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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[Nodding, Saskia steps aside from the darts with a quick smile.]

Yeah, I'm as set as I'm ever going to be. Have at! Step back, aim, shoot. It's pretty simple when you don't overthink it. The moving targets are worth more, anyway, and with those it's better to just act fast. Something will stick, sooner or later.

[And because he's just a kid, if not one that much younger than herself, she'll silently gift him with a little boost in luck (aka, Fortune's Favor). It might give him an edge when it comes to the game, it might not. She doesn't control the luck, merely grants it as she pleases. Consider it her way of making it up to him should he spend too much on tickets.]

[Ferlwin snickers a bit.]

Yes it sure would.

Seems that way, huh?

[The question makes him pause, though, turning to blink wide eyes at Greg before he tilts his head, looking thoughtful. What did he have in mind indeed? Yuugi hums before shaking his head.]

Oh, nothing really. I was just looking forward to competing against someone without the fate of the world at stake for once.

[That makes him stop dead in his tracks and he lets out a small laugh. Goddamn, grandpa was right; he really didn't know how to interact around normal people who didn't know about the whole Egyptian magic thing lately. Yuugi waves a hand nonchalantly, laughing nervously.]

Not that that's a thing that happens regularly or anything.

[Elizabeth was just ahead of the rather shabby looking man, having been forced to give her small thimble to the ticket taker. She'd turned back and that's when the paper he'd held out caught her attention.]

Excuse me! Excuse me, sir! [She taps him on the shoulder.]

Was that- are those- were those tarot cards? [She's immediately curious, leaning forward. She'd never seen them in real life before.]

Admission Fees

[A ticket- anything of value. Elizabeth looked at herself- she didn't have any coins, not a purse, anything. The only thing that could be remotely valuable, she supposed, was her thimble. She looked down at her left hand, where the small cap covered the last missing knuckle on her pinkie.]

Would- would this work?

[She plucks it off, holding it out to the worker. She didn't want to get rid of it, hating the way the tip of her finger was missing. She'd kept it covered with that thimble for years. But there were others to be had. She was certain of that.]

Gamer's Circle

[This looks like fun! Elizabeth hardly has to be goaded into playing one of the games. She's already having what appears to be the time of her life at the ringtoss game, looking to win herself some inane stuffed animal.]

Oh, come on! [she cries when her ring falls uselessly to the side of the glass bottle.] One more try, I know I can get it this time!

Trying to Leaf

[Elizabeth had never been in a forest before. And this one was dark, and certainly not like anything she'd ever encountered in any of her books.]

Well this sure is something...

[She mutters to herself, continuing to walk forward. She should be able to open a tear, but she hadn't seen a single one since she'd arrived here. Odd, given that was how she'd stumbled into the carnival in the first place.]

This is starting to look familiar. I could swear I passed these trees on my way in.

Wild Card
[have at it!]

Edited 2016-10-04 18:12 (UTC)

[ Smooth, Yuugi. Good save.

Greg stares a moment, before shaking his head and rubbing at the bridge of his nose. ]

Man, I know every generation has its trends, but this world-saving teens stuff is past me. [ All he did in his youth was run away from home and bang aliens. ]

Oh, that's fine then. [Yeaaah with good reason. Even if the ones that give chase are good at keeping performers off diets...]

You been doing all right?

[She's pausing just a little bit, waiting for stew and looking over the bread offerings for a likely roll, but that'll help facilitate more small talk. Aramat's always been nice, after all.]

[Steven isn't even aware of the concept of a person winning games for advertising sake, and so he assumes that she is showing it off just out of genuine enthusiasm. He nods, sticking out his tongue a little as he concentrates on the targets. He starts with five darts.]

Okay... Lucky throw!

[He throws the dart... and it hits a stationary balloon! He throws up his fists.]

Whooo, yeah! You were right, haha!

Edited 2016-10-04 18:56 (UTC)

[ Elizabeth's tap on the shoulder earns about the same sort of bored look as the rest of his surroundings have garnered thus far. He'll quirk an eyebrow at her question, as he's reshuffling the deck and moving to hide them away again within his coat. ]

They are. Or were.

[ Then, with a polite nod to her, he'll move on, though more to get out of the way of everyone else entering the carnival than to get away from her. ]

[Elizabeth severely lacks in the ability to pick up social cues. That's what happens when you live for almost twenty years in complete isolation with only a giant mechanical bird and the characters from your books for company. So she tags along after Childermass like there's nothing wrong in the world.]

Oh, wow. I've never seen any before- may I take a look? ooh! Could you read my fortune, sir?

"Well, well see how he feels when he doesn't get his extra snacks for today."

Yup. look at that. you're being punished. Was it worth it?

[ Somehow he's not surprised. She seems genuinely interested, however, so he doesn't mind too much. ]

I cannot. The deck is no longer complete. [ Which is as good an excuse as any (and truthful, at that). He does pause once they're out of the worst of the gate's traffic, however, to give her a second, slightly more curious look. ] And looking at them all depends on whether or not you promise to return them.

Edited 2016-10-04 19:14 (UTC)

[Elizabeth tries not to look too disappointed that he can't read her fortune anymore.]

Oh, of course! [Stealing was wrong, after all, and Elizabeth was not a thief.] I just want to know what a deck really looks like. And this looks like such a beautiful one. [It wasn't needless flattery- she liked art, and was something of an artist herself.

But Elizabeth was a lot of things, all at once. When you had nothing but time on your hands, you learned all manner of things.]

[Who the heck is Riri?

Threats aren't very effective if they don't make much sense, you know.]

Guests?

[Mari looks amused.]

Is that what you're calling your tenure now?

[If Mari had any idea how impressive Gilgamesh was supposed to be, she'd take that as a compliment.

So it's a good thing Mari's head is hard, because while her face (more or less) has escaped visible injury, her pride...

..well, let's just say it's a good thing her last name isn't Shikinami.]

....you've got yourself a deal, Sparkles.

[She isn't even bothering to get up from the mud. She'll just be here for a while, okay? Great. Super. Thanks.]

As I can ever be. It's not like I'm out in front of them 'til the music's over, so I can handle that. The music is as good as I'm gonna get it. 'Least until they give me another piece I need to practice.

[At that, Nessa shrugs.]

At least you don't have to worry so much. Unless you're gonna be the one checking concessions, eh?

[Because admittedly, that teleport talent would come in handy...]

"Uh... I guess so. Thanks, though I don't really see why you felt the need to get involved."

As he spoke, Ginko crouched down to grab the bucket that he'd dropped on the ground when the animal bolted. It had tipped over, spilling a few chunks of meat on the ground, but it wasn't like the hellbeast in the pen would care. He tossed the spilled meat over the fence, watching the giant rodent jump on it.

Mm! _{[She's not surprised by that. Taking care of Pokemon is a lot of Responsibility.]} I think that's a good job.

[ There's reluctance, obviously. The cards are a lifeline in a place like this, though she's already promised to give them back and, well, he's surprised anyone would call his cards beautiful, of all things. ]

You must not have seen enough of them, if you think that.

[ He says it mostly in jest, amused (even if he isn't smiling), since he sees nothing wrong with them himself, only... they aren't a standard deck, which she'll discover once he takes them back out and spreads the deck like a fan, face up, to hold between them.

They're old, worn with age and marred with yellow, and named in French, drawn on whatever bits of paper had been available at the time; bills, ads torn down to size, random re-used pages torn from books or other places, pasted down onto something firmer to make them more card-like. The art of the cards are, likewise, done by hand and, while not terrible, they were obviously sketched down one time in a rush, only for him to have come back later and finish them up from memory. This has left them about as ragged as the man himself. Unique, too, since from memory alone forced him to provide his own details. ]

_{[Blah, blah, blah...that's all she hears. Are you done yet?]}

Do you ever stop bragging?

[ Archer glances at the spirits manning the register but doesn't say anything. He's already watched them in a few other places try to swindle the unsuspecting, but it's simply how this place works.

He's ready to leave also, and as they're leaving the booth, Archer keeps his remarks simple. ]

Magic always comes with a price, and it is unquestionable that magic is the means by which we were brought here.

[ A beat, then- ]

They will try to trick you, if they can.

I'm eighteen, it's not like I'm...wait, you know about that kind of thing?

[Even as he stresses his age, Yuugi looks slightly surprised, raising an eyebrow. Most of the adults he knew who knew about the whole Egyptian magic thing were either in denial (Kaiba) or reformed evil doers (Pegasus). His grandpa was in a whole other category of course. Still, he realises what he says and scratches his chin.]

Sorry, it just surprised me is all.

Don't I know it.

[He's heard that before, and it makes him think of the sacrifices made to create the millennium items in the first place. Magic, dark magic especially, always seemed to come with a price. Yuugi sighs a little and shifts his backpack off his shoulders, placing his prize in there with a bunch of others and tilts his head to to give the strange man a smile.]

But don't worry about me. I've dealt with my fair share of tricky spirits before. Wouldn't be the first time someone's tried to steal my soul or something.

Edited (oops) 2016-10-04 20:11 (UTC)

Yeah!

_{[Can you see how hype she is? How could anyone not think she was cool? They'd have to be nuts!]}

I wish I could do that!

You think he's here already?

_{[But she arrived here first...or at least that's what she thought! Maybe he was right and Clemont was here already.]}

Ah really? You will?

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⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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Elizabeth | BioShock: Infinite | New

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man, what a cute power.

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