20:37 (UTC)

Jonathan 'fish scales and mirrored eyes' Strange counts as obviously a Carnival worker. He had been walking around the Carnival trying to find Joker but Elsa's question stops him in his tracks, distracting him from what he was doing as he gives her a once-over. Obviously she's from the Carnival but she's definitely someone he's never seen before.

"You should probably count yourself lucky you missed it," he can't help but remark with a small little frown. "During our last visit, members of the Carnival were kidnapped and turned into vampires. We rescued most of them, of course, but some of those poor souls are still vampiric."

"Vampires..."

The way he says it, it sounds like he wasn't here for the last vampire attack (and Elsa doesn't remember ever seeing him, at that time), but she wonders if that means he just doesn't know, or it was different vampires this time. Still, the whole thing bodes ill.

Elsa tries to keep any apprehension off her face, though she steels herself for the worst. "Were there any casualties?"

"There were," Strange murmurs, with a little frown. "We managed to save most of the Carnival that had been taken, but they still remain turned. And Miss Nakimani--"

There's a pause as Strange debates how best to say this. There's no easy way to say 'sorry, this person that you know is probably mad dead' so he pauses for a moment before settling on, "I'm afraid the Nightrunner is one of the casualties."

[Gamer's Circle]

[Yuya's stopped at a ball toss game, with rings of various colors and sizes lined up for prizes. He has three chances to get something good.

Yuya juggles the ball in one hand and stares with hard concentration, before reeling his arm back and tossing it underhand to a small ring in the corner. It bounces and teeters on the edge for an unnaturally long moment.] Come on...

[Then topples outside tree ring to the floor.] Augh!

[Not Your Wheelhouse]

[The view is brilliant. It reminds him off some of his favorite action fields. But being stuck in a cramped ferris cart at the top while the operator assured them there was no need to panic... well, tree moment couldn't do the view any justice.

He shifts impatiently in his seat and leans against the window--before glancing to the person next to him to see how they're faring.]

"Yes, it was decidedly not-boring around here for awhile," Sherlock said, without looking up as he was inspecting a mark in the mud. He seemed very interested in an ordinary-looking patch of dirt, but his attention was turned when he saw--and felt, rather, ice. "Vampires have a tendency to do that."

Sherlock Holmes was a consulting (and probably the greatest) detective in his world. He was also, due to the Carnival, more snake than man. He was covered in bright green scales, sporting clawed, webbed hands, and his face was mostly snake-like, snout and all. Even his blue eyes, still retaining their original bright color, were slitted and reptilian.

Which meant he was also cold-blooded and became lethargic around anything cold.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

A forked tongue flicked out in distaste. Cold. Ugh.

[Unlike Yuuya, Gongenzaka has been here...a while. Perhaps not as long as his changes suggest mind-that, in fact, is entirely the fault of a fairly inconvenient thing called Death. (Good thing his contract was Insurance, more or less)

He has however been here long enough, as per his desire to learn something that could make up for the failure that was his loss to the 'Battle Beast'. Does that shadow over his eyes look sort of like BB's actually? ...Nahhhh.

For the time being, Gongenzaka has acted as a member of the Patrol team to that end. And all chaotic incidents of recent days aside, he quite enjoys it-there is a sense of keeping the peace, making sure things are right without going too far, not to mention the chance to meet...

New...

Gongenzaka's more beast-like limbs betray him, as he stops in his tracks at the sound of a familiar voice. His ears perk immediately, and even his tail seems to quiver just a bit, a hair away from full on wagging. It can't be, he's sure-

And yet...And yet...] Y...Yuuya..?

[That shade of red, with those goggles?

It's absolutely him!

And now (Rest in pieces, Yuuya's spine) a far larger Gongenzaka is bounding over with just as much excitement as expected from someone who hasn't seen their best friend in a number of months.] YUUUUUYAAAAAAA-!!!

[It may be an idea to duck.]

[Yuya stops in the middle of his next throw at the calling of his name. That voice is so familiar, and he's almost in as much disbelief that Gongenzaka is here as well. He turns around to verify his suspicions (or hopes) and is greeted with--what somehow is and isn't Gongenzaka.

His face even through the changes is so clear, but he can't look past the ears and tail and claws. So when Gongenzaka rushes him he screams. Every nerve in his body screams to evade as if it's some nightmare, but he isn't fast enough before he's pulled into that crushing embrace.]

G--Gongenzaka?!

[Is he...Crying?

~~It's Gongenzaka of course he's crying~~

Well, whether Yuuya's back is in better, or worse condition, the 'dogtaur' seems wholly oblivious to that fact. For now all that matters is the pleasant surprise of seeing a friend a good six months earlier than expected, even if recent habits have some fur stuck to the other's face. You may need a lint brush later, friend-] To see you here, after so much time, when it was so certain that it would be far longer still before such an event...

I, the man Gongenzaka, could not be happier..! [...Yyyyep it's definitely Him. As much as Yuuya is 'freed' of the hug for the sake of Gongenzaka wiping his eyes dry, one hand-one very furred and clawed one-is still on the other's shoulder as he grins, the tail now wagging back and forth as if it were Kilo or Watt sitting before the other.] Truly, things are turning for the better..! [he begins, before pausing.

Now that he thinks about it....this carnival doesn't exactly appear before anyone, does it?] ...though...

...How exactly did you find this place..?

[The claws are, in a word, terrifying. But Gongenzaka is so... himself that Yuya loses his edge quickly. Sure, his friend is now some sort of hulking beast person, but he's still his friend.]

What do you mean? It was... [On the other side of a door. In retrospect, that was the first suspicious thing.] just there. Wait, what about you? What happened?

[Geeze Yuuya, and he thought he slipped? Gongenzaka can't really hide the light frown developing as his friend's train of thought floats about, but in the end it does lighten...

Albeight for a sheepish glance to the side.] A....Auh. That...

I, the man Gongenzaka, have been employed herefor a time...as such, given the exposure to other realms... [And then dying, and having his soul stuffed in an egg-] ....I have picked up certain changes....

[A cough, as he adds,] Though of course, these things are due to reverse once I am finished here!

[.....if he wants, at least.] ....it is such with all of the employees.

[Please don't return to Maiami City like that.]

You work here? At a carnival? [Gongenzaka isn't quite as much of an Entertainment Duelist, but...

He looks incredulous.] But why? Isn't that... doesn't it feel weird? Does it hurt?

Yes, as 'patrol'. [.....okay that's more fitting. Gongenzaka's ears flick somewhat anxiously at the question however, and he almost needs to force himself to answer.] It is...

...Has been, in many ways, most certainly. ...however.

...I, the man Gongaka, came here specically to train..! Therefore, I have determined it better to adapt to what comes, rather than grow anxious!

[Shame Yuuya wasn't here when the first changes hit, because boy was Gon assuredly not taking those with grace back then.

...as it is, he shakes his head and smiles.] ....I, the man Gongenzaka, can say without a doubt however, that I am unharmed.

[Well... all right. He'll take his word for it. If Gongenzaka says he came here willingly then it can't be all that bad, right?

So he smiles and, with his guard down, lifts the ball with intent to continue playing the game.] What kind of training is it? [He winds his arm back.] Why does a carnival need patrol when it--[Where did Gongenzaka say he had been again?

Wait.

The ball ricochets off the rings again as Yuya blinks up at Gongenzaka again.] "Other realms" besides the four dimensions? That isn't from crossing the dimensions, is it?!

That...it's difficult to explain. When I, the man Gongenzaka arrived here, it was following a duel; when it was discovered that time at home would not pass while here, I therefore chose to use at least one year for training myself to be of greater use to the others. [Which can be taken in any number of ways, really.

But Gongenzaka nods-Yuuya's guess is right on the dot!] Correct! In fact, the four dimensions are considered one realm in itself...! When the Carnival visits other realms, they are places far different from our own...places without duel monsters, even!

Wait, is... did you say somebody is throwing their socks down at people? Why?

[ There's a teenage girl with dog ears standing beside Papyrus, examining the ferris wheel with a puzzled expression. Is she a fellow worker? She doesn't exactly look out of place, with the ears and odd outfit. ]

Um, do you know which little cart thing they came out of? Maybe I could return them.

[ The person currently manning the Ticket Booth already explained how this place works to Jade, and she had been on her way to find the Ringmaster herself, but... well, no reason not to offer a hand just because nothing's been made official yet, right? ]

[For all Papyrus knows, she very well could be a fellow carnie. He doesn't know everyone's faces, and especially given the quick hiring policy the Ringmaster operates with... Well, those ears on somebody who doesn't otherwise seem to have fur seems clear enough.]

Oh, the usual reason. They're trapped, and bored, and acting out. I sympathize! Really!

[He looks up at the ferris wheel, squinting his eye sockets as if that'll help him see details that far away.]

Whoever it was did it when I wasn't looking. The only way they're getting these socks back... is going to the lost and found. And fessing up!

"Mari..."

Elsa wasn't particularly close to the Nightrider, but still, it's hard to learn that someone she knew is now probably dead, or, perhaps, worse.

Still, it wouldn't do to languish on the point for too long, especially when talking to a newer recruit. She schools her features into a mostly impassive look of sympathy.

"I'm sorry to hear about that. But I'm glad for those who we were able to save."

She wonders how many people are now vampires. She'll have to get the full details from someone - Sans would probably be best to hunt down, but he has a habit of making himself scarce unless he wants to be found.

Well, unless Sans is a vampire now. Might as well ask. "What about the Warden? And the other supervisors?"

Vampires. Of course. Elsa curses her own poor timing, but there's nothing that can be done about it now - not without turning back time, but that could create a whole separate mess of problems.

She wonders what this man was so intently focused on dirt for, but when your younger sister is in love with a man obsessed with ice, you come to overlook some odd behaviors.

That he might not really appreciate her natural cold atmosphere hasn't dawned on her yet.

"I'm Elsa, the treasurer. And you must be... relatively new."

I have a feeling that once someone commits to chucking their socks at people, they've cut ties to those particular socks! But if you don't know where to send them back to...

[ She squints up at the ferris wheel as well, but she can't make out any clues either. Looks like the socks are headed to the lost and found after all. Oh well. ]

Is the wheel supposed to trap people? I've never been to a carnival before... but if this is on purpose it doesn't seem like people enjoy it very much.

Could Sans even become a vampire in the first place? The Warden didn't have any blood, but perhaps the magic of vampirism could move past that little problem. Although, come to think of it, the Psionic wasn't a vampire either and he certainly must have different blood than the more human members of the Carnival.

Sorry Elsa, Strange just stars into space for a moment as he mulls over vampirism before realizing oh wait, she asked a question, he probably should actually answer that.

"Oh! Terribly sorry, you asked a question. To the best of my knowledge, Joker was the only supervisor turned. Of course, I could be wrong, I don't encounter a few of the supervisors on a regular basis."

It... doesn't? [He rubs the back of his head. He never was good at science, trying to wrap his head around quantum physics is a struggle.] I thought four dimensions was enough... how long have you been here?

Not even a little! [Took him a bit to figure out himself, he'll admit.]

It's easier to handle than it sounds! [He laughs all the same.] If anything, because of how unfamiliar each location is, it is somehow less confusing than the four dimensions!

...that said...in terms of working time, I, the man Gongenzaka, have been here for approximately 7 or so months.

That is actually a good question. How does becoming a vampire work, exactly? Luckily for Elsa, she's never been through it.

She waits with a facade of patience as Strange seems to ponder whatever he is pondering, and is about to speak when he seems to remember she's there. She frowns at his answer.

"Joker too... Alright." So that's one person she knows dead (probably), and one turned into a vampire. It's not as bad as it could be, but it's certainly not what she expected to return to.

Maybe she should have, though. Though the Carnival hadn't been particularly dangerous before (relative to most places), ever since their first deadly run-in with the vampires, she's felt like it could happen again.

"Thank you for telling me."

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TEST DRIVE MEME #6

(King) Papyrus | Undertale | Veteran

Queen Elsa | Frozen | Veteran/Treasurer possibly?

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Yuya Sakaki | Yugioh Arc V | Newcomer

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GAMER'S CIRCLE

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Work/Wheelhouse

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