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!
ferlwin: (Default)

ADMISSION FEES

[personal profile] ferlwin 2016-10-01 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Ferlwin heard the scuffle at the gate and frowned. Did that man really just? She huffed and walked over, looking annoyed.

"Did he really just..." She stamps a hoof and shakes her head, looking annoyed. While she'd never thought to ask about 'living' fare, what she'd just seen annoyed her greatly. Turning to the ticket taker, she handed him a few silver pieces.

"I'll cover the fare for this young man. Please call the warden and see what he wants done with that old fool..." Shaking her head, she turned her attention to Ranma. "Does he do such idiotic things regularly?"
Edited 2016-10-01 22:21 (UTC)
1halfofawhole: (pretty boy)

[personal profile] 1halfofawhole 2016-10-03 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. Yes the man really just handed his own son over as payment. Ranma looks really really annoyed and is digging through his pockets for something. Anything he can use to pay with. Damn. He'd spent most of his money on takoyaki.

He blinks and blinks again at the sight of the woman who just paid for him. It even takes him a moment to be okay with the fact that she has hooves and he's seen some really really odd things. Maybe it's just really good makeup or maybe she's cursed too. But whatever, she's paying for him and now he's got to pay her back instead.

"You really didn't have to do that you know. I could have found something... But thanks I guess." He sort of smiles and then frowns and looks annoyed all over again. "All the time. But hey, at least it's not another fiancee, right? But don't worry about him. I'll just kick his ass later and it'll all be okay. So just ignore it. Instead...tell me how I can repay you? I mean you did just spend a bunch of money." He had seen he silver. He knows that's got to be a heck of a lot.
ferlwin: (Default)

[personal profile] ferlwin 2016-10-03 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
"You're quite welcome." She has a concerned look on her face as he frowned. "Another... Goddess above that man truly is a fool..." Ferlwin shook her head and sighed, this had trouble written all over it. It sounded like this young man might need help the carnival could provide more than she ever had.

"If you really want to repay me, walk with me? There are a few things that you need to know about this carnival, and I believe it would be in your best interests to speak to the Ringmaster... I will say above all else, do not claim that fool's debts as your own."

As far as Ferlwin was concerned, the old man was a lost cause and he deserved whatever punishment he got. Selling what she could only assume was his son and then 'stealing' him back... Disgusting.
1halfofawhole: (pretty boy)

[personal profile] 1halfofawhole 2016-10-03 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"You don't have to tell me that." He sort of laughs a little, though it's really not all that funny. He's the one that has to live with the guy and put up with that sort of stuff. He's the one that has to be the honorable one of them and make up for all those shortcomings. It's what a man would do, right?

"But sure. I'll walk with you. Not sure I wanna speak with the leader. I just wanna find my pop and kick him in the head. But you don't get it. I gotta. If that moron does something stupid, I gotta fix it. It's my duty. But thanks for the warning....ah...." He shouldn't just call this woman that helped him out Goatlady. He really really shouldn't. "Goatlady." Damn it.
ferlwin: (Default)

[personal profile] ferlwin 2016-10-03 11:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"Goatlady?..." Ferlwin manages to keep a straight face all of five seconds before breaking into laughter. "Well, that's a new one." She giggles and wipes away a single tear of laughter before calming down and shaking her head. In a manner of speaking he was actually correct, so it was pretty hard to get mad at him.

"Depending on who you ask, I'm either a Satyr or a Faun... but just call me Ferlwin, please."

Back to the issue at hand though. "First, this is not a normal carnival, so when I say leave him to deal with his own debts, it would be a good idea to take that advice." If he takes her advice to heart or not, well, that's his choice.

"Before I get into that, how is his stupidity your responsibility? He's an adult, he is more than capable of knowing when he's making an immoral choice..."