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

[Steven, at least, seems pretty impressed by the offer. Admittedly, he'd probably be inclined to share his tickets with anyone who asked nicely, but offering to do a trick makes it impossible to ignore.]

Yeah, I will!

[A pause.]

Or, I can give you some of my tickets, anyway. I think that's what they use for everything here.

[This kid is a good kid. Tamaki's eyes widen at the offer.]

Ah, really? You'll just give me tickets?

[Usually he has to at least fend off one bully before kids start giving him gifts. Ah, but this kid is nice, so he should do the trick anyway.]

But I can do the handstand anyway, if you want to see it!

I totally want to see it!

[And he sounds very sincere about that. He clenches his fists in front of him in preparation.]

[Tamaki nods in acquiescence, then, without further ado, bends down, plants his hands on the floor, and then pushes up into a handstand. The back of his hoodie falls over his head and drags in the dirt a bit, but he doesn't seem bothered by it.

To complete the trick, he walks around in a small circle on his hand, then lets his feet fall with a thump back down.]

How was that?

[He wasn't expecting the walking around part, so that's pretty thrilling. He claps his hands a couple times in approval.]

That was great! [He fishes into his pocket for some tickets, and hands them over, grinning.] Do you do a lot of stuff like that? I've been working out a lot lately but I haven't really done much stuff like that by myself.

[As Stevonnie, sure, but he isn't going to burst into that subject quite so immediately. Stevonnie is way more flexible than him.]

[Tamaki accepts the praise with a smile (though not a "thank you," he's still working on manners).]

I mostly dance. But I know how to do handstands and cartwheels 'cause it's fun.

[He's actually a pretty famous dancer as an idol, but he fails to elaborate on that.]

[Steven doesn't even notice. As polite as he is, it doesn't tend to stick out to him when other people are subtly rude.]

Really? I love dancing. But I mostly use it for magic stuff.

[It's said extremely casually. He rubs his hands together.]

You know, I bet I can do a handstand now, too!

["Magic stuff"? Maybe he's a magician? That'd be pretty cool, actually.

But Steven starts talking about doing his own handstand, and Tamaki temporarily forgets all about it.]

Oh, you want to try? It's just like flipping over.

[Steven takes a moment to contemplate that advice, very seriously.]

Just like flipping over, huh?

[He sticks out his tongue a little in concentration, lifting his hands up and bending forward a few times like he's miming what he's about to do. Then, he flips forward-

-and goes too far, losing balance. Of course, before he hits the ground he has the urgent thought 'Eep, I don't want to fall down I'll look dumb!' and his floating abilities kick in enough for his fall to slow down like he's flipping over with moon gravity.]

Whups!

[It's all he manages to get out before slowly flipping himself around again, and then very gently featherfalling onto his butt. Nailed it.]

Edited 2016-09-30 21:38 (UTC)

[...what.

Tamaki rubs his eyes like something's wrong with his vision. Maybe he needs glasses? Because he's pretty sure this kid just flipped very slowly around, like he was floating.]

M-magic!?

[He's gaping at Steven now. How did he do that?]

[Oh, he looks surprised. Way more surprised than people usually look when he does weird stuff, but maybe that's just because people in Beach City are used to it. He shrugs nervously.]

O-Oh yeah, magic is kind of a thing I do? Like I mentioned...

I got it from my mom.

M-magic is real!?

[Magic can be passed down from parents? How did Tamaki not know any of this?

Boy, he hopes Steven isn't a ghost. But he doesn't look very transparent...]

Your mom can do that too?

Um. Well, she could. But she's not around anymore. It's kind of a long story.

[Back in the day he would have explained the gem thing, but he finds himself not really wanting to describe the details of it today.]

She was an alien? Which is why she had all this magic stuff. So I guess it makes sense that not all humans would know about it.

An alien? [Oh, that's not a ghost. Tamaki's okay with that.] Ah, so are you an alien too?

[Is that too personal a question? Tamaki isn't sure. He's never met an alien's kid before.]

Half alien! Alien from my mom, and human from my dad.

[He's relieved that Tamaki is taking that part pretty casually, at least.]

My dad is here with me today!

[Since he just learned magic is real, questioning the existence of aliens seems like a silly thing to do.]

Did your dad bring you to the carnival?

[Is this what they call "father son bonding"?]

Oh! Yeah. Well, we just kind of found it, really. We're pretty sure it's not normally in our town. Or... normal in general.

I think it might be kinda magic too.

What!? This carnival?

[Tamaki had no idea. He thought it was just a normal thing that popped up (in a forest in the middle of Tokyo, Tamaki?).]

Is that bad? Good?

Um... I dunno! I think it's good, so far. Magic can be good or bad, it kind of just depends on who is doing it, you know?

[He finally gets back up onto his feet at this point, shrugging lightly.]

Oh. So should we find who's doing it? See if they're good or bad?

[He's a little disappointed that Steven got to his feet normally instead of doing some cool alien trick, but he doesn't say so.]

⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

Gamer's Circle

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