songerein | { 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A whole year, huh! ( she pockets the next message, pleased to have found herself something to do. otherwise, she ends up doing things like shooting arrows at historical belltowers and the town probably wouldn't enjoy that much from her. ) I should probably stick by you, then. I'm still getting a hang of it. Getting the whole lay of the land and everything. I was just looking at the flowers the other day and they started talking to me, so I figure anything goes here.

( oh, but she can't forget her manners, holding her free hand up to wave. ) I'm Kate, by the way!

Luckily for the two of us, I have a lot of familiarity with this town by now so you won’t get lost going from point A to point B.

Yep, plenty of weird and fantastical things have happened in this world and it may be weird to see talking and singing flowers but you will get used to them in no time.

(Anya is not sure if she should use her real name at this time but she decides not to mention that for now since she did learned from Akechi about an alternate version of her didn’t survive in his world and she is still trying to work on being more open about her past.)

I’m Anya, it is very nice to meet you, Kate.

Lucky me! Not sure how lucky it is for you, ( kate laughs with a little sideways shake of her head. )

It is nice to meet you, Anya. Wouldja mind showing me some of the higher spots in town? I think I could start my deliveries there, like, leaving bundles of letters in tree trunks and stuff.

Oh - unless the trees would be offended. God, that's a level of awareness I hadn't thought about.

Oh yes. Climbing trees is my middle name. I used to climb them a lot as a kid despite everyone trying to convince me to get down from them. We can start with the trees if you like. Or there are also rooftops on certain buildings: there are plenty of them within the area to choose from.

Not sure if sentient trees are a common species around this town though, but I haven’t seen one so far.

A roof might be smarter, though I lowkey would love to climb a tree like in a casual way, not in an 'escape my enemies' kind of way.

( kate chuckles like everyone else is in on her little superhero joke. )

Especially since I know the trees probably aren't gonna talk back to me like some of the flowers.

Makes logical sense that we should get started on placing letters on trees. I can show you how I would usually climb on them during my childhood.

(Pooka begins to sniff for the first tree they can stick the letter onto: sniff sniff as his nose searches for any good non sentient trees to stick letters at.)

Yeah. The flora and fauna of this world can be very strange to anyone who has never been to a place like this before. It appears that they are being pulled from all kinds of worlds and time periods to make Reverein a very interesting place to visit.

Your dog is so cute, ( kate adds abruptly. ) I have a pup at home too! His name is Lucky and he loves pizza. ( and she's already missing him something fierce, especially as she watches the small pooch snuffle around. )

I didn't believe the whole thing at first, but I'm starting to feel like I'm the odd gal out because I haven't seen anyone who seems to be from my century yet. It's very cool in a freaky way.

Arf, arf, arf!

(Pooka beams up in delight upon hearing Kate mentioning Lucky, did he just found a possible new friend? So far Lucky is not here but Anya could tell that her dog is interested.)

Oh nice! You got a dog as well. Glad that it is one thing we have in common.

Yeah, I don’t think I have found anyone from my time period as well, at least one I can think of. In fact, some of the people I have met in this world either hail from what appears to be my future or from the past.

( kate will definitely have to see a guy about a dog in the future! especially if lucky's pretty much guaranteed another buddy who isn't a beat up archer. )

I've read about this kind of thing happening, like interdimensional train stations where people from different times and places ( and continuities ) can cross paths before going to their next stop.

( she stoops to check on pooka. ) Is that a good tree? ( and back to anya, ) I also saw one down that way I can aim at and leave a bunch of letters to be found.

Oh wow! That sounds really fascinating. The idea of people from other worlds meeting at inter-dimensional train stations is pretty cool. I have ridden on trains before though I didn’t know that there are trains that can travel to other worlds until now.

(Pooka happily barks to Kate that, yep, this tree is good to stash letters at. He just knows it because dogs have great noses.)

That’s great! We can shoot the letters at the tree so people can claim them more easily.

Sweet.

( kate grins and winks, gathering the letters into a bundle and using a bit of string looped around one of the letters to secure the whole thing. she trusts her aim enough to ensure that her arrow will not piece the center of any of these love letters.

standing tall with her shoulders up, she finds her arrow and takes aim, shooting it at the prime angle for retrieval. )

I've never traveled into other dimensions myself! Except this one, I guess.

I have went to another dimension or world before this one. Before coming here, me and Pooka had arrived in the world known as the Realm of Stories. In there, people pulled into there are given Essences of characters from myths, fairy tales and legends and we often helped in restoring the world by reenacting stories and running errands.

Bark!

In fact I was fighting a big entity who was trying to destroy the world when it tried to escape and inadvertently took me, Pooka, and several others into this world.

{ stroke of midnight }

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