⇨ 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

john childermass | jonathan strange & mr norrell | new

[atouts]

admission fees

[ "Anything of value" comes easier to Childermass than it may to some others. He has certain things of value, seventy-eight of them, though he dearly hopes he won't have to spend more than one or two to get where he wants to go. His tarot cards are handmade, drawn on the backs of whatever paper had been available at the time so many years ago, mostly from memory. New ones will feel out of place for quite some time.

Yet that is what he'll offer up. One card, either suspiciously apt for whoever the clerk taking the admission is or, failing that, Le Mat, the Fool. ]

I believe this shall cover my entrance.

[ Something he says without much wonder or awe of the bright carnival before him and the rest of the crowd. If anything, he seems disinterested in it all, this Yorkshire man in his shabby black coat and shabby black hat. ]

mirror maze

[ Another wrong turn. Now that is irritating, as he's not all that used to being lost. It's enough that he's beginning to wonder if he should try his luck with his cards again rather than asking where the master of the carnival is (although if they'll feel willing to help after the loss of one, he already doubts it, nor are they ever any good at locating specific, well, anything), as, at this point, it's led him in circles and, finally, into this place. ]

This is taking too long... [ Childermass mutters, finally turning to the reflection doing its best to claim how liable he is to fail like the other two. What other two, the reflection doesn't say, and the man it's mocking does not particularly care to react one way or the other. He just frowns at it. ] If these spirits insist on lingering, they could at least try and be useful.

wildcard

[ well, he has 77 of them left, so hey. ]

Admission

[pipers_son]

[Joker doesn't do the admission part of the business. He could, if he wanted, but it's not where his interests or ambition have led him. However, he is hanging about while time is inbetween the shows going on in the big top, purely to make sure the clerk doesn't starve to death by accident. So, he's around as he overhears that little exchange, and Childermass is almost immediately greeted by a grin as he comes through the gates.]

Looked pretty nicely made, but ya didn't seem ta care much at all, did ya?

[atouts]

[ A grin that isn't returned in kind. The most Childermass will do is size Joker up (he's suspicious of everyone here, let's be real) before offering him an answer. ]

On the contrary, I care for my cards very much. They hold far more value than any money I might have.

[pipers_son]

[Well, he’s fair to be suspicious all he likes. Joker is well aware of what a… character he is, and his grin is both lazy but a little roguish.]

One would be right hard pressed ta tell. Y’know, at a carnival, yer supposed ta have a fun time.

[atouts]

Ah, is that it?

[ People tend to be hard pressed to tell anything he's thinking, something he prefers. In this case, however, he'll at least shed some light. ]

That would be because I'm here on business. I'm afraid fun doesn't quite fit into this evening.

[pipers_son]

[Ah. Not unusual, that, but Joker actually straightens up a bit.]

Ah, I see. Need ta see the owner then, sir?

[And is he going to have to make Sans do his job for once? Just for safety’s sake.]

[atouts]

[ Hopefully not. ]

That I do. I have something I would like to discuss with them.

[pipers_son]

A lotta people do, ha.

[A… popular lady, their ringleader. Still, straightening up, he offers his hand.]

I’m Joker, one of the supervisors for the circus. Might I have a name ta tell our Ringleader who’s callin’?

[atouts]

John Childermass. [ Is the name he'll offer while taking the offered hand to shake. ] Hopefully I have not come at a bad time, Mr. Joker.

[ As in hopefully he won't have to wait out any shows, if it's the Ringleader who's in charge.

mirror maze

[huoyao]

And of what use are you?

[ A quavery voice inquires, bounced along the reflective glass and the jeering faces of Childermass' doubles. There is a clicking, jangling sound of footsteps, a whisper of cloth, but the owner himself is not yet to be seen. ]

What have you offered that you should be given anything?

[atouts]

[ Childermass straightens at the voice, so unlike that of the mirror images, and looks around. It's useless to, but impossible to not, by sheer instinct, try to locate this other person lurking around the maze. He won't move from his spot, though.

He's sure he'd only get more lost. ]

Not of much use yet, I will give you that. [ There's a tightness to his own words that he wishes would go away. He expected strange and dangerous. Actually dealing with it is quite different. ] I was not aware asking for proper directions called for an additional fee.

[huoyao]

[ There’s a chuckle at that, none too kind. ]

Everything here costs something, I’m afraid. Dreams, money, sometimes even a bit of sanity…

[ The jangle and scrape continues at a leisurely pace, sometimes seeming very close or very far. ]

I could lead you out if you’ve truly had your fill of this attraction… But what will you give to me?

[atouts]

[ The idle thought of two playing at this game crosses his mind. If the other voice prefers to remain unseen, he could very well disguise his own presence, but it's an idea dismissed almost as soon as it arrives. Magic might provoke. ]

Hm. I believe I'll hang on to my sanity a while longer. [ It seems pointless to keep on looking about, which means he shakes the urge to continue searching and instead folds his hands behind his back, turning to observe his reflection again. It's being ridiculous, trying to do magic tricks with its hat now. ] I can offer money, of course, or another token, similar to that got me through the gates in the first place... provided it isn't only out of here that you lead me, but to your master as well.

[huoyao]

Oh, I've no interest in anything I've mentioned. Nor, for that matter, will our Ringmaster, if it is a bargain you wish to make.

[ In truth, he's searching for Childermass, a much more difficult task than finding his way out of the maze. He's close now, though - he can tell that much when the other's reflections show up. Soon enough, John will see his too, or at least a version of him.

He's a ghostly white, distorted figure on the mirrors in the shape of a tall, slender man, or at least a humanoid, with his arms folded at his back. A great robe trails behind him as he passes from mirror to mirror. He pauses at one point, examining his reflection in comparison to the human's. He's shorter, he's displeased to see, coming up to John's shoulder. No matter how hard the other looks, he won't be able to see a face on the almost spectral form; it is a white silhouette at best. ]

She will ask for your service, assuming you've any talents she can make use of. Do you?

[atouts]

Is that so?

[ If it's any consolation, he may be taller, but his clothes are by far shabbier. Anyway, the moment the new reflection appears? That's all Childermass will keep an eye on, much to the irritation of his own reflections. He's turning out to be no fun, which is their problem, not his.

Who it is, exactly, is still difficult to make out, which only causes him to frown. Is it a person, in truth? Or another spirit? ]

Then I should say I have a few skills here and there she may find useful.

[huoyao]

[ Shen rolls his eyes, stifling a sigh. Either his quarry now is too obtuse or too wisely wary; either way, it's beginning to try his patience. He shares a sympathetic look with the perturbed reflection of Childermass in the nearest mirror.

Once more, then. ]

What you should say is what they are so that I may decide whether or not playing your escort is worth my time! Perhaps time is an inconsequential currency to you, my man, but I assure you to me it is not!

[ His tone pitches and ebbs at first at a deceitfully cheery, frenetic jaunt, then ends on a harsh rash. His reflection gesticulates with a wing-like sleeve by the head of John's head, striking it with fingers that seem just a little too long on the way to settle upon his own breast. ]

[atouts]

I would think that's a decision for your Ringmaster to make.

[ Childermass doesn't trust a damn thing here, perfectly willing to let that grate on Shen's nerves. He's still watching the reflection closely, still trying to discern features. The fluttering with the hand -- though it seemed awfully long for a hand, didn't it? -- reminds him vaguely of a bird. Something to file away for later.

For Shen's trouble, he'll finally break from his serious demeanor with a faint, crooked sort of smirk. ]

Ah, though suppose I could tell you. Only... [ And he'll leave a very obvious pause here to bring a finger up and tap his chin, oh so thoughtfully. This time, his reflection mimics him somewhat more properly, as it begins to catch on to what the man is up to. Of course, the mirror image's version is still comically over-exaggerated, much more like the chin-stroking villain that he's never really been. ] It is as you said before. Everything here costs something and I'm not like to tell you much if there's a chance you'll leave me here regardless.

[beunbroken]

[Elizabeth was just ahead of the rather shabby looking man, having been forced to give her small thimble to the ticket taker. She'd turned back and that's when the paper he'd held out caught her attention.]

Excuse me! Excuse me, sir! [She taps him on the shoulder.]

Was that- are those- were those tarot cards? [She's immediately curious, leaning forward. She'd never seen them in real life before.]

[atouts]

[ Elizabeth's tap on the shoulder earns about the same sort of bored look as the rest of his surroundings have garnered thus far. He'll quirk an eyebrow at her question, as he's reshuffling the deck and moving to hide them away again within his coat. ]

They are. Or were.

[ Then, with a polite nod to her, he'll move on, though more to get out of the way of everyone else entering the carnival than to get away from her. ]

[beunbroken]

[Elizabeth severely lacks in the ability to pick up social cues. That's what happens when you live for almost twenty years in complete isolation with only a giant mechanical bird and the characters from your books for company. So she tags along after Childermass like there's nothing wrong in the world.]

Oh, wow. I've never seen any before- may I take a look? ooh! Could you read my fortune, sir?

[atouts]

[ Somehow he's not surprised. She seems genuinely interested, however, so he doesn't mind too much. ]

I cannot. The deck is no longer complete. [ Which is as good an excuse as any (and truthful, at that). He does pause once they're out of the worst of the gate's traffic, however, to give her a second, slightly more curious look. ] And looking at them all depends on whether or not you promise to return them.

[beunbroken]

[Elizabeth tries not to look too disappointed that he can't read her fortune anymore.]

Oh, of course! [Stealing was wrong, after all, and Elizabeth was not a thief.] I just want to know what a deck really looks like. And this looks like such a beautiful one. [It wasn't needless flattery- she liked art, and was something of an artist herself.

But Elizabeth was a lot of things, all at once. When you had nothing but time on your hands, you learned all manner of things.]

[atouts]

[ There's reluctance, obviously. The cards are a lifeline in a place like this, though she's already promised to give them back and, well, he's surprised anyone would call his cards beautiful, of all things. ]

You must not have seen enough of them, if you think that.

[ He says it mostly in jest, amused (even if he isn't smiling), since he sees nothing wrong with them himself, only... they aren't a standard deck, which she'll discover once he takes them back out and spreads the deck like a fan, face up, to hold between them.

They're old, worn with age and marred with yellow, and named in French, drawn on whatever bits of paper had been available at the time; bills, ads torn down to size, random re-used pages torn from books or other places, pasted down onto something firmer to make them more card-like. The art of the cards are, likewise, done by hand and, while not terrible, they were obviously sketched down one time in a rush, only for him to have come back later and finish them up from memory. This has left them about as ragged as the man himself. Unique, too, since from memory alone forced him to provide his own details. ]

[beunbroken]

I've only ever read about them,

[Elizabeth says, as she accepts the cards from him. Almost religiously, she pages through them. They're unique- clearly hand-made, and therefore, that had to make their powers stronger, right? Or, at least, his readings more accurate.]

Did you make these yourself? [She just wants confirmation, before she ooes and aahs even more over them.]

[atouts]

[ If that did make them more accurate, he wouldn't be able to say. He's never bothered with any other deck. ]

Half from memory, but yes, I did.