ringleaders: (Default)
Lost Carnival Mods ([personal profile] ringleaders) wrote in [community profile] livinglot2018-01-05 10:28 am
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⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME: WISMUTH

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:
  • You can (and should) read the full premise here.
  • Reserves and Applications are currently OPEN.
  • Recruits can be either willing or tricked this month.
  • You can apply as a newcomer or as a "veteran" character who has been in the carnival for up to three years. In the case of veteran characters, you will need to come up with an explanation of why they haven't been around the carnival recently.
  • TDM threads can be used as game canon after the fact if both characters are accepted, the players agree to it, and it makes any sense contextually.
  • If you are interested in additional IC and OOC plot responsibilities, consider applying for a Supervisor position. Head Cook and Treasurer are currently open. Otherwise, we're pretty much down for anything, roles wise.


CURRENT STOP
WISMUTH

Wismuth is a large coastal city on the east shore of what would usually be the United States. The world it's part of is an Earth variant, meaning that while some aspects may be different, overall it will contain a similar look and feel to Earth many are accustomed to, including some overlapping celebrities, corporations, and technologies. Its most notable feature is that this planet is a part of what is called a 'Pillar of Creation' - a focal point of Creation's energies in the multiverse. The effects of this feature are the only aspect of the setting that will be relevant for this testdrive, as recruits will be entirely within the carnival as opposed to out in the city.

VIBRANCY OF CREATION: The immediate effects of this trait are that everything in Wismuth, and in the carnival because of its connection to Wismuth, is filled with an unusual sort of vibrancy - colours seem brighter, sounds seems to resonate more deeply, and all other physical sensations will strike visitors as oddly intense, including their own emotions. It's a subtle effect rather than anything that will be overtly disorientating, but it's almost as if everything is more "real" here than it is anywhere else. Obviously, the locals, whom are mostly just ordinary looking humans, have had plenty of time to grow accustomed to this. On the bright side, as a tourist, you have the opportunity to experiment with this sensation as a form of recreation.

Recruits from this month will be signing on with the carnival between Day 8 and Day 11 on the season calendar.

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!
flashover: (096)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-04 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
[I mean. Maybe if you were sitting around in a kissing booth? Making money? That MIGHT count.]

Gehehe. None at all, really! But... I'm sorry you got stuck, too. I'll help you as much as I can!
flashover: (031 when the light started out)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-04 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
[Seems like brainwashing might be Rin's breaking point, as far as trauma goes. Everyone has one! But regardless, as soon as he's no longer talking about it, he seems to cheer up a lot. He takes another puff and eats it]

Not bad! I've made lots of friends! People here are really pretty great! ... Ya know, for the most part.
exaomori: (🐍 21)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-02-04 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
[no she doesn't want monkey boys coming and kissing her... though if she got paid extra it might be worth it for a day or two...]

It's not bad to eat your food, I guess.

[a bright spot... she still gets her rin-made lunch for probably free! And if not free, Yukio was around to bum off of...]
flashover: (044)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-04 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
Right! You get to eat my food any time you want. So it's really pretty awesome.

[oh. He forgot about his garbage bag. He picks it up off the ground where he had dropped it] Though they'll probably wonder where I went... I should get rid of this trash and get back to it.
reflash: (*sees spider*)

[personal profile] reflash 2018-02-04 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
[She ruffles his hair, and he suddenly and sharply remembers Father Fujimoto.

He pulls back, breaking out of her grip without shoving his way out, his jaw tense and his expression schooled into determination. He isn't looking at her, his attention focused inwards. He's tired, exhausted, and "you should talk to someone".

Ha. This didn't help at all.
]

You're right. We aren't.

[How can he protect anyone if they won't let him, if they insist on throwing themselves into danger?]
exaomori: (🐍 4)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-02-04 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll keep it in mind.

[Could be stuck eating instant ramen for the rest of the year. No point in complaining to Rin about it.]

Yeah, better get to work. They might add on another year if they catch you slackin' off.

[but wait]

Where are you stayin'? Just in case I need to catch you later.
exaomori: <user name=worldlyafflictions> (🐍 49)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-02-04 09:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[She lets him withdraw without a word or fuss--in a way, it's easier to talk to him like this. But she does wonder--was it petting him, or was it what she said that made him pull away? Both? Even though he's talked a bit, he was still so closed off. In the end, had they taken a step back?]

It ain't often you admit I'm right.

[Her hands drop to her sides. Even now, he wasn't looking at her.]
flashover: (194)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-04 10:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[Rin makes his way to the dumpster as he talks]

Haha! That wouldn't be so bad, maybe... [Running away from responsibility? Him? NEVER.]

Oh, well, you can find me here most of the time! But my trailer is number 15!
exaomori: <user name=worldlyafflictions> (🐍 56)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-02-04 10:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[Rin... Shura isn't going to forget that. Shura will keep behind him,
following if she needs.
]

I'll remember that. [But even if she knew where she was going to stay, would Rin remember that it if she told him?]

They put you in with someone?
flashover: (246 eeyoooo)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-04 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[look, he was ready to face it when it was all in his face, when he didn't have another choice. But now, he has a choice. A choice to stay away from the people who want to kill him and the responsibility he doesn't feel ready to face.

And no, he wouldn't remember!
]

Yeah! His name is Sora. He's about my age and we're real good friends now!
exaomori: (🐍 21)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-02-04 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[She's relieved a little to hear that he does have a friend his age... that's important for a kid.]

That's good. And have ya been keepin' up with training?
flashover: (068 to watch me burn)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-04 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, of course. I can use my fire more accurately than ever, now! [a bright grin!] I use it to help cook, too.
exaomori: (🐍 4)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-02-04 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[w



Well. That was... a way to use his flames... There's just a brief flicker of confusion on Shura's face, but so long as he was keeping up with everything, that was okay??
]

That wasn't somethin' I ever considered, but I guess it works.
flashover: (235 Hyaaa? REALLY?)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-04 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[He just beams proudly. Shiro had always said to use his powers for a gentler purpose. What could be more gentle than cooking?]

Oh! I've also become something of a tamer! Lookie here.

[Rin puts his fingers in his mouth and whistles loudly. From a nearby shack-like building, apparently a smokehouse, flaps a strange fiery bat-like creature, in a shade of bright purple. It flutters over and lands on Rin's shoulder, making a series of chirping sounds and nuzzling Rin's cheek] I have a whole bunch of these under my command. Isn't he cute?
exaomori: (🐍 2)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-02-05 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Better positive experimenting than backtracking because no one was here to make him train in the end.]

A tamer--eh?

[Just what kind of demon was that? Well, she was going to have to reconsider what she classified as demon and not-demon, wasn't she. And it's cute, nuzzling Rin like that. If it didn't look to be on fire, Shura might have reached out to it.]

Guess you picked those up while traveling or something?
flashover: (189 THUMBS UP)

[personal profile] flashover 2018-02-05 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
They actually came to us! [Rin strokes the bat on the head, his power protecting him from the flames. The bat's strange eyes bubble up, pop, then reappear elsewhere on its head in a constant cycle of weirdness] ... Sort of. A bunch of our people got kidnapped by some vampires that lived in a version of Gehenna. They just called it "Hell". These guys came out of that portal! ... But then they got stuck here, so I made friends with them! [because of course he did.]

Dandelion | Witcher 3

[personal profile] recapping 2018-02-05 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
gamers circle
If he's going to play these games, then Dandelion's going to engage in some good old fashioned trash talk. He's standing in front of a game of darts, where a dart board is set up a few feet away from the front of the stall. The cinder sprite doesn't seem at all receptive to Dandelion's bragging but, then again, it's not for the cinder sprite is it? No, it's for the audience he's inevitably going to attract because he is loud and obnoxious and his outfit is ostentatious as fuck.

"I have traveled with the famous witcher Geralt of Rivia, you know. I've picked up a few tricks along the way! Watch and learn!" With a flourish, he turns back to the dart board and tosses the dart.

The dart lands a good foot away from the board, sticking out of the back wall of the tent. "T-That was just a bad throw!" he quickly clarifies, as he picks up the second dart. "I haven't done this in years, these things take a while to warm back up."

tunnel of love
Grownass man in his forties, waiting patiently outside the tunnel of love, with a triumphant little smile on his face. Thank you, whoever runs the carnival! You truly know what's best for paying customers, especially those of the hopeless romantic sort of type. A place to celebrate love, and hopefully make out with someone, and serve as an inspiration for future poems and ballads, while also making out with someone. A shrine to Freya herself! And he can hopefully make out with someone! How perfect!

Except for the fact that there aren't really many women around here, are there. Or if there are, it's Dandelion's shitty luck that none of them are actually approaching. He's blatantly loitering near the entrance, letting people go by with a "No, you go ahead" or an "Actually, I'm waiting for someone." Middle aged man, teenage girl, weird technicolor person that Dandelion isn't even going to bother flirting with. He's let five or so people go ahead of him before Dandelion sighs.

Turning to whoever's next to him, he complains slightly. "Is it always like this or am I just cursed?"

( ooc: voicetesting as hell, plz ignore my utter lack of icons )
reflash: (assert your dominance)

[personal profile] reflash 2018-02-05 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
You aren't often right. [He says, after a pause for a second too long. He's shoving himself back into equilibrium, pushing everything down behind a too-sharp smile as he stands to his feet. It's a fragile balance, everything stretched paper-thin over the roiling tension in his chest, but it is at least something that would pass muster in front of anyone who didn't know him.

Just don't push him again.
]
whatremained: (005;)

gamers circle

[personal profile] whatremained 2018-02-05 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
And hey, Renfew likes audiences. He isn't usually a part of audiences but when one forms, it's hard not to wriggle his way to the front of it just to see what people are gawking at (sometimes it's nice to be the gawker rather than the gawkee, after all). As it turns out, it's just a garishly dressed man with poor aim, but he won't let that get him down.

"I'm not sure picking up a few tricks you never use counts as picking them up, my friend," he calls out, not really able to stop himself from throwing a gibe from the peanut's gallery off to the side over here.

It's said in good humor, mind, not truly meant to be cruel, but that's for the person on the other end to ultimately decide, now isn't it?
ficsyourlife: (trust me i'm a professional)

tunnel of looove as i hella voicetest too

[personal profile] ficsyourlife 2018-02-05 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
As Dandelion's luck would have it, the next woman that comes to him just in time to hear his bemoaning, is short. And blue. And has a pair of long, slender horns that spike through the hat she's got on, though she'll tilt her head up enough to peer past the brim and scrutinize him beyond amber lenses.

"What kind of curse would that be?" she asks with obvious interest. She can't answer the other part, considering she's a stranger here herself, so... yeah, she'll go with that.

[personal profile] recapping 2018-02-05 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Dandelion, at least, interprets the teasing as good humor, mostly because that's what a good chunk of the teasing at him actually is.

"Well I'm using them now, aren't I? Surely that counts as picking them up."

Turning back to the dart board, he takes careful aim, throws the dart...and is visibly relieved when it actually hits the board, about halfway through the outer ring and the center. See? All he needed was a bit more practice!

And he turns to look at Renfew with a triumphant little 'ha ha, I totally did it' grin.

solidarity voicetest fistbump

[personal profile] recapping 2018-02-05 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
....well alright then.

Being friends and traveling around with a witcher means that you see a lot of weird shit. Like, the amount of weird shit that Dandelion's seen could fill several ballads, a few poems, and then there'd possibly be enough left over for a book. So he looks over the blue horned woman that's answering his question and decides that no, he's not the one cursed, she obviously is. Though yeesh, that had to be a pretty nasty curse to leave her with those horns.

"The curse of not finding a partner! It's the tunnel of love. You can't just go in this thing with any person, it's got to be someone who appreciates the mood." And who you can smooch. But we're starting the qualifications out with the most basic.
espigeon: (38)

[personal profile] espigeon 2018-02-05 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Coco can't hurt him, and while humans would certainly be hurt if he pounced on them at any speed at all, humans aren't thirty-foot dragon trees. He doesn't close in to hang on and peck it, he doesn't pull back to dive at it at a higher speed, he doesn't strike it with his wings - how much any of that could hurt Coco he's not sure at all isn't something he's sure of. (Probably a lot. He has a type advantage.) Julien is only aiming to distract the creature, and at that, he's succeeding. RM should excuse a shove.

Coco has zero such compunctions and after a minute or so of wild swinging, with the swordsman out of sight, it goes still and a sphere of light, bright and hot as summer sun at midday, starts to collect above its leaves. Time to go, Julien decides, he thinks that person is safe now and he doesn't know what that is but it looks bad. He banks and wings away, up and out of the tree cover, getting on a trajectory that will have him skimming the canopy and dodging the occasional taller-than-normal tree, getting increasingly distant but still in Coco's sights when Solar Beam finishes charging.

He does still form backwards-facing spectral eyes to see what it's doing, and starts to dodge, but he doesn't know what's happening and underestimates both the speed and the size of the beam that obliterates the part of the canopy between him and Coco and clips him real good. The move goes by Pokemon physics and does not horribly injure him or even hurt as much as it should considering the vaporized foliage. Instead Julien's sent tumbling upwards, too shocked to cry out, into the wide blue sky.

He'll recover and come back down and go looking for the guy he saw in case he doesn't know to go back to the Carnival's clearing, but not right away.
whatremained: (009;)

[personal profile] whatremained 2018-02-05 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sure, a little better, but you aren't about to win anything with throws like that," Renfew replies to that triumphant expression by pointing out the obvious. Quite literally pointing, even, at the dart in the board. He says as much with a lopsided smirk and adds, "Though you still have a third dart. Maybe you'll get lucky."

[personal profile] recapping 2018-02-06 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Watch and learn, my friend." Pointing out the obvious isn't going to stop Dandelion's confidence. He looks back at the board, readies his dart, squints his eyes slightly, tosses the thing...and it lies in the ring outside of the bulls eye.

Well! Not exactly the best, but it's a pretty decent shot! Dandelion can't hide the expression of surprise and shock on his face as he actually gets it near the center. Unfortunately, as the person running the booth explains, you need to get at least two shots in the ring outside the bulls eye for a small prize. Still, Dandelion takes the loss in stride, shrugging slightly.

"Lucky enough but not too lucky: story of my life. Still, I think that proves my skill!"

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