⇨ 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

Carly Nagisa | Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds | Veteran

[fortuneglass]

[[OOC - A visual reference can be found here!]]

[DO YOUR...WISP WORK!]

[Carly has been working with the carnival for a long time. A very long time, or at least next to a lot of the others there now. The war with the vampires left quite a mark on everyone to say the least, and while Carly's done her best to go back to being bubbly about it, it's very strange to find the number of older recruits cut like this.

She has plenty of time to fall back on those thoughts too-as a scout, her job involves going ahead of the carnival to check new venues out, so in the early weeks of the current show? There's not much to do.]

AAaaaaAAAHHH-! No!! Get back here-!!

[Which just means she needs to find new ways to distract herself. And in that case, it means helping with those will-o-wisps. She was asked, after all! Strange energy sapping fire seems to be pretty useful in catching these guys, but ever since she received the warning that so much as touching them could leave some kind of...'side effect', the strange bird-like girl has been floundering and falling all over herself just trying to pin so much as one.

And oh-p!] L-Look out..!!

[Now this wisp is heading for you!]

[Take a Break]

[If there's one thing that makes a day of wisp-hunting worthwhile, it's a nice big drink; and despite there not being any orange coloured straws around, somehow it seems Carly is drinking her fountain drink with one right that moment!

...Or maybe that's not...

Those with a keen eye might notice more, however-specifically, they might notice the shadow at her feet.

Moving.] Hmnnn...i' wath ha-b a fir'fth, buh A' fin' we dib weery weh-uh, Affwah...!

[Especially after that messy attempt at talking with a 'straw' in her mouth.]

More or less... [The shadow mutters.] Better than your drink is going now, certainly.

B-UH! [It's a miracle she doesn't drop the drink right there, really-especially with the yelp that comes as she unintentionally drags her tongue out against the sharp plastic corners of the straw-hole.] OW-!!!

[RIDDLE ME THIS!]

I'm not helping with this.

[Carly is used to arguing with her shadow, these days. Especially over things the shadow considers...'trivial', such as this. The chest is small, and the instructions are right there, but for the moment Carly merely groans.] Awwwwwwww...why not..? We could share what's inside!~

It could be something fun, or cute, or-

I have better things to see the future of!

[Oof. To that, the girl merely snorts, chuckling teasingly.] You just say that because it might be something you don't like..~

Th- That's hardly the reason at all!! [Nail on the head, and anyone interested in the chest themselves is going to be treated to a snickering bird-girl and an irritated shadow.

Maybe they should claim that chest for themselves, instead.]

straw tongue club: riddle solvers

[dorkypantsuit]

Oh, hey! Are you trying to get that chest open?

High Five for the Straw Tongue Clubbb

[fortuneglass]

AH! [Interrupted from their argument, both Shadow and 'Bird' end up turning to the Psiionic with a jump. Carly, in the end, is quicker to speak.] I would, if Aslla would help! [She protests, the shadow seemingly rolling whatever eyes it has.]

Hmn! It's likely just another knickknack to waste time with, after all.

Aaaahhh- Or it could be something FUN to waste time on~! [She quickly cuts in, looking to Psii for some support.]

Re: High Five for the Straw Tongue Clubbb

[dorkypantsuit]

Even if it just does something dumb, it's magic. That makes it cool!

[fortuneglass]

Exactly!!

Tch. You can enjoy doing that yourselves then, [the shadow scoffs, Carly's feathers ruffling in turn.] Ahhh!! We just proved you wrong though! Get back here, get back-! [she shouts at the shadow, its eyes going dull as it returns to mimicking the owner normally.

Well isn't this just a pain.] Mhmnn...I don't even know how to answer this riddle...

[dorkypantsuit]

Well what is it? We don't need anyone else's help to win.

[fortuneglass]

Ahhhh...

[Come to think, she didn't actually...Look.]

...What's the best time to go to the Dentist?

[dorkypantsuit]

[Psionic stops, thinking that over for a bit. A time? One, Two, Three.... Wait.]

Uh... Two-oth o'clock?

[fortuneglass]

[BREEEENGH. Nope, not quite. But at least the two at the chest are like minded enough to stay on the right track right?] T...Tooth thirty...?

[A peg short of a pun there, Carly!]

[dorkypantsuit]

Oh!

[Ψiioniic snaps, as inspiration strikes.]

Two-Thirty! Is that it?

[fortuneglass]

[If it were possible, the chest seems to tighten even more.] HAHH!?! How can we be more wrong?!

Honestly, the both of you...Tooth Hurty.

W...what?

[The shadow grumbles, before fading back to normalcy once more.] Don't make me repeat it.

Wisp Catching

[linkedpenumbra]

[This boy certainly wasn't paying any attention to the commotion until that shout reached his pointed ears. He's not entirely sure of what this place is, but it's amusing enough. Perhaps the need to be slightly generous crept up on him, because after side stepping from the strange... thing coming close, the boy bothers to raise a hand and attempt to trap it within an orb of darkness.]

What, you're looking for this?

[He smirks, showing off a hint of fangs.]

OH SNAP a dark link!!

[fortuneglass]

[Well now! The woman skids to a stop and blinks, quickly gaining her senses enough to answer. With a rapid nod at the now captured wisp, she shouts.] Y-yes!! All of them running loose means things won't get done and...

[Ah, but now that she thinks about it...] You caught it though!~ [Lucky Day!] Good job!!

No, but close enough

[linkedpenumbra]

Snrk... hehehe....

[A bit of laughter for what seems to be high praise for nothing. In that case, it would be absolutely terrible if he decided to let the tiny creature free wouldn't it? At least the boy doesn't do such a thing yet, as simple it would be for him to do so as it was to capture it.]

Nice to know you're so happy because I made your job look so easy then.

[Because seriously, all that flailing around before was dumb and hilarious.]

So what exactly are you and what am I holding here?

fffft I know what I meant cries (I wonder if I can enable my buddy's Blue Link for you hmmnnn)

[fortuneglass]

EAS-

This isn't even my job..!! [she sputters, feathers ruffling as she huffs.] For all I know, you could be some kind of super-magical wizard, or elf, anyway! I didn't have magic before!!

[...Her defense isn't really working, is it? Well. Feathers still fluffed, if they can even be called feathers, she continues.] I'm just human-I work here, so some of this place rubbed off, that's all!

It's a rare chance to try something new! [she adds, beaming for a brief moment.] ...That thing's a will-o-wisp though! ...If you touch it, something might...happen.

[She, uh. Kind of missed the 'what' in panic when she found out there was a 'what' at all, admittedly.]

You don't know your friends very well do you?

[linkedpenumbra]

[The woman doesn't seem to be on the road to wiping the smile off this young and cheeky teen's face. So no, her defense isn't very effective at all.]

Something might happen? Then yeah, it's a good thing I took care of this one. Here you go.

[He nudges the orb so that it floats over to the bird-like lady.]

IM GONNA MURDER YOU ONE DAY DRAG!!!

[fortuneglass]

Ahhh...~ [Yayyy~ She caaaarefuly reaches out to take the orb, face full of trust...]

Go ahead and try, being a troll's too fun

[linkedpenumbra]

[And the second that Carly's hands close around the orb, the shadows that made up its form scatter, leaving the woman to "hold" the wisp without any sort of protection.

Time to watch the magic happen.]

[fortuneglass]

[NOPE!!! NOPE!!] HAAAAAAHH!!

[Instinctive, energy draining fire at its finest, and the wisp screams as it bolts away. Noooooooo-] YOU!

Look what you just made me do..!! [She wails, looking more upset with herself than anything.] Now it's just scared..!!

[linkedpenumbra]

[Well he didn't get to see what the thing does to people, but the boy's hysterical anyway because his sense of humor is just that low.]

And I don't see how that makes it my problem..!

[fortuneglass]

[OOOooooOOOGH! This is just burning her up good!] It's your problem if it causes trouble for everyone here..! [she insists.] Because if it causes trouble, then it causes damage, and then you have to pay for it!! [...This is totally how it works, and she isn't stretching the truth at all.]

Wisps

[cuckooed]

Hm?

[She turns to see the wisp coming towards her, and the individual running after it.]

Carly? I assume you need assistance?

[fortuneglass]

AHH- [And in those few seconds, the wisp is looking on end, to another end, and-

They're OUTTA HERE!] Sh-Shoot..! [There it goes... The girl sighs, deflating a little.] I thought this would be easier...

Why are these things so hard to catch..!?

[cuckooed]

They belong to the Ringmaster. Surely that's reason enough?

[For her part, Koel seems unfazed, her cheeks slightly red. Maybe she had been exerting herself trying to capture the wisps, herself. Maybe she's getting a bit of a contact buzz from the wisps. Maybe its both.

She stretches and folds her arms behind her head.]

I'm not worried about it. We'll get them, won't we?

[fortuneglass]

B...But, but... [Carly's done an unfortunately good job of not getting buzzed, herself.

Maybe it would have been better otherwise. The girl sighs, just about everything on her drooping toward the ground-including her head.] There's so many too...