ringleaders: (firebreather)
Lost Carnival Mods ([personal profile] ringleaders) wrote in [community profile] livinglot2016-09-29 10:38 am

⇨ 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!
missionfail: (downward)

[personal profile] missionfail 2016-10-06 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Truthfully, Jasper hadn't been all that impressed with most of the other gems in her kindergarden, but at the same time they'd still been loyal soldiers under Pink Diamond. They'd been willing to carry out their duties and earn respect as some of the first gems to colonize the new planet. If not for the Crystal Gems and their rebellion, the kindergarden wouldn't have been thrown together so hastily and they might have had a chance to grow decently.]

You're one to talk about being defective. At least they fought when it mattered.
missionfail: (what)

[personal profile] missionfail 2016-10-06 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jasper doesn't understand that comment or how it relates to him. If she knew anything about "Steven's" last name from being fused with Lapis, she's since forgotten it. The little quartz is still Rose to her.

Is he speaking metaphorically? And what does that have to so with anything?]


... I don't get what you mean.
beunbroken: (Default)

[personal profile] beunbroken 2016-10-06 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I just think it's a more advanced sort of science.

[most of the magical things in her life can be explained with science after all.

Elizabeth frowns.]
They did, Mr. Childermass- and the last man I spent any time with certainly wasn't very trust worthy at all. Luckily I don't have anything worth stealing on me.
fragileandsoft: (human beings)

[personal profile] fragileandsoft 2016-10-06 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ His laughter peters down to a little cough. ]

Ahh, just a little in-joke. Guess it's not so relevant in a place like this.

[He shrugs, grinning up at her.]

I mean, I know you've probably seen all sorts of crazy strength around here. But not too shabby for your plain ol' human, right?
toogoodtoopure: ([22])

nope!

[personal profile] toogoodtoopure 2016-10-06 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
The thing with that, miss, is you can be great. You can have all the riches in the world, all the fame in the world, but you'll still be lonely. There'll still be the ache where you feel something's missing, and you'll never know what it is.

[Yuugi smiles a little sadly, curling his hand around the spot near his stomach where the puzzle would have been resting. Lonely. Hah. He's such a hypocrite. Even though he still has all his friends, they would never really fill the empty feeling where Atem's absence was concerned.]

I know that without my friends to cheer me on, I wouldn't have won most of my duels, and of course there was a time before I was the King of Games. [He smiles a bit morosely now.] I was an easy target, definitely the smallest in school, so I got beaten up and bullied on the regular. Two of my very best friends, Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun, even used to tease me.

[Ah dark times.]

That's why I treasure my friends. I know how lonely I'd be without them.
Edited (goddamn I should not do tags just after waking) 2016-10-06 19:51 (UTC)
fragileandsoft: (gokarts are LIKE spaceships)

[personal profile] fragileandsoft 2016-10-06 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
That's the one with the... sorta flat marbles?

[Close enough.]

Well, I doubt there's likely to be too many board games at the fair. Hopefully those target games don't involve the gate of the world, either.
dontpokethat: i will float up off into damn space (one of these days)

[personal profile] dontpokethat 2016-10-06 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, yeah, I know." They both know perfectly well, of course, that him knowing he's at the most risk isn't the problem. "I'll keep an eye out and let you know if it seems like it's getting to be an issue, alright?"
fourthscribe: (Been a while since I had that dream)

[personal profile] fourthscribe 2016-10-06 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Tanyuu fixes Ginko with a hard stare, the end of her tail shifting back and forth, before she nods with a faint smile.

"And if you try to insist you are fine, I'll just sit on you again."

She turns and watches the crowds milling past, frowning ever so slightly. "The Ringmaster is casting her net pretty widely this time, isn't she?"
smellslikebarbecue: Icon artwork is DRAWN BY ME, please do not use or repost without permission! (Default)

[personal profile] smellslikebarbecue 2016-10-06 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[He cocks his head slightly.] Who's "they", anyway?
smellslikebarbecue: Icon artwork is DRAWN BY ME, please do not use or repost without permission! (spyro005)

[personal profile] smellslikebarbecue 2016-10-06 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Well sure I know plenty of other dragons, I'm from the Dragon Realms. Most of the ones I know are either really old and crotchety or they're still just babies, though... And I'm pretty sure all of them can breathe fire.

[A lot of them are red, too.]

You got a name or something else to go off of?
smellslikebarbecue: Icon artwork is DRAWN BY ME, please do not use or repost without permission! (Spyro002)

[personal profile] smellslikebarbecue 2016-10-06 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Eh, more like I need some thumbs, actually.

[(rimshot)]

Why, you got something mind?
smellslikebarbecue: (Howdy Hey)

[personal profile] smellslikebarbecue 2016-10-06 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, seriously? 20 tickets? Heck, that sounds more than fair to me.

[He forks over the requisite gem, and Sparx zips forward to snatch up the remainder.]
peridork: (periFLIP)

[personal profile] peridork 2016-10-06 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[Peridot looks up and yelps in surprise, nearly losing her footing up on the arm of the ride.]

Please tell me you have that under control!?! I don't need to deal with this thing burning down on top of having its insides all janked up!
peridork: (pretty please?)

[personal profile] peridork 2016-10-06 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"R-Right! That's what I meant." Sweat. "Eh... look just take my word for it, it's a pretty great show. And I can absolutely guarantee that you won't be losing any actual time that could be going towards searching for your friends. So you might as well just go enjoy yourself a bit, right?"
fortuneglass: (>3>)

[personal profile] fortuneglass 2016-10-06 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
I-IT'S PROBABLY FINE!! [Carly yelps back herself, waving at the wall in some meager attempt to tone it down.] It's not hot!! Just..um...

Don't touch it, and you'll be fine, ahahaahh!!! [Alright now she's panicking. The structure might not be at risk, but it does...kind of feed on life energy...]
peridork: (I GOTCH'YO NUMBAH)

[personal profile] peridork 2016-10-06 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Uuuh." Peridot looks up. Blinks. Then it clicks.

"OOOOOoooooooohhhhhhhhhhh," she exclaims, understanding dawning. "This is supposed to be one of those innuendos. Right." The tech flushes, embarrassed; she still has trouble picking up on these things, a lot of the time.

She clears her throat. "Well I mean, not right now I can't, since I'm giving all of my attention to these very important repairs... but perhaps later, when we are both on our coinciding work breaks!"

For some reason Peridot bounces her eyebrows like she said something very sexy and enticing just now??? She doesn't even have the slightest clue of what "handling" is even supposed to be implying. Doesn't matter. Future Peridot can work on figuring that out.
rescuee: (long tailed cat in a roomful of rockers)

lucky duck

[personal profile] rescuee 2016-10-06 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[ To Jajo's eye, the fellow currently pondering all the cheerful rubber ducks looks no more or less strange than anyone else he's seen tonight. He's long since learned that there's always a new race out there to meet, and who is he to think four eyes and glowing spots are strange? This guy does look pretty wrapped up in this, but... he's been watching the game for a few rounds now, and he still can't quite figure out what its gimmick is.

So that's why he sidesteps his huge frame over carefully, cybernetic limbs held in close like it would make him any less enormous and inconvenient, and leans in a little so he can ask his question without having to raise his voice too much over the noise of the crowds around him:
]

Got anything yet?

[ Clearly not, but it's the best in he can think of to the real question: what the fuck is up with the ducks. ]
impulsors: (territories shifted; things get renamed.)

[personal profile] impulsors 2016-10-06 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"They're probably both still in the woods." By reflex, Keith looks over his shoulder, narrowly missing a shadow that whirls and wheels and waves from a nearby booth, all limbs and a suggestion of teeth; it drops out of sight just as he faces forward. Helpful. "They can't be that far."

Even with a loss of memory, they're only human; there's no twinge in tendon or muscle to suggest that they've traveled for longer than a mile. Five at most.

"We'll find them," he adds -- but voicing that comes as an afterthought. It isn't usually, after all, Keith's place to be reassuring.
dragonsattendant: (hmm...)

Medli | TLOZ: Wind Waker | Newbie

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-06 11:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Admission fees

[ Having never left Dragon Roost Island before, Medli is a little bit... sheltered. Not so sheltered that she didn't know how money works, but she wasn't exactly overflowing with rupees. Which quickly becomes a problem.

"It looks like you're a few short, little miss."
]

A-ah, really? It's all I have at the moment... I didn't know I'd be traveling so far, so I...

[ "Sorry kid, I can't bend the rules for anyone. Better luck next time."

The Rito girl walks a ways away, dejected. She could ask another visitor for a share of their money, but what if she couldn't pay them back? She could just look for a vantage point and fly over, but that's breaking the rules!

Lost in thoughts and worries, she crosses her arms, staring blankly down at the ground.
]

Trying to Leaf

[ Well, that settles it. If she couldn't get in, she should just go home and go back to her duties.

Except... which way did she come from, again? Medli wasn't sure. And so, despite not being a transformed worker, her arms suddenly transform into wings as she flies up to a sturdy branch to get a better vantage point.

She then spots someone below, seemingly trying to figure out the same problem, and addresses them:
]

Excuse me... have you been able to see anything past these trees?
rescuee: (long tailed cat in a roomful of rockers)

do your work

[personal profile] rescuee 2016-10-06 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Jajo might be lost, bewildered, sort of hungry, and completely surrounded by bizarre-looking aliens, but that's no reason to be rude. So when Gilgamesh calls him over (nice horns; he likes those), of course he obliges, and turns his giant frame toward this newest stranger.

The demand is not quite one he was expecting, according to his blink.
]

Oh, well... I don't have any of those with me.

[ He pats his pockets regardless, though. He's totally loaded, of course, but has his doubts that his money has much value in this particular economy. He's resigned to it. ]

Maybe we can settle for a second finest possession. [ And more to the point: ] What's the game?
dragonsattendant: (apprehension)

Mirror Maze

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-06 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Anyone else would probably run away from the roar of an unseen beast, but being the attendant to a huge freaking dragon sort of conditions Medli otherwise, and she makes her way to its source.

Well... it's no dragon, but since she was here, it was her duty to help out, right? She holds up her hands non-threateningly, and addresses the lioness.

"I-it's okay! They're not real, they can't hurt you! ... I think. You're not hurt, are you?"
dontpokethat: its because you dont believe in them enough (if the magic spells i wrote dont work)

[personal profile] dontpokethat 2016-10-06 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
He crouches down to pick up the bucket of meat he had dropped when the rodent bolted - and the pieces of meat that had spilled. It's not like the animal itself was going to care if they had been on the ground.

"Sounds like a plan - though I'll say again, I'm still not sure why you give him extra to begin with." It's not a health hazard for the little (big) rat, or he'd be pushier about it, but frankly, he's not sure the thing deserves the treats Koel provides it with.

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-10-06 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[...well. He's certainly large, alright.

Gilgamesh looks up, up, up, but does not seem the slightest bit intimidated by any differences in size. If anything, he's intrigued by the particularly strange or exotic, and Jajo apparently qualifies as both. He takes a few steps towards him, not necessarily tentative but rather cautiously curious.]


A simple coin flip. You call heads or tails, and if it lands to your favor, you win my wager. Otherwise, I win yours.

[Gilgamesh appears tight-lipped on said wager, however. His long ears perk as he asks, with evident greed creeping into his tone:]

What would you consider "second finest"?

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-10-06 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Fatty.

[HOOOOOOO GUUUUUUUUUUUUURL]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-10-06 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[That earns a derisive scoff.]

Don't confuse yourself with the likes of me, mongrel. I'd wager you've lost more than that before.

[Gilgamesh continues to linger, and eventually takes the halfway route of toeing at her with his foot. Look, it's sort of like helping without actually doing it, so much can only be expected from him. At least he's not hissing and snarling and making otherwise aggressive gestures towards her, which might precede a sudden lunge.

For now.]


Get up already. You look most unseemly on the ground; it embarrasses me.