Lost Carnival Mods (
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livinglot2017-04-30 02:23 am
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TEST DRIVE MEME #7
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:
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! |
Pearl | Steven Universe
[Pearl could not imagine anything more frustrating. Well, that was wrong, she actually could imagine a few dozen frustrating things or people she could be stuck with in all of this. The point was this was currently more frustrating than she was wanting to deal with right now because she was pretty certain she had passed the same large, rainbow colored bush five times now. She wasn't usually so directionaly challenged--but here she was.
Pearl came to a stop once again, in front of the same bush, and practically howled in frustration.]
That does it!
[Pearl loses her cool and, summoning her spear, slashes the bush into tiny, rainbow colored bits. Her ire at the bush passes just as quickly and she slumps down beside a tree, resting her head against her knee.]
What am I supposed to do if I can't even find my way out of this forest!
ii. MIRROR MAZE:
[Pearl had long since lost sight of the creature she had chased after into this place. It was distracting because she could swear she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, but every time she looked all she ever saw was her reflection. At first she brushed it off as sensible -- she was moving through the maze after all.
It made sense that her reflection would move. However, now she could swear it was moving in ways that she wasn't currently. She was also fairly certain she was hearing laughter and whispers.
Her laughter and whispering voice. It unnerved her. She paused at a crossway in the maze, resting her hand on a reflective surface to her left.]
This just doesn't make sense. There is no way that a maze like this should be so big...
"Feeling turned around?"
[Pearl's head snapped up and she looked to her left. Her hand was no longer resting against a reflection of her own palm but pressed against her reflection's chest. Her reflection smirked and Pearl gasped, taking a step back.]
"Little lost Pearl. As always can't find her way in the big ole' world."
iii.WILDCARD
[Find Pearl wandering elsewhere in the carnival? She might look a little sick around the food area, where the scent of food mixes with the sweat and scent of animals. Or maybe you find her looking at a list of performances for a show. She's always appreciated a little entertainment.]
i
[It's a helpful comment that comes from the side of one of the trees behind Pearl's, from a man who looks incredibly interested at the spectacle he's just accidentally witnessed. And not entirely over the beautiful crystalline spear she had conjured in a burst of white light — magic! his instincts scream in wonder, what else could it be but magic? — nor the way she'd disposed of that rather inoffensive looking bush.
It's her demeanor that draws him in, how lost she looks, and how that might be the first utterly human thing he's seen since arriving here. It's a weird feeling after the endless parade of nonsense he's been shown so far, like taking the first steps off an exciting, dizzying roller coaster and back onto solid ground.]
Normally, I'd advise against it. It's a useless gesture that never solves anything, but, in certain situations... [He gives Pearl a thoughtful little shrug, an oh well type of motion.] It might make you feel better.
i
Crying would be pointless.
[She's in a huff, but talking to someone -- even a human -- is better than nothing. She takes a breath, pushing herself to her feet, brushing off her skirt with a sweep of her hands.]
I'm just frustrated with the state of these woods is all. Nothing makes sense! Even if it was a maze there is a logical way to solve it and yet everything I have tried continues to lead me back to this exact bush.
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Perhaps there isn't. Maybe it's not supposed to make sense. [While he isn't as slavish to order and logic as a scientist should be, Medic can understand that sometimes the rules to something aren't as straightforward and clear as they could be. Sometimes you have to find them, or barring that, make your own.] Have you tried doing anything different?
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[Pearl, however, IS apparently very slavish to order and logic. Things might not always make sense to her, but to suggest that they don't make sense at all just doesn't compute. She taps her chin thoughtfully]
Still, you have a point. There has to be something I haven't tried yet. [She pauses and looks up.]
Aren't you lost as well? What have you tried so we can rule it out?
I
Hopefully Pearl isn't too engrossed in her moping, or else she might miss the indignant squeaking noise as the array of scattered leaves raise up in the air. As though seeking revenge, a cloud of suddenly-razor-sharp foliage launches at the gem.]
I
Pearl jumps to her feet, leaping away from the incoming attack.]
What on earth!
[Her spear is in hand again and she's pointing it at the swirling mass.]
You! Have you been moving around the forest! No wonder I can't find my way out.
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Chiiii...
[ The leaves lose their liveliness, scattering to the ground, and a rather small creature squirms out from under the destroyed bush. He chirps, looking her up and down,
and shakes himself off irritably. He'd been hoping he could at least get a nice fight out of his ruined nap, but if she's just lost he supposes he's supposed to help like his partner does.
He paces a few steps towards the carnival, and looks back at Pearl. She better follow him, he doesn't have to be helpful. ]
Riii!
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You want me to follow.
[It's less a question and more a hesitating statement. She wants to make sure she isn't losing her mind...although that actually would explain a lot of this, wouldn't it. She lowers the spear, but doesn't dismiss it. This thing might be up to something.]
All right. But you better not try anything funny.
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ii
He's already taking his radio off his belt and hissing into Amethyst's channel about how he thought he saw Pearl - to no response, at the moment. She's probably sleeping.]
Oh well...
[He re-hitches the radio and starts running into the maze without much worry. He's dealt with these guys enough that they don't bother him anymore - literally and figuratively. Since he started talking to them like people they don't even bother mocking him! He turns to one of his reflections, who is just looking sort of tsundere about Steven's presence.]
Did you guys see a lady with red hair and a big pearl on her forehead run in here? I really need to find her!
[Now it's the reflection's turn to look sort of awkward and put-upon.]
"Uh... well..."
Guys! Come on! Don't be mean!
[His reflection closes its eyes, crossing its arms haughtily. Steven sighs, and runs off into the maze regardless. He calls out for her.]
Pearl?
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What do you know! You're just a projection...an illusion. This is some kind of trick.
[She starts feeling around the mirror for some kind of clue to how it works. It has to be a projection of some kind -- they recorded her voice and are manipulating the image somehow and Pearl will figure it out. Of course, as she tries this the reflection is just laughing at her, leaning against the side of the mirror for support as she does so.]
"Oh please. You aren't going to figure it out THAT way!"
[The real Pearl scowls and is tempted to just smash the mirror or screen or whatever it is. But then she hears another voice and her name being called out. She straightens up, looking over her shoulder, though it's hard to tell in this maze where the sound is coming from.
She whispers.] Steven?
[She calls out, louder this time.]
Steven?! Is that you?
((ooc: I have a link in Pearl's journal that goes to my HMD. So as I said in Plurk, after we've threaded for a bit I'd appreciate feedback <3))
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[Steven picks up the pace, running towards the sound. It's easier to make it through the maze with something to guide him, and the mirror people seem a little less keen on messing around now that he's shown up.
After a few more twists and turns, Steven will see her, gasp with relief and wonder, and then go bolting for a desperate hug. Only to... run straight into a mirror reflection of her instead of the real deal. He tried.]
Ow!
[He falls on his butt, rubbing his face, the victim of a vicious sliding door attack. Some of the ominous Pearl reflections try to hold it together, but gradually burst out laughing.]
"My hero!"
[One of them says with a mock swoon.]
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WILDCARD, here's a tiny twerp
Is that... Pearl? [It has to be, right? Peridot's eyes narrow, her ears pricked forward with keen interest. If only she could see this person's face, she'd know for certain...]
[Fortunately, Peridot has basically no sense of shame, and this is a matter that bears further investigation. If that IS Pearl down there, she wants to be the one to bring the news to everyone else! She just needs to get this person to turn around first, so she can ID them... So, she clambers a little ways out on the metal arm that she's working on, and perches precariously right at the edge, leaning out as far as she dares.]
[She takes a long, deep breath... and then bellows as loud as she can:]
HEY PEEEEAAAARRRRLLLLLL!!!
yay tiny twerp
She isn't SO lost in thought as to miss hearing her name though. She looks up and then around, not seeing an immediate source.]
Odd. That sounded like Peridot.
[She turns and then looks up, eyes widening in surprise. She has to shield her eyes a bit against the glare of the ride's lights, so it distorts her full view of Peridot. She can make out a mass of green, but she can't really see the changes the other gem has undergone.]
Peridot? What on earth are you doing up there?
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I'm working! What are you doing here?
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wildcard im sorry for lapis
I sure hope you paid for tickets.
[She sounds about as friendly towards Pearl as always, and her arms are crossed, the perfect picture of welcoming friendliness.
Not.]
never apologize for lapis |D
[She doesn't quite make it to seeing Lapis's name. Instead she doesn't realize Lapis is even present until she hears her voice. Pearl jumps, standing up straight and turning. Not only is she surprised by Lapis's voice but now, also by her appearance.]
L-lapis! What do you--what's going on?
i always have to apologize for lapis SWEATS
Did you pay for tickets or not? [She repeats, and Lapis is unsure of whether or not she wants Pearl stuck here with her. On one hand, she's not overly fond of the other gem. On the other, seeing Pearl stuck somewhere would absolutely bring her vindictive satisfaction.]
super awkward exchanges are a go! i just hope I can do this justice.
\o/ you're doin fine
thanks \o/
Re: thanks \o/
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i
She scoots down the tree trunk and scoops up the radio in one hand, but she's still trying to pinpoint the voice she can hear... it sounds like it isn't too far, but... well, the Carnival is kind of a weird place, and hearing familiar voices in the woods doesn't mean you can assume someone familiar is around.
Amethyst slopes skeptically through the trees, and...]
-- Yo! Pearl! It really is you!
[She looks a little different from usual but honestly, with Amethyst, what else is new. She's beaming, though.]
What the heck, when did you get here??
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Thank goodness...I was starting to think...
[She trails off as she catches sight of Amethyst's appearance. Good heavens can you NOT settle on a form for once? Honestly, this was extreme even for her. Pearl frowns.]
Amethyst what are you doing?
[Sorry. Were you asking her something about when she got here? She's been distracted from that now.]
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[She shrugs, holstering her radio.] Did you just wind up here or what? Did anyone tell you what's up yet?
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ii. ssssssssorry this is a late tag feel free not to reply
So there's weird little green kid literally goose stepping around a corner, his own reflections cackling and heckling him though he seems to have absolutely no problem with this.]
Defective suck-up!
[Says one.]
Your plans are stupider than Dib's head is big!
[Says another. A third one even points towards Pearl and cackles.]
And shorter than that filthy triangle-hair beast! So short!!
[Zim just chuckles to himself, ignoring 90% of that spiel.]
Heh heh, yep. He is filthy.
[freeze frame][pearl voice] yep, that's me. you're probably wondering how i got into this situation
pearl is super lucky today, because she wins the grand prize of not only yellow diamond, but a very angry yellow diamond.
fortunately, the enraged diamond hasn't actually noticed pearl yet. she's too busy electrocuting the living shit out of a nearby tree, though quite unfortunately, is close enough that no doubt any action on pearl's part would draw her attention.]
accurate
Pearl gasps as several things register at once: 1. There is a tree on fire. 2. The tree was struck by lightning. 3. The lightning came from YELLOW DIAMOND. 4. Yellow Diamond is literally several feet from her and there are very few places she can run or hide without immediately drawing attention.
None of these things are helpful and so Pearl quickly covers her mouth and tries to slip behind another tree. Maybe her advantage will be that she is a Pearl and easily overlooked. Oh PLEASE let that be the case this time. She can't DEAL with this right now.]
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one indisputable fact about diamonds is that they do The Most™. she puts a hand on the tree and pushes it, slowly uprooting the poor thing and giving pearl a glare that could poof her on looks alone.
hello.]