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

[powersouls]

[The surprise is plain on her face when he drops the cloak in her lap, and she stares down at it for a second .She can take care of herself, really, but it's still sweet. Her smile is small, and a little slow to come, but definitely there.]

Thanks, Royce.

[She has a feeling he won't react well if she says much more about it than that, so she's quiet as she pulls the cloak around her shoulders and snuggles into it.]

I have an extra blanket. You can keep it if you want.

[bywolves]

[ She's right about that - the thank you is just enough to make him look away firmly. His shoulders do relax just slightly when she pulls the cloak close, though; the fact that she didn't reject the gesture means a lot, even if he won't say it or even acknowledge it.

He figures she can take care of herself, but it isn't the worst thing to have people who won't stab him in the back (or front, honestly) in a place like this.

The mention of the blanket gets him to raise his eyebrows, though, and he looks back at Tifa, opening his mouth - and then closing it. A beat. ]

I guess that's a fair enough trade, considering I'll be freezing all night. [ Something he's not used to. ] At least you're not stupid enough to just give me anything, like most of the people here.

[powersouls]

[Tifa lets out a soft snort, tilting her head a little. At least she's used to the casual insults, so that's not enough to offend her.]

They aren't being stupid, they just want to help. We all have to stick together, right?

[bywolves]

[ She's really a good sport for putting up with it. Not many people bother with Royce's occasional outright hostility, and he's continually surprised when they do. ]

It's stupid to offer something and get nothing in return. That's how you end up dead in a ditch without any clothes. [ He rolls his eyes. ] I'll never know why you types think sticking together is a good idea.

[ Says the guy who just gave his cloak to a near stranger. ]

[powersouls]

["You types", huh? That gets a sigh.]

If I have something extra, it doesn't hurt me to give it to someone who needs it. And it's better to have someone around to watch your back. Right?

[She's prodding just a bit with that last question.]

[bywolves]

[ Poor Tifa. Royce eyes her with an unimpressed look. ] More likely that they'll watch it long enough to find the most opportune place to put a knife in it, especially in a place like this.

You won't, and I won't, if only because everybody would know who did it. [ And because he kind of likes Tifa. Shh. Don't tell anybody. ] I guess there's some benefit in that, then.

[powersouls]

Royce.

[Seriously. For a second, she has no idea how to even respond to that. Is that really what he thinks? Momentarily, her expression seems caught somewhere between shock and incredulity, and then it settles close to disappointed.]

Do you really think that's why I've been helping you?

[Somehow the implication that it's the only reason he hasn't betrayed her is unimportant, probably because she's too quick to believe the best of people she likes.]

[bywolves]

[ No, not the disappointment! That's more what he's expecting, honestly. ] It's why most people help other people. Help is self-serving. Charity ends in debts.

[ He rolls his eyes a little. ] It isn't an attack on your character, it's just a fact.

[powersouls]

[Her mouth twists, and she shifts as she pulls the cloak a little closer around her.]

I don't think of it as charity, or racking up debts. It's just... a way to make things easier on everyone.

[bywolves]

And what happens when you can't make things easier on everyone? [ Royce asks flatly. ] Then they resent you. They turn on you. You were generous before, why aren't you now?

[ Vague sniff. ] Someone gives you something they insist is free, but it's never free. There's always a 'remember when I did this for you?' right behind it.

[ So Royce has trouble with trusting people. ]

[powersouls]

[He's right, at least partially. She's had people do that before. If Royce has an issue with trusting people, Tifa certainly has an issue giving too much of herself, to her own detriment.]

Not everyone is like that. What would happen if none of us were watching out for one another? We would probably all be dead.

[At least this argument is distracting her from the crying.]

[bywolves]

[ He'd like to say this was all part of his plan, but mostly, this is just the way he is. ]

It doesn't matter that not everybody is like that. [ Royce says, shaking his head. ] The point is you can't be sure which people are going to be the selfless martyr types and which aren't.

I can count the number of people who have done something for me without any strings attached on one hand.

[powersouls]

[Tifa bites her lip, silent for a moment as she considers this.]

I think... You just need to find the right people and hang on to them.

[Living for so long in the slums means that she's no stranger to people who simply want to take advantage, but she's managed to meet genuinely good people, too.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce watches her for a long time, expression shifting slightly. She reminds him so much of...

It's annoying. Kind of. Finally, he says: ] Optimism gets you nowhere. [ But it's half-hearted. He knows what he's saying is true, it's just hard to not hope, sometimes. ] I assume you think you've found the right people.

[powersouls]

I think so.

[Really, Royce, she's not the most unshakably optimistic of her friends. Still, his comment bothers her, although she lets it drop for the moment.]

You don't think you have?

[bywolves]

[ Royce is quiet for long enough that it might look like he's not going to answer. Give him a minute, though, and he mutters: ] Like I said. I can count the number of people who have done something for me without any strings attached on one hand.

Not that it matters here.

[powersouls]

[She lets out a soft, thoughtful hum.]

Well... It's good that they're not here, right? At least they're safe at home.

[That stupid optimism again!]

[bywolves]

[ He glances at her finally, lips twitching at the corners. No, he's not smiling! Shh! ]

It's safer there than it is here, yes. [ So he agrees. Sort of. He grouches this next part, but this time it's less serious: ] I must have some sort of sign on me somewhere that invites optimism in where I don't want it. It even follows me into different worlds entirely, for Maribor's sake.

[powersouls]

[That was absolutely a smile, and... even a joke? Enough to break the tension, at least, and enough to make her laugh.]

I have to make up for you being grumpy, don't I?

[bywolves]

[ Royce rolls his eyes, but the tension is broken. Maybe he trusts her a little more, as much as he'd hate to admit it. ]

Glass half full and glass half empty. [ He gestures vaguely. ] The crying died down. You should sleep.

[powersouls]

[There's a really dorky joke in there somewhere, she's sure of it, but she's not Cloud, so it escapes her.]

Okay. Are you sure you don't need company?

[She's pretty sure she's going to get a resounding no even as she asks.]

[bywolves]

[ He'd say yes, but he has a reputation to uphold, here. ]

No. I can take first watch. [ Huff. ] I'll wake you up later. Try not to damage my cloak, it's the only one I have.

[powersouls]

[Tifa is wondering how, exactly, she can damage his cloak by sleeping with it. She shoots him a smile, gathering the cloak more tightly around herself as she stands up.]

I won't drool on it, I promise.

[She hesitates at the door before leaving, though, resting a hand on the doorframe and looking over her shoulder.]

Let me know if you need anything, alright?

this is such a good thread, thank you!! <3

[bywolves]

[ It's more because he's a jerk that has to insinuate that Tifa is going to rip his clothing to pieces if he doesn't tell her not to. Because she'd totally do that. Don't mind him, he's tsun. ]

I won't. [ Royce says snootily. A pause, and then he amends: ] Need anything. Don't worry about it.

[ That's about as nice as he can get himself to be. He doesn't smile when he watches her go, but his expression is a little less wary than it was before.

... It's kind of nice to be treated like a human being, he thinks absently as he kicks his feet back up on the table. ]