songerein | { gingerbread town | test drive #09

Entry tags:

{ gingerbread town | test drive #09 - december 2022 }

GINGERBREAD TOWN

On Tuesday the 27th, with no warning whatsoever, everyone will awaken and find the entire town transformed into gingerbread and candy, from peppermint candy cane trees, to gumdrop bushes, to chocolate brick roads. They will also find themselves changed into one of the following forms: gingerbread figures, nutcrackers, or wooden figurines. It's a complete transformation—no costumes or partials this time! Although they can move and use most of their abilities, it's a bit hampered when it's also discovered that everything has shrunk down a bit in size. Not only that, but there is an indestructible magiglass dome over the town to prevent anyone from breaking in—or out. So if there is anyone who happened to be out of town at the time, they will not be changed and will be stuck outside. The Tree of Stories, the Observatory, and the Carnival park are excluded from the change and remain normal.

Fortunately a pair of gingerbread twins named "Hansel" and "Gretel" as well as the tapirs are there to help explain what happened. The town has been cursed by the witch who inhabited that suspicious house from the Dream Board, and everyone needs to band together to do two things to break out of curse: 1) gather enough dreamotion music notes to charge up the golden chocolate bell hanging at the Plaza and 2) break into the gingerbread house and destroy the witch.

————— ⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱ —————
More details on everything can be found here, but an important reminder that this event log doubles as our Test Drive Meme and information can be found in this section.

This means any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in December and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of December 27 through 31. TDM only characters can only thread within this log. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count December as their first time in the game without any disruption, so all content will carry over. Those who do not apply will disappear which should not seem too unusual as people randomly disappear already, however players in game can choose to retcon and pretend a character was never there to begin with if it would be easier; or even think their presence was just a dream.

IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.

TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open Sunday, December 25th and Applications will open on January 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle after won't be until March.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view; updated 12/30)

Adventure Time - Finn the Human
Adventure Time - Jake the Dog
Ai: The Somnium Files - Mizuki Okiura
Bleach - Riruka Dokugamine
Bunjou Stray Dogs - Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Chainsaw Man - Denji
Don't Starve Together - Wendy Carter
Fallout 3 - The Lone Wanderer
Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Noel Kreiss
Final Fantasy XIV - Y'shtola Rhul
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Bernadetta von Varley
Forgotten Realms - Jarlaxle Baenre
Friends at the Table: COUNTER/Weight - Cassander Timaeus Berenice
Genshin Impact - Amber
Genshin Impact - Scaramouche
Granblue Fantasy - Lyria
Heroes of Olympus - Leo Valdez
Kingdom Hearts - Demyx
Kingdom Hearts - Riku
Persona 5 Strikers - Zenkichi Hasegawa
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet - Penny
Rage of Bahamut - Amira
Shadow Game Series - Enne Salta
South Park - Kenny McCormick
Spark the Electric Jester 1 & 3 - Spark
Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion - Agent 8
Tales of Zestiria - Sorey
Undertale - Flowey

THREAD SUBMISSIONS WILL BE IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE HOW THIS EVENT ENDS FOR JANUARY! We will request them during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.

I. IN TOWN

There is a lot to process with everything changed and the appearance of Hansel and Gretel, but by now most people are used to needing to roll up their sleeves and get through the tasks needed to succeed. The giant bell at the Plaza helps serve as a reminder of what they need to do and many will be anxiously watching as the musical notes slowly gather into it. To gather enough notes for the bell, everyone will need to work together and utilize their current forms. Note: all prompts can be done by anyone, however some forms have an advantage over others. Musical notes will automatically appear and go to the bell when the objective is achieved. The gumdrops are also trapped in town and will still pull their "mistletoe" mischief.

A. Woodstock. Those turned into a wooden figure will find they have the least amount of changes appearance wise…but their legs and feet are stuck together, forcing them to hop and slide around. Fortunately they can control their movements and after some adjusting they will find it's not too strenuous to be hopping around everywhere. It can be tough to get up if they fall over, though.

Caroling. What better way to gain notes than making some? With movement a bit limited, singing and playing simple instruments may be the easiest way to help. The catch is the music must be filled with hopeful, cheerful dreamotion strong enough to form those notes, and the instruments can also be a problem. First they have to be found, and then some instruments may try to play music on their own—and it's not always the right genre.
Snowmen Mayhem. Snowmen can be found all over town, most of them built before the town changed. Now they are coming to life, wearing big, giant frowns as they slowly shamble around and chuck snowballs at everyone they see. Melting them or using physical force only makes them reform back into snowmen. The only way to stop them is to participate in the snowball fight until that frown turns into a smile to release a note! People could even just have a snowball fight around them and it would please the snowmen. Perhaps they just wanted to have fun, too…?

B. Gingerbread Run. Those made of gingerbread will find they are quite fast and even have the urge to run for whatever reason. However, although sturdy enough, they are still fragile and can break easily. Fortunately they can quickly repair themselves with an extra bit of dough and icing, but water is the greatest weakness. A few drops or even a brief dousing won't hurt them too badly (maybe make their icing a little runny), but they can't swim and submerged in water too long will make them very mushy.

Obstacle Course Marathon. Some streets are sectioned off to have a simple marathon for those who just can't help but feel restless and want to run, and notes can be released throughout the course. More like a cross country track, there are numerous "checkpoints" participants must pass through while shouting the famous line, "Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!" Each checkpoint mimics the story of "The Gingerbread Man."
1. Avoid the "old ladies" swinging candy canes (non gingerbreads can take this role to help)
2. Outrun the plush pups and kittens (or just stay and play with them, also valid)
3. Climb up and over the makeshift marshmallow chocolate wall (don't let it melt!)
4. Use the "foxboat" (swan boats altered to look like foxes) to peddle across the river (don't sink!)
5. Dash through the finish line
Since it's designed as a group marathon, participants are encouraged to help each other. More notes gained, the better!
The Chase is On! Those who were not turned into gingerbread figures will feel a strange urge to chase those who are. They may be fully aware, or they may desire just a nibble of that delectable baked good. While punching the chasers in the face to try and knock some sense into them will be an option, those who are gingerbread will similarly have the urge to run, run, run! Passing over any type of water, including puddles, will end it. This chase can be long or short, and at the end of it whether the gingerbread is caught or escapes, a musical note will play and fly to the bell, freeing the two from the weird curse…until it happens again.

C. Nutcrackin' Around. Nutcrackers have a sturdier build compared to the general wooden population, with powerful jaws and already armed with a weapon—even if it might feel more like a toy. Their movements might feel a bit stiff, but they have their strength to make up for it.

Get Crackin'. Built to crack nuts, it's no surprise that Nutcrackers are assigned to crack through as many nuts and hard candies to try and find some notes hidden within. They have to go to the farm fields to find the right trees to harvest from, and anyone can assist in this. If they listen carefully, they might be able to hear the note ringing inside as a hint. But they also need to be careful—some nuts are actually cursed and once cracked open will cause the individual to brandish their weapons (or whatever they have on hand) to attack those nearby. Unfortunately there's no tell, so it's truly luck of the draw. Shove a jawbreaker in their mouth and they'll be back to normal. With a slightly damaged jaw, maybe.
Mouse Infestation. Large, toy wind-up mice are causing havoc around town. Although they are just oversized toys and don't attack, they're crashing into buildings and chasing people. Anyone can try to catch and slow them down, but a Nutcracker is the only one capable of inflicting enough damage to break the gears inside and stop it for good. Doing so will release a note.

D. Candy Monsters. While the town is mostly safe, nightmare energy is seeping in from everyone's initial fears and chaos and absorbed into all the candy and delicious goods that make up the town. It makes them come to life to turn into aggressive and sometimes cute monsters made out of candy. Fortunately, they are not too difficult to fend off even with everyone changed into different forms, and dreamotion abilities are in full effect. Other creative ways to defeat them like dumping boiling water or freezing them can also be used.

II. TRAIN CARS

All aboard the Dreamer Express! The toy train has a simple track that circles around the town with the main station right at the Plaza. Anyone can hop on to either enjoy the ride or help get those notes.

A. Past, Present, Future. There are three particular cars that Hansel and Gretel will encourage most to go through because the notes in these cars will be the strongest. When going through either of the "Past," "Present," or "Future" cars, everyone will have a "Scrooge" experience and walk through either a happy or difficult memory or made up simulation of that set time period. The primary theme for each one is something that the individual can learn or reflect on. The experience can be done solo or with a partner. If with a partner, only one simulation will be active, but the other person's could begin after the first ends. Sometimes the memories will be passive like watching a movie and will only stimulate emotional reactions. However, the stronger the memory, the more realistic it will become, to the point that one will live through it all and must face and interact with whatever is there to get through. Once they reach the exit, the note will be granted.

B Unboxing. Most of the train cars are either passenger cars or boxcars filled with presents. A lot of presents. Guess where a lot of notes are hidden. While opening presents seems like a simple task, it can be tricky when some gifts are actually mimics that will pull unsuspecting individuals inside of them instead. Fortunately they are not too difficult to beat up and free the trapped prisoner.

C. Hot! Hot! Ooh, We Got It! There is a special car that's only purpose is to serve hot chocolate…as a musical number. Witness or perhaps even participate as servers dance around with extremely hot chocolate and somehow not spill a drop—or maybe someone gets scalded by an unfortunate spill. But when it's all done, anyone can enjoy some different flavors that can last for quite a while (ie as long as you want it) :

Regular chocolate: Makes the drinker nostalgic, particularly for something in their childhood.
Peppermint: Gives the drinker a spark of inspiration to work on something creative.
Caramel: Gives the drinker extra energy, making them unable to stay still without doing something.
Raspberry: Makes the drinker want to get back to nature by finding an outdoor activity to do.
Spicy (chili powder and cinnamon): Makes the drinker feel more amorous than usual.

III. WITCH'S HOUSE

Getting the notes is just one half of the equation. To completely beat the curse, the witch behind this needs to be defeated. But it won't be easy with everyone transformed and the witch quite powerful. The gingerbread house has a lot of traps inside, from sticky paper to snapping mouse traps to licorice that try to tie them down.

A. Breaking into the Gingerbread House. The witch's gingerbread house will be the biggest piece compared to everything else. The original defense mechanisms are in place and people can get sucked inside like before, however there is no easy way out. A little stealth can help gain an advantage especially as the battle begins by those who enter first.

B. Escape Routes. While some may try to let themselves get caught to get inside faster, having an escape route would be prudent. Since they are smaller in size, it'll be easier to sneak around the house and try to carve a piece out of it to make a hole, or maybe something from the windows or chimney. Multiple routes would be ideal, just be careful not to get caught!

C. Fighting the "Witch." For those expecting some creepy old woman, they will be in for a surprise. The "witch" is actually the oven itself, moving and operating as if it were alive. Rather, perhaps the oven is what the original witch of Hansel and Gretel has become as an eerie cackling can be heard when the doors open and fire flickers out. Regardless, despite its form the "witch" will be a difficult foe to defeat due to its sheer size and everyone still in smaller forms. Restrain it, try to douse the flames, but another effective way to stop it is to just fill its mouth with anything that can go inside, from candy and baked goods, to pots and pans. The more it consumes, the slower it moves. Time to over stuff the oven.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Content warning for the post below- may contain discussions of trauma, neglect, and parental death by suicide in the memory prompts. Fair warning!

▶ SCROOGE

When a cold wind blows, it chills you,
Chills you to the bone

'Upset' was a word that was currently insufficient to describe Goro Akechi's mood. So was 'furious'. 'Apoplectic' was actually looking a little weak.

Someone- somehow- had turned him into an anthropomorphic cookie. Complete with a little sugar-glass mask and a candy-cane sword. Even a Persona that had, somehow, managed to be made of candyfloss.

On the plus side, this didn't appear to have harmed Captain Nemo's performance any, and the ethereal entity dispatched candy monsters with ease. "I am going to commit. A federal. Fucking. War crime!" A tiny gumdrop drummer burned and bubbled to so much carbon as it lunged for him, incinerated by black fire. A rabid-looking gingerbread reindeer was cleaved in half by a ghostly saber. "A cookie?! A fucking cookie!" A marshmallow snowman had a hole burned through it by laser fire, collapsing to the ground. "And EVERYTHING HERE EATS SUGAR."

Well, at least there were plenty of targets nearby to take out his frustrations on.

▶ CHRISTMAS PAST

But there's nothing in nature that freezes your heart
Like years of being alone

Relive memories past. Right.

He felt, personally, as though he'd done more than enough of that already, but fine. Whatever.

He pulled open the door to the train car- and stepped into a place that he didn't recognize, a tiny apartment... where a family of four was, apparently, enjoying the fruits of Christmas morning, an older girl and a younger boy, both younger than five...

And he was lost. What was this?

He was about to step back, thinking there was something he'd missed somehow and he'd turned a wrong way- when he caught the eyes of another child, a boy of eight with long, sand-blonde hair. One who looked lost, and hesitant, and thinner than he should've been, wearing a school uniform because that's what had been available.

He recognized it now, for what it was. The first home he'd been placed with, the one he'd been in less than three months before he'd been shuffled off to another.

"Shit," he said, quietly, under his breath.

▶ I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

A cup of kindness that we share with another
A sweet reunion with a friend or a brother

New Year's Day had dawned bright and cold. There'd been some confusion, when an officer had come into the cell he'd been put in and explained, very sheepishly, that there'd been a mistake of some kind and he was free to go, sorry for the inconvenience.

Something about that hadn't sat right with him, but standing outside the train station he'd struggled to think of why. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by his phone ringing.

Akechi smiled, as he answered, holding the phone up to his ear. "Hello. No, they just let me out. They said it was a clerical error, so there won't be any marks on my record."

He paused, listening for a moment. "Yes, I'm at the station now. I should be in Ebisu by ten o'clock..." He frowned. Ebisu? That didn't make sense. "... Sorry. Not sure where I got Ebisu from. My mind must be rattled after what happened. Akasaka, I meant."

He blinked. "You don't have to do that. With the traffic, I'm sure the train will be faster anyway. Plus Father must be busy, planning for the inauguration. No, of course. I'll meet you at Akasaka station. You too. See you soon."

Well. At least with his mother picking him up at the station, he wouldn't have to walk far.

What a weird morning.

[Wendy had tagged along, wordlessly - she was curious, in her own ways, and Abigail pressured her into prying a bit. Maybe it would be an interesting insight.

This memory was no exception. Despite her stiff wooden legs, Wendy had quite nimbly gotten into the car at the same time rather than risking "adventure" by herself... and had witnessed the scene. The child that looked like this older person had a look that Wendy understood very, very well.]

I could never experience holidays the same when grieving, either...

Who-

He turned, and found... a girl he didn't recognize. How did this girl get into his own private- god dammit. "... I'd rather this remained private, actually. Who are you?"

Behind him, the boy looked on with hollow eyes, not speaking-
But his presence had caught the attention of the woman in the room, who turned to him with a frown. "Do you need something, Goro?"

Akechi flinched, as the quiet voice of his past self answered. "Sorry, Mrs. Sato. I was... wondering if..."

The man scowled, but the woman crouched down, taking the boy's hand. "It's alright, Tadashi. I'll handle it." She led him out of the room, and Akechi felt himself pulled- irresistably, as the front room faded out- into the hallway, where his younger self was being spoken to in hushed tones.

Even if he'd said so much, Wendy wasn't about to let herself get stranded in someone else's memory. Sticking together was always much, much more important to survival. She shadowed Akechi as he was compulsed to move, following his memory self.

Since it didn't seem as though the memory would be terribly impacted by their presence, Wendy gave the older fellow a slight nod. The dream had oh so unhelpfully shared his name, after all, it was only fair she did the same. "Wendy."

Edited 2022-12-19 19:32 (UTC)

The woman- Saki Sato, he remembered now- knelt before his younger self, the soft smile never leaving her face.

"I'm sorry, Goro... We already spent a lot of money getting the house ready for you, and this was all fairly short notice, so we just couldn't manage it this year..." She'd been... nice, like that. So understanding and so gentle.
"Besides, it could be worse, right? You could still be in that group home. You shouldn't be so selfish, Goro."

Years older, he looked on with a strained expression at the scene in front of him. He'd all but forgotten the Satos. He'd barely been with them a few months before they'd decided that the disruption to their lives- the night terrors, the way he'd seemed to crave something more substantial than the minimum of social decency, than the minimum obligation towards a child in their care- hadn't been for them.

They'd been such stunningly mediocre guardians that they'd faded into insignificance, in the background of the string of homes he'd been placed in the 'care' of. His younger self was walked, gently, back to his room- to the tiny room that was more than he'd had before but was still so cramped and so empty, so devoid of anything that made it familiar or comforting- and left alone, the door closed behind him as Mrs. Sato went back to her family.

Left alone, to sit in the ringing silence and wish he could have the one-room apartment back. The one with the pest problems that never went away no matter how clean the place was kept, that was always an oven in the summer and an icebox in the winter, where his 'room' was the corner where his futon was kept because that was all the space that could be spared-
Where there'd been warmth, and love, even when Hinawa Akechi had been too exhausted or stressed or hurt to do anything other than lash out. She hadn't been perfect, but she'd cared. She'd cared, and that was better than a thousand polite, softly-voiced cruelties.

Goro Akechi, eight, curled up in a ball on the mattress and didn't make a sound, staring at the wall.

Goro Akechi, eighteen, leaned back against the door, arms wrapped around himself. It hurt, seeing this. Hurt in a way that made him so god-damned angry and it was worse because a complete fucking stranger was intruding on this moment that should have been his and his alone.

"Wendy. Well, you've come in at a great time. Anything else?" This last bit wasn't addressed at her- he shrugged his arms up, gesturing around the room, as if to challenge it. Not as though he expected an answer. "If the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come makes an appearance to show me my grim and joyless future, I'm going to stab him, you have been warned. Fucking dream bullshit..."

The worst part was that he was lashing out and he knew it. It wasn't her fault. The memory'd put him so badly off his guard he couldn't help it- and that was infuriating too.

The pleasantries struck a chord. Akechi's circumstances were entirely different, struggling with the grief of being a neglected orphan instead of the loss of a beloved sister, but the emotion is similar. That hollow tone that the woman took, the bullshit excuses, the way those not in mourning would just conveniently excuse themselves from a conversation with a child in pain.

"I understand," she said softly. She quietly entered the room, finding a blanket, draping it over the child, even if it was just a memory and things were probably not going to change. "The anger, the hurt... I understand. The way people give excuses, and condolences, but they realistically don't care. Truthfully, they're uncomfortable. I understand that."

His expression... softened, slightly. He sighed. "It's bullshit. Everybody says that 'kindness' is a virtue, and they think of themselves as 'good people'. And every single one of them except a rare fucking few are liars."

It was a lesson he'd learned early, unfortunately. Nobody ever cared. Not enough to do anything about it. "... 'It can't be helped'. I got so... fucking sick of hearing that. Every time I ever complained about anything. Any time I needed something other than the bare goddamn minimum. Any time I asked my god damn social worker for help or needed to change- 'It can't be helped'. Nothing to be done. Fucking liars. They just didn't want to. Because that would be a change to their oh-so-precious routine."

Like it would've killed them to offer an eight-year-old whose mother had just died the slightest fucking ounce of empathy.

"It's cruel, and unfair... it would hurt less if they were honest and just said they don't know what to do," she agreed, voice level and low. There was a moment of silence... a moment where Wendy felt it was most respectful to mourn for this poor child. "It makes the sincere kindness... difficult... to believe in. But that sincere kindness will persist, the way seedlings persist through the frost of winter and bloom in spring in spite of the way the frost will come for them all over again. Flowers worth treasuring..."

He snorted. "Not in my experience. Genuinely good people have a way of either breaking... or being broken."

Nothing the world hated more than a spoil-sport, after all.

Goro Akechi || Persona 5 Royal || OTA

Christmas Past

hello stranger, it's all downhill from here

her whole life is nothing but downhill so she's way too ready for the ride

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Scrooge

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Wild Card || Locked to Azula

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A Warped Past

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