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: WE ALL FLOAT DOWN HERE You're taking your first leap down into the underground tunnels, glad for a break from snowy travel. Everything is going well at first, but then...You see something up ahead. Something colorful? It's hard to tell what it is, but as you cautiously approach it becomes more obvious: a single, floating balloon. There's a curled piece of paper tied delicately to the end of the string. If you dare to read it, it provides you with a simple message: h͙̟͝e͏͉͍l̯͔͍̩̼̫̣l̢̥̥̩̥̞͓o͘ Or maybe it's something different. No matter what it is, you don't feel very good after reading it. Maybe you should turn to the Network for comfort. Even if they don't have any explanation, at least you might feel a bit better not being completely alone down here. TWO: THE BEST MEDICINE Today, you found an SD card for your troubles. It downloaded an app to your tablet titled JOKES.EXE. Figuring you could use a laugh, you opened it to see what it contained. Screen after screen, it generates for you a joke. Once you tap on the lead-in, it delivers the punchline. Only...These jokes aren't really that funny. In fact, they're kind of unsettling. Like someone went out of their way to put a dark spin on them. The little boy was disappointed he couldn't go to the family restaurant for his birthday party. He'd already killed his family. Yeah, that's enough. You put the jokes out of your mind. It's not like it's going to hurt anything. At least that's what you think, until the jokes start inserting themselves into the text you write to others on the Network. Switching to voice or video doesn't help, either. Even though you aren't making any jokes, if you play back your feed, you'll find yourself saying them. Hopefully you don't offend someone during the time it takes you to find a way to uninstall the app. Action Prompts THREE: INSIDE JOKE Overall, you'd say it's been a pretty peaceful night. You try and go to sleep before your traveling companion, knowing that the light of their tablet won't bother you. The real problem is that every time you're about to drift off, they start laughing. Sometimes it's a muted giggle underneath their breath, as if they read something funny, but other times the laughter is outright and uncontained. After awhile you have to ask them to be more respectful and quiet down, but when you sit up and look their way, they only seem confused. What are you talking about? Of course they weren't laughing. They thought you were the one laughing in your sleep. FOUR: EVERY NIGHTMARE YOU'VE EVER HAD It's quite likely that neither you nor your traveling companion was very happy to find themselves stuck in the house with all the clown decorations just before lockdown. But there's no time to find new lodging now, and being uncomfortable is definitely preferable to being frozen, so here you're going to have to suck it up and stay. The only problem is that you feel like there's someone else in the building with you, watching from just out of sight. It sends a paranoid chill down your spine--you're sure you've checked the house top to bottom already, and there wasn't any trace of anyone else--and is it just you, or does that clown statue look disturbingly lifelike? You get closer, but it isn't breathing, and the eyes are glassy. But wait, that one over there...it wasn't there before, was it? Or, did you just see a spotted piece of fabric move out of the corner of your eye? You can't shake the feeling that one of these clowns is more than just a decoration, but no matter how hard either of you try, you can't seem to find the culprit. Maybe it really is just your imagination running wild, but still, how are you supposed to get any sleep like this?

Comments

diana ☽ zero escape

[plaguenurse]

one; @bluebird, video

[While it's not exactly the same, Diana learned pretty quickly that Norfinbury is not unlike the Decision Game in a lot of ways. There are puzzles. There are rules. There's someone overseeing their every move to make sure they don't get too disorderly. And everything seems to be set up to pit them against one another.

Needless to say, something like a note in such a strange place can't be ignored. It has to be part of something bigger, some kind of clue. To what, she has no idea. But that's what the network is for, surely.

Her voice is a little uneasy, her eyebrows furrowed in concern, but there's clear curiosity too.] Um...these tunnels are usually empty, right? I found something pretty strange.

[She turns her tablet to the balloon, and pans it down to the cheerful little note at the end of the string. The colorful card just says "H̞̜͙̦̖̩͡a̯̹͠p̡̮͉͇̹̹p͚̱̥̤ỳ͙ ̶̹̫̙b̟́i͏r̺̦̟͖͉t͓̩͎̱̤̜h͠d̶͚͙̳͔̤̰ḁy̻͍!͎̠͚̟͈̗͜ͅ"]

It's not my birthday, so...


three;

[It's so hard to sleep here. Part of Diana almost misses the ease of the anesthetic from her bracelet. She's exhausted all the time, like she's just finished a night shift at the hospital, but she's constantly aware of the potential danger. She tries to settle down for bed early, knowing that it could take hours before she finally drifts off.

But the laughter keeps disturbing her. The first few times, she dismisses it, assuming her travel companion doesn't realize it's keeping her up; she doesn't want to make a fuss over nothing. But then the laughing gets louder, and they won't stop, and she can't ignore it any longer. She sits up from where she's settled down to sleep, looking imploringly over at her companion.] What's so funny?

three;

[averytinyparticle]

Uh...I'm not sure.

[Quark seems surprised when Diana speaks, holding his tablet closer to himself.]

Were you dreaming about a funny movie you saw once...?

[It's the only thing that he can think of. She was laughing so much...

But huh. Why is she looking at him like he's the one who was laughing?]

slams in here (one)

[whatjupitercouldnt]

The tunnels only opened pretty recently, from what I heard. It could be something, or...

[It could just as easily be something else to mess with them. She'd run into more than a few houses like that when she was first here, and at least one since.]

Have you seen anything else down there?

one

[fifty]

[America pulls a face.] That's like, total horror movie bad news, dude.

Bilbo Baggins | The Hobbit

[beesandboggins]

[One, @BagEnd, Video]

[Bilbo, still unaccustomed to anything remotely technological, barely manages to get the video going. Luckily, he was still very clever and quick-witted for a hobbit, which served him well in these strange Northern wastes.]

Er, good afternoon. Or good evening. It's probably evening now, yes? Time for supper, really.

[He cleared his throat. He seems a bit worse for the wear, almost as if he's seen a ghost.]

Anyway, I found something and I'm not quite sure what it is. Not sure if I'm in any danger, but there was a note.

[He holds the tablet up to the balloon, with some fumbling, and the note to the screen. It reads:]

M̵̡̬͖̳̩̫̖̖̲̝̂̆͊̎̆́́ỷ̵̥͓̫̟̰͚̲̲̣̈́́̄̃͜͝ p͇̣̠͇̠̐̈́̔̓̎̕͟͡͝r̛̺̟̥͔̞̹̈́̇̀́͡ę̡̡̳̺̻͙̙̫͙̓̊͐̑̉c̶͎̘̻̲̏͛̽̿̿͘͜ī̙̠̗̭̯́̋̏̓̔̿͛̒͠o̷̧͚̭͕̺̼̓̅̂̀̉͟u̴͈̱͔͇͚͇̞͙͖̺̅̊͗́́̕͞͝ṡ̛͖̰̘̙̙̥̂̑̄́͗̔͜

[Bibo turns the camera, looking quite ill.]

Does anyone know what's the meaning of this!?

[Three]

[That incessant laughing was going to drive him screaming out of the house. Bilbo stared angrily up at the dark ceiling, his fuzzy hobbit feet barely visible under the threadbare bit of cloth that was a poor and sorry excuse for a blanket. He was cold, tired, lacked entirely too much food and drink, not to mention proper leaf, and now he was made to suffer through his companion's apparently hilarious dreams.]

Will you be quiet!?

[He may be a good-natured hobbit, but he would not be denied one of the few small comforts this dreadful place had to offer.

He was starting to miss the Lonely Mountain and the warmth of a dragon's cave, compared to this infernal place.

He huffed as he rolled over, taking out the golden ring from his pocket. It wasn't...the same as it used to be, it was diminished, somehow. But it still made him feel better by its mere presence.]

@hotstud_xxx

[rubikscomplex]

well, duh
the balloon is precious
don't pop it, shortstack
or you'll unleash
The Curse

Three!

[heavensreader]

[The shout startled her out of drowsing dreams. And she had just managed to fall asleep, too, despite whatever her companion was finding so funny under his ragged blanket. Kesara would have asked, but perhaps he was having a good dream, and that would have been terrible and cruel to disturb. Whenever did they get good dreams? So she lay her head down and counted on her hair and hat to muffle her ears, and muffle they did, until Bilbo shouted at her so bluntly.

She sat up, grousing and sour as she glared at him in the narrow space between the hat down to her eyes and blanket up to her nose.]

I was not snoring, too, and it's right cheeky of you to tell me to be quiet when you make this racket!

Riza Hawkeye | Fullmetal Alchemist

[equinamity]

One ¤ Video; @Hawkeye

[Riza's not good with the tablet, so she appears on the video feed despite her personal preference for audio or text. She can't feel her fingers well enough to type, anyway.

There's only a snatch of an image of her face, blonde hair no longer held up--there's warmth in the tresses down over her neck!--before the feed flips to focus on the floating balloon.] Has someone traveled through the underground tunnels recently? You left something behind.

[Her no-nonsense tone adds "And it isn't funny", but she says nothing else.]

Four ¤ Not a Pessimist...

[The last thing on het mind was to spend the night on watch, but here they are. There are eyes everywhere, and every time she shifts her gaze to track what she is certain is movement that she saw from the corner of her eye another clown figure has moved.

It sends an unnatural chill down her spine, and she's wildly on edge. Riza's gaze who's towards her roommate for the night, eyes sharp and focused.] Surely you saw that as well.

four

[averytinyparticle]

Um...no. I didn't see anything.

[He did see something. It's pretty clear by the shifty, nervous expression on his face. Quark's just hoping that maybe if he pretends that nothing's wrong, it'll stop all on its own. He's never been the kind of kid who found clowns scary or creepy, but...well, this is creepy. It's really super creepy.]

@Spoiler; video

[spoileralert]

[ Steph frowns at the image of the balloon. It isn't so weird that there's a balloon here as it is that it's blown up... evidently with helium. Evidently recently. ]

I was just there and that's definitely not mine.

@LELRIC; video; one

[armoured]

[It's been good having someone else from home around, even if they haven't run into each other yet, especially someone as competent and strong as Lieutenant Hawkeye. He's usually on the network just to see what's going on, so he sees her message pretty quickly.]

Uh-- I don't think that belongs to anyone here, except maybe the Joker. You should be careful as you carry on.

Claire Bennet | Heroes

[myfreakshow]

One; @miraclegrow, video

[ So the tunnels are preferable to what's going on outside, but Claire only has the faintest idea of where she's going. She has her tablet out with the map on it, but still, this is all completely new and unfamiliar. ]

This better not turn out to be like something out of Silent Hill.

[ She doesn't really play video games much, but everyone should at least have a general idea of what Silent Hill is.

After following the path as it goes along, it suddenly takes a turn, and- Is that a balloon floating there?

The card attached to it says "h͙̟͝e͏͉͍l̯͔͍̩̼̫̣l̢̥̥̩̥̞͓o͘", but Claire just makes a face when she sees it. ]

Yeah, and that isn't creepy at all. Is someone out there watching me? What's a balloon even doing down here?

[ She eyes it with something like annoyance, because balloons are childish things. Finally, she turns her attention to the network. ]

Does this belong to someone?

Three; Inside Joke

What's so funny?

[ Claire sits up from where she is lying down so that she can better see her traveling companion. That sure is laughter, and it seems to have come from nowhere. ]

Did you read something funny? I don't know about you, but I think this place needs a little more laughter and not so much bad things.

one; @quark, video

[averytinyparticle]

[Childish things are for children. Which is precisely why a child is now very interested in this post.]

It's probably nothing...

[There's a "but" hanging onto the end of that sentence.]

Still, you should take it with you so people can investigate it properly.

[It's not that he just wants the balloon or anything.]

[spoileralert]

[ Steph, very nearby in her pile of pillows and bedsheets, rolls over and yawns. She's just barely awake - thank god for sleeping pills - but the laughter woke her up. ]

What? Thought you were going to sleep.

One- @godsend, video

[termineur]

Not me.

[ Just getting that out of the way. He shakes his head, and otherwise proceeds to act just like he would with any other newbie. ]

This whole town is full of things like that, so get used to it. Have you tried saying hello back? Getting any weird feelings near it?

One - @htownshend, video

[roomed]

[ He has a frown on his face when the video clicks on, and he hasn't been around long enough for anyone to know how unusual that is from him yet. ]

It's probably something left over in the town, if...uh, if what I read was right.

Flynn Carsen | The Librarians

[cahooted]

02. [video]
[Flynn likes to read. More than anything in the world, actually, which is why he flicks through a considerable amount of tasteless jokes, trying to discern a pattern or maybe underlying hints about the town, before he closes the app with a perturbed shake of his head and turns to the network instead.]

Might as well give this a try. Hello! Flynn Carsen, I'm looking for books-- well, reading material, in general, really. Any and all, for that matter. After all, [he gives a bright, lighthearted laugh] what would Shakespeare do if he were alive today? Scream and scratch at the top of his coffin.

[Flynn clasps his hands together, then ruffles his hair absent-mindedly.] I understand they might be hard to come by, with, yes, all the surviving getting in the way, so. Alternatively, would, uh, anyone maybe be interested in discussing the potential mythology of this place? The symbolism is fascinating, not even to begin with the age-old cross-cultural tales of entering a place you cannot leave...

[Warming up to the subject he looks boyishly excited and very comfortable in the idea of talking about this place strictly theoretically. Then, out of nowhere,]

What's red and bubbly and scratches on the window? A baby in a microwave.

[heavensreader]

@hsiaoke; audio

[You had her until baby in the microwave. Which is to say, Kesara does not know what a microwave is, but she is definitely getting the, shall we say, general gist of the mental image. She sounds rather disappointed in you, Flynn.]

Carsen Sahib, I think you are reading things that perhaps you shouldn't.

Dustin Silver | Original

[scruffy_mcjackass]

Two - @qa - text

[It's always been Dustin's philosophy to never download random shit onto his electronics. Common sense, really. His devices were too valuable to risk on a bit of bloated software or viruses--both of which he could fix, sure, but why waste the time? Especially when he could just make whatever program he needed anyway, right? Pointless exercise in risk.]

[These tablets, however, are not his prized electronics. On the contrary, Dustin is almost certain they're broken and bugged to begin with. So when he finds this SD card stuck in a bit of scavenged rubble out in the middle of nowhere, he of course sticks it right in that sucker and pokes around to see what it does. The resulting app is disappointing, to say the least, but Dustin knows that's never the only consequence, there's always something more. He just has to find it.]

[So he sets up a small, simple experiment.]

TEST


TEST TEST







Why did the chicken cross the road?
TEST

Three

[Dustin is tired and unhappy and being respectful to his traveling companion is just about the last thing on his mind right now.]

[It's very dark, the shack they've holed themselves up in creaks ominously against the howling wind outside, and viable floorspace is very limited. Dustin knew already that he wasn't going to be doing a lot of sleeping under these circumstances. But at least he could try to get some work done--which he's making an earnest attempt at, curled around his tablet and a notebook as close to the wall and as far away from this unwanted guest in his space as possible.]

[But how the living shit is he supposed to get anything done with this idiot's incessant laughter? It doesn't take long at all for Dustin to snap.]

Would you fucking chill?

two! @guardian; text

[phaseshifter]

What are you testing? Are you trying to find out how different people from different universes would answer the joke, assuming we've heard it??
I guess that could be kinda interesting, if you're bored
(On Pandora it's "why did the skag cross the road," and the classic response is "because the catch-a-ride was malfunctioning")

Master Neloth | The Elder Scrolls

[telvanni]

one; @masterneloth; video;

Mmmnyes, well. As methods of communication go, I'd say this is rather more stylish than these confounded tablet contraptions. Of course, that's hardly saying much. And one has to take into account the unreliability of these floating... thingies, seeing as I don't appear to be the intended recipient of this particular message.

[ Yeah. Neloth found a balloon. He's already unfurled the little note that was attached to it, and he holds it close to the tablet to show it off. Unfortunately, it's in Daedric script. Good thing Neloth is here to translate! ]

'I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow to the knee.' Nonsense. Are absurdities like this something I should grow to accept around here?

[ Getting memed on is the worst. ]

--

four;

Hmmmm.

[ As he peers into the face of one of the creepy clown statues, Neloth sounds more intrigued than worried. He's close enough that the tip of his hooked nose is almost touching that of the clown, and he squints intensely for a moment before stepping back. ]

Some adept illusory work, I'd say, perhaps with a mild fear enchantment applied to something in the area. That would explain the feeling of being watched. Unless some form of scrying is involved? Either way, this is most interesting. I wonder...

[ He turns to his companion, eyes narrowed, and gesticulates towards the clown. ]

This crude warpaint that the thing wears. Is it culturally significant in some way?

[ neloth pls ]

one; @librarian; video

[cahooted]

[Huh.]

Did you check for traps, because that? Sounds a bit like your typical ominous warning for a trap.

Are there holes in the wall? At, I don't know. [Um.] Knee-height?

... Can I see that writing again? [Because heeeeello script he has never seen before in his life which he never deemed possible. His arm moves somewhere outside the camera's angle. May or may not be scratching the symbols into the nearest surface.]

Alphinaud Leveilleur | Final Fantasy XIV

[stratezeitgeist]

three

[He sits up properly in bed with a groan and a cross look on his face. He tries to mitigate it. This is a terribly unpleasant situation, after all. But between the miseries of this place and the miseries of sleep deprivation he can take no more.]

I know 'tis difficult to be here, and we are all owed our respite, but I simply cannot sleep with you laughing away at whatever it is on your tablet! I'm hardly one to find grievance with your enjoyment, but the room is so cramped... Gods, pray just be a bit quieter, would you?

[telvanni]

[ With the glow from his tablet lighting his face from below, emphasising every wrinkle and ridge in his ashen skin, Neloth's most withering look is even more torturously perfect than usual. He slowly turns his head to face his unfortunate travelling partner, and stares unblinkingly for a moment before unleashing his devastating response. ]

What?

[ Oh. ]

Is this one of these 'pranks' that I hear are all the rage with children these days? Because I find myself singularly unamused.

Bernard Lowe | Westworld

[bernardlowe]

one; @reverie, video

[When he comes on screen, his expression is mildly amused and somewhat exasperated. He holds up a bright red balloon by the string. There's a card on the bottom that he makes sure the tablet can get.

It reads: d̹͙̀̔ͨͭ͐͝ǐ̤̫͚̣͙͎ͤ͌̍ͧ̐ṡ͕̲̬̗̳͋̆t̤̜̦̺ͩͯ̔ͭͥͫa̬̜̫͎̞̯͓ͨͫ̔̋̌n̲̬͕͕͚̗͌ͭ͡tͫͬ̀́̄҉̝͈̠̗͇̺̱ ̟ḋ̘̲̌͊͒̆ͨ̒̀r̦̬̱͓ͭ̓̔ͧ̆̄ͅe̙̻̰͙͊̂ͥ͡à̖̬ͤͣm̲̖̫̥̋̊ͫ̈́͋̒̄ͅ ]

I suppose it'd be pointless to ask if anyone's lost a balloon recently?

Are any of you familiar with this occurrence? Anyone run into this before, a balloon with a message in the middle of nowhere?


three;

[After several attempts to sleep, only to be awoken by his current housemate, Bernard sighs and reaches for his glasses, wiping them with a cloth before setting them back on his nose. He blinks in the low light and tries to be affable. They're stuck together here, after all.]

If you've found something that funny, could you send it to my tablet as well? I could really use the laugh.

one; @librarian, video

[cahooted]

That looks a lot like the e-cards my mom sends to me when seasons change.

[He's from the 2ks, bear with him.]

Rocket | GoTG2

[procyon_lotor]

three

[ Rocket's never been too polite. Or polite, in general. So when he hears that damn laughter again, there's no holding back. ]

What's so damn funny over there, huh? [ His tone drips with annoyance, and he jumps out of his covers. ] That you're slowly going insane? Or that you're tryin' to take me with you?

four

Goddamn clowns. They couldn't have picked a creepier doll to decorate their shit house with?

[ It's really unclear who Rocket means by "they" in this situation. The previous owners maybe. But suddenly, he swears he see something move, and whatever he's been using as a weapon lately is clutched tightly into his paw and pointed in the direction of a clown. ]

Don't you dare move you jackass. I saw that.

[ But silence follows. Silence and the eerie stillness of the dark night ahead of them. ]

[spoileralert]

No such thing.

[ Steph shudders and makes a point of not looking at any of the clowns. That leaves her very little to look at. ]

I vote we burn it. All of it. But we should probably wait until lockdown is over.

four

[babygroot]

[Maybe there is something scurrying around the dim corners of this room? The patter of little feet at the edge of hearing, the flash of something that almost looks wooden out of the corner of an eye.

Surely it's nothing... right?

Except three of the clown dolls have just fallen over with a crash, and a sheepish looking small tree with big eyes is looking a bit guilty.]

I am Groot.

[Sorry, friend.]

[zunesareawesome]

[And Peter's doubled over, clutching his chest and holding a wrench in his other hand.]

DUDE. Groot. Don't...auuugh, don't do that!

[It takes him a second to calm down, he was already entirely on too much edge from being in this creepy place, much less having to look after a baby with a penchant for accidentally doing creepy things. And watching his language around kiddos.]