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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Well...[Her nose scrunches up a tiny bit. For a moment she's silent as she's heavily considering lying but that isn't part of who she is.]

I can't. It may be for the best as I imagine it would all be rather emotional to go back.

[She grins and manages to repress a snicker. Not at Jou Shan, rather at the complaining. To be able to share minor, silly grievances felt good.]

If we tell them that maybe we can make it a standard for them. [Probably not.]

I would be honored.

[She just keeps smiling.]

That's so nice to hear. Do you have a favorite game?

[Elizabeth frowns just slightly.] Just Elizabeth is fine, Mr. Childermass.

[She follows his glance.] Do you mind if I follow you? At least until we get to where you're going- I find it better to wander with someone.

[Being backstage seems to have only increased Gottlieb's starstruck mood. It's as if he's meeting the star of a stage play, and he's never done anything quite like that. When he approaches Oscar, he's all but trilling his praises.]

You were absolutely superb! A master at your craft! It is an honor to meet you!

[Oh, okay. No. Mari is used to all kinds of egos, and she has no problem with that. But this stalking around her while she's lying flat on the ground thing is another beast entirely and she's not a fan.

So much for just lying in the mud until the embarrassment (and headache) have run their course. Time to sit up.]

... what's wrong? Lose a contact lens?

[Despite the joking tone, her eyes narrow. Several of her eyes. Most of them, really. At least of the eyes that can be seen.

The fact that she wears shirts is probably a form of public service.]

[Mari pauses and looks at her gun for a moment. Then she looks back at Koel.]

Is it actually wasting them if they don't run out?

[This gun is magic, so unless it's magically stealing eyeballs from deer on another dimension or something and eventually it will run out of deer, she's pretty sure the ammo is infinite.

She's never actually bothered to sort out how exactly this particular thing works. She's not really sure it matters.]

Hm? Fine. Just Elizabeth, then.

[ Well, if she won't find it rude, whatever. He brings his attention back down to her after figuring out what way he wants to go, raising his eyebrows at the request.

If you wish. I dare say I wouldn't be able to stop you. [ She's liable to tag along anyway, he feels, so he'll just nod the way he's meaning to head off in and then do so. ] Have you ever been to this carnival before?

[... ah. Well. About that.

You'd never know it took her a week or so to work herself up to this, would you?

Mari smiles and looks Tanyuu right in the eye.]

Great! I need you to do my hair.

[Not a hint of visible shame.]

How do you know it doesn't run out?

[Stop stealing deer eyeballs!!]

[ It takes Mitsuki a minute to realize the other person in the car is speaking to him because he's still looking at where his hand is. When he does look over at her, his eyes are wide and his hand is still idly stretched out. ]

I think I just touched that star. Let me see...

[ He moves a little in his seat and tries again. His fingertips tingle and the point of light moves when he brushes it. ]

Huh??

[Unfortunately Valamia has had no greater luck. Although she's caused a bit less damage and cramped spaces that was about the only thing she had managed to avoid thus far. But the fact that there's another person around may be something to be grateful for!

She takes a few steps back if only to give them some space. Being tall in cramped space was a pain and she was making an effort not to make it worse. Curiously though she raises a brow at him because okay yeah the whole place seems to find more and more odd people and things to show her (she's not one to talk).]

Not the way out, no. I did find a spot with a little bit more room.

[ Koltira does not like this place. He's loathe to look at himself in the eye on a good day, and this is not a good day. The reflections taunt him, surround him, and he'd like nothing more than to smash each one of them to pieces. He's lifting his sword to do just that when he hears someone call out to him.

Scowling, he turns around slowly. ]

If I did, I wouldn't be here right now.

[ it's a special kind of horror, knowing and yet not knowing oneself. it's happened to shiro in the past, the experience akin to sandpaper over skin: leaving him more or less the same shape, but lacking all of his former polish. he's only just begun to accept his differences, when here - lo! - another one jars into existence.

hence his contemplation of one arm and then the next, the burn of clenched muscles not allowing him the same relief it normally does.

he startles at the break of his self-made silence, arms falling back to his side. his water bottle, resting against his knee, lists dangerously; he grabs for it a moment too late. water spills over the dirt, wetting the outer seam of his pants, and only then does he manage to pluck the bottle up.

a beat, then a smile: sheepish, warm, but not altogether relaxed. newcomers had once been immediately trusted, in shiro's world, but much has changed since then.

--especially after a second glance. this newcomer smiles, but there's a knife-gleam underneath. shiro's hackles rise despite himself.

with a meaningful glance at the wet spot on his pants -- ]

Not useful enough, apparently.

[ and a murmur of laughter, just long enough to be polite. he straightens, shoulders squaring. ]

[ Battle-tested reflexes notwithstanding, Shiro startles at the intrusion into his silence -- but he's breaking out into a smile a moment later, contemplation forgotten.

The smile fades after the implications of her presence begin to sink in. Being here on his own had its merits - exchanging a year of service for the potential safety of Earth was worth it - but having the rest of the crew along complicated things. ]

Pidge.

[ A few strides to close the distance, and he's close enough to clap a hand - his human hand - on her shoulder. He's discreet in his once-over, but even the cursory examination is enough to loosen the tension in his shoulders. She looks neither injured nor obviously transformed. ]

I shouldn't be glad to see you here, but it's hard not to be. When did you get here?

[ He's been here long enough that expecting oddities has become his new norm: which is why he doesn't write off the stammering as a figment of his imagination. He glances about, finding nothing around him to warrant further investigation. Upwards is the last direction he searches, at which point he immediately focuses on the tremor of movement above.

It takes him a moment - the shape of a bird resolving through the cover of the leaves - to realize what he's seeing. His brow furrows. A hummingbird of that size and coloration isn't normal in any world he's visited, but he's far from familiar with all the flora and fauna of his current surroundings.

Well, it's worth a shot. ]

Uh — hello?

[ He's a little annoyed, though that annoyance doesn't externalize itself. Pranks are one thing, but that one could have hurt someone. His reflexes prevented him from injury, but there were a thousand ways this could have gone wrong.

Nonetheless, he offers the newcomer an apologetic smile. Despite his irritation, it's genuine. ]

Yep, it is.

[ And he offers her a hand to help her step out from the coil of silk. Thankfully it hadn't been the canvas ropes he'd initially started practicing upon; those would have bowled over his tiny new companion. ]

Sorry about that. The pranks around here can get a little out of hand.

...your hair?

[Tanyuu had noticed her hair had looked a little messier lately, but she's chalked that up to Mari pushing herself harder after that...whole incident.]

Of course, but may I ask why?

mirror maze;

[ 'You will never be free.' 'You will never be forgiven.'

Koltira's long ears twitch as his reflections hiss at him, their expressions cruel, their laughter harsh and mocking. He had despised this place as soon as he set foot in it--by accident, and out of ignorance--and he's desperate to escape. The still images were intolerable as it stood, but now they've begun to move and speak. It's more than he can bear.

He tries to shut them out as he searches for the exit. He struggles for focus as he clenches his jaw, as his hands ball into fists. He cannot endure this for much longer, but as he rounds a corner, he finds only another long stretch of gleaming mirrors. Koltira takes a step forward, and every warped image turns to stare at him, animated and hateful. They whisper about his brother, about the people he's killed, the destruction of his homeland. They whisper about Sylvanas, and his imprisonment.

Some of those details are not quite right. He strides forward, angry and purposeful, frowning as a few of the taunts ring discordant. Even if they're wrong, they grate on him, they pull at his nerves.

He draws the sword from his back. He's had enough. ]

Silence!

[ And then he smashes the mirrors nearest to him, slamming Byfrost's tremendous blade against the delicate glass. The mirrors crack and shatter, bursting into a spray of jagged shards. Koltira scowls, heaving just from the intensity of his temper.

That's gonna be a 50 dkp minus. ]

trying to leaf;

[ Time to get the hell out of here, if that's even possible. After an hour's worth of walking, Koltira's thinking not. The path keeps twisting around on itself, leading him back to the same clearing, the same copse of trees. The carnival gates are constantly visible through the treeline, and Koltira--impatient by nature and design--only grows more frustrated as time passes.

It's dark now, and growing darker. Koltira's eyes glow with blue lichfire, and his sword gleams darkly, too, its runes all stationary and bright as fresh ice. The burning flowers in the branches hanging low above him offer the only other source of light, and he finds the effect irritating rather than romantic. Koltira reaches to rip a handful of the candle flowers from their tree; in his open palm, they quickly freeze, turning solid and pale.

If he hears someone approach, he'll crush one of the flowers, staring up and straight at whoever's there as the glittering powder falls through his fingers. ]

Bal'a dash. Show me the way, or move on.

[ Shiro, on the other hand, does not miss the strange-looking rat going for his lunch.

Said metal arm darts out and snatches up the intruder by the tail. He stares at the rat - mouse? - for a moment, brow furrowing.

It's oddly ... cute ... for a rat. ]

Sorry about that. [ He turns back to the girl who'd approached him, a rueful smile ready for her. ] Guess we have some kind of infestation. What were you saying -- ?

[ She's so young. So many of those tricked into contracts are young, too young to understand the implications of what's happened.

Hopefully she's a guest who'd taken the wrong turn. ]

[In all honesty, she's rather desperate for a tutor of some kind in coping with her new body. There are only a few other naga at the carnival, and most of them are among social circles Tanyuu had never had much chance to mingle with. One had helped her the first few days in learning how to properly slither, but past that she had been left to muddle through on her own. She didn't particularly blame any of them, but it was frustrating to say the least.]

A little. Learning to move was a challenge, but I couldn't walk properly to begin with, so I had a bit less to unlearn, in some ways.

[She casts a glance back to her tail with one set of eyes, noting the differences between her own moss-covered shape and Kadin's more 'natural' scales.]

I've had to change my diet as well, obviously, but I can't quite figure out what I'm getting wrong. It feels like I'm eating constantly, but I still get headaches as though I've been skipping meals.

_{[It's not just any rodent though, is the thing, and Dedenne doesn't appreciate being picked up by his tail. Squirming and clearly spooked, his cheeks and whiskers begin to spark as he squeaks his name. He's making a fuss which doesn't go unnoticed by his owner who gasps, watching her little Pokemon become more and more upset, the sparks growing the more he flails, hanging by his tail. Metal arm plus electric mouse are a bad combination. The last thing she needs is to see this guy get electrified!]}

Dedenne! Were you trying to get his lunch?! Please don't shock him-!

_{[You might want to put the 'rat' down, Shiro, or else it might end badly.]}

Edited 2016-10-05 20:41 (UTC)

The machines here are primitive compared to what we're used to. It's hardly the same thing.

[The papers have now officially been shoved under her arm. She doesn't have anywhere else to put them for the time being.]

Would you rather I tried to get along with you? Join the Crystal Gems and sit around the campfire like nothing ever happened between us? That's not how I work. You're the enemy now and I don't intend to forget that, no matter how long we're here for.

[Oh, Tanyuu. Nothing short of an Impact could make Mari neglect her hair. Not if she has a choice. But that's not a conversation she really wants to have.

She was actually kind of hoping Tanyuu wouldn't ask why at all, but that's kind of stupid. She sighs. ]

Because I don't have a reflection any more. I keep trying to get it right, but it's just not working. I can't do it. Not without a mirror.

[She wouldn't have asked if she could do it on her own, okay? ]

[ Stranger things had come and gone in all her time, and to the Dragon Queen, this arrangement is not necessarily desirable, but not quite cause for panic. Not yet, anyway. Of course she would like to leave just as much as anyone might, especially since she has no intention of being imprisoned once again, but that thought flares only briefly in her mind then ebbs again as she sets her sights on finding her way out of this place, wherever it may be. It is not, she suspects, anywhere on Azeroth. The trees, the flowers... none of it seems quite right.

It only makes sense to try the way she came first. She suspects it won't be that easy, but there's no sense in not trying. If she's lucky, she may find some kind of lead, which would be more helpful than anything, outside of a sign-marked exit. (Particularly when flight seems to be out of the question-- being stuck outside of her normal form is probably the strangest part yet.) If nothing else, it was easy enough to find her way here in the first place, if she found this strange little carnival by pure accident. She's likely to be able to find it again, and wind up right back where she started. There could be beasts in the forest... but she has never feared any such creature. It seems a strange time to start.

It turns out that not only does she wind up exactly where she started, if perhaps a few steps to the left, but that she does come across another-- not a beast, in the literal sense of the word, but a formidable being none the less. An elf, from the curve the ears, and a champion of the Lich King from the pallor, and the glow in his eyes, and the runes etched into the blade he carries. There's no denying what he is with only the briefest of glances. What his allegiance is... that's another matter.

Some might feel their hearts harden instantly, but he was living once too. She maintains her distance out of caution, but she neither flees nor attacks. She only offers a calm smile, shifting from one foot to another. ]

There are many things that I can do, but showing you the way is... not among them.

[ She could say more, but errs on the side of brevity, a learned habit after so long. It's kinder, she's learned, to give space for what is usually the inevitable reaction the first time she meets a new face (and this one is new, she's sure of it), so she waits to see what it may be. ]

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⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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Re: ferris wheel!

maze!

maze!

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that power doesn't usually work on birds ... but i'm counting it as a win

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koltira deathweaver | warcraft | new

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