songerein | { stroke of midnight }

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{ stroke of midnight }

STROKE OF MIDNIGHT

Although the Masquerade is being held on the night of the Fourteenth, some new problems arise in the days after. This log is split into two sections, the Masquerade and Around Town. Everyone is free to participate in either or both, whichever catches your interest.

More details on everything can be found here and here. As a reminder, events double as our TDMs and information can be found here with arrival details here. Any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in February and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of February 14 through 28. TDM only characters can only thread within this log. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count February 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, 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 Wednesday, February 22nd and Applications will open on March 1. Our next cycle after won't be until JULY.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view, updated 02/22)

Avatar: The Legend of Korra - Korra
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Iroh
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Miriam
Chainsaw Man - Power
Dr. STONE - Dr. Senku Ishigami
Elsworld - Noah Ebalon (Nyx Pieta)
Final Fantasy VII - Cloud Strife
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Zack Fair
Final Fantasy XIV - Erichthonios
Final Fantasy XV - Noctis Lucis Caelum
Final Fantasy XV - Prompto Argentum
Genshin Impact - Shikanoin Heizou
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist - Solanaceae
Katekyou Hitman Reborn - Hayato Gokudera
Kingdom Hearts - Ienzo
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Link
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Sheik
Marvel Cinematic Universe - Kate Bishop
NieR: Automata - 9S
Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Jason Grace
Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Nico di Angelo
Persona 3: FES - Shinjiro Aragaki
SinoAlice - Sleeping Beauty
Tales of Arise - Shionne Vymer Imeris Daymore
Tales of Symphonia - Kratos Aurion
Tales of Symphonia - Martel Yggdrasil
Tales of Zestiria - Mikleo
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Sena
Your Wings and Mine - Shealtiel

We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.

I. MASQUERADE

It's time for the masquerade and the carriages will start arriving before sunset. Upon arrival, everyone who leaves the carriage (or mercilessly spat out if they try to resist) will be greeted by fairy godmothers with an eye for the most dramatic and extravagant fashion. It's a masquerade, after all! For those who already arrive with their outfits, the fairy godmothers may add a little embellishment here and or just change it completely if they think it could look better. For those who did not, they will create a whole new outfit that would fit the wearer perfectly—with magic of course. They will also create the masks and half of the glass slipper brooch that everyone will wear. The masks are enchanted so that regardless of obvious personality or physical traits, they are somehow unrecognizable at first. While it is possible to figure it out through interaction, or if it's someone they already know well, it's more likely they need to reveal their identity first. These outfits can be kept even after the masquerade is over.

A. Get in the Carriage. As the pegasus drawn carriages begin to arrive to transport those who have decided to attend the masquerade, there is some commotion from others. The pair of coach mice—who are only about four feet tall—can be found smiling and cheerily squeaking about the masquerade as they grab and literally throw protesting individuals into the carriage, whereupon the door will immediately shut behind them. Ho ho ho, it'll be such a grand time! Will anyone try to help the poor soul? Or perhaps help the mice? Maybe you're a struggling victim instead. Should anyone want to try and drive the carriage, they might have a chance…but good luck having the pegasi listen to them. Eventually the carriage will land and take them to the front of the castle where the masquerade is hosted.

B. Half of a Pair. Near the entrance, everyone is encouraged to pull out one or more of the shoe brooches contained in a large bowl. The rules are simple: 1) use the brooch to lead them to the person wearing the other half; 2) spend whatever time or activity with them, be it general socializing, a dance, a walk in the gardens; 3) keep the brooch or return it to a designated "Used" bowl. The brooches will absorb whatever kind of dreamotion energy is formed between the two, and the stronger it is, the brighter (if positive) or darker (if negative) it will glow. The interaction can be romantic, platonic, or hostile. For those who do happen to "click" and wish for some privacy, there are numerous terraces and balconies available. Some are public, but there are quite a few with curtains, so be sure to close them to signal the balcony is occupied!

C. Dancing in the Air. The main draw will be the dance floor, and the ballroom is wide and spacious to accommodate numerous pairs to dance to their hearts' content—the music is played by enchanted instruments so they'll keep going without much of a break! Of course, what makes this dance floor truly special is how it uses dreamotion energy to lift everyone up—literally. Pairs who are having a fun time may find themselves floating up and dancing in the air instead of on the ground. Somehow they can maintain some balance…but it's just as easy to lose it.

D. Royal Banquet. There are numerous tables one can use and be served an assortment of foods. In fact, one could make special requests and somehow the dragons serving will be able to make it, or at least as close as possible. One just has to imprint the idea of the dish onto a special card that the chefs will use to recreate it. There are also two bowls filled with special tear drop chocolates, one with only white, pink, and red, and the other filled with the other colors. The "game" is to randomly choose one from each bowl and share a kiss depending on what is picked.

E. Out in the Gardens. Every castle has extravagant gardens, and this one is no different. Filled with numerous pink, red, and white flowers, the gardens have their typical fare…with not so typical effects.

Extravagant mazes that one could easily get lost in are common, but what's special about these gardens is that the flowers will emit a soft, sweet scent that will feel as if they are walking through a dream. In fact, the section they are going through will begin to change to look like a place from their world and must now find their way out. When this change happens, only those who are in the area will be affected and no one else can enter the area until the main person affected gets out. Those inside can help, and there are no threats—it's all in simple fun…unless the place evokes certain memories and emotions for the person. Might not be as fun for them, then.
A crystal greenhouse where the temperature is perfectly warm (or cold!) and houses various different flowers. Here some may recognize flowers from their world, the scents also creating nostalgia. There are instructions left that indicate anyone can try to help grow the flowers. The key ingredient will be dreamotion energy, and should they succeed in creating a blossom, a small marble containing a symbol of their home. There are also special daisies that can be used to play the "they love me they love me not" game. If the last petal is "they love me," then become extra flirty and clingy. If it's "love me not," they become angry, jealous, and possessive. The effects only last for a short time…unless they keep plucking flowers.
The white fountain in the center of the gardens will have a bit of a musical playful side. It will splash colorful water at any who pass by, chime-like notes playing out as it does. But if one were to drop a flower that has absorbed positive dreamotion into its water, it will calm and let people sit to look and relax. There is also a strange frog wearing a crown that claims to be a prince. For those who believe its words that a kiss will free him from the curse, they will be sorely disappointed as nothing happens and the frog just laughs and hops away.

II. AROUND TOWN

A. Mask Up. Attracted by the masquerade, some enchanted masks have found their way to town and are now finding their way onto people, be it by tricking their victims to be put on or just forcibly latching themselves on. Depending on the type of mask, the wearer will behave based on a festive, dramatic emotion. While wearing the mask, the dreamotion that is projected is stronger. Examples are angry emotions will cause tremors and cracks on the ground, happiness could blind people or will cause confetti to fly everywhere, while sad ones will cause clouds and drizzling rain to appear overhead. The only way to remove it is to somehow make the other person feel the opposite of whatever emotion the mask is using. Once the mask’s emotion is countered and stabilized, it could be removed or even fall off if the countering emotion is strong enough. Masks can also be captured and collected before they attach to someone.

B. Special Messages. Throughout the month, valentine's are being delivered to people all over town. Some are even receiving some from the fae and dragons who live outside… Perhaps some caution should be had from those. Regardless, while the messages are brimming with both platonic and romantic (and questionable) love, the messengers are a bit… Well they need help.

Insightful Mockingbirds. Special mockingbirds are flying around and perch on random shoulders. They have the ability to "read" a person's thoughts and repeat them out loud. Without warning. Hope there aren't any secrets because that bird is going to make it public, especially if it's an observation or thought—good or bad—about another person. Good luck shooing it away, too—it'll stick around for a while because it might enjoy sowing this bit of chaos.
Arrow Delivery. The group from last year have decided to use their prank arrows for good and start a business in delivering special Valentine's messages via arrow. A "shot to the heart" in the less literal sense this time! While some of their archers are skilled, others are…less so. Some are hitting a bit too close to comfort or way off the mark. Some messages are going to the wrong person entirely. Help avoid, retrieve, or even deliver these messages around town.

C. Candy Kisses. A special assortment of flat bottomed, tear shaped chocolates are currently selling like hotcakes and can be found practically everywhere. Their main selling point is they come in different colors and each color has a special effect that will make the eater want to kiss the person near them in a certain way (see chart). Some people are deliberately swapping the wrappers around, so be careful!

D. Bleeding Hearts Return. It's Valentine's, yet Cupid is nowhere to be seen. That is because he's still corrupted from last year and now he's thirsting for love, any love. Using the Bleeding Hearts from last year, Cupid is using them to gather all that jealous, possessive love, but of course that's going to make it worse. We're not tackling Cupid here, but the main goal will be helping those who are afflicted by the Bleeding Hearts and purifying them via dreamotion instead of just destroying them. Purifying the Bleeding Hearts with pure love—romantic, platonic, familial, reminders of how they are loved and cared for by others—will help Cupid. Of course this could backfire and make the person feel worse, so be careful!

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"That's what I've been told anyway." Demyx answered. He reached out and tugged Ienzo's sleeve briefly and directed him down another little route and the treehouse he was describing came into view.

"No Dream Eaters but it's not so bad." There were three little steps, and he moved up and opened the door, by sliding it to the side. It wasn't locked or anything, and true to his word inside was a flight of stairs. It was magically comfortable, the tree seemed more than fat enough to accommodate something like that. A light came on as he entered and he started up the stairs.

Ienzo didn't fight against the subtle little tug, following along as directed. When the door opened, he tilted his head. "You don't keep it locked?"

Not that he's encouraging mistrust or paranoia, but. Well, Radiant Garden was big as far as worlds went, people tended to lock their doors there. It's just what he's used to. Ienzo followed Demyx up the stairs, peering this way and that as he did.

It reminded him of something from a storybook, the name of which was dancing on the tip of his tongue but refused to be voiced. It's charming, regardless of what story it seemed familiar to. Cozy.

"Nah, not really." Demyx said. At the top of the stairs there was no door it just led into the treehouse itself.

The entrance led into an open concept space with comfortable couches, a little kitchen to the right and a table to the left. There was a hallway leading away on one end. Sure enough, there was a tiny snowman bouncing around and while it was a little cool, it wasn't unbearably cold.

It's really charming, honestly, and Ienzo found himself feeling happy for Demyx. Even if this was a dream, he found a peaceful and cozy spot for himself. One where he felt safe enough where he didn't even lock his door. Considering everything they'd been through, as Nobodies - let alone whatever happened to make Demyx a Nobody to begin with ...

It's what he'd hope for any of them. There's a wistful smile on Ienzo's face. "This is nice."

He caught sight of the snowman, and the much less frigid swirl of snow around it than he was expecting. "Well. Hello there. Demyx, does your snowman friend have a name?"

"I call him Mezzo." Demyx said with a cheerful little chuckle and held out his hand for Mezzo to land on it. "He's pretty cool at least." That was a joke and the truth, it worked both ways.

"I've got string lights in the other room." He said, tilting his head. He meant more like fairy lights. He let Mezzo back down on the ground and showed Ienzo down the hall. There were two doors, one was a bathroom, the other was a bedroom but the end of a hallway opened to a sunroom. There were more plush chairs in this room, cushions on the floor and twinkling fairy lights. The huge windows offered a view of the surrounding area.

"I was hoping for a music room." He said by way of explanation.

"Snow does seem to be his forte," Ienzo joked right back, trying not to giggle. He continued to follow Demyx as he gave him an informal little tour of his home. Ienzo wondered, were all of the tree houses this nice? He could see himself staying in one of these, if he wasn't waking up for a while.

... If he was going to be dreaming for this long, what did it mean for the waking world?

... Ienzo told himself to focus.

He tilted his head as he entered the sunroom. "Couldn't you use this for a ... oh, the acoustics. Hm. It looks peaceful to practice in, but I don't know how it'd echo in here, or if it would sound strange."

"It sounds pretty good to me at least, and I get a decent view so like, yeah I don't mind it."

It was relaxing. It was meant to be relaxing and peaceful, some things that Demyx actually needed in his life. If he was worried about his belongings, heck, if he got belongings he might consider locking his door.

"When I got here it looked a little different but I started thinking about what I wanted and the place changed around me."

Ienzo had already been thinking about that - how all of the Nobodies he knew, whether or not they had recompleted, could use some place like this. Peaceful. Quiet. Healing.

~~Not him - if he didn't have something to do Ienzo would start to think too much about -~~

"It changed directly in response to your thoughts and wishes?" Ienzo wondered, clearly shifting back to studying-things-mode. He looked around the room with a more critical eye. "So if you went to bed thinking, you wanted blue curtains ... would you wake up tomorrow to find them here? Or do things evolve more quickly than that?"

"Uhhh, I'd have to say it's probably on the other side, a little longer than that. Especially for the music room, I was thinking about it a lot and it was probably like two weeks before it showed up." Demyx said. "Can't really complain though."

He threw himself onto the couch, wordlessly inviting Ienzo to sit if he wants to.

"I'm not sure if a small request like that could be done overnight or whatever. But it's changed quite a bit since I've been here based on things I thought might be good."

"Did the room appear gradually, as if it was growing slowly from the side of the tree ... or, two weeks later, had it appeared in its entirety?" Ienzo wondered.

He took the wordless invitation to sit, in the back of his mind remembering being a very small boy and having been told it was rude to pace. That was something Ienzo reserved for when he was alone with his own thoughts. But his fingers on one of his hands tapped on his knee as he thought.

"This world obviously has its own, latent magic," Ienzo thought that seemed clear, almost too obvious to say. "I wonder if it conflicts, somehow, with magic from other worlds. Perhaps that's why you tire when you try and use your own."

"The second one." Demyx said, turning so he was at least looking at Ienzo and not out the window.

"A lot of worlds have their own magic, after all." He agreed. "It's not that weird, but I can't say I understand it. Usually it doesn't conflict though so...maybe?"

He wondered at that but he ultimately ended up just shrugging again. "Hard to guess. Not really the kind of thing I thought about much." Thank god Ienzo was there, right?

"Interesting ..." Ienzo considered that. "I'll need to experiment on a tree nearby, see how I can affect the rooms inside of it, track and monitor the changes."

Ienzo looked at him in turn, nodding. He's more than happy to explain what he knew to someone else, as always. Of course, he's going to try not to go over Demyx's head. Just because he didn't think he was dumb, he was also aware there was a lot of technical knowledge he had no basis or training to understand.

"Usually, it doesn't," Ienzo agreed. "There are some worlds that have properties that others don't, as you're very aware. Just as you've seen people travel from world to world, and still use their magic - even if nobody in that world uses magic themselves. We know if we visit a place that's never seen magic before - there shouldn't be anything stopping us from using it. Or, if there's an entirely new form of magic - like having enchanted clothes that let you float - that will work regardless of what world you're visiting, too."

He knew none of this was new to Demyx. He held up a finger. "However, we have observed that there are some kinds of realities that don't play by the same rules. Digitally reconstructed worlds may or may not act like a real one. Sleeping worlds seemed to be the same as their waking ones - but perhaps that isn't always the case. And we're discovering a new kind of reality altogether, one that isn't of Light or Darkness. Maybe the magic there is also something new, that would conflict with what we know."

"There simply isn't enough data yet."

"I guess, but I mean..." Demyx looked like he was thinking through what Ienzo said. "I haven't seen any real proof that this world itself is that weird? I mean, it's not one I've been to before...and usually I can leave." That was probably a little more blunt than he meant it to be.

"Guess you're right, has to be researched or whatever. Sounds like a job for you, scientist."

"Yes, and that much is strange, isn't it? There are certainly worlds that are difficult to reach using the Dark Corridors - but would've imagined one could always leave using them. This entirely disproves that hypothesis," Ienzo noted thoughtfully. "But - I've only just arrived, there's so much I'll need to discover."

He ducked his head a little bashfully, and smiled. "I suppose it is. Would you mind helping me once more, Demyx?"

"Sure, I guess." Demyx chuckled lightly. "Wasn't like I was doing anything." He kind of wasn't.

"At least if it's intel you want. I already know I'm not allowed to touch your equipment." He raised his hands in a joking manner. "I'll tell you anything I find out."

For the most part, that was true, at least.

Ienzo gave him a bright smile as a reward. "Thank you. I really appreciate that."

And had to chuckle a little. "Not that I have any equipment here, not yet. I wonder ... perhaps it'd simply appear if I think hard enough about it? I've worked in my dreams before, after all ..."

"Okay no." Demyx laughed and got up, reaching out to grab Ienzo's hand with both of his.

"You're not coming to a dream land and doing nothing but work. Come on, let's go find something fun for you to do!"

He would give a tug to get Ienzo up off his couch.

“What?” Ienzo squeaked a little as he’s tugged up off the couch, blinking, but not fighting him. “I didn’t mean - work is fun, please don’t misunderstand me …”

But beyond the verbal objection there, he would let Demyx lead him to wherever he was thinking. Ienzo was a little curious, after all.

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{ stroke of midnight }

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