⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME: HEARTSTONE MANOR

[ringleaders]

WELCOME TO THE SHOW!↴ CHECK OUT THIS MONTH'S FOURTH WALL EVENT! MORE INFORMATION BENEATH THE CUT. In the meantime, 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, Treasurer, and Doctor 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. 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

[hurtcomfort]

By necessity. The other choice was worse.

[ Which Cole...isn't entirely pleased about. But this isn't being bound. Not really. Besides, he is acutely aware of the fact that it could be worse and also acutely aware of the fact that the carnival needed his help. ]

I don't mind, though. The sky has been fixed and the hurt here shines through.

[lonesomewanderer]

[ He nods slowly, understanding partially what Cole meant. Not bound then and there always was another choice far worse. That was often the way of things, as Solas had long since learned. ]

Is this where you are needed most? [ he asks, watching Cole closely.

A spirit of compassion, true to its purpose. Solas could not fault him if he had found where he thought he was best suited. ]

[hurtcomfort]

I believe so, [ Cole explains, as he casts his glance back to the carnival. ] At least, it is where I am needed.

[ It's hard to see where he's needed most. But Cole can tell that he's definitely needed here, so might as well embrace that fact and stay. That's helping. That's filling his purpose. Which really, for Cole is the best thing that could possibly happen. ]

[lonesomewanderer]

[ He nods, understanding that distinction. As if Cole could resist following his true nature. Truth be told, it was pleasant seeing one of the very few familiar faces that would not immediately scorn him, no matter how well deserved it would have been. ]

What do I need to know of this place? [ Because it's different here. He and Cole were coming from the same realm of understanding and he trusts the spirit to tell him what's important. ]

[hurtcomfort]

I don't know as much as I should. But the Ringmaster's in charge. They call her a faerie. [ Cole doesn't know what that means, something obvious in the tone of his voice. ]

She's powerful. She binds those who serve her. But the bindings feel...loose. Impermanent. Not like those who would bind someone at home.

[ It's odd. But there's nothing about this current situation that worries Cole to the extent that the thought of being bound by Corypheus does. ]

[lonesomewanderer]

A faerie? That is not a word I have heard to describe anything of magic. [ And it was clear that there was magic seeping from this place, he could feel it pouring from all corners. Whatever a 'faerie' was, it was tied with it.

He watches Cole's face closely as he asks his next questions, ]

Do you know how these bindings are created? And how they can be broken?

[hurtcomfort]

I don't know what it is either. [ Which he's certain Solas knows already. But Cole might as well say what's on his mind. What are fae, we just don't know. At the talk of bindings though, an odd little expression comes on Cole's face. ]

The bindings are...odd. She leaves a limit. [ A fact which honestly baffles and astounds Cole at the same time. ] And others think she honors it.

[ He just doesn't understand that. Why would someone only put a time limit on a binding? If you could force someone to serve you, why would it only be for so long? Why not force them for all eternity? ]

She lets me be me.

[ which again, is downright odd. ]

[lonesomewanderer]

[ Solas had assumed, but he nods at the confirmation. So they would both be learning more about this as time went on. Hopefully, he would discern more when he met this 'Ringmaster.' ]

Temporary servitude? For what gain? [ Because if the woman could promise him what he wanted... The temptation was there and he wonders if that's what triggered the appearance of the Carnival in the first place. ]

And what does she require those who are bound to her to do?

[hurtcomfort]

Some are careless. The others make deals. [ And that opens up a new line of thought in Cole's mind. Solas isn't careless. Solas wouldn't be tricked or trapped, gambling his service away on a game. Solas is better than that. Which means that Solas might have come here with a purpose.

So that second question, the what does she require those to do, that is ignored for a moment as Cole stares at Solas, as if staring will somehow help him find an answer. ]

We sealed the sky. [ and then you left. ] What do you want?

[lonesomewanderer]

[ He notices that willful ignoring. So it's his turn to answer questions. He lets out a small sigh. This is Cole and he deserved answers or at least, what he little he could give. It's not as if his desire is possible without the help of an outsider. ]

You remember the elvhen artifact that Corypheus wielded? [ The one that broke and shattered to pieces and delayed his plans? ] I would have it restored.

[ And in his hands, ready to be used to tear down the Veil as he had planned. ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ who has two thumbs and doesn't know the whole Dread Wolf story, HINT IT'S COLE. So as Solas mentions that artifact, a look of panic briefly spreads across his face.

It's powerful. It's dangerous. Solas is smart and Solas is safe but nobody should have that sort of power. The artifact worries Cole, which is a feeling he Does Not Like. ]

Why?

[lonesomewanderer]

[ Does Cole not know? Truly? The spirit wouldn't lie, he was incapable of it, but Solas has had his confrontation with the Inquisitor, dealt with the qunari attempting to invade Southern Thedas.

But Cole doesn't seem to know or understand it. That Solas himself is far more than he appears, as powerful and dangerous as the artifact.

The answer he gives is simple and he keeps his gaze locked on Cole's, ] Because it was mine.

[hurtcomfort]

[ Well this raises more questions than it does answers. So, rude spirit that he is, Cole goes right into Solas's mind to try and find some answers.

Solas could stop him. Solas could always stop him. ]

They killed her. Murdered the mother, brought lost and low. So you— [ and then there's a small little intake of breath, as Cole realizes just what Solas did in response to that murder. ]

I thought it was always there.

[ He's still confused. How could Solas...but he did. Didn't he? And Cole desperately wants to learn more. ]

[lonesomewanderer]

[ Solas can stop him and does before Cole goes any farther, clouding his thoughts. Cole's seen too much, but he thought the spirit had already learned this? Had he not been with the Inquisitor at the Winter Palace?

Something odder than the Carnival was happening here. ]

I saw no other way to stop them, [ he replies, standing tall, but there's tension running through him. Regret. Putting the Veil up had caused unforeseen consequences far into the future. ]

I was rash and foolish, a young man with more power than anyone should wield.

[ And he had been reckless with it. ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole hits the clouds, muddling around it, trying to think it through but coming up with nothing. Just the odd sensation that he should know this. Did he make himself forget? Why would he make himself forget?

He can't help but draw in on himself slightly as he thinks, putting together what he knows about Solas now with what he knew about Solas then.

Cole doesn't like it. He doesn't like any of this. ]

And now you are older. [ Much older. ] Dread and different, an older man wanting more power than anyone should wield.

[ He wants the artifact back. He should not have the artifact back. Should he? ]

[lonesomewanderer]

[ As much as he dislikes it, Solas stays where he is. Something is wrong here, something terribly wrong. Did it have to do with what bound Cole here? Loosely and impermanently, as Cole had put it. That did not mean it would be without other effects. ]

I am, yes. [ And in no world should he have that artifact back. That did not stop him from wanting it again. That he could obtain it again even if it forced him into service of another was a temptation he would not be able to resist. ]

Was anything else done to you, Cole? When you were bound here?

[ There is concern for the spirit. This place was not of mortal creation, but fae magic and its intricacies were new to them both. ]

[hurtcomfort]

I don't know, [ Cole quietly admits, voice barely audible. He hates to admit this, but it's the truth. He has no idea what might have been done to him in the first place. ]

I was somewhere else first. Then bound here. The better of two choices, the safer one. But I don't know how I arrived somewhere else in the first place.

[ Solas is worried. This makes Cole a bit worried. Could someone be changed without them realizing it? ]

[lonesomewanderer]

[ He curses himself silently before calming his nerves. His own worries and concerns should not plague Cole, and he needed to remind himself to take care when speaking with the spirit. ]

Think hard, Cole, [ he insists though he forces his voice to remain calm. ] Do you remember anything about where you were before here?

[hurtcomfort]

I was in Thedas. And then I was at the ball. And then I was here.

[ Oh! The ball! Maybe that could explain things? Cole brightens up a little, as if just remembering the ball for the first time. ]

Memories muddled, people who weren't people and yet some who were. There was food, there was fire, and I just wanted to dance!

[ Cole arrived in-game via the fourth wall day event. The fourth wall day event kind of sucked. ]

[lonesomewanderer]

[ The way Cole puts it, it sounds as if the spirit had been drawn from Thedas before coming here. How would that be possible? ]

A ball at the Winter Palace? Or elsewhere?

[ That... is not how he would describe the meeting that took place over the fate of the Inquisition, but perhaps Cole had found his way elsewhere. The spirit did have a knack for going wherever he found 'hurt,' no matter how strange or foreign it may be. ]

[hurtcomfort]

Elsewhere. Dancing, drinking, but it was all wrong, everything was wrong. The house was alive, and hurting as much as the inhabitants.

[ so probably not the Winter Palace. ]

The magic mars the mind and slivers the soul. [ And once again, in true Cole fashion, he's having a hard time explaining himself. Though at least now he knows he's having a hard time and just looks so aggravated. ]

[lonesomewanderer]

[ Okay, yes, if Solas had any doubts that it was somewhere outside of Thedas they are gone now. ]

And leaves what in its wake? [ Because he's used to Cole's vagueness, the elusive way in which the spirit speaks much like how all of the Fade is. But this, this is different. He steps closer to the spirit. ] If this is too much, Cole--

[ Then this was a line of questioning that could continue after he's had a chance to question the fae in charge. ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ And Cole shook his head. ]

I don't know how it happened. I only know what they know.

[ And even then, it's a big fat ??? in some regards. Cole's not exactly the best at asking questions or figuring things out or getting information that isn't 'hey, so and so's not thinking too hot'. ]

But it isn't too much.

[lonesomewanderer]

We will have to learn more then. If the Ringmaster can offer me what I seek--

[ Then he has no reason to leave though there's a distaste there for the implication of servitude even if it's voluntary. If it meant he could achieve his goals, have what was no longer obtainable back in Thedas then it would be worthwhile. At least this time he wouldn't wear it so prominently on his face. ]

I will be here with you, Cole.

[hurtcomfort]

Thank you, [ Cole quietly murmurs, as he gives Solas a nod. Because there is so much to learn. He knows the what and he knows the how but the why is a giant mystery that still baffles him.

Why him? Why this? ]

I don't know where she is, but we can look for the Ringmaster together if you want.