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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

∀ ADMISSION FEES.

[This has been one very bad, very bean-filled day (his wig is still a bit crooked), and while for most people the prospect of letting off some steam at a carnival (no matter how mysterious) is a fantastic idea, Zim is only suspicious. And annoyed, and happens to be yelling at the ticket taker.]

Take them! ZIM doesn't want to see another earth bean, ever!

[Yeah, there's an armful of Burrito King burrito beans he's dropped on the counter, along with a little burrito necklace. He is so absolutely done with burritos, and he didn't even like beans to begin with, it's the perfect opportunity to pawn this stuff off and see what this "carnival" is about.

Maybe he can take it over. Supreme Carnival Lord Zim? He's sure Invader Larb doesn't have that on his list of accomplishments.]

∀ GAMER'S CIRCLE.

Garbage!

[Zim's found his way over to the various game booths and, unsurprisingly, was immediately attracted to the one with the guns. Of course, said guns are only cheap plastic things upon closer inspection, and to his horror are not filled with lasers but with water.]

This is an engineering nightmare! Such a weak stream of water would not stand up to even a thin layer of glue and it's parts have clearly been collected from the local cesspool! It's useless! What's the point of all this??

∀ NOT YOUR WHEELHOUSE.

[Getting a good view of this entire mess is a great idea, especially since GIR isn't here to do any information retrieval for him. The ferris wheel appears to offer the highest vantage point, and though it'd be easier using his spider legs to simply climb he's going to do the non-suspicious thing and get on one of the seats like a normal person. Slightly less suspicious is him ignoring whoever he's sitting with, and it's downright suspicious when an extremely advanced-looking helmet-binocular combination comes out of his PAK and attaches to his head. He stands up on the seat, humming and muttering to himself about entertainment slaves and all the filthy grease at the food stands, only noticing that they're stuck after he's had a good, long look.

The helmet disappears back into his PAK and he finally looks around.]

Eh? Why isn't this thing moving?

∀ WILDCARD.

[You can find Zim wandering all over, looking increasingly confused at the carnival sights. A lot of it is unfamiliar or strange or, in his opinion, thoroughly repulsive.]

Generally speaking, it's all for amusement purposes. [Helen's voice is quiet and her eyebrows are slightly raised. She can't help but to have heard him earlier as well so she's been quietly keeping tabs on him.]

Shoot them there [she points at the various targets] and if you're good enough, you can win a prize. It does require some skill.

[Zim is a loud, yelly thing, so it's hard not to hear him, sadly....

Like right now! Even though this should be a normal conversation to any normal person his voice is inching dangerously close to yelling. Again.]

Skill? THIS? [He waves a hand at the guns, not particularly wanting to touch one because of the water.]

ZIM sees no skill behind using this trash! Even a filthy human child could hit those targets!

[There's a small pause as he realizes what he just said, then quickly adds:]

Eh, like myself. Since I'm a filthy human child.

Mm. [Helen inclines her head.] Quite so. Are you not sure you would like to give it a try, then? Perhaps there is something in the prize section that catches your eye? Or if it is as you say, Zim, that easy, it would be lovely to see you best it.

[All the prizes look equally terrible to him but this human's encouragement obviously means that she wants to be in awe of his excellent marksmanship or something. It's cool, he gets it, he's The Best.]

Fine! I'll let you witness my superior greatness, since you're so desperate.

[..... Even though she didn't sound desperate at all......

Anyway, what transpires is very, very stupid.

Zim sits down on his stool and starts spraying water at one of the more difficult targets. His arm is surprisingly good, and you can even tell he's concentrating because he sticks his gross segmented wormy tongue out of the corner of his mouth, but it doesn't look as if the stream of water is strong enough to knock over the target.

So he does the next best thing, which is to go from concentrating to frustrated in the span of about a minute, hopping to his feet (still on the stool), yanking the watergun off its perch. This snaps the hose that was pumping water into the gun, spraying it at the other game players as the hose whips around and smacks the kid next to Zim hard in the face.

Zim proceeds to ignore all that and throw the gun at the target, straight up breaking several of them along with the piece of the set.

Seeing that as a win, he throws his hands triumphantly into the air. The game operator does not look pleased.]

VICTORY! VICTORY FOR ZIIIM!

Bloody hell. [Helen's oath is soft as she makes sure the child who got hit isn't seriously injured. It's no matter if she is wet but Helen is definitely regretting her encouragement, now. She aids in shutting down the water flow, now properly soaked, and pushes her wet hair back.]

That was not the point of the game, Zim. [She gives a look of massive apology to the gamekeeper who's looking at her like this was mainly her fault.] Perhaps you'd like to try something with a little less violence associated with it. There's a very interesting Hall of Mirrors, for example. I've actually never been in it but I've heard fascinating things about it.

(deleted comment)

[Vincent is patrolling the Carnival. That's his job.

Normally, calming disruptive patrons is someone else's job.

But he just watched all of this happen and frankly, he's not seeing this 'calm down' so much as escalate with a level of hysterical cartoonish violence.

Which is why Helen is interrupted by six feet of black and red lizard man, his cloak billowing into her face as he reaches out with his left hand to clamp down on Zim's gigantic head with that imposing metal claw.

And lifts him up off the stool.

By the head.]

[Being picked up by the head is disturbingly familiar to Zim. Last time it happened there was a whole lot of nonsense involving exile and fast food and that one really, really fat guy.

Wait, maybe it was that time with the lice?

Either way Zim just kind of pausese, because what the fuck?]

[...thank you, Vincent. That's what Helen's expression says because she was fairly certain this was going to go farther south than she might have liked. The pause is very, very welcome. She lets out a soft sigh and pushes her wet hair away from her face and attempts to look dignified.]

Actually, let's back up and discuss what just happened because not only did you destroy Carnival property, your actions resulted in the harm of not only another patron but a child.

[She folds her arms, all business, her pleasant demeanour replaced with ire. Her voice is quiet thought the sting of her words comes down hard.]

That cannot and will not happen again so long as you are in the confines of this carnival. You may still meet the Ringmaster yet for the damage you have accrued. My wrath will be the least of your worries.

[Vincent has abruptly been converted to the role of prop for this scene.

Which is perfectly fine with him. He didn't have a specific plan for what came after the part where he picked Zim up by the head. Taking him outside the carnival grounds, probably. Dumping him directly into the lake, possibly.

Waiting around to make sure Zim could swim... probably not.]

[Swimming is for chumps! Which is to say it is incredibly unlikely that he would do anything other than flail madly while the lake water burns him. Irken... superiority?

Zim looks between the human, the mild destruction he's caused, and this new guy holding him, then back to the human, then the new guy, destruction, new guy, human and so on. His sad little Zim-mind settles on two things: this human has some kind of weird mutant bodyguard, no one is praising him for beating that stupid game, and he still hasn't been put down.

All very big problems.]

Your wrath? Your wrath?? If you don't tell your filthy slave-monster to put me down you'll be the one facing wrath! WRATH OF ZIM.

[He hisses and flails his arms at Vincent to try and make him drop him. BE TERRIFIED.]

I'd prefer we leave your wrath, which we've already seen, out of the equation.

[Her arms stay folded as she glances at Vincent.]

There are probably several ways we can do this. A., Quietly set him outside the Carnival and let him go. B., toss him in the lake in the hopes that will calm him down or C., bring him to the Ringmaster.

My vote is C at this point as I'm reticent to leave him to his own devices. Your suggestion?

[Vincent is doing most of the work, here, and honestly, he's patrol. Helen does feel partially responsible for the damage as she had encouraged Zim, after all. If the Ringmaster felt it appropriate, she would submit herself for any consequences and aid in any repairs.]

ZIM | Invader ZIM

∀ GAMER'S CIRCLE.

eeee Helen!

XD

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Did you want to go with the threadjack

Ooh yes sure!

Threadjack??

Sry Vincent sry Helen he is trash

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Gamer's Circle, I AM VERY SCARED ABOUT THIS CR

Green yelling cr seems like a good time.

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Precious space dorito noooo