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!
fortuneglass: (>3>)

oh god now I see my code

[personal profile] fortuneglass 2016-10-11 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
O-Of course!!

[And for that matter.] I didn't even know there was a world for that! The only one I knew about was-

Mine.

[Ah.

It would seem the shadow at Carly's feet is moving. Also talking. There also seem to be eyes, if one looks.
] All duel monsters are spirits. But not all spirits are duel monsters, after all, [He murmurs, eyeing Yuugi almost curiously.]
dragonsattendant: (what?)

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-11 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"A trick? I think this maze is supposed to... be..."

It's at this point she notices Hinawa's reflection is in a different pose than the real one

and Medli's own reflection runs ahead and out of sight.

"... u-um! Yes, let's move forward!" She's unsettled, but does her best to keep a level head, and picks up the pace a little bit.
dragonsattendant: (happy)

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-11 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You don't know?

[ WELL THEN. Medli will be happy to elaborate! It's the legend that endured the Great Flood, after all. ]

They say the Hero of Time traveled back and forth between the times when he was a child and an adult in order to save the world from an evil man who sought to rule it. And he succeeded, too!
pipers_son: (The stripper told Tom to sort his life)

[personal profile] pipers_son 2016-10-11 10:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[The mysteries of strangely vanishing weaponry is something Joker has learned to accept while in the carnival. Sort of like whatever weird bodily changes people go through while working here, or hopping from world to world, or how no one actually knows what's in the Carnival Surprise meals.]

[With that decided, he gives another couple claps to Lancer's shoulder and laughs as he takes off.]


With our luck, they'll be flyin'! I think the Ringleader's been gettin' antsy for things bein' quiet so long.
fortuneglass: (<o<)

How goes app work btw? :0!

[personal profile] fortuneglass 2016-10-11 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, we travel to a lot of dimensions after all..! It's hard to remember all the stories for every single one! [And she normally doesn't know any stories at all, for that matter.

This person definitely sounds-
] Oohh! So he's like a hero that you see in legends..!
sunflowerfields: (I'll worry about you)

[personal profile] sunflowerfields 2016-10-11 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Hinawa reaches down and takes Medli's hand. "I don't think they realize this joke is no longer funny!"

It's just a trick of the light, She tries to tell herself. She has to stay calm, for Medli's sake. "Let's show them that we can find our way out despite their tricks, hmm?"
toogoodtoopure: ([57])

/pats

[personal profile] toogoodtoopure 2016-10-11 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[When one deals with spirits who have a habit of coming out of the shadows, it's a bit hard not to notice them shifting and moving around. Yuugi inhales sharply when it starts speaking, almost as though he's expecting an entirely different voice to what he hears. Kicking down the disappointment that rises in his gut, that insistent feeling that has been plaguing him since Atem's departure, he wrings his hands together.]

I...I know. No one knows that more than me.

[If there's bitterness in his voice, he doesn't acknowledge it, instead taking in a breath and sighing a little, bowing his head, clearly apologising to the shadow.]

I'm sorry for insinuating that. You're right, not all spirits are duel monsters. I guess I just wasn't expecting to interact with any outside of that this soon.
Edited 2016-10-11 23:19 (UTC)
fortuneglass: (o-o?)

'when yah can use your shadow as an ace monster'

[personal profile] fortuneglass 2016-10-11 11:27 pm (UTC)(link)
You d-

[No that isn't important!] HEH!?

But he is one!! I even have his card with me here!!

I was speaking more to you, than him.

But I knew that too..! [she protests, looking from the shadow to the other.] Ahh... ...Are you alright though? [she adds, staring. ..He seemed a bit tense just for a moment there, after all.]
dragonsattendant: (happy)

IM SHIT AT PERSONALITY WRITING but if it's fine as is, i just need another sample and im good to go

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-11 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Uh-huh! Even today, when boys come of age, they dress up in clothes that look like the hero's. It must be nice to feel like that...

[ Link was wearing the hero's clothes too, wasn't he? Thinking on it, they really suited him considering all he'd done for the Rito. ]
fortuneglass: (<o<)

AWWW YEH wait like another thread or

[personal profile] fortuneglass 2016-10-11 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[Wow...a whole other tradition even...] Hehhh...I don't think I've seen too many things like that holding out where I'm from...

Most traditions like that are just in small villages...
dragonsattendant: (what?)

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-12 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Right!" The Rito pressed on, one hand on the wall and the other in Hinawa's.

As she moved, though, one of her reflections, though remaining in step with the real deal, spoke. Don't you have something else you need to be doing?

And Medli just freezes in place, staring slack-jawed at the reflection. "W-what..."

You know. Your duties. Or did you think you could just leave it all behind without consequences?
anti_altruisms: (You really want to know.)

[personal profile] anti_altruisms 2016-10-12 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ Please don't call him that out loud, Diarmuid, he won't take it well.

He quirks a brow again as there's plenty to dissect in those brief answers, if he so chooses. There was no fanfare, in his case. He simply avoided the game as instructed, sought her out, and made a deal.

He has no illusions that he's consigned himself to servitude, but at least, in this particular instance, he had some say in the process. If he can actually get what he wants, so much the better.

Either way, he'll take this over the crushing monotony of a guardian's existence. ]


I don't expect to have issues with the management.

[ Or at least, nothing major enough to make him want to leave or go back to their own world. When he spoke with her, she seemed fairly reasonable. ]

Do you go by your name or your class here?
dragonsattendant: (playing the harp)

yea another thread. just need a few more comments for it tho!

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-12 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
Well... I guess the world now is kind of made up of small villages. Legend has it that it was a lot bigger before the flood... now it's just lots of little islands in the Great Sea.

I wonder what it looked like back then...
missionfail: (downward)

[personal profile] missionfail 2016-10-12 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
I know the saying. Maybe because I'm not from Mars.

[The very idea... But she's sure he knows this and letting him rile her up further will just be playing into his hands. (Though it's likely to happen anyway.)]

And I don't plan on begging, so the comparison isn't valid.
fortuneglass: credit - haptisms @ lj (OnO)

Awesome!!

[personal profile] fortuneglass 2016-10-12 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
Wow....

Th-There's no mainland at all?! [It sounds a bit like Hawaii...and others...]

I-If it flooded that bad, those must have been some really tall mountains..
faking: (pic#5491878)

[personal profile] faking 2016-10-12 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
Hmmmm, [is all Alois says at first, a drawn-out hum of pure skepticism, pure suspicion. She's got to be from Mars. It's likely her intentions are evil and nasty and full of... Well, Alois isn't sure what all being a Martian entails, but Jasper is definitely a Martian, and Jasper is also stupid and mean, so that means Martians must be stupid and mean.

Right??

...

He stops squinting at her, finally, to smile. It's small and coy.]


Of course, one doesn't generally plan on begging. Just saying. I'm just saying! But what do I know? Maybe you are able to go ahead and choose anything you want. Privacy and propriety, all of it. What do I know! Haha.
sunflowerfields: (I'll never know)

[personal profile] sunflowerfields 2016-10-12 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
Hinawa almost runs ahead, but stops when she feels Medli's arm pull. She looks back to see the girl has stopped.

"Medli? Are you all right?"
anti_altruisms: (I don't care.)

[personal profile] anti_altruisms 2016-10-12 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ "What manner" could mean any number of things. Honestly, he's more curious about the mechanics of how what Yuugi describes came to be, but he is also interested in the character of the spirit he came to know -- his origins and what sort of magic kept his spirit intact if not the workings of the world itself.

Yuugi may or may not have the answers to such questions, but the brief description he provides is good enough for now.

Archer lets out a soft huff. ]


So long as you know the life you have to live is yours, not his.

[ Speaking from personal experience? No, certainly not. ]

What is your name?
dragonsattendant: ((X) Doubt)

[personal profile] dragonsattendant 2016-10-12 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
For a moment, there's silence. She was imagining things, right?

What would the chieftain think of you walking away from Prince Komali and the great Valoo?

... darn. Her reflection had a point. She'd just wandered into a wooded area without a second thought, and she didn't know the way back.

If there's a way back at all.

Medli squints her eyes shut for a moment, then looks ahead, her face betraying her distress. "... I'm fine. You're right, we really need to get out of here!"
toogoodtoopure: ([41])

[personal profile] toogoodtoopure 2016-10-12 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
[He shakes his head, wild hair falling every which way before he speaks again. Maybe once a long time ago he would have lost sight of himself, but he had long since come to realise that he wasn't Atem's shadow any more than the Pharaoh was his.]

Before he left, he said I was the only "me". I know that my life and my story are my own.

[The statement is about strange, coming from a stranger, but he remembers Atem's final words, keeps them close to his heart. Yuugi glances up at the question, then realises what he was asked.]

Yuugi Mutou. Ah, sorry for not introducing myself.
toogoodtoopure: ([38])

just normal YGO bullshit you mean

[personal profile] toogoodtoopure 2016-10-12 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
Huh?

[Realizing when he was looking a bit moody was beginning to become second nature to Yuugi. Insisting that he was fine was beginning to become second nature too. He waves a hand, laughing a little. Mostly at himself, which shows on his face.]

Sorry, sorry. I'm...I'm fine. Honestly.

[Just dealing with things. Yup. Nothing to see here.]
sunflowerfields: (Don't be long)

[personal profile] sunflowerfields 2016-10-12 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
Wonderful! I'll be right back.

[True to her word, Hinawa ducks into the back for a moment, then returns with a tall glass of milk and a plate of the most delicious looking chocolate chip cookies you've ever seen. And they're still warm!]

Here you are, sir! I hope you find them to your liking.

[Smile, smile.]
applauses: manga. (pic#7757507)

[personal profile] applauses 2016-10-12 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Oh? You're counting on me? You really lay it out there!!

[ Chuckling, he waves his hand in front of him, as if brushing off this idea that given the right resources, they could work together perfectly like a well oiled machine. Well, as perfectly as two egotistical power-hungry people could work together. There was only so much joking they could do about their own histories without looking suspicious to everyone else around them. ]

When you say it like that, it really sounds like we could be a team. You know, the inside man and the outside man. Just like the movies.
pipers_son: (sillica) (I will be there.)

[personal profile] pipers_son 2016-10-12 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
A bit more spice definitely never hurt! But here, if ya don’t mind-

[He really doesn’t need to push things… He knows. But Joker still does it, ducking behind Gottlieb and sliding his arm forward to help him aim.]

Just like this, and I’m sure you’ll get the next one~.
pipers_son: (sillica) (I will be there.)

[personal profile] pipers_son 2016-10-12 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
Well, we’re hirin’, for one thing.

[Joker laughs loudly, but it’s also true. They really need more hands on deck. Their meager work force and magic can only do so much. He’ll trick people, if he needs to, but Joker thinks this is a pretty good deal if people simply accept it.]

Besides, it sounds like yer pretty talented and hard workin’! With a little demonstration, I’m sure the Ringleader would love ta have ya on, so long as yer interested. I could vouch for ya, too. After all, I’m the stage manager around here.

[Playfully, he winks.]