livinglot | TEST DRIVE MEME #7

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test drive meme

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:

You can read the full premise here.
Reserves and Applications are both currently OPEN, but will be CLOSING ON MAY 31ST! There is an upcoming game event that is going to make new arrivals during that period impractical.
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, the players agree to it, and it makes any sense contextually.
If you are interested in additional IC and OOC plot responsibilities, consider applying for a Supervisor position. Head Cook, Aquisitioner, and Wardrobe Manager are currently open. Otherwise, we're pretty much down for anything, roles wise.

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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[She smiles, following his train of thought immediately. Yes. Fairy tales. And why not? It's a chance of a lifetime...or in her case, several of them.]

I can hardly be sure of second chances for this sort of thing, Will. Might as leap while I can.

Edited 2017-05-03 05:19 (UTC)

[It's not that he ever doubted fairies were real in some way--that annoying little dragonfly guy definitely fit the description, for one. But even with everything they've seen, magic is still something he's going to have to see before he actually believes.]

So... multiversal, huh? I mean there are theories about that, but if this place actually goes to other universes, that's... amazing, and something I might just be tempted to stick around to see for myself.

I do suppose that's one of the reasons why I found myself so intrigued. [There are so many theories and each of those theories, in a multiversal universe, was now true in its own particular way, which meant every action take had infinitesimal reprisals resulting in major and minor offshoots of history. It also meant that every idea ever was also absolutely true and real.

The look she gave Will at that realisation was almost heatbreaking. It was there for just a second, too, because there was a world, somewhere out there, where Ashley was alive and one where Biggie survived. There was a very visible moment, just the one, where she closed off that single emotional black hole and focused on something else.]

There is something to be said for the casual crossing of the boundary between reality and stopping exactly at a viable world. Then again, I suppose the Ringmaster would have little to do if her Circus stopped in a place where there were no patrons at all. I confess my own interest in the effect or non-effect of the Carnival on the patrons who come for fun and those who stay - like myself.

[Her thoughts turn toward Nikola and Ranna unbidden, to the fledgling Sanctuaries she had made with Praxian help, and the future that awaited them. Helen's worry for them whispers yet again that a year and a day of her own life is nothing when it comes to the well-being of those under her care. Her friends and family, those of them that are left, deserve their own vacation. This is the least she can do.]

I wouldn't mind the company if you do stick around. From what I've seen, the accommodations are quite nice and you never know what you might learn.

[His own easygoing expression falters when he sees the look she gives him, and though it's gone in an instant he still follows her train of thought. He knows her too well, and that paired with his own powers of observation make it like reading words written on a chalkboard. She never really did give up on Ashley, but he's known that for years now... it's a thought both frightening and enticing. Could they find a world where his mother still lived? Or even one where Helen was never born? For that fraction of a second his whole worldview wobbles and shudders, like a spun coin about to fall to one side or the other.

It terrifies him. He's more than happy to shove the whole thing into the back of his mind where he can get used to it slowly, grabbing onto the discussion like a lifeline.]

Man, and here I thought Bertha was a powerful Abnormal. This Ringmaster leaves her in the dust.

[He grins at her, bouncing back quickly like usual.]

You've got me half convinced to stay, you make it sound so good. I'm just wondering one thing now... what's the catch?

A year and a day of service in the Carnival, though it seems fae magic has an effect on humans and Abnormals alike. [She gestures a little with her fingers.] It may affect your physiology from what I understand. The Ringmaster is incredibly powerful, so much so that I asked her to give us a year and a day of, at the least calm between the Hollow Earth Sanctuaries and the Human world.

[The weariness shows through for a second in the briefest of smiles.]

We can use all the calming influence we can get if we're to truly survive and I'm fairly certain I can survive and year and a day with strange magic.

So, no... seven times seven years of servitude if you break the contract? I'm asking for a friend.

[That was meant to be a joke.

He didn't think she would break her contract of course, but you know. Just checking. If this whole setup is what those old tales are based on, fairies weren't exactly known for being pleasant about people who broke their deals.

Then again, if she's trading the safety of her people for her time, she definitely won't break it.]

If you can't survive it, no one can. But you mentioned physiological changes? Like what, exactly?

[So sue him for being a little paranoid.]

Edited 2017-05-04 18:18 (UTC)

Actually, from what I've heard, breaking the contract or attempting to do so, might get you turned into a newt or something else, for that matter.

[The look in her eye says that is definitely not a joke, for all the teasing manner of her voice.]

So far, I have seen scales, fur, moss, flowers growing in hair, animal features, crystalline growths or finger and toe nail replacements, centaurs... Honestly, it could be any number of things, Will, but so far I've found the members of this carnival quite charming.

[Now that sounds like the stories.]

Right... I can see why that wouldn't be a good idea.

[It takes a moment for the full impact of her words to sink in, and he blinks at her before whipping his head back in the direction of the carnival.]

You mean... all those people? They used to be... human people? I thought they were all...

Some of them aren't human, some were. I think you'll find a fascinating mix of characters in there but it looks like these changes are frequent enough to be an up front caution.

[Helen's expression is some sort of mixed emotion between amused and dead serious with a dash of ruefulness.]

I haven't seen too many miserable people in there, though. They all seem helpful and healthy at the moment. Apparently, the world hopping can get interesting and more than a little dangerous but the Sanctuary, all we have built, that's worth it to me.

[Since absolutely none of the workers had looked remotely like a plain old human to him, that warning isn't really needed. He rubs the back of his head vigorously, leaving his hair an even spiker mess than it was.]

Yeah, I... yeah. [He already knows she'd do anything to keep the Sanctuary, and the Abnormals living there, safe.] Magnus, I just... how sure are you that the Ringmaster will be able to do what she promises? I mean, you're kind of taking a lot on faith here.

[He's definitely interested in coming on board, if only to keep an eye on her, but the prospect of turning into an Abnormal... again... and probably permanently this time... he's not a big fan of that.]

Fae don't lie, Will. They're incapable of it.

Believe me, my talk with the Ringmaster was long and thorough. When I first said I wanted to ensure peace, she said it wasn't possible without mind control and none of us want that, so I opted for a calming period for a year and a day. Sometimes the leap of faith is worth far more than you could imagine.

[Helen gestures a little.]

Go to the Ringmaster, ask all the questions you need to ask and satisfy yourself before you commit to anything. I refuse to drag you into something like this if you aren't completely sure you want to come along.

[He's reassured by the confidence in that. She's always been good at sounding like she knows what she's doing, mostly because she usually does.]

'Leap of faith,' huh. I've heard that one before.

[Well, the last time hadn't worked out that bad, after everything. And they'd found a secret civilization in the end, too.]

Oh, I'll definitely talk to her before I sign any dotted lines or whatever she makes you do. I want to understand as much about this place as I can before I make any decisions--one way or the other.

Besides, you've never dragged me anywhere. Pushed me a little, maybe, but I've always made my own decisions about where I'm going.

Good.

[Helen smiles at that and thinks back to their talk when she had first shown him her Sanctuary. She had given him options then as well. Somehow this felt all too similar only they had a great deal of history between them now. She wanted him to know that he wasn't simply obligated to follow her down this particular rabbit hole.

But, of course, he knew that.]

Let me show you around, then, so you can have a proper look. [Her clasped her hands together and rubbed them for a moment, planning the route already.] The trailer I'm in is quite nice, if you'd like to start there. I managed to borrow a kettle and a few cups from the cookhouse and some rather decent tea if you'd like some. I haven't noticed any untoward changes myself, so I promise, the tea will not turn you into a goat.

I already looked around a little, but... yeah, that sounds great. I'll even drink the tea.

[If he's really going to be living here, something he can't quite believe he's seriously considering, a good grasp of the way things are laid out will come in handy.

If she starts to walk, he'll follow her lead.]

So... you never told me. What exactly are you going to be doing here for your 'year and a day'? You mentioned service, and anyway I wouldn't believe you if you said it really was a vacation.

Tea it is, then. [She does begin walking and his question prompts a laugh as she shakes her head.]

The position is labeled as nurse, so I suppose I'll have to adjust to that. [The title change chafes, she won't deny it. Honestly, it's like being denied her doctorate in medicine all over again. Perhaps she can speak to her superior about that detail at some point. It's neither here nor there at the moment.] But, if I'm being quite honest, the position itself is not so different from what I've been doing for the last 274 years at the Sanctuary. Instead of Abnormal DNA, it's fae magic.

[Helen stopped in front of a trailer with a blue and white bird house mail box on the front door. She stepped up and unlocked the door and moved into the decent sized trailer.]

Here we are. Nice and cozy.

Edited 2017-05-05 10:29 (UTC)

[He ducks through the door after her, looking around as he enters.]

...not bad.

[It's not exactly expansive, but... well for one, he already knows that Helen won't be spending much time here. She doesn't sleep much, and there's probably a mess tent somewhere that she could eat at. So any roommate she might get (or already have? He doesn't see any evidence of another person living here, but maybe they're just really really tidy) will have plenty of privacy.]

Well, it's good to be needed, I guess. [He goes to sit down at the small table; she knows where things are, he'll just be in the way if he keeps standing around.] Have you met any of your new coworkers yet?

Quite a few on my first day and in between. [Helen looks completely bemused about the topic as she moves to put the kettle on and get the cups out. There's a bowl of sugar she's set up on the shelf to her left, too, that she takes down.]

Sherlock Holmes is here, though he is covered in scales and is a touch more snake-like than you might expect. He's charming company and showed me where to nick tea and cups from. I'm also learning magic from a fellow named Mr. Strange, though I fully expect you'll find him...well, absolutely mad. He's fabulous company, though.

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TEST DRIVE MEME #7

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omg that dragonfly dude...

I love him ok don't judge

he was an awesome annoyance

yesss

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