livinglot | ⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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⇨ 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

WILL O' WISPS

[Near the hustle and bustle of the front entrance, there's a human figure clad in black treating the visitors standing around like a living obstacle course. Someone managing to follow him as he darts and weaves between bodies will soon notice he is chasing a particularly artful wisp. While the pursuer manages to always stay within a few millimeters of the ball of light, his attempts to get it into whatever he's holding always fall short. Little mind is paid to the visitors he's nearly colliding with, his eyes are locked on his target and he hasn't got time to waste with pointless apologies.

In spite of all this effort having made him visibly tired, the futility of it hasn't seemed to sink in for him yet. His face is contorted in absolute concentration, and any falter is treated as if it never happened. Apparently, at this point, it's personal.]

WILD CARD

[At the edge of the woods, a boy sits on a stump watching the poor souls trying to escape with a lopsided grin. In one hand he lazily rolls a dual colored orb, its surface glinting in the moonlight.

Perhaps of greater interest, however, is the bat-like creature flapping in the air just a few feet away from him. It too seems to be watching those attempting to flee, turning its red eyes down to the boy with a chirp that seems like it's asking a question.]

I dunno. They've been trying for an hour. I give them another thirty minutes before they wear themselves out.

_{[Despite all her wandering around the carnival, Bonnie hadn't been able to find her brother. That left her moving back to the front of the carnival where she'd been admitted, only to find herself wandering back from where she'd come from. Maybe she'd find him here?

Her efforts to look for Clemont however are put on hold when she notices the older boy sitting off in the distance with a crobat flapping about. There's no mistaking the large bat Pokemon for anything else as she hurries over toward him excitedly, Dedenne peeking out of her pochette. Finally, someone else who had Pokemon other than her! Whether or not he'll be friendly is something she can worry about later, right?]}

Uwah! You have a crobat! It's so big!

[The boy turns. When he does, it becomes clear he's perhaps not as human as he seemed from a distance. Chances are the most obvious thing is the long, forked tongue darting out of his mouth as she approaches. There's also the whip-like tail ending in a spade-shaped tip swishing to one side of him, and lastly the way his ears come to a sharp point.

He doesn't make a move to get up, but his eyebrows raise in clear interest.]

... you know about Pokemon?

_{[What's with this place and people having such odd features! His appearance has her giving pause but what little hesitation is brushed aside when he asks her if she knows about Pokemon. What a silly question! Although maybe, on second thought, it isn't that silly.]}

Course I do!

_{[Dedenne squeaks from her bag, giving a little wave, although he seems uncertain about this semi-human person.]}

[Neither the Crobat or his trainer return the wave, instead exchanging surprised glances before returning their attention to the girl and her Pokemon.]

I can't believe it. I never thought she'd --

[The thought is cut short, exchanged instead for a blunt question.]

Where are you from?

Huh? I'm from Kalos.

_{[She calms down a bit, smile dropping from her face. He looks strange, but most of the people here do now that she thinks about it. If he knows about Pokemon but looks like this then what happened to him?]}

Kalos.

[He whispers it to himself. That's definitely a place in his world. Could she really be from the same reality? To be honest, his sense of what was real and what was not had become rather fractured over the past few months. He rises from the stump to slowly approach her, seeming oblivious to how she may regard his appearance.]

If I said I came from Kanto, would you know where that was? Or Johto?

Uh huh!

_{[That's an easy question to answer, considering one of her brother's travel companions (and by extension hers) was from Kanto. She can even find Johto on a map!]}

I know where they both are.

Heh... I gotta say, I'm surprised to see such a little kid here. Guess it really doesn't matter to her.

[He crouches down to be closer to her level, looking her square in the eyes.]

You may see some stuff here that's really weird. And you're gonna have to deal with it on your own. You're gonna have to grow up real fast, and crying won't help you. You got that?

Silver | Pokemon | Veteran

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Have any stance on spoilers?

I have seen everything there is to see for Sun/Moon. Lay it on me.

Always good to make sure ;>

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