Test Drive

[snowblindmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

If you'd like to apply to Snowblind and would like to test the waters first or get a sample set up for your application, this meme is for you! We've even provided some prompts for you to use if you want (but feel free to make up your own). Here's how it works. ✭ Reply to this entry with a character you're considering apping into the game. You can include the name of your character and the fandom in your subject line. ✭ Comment around to others on the meme, whether you're in the game already or not. ✭ Now you have a sample ready for your application! ✭ So go reserve and apply when reservations and applications are open. ✭ Seriously, do it. Network Prompts ONE: A LONG WALK HOME You wake up at 6AM when lockdown ends, cold and tired, like you've been walking miles in the snow. But that's normal, isn't it? What isn't normal is your surroundings. You're in a new building, maybe one you've never seen before, or one you know is far, far away from where you were the night before when you fell asleep. If you were traveling with someone, you notice, also, that you are alone. There's no telling where your traveling companion could be. When you check the network, you notice that @ADMIN has left a message. Surveillance encountered an error shortly after 8PM last night and was out of order until shortly after 6AM. We apologize for any inconvenience. Whether or not you're confused or concerned about the message, maybe a post to the network will help you re-orient yourself. TWO: GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE... Seems you've found a rather valuable commodity. Something like alcohol, tea, coffee, cigarettes, or perhaps even something medical. Whatever you've found, you have no real interest in it, yourself. But you know that there's a market for it, and you see the opportunity to turn this into a win-win situation. You're not physically around anyone that you know of, so you propose a network-wide trade. And whoever makes the sweetest deal can be the proud owner of their craved luxury. Action Prompts THREE: A SYMPHONY OF SOUND You and your traveling companion thought that the house you decided to stop in for the night seemed normal enough. But lockdown hits, as it does every night, and things start to get strange. Soft sounds of crying; children crying, parents crying, screaming for their own safety. Maybe it's just the sound of the wind rushing so hard through the rubble you fear the ceiling will collapse. Maybe it's your own voice whispering to you to do awful things. Whatever the noise is, it's too much for you to fall asleep, coming to eerie crescendos and ebbing in volume at entirely irregular intervals. Looks like you and whoever you're with are in for a long night. FOUR: IN DUE TIME After a grueling day of travel, you and your companion finally come across safe shelter. And it seems to be a nice house, too, with a working fireplace and everything. The only strange part is that you aren't alone--but the other people in the house don't seem to be aware of you. In fact, they don't seem to be aware of anything; they're frozen in time, unmoving, unblinking, not even breathing. They can be touched, but they can't be moved. No matter how hard you try, they're rooted to the spot. They seem to be like you, weighed down with heavy winter wear and backpacks, not like the nondescript shadowy people that wander the town. Oh well. They're probably harmless, and it isn't like you have time to find a different place to stay.

Comments

Royce Melborn | Riyria Revelations

[bywolves]

two → @duster, video;

[ There's a couple of seconds of grouchy mumbling coming from off screen as Royce picks at the device in his hands. Technology is irritating and he's not sure he likes it, but he'll use it if he must. Which... he must, at the moment. He doesn't show his face, but the camera is steadily filming a bottle of wine on the table in front of him. His voice is soft, but firm. ]

I found this. Wine. I couldn't tell you how old it is because I don't know how long ago 1984 was. I don't like the taste of it, but I figure someone out there might find it less disgusting.

I need food, and I don't care what kind. Give me an offer.

[ No thank you, just an abrupt ending! ]

three.

[ More than anything, Royce is irritated about the volume of the voices.

The cries of children don't bother him. Annoy him, maybe, but it's easy to tune them out. Every once in a while, there's a voice that sometimes sounds like his own (and sometimes, like Gwen's) that whispers to him, right against his ear - tells him to raise Alverstone to his traveling partner and end it right now. That, too, is easy to ignore, because Royce can't see the logic in killing his partner when they've been here longer and thus, have more information than him. It'd be stupid to call attention to himself. Not to mention the fact that he doesn't have Alverstone.

Maybe the whispers aren't so different from his normal thought process, honestly. Whatever. It's logical for his partner to stay alive, so alive they stay.

Royce looks unbothered and even bored, sitting with his legs kicked up on the table, crossed at the ankle. His arms are folded and his hood is up. He barely moves except to breathe, staring at the wall with a vaguely irritated expression on his face.

After a moment, he glances at his partner, tsking quietly. ] Does it bother you?

two! @CaptSteveRogers; video

[starsandtights]

[Steve's face pops up on the screen, looking interested and cautiously excited. Wine! He would very much love to have some wine to share with Peggy.]

Wow. ...Probably about a hundred years old, give or take a few decades. Which means it's either really amazing, or vinegar. ...Gosh I hope it's not vinegar.

Food I've got. It's school cafeteria food, so it's hardly five-star cuisine, but I've sure as heck had worse. It's healthy and filling, at the very least. Three days' worth sound fair?

[Honestly if this guy doesn't have any food, Steve would happily just give him some. He's not going to say no to free wine, though, especially if the fella doesn't even like the stuff.]

permavideo (and apologies in advance for how rude royce is...)

[bywolves]

[ Three days worth sounds more than fair. In fact, Royce was expecting offers of like a bag of jerky or something. The fact that Steve offers that much makes him pause. ]

Three days worth of food for wine? [ It's almost incredulous, his tone. He sets his tablet down on the table so that the video faces straight up, looking at the ceiling. He meant to turn it onto voice, but... that didn't happen. ] Are you an idiot?

permavideo

[starsandtights]

[Steve skips over taking offense and goes straight to amused.]

I've got plenty of food, and as a resource it's only limited by the time and effort needed to travel to get it. Alcohol on the other hand... I've been here two months now, and I've never seen any. Three days' worth of food for a chance at good wine sounds like a bargain to me.

[He tilts his head, looking a little concerned. He'd thought this fella had maybe just run low on supplies and wasn't within immediate reach of a resupply point, but...]

Are you new here? Do you not know where to go to get food?

[bywolves]

[ He doesn't like to admit that he doesn't know where to get food. He's been stalking from house to house, here and there, trying to figure out how to survive, and he'd thought he'd gotten the hang of it without having to ask anybody, but here he is. ]

No. I had thought food was a more scare resource than it actually is, apparently. [ Royce says sharply, and Steve can't see it but he pulls his cloak closer to him defensively. A beat, and then quieter, more annoyed: ] Is there a particular way to get food that I'm not aware of?

3!

[powersouls]

[Tifa is doing her best to ignore the voices. It's easier for her to tune them out when they're just random, anonymous screams, but every once in a while, one of those sobs will sound just a little too much like Marlene, or a cry will mimic Barret's voice too perfectly. She's trying to look unaffected, mostly because she doesn't want to make Royce worry—if he'd worry, but she's never had a great poker face, and she can't prevent every tense or flinch.

Usually, she'd be the one asking her companion if they're all right, but Royce seems utterly unconcerned, if a little grumpy. Tifa, for her part, is sitting on the other side of the table, trying and completely failing to focus on her tablet, but she gives up when he clicks his tongue.]

I'm...

[There's no point in lying.]

I'll be fine. They're not real.

[She sounds absolutely unconvincing.]

:D (echoing my apologies for how rude royce is, haha)

[bywolves]

[ Royce actually scowls. ] That's not what I asked.

[ There's a pause, as he tilts his head in her direction, watching. She's not treated him poorly since they paired together, or at least, she hasn't done anything he doesn't think he deserves, so already, she has points. She's a tough person and Royce didn't think this sort of thing would bother her, but obviously, he doesn't know as much as he thought. It's not really something he's interested in asking about, but he figures if they're going to be stuck here for the rest of the night, he might as well try to take a leaf out of Hadrian's book.

He slides his boots off the table and looks away, at the wall instead. ] So you're upset right now. Why? [ Not the... most sensitive way to ask, but hey. ]

haha that is totally fine! most of Tifa's friends are rude, she's cool with it!

[powersouls]

[She frowns a little, shifting back in her seat as she tucks her hair behind her ear. It's not so much the awkward, insensitive way he asks the question that makes her pause so much as the question itself. Shouldn't it be obvious why it bothers her? But then... It doesn't really seem like much bothers Royce so much as it annoys him.

Tifa lets out a noncommittal hum, stalling as she struggles to think of a way to explain. It's never been easy for her to explain her feelings to most people, and the added difficulty of explaining something like this is making it worse.]

I know it isn't real, but... [She hesitates again, sighing.] Sometimes they sound like friends from home, and... I can't help it. [It's a terrible explanation, but she isn't sure how to put into words that the thought of her friends suffering is painful, whether they're actually in danger or not.]

\o/

[bywolves]

[ Oh. Well, that makes sense. ]

They're not here. There's no reason to be upset about it. [ Royce says, tapping his fingers against his arm in a rhythmic sort of way. ] It isn't as if they're actually being tortured, and if they were, you couldn't do anything about it anyway.

[ ... Thanks, Royce, that's comforting. He slides his eyes to the side to look at her again without moving his head. Almost begrudgingly: ] Some of them sound like my friend as well, if that makes you feel better for some reason.

@fenrir; voice; two;

[meteorrains]

[While a bottle of wine that's probably full of dust and taste like fermented vinegar is extremely tempting-]

Two days worth. You keep the wine.

video;

[bywolves]

[ Aw, but vinegar flavored wine is so appealing...

Royce actually sounds incredulous, believe it or not, as tries to get his tablet to be set to voice. Ugh, tech. ] You'd just give me food. [ Scoff. ] Is everybody here an idiot or do I just attract them? You might not need to answer that question, because I think I know the answer.

[meteorrains]

[Whoa dude, whoa. He offers you food out of the kindness of his own heart and you call him an idiot.]

Wine isn't my thing. [Which is a nice way of saying you can keep the fermented vinegar to yourself. Use it to dress up the terrible cafeteria food he's going to pass on to you.] I'll have to phone in an answer once I've met everyone.

[But he's pretty sure the average is something like 86%.]

[bywolves]

[ He also called Captain America an idiot. Royce is so good at making friends. ]

So you're going to just give me food for free. That's not how bartering works. [ Royce doesn't like to feel like he's in debt to people. And because he's unable to stop himself from being curious: ] I'm sure you have some sort of an estimate now with an answer like that.

2! @enhance; video

[plundering]

[Fiona is making the most disgusted face, her nose wrinkled.]

Last we heard, it was at least 2050. If you wind up on the obituary, at least we'll all know why.

[She shrugs.]

I wouldn't trade skag shit for that wine, but it's your lucky day. You don't need to beg anyone for food, because there are a few places around town you can get it.

@duster, voice;

[bywolves]

[ Ah. That gives him more context. He scowls at the wine bottle like it's betrayed him. It kind of has. ]

I wasn't begging. [ He maybe sounds a little offended. ] I had no idea what year it was, and I already said I don't drink wine. [ Well. This wine. He's picky. ] I suppose you're going to try to be helpful, now.

[plundering]

I live to be helpful.

[Now she's grinning, a little smugly.]

You want me to clue you in or not?

[bywolves]

I'm not going to ask you. [ He informs her dryly. It's not so much a threat as it is a fact - he won't ask her to so he won't owe her. If she tells him anyway, he's fine with that. ]

three

[devoutish]

[As far as comrades of convenience go, Alfie doesn't think Royce is a bad one. He's not overly chatty or easily frightened, and he doesn't seem to think that traveling together for a day or two makes them devoted bosom buddies. He could have done far worse.

Tonight, he's found an armchair to sink into, and is busy examining his tablet - he may have been around for longer than Royce, but he's still fairly new, and this technology is new to him too. But despite his dislike of mindless chatter, he welcomes the occasional conversation, so he looks up easily when Royce addresses him.]

You learn to tune it out.

[He taps the side of his head.]

It's unsettling, mate, but there's enough that's unsettling that's right in front of you, and you learn to focus on that instead of the echoes.

[bywolves]

[ The feeling is mutual. Alfie doesn't talk his ear off, doesn't whine or scold Royce for things Royce deems stupid, and the best thing - he doesn't really seem interested in being best friends forever. Royce appreciates it. They make a decent team, so far.

Royce sniffs idly at the answer. ] I didn't say it bothers me.

[ Because Royce thinks that's the implication. ] Though I doubt I'll be able to sleep if the crying doesn't tone the volume down. It's getting annoying.

[devoutish]

Cover your head up with a pillow.

[He says it unconcernedly; not being interested in being best friends forever also means that he doesn't really care how well Royce sleeps.]

[bywolves]

[ Ha! Royce snorts, amused, sliding a glance at Alfie. ] Is that what you're planning on doing for yourself?

permavid from @redd

[unrecked]

One: If you're into the whole food-for-show craze, you might want to snap a picture and upload it to Instagram. Two: 1984 is a bad year.

Three: I may or may not have some cheese to go with your whine. [He won't get the joke, will he?

He's so not gonna get the joke.]

permavid

[bywolves]

Did you want the wine or not? I stopped listening after I realized you had nothing important to say.

[ Okay but really, what the fuck is Instagram. ]

[unrecked]

[He didn't get the joke.]

Well, someone didn't graduate from Haggling Etiquette School. Maybe you need to drink the wine more than I do. [Jason undoubtedly already likes Royce! Go figure.]

They say it's a great cure for Asshole-ism.

[bywolves]

[ He got the joke, Jason, he's just not dignifying it with a response. Because it was terrible. ]

Yes, because intoxication in the cold has turned out so well for so many people in the past. [ Shh, he sounds amused. ] A cure for Asshole-ism, says the one replying to an advertisement with no intention of actually haggling.