⇨ 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

[mirrortide]

"That's..." Oh. Oh. Well then. "Can't I just tell her it was a mistake?" This is almost like what happened with Peridot and Steven and the little communication pad they had. Except this time it's with someone who wants her to work for them because this time she broke stuff. She didn't know! She doesn't want to stay here, she just finally got used to living in the barn with Peridot. Actually, if Peridot is here and not at the barn, then what point is there in going back anyway

It's too quiet there. And that's With Peridot running around.

[periphrasing]

Peridot laughs. Not necessarily at Lapis, but just more the whole situation in general. She still looks like she feels bad about this whole thing, though, and her tail starts swishing anxiously. Please don't be mad at her!!

"Sorry. Right. You're serious. It's just, it's kind of common knowledge around here that she doesn't really do explanations or "excuses"." Peridot sits up a little straighter, her brow furrowing, and quickly adds: "But, the work really isn't that bad! It's pretty easy actually, at least in my opinion... It can even be kind of fun. Plus, look on the bright side! We are way out of Homeworld's reach here!"

[mirrortide]

'It could be worse' is what Lapis is telling herself. She could be in a mirror again. She could be at the bottom of the ocean in an endless cycle of aggressive struggling. There are a lot of places that she could be right now, and while Lapis looks completely and entirely uncomfortable with the prospect of being trapped, and unable to come and go as she pleases, she tells herself that it could be worse.

Peridot is here. Steven is here too apparently. Lapis' hands clench into the sheets of Peridots' bed underneath her. "We can't just... Leave? I didn't see anything keeping anyone in here when I first came here."

[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?"

[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."

[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]

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?"

[periphrasing]

"Well, it depends," she says, tapping her chin thoughtfully with one claw. "They try to place you based on what your natural skills and interests are. For example... Well. Not to brag, but I supervise all of the engineering and repair work around here."

That's a lie. She is totally bragging. It's written all over her smug little green face.

[mirrortide]

"I'm glad. It suits you." But as for Lapis... Well, she's a Lazuli. Technical know how isn't exactly her thing. "I don't know what I could do here. I'm not really sure what kind of things there are to do." She doesn't really see flying as a skill, and the same goes for water manipulation. To her, those are just the mundane everyday things.

[periphrasing]

"Hmmmm..." That's a tough one. For Peridot's part, she can see how those things would be useful? But not sure how best to apply them to the work that's done around here.

She glances away for a second, pondering... and then snaps her fingers and looks back at Lapis excitedly. "A performer! You could do your water business up on stage as part of the show, like our collaborative piece with the toilets! People would love it!"

[mirrortide]

Actually, that didn't sound like too terrible an idea, really. It'd definitely be interesting to try at the very least? Lapis does look like she's giving it some serious thought. "That might work. Does this place have access to enough water? I might be able to do some really neat things if I have enough."

[periphrasing]

"Sure! Trust me, water is not a problem," Peridot assures her. "Steven knows a little bit more about the performance aspect of the carnival, since. Y'know. That's kind of his thing. I'm sure he can fill you in more on what is and isn't available."

Honestly she's just thrilled that Lapis actually likes the idea. Gosh. SHE FEELS SO EXTRA SMART.

[mirrortide]

"I guess that's what I'll be doing then." With a bit of Faith, trust, and pixie dust luck. She might not be happy being stuck here, but she's glad that Peridot and Steven are here with her, and that there's something she can actually do to work off the debt.

[periphrasing]

"Great! And in the down time between jobs, I can show you all the great stuff there is around the carnival. I pretty much know this place like the back of my hand, by this point," Peridot brags.

[mirrortide]

"What kind of stuff is there anyway? You've got a few morps around... Anything you don't have in this place?" She's asking if you've decorated the carnival. She hopes you've decorated the carnival, Peridot.

[periphrasing]

Alas, she has not decorated the carnival. A tragedy, really.

"No," she says, sounding slightly... surprised? By the question? Like it raises even more questions that she hadn't considered before. A MATRYOSHKA OF QUESTIONS. "Everything I've made is... right here. But that's an excellent idea, Lapis!" Seriously. The dawning potential of the notion is energizing her, making her expression split into a broad grin. Why didn't she think of doing a public display herself? "And now that you're here to collaborate with me, we could bring the thought provoking presence of our morps to the entire carnival!"

[mirrortide]

See, now this, this doesn't feel like being trapped in an inescapable place. This feels like home, where she and Peridot made morps together, and Lapis' posture considerably changes as she gives the smaller gem a thumbs up. "We'll bring our best morps to liven this place up. The most thought provoking and intriguing ones. The best we've made yet."