livinglot | ⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #2

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Steven you are doing Lapis a frighten.

She doesn't stop going over him until she's sure she's noted all of the strange changes to his form. Even then, she's extremely gentle with how she does it. He says he's not being hurt by it, but that's something that Lapis has a very, very hard time believing.

"Are you sure? Steven- I don't think- Are you sure you're okay? This doesn't look like you're okay!" Do the Crystal Gems know? "Is this natural for humans?" Where's Pearl? Or Garnet? Or Amethyst? Shouldn't they be doing something to fix this?

"It's-"

He starts trying to explain, but then he pauses, looking around at all the broken mirrors, the realization sinking in. The fake mirror Lapis continue to cry out in distressed tones.

"It's not..."

He looks down at their feet - hers bare on a minefield of shattered glass. He can't think of the words. This is so bad. Lapis isn't going to be okay with this. Not even a little. This is the last thing she needs, after everything that happened.

"It's not a human thing," he explains, trying to keep his voice steady. "Or a gem thing. It's..." He falters and rubs one of his eyes as it waters a little too much. "This place really far from home. I'm sorry. Don't be scared."

Even if he isn't doing a very good job of selling it himself.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't crying, Steven's eyes watering do anything but help Lapis' situation. Steven is crying. He's saying it's not bad, but obviously it is. This place is far from home, but that's fine, because she can fly them back. She can take Steven back, it'll be fine.

"It's alright Steven, I can take us home." It's not like home is too far. There's probably a warp pad around somewhere, and if not? Well, Lapis can just carry him. It's no problem. She bites her lip, finally looking up from Steven at the images in the mirrors all crying out for help. She doesn't like it, but Steven comes first.

It's definitely awkwardly done, but Lapis absolutely has plans to lift him. There's mirror shards on the ground everywhere and she doesn't want him to get hurt. "We can figure it out. I'm- The Crystal Gems might know something? I'm sure they can help you, whatever the problem is."

Oh no. He's messing this all up.

He doesn't know what happened. He's been trying so hard to focus on all the upsides if this situation, that Lapis's stark contrast to the forced normality of it has just shaken something loose. He'd been trying so hard, but the truth is, he's homesick. He's never been away from home for so long. Not really.

He doesn't resist her trying to pick him up - being carried is familiar and comfortable as far as he's concerned. His lion's tail bats and sways as she lifts him, and he wraps his arms around her for support.

"Amethyst is here," he tries to explain. "And so is Peridot. Time is all funny so maybe... You probably didn't notice. I... I can go home later, but I promised I would stay. I made a deal with the lady who owns the carnival so... I guess I work here right now."

What he doesn't want to explain is that he can already tell Lapis will have to stay too.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Steven." But boy, does she look extremely uncomfortable as she carries him over the glass shards until they're outside again. "Why would Peridot be here? Or Amethyst? Are Pearl and Garnet here too?" She's deadset on taking Steven to them, so it's probably no surprise that she takes to the air.

Clearly whatever it is that is wrong with him needs to be fixed, because Steven shouldn't look like he does. Does Peridot know how to fix whatever it is? Steven says that time is apparently funny here, and that he needs to stay, but Lapis thinks otherwise. Maybe whatever is wrong with him physically is affecting him mentally too.

"No. Just the four of us, for gems. And my dad's here, too." He's going to start trying to explain what happened in more detail, but then they are suddenly in the air.

Steven startles when she takes off, clinging tighter even as he immediately figures this is a bad idea. Lapis can be so extreme and he's doing a bad job of helping her be calm right now. He needs to stop-

"Lapis!" Oh no. Oh geez. "Where are we going?! We can't - Lapis we have to go back, you could get in trouble!"

If he fell he could maybe catch himself, but it doesn't matter. He can't just let Lapis put herself at risk when she doesn't even know what she's doing wrong.

"What? Why? Why would I take you back there? I need to get you home! Away from this place." She can find Amethyst. She can grab Greg and Peridot. They'll all be awkward to carry, but Lapis can probably manage? She's never really carried anyone besides Steven and Greg before.

"We can get them too, You can't stay here, Steven!" Obviously this place is doing him no favours, or he wouldn't look like he does.

"Lapis, she'll get mad!" Steven pleads. He's never really been very concerned about the Ringmaster himself - he joined willingly, after all, even if the circumstances had forced his hand. She'd been reasonable about things, besides her recruitment methods. However, if someone gets in trouble for accidentally "stealing" a couple of game tickets, he can't imagine how bad it would be to steal a bunch of workers.

Or try to.

"I don't think there's anywhere to go from here! Dad can't breathe in space! And... and I don't think I can either!"

"Then we'll figure something out! You can't say here if it's doing this to you, Steven!" Also who is this 'her', Lapis will throw down for you Steven, you know she will. "I don't think we have to go into space to get out of this place." Lapis did, after all, just sort of walk in. Which means she can walk out, obviously. "We can just go back the way I came in."

Yes, she absolutely knows how this place works. 100%, totally got it. You walk in, you walk out. Even after smashing someone elses property. A lot.

"It doesn't work like thaaat!" he cries, his voice smeared by the wind. "I promised to do this!"

He knows that if they get to the gate, it's not going to let them out that trivially. Not back to their home, anyway. Lapis getting here at all was practically just a roll of the dice to begin with.

"I'm okay! Really!"

Well, at least she stops for the moment at his words. Why would Steven promise to be in this place if it's changing his form like that? Do the Crystal Gems know he's here? They can't possibly be okay with him being here.

"Are you sure?" She looks terribly awkward now. "I can get you out if you need to leave." No she can't, but she believes she can.

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.

"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."

⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #2

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