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livinglot2017-11-25 05:29 pm
ringleaders) wrote in livinglot2017-11-25 05:29 pm
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⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME: NO ONE'S HOME
WELCOME TO THE SHOW!↴ Or, more specifically, Lost Carnival's 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:
CURRENT STOP↴  This winter break, things are a bit odd down in the carnival grounds. Reason being? Almost all of the workers are currently spending their vacation up on one of the carnival's two moons, enjoying the winter wonderland the Ringmaster created for them. This means that the actual carnival area is mostly abandoned, and in this case? Anyone turning up there is doing so by total mistake. Ostensibly the Ringmaster is enjoying the eggnog a bit too much. This will only be happening for a day or two out of the holiday schedule, but during that time your character may find themselves arriving in a totally abandoned carnivval, which is not what anyone wants. They'll be left to wander alone until they encounter other visitors, or until someone from the carnival happens upon them while stopping at the grounds for whatever reason. All ther regular attractions apply, but they are unmanned by anything but the ghoulish spectres known as cinder sprites. Without the Ringmaster here, they won't even address you. ► ABANDONED: The carnival is completely empty, and it's dark out, and, well... it's sort of spooky? None of the attractions will be running, though nothing is stopping you from wandering inside with the cinder sprites not paying much attention. It's entirely possible you could get into some trouble like that, or maybe you're just totally freaked out and desperate to find someone who can send you home. ► WILLING CANDIDATES ONLY: For the most part, unless your character does something really dastardly, all applications this month must be from WILLING APPLICANTS ONLY. This means, once your character is eventually found, they must be willing to sign on with the carnival as a new hire for one of the Ringmaster's boons. No trickery this time around! Keep that in mind when applying. ► MONSTERS LURKING: While all the workers are gone, there are a few beasts that have been left to roam while everyone else is on vacation. Along with the cinder sprites, there is also an Alolan Exeggutor that wanders the forest looking for someone to smash, and the tentacle monster that lives in the Tunnel of Love. There's also a Slenderman, but don't worry about him. He's got the intelligence of an above average dog, and probably just wants to play fetch. 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. 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 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. ► TUNNEL OF "LOVE": A brand new attraction in the carnival, the Tunnel of Love is mostly what you'd expect from such a ride - two people sit in a boat together which journeys through some glitter filled caves, complete with mood music. Unfortunately, there is also something else in there with you... in the form a moody kraken living in the waters, who has very particular opinions about shipping, and may either stubbornly interfere with any attempted intimacy, or may politely encourage it. Or they may just generally be a dick if they're in no mood for either. The Ringmaster insists it is a romance expert. ► 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. ► 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. ► 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! ► DUNK TANK: Sometimes acting like a dick will earn you the gentle reprimand of being sent to work in the Dunk Tank for the afternoon - you know that game where people throw balls at a target, and if they hit it you get dropped into the water? It's like that, only sometimes there are daunting (but harmless) critters in the water, or some other strange magical affects to spice things up. Hopefully, the visitors will have bad aim. ► 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! |
Reiji Akaba | Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V
It's weird enough to walk outside and find a carnival where you weren't expecting one. It's probably some degree weirder still to walk outside and find a dark, abandoned carnival where you weren't expecting one.
Reiji is just savvy enough to know that he should just turn away and keep walking, and just heedless enough to ignore that wisdom and indulge his curiosity (such as it is) anyway. In fairness, he is rather tired. No amount of sleep in the world could compensate for what happened to the Synchro Dimension.
Then again, that's what he needs to solve. So he pays his admission in the form of one copy of D/D Lamia and makes his way into the hollow-feeling darkness.
After a few yards, it occurs to him to use his duel disk to light his way.
This helps.
And so, guided by the glow of his D-Pad, he wanders through the empty rides and unmanned attractions, raising his arm to illuminate them for inspection. That same light reflects somewhat ominously off his glasses....
Good thing no one's going to be scared by a gangly 16-year old in rolled pants.
Right?
IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, COCO WILL FIND YOU
When this thing came out of the darkness at him, Reiji was.... caught off guard, yes, but he wasn't afraid.
He was, after all, armed. If one was in the mood for puns, you could even say 'literally,' as that's where his duel disk was carried.
A more than competent duellist, armed with the hard light projections of a state-of-the-art LDS duel disk... he should have been unbeatable.
But the... the tree simply smashed through every monster, every card, every strategy he had, and now...
Now Reiji Akaba, CEO of LDS and duel genius was...!
He was...!
... well, he's in the dirt is what he is. And above him, the monstrous, smiling tree readies for another hammerlike blow.
Someone save this asshole before he's pulped by a coconut palm.
WHOTHERE
Carly yawns as she leaves the wardrobe tent, and stretches. "A few more nights...and everyone's presents can be done~!" she cheers, sighing. "...Ahhh...if I didn't have to keep it secret, it'd be way easier to finish this faste...." ...Er....? Carly cuts herself short when she sees a different light in the distance-and it doesn't take long to find that light, either. Her hovering feet carry her far, pixels trailing behind her with her light, until she's close enough to shout-
"....Hello? Who's down here?"
no subject
So he doesn't show surprise, and he doesn't show confusion or fear. He stops, squaring his stance evenly next to the ominously still merry-go-round, and declares himself.
"Reiji Akaba."
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But regardless, the second thought- "....Oh! Wow~" she announces, beaming. "...It's been a long time since I've seen someone with a last name I already know~!" Though she pauses, as something else occurs to her. "Ahh....actually, this is sort of weird, now that I think about it....your name is just two letters off from someone that works here..."
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Two--
His face seems unmoved, but behind his glasses, his eyes narrow incrementally. Reiji tilts his head down just enough to reflect Carly's own light back at her off the coated lenses--hiding her view of his response.
Reira doesn't occur to him, because he just left her not an hour ago, and this woman specifically stated that whoever it is works here.
It takes only a second of mental gymnastics to work out who it could be.
"What business does Leo Akaba have with this fairground?"
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"I don't know why you'd ask if it's someone named 'Leo' though, unless that's someone you really don't like..? ....A-Anyway, they're not really in my department...it's just a little kid that my assistant sometimes talks about, really..."
no subject
Interdimensionality, in Reiji's experience, does not decrease the likelihood of Leo Akaba's involvement in the slightest. Just the opposite; it all but guarantees it.
Even if the name didn't ring a bell, there's a chance another name will. But it's not question he wants to pursue too aggressively, lest word get back up through whatever chain of command or lateral grapevine leads back to the Professor's ear. Not yet, anyway.
So instead of answering, he waits, stone-faced. If he's patient, she will eventually fill the silence--and hopefully give him enough information to act on. Most people eventually do.
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His silence is, frankly, making her nervous. Very nervous. Her awkward light-exploding form is sort of quivering as she starts laughing quietly, looking very much like she wishes she hadn't started the conversation. "Aha....heh.... ....You really don't believe it huh...." Well.
"Well...I can prove it, then..! ...I think." she finishes, lamely. "I don't know who this 'Leo' guy is, but....unless you know a Reira Akaba, then it's definitely a really big fluke! Seriously! I've been to places like Atlantis, the inside of a computer, the land of dreams," she rattles off, counting off her fingers. "There was that place with all the robots, that was strange..."
Stop. Her.
no subject
Reiji takes a step forward, suddenly, not entirely heedless of the fact that he's somewhat blatantly given himself away. Then again--there are priorities to consider.
"What do you know of Reira Akaba?"
Bad move, Carly. Now he's... very, very serious.
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Carly, for her part, floats an inch or so back, hands up and in front of her for her defense. She's still not...buying this but. "H-H-Hey, I just said it's probably coincidence right..!? I...I mean....a whole multiverse like that, with faerie..."
Wait a minute, this guy's a weed.
Why's she scared?! "A-And hold on!! You're the one in the carnival when we're all on vacation..!! How did you even get here!?"
no subject
"Now tell me where to find Reira Akaba."
The 'interdimensional carnival' excuse holds no weight with him; the name 'Akaba' is not a coincidence, no matter what dimension you go to. Not in his experience.
If by some stroke the Reira Akaba he finds is not the Reira Akaba he knows... then mark him a fool.
It won't be the first time.no subject
...And...he's apparently looking for the kid. Carly stiffens, and 'calms' as best as she typically can, frowning. "...No," she answers flatly.
"I'm not just going to bring you to one of our members, when I don't know who you are! ...Other than your name, I mean..!" the woman adds with crossed arms. "Right now, I should be escorting you back to the gate if anything..!"
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Reiji's expression doesn't change a jot, but inside....
Well. He's not going to make an unnecessary scene. But she can't really force him, can she? (That's a hypothetical question. If she could, she presumably would have already.)
"Then do so," Reiji replies, but his calm is deceptive; he has absolutely no intention of leaving.
no subject
"....How do I know you won't just come back inside then..." She absolutely COULD drag him to the gates if she wanted, actually, it's just she was so caught off guard by the fact that someone was here at all that it never occurred to her honestly...
no subject
Truthfully, Reiji intends to scope out the area and see if he can find himself a different path before he tries just walking back in through the gates, but she doesn't need to know that.
"There's no need to escort. I can find my way back to the gate on my own. But I would appreciate it if you would pass a message on to Reira.
Through the gates of the carnival proper passed the one who gave you the power in your eye."Because that's a normal thing that normal people say, Reiji.
"Sorry for the intrusion. If that's all... I'll see myself out."
He's already turning to leave.
Or. Well.
'Leave.'
dats a wrap-
The dark of the night
"Up, get up! We gotta go!" Because like hell Yuya's taking on Coco. He can get into what Reiji is even doing here when they're not about to get pounded into the dirt.
What is Coco even doing this far in the carnival?!
no subject
He's almost more surprised by Yuya of all people than he is relieved about the assist--but he's on his feet now and catching himself with one hand for balance as he starts to run, the seat of his white pants stained with dirt, sand in his shoes. He isn't complaining in any fashion, though, as the monster tree's hammer top craters the earth just a foot or two away from him, showering both Reiji and Yuya with little stones and mud.
Who cares how many Life Points he has left; he's with Yuya on this 'running' plan for now.
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"Come on, we can lose her in the trailers!" And he's going to lead Reiji right to his and Tamaki's. It's empty, much like the rest of the carnival, but having to weave past the stands and the trailers is bound to slow Coco's pursuit enough to hide.
no subject
Reiji doesn't really have time to question Yuya's logic--he doesn't even question the fact that Yuya is calling this murderous flora a 'her.' He's already on the run, keeping breathless pace with the younger boy in the dark--if nothing else, it quickly becomes apparent that the strategy is a good one. Not only does the tree not run especially well (and thank God for that), its extremely.... top-heavy build means it manages curves and corners about as well as a sprinting skyscraper probably would. Which is to say, terribly.
As they start to actually get ahead, he remembers his D-Pad--and powers the display off, giving them less to track it by.
Barring any terrible mistakes, they might even make it to their destination unscathed.
Or. Come to no further damage, anyway.
His pants are already a lost cause.
no subject
They're safe from Coco for another day. Yuya flips over, his back resting against the wood as he stares at Reiji with confusion. He knows the carnival takes all types, whenever, but... Reiji? Really? And how did he get here when they're on vacation?
"What are you doing?" Here, fighting Coco, in general.
no subject
That's the clothing assessment.
As for his abandoned interdimensional fairground adventure...
At the question, Reiji blinks once, unmoved.
He doesn't bother to face Yuya. He doesn't answer.
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"You just got here, right? To the carnival. It's not supposed to be open right now, so I don't know what happened..." He gives Reiji a quick once over. No obvious changes, so he's probably not just returning to the carnival. "Uh, Coco normally stays in the forest but since we're not on the fairgrounds right now she must have come out. Are you hurt?"
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Coco. That's the... tree. He pushes his glasses up his face, remains silent.
The appropriate thing, if he were anybody but Reiji Akaba, would be to ask a question like 'how long have you been here?' or maybe at least assure Yuya that he's more or less intact after his encounter with 'Coco,' but... well, he is Reiji Akaba, and so what he hones in on is the sentence 'I don't know what happened,' and what he asks is--
"What do you know?"
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So he's going to do with the carnival first. "You're in a fae carnival that the Ringmaster runs." He folds his arms. "Normally we visit other... planets? Or dimensions I guess, and give them performances and let them play games. But right now everyone's on vacation because... we just needed a break."
Really needed a break. Yuya shifts on his feet. "The Ringmaster is powerful, and she's willing to give things to you, or... do things if you sign a contract to work here for a year and a day."
And guess what Yuya went ahead and did, Reiji. Guess.
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"Am I understanding that right?"
A contract. For what?
He needs to know that, and at least a dozen other things, but he's not planning to pepper Yuya with questions. He'll get the specifics he needs and everything else will have to fall by the wayside, at least in the immediate.
At least he knows of fae as a concept. They're spirits, of a sort--mythical beings of a particular nature, prone to making deals and beguiling the unwary. They feature peripherally in some of the tales he liked to read... and base his own cards off of, although fae themselves weren't actually his interest. Same geographic and historical focal point as some, but wrong genre. Or vice versa.