⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME: SUMMERLANDS

[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 (and should) read the full premise here. Reserves and Applications are 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, 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 and Treasurer are currently open. Otherwise, we're pretty much down for anything, roles wise. CURRENT STOP↴ ⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS ⇦ The Summerlands are an idyllic realm inhabited by a population of former Summer Court fae. Generally speaking, they are a species of magical humanoids with pointed ears, unearthly beauty, sometimes wings, and a penchant for magic associated with the power of the sun and growth. They live a peaceful but uneventful existence here, under the leadership of their ruler, the Summer Maiden. The carnival is visiting here for a couple weeks to recuperate after some serious trouble caused by their last tour location, and for a few days of their stay the carnival grounds will be open, and newcomers/returning members will be drawn in for the festivities. While outside visitors will be restricted to the carnival grounds and will not be able to explore the rest of the Summerlands, there are a few common features the carnival's current location will add to the usual experience. ► THE SUMMER FAE: There will be a mix of randos from across the multiverse summoned in by the Ringmaster, but the majority of carnival visitors are the local summer fae. While not exactly aloof, the summer fae there tend to be somewhat uncomprehending of the problems most mortals face. While they do have a concept of ethics, it is hard to compare to that of most of the carnival's visitors, and their outlook on things tends towards that of a very neutral perspective. Rather than having much interest in war or politics, they are primarily focused on enjoying existence and the celebration of nature. ► THE SUMMER LANDSCAPE: Though the winding forests will still prevent outsiders from leaving the carnival grounds, the shining mountain peaks and architecture of the fae can be seen on the horizon. If you want a better look, the Ringmaster's advice is to sign on as a full member, for the reasonable price is a single year of your life. Those who app in during this TDM's run will be entering the game between Day 140 and onward - when signing your contract, you do not always leave the tent on the same day you entered. Sometimes the Ringmaster will create a time skip that causes you to emerge after festivities have wrapped up for convenience sake, so there is some flexibility as to when precisely you enter the game. 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. 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 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. ► TUNNEL OF "LOVE": A brand new attraction in the carnival, the Tunnel of Love is mostly what you'd expect from such a ride - two people sit in a boat together which journeys through some glitter filled caves, complete with mood music. Unfortunately, there is also something else in there with you... in the form a moody kraken living in the waters, who has very particular opinions about shipping, and may either stubbornly interfere with any attempted intimacy, or may politely encourage it. Or they may just generally be a dick if they're in no mood for either. The Ringmaster insists it is a romance expert. ► 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. ► 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! ► DUNK TANK: Sometimes acting like a dick will earn you the gentle reprimand of being sent to work in the Dunk Tank for the afternoon - you know that game where people throw balls at a target, and if they hit it you get dropped into the water? It's like that, only sometimes there are daunting (but harmless) critters in the water, or some other strange magical affects to spice things up. Hopefully, the visitors will have bad aim. ► 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

Yukio Okumura | Blue Exorcist | OTA

[reflash]

[ "Arrival Fees" | CLOSED TO CASTMATES | spoilers + concentrated teen angst ]

[A wish. A deal. A door closed and opened again that didn't lead out into a snowy alleyway but instead opened into a bustling, overwhelming world of light and color and potential.

He hands a few yen to the clerk, lets them take his guns and lock them away, wanders in. A demon's carnival isn't somewhere he should be, but it's not as if he should be anywhere. He doesn't play their games, doesn't eat their foods, just walks. He doesn't manage to clear his head.

This solves nothing, answers nothing, gives him nothing, and he wanders dazed until somehow he finds the Ringmaster. The demon at the center of all of this, a fae in the most traditional sense. A fae who wants to bargain, who wants his service and a stretch of his life in exchange for--

She can't defeat Satan, of course. But she can give him anything else he wants. A demon's power, strength beyond anything humans could ever reach, healing powers that seal up injuries faster than he can bandage them, everything he asked of Hachiro with none of the downsides. A year and a day is so much easier to give than what the snake wanted.

But there's a broken laptop and a trail of dead bodies and someone else's laughter in the back of his mind that remind him that even though power is what he wants right now it's not what he needs, that there's something immediate and pressing and that he can (he will) make another bargain with the fae later. Immunity to possession is what he asks for, and he'll willingly hand over a year and a day of his life to remove himself from Mephisto's schemes, from the shadow of Section 13 and whatever the hell Father Fujimoto was planning for him. He'll use the Ringmaster's power and he'll solve all of this, he'll fix everything.

And as he walks away he thinks I've won, I've won and doesn't realize he's laughing until the sound strains his cracked ribs and forces its way through the tightness in his throat and stings his eyes. He's won, but he's still so tired. He's won, but he's still the kind of person who hurts everyone who cares about him and who throws away his life for power.

No one stops him, no one tries to talk to him, and he's made it away from people before his knees hit the ground and he just barely catches himself with his good arm. This was a mistake. All of this was such a mistake.]

[ Gamer's Circle | OTA ]

[Shooting things... well, it hasn't really been helping Yukio's stress levels recently but it also hasn't been hurting. And with his own guns locked away somewhere thanks to the carnival-wide ban, he's taken up a spot in front of a tent (he doesn't want a prize, seeing someone having success will draw others to the booth, and other similar comments have been enough to secure him a place for a few minutes). And he's good, of course.

Admittedly, he's better with shooting games than anything else, and with his left arm in a sling he can't do anything that requires two hands, but you know sometimes your life falls apart and your brother and (dead) dad are also trapped in a fae carnival and you just have to waste a few hours tricking smoke creatures into giving you free plays of their carnival games.

Probably too many hours, honestly.]

OH BOY FAMILY FUN TIME

[lionson]

[It's funny how learning stuff can lead to more questions than answers. But you know what would be even funnier? If the one person who actually could answer Yukio's questions was right there at that carnival.

Because he is. And he's out doing his rounds, checking on performers between sets to make sure there's no injuries.

It's completely by chance that he happens to see someone making their way away from the crowd. Shiro doesn't initially see who it is, but that behavior is a bit suspicious, and Shiro decides to follow. It isn't until Yukio falls that Shiro finally makes his presence known, closing the gap between them quickly and moving to help Yukio stand up.]

Woah there, you didn't have too much to drink now, did you? We don't need you falling-

[His voice is cheerful at first, trying to make light of the situation to keep the other person calm. But as soon as he sees who it actually is and realizes that his other son is right there in front of him, whatever sentence he had been about to say just dies in his throat.

Hi there Yukio, long time no see.]

IS THAT WHAT WE'RE CALLING THIS (also i still do not have enough icons)

[reflash]

[He doesn't recognize the voice at first, of course he doesn't, the man who raised him has been dead for nearly a year now (months that feel like so much longer). He shrugs off the hand on his shoulder as he stands, turning so he can avoid the touch and step back and face whoever's addressing him all at once.]

Thank you, but I'm fi-- [He'd managed to shove a polite smile across whatever expression he was making, but it falls as soon as he processes exactly who it was who interrupted his derailed train of thoughts.

Yukio grabs behind him for his gun, fumbles with the air for too long as he takes a few slow steps back.

That's---


But it can't be, there's no way, that isn't--

The shock fades, replaced by angry determination as his hand settles on a holy water grenade. Some kind of illusion, hallucination, shapeshifter, something that's sending up an image of the person he least (and most) wants to see right now.]

What are you?

LOL YEP

[lionson]

[It really worries Shiro that Yukio's first instinct upon seeing his father is to grab for his gun. Like, that's REALLY worrying. Rin didn't mention Yukio changing that much.

It also worries him that Yukio's question is 'what are you'. He gets what that means, and he's not sure he can explain it all in a way that Yukio will accept. Especially given how jumpy he is right now.]

Funny story: The 'powers that be' here? Apparently they can mess around with time too.

[And yet he still offers a bare-bones explanation. Because of course he does.]

[reflash]

[The mannerisms are right, the words are right, there's nothing about the man in front of him that doesn't look like the former Paladin.

Yukio still triggers the pressure on the grenade and tosses it to the ground between them, watching for any sign that the blast harms or irritates whoever it is that's standing in front of him.

But the explanation makes sense, the fae here can apparently do anything for the right price, and trespassing in Mephisto's domain doesn't seem out of the Ringleader's reach.



But---



He doesn't know what to do. In the nine months since Father Fujumoto died, Yukio has never thought through a situation that involved the man coming back from the dead.]

Of course they can.

[Take this one step at a time, process and then start planning the next step.

He's still a little bit stuck on the "processing" stage, his mind moving too slowly thanks to the stress he's been under.]

[lionson]

[Well, being doused in holy water certainly does irritate him a bit. Because wool is really gross to wear when it gets wet. Thanks son, you're doing God's work.

But yeah no hissing, no recoiling, no burning. Shiro is, for the time being, human.]

Rin told me a bit about the future, about the time you two are from, but I get the feeling that he left out some important details.

[reflash]

Not as many as you did. [Yukio says, accepting that the man is who he says he is. Which means there are a lot of questions that he needs answered. Now.]

I saw the files on Section 13.

[flashover]

[Thank goodness for Rin's spidey sense. Twin-sense? Whatever you called it, he had a nagging feeling that he needed to be somewhere. Where, though, he had no idea, but he had to put his restless soul at ease. From the air would be the easiest way, so he climbs up on his newly evolved flygon and traces lazy circles around the carnival.

It's actually the explosion of water that catches his eye, and when he looks down, he sees who, exactly, is involved. It couldn't be!

Rin directs Nosh to fly in low, and he jumps from her back, landing on his bare, strange feet]

What the heck? Yukio, when-- OUCH! OWIE!!

[his SUPER COOL entrance is spoiled by the fact that he landed in a small puddle of the holy water, and his feet are stinging something fierce and steaming, to boot. Like walking on hot coasl and also wasp stingers all at once. He does an awkward, pained dance, using his tail to keep his balance as he hops out of the puddle]

-- phew.

[lionson]

[Shiro's eyes go wide when he hears those words. How could Yukio know? Those files were supposed to be destroyed, and anyone still alive with knowledge of them was put under a contract. The words 'Section 13' should have gone on to be forgotten.

He doesn't even try to cover it up with a laugh like he usually does when something uncomfortable is brought up. He's just too stunned to even try.]

You-

[And then there's Rin, saving them both from a very awkward conversation. But that also means it's time for another awkward conversation, because boy howdy has Rin changed.]

Rin, go sit down on that log over there, I'll get some non-holy water.

[He's calm about it because Rin stepping in holy water won't kill him. And also because he has a lot to think about now.]

[reflash]

[Yukio moves first, not-so-subtly positioning himself between the former Paladin and Rin. The shock on Father Fujimoto's face was obvious, enough to destroy any hidden doubts as to the authenticity of what Yukio had seen just a few hours ago (doubts he hadn't realized he had until they crumbled away, leaving cold certainty behind). The Order is rotten to the core.]

Nii-san, you know better. [He chides, trying to fix his expression to a slightly scolding mask as he makes sure Rin sits on the log.

Most exorcists don't carry materials to treat holy water burns, but with Rin's tendency to just barge in to the middle of things, Yukio's kit isn't exactly like most exorcist's.

It probably says a lot about Yukio's current mental state that he sees Rin's changes and just accepts them without asking questions. He's too tired for anything so clearly unrelated to his obsession with the past.]

[flashover]

Tch... [Rin limps over to the log and sits down, inspecting the bottoms of his feet. The blue marks are discolored purplish and there's a few nasty blisters on the pads. He'd thrown the real high grade stuff, huh? But it won't kill him by any stretch of the imagination, and once it's washed off, it will start to heal right up.

Rin glares at Yukio and points at him accusingly]

Yukio! What the heck, why are you tossing holy water at Dad?! Dumbass!! And... when did you get back here?

[... back here? eh?]

[lionson]

To make sure I'm still human, of course.

[That's probably the truth, but Shiro says it with a cheerful tone, trying to make light of it rather than make it an accusation. It's not Yukio's fault that his life is suffering now, and Shiro can't find it in himself to blame the boy for being suspicious.]

Though you'll have to be more careful in the future, Yukio. Apparently all humans brought here get some 'extra parts' eventually.

[reflash]

[Yukio nods, tersely, as he finishes cleaning the holy water off of Rin's feet.]

Usually when someone's been dead for almost a year they don't just show up again one day.

[He'd be almost impressed with how calm he still sounds if he were able to process it. But he's stuck with one step at a time right now. ]

[flashover]

[Rin rolls his eyes] Of course he's human! And even if he wasn't... what does it matter, huh? You demon racist. [he sticks out his tongue in a fit of pique, revealing it to be forked, with a dark base and light blue tip]

Besides, where he's from, he's not dead yet! You didn't think someone as outrageously powerful as the Ringmaster could mess with time? Her power is RIDICULOUS. Dude, I saw her EAT Satan. ... Not OUR Satan, but A satan. Ate her up in one bite!

[lionson]

That's called being demophobic.

[He made that up right now.]

And just how many Satans are running around here anyway? If she can eat Satan, maybe she can take care of a couple problems for us back in our world.

[Because he would very much like to not get possessed and die.]

[reflash]

[A different Satan, but...]

She said she couldn't destroy him. I asked. [Apparently he didn't use the right words, or offer the right payment.

All he has to show for his servitude is a promise that he'll never be possessed by Satan, when he could have had the creature destroyed if he'd only known how to ask.]

[flashover]

Uhhh... I dunno. Infinite Satans? [Rin checks his feet, which are beginning to heal now that the noxious stimulus is gone. He rubs them idly] I think she had, like, a personal beef with this one. So maybe that's why she said she couldn't do anything about ours. I dunno. I haven't asked, cause my contract isn't up yet. But...! If SHE kills Satan, then I can't!

[lionson]

[Oh god infinite Satans.]

Does it really matter who kills Satan so long as he's dead?

[reflash]

[They're not listening. They never have. Always brushed off his questions and ignored his concerns. Both of them. They're so alike, he sees that now, sees it in the rush of muddled clarity pounding in his skull.

He doesn't move for a long moment, eyes fixed glassily on a point just in front of him, nowhere in particular because he's not really seeing anything. He's tired. He stands, swaying slightly on his feet as he rubs his eyes and tries (again) to be the responsible one in this family.]

Nii-san, what did you gain from your contract?

[flashover]

YES, it does matter! It won't mean anything if some crazy giant fae dragon kills him. It has to be someone who was hurt by him! It's revenge!! [Rin reads too much manga.

It's too bad Yuri isn't around. Surely SHE had to be like Yukio... he had to get it from somewhere. Because Rin and Shiro? Clones.

Pun intended.

Rin rubs the back of his head, sheepishly]

Uhhh... I didn't... really make one? I sort of... snuck in. And got caught. And now I have to work! [he grins] But it's fine!!