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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The meatbun toy earned a smile from Yukine. On hindsight, she should have picked a dango for Nagisa! She would have loved to see it back at the reference room...

... a gift from worlds apart. This would be a good story to tell, and a great experience, Yukine thought.

"Let's go to the tables. I can make coffee if you want, and I practice a few luck spells from time to time, if you'd like." She smiled down, remembering the things Kotomi would read about, books from physics so beyond her that she barely understood even the titles, "and maybe bring something home with you, from my part."

Uh huh!

_{[That's an easy question to answer, considering one of her brother's travel companions (and by extension hers) was from Kanto. She can even find Johto on a map!]}

I know where they both are.

[ Oh, he knows this one. He's recently learned it. The handshake. He solemnly accepts, taking Gilgamesh's hand carefully and enveloping it completely in his own. Three methodical ups and downs, that's how you do it. ]

I'm Jatuarnada Joadiarnadata. [ And shortly after, his usual addition: ] You can call me Jajo.

[ Because it's okay, he understands that life is too short to remember a name like Jatuarnada Joadiarnadata. ]

It seems like you know your way around here, Gilgamesh. Is that right?

Heh... I gotta say, I'm surprised to see such a little kid here. Guess it really doesn't matter to her.

[He crouches down to be closer to her level, looking her square in the eyes.]

You may see some stuff here that's really weird. And you're gonna have to deal with it on your own. You're gonna have to grow up real fast, and crying won't help you. You got that?

...Huh? What do you mean?

_{[There goes her smile again. She can deal with seeing weird stuff (she's already seen a bunch of strange things and people, Silver now included) but what did he mean by the second part? She'd have to grow up real fast and crying wouldn't help her? Of course crying didn't solve anything, she knew that! But that didn't mean she was immune to tears now and again.]}

Nice to meet you Silver.

I'm sure if "happy" is the right word, but it doesn't seem that bad, and I think we'll be able to go home eventually.

It's pretty weird though, like...I dunno, like if you pulled something out of a fairy-type's mind and made it reality.

"I dunno about coffee ... haha. It's kinda bitter to me. But you can show me your spells! That sounds cool," Goku said as they started walking toward the pavilion with the tables.

He knew about holy spells (mainly the Maten Sutra) and summoning spells (Kougaiji), but he'd never seen any luck spells before. Seemed like it would be a fun thing to see.

[Nekoglycerine let out a small sigh as the tall, bespectacled man continued asking her those questions. They really didn't pay her enough for this.

Something of value is something of value. Money, sentimental, it really doesn't matter. There isn't really much to get out of that.

[For a moment, a thought flashed through her head of charging him an exorbitant price, call it, fee for wasting her time like this, but honestly there was no point in such. She wouldn't see a lick of it, anyway, and it's not like she had much use for it as an employee of the Carnival.]

((Hi! I love Rei, and your prompt seemed fun, helloooo~!))

Edited 2016-10-08 05:21 (UTC)

You'll know it when it happens. I can't predict it. None of us can. So just be ready for anything.

[Returning to a standing position, he moves a stray strand of hair behind one ear.]

Supposedly, we're all gonna get to go home someday if we do what we're told. Take my advice and just focus on that.

It used to feel weirder. I feel like I've seen it all at this point.

Got any idea how you're gonna pull your weight? Slackers can be pretty annoying.

Edited 2016-10-08 05:28 (UTC)

The pavilions were full with beings of many places, and many worlds... some of them which grabbed Yukine's attention for a moment. She delayed in sitting after Goku, so after recovering her senses, she apologized with a bow, "I am sorry," and sat.

Yukine rose a finger to the person attending them, not paying attention to the long ears or the strange legs Yukine couldn't peek beneath his form, asking for coffee. Then, she brought up a few coins and a deck of playing cards.

"One of the things I liked from study from time to time were tarot card readings, but I understood that the future is never set in stone." Yukine then picked out a Joker, and a trio of coins. "But there is always a way to control it. What do you want to do for your future, Goku-san?"

I don't know to be honest.

I've been hearing there's been people getting into trouble going too deep in the forest. Maybe I could help out with that?

"My future..?"

Goku leaned his chin on his palm and considered it thoughtfully. Of course, it wasn't as though he never thought about his future. They were on the road traveling west, toward a goal. You had to have some kind of an idea of what would happen once you got there. But he wasn't sure what to expect, so he couldn't really plan for everything.

"I dunno. Guess to stop the Minus Wave, for now." And get Sanzo's sutra back, but he didn't mention that.

Minus Wave...? This was something Yukine couldn't understand. Things from other worlds well outside of the problems of little Hikarizaka. She looked down for a moment... then brought a trio of coins up.

"I have a spell that could help you get the knowledge and experience that you need for the days ahead of you," she slid all three coins to Goku, "you will have to put all three coins together as if they were a pyramid, and then set the card of the joker above them, and think of what you want for your future."

Yukine smiled, "this is a spell that ensures you will go through a great journey that will allow you to learn, and form friendships you will get to keep with you."

"Hmmmm okay."

In a way, those things were already happening with him. He was on the greatest journey of his life. Had been, for a few years now. And he'd met friends along the way. Not all of them ended well, but that was life, wasn't it?

He touched the coins, shifting them as she said he should, and put the joker above and nodded.

"Now what?"

"Think of the things you feel you need to learn, and the kinds of friends you'd like to meet, before the coins fall over."

Yukine's eyes set themselves over the impromptu structure of coins and card. It wouldn't stay up for long, as most of these spells gave a far too little window to work with, such as the gym spell that Tomoya got to be a part of.

It held on for longer than it would seem, almost half a minute as Yukine let Goku think of his wish. Then, the coins collapsed beneath the card, and the Joker hovered a little towards Yukine before it stopped over the tablecloth.

She smiled as the card came close to her. "It is done." She formed a heart with her hands, "get ready for your newest journey, Goku-san. I know you will make it."

Edited 2016-10-08 06:27 (UTC)

[Legendary weapons and excitable, competitive heroes do not a gentle combination make, when it comes to potential property damage. It's a painful truth and a fair cop out - he won't point out that it hasn't applied to the last few times he's made that bet.]

What have I done to make you want to embarrass me, Joker? [He offers a game in good faith and the first thing the man's mind jumps to is their shortcomings. Vengeance, surely.] I always give kin a fair advantage.

Though it's not wrong to say you'd stand a better chance if we weren't playing against one another.

[Confidence. Or a quiet plea for truce before the stage manager realizes he can capitalize on the greatest weakness of all: Lancer luck. It's not exactly a secret by now that he's almost as good at losing games of chance as he is at conquering tests of skill; the question is whether you're cruel enough to take advantage of it.]

[Escape is such an incongruent notion that for a moment it genuinely throws Diarmuid off-guard. What is there to escape, when he's never felt caged by the circumstances of his being here? It's a fleeting thought, one that his mind cuts immediately short when he pinpoints the familiar source of the suggestion.

In the end, the strange magic that allows this carnival to travel across both worlds and time makes the arrival of a kindred spirit no surprise, but it is something the Lancer cannot help but feel a twinge of resentment for. An itch between his armour and his beating heart.]

I'm afraid taking the time to test the boundaries that far would put me at risk of neglecting my duties.

[Evenly, he answers, and his tone manages yet to be far from unwelcoming. Whatever subtleties may (or may not) colour the man's perception of him through the lingering glamour, the only reactions that might betray the knight's discomfort are the momentary narrowing of his gaze...and a certain, sudden dimming of the space around him, not unlike the effect of a cloud passing over the sun.

He won't deny, however, that he does find some diversion in familiarizing himself with the woods as they are.]

And I am certain I would know you for a regular. Forgive me for asking: do you mean to imply you've already found an exit elsewhere, or simply to warn against wasted efforts?

Most people aren't. [ Childermass certainly isn't. ] Ah...

[ Although he can't help but give Elizabeth's shortened finger a very brief look of wariness, when her own glance down draws attention to it. Why is it always young women with missing pinkies? Really? ]

Your thimble?

Well...

[ She gives it some thought. She had no reason to believe otherwise. And, maybe she might see something interesting along the way?

Medli smiles, her mind made up. ] Okay! You lead, I'll follow. Let me just get down from here and...

[ Her arms once more transform into wings, which she starts to flap so she returns slowly to ground level... but a wing catches a branch, and Medli, with a distinct lack of birdlike grace, falls on her butt with a yelp. Oh well. ]

"Of course. I understand what its like being on a diet, after all."

'Diet' as in certain foods can only be eaten, of course.

"One day you'll have to join me in the Cookhouse. The animals learn pretty quick we're the ones in charge, after all."

Of course I'm going home! My brother is going to come find me and we'll go back to his gym together.

_{[What he's saying is too vague and too weird for her to truly grasp. Be ready for what exactly?]}

"Mm. Most of them anyway." He snorts, setting the now-empty bucket down on the ground. "Maybe, but I feel like I'd probably get in the way. I'm not exactly a master cook myself."

[ Childermass will look at the hand in question, but it isn't more than a brief flicker of his eyes down, then up again. He won't comment. His plan is to avoid commenting on most things, as most things here are so weird. ]

If it's no burden to you, I certainly won't decline such hospitality. [ Definitely not at a place he found off a faerie road (from his own world, anyway). ] Which is to say yes, you could interest me.

"Oh, you do? That's wonderful!" Hinawa claps her hands together. "I'm afraid I've gotten all turned around, if you could show me the way I'd be grateful!"

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⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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i don't even want to look back and see how many typos i've left littered in my wake, you're good

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Front

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► TRYING(?) TO LEAF

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thats cool, as long as i can get enough for a sample we good fam

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