livinglot | ⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

WELCOME TO THE SHOW!↴

Or, more specifically, Lost Carnival's first 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 open October 5th at 12:01AM EST.
Applications open October 7th at 12:01AM EST.
You can apply as a newcomer or as a "veteran" character who has been in the carnival for up to three years.
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.
Supervisor applications will start being processed a few days after apps open, and will be selected on a competitive basis. If you want a supervisor position, it is best to submit your application as close to the beginning of the application cycle as possible. If you don't get chosen for your desired supervisor position, you will be given time to rework your application to be a regular veteran, or to apply for a supervisor position that is not yet taken.
Lost Carnival could use some additional moderation assistance! If you are interested, please let us know here.

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.

► 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.

► 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?

► 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?

► 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!

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[ Oh, he's gotten worse, all right. Dragon breath, as it happens, isn't at all pleasant or becoming.

Archer doesn't flinch or move away when Gilgamesh steps closer, nor does he present antagonistic airs. Rather, he seems resolute -- unflappable and unmovable. Gilgamesh can hiss and spit and raise his hackles all he wants, but it makes no difference. ]

I have no intention of causing trouble here.

[ Reason and purpose guide his actions, and he will stay so long as those things properly align. As for the rest of it... ]

If I wanted to return, I wouldn't have bothered to leave in the first place.

[ Which is technically true -- with or without Gilgamesh's bombshell, he would have had no desire to go back to his role as a guardian. ]

[While it hadn't been the original plan to do so, when Ranma mentions martial arts, Gilgamesh's mind immediately leaps to a test of strength. He hasn't gotten the chance for much exercise today, and although Ranma didn't look particularly tough, the carnival made it clear from the get go that appearances could be deceiving.

Still, Gilgamesh matches that cockiness in spades, and grins sharp-toothed back at him.]

You sound rather confident in your physical prowess. But alas; I know no such specialized moves.

[Gilgamesh does not seem at all concerned, however, offering up his own suggestion.]

I propose a simpler test, rooted in judo yet possible for any to perform: we shall attempt to throw one another to the ground, and whoever shall hit it first loses.

[Gilgamesh snaps his fingers and barks at the attendant again:]

Bring us more! Ten times this amount, at least!

[And Gilgamesh interrupts the stammering that follows with a near paralyzing glare, sending them scurrying off to fulfill his demands. For now, one cask should be enough to get them started. Of course, Gilgamesh knew nothing of Pandaren drinking habits and may have hesitated if he did, but...

No, actually, he wouldn't have hesitated at all, because that's just the sort of monstrous ego she's dealing with.]

I certainly hope you've a mug to share between us. I won't drink straight out of it like some savage.

[Speaking of savages, what was she, exactly? Even in the carnival, you didn't see a walking, talking bear everyday. He stares at her, and openly so, trying to unravel the mystery.]

[There's nothing further to discuss, then. He's laid out his terms, and whether or not Archer heeds them... he'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, that aggressive demeanor drops almost immediately and assumes a slightly different form. He's still looking at Archer, though it would be more accurate to say he's now looking at him, with hooded eyes that melt from murderous into suggestive. Already an individual renowned for his shamelessness, Gilgamesh appears to have lost even more of it here—seguing from threats to come-ons in the same breath.

Granted, he'd tear him apart in an instant if it suited him, but there are other ways to destroy a man that are even more pleasurable.]

You did not offer a name to this great Gilgamesh; you may do so now.

[This could be a dangerous thing to give Gilgamesh. On the other hand, he'll likely find out anyway.]

Does the proud Servant in red appreciate men in his bed, by chance? There does appear to be a bit of stiffness in need of working out...

[ Excuses!

He follows her in, and it...isn't quite what he expected, actually. It's different from the traditional sort of House of Mirrors, and perhaps, he might have anticipated that.

It's doesn't look particularly exciting at the moment, though. ]

Probably.

[ Still...still... ]

Let's proceed with caution.

I mean, I'm sure I'll have plenty of time eventually. I've just been really busy with... other stuff.

[ Like trying to save the universe. ]

Oh, well, I dunno if my home and your home are really the same...

"Yeah, this is definitely strange and my last few weeks were already crazy. This is just getting crazier." Pidge ran a hand through her hair.

"I mean, I was in my Lion, was tumbling through space. Landed it--" She paused, waved a hand towards the trees, the carnival, the sounds of the rides and the games.

"--here. And now I can't find my way back."

"The Ringmaster? Great." Pidge seems unimpressed at this point. More annoyed.

"I don't really have a problem, I just want to get back to my lion and get outta here when I get the chance. I guess I'll hang around for the gate, then."

Maaan, now I don't even wanna. How do you do that? How do you make everything not fun?

[ Gilgamesh can speculate about his plans all he likes. Archer has no intention of sharing, now or in the future.

...and really, it shouldn't be possible, but when Gilgamesh actually starts sizing him up, the line of his mouth thins all the more. He obviously does not find the inquiry flattering. ]

No.

[ He doesn't appreciate anyone in his bed, actually, but really, scales and spikes aren't his thing, either. ]

I was given the class of Archer.

[ Which is the only name Gilgamesh will be getting. ]

Edited 2016-10-03 23:51 (UTC)

Uhh... [ Pidge is trying to do some math in her head quickly. ]

I mean, I came in. I played some of the games, but no one really asked me for money or anything.

[ Not that she has any. All she has is her clothes, her computer, her Paladin gear... ]

Is this some kind of scam?

[ She's talking to a hummingbird about the creepy carnival and somehow it's still now the weirdest thing that's happened to her. ]

"Hnn?"

Yukine spotted the trails of blue light hovering above her, and... she felt... really light-headed all of a sudden, much like the immediate and predicted consequences of a karaoke bar.

"What... is that...? Why do I feel..."

... she thought she spotted a skeleton boy, "oh my... what is..."

Edited 2016-10-02 04:00 (UTC)

EH!! It's definitely not a scam, not at all!! Games use tickets anyway!

You're just supposed to pay admission when you go through the gate, everyone assumes th-

[GASP] ...You paid for that at least, right?

[NOT EXCUSES...probably.

And so in they go, into what is a normal mirror house. Although, it does seem bigger in than it does outside.]

Alright. Let's make sure not to lose sight of each other. It might be difficult with all of these mirrors.

[And so deeper in they go, although, there was just something about this place that is really creeping her out.]

[ Pidge nods. She pulls her diminutive Paladin blade out and carefully cuts a mark into the bark of the tree. ]

I was just thinking that. Though I don't know how you'd set up some kind of smoke-and-mirrors thing to keep people getting turned in circles. Maybe it's like the princess's room in the castle...

[ She's thinking aloud, talking half to Valamaia and half to herself and she turns to start making her way through the trees again. ]

Definitely not a scam.

[ Pidge echoes Carly, crossing her arms across her chest as a cold feeling of uncertainty creeps into the back of her mind. ]

Uh... I don't remember...

Yukine looked puzzled for a moment as she saw the ticket, looked up. And then, seeing the boy, smiled, as she slowly rose her water gun.

"I think this is my first time playing this," she looked down with a smile, "we have games in Tanabata, too, but I'm not sure if this game was there..."

She turned to him with a soft smile, "what's your name?"

You...don't remember the gate..? [Ooooooooh that's no good. She flutters down, a flurry of feathers shrouding her form before it returns to a more humanoid shape.] That's definitely the big one to look out for, you have to at least find someone to give payment to if you skip the gate..!!

[Jasper had been talking more about the green gem's need to do the equivalent of sticking her tongue out at her and disregarding any authority she might have had on Homeworld, but she's not going to argue with Peridot any more than she has to.

She flips the stack over so nothing can be read.]

Studying.

[Because this is perfectly normal Jasper behavior.]

"Well it's not like there's a rush," she points out. "The gate will put you right back at the same exact time and place that you came from, so you're not going to miss anything. You might as well take the time you're stuck here to try and enjoy yourself," Peridot suggests, gesturing towards the hustle and bustle of the fairgrounds.

(Does she seem a little friendlier all of a sudden? More chipper? Because she should, since she's putting her best salesperson face on.)

"Why not go play some games and try to earn some shoddily made novelty prizes? Or entertain yourself on one of our many ride-able machines that spin you in circles?"

Nailed it.

Huh? Woah!!

[ Natsu wasn't paying attention at all, and only narrowly manages to avoid the wisp floating towards him. Its pursuer isn't quite so lucky, and it's nothing short of a surprise for Natsu when he collides with not flesh, but bone. ]

Jeez, man, are you eating right? It feels like there's hardly anything under there!

[ He holds out a hand to help steady him, just in case he needs it. ]

I don't, really. Ah...

[ She takes a step back, eyes going wide. So that tiny bird just totally turned into a person. Great. Cool. Today just keeps getting weirder and weirder. ]

So what do I need to do, then?

[ Natsu's trying to mind his own business, he really is. He just wants to get into this carnival and have himself some fun, but the purple creature's attempts to get the clerk's attention also manage to grab Natsu's. Wow, not even inside and already he's seeing things he's never seen before.

Really, what in the world has scales and horns and wings like--

A dragon. A small one, a really small one, but that's definitely a dragon. Natsu doesn't even hesitate and jumps out of line straightaway, practically falling over himself. ]

Hey! You! Uh, dragon! You're a dragon, right?

The troll glances back to the dog, partly because it's caught his attention again, but mostly because he doesn't like seeing the way San's smiles when he says something so grim. Of course you can't change the past, but he's pretty sure that isn't the point Sans is trying to make here.

"Most people like to think they can change things, is probably the problem."

Agency; it's something he's thought about a lot. Back home it had been something he struggled with and something he'd been fighting for. Here things were different. That's what he liked to believe, at least. He didn't have much choice about what happened or where they went, but he could at least choose to stay or go and conduct his work in whichever manner he thought logical. It was a better life than that of a slave, even if technically he still was one.

Indeed. I'm certain we will.

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⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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Will O' Wisps

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Gamer's Circle

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wisps (EMIIIILLLL ;A; I'M SO GLAD, BLESS YOU)

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admission

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