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livinglot2017-02-03 01:17 pm
ringleaders) wrote in livinglot2017-02-03 01:17 pm
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⇨ 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:
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! |
no subject
...
...and I'm drunk.
...
Hiccup?
[Saying the word "hiccup" out loud was more or less her giving up the paper thin ruse she had been constructing. Sometimes it was just best to face the music...unless that music was going to be painful then she might try to run. For now she's offering the sweetest smile.]
no subject
[Is that a ghost of a smile? Was that a glimmer in her startling turquoise eyes? Was there a hint of a laugh in her voice?
Yes, as a matter of fact.]
Well, in that case, why don't you come back to my trailer and we'll get you sobered up...before you manage to annoy the Warden or the Ringmistress.
[Assuming you are amenable to the suggestion, she'll guide you to her trailer back in the Supervisor's Grove...and Betty might remember that the Acquistioner has been known to utilize...'non-traditional' methods of acquiring supplies for the Carnival.]
no subject
[But Betty will follow along, grinning much more broadly now. She can recognize a fellow sneak when she meets them and already her highly observant eyes are roaming over Emeleth and her trailer trying to deduce all she can in a short space of time.]
Are they really all that scary? The Warden or Ringmistress?
no subject
Her trailer looks like it was decorated by a magpie with delusions of being an interior decorator. The upholstery is varied fabrics in dark, rich colors that mostly manage to avoid clashing, there are beaded curtains scattered around, and the windows and counters are home to collections of empty glass bottles in various hues and shapes, along with various and sundry trinkets...though nothing of any obvious value. But for all that it's cluttered, it's not messy.]
Have a seat.
[Emeleth turns on the kettle, and rummages around in the kitchen...opening and closing several cabinets as she tracks down her tin of tea, two mismatched mugs...and a bottle of some sort of liquor. All of which are set on the table.]
Well, the old Warden was worse than the new one...but you still don't want to get on his bad side.
As for Herself?
Well, she's got a very strong opinion of stealing from the Carnival. And she's got the power to make her displeasure known in unpleasant ways.
[The kettle whistles, and she retrieves it.]
Pick your poison.
[A genuine smile.]
no subject
[Betty's eyes light up with delight at the style of the room, choosing instead to scurry around running her fingers over the beaded curtains, peering into the jars and otherwise being nosy. She does laugh cheerfully at the insinuation.]
That's always how it goes with magic ain't it? Can't do anything half way. I still think Hannah would get a real kick out of this place...she's my Sorceress friend back home.
[Flopping onto a pillow Bett wastes no time in opening the liquor and giving it a sniff before pouring some for herself.]
Hospitality is a lost art you know that? But you're a real sweetie to share like this! Once I start filling out my trailer with stuff I'll be sure to invite you over!
no subject
[She smiles again, and relaxes into a nearby seat, letting her tea - chai, by the smell of it - start to brew.]
So, are you enjoying your time here?
no subject
[She beams with a smile as bright as springtime and then sips her liquor with the confidence of someone who's no strange to hard drinks]
I was kinda disappointed about the whole abduction thing, I mean ok I get it. I got busted trying to sneak in but I had friends who needed me back home you know? We just got through this really rough patch that I thought might tear us apart, and I'm still not totally sure where everything stands. But I don't want em thinking I up and bailed on them!
[ the polite sipping turned into a sullen shot which burned her tongue enough to snap her back from a full fledged pity party. She poured another drink.]
no subject
Easy there. This stuff wasn't cheap.
[She's quiet for a moment while she breathes in the steam from her chai, then takes a slow, appreciative sip. Then she sets the mug back down.]
So...are you going to make me ask, or are you going to do this the easy way?
[Betty can play as innocent or obtuse as she wants, but it's pretty clear that Emeleth is expecting an explanation for her attempt at breaking and entering.]
no subject
I'm an open book more or less! Secrets are fun and useful but I don't keep too many of my own.
no subject
no subject
Oh fine be that way. I offer you a world of questions but you're just gonna make me take the lead? Rude!
[She sticks her tongue out but lounges back on her seat.]
I was just curious. Old habits are hard to break and that includes snooping around others things.
no subject
[She lifts her mug to her face, then mirrors Betty's stuck out tongue...though hers is black and snakelike.]
So...you were bored.
[It wasn't really a question. And as mild as the statement seems on the surface...there's an edge in her voice.]
no subject
Yeah more or less...I mean curious too. You can tell a lot about someone by what they keep in their nightstand you know?
no subject
She looks at Betty for a long moment, blinking slowly. The waves in her hair started tightening up, as she considered the Smidgen.]
Well, then...
[She sets the mug down, then smiles at Betty. And if the smile doesn't reach all the way to her eyes, and if her suddenly-cheerful voice seems just a bit strained...well, who's to notice, right?]
That's just fine then.
[Hint: it's probably not fine.]
no subject
Yeah um...well...I mean I appreciate the approval! Buuuut I mean if you're a bit more defensive about whatever you keep in your nightstand I um...I'd be perfectly fine getting to know you the old fashioned way! Talking, drinking, fighting goblins...wait do we employ goblins? I wouldn't fight the ones we hire.
no subject
It is clear you are bright - so I am at a loss as to how to explain how it is you can so thoroughly miss the point.
[Emeleth stands up. She doesn't loom over Betty, not deliberately at least. But the difference in their heights is stark, especially when her guest is sitting.
She turns away and briefly paces down to the end of her trailer, then back again.]
no subject
The exclamation has her puzzled and she tilts her head watching, then unsure rises to her feet and tries to follow in the pacing.]
I mean...if it makes you feel any better miscommunication and misunderstanding don't always have anything to do with how smart people are...sometimes it's just peoples brains being wired different. Trust me I've rewired mine a ton.
no subject
Fine. Allow me to clarify...
[She leans against a wall while she gathers her thoughts. The she sighs.]
Given the nature of my work here at the Carnival, it would be hypocritical of me to judge you, simply because you seem to have a loose sense of...propriety in regards to the possessions of other people.
But consider...
[A sharp look in Betty's direction.]
You expressed your unhappiness with your abduction by Herself. I do not know the numbers, but my suspicion is that there are more here like you than there are like me. I chose to stay, and I consider the assistance I have received to be just compensation for my service. There are others like me.
But the rest? They feel - and perhaps rightly so! - that they have been ill-used. That their freedom has been stolen. That their loved ones have been taken away from them. That their very self is being altered against their will.
So if you think that I am going to let you cheerfully steal whatever modicum of privacy and sense of security they might have managed to scrape together in their time here, simply because you are bored...
[Now she does loom over Betty.]
...you are very much mistaken.
no subject
Ah well...OK when ya put it like that it's a pretty lousy thing to do.
[A pit was opening up in her stomach and she realized that she spent so much time running around in her own world looting and pillaging that she'd never really seen it necessary to steal from people on her level. Holding up a hand she bopped herself on the head.]
I'm sorry. That was even more selfish of me then I thought it was.
no subject
Excellent. I am glad we could come to an understanding.
[She gestures back at the table.]
Now, would you like another drink, or shall I bid you goodnight instead?
((Feel free to wrap this up on your next post if you want, otherwise we can keep going. I've accomplished what I needed to with Emeleth in this thread, so ball's in your court.))
We can wrap for now, thank you so much <3
She started for the door...then appeared to think better of it and shuffle back over to pour herself another drink.
"Just...be patient with me. Impulse control is not one of my strong suits...please."
Meaning she would do her best to behave but old habits were hard to break, especially for Smidgens.
Not waiting for a reply, or perhaps fearing one Betty took the whole drink into her mouth and left the cup scurrying out the door, for the first time in a long time ashamed of herself.
Maybe this place was something she deserved after all.