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: LISTEN, DOLLFACE It's no secret that dolls have been the talk of the town, lately. People have been finding them all over Norfinbury: some rag dolls that seem particularly relevant to the Prophet, and some that are unsettling without the apparent connection. Still, it's surprising when you found a doll that looks like another one of the residents. You turn to the network, feeling unsettled, unsure what this could mean. Maybe you aren't alone, or maybe someone has a theory? Come to think of it, you're pretty sure that someone else mentioned finding something similar. TWO: TIPTOES.EXE IS HERE Sometime today you find an SD card that downloaded an app to your tablet. It's titled HIDEANDSEEK and has the picture of a doll as its icon. When you open it, it seems like it's a game to play against a digital opponent: a doll. The game appears to have two stages. In the first stage, the doll hides, and you need to travel around the house (is it just you, or does the layout of this house seem to always be the house you're in when you open it?) to find the doll. In the second stage, you need to hide yourself from the doll, and listen for its movements so it can't catch you. If it does catch you, it will be holding a knife. The screen goes red and the game crashes for the rest of the night. Somewhere on your body, a gash appears. It's nothing fatal, but maybe you should talk to someone about this on the Network. Action Prompts THREE: STRANGE THINGS DID HAPPEN HERE The house that you've found seems promising in terms of useful items to take with you, so you and your traveling companion have spent all day scouring the house for items. At first, everything's fine. Neither of you find or feel anything out of the ordinary. Lockdown approaches, you go to sleep without any additional trepidation...but an odd creaking noise fills your dreams. It gets louder in your ears until you can't stand it anymore and snap awake. When you open your eyes, it's there hanging just above you, swinging in a nonexistent wind: a doll with a broken neck, a noose tied around its neck. It looks just like you. FOUR: LOOK BEHIND YOU Maybe you're not unsettled by dolls--and maybe neither is your companion--but one thing is for certain: this house you've been locked into for the night has an odd, oppressive feeling to it. Maybe it's just because it's full of dolls, though they all seem ordinary enough. Nothing strange happens at first, but as the night goes on...you finally notice: wasn't that porcelain baby doll on the other side of the room the last time you were in it? Didn't you turn that other one to face away from where you were sleeping? The more the night goes on, the more obvious the movements become--sometimes, you even swear you hear the pitter patter of little feet. But nothing ever happens when you're watching. Maybe it's just your imagination. Or maybe, you realize in frustration, your traveling companion is trying to scare you. But is your paranoia worth the confrontation if it is? And will you even believe them if they swear their innocence?

Comments

Stephen Strange | MCU

[thewarningafter]

[One | @beyonce | video]

Looks like our little friends are supplementing their ranks.

[The low, American-accented voice that comes rolling out of the man onscreen might sound unperturbed at first blush, but there's definite concern under it. Strange shifts forward in his seat to turn the tablet to face a doll seated on the table near the device. Dark hair frames high cheekbones on a pale porcelain face.]

I'd say they got my hair all wrong, but I think we all know this one isn't meant to be me. First time I've heard of one showing up outside of building two-nineteen. Could be a new development if it's the automated systems planting these things, or it could be that whoever's making them has shifted their base of operations now that we've breached the ruins.

Keep your eyes open, alright?




[Two | @beyonce | text]

Has anyone else experienced a telekinetic attack related to a game on the tablet?

Also, could use needle, bandages. Will trade scissors, possibly blanket.



[Three]

[Ideally, the Sorcerer Supreme would be the sort of man who would, upon awakening to find himself hung in effigy, calmly assess the situation and quietly wake his companion to help him clear the house of intruders. There are limits to what Stephen can take and maintain his composure, though, and it turns out a tiny hanged version of himself dangled above his head while he slept constitutes one of those limits.

There's a yelp and a series of scuffling and thumping sounds in the dark as he scrambles out from underneath the thing, gaze still fixed on the dull glint of its dead eyes. He fetches up against the sleeping form of his traveling companion, shaking hands pawing at them as he pants in wordless distress.]



[Four]

Stop it.

[He's trying to sleep, asshole. Stephen growls the words, eyes held steadfastly shut. He noticed the moving doll thing pretty early in the evening. He also noticed how they aren't so much moving dolls as they are dolls that happen to have been moved whenever his back is turned -- conveniently, when his companion claims to have their back turned as well.

It's getting ridiculous, if only because the alternative to "ridiculous" is "very worrying."]

2 - @wiccandoit - would he have previously identified himself by name/title on the network?

[fanboyascended]

I've got butterfly bandages and rubbing alcohol.

Also, ow.

3

[redrooms]

[Natasha, of course, is the type to sleep with a knife on her at all times. Multiple knives. Details. She's awake as soon as she hears Stephen scramble up, letter opener in one hand. He paws at her and she flinches, sucking in a sharp breath, and god, he's lucky she registers that it's him. Her voice comes out sharp and calm, free hand gripping his arm as she sits up.]

Strange. What happened?

Four

[jumpthegun]

[John's a bit out of sorts, himself. It's less to do with the dolls and more to do with this American bloke having his friend's face. It's unsettling and his accent just sounds wrong whenever he speaks. Although, he has to admit, Strange's beard does make him want to encourage Sherlock to consider facial hair properly. It looks... good?

Less good is the current situation.]

I'm sitting in a corner, doctor. I'm not doing anything apart from reading and thinking. Bit too loud for you?

2 - @IAmLegend; voice;

[definingfuture]

Your app attacked you?

2 - @toboggan

[trolltoll]

will you accept an egg

two | @zmove | text

[cosmoem]

Oh no! Are you alright, Doctor Strange?! Was it that app that attacked you?!

Cassel Sharpe | The Curse Workers

[theurgy]

[1 - network - @sharpe, video]

[For a second, the feed just shows a teenager with messy black hair and dark bags under his eyes, and then, once he's sure the tablet is recording, he sits back, holding up a doll. It looks very suspiciously like whoever replies. Cassel clears his throat awkwardly.]

Looks like we're ticking off the horror movie cliche list. I found this—[He lifts the doll up by its arm and shakes it slightly.]—in one of the drawers. If we've all got voodoo dolls lying around town and someone finds mine, do me a favor and take good care of it. Read it a bedtime story and tuck it in every night.

[So, Cassel goes for stupid deflection and joking when he's uncomfortable. Good thing he's obvious about it.]

Anyone want to catch the new kid up?

[1 - action]

[Cassel makes for a pretty relaxed traveling companion, for the most part. At least, he's good at faking it, although he has a tendency not to let his pack out of his sight and a propensity to sleep with his back against a wall. Still, considering the options, he's a decent person to get stuck with. He's not usually obviously on edge or twitchy. Except for tonight.

They're locked in a house with way more dolls than he can count, and while they're a little unsettling, Cassel isn't particularly freaked out by them. Sick to fucking death of hearing about dolls and seeing dolls and thinking about dolls, but he just ignores them. Sometime after lockdown, though, he starts to hear things. He's read more than a few stories about people hallucinating in these houses, but actually experiencing it is something else. It's like something tiny is scamping across the floorboards. Too small to be a child, but obviously only moving with two feet.]

I was wondering when the creepy hallucinations would start up. I was feeling left out.

[It's a stupid, sarcastic quip, delivered with his usual smile, but he doesn't talk much after that. Every time he hears something move, the hair on the back of his neck stands on end and he feels like something is watching him. There's nothing moving. Nothing he can see. Out of a desperate desire for something to do, Cassel digs a candy bar out of his pack, and when he looks up, one of the dolls, the one with the curly blonde wig and frilly pink dress, is sitting in the middle of the room, staring right at him. He starts, heart in his throat, and shoots an annoyed look at his companion.]

Hey, come on. Knock it off.

action!

[thunderbitch]

[ The best way to not be afraid is to ignore what is making you afraid, right? That's Dakota's philosophy. She's the master of not showing fright, and she's the master of ignoring the little pitter-patter of whatever the fuck it is that's in the house with them.

The first time Cassel speaks up, Dakota carefully pulls her feet up off the floor onto the couch under her, and continues to read the obviously terrible smutty romance novel she'd picked up in the house they'd explored earlier. Vincent jitters on the couch next to her, and only stops squeaking when Dakota reaches to rest a hand on the metal casing protecting his wings. She doesn't say anything for the moment, doesn't even look up from her book, thoroughly intent on ignoring the problem. Cassel can deal with it.

You know, until he speaks up again. Dakota slowly lowers her book, staring at Cassel with an unamused expression. As usual, she's mostly monotone: ]

Knock what off.

Max | Camp Camp (cw: language)

[muack]

Two; @suckad; video

[When it starts, the video focuses on a stomach. There's a long, thin gash there, bleeding sluggishly, but still obviously fresh. Then, the camera pans out, a blue hoodie covers the gash, and a kid's extremely unimpressed face shows up on camera. The mop of black hair on top of his head resembles more a bird's nest than anything else, and he appears to be sporting a black eye. He doesn't look older than 10.]

So I got fucking attacked by a game?! What the hell is this place, and who do I murder to get out?

Four;

[Max is sitting in a corner of the room, not even pretending he's trying to sleep anymore. He's looking straight ahead, eyes narrowed, heartbeat fast and making him feel a little nauseous.]

I'm not scared, you know.

[He's lying, but it's fine. At camp he really wasn't - everything had an explanation, logical and simple, and he is too smart to fall into every stupid trap put in front of him. But right now, when the pitter patter of feet is heard again and he can see his traveling companion hasn't moved an inch, it's...harder to explain.]

There's just probably somebody else here.

[Here. Logical explanation. Not scared.]

Four

[thewarningafter]

That's exactly what I'm afraid of.

[Stephen can't sleep, either. He knows that he's the adult in this situation and that he probably has some kind of pseudo-paternal responsibility to say something comforting at this point. What's he supposed to do, though, lie to the kid? If there's a third person in the house menacing them with dolls (...what is his life), that's something they're going to have to deal with together.

He keeps his voice low, nearly a whsiper.]

We need to clear this place room by room or it's not going to be safe for us to sleep. Think you can help me with that?

Trent "Starboy" Ross | OC

[boxedcrook]

d0llm4ster

@starboy
found a doll with a metal arm and a doll in ugly white facepaint
seems kind of suspect

tiptoe through the tulips

@starboy
8bit junkrow station codeheads could make a better game
got a cut from nowhere so i'm suing

red light, green light

[Trent has already raised an accusing fuss about the moving doll. Cut that shit out, etc. It's creepy. He doesn't have time for games.

There's nothing about the wolf's head that lends him hearing or smelling. It's a "mask," a brand that says he did time after doing a crime. Aestheticians are required at all prisons, encapsulating criminals in the heads of animals to let others know their fingers are sticky, or their moods are violent, or their ambitions greedy.] Fuck!

[The sound of scampering feet is gone just as soon as it appeared, and Trent grips the 11mm wrench tighter.] I'm not fucking around! Cut it out!

red light, green light - your icons are all great btw

[theurgy]

[Cassel has pegged Trent as dangerous. That's not necessarily bad—almost everyone Cassel deals with on a day to day basis is dangerous, but that means Cassel is watching him just a little more closely than he would some of the people he's found himself stuck with for the night. He's planted himself across the room, back to one wall and pack against his side, and he's trying to ignore the now near constant pattering of feet across the floorboards. It's nothing, he tells himself. Nothing but this place screwing with them.

Trent, however, seems to think otherwise, seems to think Cassel is the one behind it, and Cassel apparently isn't doing a great job of convincing him otherwise. Trent also has a much handier weapon than Cassel does. Things aren't looking great.

So, went Trent lashes out again, Cassel does his best to make his body language as nonthreatening as possible, shoulders slouching to combat his height, eyebrows up and expression placating.]

I'm not doing anything, man. I've been sitting here the whole time.

Daniil Dankovsky | Pathologic

[bakalavr]

II; @danko

I take it bloodshed is not a typical result of the "programs" you lot have been finding around town.

III

[ Sleep is a luxury he cannot afford, but an inevitability he cannot avoid.

Alas.

When he awakens, he's convinced he's still out -- there is no other explanation for such visions.

And yet it persists. He jolts upright, tense as can be. ]

-- is this your idea of a joke?

III

[boneandclay]

[Unlike certain sneks, Clara has no problem with sleeping when she's tired. Even in the presence of creepy demons.

She snaps awake as soon as Daniil does, her face slowly lighting up into a smile as she stares up at the doll.]

It is pretty funny!

Handsome Jack | Borderlands

[hijackass]

[Two | @2handsome | text ]

Well that sure was a waste a of time. Seriously who even codes these things?? Why make a game about killing if it doesn't actually KILL anyone? It's like whoever coded this had some serious childhood issues.

Newsflash: no one's scared of your stupid dolls.

[ And then, like, five minutes later: ]

Why am I still playing this you can't even KILL THE STUPID DOLL

Seriously when I find this idiot who designed this stupid thing I'm going to shove a knife into them.

Right after I finish shoving knives into their family. God.

I am so bored.


[Four]

[ The answer on that one is a big fat N O P E, because ghosts don't exist and that's stupid, and whoever it is Jack's stuck with is stupid for thinking that he's gonna believe that any of those noises are caused by itty bitty little possessed china dolls. Or whatever the hell they are. Friggin' creepy is what they are and he's about had enough of all of it.

Especially since he has made it very clear that this side of the room is his side and you're sure as hell not allowed over here? Hah. Like he's going to get buddy-buddy with a filthy bandit of all thing. Nah you're just alive until he can't get anymore use out of you.

And with all that noise he's sure you're making? That amount of time is raaaapidly dwindling. ]

Riiiight, so. Not sure if you're brain damaged from snorting slag or whatever the heck is is you idiots do down here but when I said lights out I didn't mean "scurry around in the dark like some sort of mutant rat-person." Okay? So why don't you knock it off and do that quiet thing we talked about before I make you not moving around a more permanent solution.

2; @sharpe; text

[theurgy]

talk about childhood issues.

you know, considering the track record here, I'm surprised that game isn't killing people

Elle Mel Marta | Tales of Xillia 2

[travelles]

[two; @rollo; video]

[The screen fizzles for a moment, then shows an image of a young girl who is clearly distressed. A faint meowing can be heard in the background, as do muted rustles as the source of the said sound walks around the room off-screen.]

Hey, so this app I was playing suddenly crashed... And then this happened.

[She shows her the back of her forearm, which has a long gash that cuts across her sleeve.]

It doesn't hurt, [she tries to smile, though the way her lips are pursed betray her true feelings on the matter,] but I know it's not good to leave it like this, so... does anyone have something I can put on it?

[four;]

[Elle, like any typical eight-year-old girl, loves dolls, but there's just something about the ones around this house that scares her, creeps her out, makes her not want to touch anything.

Her anxiety gets worse late in the night, when she curls up in a corner of the room, close to Rollo for warmth and comfort. Sleep escapes her as she hears the suspicious pitter patter of feet, and she couldn't anymore distinguish if it is her imagination playing tricks on her or consider the case where her companion is just messing with her.]

I-I'm not scared... I'm not scared...

[It's a mantra she's been repeating to herself ever since she got to this place, though however helpful or convincing it is, well, is something more or less up in the air as she brings her feet closer to her chest as she hugs herself, shivering all the while.]

four

[devoutish]

[Well, shit. Alfie needs to get ahead of this and he needs to do it now, because if he doesn't, he has a feeling that he's going to be stuck with a crying, hysterical child on his hands.]

Hey. Hey, hey.

[He crouches in front of her.]

Eyes up, look at me.

Leonard Church (Epsilon) | RvB

[mylittlesniperrifle]

[One: @epsilon | text]

So who's the bright guy that made a doll of me and put the symbol for alpha on it? Wrong guy, people.

At least they got the face right.

[Get him to switch to video or audio. You might hear someone you know.]

[Three]

[Waking up to find a doll of yourself hanging above you is not how Church wanted to wake up. Especially since someone went through the trouble of making it look like you. He doesn't even know what it feels like to be killed like that, but he touches his neck anyways to make sure that nothing was actually physically wrong. Maybe it was some omen.

Maybe the person he's traveling with is being a dick.]

What the fuck, man! That's not funny!

SCREAMS; three

[blueteamsproblem]

Yes. Because when things are funny, people laugh, instead of getting mad, and it is -- everybody has a good time.

[ Caboose's voice is even drowsier than usual, since he's still half asleep. Some people might be startled into full wakefulness by Church-esque yelling, but he's used to it. It's pretty much soothing.

Meaning yeah he's not even opening his eyes to see what's up. A+++. ]

Naminé | Kingdom Hearts

[chainbroke]

network;two | @nobody | text

Has anyone suddenly found strange wounds on their bodies, after playing the HIDEANDSEEK app?

action;three

[ She hasn't been able to really relax for a while... but the idea of plenty of fresh supplies is a good one. Naminé's clutching a small knife in her hand, and she's skittish as hell, even with a traveling companion at her side. She doesn't know what might happen here, after all. More likely than not, it'll be something terrible and unexpected...

Anyway. Naminé manages to settle down to sleep, the knife still in hand. And when she wakes, it's with a jolt. Her eyes are wide, and she looks even more terrible than before.

It only gets worse when she notices it. At first, she thinks she's still asleep. She rubs at her eyes, making sure the blade doesn't get anywhere near her face. When it's obvious that it's very much not a dream, Naminé starts to shake. The knife clatters to the floor, and she clamps her hands tight against her mouth to stifle a scream or a sob... or both. ]

2 - @toboggan - text

[trolltoll]

i think i got a growth on my ass if that counts

Ventus | Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

[friendshipdriven]

TIPTOES.EXE

[After realizing that the room is like the exact one he's standing in, he'd already had a weird feeling about playing it. But, hey! It could have just been a weird coincidence, right? Apparently... not.

No sooner than he'd thought that, he's finding that it's his turn to hide. So, he... does. He just doesn't manage to hide well enough, which ends with him thinking that the game is broken and-- ow, what the heck?! One eye closes as his left cheek starts to burn and sting pretty badly. After a quick brush of his fingers, he can already tell he's bleeding. That's-... So, there really is something weird about the game.

That feeling never really went away, but now it's even stronger than before. On top of not being very fun, it's kind of creepy. After taking a deep breath, he's reaching out to the network in the form of a video.

Ventus is holding a cloth against his face as he frowns a little at whoever's watching.]

Anybody... else try playing any weird games, lately? Maybe a game that involves lots of hiding and possibly ending with you getting cut?

[He averts his gaze for a moment and sighs.] I'd offer to show someone later, but I think it's broken...



LOOK BEHIND YOU

Cut it out!

[Ventus' voice apparently carried over into the waking world, since he managed to wake himself up. He'd somehow fallen asleep at some point, in spite of the creepiness of the house. It had taken what felt like hours, which might be the reason for him feeling like he hadn't slept at all. Several minutes later, he tosses the blankets off of himself. This joke wasn't even funny to start with, so by now it's just annoying.

After making his way into your room, he's giving a quick knock and then huffing.] Look, if you're trying to lighten the mood by playing a joke, I appreciate the thought. But, you're... kind of creeping me out.

[He really doesn't want to fight, but he also wants to sleep for more than what feels like an hour at most.]

look behind you

[chainbroke]

[ And here's poor Naminé, looking absolutely bewildered and exhausted. She's heard the footsteps, too, and they've been keeping her up. It's not exactly uncommon for her to get little to no sleep, but this is just... ridiculous. ]

V-Ven? [ She rubs at her eyes, which have dark circles beneath them. ] I've been trying to sleep...

Lillie | Pokemon Sun/Moon

[cosmoem]

[ ooc: SPOILERS FOR POKEMON SUN/MOON! i know the game just came out last week, so please feel free to not tag Lillie if you'd like to avoid spoilers! ]

TWO: @zmove | text

Good evening, everyone. I have a quick question: has anyone received a "HIDEANDSEEK" application on their tablets? I'd...like to open it, but it has a strange icon, so I don't know if it would be a good idea...

FOUR

[ This house was very, very unsettling. The dolls themselves were creepy, and the occasional noises of footsteps pattering about weren't right. Those certainly weren't from Nebby, nor were they from her traveling companion. She knows that for sure.

Lillie is sitting in a corner in one of the rooms, holding Nebby close to her chest as the footsteps start up again. ]

I-If this is a joke, it's not funny anymore!

[ It wasn't funny to begin with. She's not yelling at her traveling companion, per se--though if it happens to be them, she will be pretty upset about it--but whatever it is, she wants it to stop. ]

4!!!!

[passingmemories]

[Roxas for one has gotten used to weird noises at night. Some of the houses he's been in were stranger. But hearing Lillie suddenly yelling him makes him wake up quickly.]

H-Huh?

[He sits up, looking around with a panicked expression.] What's going on?

adelina | the two princesses of bamarre

[bloodbiter]

i; @addie; video

[When the video begins, it's focused on a young woman's face, expression confused with a touch of concern. She seems to be glancing down at something, and as she begins to speak, perhaps it becomes clear why. Her voice is smooth and formal.]

I am aware that many of us have been finding an array of strange dolls around the town, but I had another question about the matter, I'm afraid.

[The feed wanders down to her hand, holding one such doll - this one, however, bears an uncanny likeness to the girl on display a moment ago.]

Has anyone else found one that was made in your likeness? It's strange, to be sure, and I'd like to know if it's something others are experiencing. Perhaps one of us has an idea as to why it could be occurring.

iv; action

[She hasn't slept.

Ever since she noticed the strange activity, the noises, she didn't deem it safe to rest. She paces the area for a while, wondering if she'll finally see evidence what she's noticing; the movements, the footsteps. It never happens when she's observing, though. While she doesn't want to disturb her companion, she eventually wanders back to them to wake them (or just approach them, if they aren't sleeping).]

...I think something strange is happening. You may want to be on your guard.

i; @nobody | video

[chainbroke]

[ Naminé looks... incredibly uncomfortable. She'd thrown her own doll into the corner not long after she'd found it, honestly, and she glances in its direction before answering. ]

I have... but I'm not sure what they mean.

Kevin | Welcome to Night Vale

[killyourdouble]

One [@sunshine, video]

[Kevin doesn't really get the network, yet. He uses it, of course, and he knows how it works, but he tends to use it a lot like that technophobic uncle who finally gets an iPhone and then all he does is post pictures of his food and status updates about mowing the lawn. So he's not really posting about the doll, or about anything interesting, really. He's talking about sand and how snow is a lot like sand except you can't count it as easily because it melts and there's always more of it.

Except the doll is there. He's got it on his lap, so it's pretty clear he knows it's there and has it there for that purpose, even if he's not directly talking about it.

Maybe you've come in late in the "broadcast" or maybe you've just waited a bit to say anything but, of course, the doll looks just like you.]

... and of course it's colder than sand, which is also a problem. You can't freeze to death in sand. Well, I mean, I suppose you could, it's cold at night in the desert but it's a lot harder. You really have to work at dying in sand. Isn't that right Vanessa?

[He wiggles the arm on the doll, but thankfully stops just shy of making up a little voice for it.]

---

Three

[Why are you searching a house with Kevin? Why would you do that to yourself?

Okay, he's not actually all that bad at searching and he doesn't seem particularly homicidal or anything, but the eye thing is pretty weird and he never stops smiling and being trapped alone all night in a house with him isn't really the most appealing decision you've ever made for your safety and comfort. But once it's time to sleep, he beds down and falls asleep like a baby so... probably it's safe.

You are pretty sure you wake to the sound of a shrill, startled scream, but by the time you open your eyes and roll over or get into the next room, Kevin's kind of... poking at the doll hanging over him.]

Oh wow, it looks just like me. Come look! Isn't that cool? Do you have one too?

@hotstud_xxx; text

[rubikscomplex]

[Creepy dude is creepy. House is coming to understand this about Kevin. And while he isn't as superstitious as some people, he's still perturbed by that doll who looks like him.]

how's about you take vanessa there and chuck her out a window, sunny d?
she can test the whole sand and snow theory you've got going

Melanie | The Girl with All the Gifts

[titanette]

[@Pandora; audio]

[For the first time that she can properly remember, Melanie wakes up somewhere new. It's disorienting, and a little scary. The first thing she notices is the searing cold, and the fact that it's partially blocked out by a big puffy coat that isn't hers. She's in a room that isn't her cell, with furniture that isn't her furniture and a door that's windowless, so she can't see out of it. She waits for a while, counting to five thousand, and then she gets down on the floor to try and see if she can peer under it instead. When her head bumps against it, she's surprised to find that it gives a little, pushing outwards. Unlocked.

Leaving the room shows her more furniture, and a bag filled with strange food, and a staircase, and bookcases that are mostly empty but not entirely, and a little tool made of metal, and cabinets that open and close, and taps that run cold water when you turn them, and windows, and another door that's also unlocked - and beyond that door, something amazing.

And then she discovers the tablet, with all the unfamiliar people talking on it about unfamiliar things, and she looks through it for a while, transfixed. There's so much welling up inside her, so many feelings itching to get out, and she suddenly wants to share it all with the people the way they're sharing their thoughts and feelings with each other. And so she clicks it into record mode.]

It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful--

[Maybe that's a bad way to start. Repeating the same word over and over again doesn't make her sound very clever, and if she doesn't sound clever the people might not want to talk to her. She thinks back to the vocabulary lessons from the classroom and grabs some synonyms to use instead.]

It's gorgeous, stunning, exquisite, striking, transcendent. It sparkles like I think crystals do.

[She shuffles forward out of the house (which is mysterious, gloomy, obfuscous, Stygian, lonely) and bends, reaching out to touch the snow with a bare finger. She lets out a quiet cry of surprise.]

And it's cold!

[She knows that snow is cold, of course, but it still sends a shock through her system. It's the coldest thing she's ever touched; the coldest thing she's ever imagined. She does and doesn't want to touch it again. She looks back to the tablet, still recording audio.]

Am I on the other side of the big door?

@quark; video

[averytinyparticle]

[The voice sounds like someone around his age! Quark can't help himself--he gets so excited when he has the chance to meet another kid. Maybe she'll be his friend? He puts on his best smile, trying to match her enthusiasm despite the things they often have to deal with here.]

Hi! Yeah, it's real cold. I'm not sure what big door you're talking about, but there are a lot of doors here!

[Some bigger than others. Some that are locked!]

I like that word you used--transcendent.

Xavier Ridgefield ◻ Original Character

[trekke]

( i. ◻ text. ◻ @xrfield. )
For some reason, I have an app game called 'HIDEANDSEEK' and seems to be a play or homage to the variation of 'demon'/one-man hide and seek games of lore. It makes me think think of a claimed ritual known as 'Hide and Seek Alone' the most. Though at least this iteration does not involve us antagonising the doll by stabbing it with a knife.

It was an unsettling game, I admit, but it wasn't too difficult to hide from the doll and win both rounds. Long as you pay attention to the sounds.

Does anyone know of anything else about this game? I thought there would be more to it but nothing else happens after the first round. Perhaps you need to lose for something to occur?

( iii. ◻ action. )
[ basically, her companion/s in the same house as her will probably be awoken to the sound of xavier screaming her lungs out.

waking up to see a doll that was a terribly spitting image of her likeness is a very unpleasant thing to wake up to. more so if she wakes up to it hanging from a rope by its poor neck. ]

( iv. ◻ action. )
[ the dolls have been unnerving her a little bit since they've had to retreat here for shelter. xavier tries to keep a level head, embarrassed by her outburst about that awful doll incident a few days back, but this has been… to be blunt, getting on her nerves. by a lot. more so since she swears up and down that some of the dolls are being moved from place to place… or are moving from place to place.

she isn't sure which one is the more unnerving possibility. (though the second one is winning by a mile. thank goodness she's found no dolls that bears an uncanny resemblance to her or the others in the residence.) ]

Do you think we'll be lucky and we've possibly run across some luk thep dolls for the evening? They're believed to be inhabited by spirits who can bring good luck to their owners.

hello it coco... casually throws my oc at you; iii

[mowing]

[ Despite being a heavy sleeper, Kasumi jolts awake at the sound of Xavier's scream. She goes into panic mode immediately, the darkness in her room surrounding her and almost paralyzing her in fear; but she manages to get up and run frightfully into Xavier's room to see what's happened. ]

Hey, everything alri--

[ Holy shit. Kasumi shrieks at the sight of the doll, falling onto her behind and immediately backing up against a walll. ]

Oh my god.

Asuka Langley Soryu | Neon Genesis Evangelion

[redheadcarrier]

One; @2ndchild; Text

I know I'm basically stuck in a horror movie, but I could really do without all of these stupid dolls. I can't be the only one finding these, right?

[ She probably knows the answer to that already. She's still asking. ]


Three

[ Asuka's been on the edge of panic most of the day. First she finds herself in a creepy, abandoned, snow village (and the novelty of real snow had worn off really fast), next she discovers there are creepy dolls, and that she has to scrounge for supplies just to survive. Add on a ton of strangers who she really doesn't want to get close to and she has a situation where she's both incredibly irritated and trying to fight down her own, very real fear. As "lockdown" starts up, she's found a corner to curl up in, trying to ignore cold and her own, stomach-twisting anxiety and nausea.

It takes her a while, but exhaustion finally overrides her brain and she falls asleep. Of course, when she does sleep, she's still plagued by strange dreams. The creaking noise that startles her out of sleep is still ringing in her ears (or she imagines it is) and she blinks blearily, looking around for her scavenging companion. ]

Hey, did you hear that-?

[ That's when she sees the doll hanging by its neck. She stares for a long moment, the color draining out of her face as she realizes that it has her face, her hair, even her hair-clips, and she can't help the fact that her mind goes racing back to the first time she saw something like this.

Asuka screams aloud, a high-pitched, piercing shriek of genuine terror, and she tries to scramble away from the swaying doll, pausing to suck in air for another wail. ]

Get away from me!


Wildcard!

[ Find her doing something else! ]

@featherydouche; text

[mrcreamsicles]

horror movie is goddamn right
weve got ourselves parked in a psychological shit show jamboree
practically in silent hill out here
wait around long enough and an estranged dad will wander around the corner
have you seen my daughter
sure have mr mason and shes new and improved in eerily accurate doll form
hand her on over while he gapes
congrats its a stuffed simulacrum of everything thats wrong with this place
actually im kidding
because this place is just too fucked up for a single doll to contain
we need ourselves a doll house for this shit
but guess what we got one
or as good as one
because the ones with eyes are what people are gathering so we can open the door to even more horror show suffering
hope you brought snacks
because we might all die of starvation if theres not another food source on the other side
just little norfinbury things

lila zacharov | curse workers

[gitanes]

one.

You know, this one's almost funny?

[And of course Lila doesn't bother to introduce herself. No, even though she's only popped up on the network a couple of times before, she can pop up in media res and everyone will know who she is because of course they will. She's herself.]

[In this particular moment, she's herself holding up a flimsy-looking doll that bears a vague resemblance to one of her fellow imports. She dangles it from two fingers by a boneless wrist, and the way it's poised above her sharp white grin makes it look like she might just drop it into her mouth at any moment.]

It's cute, you know? A little too Goosebumps for me, kinda kitschy, but I like it. See, this one looks like whatshisname. With the brows and the neck.

Anybody else found one of these things? Show me, c'mon.

three.

[Lila's used to weird dreams. Too used to them, maybe; they've come from an artificial or at least abnormal face for so long that she doesn't treat them as a potential warning of anything much anymore. Nothing dire, just a tooth-rattling annoyance, like sandpaper brushed against the dermis of her unconscious mind.]

[She's used to waking up screaming most nights. Since she got here and her work was ripped away from her, the nightmares have subsided a little (a little), and anyway this one would barely register. In her dream, she hears the sound and bats a lazy white paw in its direction, opens her mouth to say shut up, shut up, but all that comes out is a soft feline vocalization.]

[That, not the noise, is what startles her awake--and when she sees the doll facsimile of herself hanging above her, she reacts with anger, not fear. The fear goes somewhere else, buttoned down, as the anger propels her into an animal snarl, a reflexive clamping down of too-sharp nails into the arm of her sleeping companion, and a leap upward to snatch at the thing in a vain and vicious effort to drag it down.]

3!

[theurgy]

[Lila is the only person here Cassel can actually sleep around, as in, real mostly restful sleep when he's not half freezing to death, and not the paranoid, exhausted dozing he's been doing with everyone else. It's Lila who's having a hard time, as always, and he hates that there's nothing he can do to help. He'd swap places with her in an instant if it were possible, but he's starting to realize, to really understand, what being locked in a cage for years does to you. PTSD symbols on a cold, glowing screen pale in comparison to Lila screaming herself awake every night. He's even dealing with the loss of magic better than she is. He's only thought of himself as a worker for a few months, after all.

So, Cassel feels guilty. When doesn't he?

Tonight is different, though. Cassel wakes up to Lila's nails digging into his bicep, dulled by the thick fabric of his coat, and he's awake in an instant.]

Lila, what—?

[Before he can register what's happening, Lila is trying to rip something from the ceiling, and he scrambles upright, reaching for her arm, his heart racing.]

[theophilia]

two.

Have you ever wondered why there is such a primal fear and fascination with dolls?

It's interesting, isn't it? They're children's toys. On a similar note, clowns are something children are said to enjoy as well, although I've heard some people doubt that. What does that say about us as a species, though? That on some level we are drawn to what we fear, maybe. Or that fear and joy are two sides of the same coin. I think that would explain a lot about all of us.

As an aside, I would advise those of you with an interest in such things to avoid playing the game labeled Hide and Seek. I'm bleeding, apparently. That's what curiosity gets you.

four.

[The lockdown rules don't bother him, really. He's as used to rules as he is to breaking them. It's habit by now to listen conscientiously to the instructions given him and then decide on his own whether he cares to follow them.]

[In this case, the instructions make sense. Stay inside after dark or you will likely die--rules that he is fairly unlikely to question. Only tonight he's beginning to feel that he'd be safer outdoors. This place hems him in, footsteps pattering behind him, light and playful like a little girl's, making him grit his teeth.]

[He doesn't sleep. At ten pm, he starts counting: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and so on. At 10:45 he gets stuck in a loop: 2, 2, 2, 2, which he only escapes from with some manner of speech or touch. His brow draws together uncertainly; for over an hour, he says nothing.]

[Then, at midnight, he draws his rosary between his fingers and calmly states,] I believe that I might be losing my mind.

two;

[dissociative]

Humankind has always desired to plaster its own idealized image onto whatever it can touch. Clowns, dolls, animals we personify, corporate mascots. People long to see the reflection of their own light in the darkness; to know they are not alone in the universe with their desires.

I got bandages and ointment. I'll patch you up if you're nearby, Father.