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!
fragileandsoft: (it could be cool if it's not a disaster)

[personal profile] fragileandsoft 2016-09-30 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"Works for me! No point rushing a good time."

Despite his initial sense of heebie-jeebies, Greg can't deny how impressive this place is. Massive, vibrant, lively... basically everything anyone could want in a carnival. Even the smells are fantastic. They're gonna have to make the cookhouse one of the early stops.

"Still, can't figure out how they pitched this tent without Smiley pitching a fit. You really think this is some kinda magic dealio?" Everything points in that direction, sure, but usually magic involves less prizes and rides.
starseedling: (the creepiest pasta is lasagna)

[personal profile] starseedling 2016-09-30 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"Mmmmaybe," Steven hums, folding his fingers beneath his chin. "The businesses on the boardwalk are pretty competitive... and I don't think I recognize any of the people here, and what are the odds of that in Beach City!"

This realization doesn't seem to upset Steven, despite the fact that he's never actually encountered magic like this, if that's what it is.

"I'd text the Gems to ask but... they still don't carry cellphones."

It's kind of absurd, honestly.

Edited 2016-09-30 21:32 (UTC)
fragileandsoft: (this one time at band camp)

[personal profile] fragileandsoft 2016-09-30 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
He expected as much, really; Steven's never gotten too worried about magic stuff unless it's outright hostile. So far, everyone seems to be having a pretty darn good time here.

"Really is too bad. I bet Amethyst would love this place." Maybe Garnet too. Pearl... it'd be fun to see, either way.

"Guess it's up to us to investigate." Greg makes a show of cracking his knuckles. "Give a thorough check on all these mysterious snacks and games.
starseedling: (about our presidential candidates)

[personal profile] starseedling 2016-10-01 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
Steven beams, looking up at Greg and nodding in agreement before looking around again in anticipation of trying this place out.

"As long as we're careful!" he says, taking Greg's hand. You know, just in case, even though he isn't suspected anything askew at the moment. He knows Pearl would want them to be careful.

They start to wander, and Steven still finds himself thinking about lions.

"Did you know that mom had, like... seven lions? Back when they were still settling Beach City!"
fragileandsoft: (just a generic pose)

[personal profile] fragileandsoft 2016-10-01 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
"No kidding? Where'd you hear about that?" There was a whole thing about the Gems not knowing, right?

He rubs at his beard, envisioning Rose in the middle of a big technicolor pride. It seems fairly plausible, honestly. "Doesn't surprise me much though. She always had her pet projects." Is he even doing it on purpose?
starseedling: (i will be voting for all of them)

[personal profile] starseedling 2016-10-01 06:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Okay, so," he starts, like it's obviously going to be a bit of a tale. "You know how I did that play about Mayor Dewey's ancestor who founded Beach City? And how he had this friend named Buddy?"

He raises his hands in a form of illustrative storytelling.

"It turns out, he wrote this book all about crazy gem stuff! Because Pearl accidentally gave him a map of stuff to stay away from, but then he just went to explore all of it instead! And he drew all these pictures in his journals."

He grins up at Greg.

"Connie and I found it in the library! And, like, in one of his stories he met mom, in the desert, and she had all these lions with her? He had no idea why so... I guess I don't either?"
fragileandsoft: (gokarts are LIKE spaceships)

[personal profile] fragileandsoft 2016-10-03 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
For a moment, Greg doesn't respond, just scratching at his neck as he thinks it over.

"That's actually pretty cool, I guess. I dunno too many humans who went to check out gem stuff, let alone wrote about it." Humans stay away from magic; that's always been the simple unspoken rule.

He rolls his shoulders in a playful shrug. "Well, aside from yours truly."
starseedling: (because they seem nice)

[personal profile] starseedling 2016-10-04 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Steven laughs, sidling up against his dad cheerfully. It's nice to have something silly and non-ominous to talk about with regards to his mom. He misses back when Greg could just tell him stories about her and their relationship without everything being underlined with so much controversy and pain.

Maybe that's just growing up, though.

"I think checking out the actual Gems is what really made you one of a kind." He's trying really hard to just relax today, but sometimes everything still manages to feel loaded. "I know, because I'm one of a kind, too."
fragileandsoft: (luv u)

[personal profile] fragileandsoft 2016-10-04 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Greg's smile doesn't falter or fade, but he glances down at his son. Steven doesn't always tell him about what's going on, but he can tell there's been a lot. That's why they need a day like today.

Greg gives Steven a gentle noogie, chuckling. "There's only one Universe, unless there's two, huh? Us one-of-a-kinds do best together."
starseedling: (in a way we practically won the lottery)

[personal profile] starseedling 2016-10-05 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"Haha, yeah!"

He grins, and inwardly he feels the exact same way. They can just hang out together, in a situation totally separate from everything else, and they can enjoy it without having to worry about the stuff that waits at home. He fluffs his own hair after the noogie and then moves to hop up into Greg's arms, tucking his face in against his shoulder.

"We do." And Greg shouldn't forget that either.