livinglot | ⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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 read the full premise here.
Reserves and Applications are both currently OPEN.
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 and the players agree to it.
If you are interested in additional IC and OOC plot responsibilities, consider applying for a Supervisor position. Treasurer, Wardrobe Manager, and Acquisitioner are currently open. More roles that currently need filling are listed 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.

► NOT YOUR WHEELHOUSE: 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?

► 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.

► 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?

► CAPTURE THE... EGG?: The Ringmaster likes to keep things exciting for her employees, and this time she's devices a game that mixes an Easter egg hunt with capture the flag. She's hidden various metallic "eggs" around the carnival that chime like bells when people get near, and divided participants into three teams (red, blue, yellow of course.) The carnival has been divided into three zones, and the objective is to gather as many eggs as possible for your team (three points for gold, two for silver, one for copper.) However, when you are in a zone that doesn't belong to your team, if they can snatch off your team flag they can take you to "jail" and confiscate any eggs you may be holding for their team. When in doubt, bullshit the rules! This is a prompt, after all.

► 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

[ Lambert just watches him with obvious interest, and he's just a touch disappointed it doesn't take. It's not within unexpected parameters, and neither is the way that he finds himself with his collar grabbed, though arguably he didn't think Childermass had it in him.

So there are some things that will rile him up. And he's not invulnerable. ]

Oof, easy on the goods, that's carnival property. [ Nothing about his tone says he's interested in de-escalating at all, though. He smirks at Childermass over the costume satin (a fine material, although the color is truly garish) he's gotten a handful of. ]

How's your head?

[ It's more that it's always been in him and he typically chooses not to act on it. He'd have gotten nowhere had he gone around grabbing and shaking all of the higher society idiots in the past, but Lambert doesn't quite fall under that umbrella. ]

More than you think. [ Which is a vague and mysterious thing to say. In any case, chances are he's about to be disappointed a second time when Childermass chooses to simply let him go again after that, though not without a bit of a shove. ] My head?

[ Like he's about to admit to an oncoming headache. ]

It's fine, better than yours might be sooner or later. All you've managed to prove is you're bound to get caught at this one day.

[ Now that is disappointing, though Lambert's solidly planted enough that the shove doesn't rock him much. ]

Are you worried about me? I'm truly touched, but I can handle myself. They might not be as fancy as yours, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.

Now come on, smile. You're scaring the customers. [ Indeed, their interactions haven't exactly gone unnoticed, passing visitors giving them a wide berth and uneasy looks when they catch sight of the scar on Lambert's face -- more visible, now that his hat's been knocked slightly askew. He bares his teeth at one kid and chuckles when it makes him squeak and bolt away. ]

[ Oh, he'll smile all right. It's a very thin one, however. ]

More worried about what will happen to carnival property should you find yourself too much trouble. [ Not that Childermass actually wishes the man harm, but they both likely already know the worry isn't as specific as a worry for Lambert. ] And I would say I should go before I drive off all your customers, but a grin like that seems apt at the job without my help, hmm?

[ Nobody worries about Lambert. It would be enough to hurt his feelings,if had any in the blackened wasteland of cynicism that was his heart. ]

Oh, don't underestimate yourself. I know exactly what you can help with. [ He turns abruptly to the crowd again, raising his voice and throwing his arms wide. ]

Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight, I have the honor of introducing one of our very best magicians, who will be dazzling us with a special preview of tonight's main show! [ He doffs his hat and sketches out an exaggerated bow that is actually ... a pretty good impression of one of the fawning courtiers from a previous world they've visited. He sweeps a hand out to wave at the space cleared before them, giving him a cheeky wink. ]

Let's have a round of applause for the legendary .... John Childermass!

[ Apart from him raising his eyebrows and immediately standing that one last bit straighter, the "legendary" John Childermass remains entirely calm when Lambert directs way, way too much attention towards himself. Normally, attention is something he's always preferred to avoid. It isn't, however, something he shies away from. He wouldn't have made it very far working here if he actively avoided attention, after all. It is, unfortunately, a condition for being a carnival magician.

It does manage to kill what little of his smile had remained, though. ]

Hm. [ It's a quiet sound, dripping in disapproval in spite of how brief it is before he offers the sudden and unexpected audience a gracious nod and steps out in the space Lambert's cleared. ] Thank you for such an ostentatious [ a word he suspects most here won't even know the meaning of, to be quite honest ] introduction, Mr. Lambert. Very bright, isn't he, ladies and gentlemen?

[ It's not clear if he's poking fun at the bright colors the other man is wearing or if it's a comment on intelligence, but it won't matter since Childermass moves on at a sedate but steady pace. He turns towards Lambert one last time, holding a hand out towards him. ]

And I am sure he will gladly lend me his hat for marvel I am about to perform, now won't he?

[ Lambert's never been one to shy away from a challenge, no matter how it's delivered, and he most definitely takes that offered hand as a challenge. ]

Naturally. [ It's not the fight he was looking for, but he's just as pleased in the end. He steps forward and sweeps his hat off to present it to Childermass with a showy flourish, eyes bright in the carnival's artificial light. Worst case scenario he ends up having something horribly embarrassing happen to him, but it's also a chance to see his magic up close, and he's interested. ]

[ And now comes the great effort of making everyone pay attention to Lambert's gaudy hat. Once he has it, he'll hold it aloft and move, pacing along the front of the crowd as he talks. ]

As you can very well see, it is an ordinary hat. [ He'll make a point of showing it off to them. ] I can assure you this is my first time ever holding it, as well, and as I'm sure you can all tell from Mr. Lambert's hair, it is not something I'd care to be holding ever again. [ Which of course draws some laughter from those gathered around. Surely it's not just Childermass being petty if the two of them are working together, right? ] Now what I need you to do — all of you — is to keep an eye on the hat.

[ By the time he says that he's back in the middle of the space, still holding the hat up high. Everyone is watching that instead of Childermass at this point. He brings it down abruptly, eyes following it still, and then up and up further because he's thrown it high up into the air.

What all the carnival guests will see is the hat going up, then coming back down to hit the dirt. What they won't see is any sign of Childermass himself, as he appears to have vanished in that span of seconds. What Lambert might have seen, however, if he was smart enough to not watch the hat, is...

Well. Childermass muttering something under his breath as he turns on a heel to go, only 'go' is literally still vanishing into thin air, gone as suddenly as he had arrived. It's still an annoying spell to do with someone watching, but one pair of eyes — assuming they were on him at all — is easier to dissuade than dozens. In any case, he's made his escape. Lambert will have to deal with the rest! ]

[ Like the rest of the audience, Lambert watches Childermass pace with the hat in hand. However, being here as long as he has, he's picked up a couple of things at least ... like not letting himself get too distracted by showmanship. His gaze shifts to Childermass just in time to see him vanish into apparent thin air.

Jerk. It's just typical of him to be left holding the ball, and he has half a mind to chase after the man when the audience's eyes round on him expectantly. But Childermass making his exit it also means he can go right back to his work, so... ]

And there you have it! If you'd like to see the rest of his trick, you'll have to head for the main tent. [ He retrieves his had, gives it a quick brush-off, and goes right back to it. With the magician off his back, he'll count that as a win! ]

⇨ TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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