⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

[ringleaders]

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!

Comments

Yuugi Mutou | YGO:DM (post canon) | newb

[toogoodtoopure]

[gamer's circle] (where else did you expect to find him, honestly!)

[It's a nice distraction, really. The allure of the lights, the carnival music, the sounds of people bustling about around him. It let him ignore the empty feeling as he navigated the Circle, one prize already completely dwarfing him. Yuugi hefted the large stuffed lion under his arm again, and he would have been leaving already had something else not caught his eye. There's a game off to the side - a booth with water guns - and he pauses before turning towards it. Luck and chance games weren't really his thing but...

One more couldn't hurt, right?

Setting the lion down, he held up a hand, waving for attention from the carnival worker.]

Excuse me! One over here, please!

[It's a bit hard, but eventually he gets the man's attention (it really sucks being just under 5'5"), and looks around before turning to the person next to him.]

Ah, sorry to bother you but do you think you could...

[Yuugi gives a helpless gesture to his height, flushing red on his cheeks.]

Help me out?

[wild card]

[hit me!]

[babbylon]

[Bluntly:]

No.

[Not for free, anyway. Sorry, Yuugi, you're going to have to do better than that to cut a deal with a dragon.]

[toogoodtoopure]

[Luckily he's used to cutting deals with dragons. thanks Kaiba. Putting his hands together, he bows slightly, if only because he's polite, and glances up at the other again.]

Pretty please? I kind of need some help and there's nothing to stand on nearby...

[babbylon]

You may beg on your knees for it, mongrel.

[At first, this doesn't seem like it's going to happen. But then, Gilgamesh adds, somewhat more charitably:]

Or you may offer me something of value in return. Those are the everlasting rules of this world: give and get.

[toogoodtoopure]

[That comment? That gets a frown before he shrugs it off. It's nothing he hasn't heard before, after all, and Yuugi taps his chin before gesturing behind him to the stuffed lion that's almost twice his size.]

How about I give you the lion I just won? Fair's fair, and I've already got a bunch of other prizes waiting for me to pick them up.

[babbylon]

[Oh, no, Yuugi accidentally found an actual weakness... Gilgamesh looks to the lion, sweats, and tries to pretend it's of no interest, but he's not so forgone that he's forgotten the beloved pets of his palace. He doesn't seem thrilled about it, but after a moment of this pondering, decides it will suffice.]

Very well. It is a suitable tribute.

[What a big baby. Gilgamesh clears his throat and moves on, hastily.]

What did you require? To merely stand on my shoulders, or...?

[toogoodtoopure]

[Yuugi takes a bit of notice about how long it takes the guy to decide, and the expressions that flicker on his face, used to paying attention to his opponents and people that overlooked him. There seems to be an internal struggle before he's got an answer, and grins before shaking his head.]

No, nothing that extreme. I'm, ah, just a bit shorter than the booth is all.

[If Jou were here, he'd probably insist on like an arm throne or something...]

Um...hmm...

[babbylon]

Certainly not. I would have killed you if you so much as suggested it yourself.

[Gilgamesh...

But he's a man of his word, mostly. Gilgamesh gives a wave of his hand, and moments later Yuugi will find himself slightly lighter on his feet—light enough to float the extra bit of distance required. Not exactly a step stool or or an arm throne, but it gets the job done. Gilgamesh claims his lion and looks to Yuugi somewhat curiously.]

Do you believe you can win?

[That's the question of someone who's already considering another challenge.]

OH MAN!!! OH!! MAN!!

[fortuneglass]

Mnh? [Carly likes to think she's gotten a bit better about her stammering around. A lot better, really! In fact, she thinks there would only be perhaps one person in the world that could throw her off if they appeared here! And not just because these bird legs make her taller than them] Ah, of course~! What do y...

[....She seems to have been wrong.] HA-HAAAUHHH!?! TH- YUGI MUTOU!?!

[AND SOMEHOW YOU SEEM DIFFERENT, MAYBE YOUNGER, SHE CAN'T BUT HER FINGER ON IT But she's pretty sure you should be twice her age sir!!]

FUCK I'M LAUGHING

[toogoodtoopure]

A-ah...y-yes?

[The reaction catches him off guard, but not entirely. Yuugi has had his fair share of experiences with fans, both negative and positive, and while it startles him considering he's been enjoying a nice little bit of anonymity since entering the carnival, he knew it might possibly be too good to be true. For a moment he looks a bit like a startled deer before he draws a hand up to scratch his cheek.]

Sorry, y-you took me by surprise, miss.

[And he manages to look a little sheepish to boot too.]

IM SO GLAD also vague headcanon ahoy I guess what even are ygo timelines,,,

[fortuneglass]

[It probably doesn't help that Carly looks more like a duel monster than a human being by this point, but the girl's wings practically bounce as she tries to get through her surprise.] Y- You surprised me first..!! I didn't think this chance would come at all, especially after public appearances died down, and riding duels got more popular, and-

[And the girl is rambling on and on and...none of this likely makes sense at all, really. Eventually, if she goes uninterrupted however, she manages to end with one note in particular-] It's really incredible to meet you!!

I have no fucking clue especially now that DSOD has fucked with canon

[toogoodtoopure]

[Public appearances? Well it was true that he'd taken a bit of a break from dueling since Atem left but he didn't think it had been that long. Sometimes it's best to let people ramble, so he waits patiently for her to finish before he smiles slightly, cheeks flushing. Some of it makes no sense at all, so he just shrugs it off as rumors being circulated.]

Well, it's always nice to meet fans I guess.

[Even in obscure places like this. Wait--]

Riding duels?

card games are suffering....

[fortuneglass]

[With all the rambling and rattling going on, one would think the obvious would hit her by now.] Yeah!! It was when I was in Highs...

...Wow, now that I think about it, you almost look like you could still be that young yourself~! But that can't be right at all..!

[HAHA...HAHAHAHHAaaaa...the laughter is fading more and more, honestly, and the smile goes with it.] ...You...don't know what riding duels...

[It'll hit her in a few moments, but maybe Yugi can get a word in before the blow out.]

they truly are

[toogoodtoopure]

Well, I did just start my senior year, but I can see how my height might confuse you...

[Even now he still got mistaken for a kid, the very reason why he wore his blazer outside of school. He smiles a little awkwardly, shifting a hand to rub at the back of his neck. Yuugi held no illusions about how young he looked, though she still sounds so surprised by it, and then the whole riding duels thing...unless that was something new Kaiba-kun was working on, he hadn't heard about it yet.]

No, but they sound fun!

[Then again a lot of things sound fun to him. He even remembers saying that about shadow games. Hah, what a laugh.]

Are they something foreign?

Re: Yuugi Mutou | YGO:DM (post canon) | newb

[dorkypantsuit]

[Ψii shrugs.]

Sure.

[He lifts his hands, both glowing purple, before Yuugi begins to raise in the air. He stops about one foot above the ground.]

Is that high enough?

[toogoodtoopure]

[Okay that? That causes him to make the most undignified noise ever - Yuugi will later deny that he ever squeaked like that at all - before his eyes widen with amazement. Even after being able to float in his spirit form and having seen all kinds of magic, this kind of thing was still a novelty.

Recovering from fumbling with and nearly dropping the water gun, he turns his head, beaming and nodding.]

Y-yeah! This is so cool!

[Yeah he's way too impressed.]

[dorkypantsuit]

[Ψii smiles, it really just makes him want to show off more, but the kid wanted to play a game, so might as well oblige him for now.]

Let's see what you got.

[dragnerd]

Huh, me?

[ He looks a tad confused for a second, not completely registering what's being asked of him. He glances to the water guns, to Yuugi, and back to the water guns. ]

Sure, why not? You just need a boost or something, right?

[ Natsu was really itching to play himself, but it's not like he can just ignore somebody when they ask for his help. ]

[toogoodtoopure]

Eheh, if you don't mind? I wouldn't usually ask but I...kind of need to.

[He manages to look a bit sheepish as he flushes red, glancing down before bowing and straightening himself. Yuugi especially hates having to ask this kind of thing from strangers, much less drawing attention to his shorter stature.]

I'll split the prize in return if you want.

[dragnerd]

Sure thing! Just let me know if you're too high up, alright?

[ Natsu doesn't even bother to ask if he's ready, he just grabs him from behind and hoists him up with relative ease. Huh. He can't really see with a face full of blue jacket. ]

Where to, pal?

[toogoodtoopure]

[The most undignified noise strangles itself in Yuugi's throat as he's hoisted up into midair like it's nothing. Now, he's been hoisted up by people before - bullies and friends alike - but this is obviously the last thing that he expected. Once he gets over that, he looks over his shoulder at the other boy.]

Jeez you're strong!

[Putting it lightly. He turns his attention to their current position, humming.]

Ah, a little to the left.

[operationbox]

[Excuse you, she was once 5'2" and she has only gotten shorter.]

Oh, of course! I know we've got a platform for this around here somewhere.

[She motions with one pink-clawed finger to the operator to just hurry up and bring it out, but after about half a minute of looking for it behind the counter all Io and Yugi get from them is a helpless-looking shrug.]

[toogoodtoopure]

[He'll likely never reach 5'8". The Mutou curse.]

Ah, thank you.

[Though, it doesn't really seem like they have much luck finding it. The shrug gets her a shake of the head and a nonchalant wave of his hand.]

It's fine, don't worry about it. These kinds of games aren't my usual thing anyway.

[operationbox]

On the other hand, you've pointed out something that could have been much more of a problem later. There must be something I can do for you in return.

[dragonsattendant]

[ If Yuugi was expecting a boost from a child around half his height, I don't know what to tell him. But Medli will tell him this: ]

Um... Do you need me to... stand on your shoulders or something like that? I'd like to be of help, but...