⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #2

[ringleaders]

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 Acquisitioner are currently open. 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 (NEW): 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? (NEW): 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!

Comments

[fragileandsoft]

"Uhh,"

He wades through the standing puddles and picks a washed-out, sodden ticket from the mud.

"This thing. You were supposed to pay at the front gate to get a few, to use on all the stuff around here. You... you did at least pay to come in, right?" It doesn't make a huge amount of difference at this point, since he's pretty sure there's one basic level of punishment no matter the damage done.

[mirrortide]

Where would Lapis even get money, Greg.

"I just walked in. I don't have anything to pay with." She doesn't even have pockets. Perhaps shape shifting some into her dress would be a good idea for the future. For now, she's just sort of going to give Greg a weird look.

[fragileandsoft]

"Oh." He's pretty sure they allow things other than cash, but he's pretty sure she doesn't have any belongings period.

"Well!" He claps his hands together, by no means cheered but relatively resigned by now. "That's good, in a way. Means you didn't make anything worse here. Pretty sure it doesn't stack. Hopefully."

[kingsroads]

[ Childermass counting on 'don't bother your coworkers,' yeah right. Childermass is Childermass, he's fair game for bothering. So, as the mirror flashes in his direction and Childermass gives him a glower, Strange notices those few items that don't blend in. It doesn't really surprise him: Childermass is a magician, after all. And given the chance to explore his abilities without Norrell looming over him, it only makes sense that he would do so.

He files that information away as he watches Childermass drink tea and spots the teacup on the counter. Oh yeah, he did make tea, didn't he. He makes a little noise of recognition at the thought. Setting the mirror down on the floor, Strange walks over towards the counter, picks up the tea and starts to drink it himself. ]

Thank you, [ said with a small nod. And, because he's a nosy son of a bitch, the questions continue. ] Out of idle curiosity, do you have any idea approximately how long you've been with the Carnival?

[ after all, time in Faerie can be different from time back in their world. ]

[mirrortide]

Naturally, she has no idea of what Greg is talking about, so that weird look on her face doesn't quite leave, but she does now look a little more confused. "What doesn't stack?"

[periphrasing]

"I mean you could try, I guess," Peridot muses, rubbing the back of her neck. "But there's magic in place to prevent runaways, and you'd probably just get in more trouble for trying to leave."

Her ears flip back and she scoots across the floor to get a bit closer, looking sympathetic. "Look, I know getting stuck places is... kiiinnnnnd of a sore subject for you." Putting it lightly, Peridot. "But this place travels and connects to all kinds of different dimensions, and you get to see so many strange new things!" She snorts. "Earth will probably feel normal by comparison, when we make it back there."

[mirrortide]

That's not really the point, unfortunately. She's stuck against her will, that's the point, and Lapis probably couldn't look more uncomfortable if she tried at this point, but eventually that just fades into resignation the more she mulls it over. If she's trapped, then she's trapped. Peridot has said that she's been here an entire earth year, and if anyone could have gotten out then it would have probably been her.

"I guess as long as i'm not stuck here for another few thousand years. What's a few earth years in comparison?" At least she's not alone, and at least she can move around. At least she's not cracked.

"You sure there's no way out?"

[starseedling]

He manages a somewhat sincere, but sad, smile, managing to get over his own burst of emotion for the moment. It's kind of complicated, but he really doesn't actually want to go home yet. Even if he does miss it, and even if this is scary.

"I had to protect my dad," he says. "He was gunna get stuck here, so I made a deal so I could stay with him, and so that he'd be protected. It's only for a year. That's just like a vacation, right?"

For Lapis more than him, he would think.

[mirrortide]

"What's a vacation?" Even as she asks that, Lapis is still mulling over the idea of being stuck and trapped. It's not really the place so much as the concept, but if Steven is here and he's stuck too, Lapis wants to help him.

"I could get your dad out of here too. You don't have to be trapped here if you don't want to be, Steven."

[periphrasing]

"Pretty positive," says Peridot, tilting her head slightly. She feels... really bad about this, actually, even if she's excited to see Lapis again after so long.

"...Are you okay?" She says after a couple moments silence.

[mirrortide]

The long and short of that answer is a resounding 'No', but it's not like she has a choice, so there isn't really anything to be done about it. There's silence to Peridots' question for a few seconds, before Lapis smiles. It doesn't reach, and she still seems entirely uncomfortable with the situation.

"I'll be fine." She won't, at least not any time soon. "You're here, right? I'm not alone in this place."

B

[dontpokethat]

Look, this isn't really Ginko's business. He doesn't even work in the Gamer's Circle, he was just passing through, and he has other places to be.

But, uh.

"Hey, uh..." He looks over the... situation in front of him, looking... what? Concerned? A little bit afraid? Very tired? Maybe all three. "...You probably shouldn't do stuff like that around here."

That warning is probably a bit late, but. You know.

A

[pullingamiko]

Um.

Miko has seen a lot of weird stuff since wandering into this place, but this? This is on a whole new level. And she just came into the hall of mirrors, so this is like, immediate.

She wanders toward Lapis, leaning over to try and see if she can see whatever it is that this blue lady is freaking out over. "Uh... you okay over there? Like, I'm pretty sure they're just, y'know, mirrors."

[periphrasing]

Peridot grins back at her. "Yeah! I'm here, and so's Steven, and Steven's dad, and Amethyst is here. What more could you possibly need?"

[mirrortide]

"Do stuff like what?" In her defense, she absolutely doesn't get how to play games. And that flooding game stalls might be a bad idea. Look, she's doing her best to have a good time, alright, just because she may have over done it a little can't possibly be a bad thing, right?

[mirrortide]

If you were her you'd freak out too.

As it stands, she smashes another mirror in front of her only for it to come up empty again, which is thoroughly disheartening, actually. That's fine though, because at the sound of another voice, while she doesn't jump, she does startle, and when she faces the human, desperation and panic are written all over her face.

"Help me! They're trapped in there!" Case in point, one of the mirror Lapis' is quick to mimic her expression of desperation and panic and press her hands against the mirror, with an equally panicked cry of "Save me, please!"

[mirrortide]

Oh Peridot, how little you know.

"Right." Steven, Peridot, Greg and Amethyst. Two out of four isn't so bad, probably. Not saying anything against Greg or Amethyst, but there are two people that she's certainly the closest to present. Then again, with how many mirrors have been smashed she may have more than enough time to get to know the other two just as well.

"So how do I... repay the debt? What kind of work is it?"

[dontpokethat]

"Like... well, like that." He gestures at the stall with one hand. "Damaging carnival property isn't a great idea."

[fragileandsoft]

No point beating around the bush anymore, is there. "The payment. The person in charge of this place is really pretty serious about the cost of things. You're going to need to pay the carnival back for all this, Lapis. With work."

[mirrortide]

"I didn't damage it. The point of the game is to get it wet." She's won the game, obviously. Look how wet it is. Everything is wet, the targets, the wood, some of the prizes, definitely the ground.

[mirrortide]

Well. Even Lapis knows that that is probably fair. If she broke it then she should probably help fix it? "Oh. I don't know anything about fixing this kind of thing, though." Which is probably not too great, honestly.

[fragileandsoft]

He shakes his head. "She'll find something for you to do. It'll be more than just fixing the one thing, though. You'll have to get a job here for a little while." Does she even know what a job is? The Crystal Gems only ever seemed vaguely aware.

[mirrortide]

"Why would it be more than fixing what I broke? That doesn't seem fair." And also, Lapis isn't doing it. You can't make her. Also, to answer Gregs' question: "What's a 'Job'?"

[fragileandsoft]

"If you can get a good answer from the boss, let me know." He's here because he shorted them eight tickets, Lapis. Eight tickets. "A job is where you do work for someone in exchange for something. Usually, it's money. In a place like this... it's other stuff."

[mirrortide]

"What kind of other stuff?" Not that she really needs other stuff, but now she's curious. If it's anything interesting maybe she won't mind doing this 'Job' thing? At least until her debt is paid. It's not like it could be a lot, right?