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Serendipity Mod Journal ([personal profile] serendipitymod) wrote in [community profile] serendipitymemes2021-12-03 07:37 pm
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test drive meme #1

TEST DRIVE MEME #1
Welcome to Serendipity's first test drive meme!

TDM threads can be considered game canon if everyone agrees to it.
Any questions about the TDM can be asked in the mod questions thread.
Questions about the general game mechanics, setting or locations, or magic can be asked on their respective pages.

i. ARRIVAL


It was a beautiful dream, complete with a sobering and tantalizing choice.

The awakening is just as beautiful, and you wake slowly, comfortably and completely on your own time, eyes blinking open to take in the surroundings. You are floating in the center of a pool of pink-tinted liquid, just a little thicker than water, just thick enough that the floating takes no effort. Dressed in a soft white cotton robe, you find yourself staring at the high domed ceiling of a round room lined with huge windows that let in the afternoon sunlight, a little pale and washed out with the cool midwinter temperature and the reflection of light snowfall outside.

Inside, it is warm, the liquid you float in close enough to your body temperature that you can barely feel it as it moves over your skin. Thick vines climb the walls, weaving in and out between the windows and occasionally over them, throwing thick organically-shaped stripes here and there across the room. Once you fully awaken and stand up and exit the water, you will find towels to dry yourself beside a neatly stacked bundle of your clothing (all very precisely mended) and any other items you might have had on your person when you made the decision to stay. You are left alone, given time to sort yourself out and get changed, and it is only when you decide to leave the antechamber with the pool through a single open arch and make your way into the courtyard of the castle that you will be approached.

The people who greet you are warm and welcoming, wearing robes of different colors depending on the House they're affiliated with - green for Life, blue for River, brown for Stone, and yellow for Sun. These representatives explain to you where you are and what you've agreed to and answer any questions you might have. After this conversation, you are given your tablet and walked through how to use it, then taken on a tour through the various House accommodations so you can choose which suits you best, and offered to be taken to the stables should you have a mount, large pet, or vehicle that's come through with you.

ii. WELCOME HOME


In honor of the first new arrivals to this empty little valley, the heads of the Houses have decided to set up a little party in the largest ballroom in the Castle. It's a simple gathering, primarily a feast with live music, dancing, and games. The ballroom is lit up with candles and strings of magical fairy lights, there is a large table lined with chairs and loaded with simple farm-to-table type foods - roast chicken and beef, baked and mashed potatoes, buttered and roasted vegetables, bread rolls and loaves of bread intricately braided into various shapes, several types of stews and curries made with goat, mutton, beef, and chicken served with flat fried breads, and an assortment of pastries, tarts, and cakes. To drink, there will be mulled wine and mead, beer and a few spirits, and a wide variety of juices and other non-alcoholic beverages. The crowning achievement is a small ice cream bar with various flavors of ice cream and chocolate and caramel sauces.

☆ a. CELEBRATIONS The rest of the room has been mostly cleared aside from some couches and armchairs set up around the edges of the room for people to rest in. Throughout the evening, several small bands play a variety of music meant for dancing and an entire large section of the room is dedicated to games - darts, tabletop sports games, cards, chess, and a game something like Pictionary or charades. Characters are welcome to mingle, dance, and play games with each other and with NPCs that will be more than willing to ask characters to dance or join them in a game.

☆ b. HOUSE PRESENTATIONS In a smaller room adjoining the ballroom, each of the Houses has set up a booth of sorts, meant to describe the interests and focus of each House as well as to demonstrate the types of magic that each house specializes in. Here, characters can observe mages from each House performing complicated spells or brewing potions and offering samples.

The spells performed will generally be complex, high-level spells intended to be impressive displays of what each House's magic can do. Characters can be temporarily changed into animals, have their worries erased for a few hours, become intangible, or be allowed to breathe underwater for a time, among many other types of fantastical spells. The samples of potions are good for an hour or so of effect and can cover a wide range of effects - intoxication and euphoria, enhanced luck, temporary infatuation, forced truth, the ability to speak to animals, and a host of other magical effects.

House booths are not recruiting, characters are not asked to join any of the Houses or ally with them, but they are showing off to try to tempt characters to sign up with their House to learn magic.

☆ c. SHARING IS CARING In another smaller room adjoining the ballroom, characters are invited to talk about their homes, show off their own abilities, or share something cultural from their own worlds. There will be a near-constant stream of interested NPCs as well as other characters who may watch or listen. Tell a folklore story from your country, perform a folk song, show off your superhuman abilities, or share anything else that reminds you of home in an enthusiastic sharing of culture.

iii. SECRET SIGNS


Towards the middle of the evening, a 'game' is announced - the Secret Signs. A magic spell will be cast on the room at large, and characters will find a glowing inscription above their heads that reveals a minor but relatable secret of theirs, or functions as a sort of 'shaming sign' betraying a minor relatable misbehavior that the character indulges in. These inscriptions will remain for a few hours, and characters are encouraged to mingle, observe other people's inscriptions, and try to find common ground in these inconsequential secrets or guilty pleasures.

However, the spell isn't perfect, so some characters may have no inscriptions, or false accusations or untrue secrets displayed and have to deal with the fallout of that. Alternately, if players wish it, deeper secrets or wrongdoings may be exposed completely by accident.

iv. GREENHOUSE INVASION


On the day after the party, a call goes out on the tablets for the assistance of anyone who's able - the Greenhouses, which provide most of the food for the current population, are being invaded by pests! These pests are rodents about the size of very large rats that like to eat the ripened fruit and vegetables that have taken months of careful cultivation to grow. They are exceptionally good at climbing and the females of the species are capable of short flights using little 'wings' similar to those of a flying squirrel. When they're cornered, they have a nasty bite that can cause people trying to catch them to experience extremely strange surreal hallucinations.

It's very important that these pests be cleared out of the Greenhouses, because they are the source of most of the foods that characters will be eating, especially considering it's mid to late winter and growing things outdoors won't be happening for a while. It's your first opportunity to really contribute to your new community!

v. NETWORK


Each character's tablet will light up at some point during the first few days and open a new entry with a blinking prompt: Tell everyone something about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you? What was your family like? What is your favorite food or color?

Or characters are welcome to post up their own network-based prompts.

NAVIGATION








softmouth: (flirt)

dusty fields ⋮ original character (werewolf)

[personal profile] softmouth 2021-12-07 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
[A laid-back and fully-controlled werewolf with a love for cooking, home, and family. Stubborn and slow to process his own feelings, has a bad tendency to not bother much with himself, and has very little ambition in life. 27 years old, werewolf since age 5. ⋮ info post]
House Presentations
[Dusty is a little wary of the presentations, or at least the whole part where they offer to do magic on you or give you a potion sample. It's not that he doesn't know magic, or trust magic - that's the problem, he knows very well that potions and magic spells are real things, he just also knows that they can be pretty dangerous, and magic is something you only accept from people you trust. And he sure as hell doesn't know anyone here well enough to just accept magic or potions, no matter how friendly they all seem or how much they insist.

Instead, he people watches, eyes scanning the crowd of people, watching the demonstrations, watching people try the potions and float or go intangible or turn into a newt or whatever. That's interesting enough and he's still getting a feel for what this place is like.

When someone comes close enough that he feels he could strike up a conversation, Dusty speaks up, voice curious.]


Do you think it's safe? Like, letting someone do magic on you who you've never met or anything? I mean, I haven't seen anyone get hurt yet. You?
Secret Signs
['Surely,' Dusty had found himself thinking when the game was announced, 'surely being a werewolf isn't considered a small, relatable secret.' The thing is, that's pretty much the only secret Dusty really has, and he's half torn on whether he wants to keep it here or not, though he's played it very close to his chest so far. Other than that, he's an open book.

More than anything, he's kind of curious what they're going to say about him when they expose his secrets or whatever. Obviously, it's not going to be the whole werewolf thing, so what will it be? That his favourite spice is plain old salt? That he likes boy bands and romance novels? That sometimes he still plays flashlight tag with friends despite being a grown ass adult? It's honestly a little titillating thinking about it. And he has no shame, so how bad could it be?

Bad, apparently.

Dusty is easy to spot, standing at 6'2" and broad with a farm boy's build, with his light brown skin and shock of curly blond hair, and on top of all that a glowing inscription that says, for all the world to see:]


Marks his territory.

[It's not funny. It's not.]
Greenhouse Invasion
[This is one of those situations that Dusty has dealt with before on the farm he grew up on - pest invasions are a huge pain in the ass and unfortunately way too common around food growth and storage. The thing is, he and his pack have dealt with rodent infestations, mice and rats, but they've always dealt with them a little...differently...with a nice little hunt and destroy session in wolf form. And try as he might, he can't remember what regular farmers do to deal with mice besides rat poison, which he doesn't have.

So really, it makes more sense to just do the same here, right? Sneakily get into wolf form, pretend to be a dog if anyone walks in, and hunt and destroy. That's what he does, changing in a little alcove out of eyesight of anyone, and then trotting his blond wolfy butt into the greenhouses, tail wagging slightly. This brings back memories of dozens of days of this game, the fun they'd had competing for who could catch the most rats, the barbecue and beers afterward, and that's enough to put him in a pleasant enough mood.

Anyone walking into the Greenhouse will be greeted with the sight of a relatively large fully-grown adult wolf sniffing around the plants and occasionally snapping at a rat, giving it a good shake, and carrying the disoriented little critter out to be deposited in the woods.]
Wildcard
I'm open to anything else from the prompts. Dusty would definitely ask people to dance or play a game if you want to do a starter with that, or anything else is welcome, including texts. If your character is kind of a loner or something, just have them lurk nearby and Dusty is outgoing enough to come say hi! Or, hit me up by PM if you want me to write something specific or have any questions about the character. An opt-out for Sims 4 icons can be found on his information post, I have alternate cartoony picrew icons.
Edited 2021-12-07 00:54 (UTC)
todalafuerza: (004)

secret signs

[personal profile] todalafuerza 2021-12-11 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Dusty may or may not have noticed a teenaged girl staring at the words above his head. She appears critical, but really, she's just trying to puzzle out what in the world it means.

The whole point of this event is to meet people, right? So, she sighs and approaches him, at this point resigned and decidedly pretending her own embarrassing label, 'DESPERATE FOR ATTENTION,' doesn't exist. ]


Okay, I have to ask. [ Straight to the point. She gestures at his sign. ] What does that even mean? Do you get jealous easily?
softmouth: (oh no)

[personal profile] softmouth 2021-12-11 09:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[Dusty glances up at the sign above his head, and sighs. Well, it could be worse, it's not like he can't figure out a reason for the sign that isn't "I'm a werewolf and yes I mark my territory like a dog does sometimes" after all, it's just a matter of figuring out that reason.

But before he has a chance to hole up somewhere in a corner and figure the reason out, a teenage girl approaches him and asks about the sign. And whether it's because he gets jealous easily. Dusty lets out a little squeak and shakes his head.]


No! God, no, just it's um...okay. So. It has a perfectly rational explanation, I swear.

[For a long, long moment he's completely silent, and then his voice cracks a little when he continues speaking. Dusty has always been terrible at lying.]

Um, you know how a dog...like...marks its territory? By uh, by peeing? I've...I may have done that. At some point. In the past.

[Oh god, this is humiliating.]
todalafuerza: (039)

[personal profile] todalafuerza 2021-12-11 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
... Eww! [ Julia's face scrunches with disgust. She would have just walked away if he weren't so visibly embarrassed about it. So instead she remains, clearly judging him, but also inclined to help in her own weird, overbearing way. ]

Why? Why would you do that? Why wouldn't you at least lie about it? [ So many whys!! ]
softmouth: (facepalm)

[personal profile] softmouth 2021-12-15 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Dusty literally covers his face when the girl says 'eww' like that, and then starts asking him all sorts of questions.]

Oh my god.

[It's muffled, through his fingers, but he starts talking again after a moment.]

I don't do it as a human, okay? That is gross. But I can turn into a wolf and like, you know. Instincts?
todalafuerza: (018)

[personal profile] todalafuerza 2021-12-16 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. [ Her instinct is to call bullshit, but she has seen a lot today. The fact that she's even here at all is wild, let alone the magic on display from locals and newcomers alike.

Julia folds her arms and considers Dusty for a moment. He's all sheepish, like her brother. What am I gonna do, eat you? she wants to say. ]


So... you're like a werewolf, then? [ She still sounds doubtful, but not as judgmental. ]
softmouth: (my heart)

[personal profile] softmouth 2021-12-21 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
[When she asks if he's a werewolf, he winces a little bit, but nods his head.]

Y-yeah. I'm a werewolf. But I swear I'm not a danger, I've been bitten since I was five and I have it totally under control. You know, change at will, don't bite people, keep my own personality in wolf form, all that! I can't even turn people except on the full moon, and I would never.

[Okay, yes, he's a little sheepish, but she embarrassed him okay?! And besides that, most people jump straight to "horror movie monster" when they think of werewolves.]
todalafuerza: (082)

[personal profile] todalafuerza 2021-12-21 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
Hmmm. [ She wonders briefly if she'll start hearing about trolls and giants and rashes again. Getting used to this place is going to take a while... ]

Okay. I believe you. So what happens to your clothes when you transform? Can you still talk with your snout? I assume you have a snout.
softmouth: (ponder)

[personal profile] softmouth 2021-12-28 09:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[The fact she believes him and isn't immediately screaming about him being a monster is a kind of relief. But then a moment later, she's asking questions and-

And the questions are ridiculous.

He actually laughs slightly disbelievingly.]


Uh, I don't know what happens to them, but they're there when I change back, and not all torn up or whatever. And no, I can't talk with my snout! Wolf mouths aren't made to talk with.
todalafuerza: (044)

[personal profile] todalafuerza 2022-01-05 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ To be fair, when Julia thinks of werewolves, she thinks of teen paranormal romance. And even though she believes Dusty, she won't really comprehend it until she sees him transform. ]

So does that mean you walk on all fours, too? Do you feel like a human trapped in a wolf's body, or do you do everything on instinct?