livinglot | ⇨ 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Mitsuki startles a little and turns around (as much as he can with the safety lock in place anyway). It's a combination of the voice and the words--all the time!? What does that mean?

He's immediately distracted from those questions by what looks like stars on the seat, too, until he realizes that no, those are-- ]

Ehh?

[ There are way too many questions to ask here at once, so he narrows it down to the one that makes the most sense among stars that move and men with wings. ]

Give what a shot, working here? I already have a job!

Oh, ya don’t have ta worry about that!

[Thank goodness they’re so close to the stars right now, because that’s enough illumination to catch the roguish grin which stretches across Joker’s face.]

They won’t have any time ta notice yer gone before yer back again. Besides, the pay here can be better than what anybody else could give ya, I promise ya that. S’a nice perk.

[ Mitsuki does see that smile and it's not entirely convincing but the attitude behind it is still a bit infectious. He narrows his eyes but he also lays one arm on the back of the seat so it's more comfortable to keep facing the other guy. He's listening. ]

They won't notice? Is that like the stars, just something about this place? And I don't do what I do for the pay. It's my dream...

[ There's an absence of energy in the end of his statement, though. Dreams are great but not so much when you fail at them. It's possible that's part of why he's still listening. ]

Bingo~!

[Quick study, he likes that. Joker’s grin widens.]

A lotta things about this place are like that. So that said... [He straightens up, legs crossing.] What’s this dream a yers, if ya don’t mind me askin’? Maybe we could help ya out there, if ya like. The pay here ain’t exactly for money… Well, unless that’s what some people want.

[ He clearly got something right, even if the actual fact of it is still kind of unclear. Knowing he's going in the right direction is enough to keep Mitsuki listening, though.

The question's an easy one, and Mitsuki smiles as he answers. ]

I'm a idol! It's the only thing I've ever wanted to be, and it took me a long time but I'm finally doing it.

[ And he's determined to do it well, somehow. The how is a little bit unclear, too. Lots of things seem to be. ]

How could a place like this help me? ... I guess knowing how to do magic tricks could be helpful.

[ Because in the end, the stars thing has to be a trick. Right? ]

[Idol…. Ah, right. Thank god he remembers what that is, with all the traveling they’ve done. He could offer an easy route, but just one look says that the person he’s talking to is proud of how much genuine hard work he’s accomplished on the way to his goal. He’ll have to go a different way.]

Well, there’s definitely a bit of magic ta learn, if ya like! [Joker laughs, wondering if this kid knows how much more serious it is.] But our boss knows all sorts of people- entertainers, musicians, dancers, name it and she knows it. Could help ya find people ta teach ya moves ya wouldn’t normally find back home. Or she could make it so ya have a little more time in the day… Or so that the paparazzi don’t bother ya.

[ If he didn't, Mitsuki would be glad to enlighten him, but it'd be a lot more glowing than most people are willing to endure. He just really likes idols, ok?

And he's definitely thinking about cards up sleeves, maybe sawing people in half. Mitsuki hasn't forgotten about the star and he certainly can't forget about the mystical looking person sitting talking to him, but these are just illusions.

Right? ]

Something like that would make me stand out, I don't know anybody else who does magic. And for the rest of it, it never hurts to have more things you can do. Stuff to fall back on.

How do you know she'd do all that, though? She's never even met me.

[ He's skeptical of just signing up with another person. It feels profoundly disloyal and these promises sound way too good to be true. ]

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.]

[ The first reason doesn't hold a lot of water with Mitsuki. Sure, they're hiring, but they're a carnival. What use would a carnival have for an idol? Besides which, this guy tried to recruit him before he even knew that. Something's weird here.

Then again, he touched a star and a man wearing wings and sitting very unsafely on a Ferris wheel wants him to believe he can stop time. Lots of things are weird here. A job offer might just be the most normal. ]

Why would you vouch for me? You don't even know if I'm any good! ... I am good, though, and I'll prove it!

Then prove it.

[Another shameless grin.]

I mean- s’gonna be a bit of a hard act, up here, but ya can sing, can’t ya? And ya can do that anywhere. So go on, impress me.

[ Mitsuki pauses for a minute--geez, put him on the stop, why don't you?--then nods. ]

OK, but I'm sitting down and I'm not warmed up at all!

[ He clears his throat, sits up a bit straighter, and sings a couple of different songs. Soloing is not his strong point and it shows, but he's enthusiastic and even from his position in the Ferris wheel car he's clearly trying to give his audience a good show. ]

[Hey, putting people on the spot is the best test, alright? You can’t be shy when it comes to show business! Certainly easier than if they’re, say… a knife thrower. Much harder to see how that is right off the bat.]

[Joker listens to the display carefully, wooden fingers tapping along the metal of the ferris wheel seat and his head bobbing. When Mitsuki finishes, Joker hums.]

Idols like yerself usually work in groups, yeah?

[ Mitsuki's not shy, but he does like a chance to rehearse! With a knife thrower, they hit the target or they don't, and as a singer he either hits his performance or he doesn't. Not so different, in the end. ]

Mmm, normally, yeah. I can do a lot more than just sing, though, so I'm not looking to be some kind of solo act that way.

Don’t worry, I’m just wonderin’. Ya never know the kind of people we get as workers, so if yer used ta workin’ in a team, it’s good ta know in case we get others like ya.

But! [He taps his wooden fingers together, unable to really snap them.] I’ve liked what I’ve heard so far~. Certainly enough ta see what ya can do on the ground, and with a bit of practice.

⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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i can't believe these are the most appropriate clips i could find

and now google will start suggesting more idol videos for me for like ten months :'D

sorry :c

how will I survive!!