songerein | { when it snows }

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{ when it snows }

WHEN IT SNOWS

All items on this post will last/be available for the entire month! So timey wimey shenanigans are allowed.

More details on everything can be found here. We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during A.

I. REVEREIN

II. DREAMS

COMMENTS

I. REVEREIN THAWED

After freeing the Ice Queen from the glass shard from her chest and clearing the dreamscape, the blizzard that affected not only Reverein but the Wildlands and beyond finally dissipates and soon everything returns to…mostly normal.

A. Glitter Snow. While the freezing sleet and ice of the blizzard is no more and a more gentle winter has entered Reverein, the fresh new snow that falls is not one one might want to stick their tongue out to try and catch a snowflake. Unless one likes the taste of glitter.

🎉 Good luck getting it out. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad if the glitter melted like snow, but it does not. It sticks to everything everywhere and while some might like a splash of colors, others may not.
🔮 Dreamglobes. Some fae are passing out empty spherical glasses, suggesting those who are interested to collect some of the glitter snow into them and then set the snowglobe next to their bed before sleeping. Whatever dream they have will be captured into the glass and upon waking will create a physical representation of the dream to create a little special "dreamglobe." Hope it's a good one!
✨ Glitter Collector. There are a number of people and shops that actually want the free glitter and ask for anyone to collect as much as possible. Works well for those trying to clean up and not sure what to do with it. What kind of products will end up coming from them well.

B. Mari Lwyd and Family. Mari Lwyd has finally returned to Reverein, and she's bringing along some family she's found. However, they can be a bit of a handful. Some are friendlier than others while others are going to make full use of this glitter snow with pranks and mischief. But they all just intend to have a good time, something that everyone may be in need of after that blizzard.

💃 Little Pranksters. The young Lwydlings cannot sing or speak, but they love to dance around and make all manner of noise—they also bite if you're being a big fat party pooper in their presence, and are a lot more likely to pull a few harmless pranks than their dear older cousin Mari Lwyd is. Very quick, they have the same vanish-and-leave-you-with-bad-luck if harm is attempted on them. Have a dance off with them, or aid them in pranking those who are being big fat grumps/meanie-butts.
🔥 Bonfire. One of the merry friends looks like a very tall pile of long hair and arms, but with them they seem to be carrying a basket and filling it with sticks and other kindling. This is for giant bonfires! Help gather wood and kindling to make a great bonfire to welcome some warmth in this winter, and aid any lost to not wander in this cold.
🥜 Nurturing Gifts. There appears to be another skull-faced being wandering around with their own 'little one' in tow—and despite the horned and frightening appearance of the larger fur and hyde clad figure there are small gifts to be shared. An act of kindness rewards one with a bundle of magic beans that if nurtured and cared for will bear a great gift come spring. Great.

C. Hot Springs. The dragons are holding an open invitation to anyone who wishes to use their hot springs to warm up after that frigid blizzard. The dragons in particular will be practically living there, so hopefully others can squeeze in a spot. Rooms will be available for anyone who wishes to stay the night, and all amenities will be available: food, recreational games, etc. Just beware of the monkeys that have descended down from the mountain seeking warmth as well. They are prone to stealing things, particularly clothing—and wearing them.

D. Dream Board. This is the perfect time to do many of the Dream Board prompts, and while the full details are on the notes, here is the quick list of what they are:

Dream Board List:

⛄ Snowball Tonics: Transform into massive, different colored snowballs.
🔔 Bell Choir: Grab a bell and play for a concert!
🧣 Never-Ending Scarf: Help untangle the beautifully, extremely long crocheted scarf, dodge cats, and get the whole thing together in one place.
🍻 Keg Brawl: A game where one must carrying a keg of ale from one end of a field of ice to the other while avoiding the other team trying to stop you.
🐶 The Inugami. Help a pair of spirit dogs find each other.
🌠 Falling Stars. Make wishes upon the falling stars before they cause too much damage!

II. SHATTERED DREAMS

Although the Dreamwalkers were successful in removing the strange glass shard in the Ice Queen's chest and ended the nightmare dreamscape that caused the blizzard, the Ice Queen still has yet to awaken. Jack Frost has taken her to Orkili to try and purify her with the pods, yet it only caused an adverse reaction, prompting the Orkilins and Jack Frost to ask for help from the Dreamwalkers once more. Isolated in a separate room where neither dreamotion nor nightmare energy can enter, those who are willing to investigate the Ice Queen's dream will be able to freely dreamwalk, with the warning that she seems sensitive to positive dreamotion so everyone should take caution when using it.

In the meantime, there are some other happenings going around in Orkili, including investigation into some nightmare crystals.

A. Piecing it Together. Those who enter the Ice Queen's dream will find themselves free floating in a dark void with large reflective glass-like shards with blurred, fogged scenes reflecting on their surface. They float aimlessly through the space, and a closer inspection will reveal that these shards can fit together and likely form a larger image. The goal is to now try and put the pieces together, though it's not as easy as it might seem.

🪞 Nightmare manipulation. For whatever reason, those who either have high nightmare resistance or can control nightmare energy will be able to move and be around the shards with very little effect to them.

💥 Too much of a good thing. Because the shards are dark and clearly exude nightmare energy, there will be those who will try to use positive types of dreamotion to purify the shards. Some dreamotion will be safe to use and will help clear up the image on the surface. However, too much focus will have a negative feedback where the dreamers are pushed back with a freezing gale and the shard they are focusing on will crack and break into smaller pieces. Nightmare energy can help mend the cracks, so it's better to try and use both at the same time.

💔 Blurred visions. As the surface of the shards clear up, various scenes of different themes can be seen, both good and bad. Love, heartbreak, hatred, anger, joy, jealousy, loneliness, fulfillment, family, abandonment. Those who experienced the ice mirrors in the previous dreamscape will feel a strong familiarity with these larger shards, except these are clearly towards the Ice Queen herself.

This is where we want players to come up with any scene that the Ice Queen may have experienced that could be reflected on the shard! We'll request submissions and piece together a story based on player input. Don't worry about any contradictions, we'll work it all in one way or another. The only constant is that Jack Frost and the Ice Queen do have a close, romantic relationship, which is why Jack is very worried about her.

B. Unwanted Intruder. While in the dream, a grotesque looking noctaere will appear and try to attack and consume the shards. Should it succeed, the Ice Queen will receive physical damage that everyone will be able to hear and feel inside the dream. The void will contort and turn more like sludge. Attempts to use dreamotion will only worsen it, but those who can control or absorb nightmare energy will take it away from the Ice Queen. How it affects them however, will vary between dizziness to momentary lapse in judgment and may need to leave the dreamscape.

Those monitoring outside the dream will witness the Ice Queen scream and her skin blackening as if charred by fire. Same thing applies here: those who try to use dreamotion to heal her will only worsen it, but those who use nightmare energy to either draw it out into some other container or absorb it themselves will be able to pull it out of the Ice Queen. Those who absorb the nightmare energy will have similar varying effects, from just light dizziness to becoming more irritable and hostile. Attempts to try and directly pull out the nightmare energy otherwise will be unsuccessful—it will only work when the noctaere has consumed a shard and caused the physical side effects.

No one will turn noctaere through this method because not enough nightmare energy will have accumulated.

As for the noctaere, it will sometimes appear outside the dream, and those who encounter it or deliberately try to hunt it down either within or outside the dream will find both dreamotion and nightmare based attacks effective against it. However, it's a very tough and difficult foe, so while it can be damaged, it cannot be defeated at this time. Those who investigated the claw marks from a few months ago will notice it leaves behind the same claw marks. Those who witnessed it will also find it familiar and can safely say it's the same.

I. REVEREIN

II. DREAMS

COMMENTS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He still looks hesitant... But he also knows that Tifa wants to do more than just support him, to help more. So after a moment of internal struggle, he lets out a small breath and relents.]

...All right. But don't force yourself. I'm here if anything happens.

[She wants to tell him not to worry about her so much, but she knows that's asking for the impossible, especially when she does the very same thing. But if it's just bringing the images to life on the shards, then how bad could it be?]

I'll start on this side... [She moves around to the other side of the floating piece that he put together.] And work my way back. Promise I won't go too far.

[Still eying her...]

All right. I'll keep an eye on them, make sure nothing else happens.

[With one more reassuring smile, she turns around and walks away—only a few paces—to get to work. She's careful to only touch one shard at a time, dancing around the ones that drift past her when she chooses one. Eyeing them, some of them already look like they could fit together like those first two, so at least she knows they're on the right track as she slowly starts tapping each of the pieces.

At first, it's not as difficult. She knows what to expect now when she touches one—that little bit of a chill on her fingertips that shoots up through her veins, but at least she can be prepared for it. Well, prepared enough that she doesn't wince or draw her hand back every time that it happens. The bite against her fingers is sharp and so very cold, but she pushes onward, her wish to help the Ice Queen and Jack and to put a stop to this whole thing far outweighs the pain that slowly builds.

And maybe... part of it is because she can empathize with Jack. If what they believe about them is true, then she can understand why he wants to do this. Why he went to such lengths to try and save her. All of this Orkili stuff was a terrible idea on his part, but... would Tifa have done the same back then, if she couldn't find another way to pull Eustace out of his nightmares? She would have done anything she needed to to make sure that he could be healed, and that the nightmares no longer plagued him.

So, yes... she could say that she would have done it, too.

Which is why she so, so badly wants to help.

Why she doesn't want to just stand here and do nothing while someone else has to watch their loved one suffer...

By the time she's finished on her side, most of her fingers have turned black, and she can hardly feel them from the frostbite anymore. Or... what she assumes is frostbite. Not even her flames can help warm them up. But hey, at least she's got something of an idea of what's going on. There are images in the shards now, though still a little blurry, but with Eustace's help in threading them all together, they should clear like the other two did right?

She glances back at him, slipping her hands to hide them in her pockets.]

I think I got as many as I could on my side.

Edited 2024-01-14 01:28 (UTC)

[Although Eustace tries to keep an eye on her, he also wants to get this done as quickly as possible, so he'll focus on connecting the piece where he can. Another shard fitting here, and then another, all while careful and conscientious about how much nightmare energy he puts out...as well as pulls in. In the process, he's figured out how to better resist and "grab" the pushback to make it his own. Early on he ended up flat out repelling it, but now he's managed to pull it in to meld with his own before pushing it back out. In some ways this actually makes it more stable as perhaps there are some trace amounts to let it "match" the original source.

But as time goes on, he's also grown more...impatient. It doesn't affect his work, but there are more frowns, the furrow of his brows never relaxing. He also feels a lingering chill that somehow feels different from the shards and his own. One that actually starts from his neck and creeps down his spine, and after connecting a set of shards he rubs his neck as if feeling sore. For a moment he thinks it feels colder, but then it disappears as if it were just a passing touch.

At this point he looks back at her, missing the way she hides her hands.]

I just need to do that last set then.

[And then another look, seeing her tired... His concern replaces the more tense expression he had previous as he steps up to her.]

Are you all right, though?

Yeah. I'm fine.

[As fine as she could be, anyway, after having just tried to keep out as much nightmare energy as she has. She looks weary, tired, like she's out of breath without actually being out of breath, some of the colour in her eyes drained.]

I'll be fine.

[She corrects herself, and not wanting to linger on her for too long—]

And you?

...I'll be fine.

[He just echoes her words as he continues to stare at her, his frown deepening before he clicks his tongue and looks back at the shards.]

I'll do this quickly and we can head out.

[She watches him, her brow puckering a bit with confusion, and she'd ask him if he was sure if it weren't for the way he clicks his tongue...

Actually, no—she's going to. It's bothering her too much not to. She almost pulls her hands out to reach for him, but she stops herself, slipping them back as deep as they'll go.]

We can take a break here if you need. We don't have to do it right away.

No, this is the last one and I'd rather finish it off.

[The words come out a little more terse than one might expect... Well, at least towards her, and he's already raising his arm to focus on that nightmare energy.

Which may look a bit darker than usual, with more black then blue.]

Okay...

[Could it be that he's just tired and overworked? She can't say she would blame him, but he's usually much more patient and careful than that. Usually more willing to take a breather if it means that he can better focus. Even if it was just for a minute or two to allow them a moment to recollect themselves.

She does notice the difference in colour in his magic, and when she sees it, she steps up to him—cautiously—and dares to slide her hand out to take his free one. The dreamotion that she offers him is a tiny flicker in comparison to what she was able to manage before, but... it's better than nothing?]

[It's only when he feels her hand in his hand that there's a brief ripple of change in him. A warmth that does help soothe some of that building ire... If briefly. At least enough for him to gently squeeze her fingers in recognition.

At the same time, it only reminds him how much Tifa has been pushing herself and how much he wants to quickly end this. So with perhaps a bit more reckless force and speed, there's a sudden surge of darkness that erupts from his hand, blasting forth like black lightning as it strikes the two shards and quickly fills the gaps.

And once it's all out, Eustace grimaces and remove his hand from hers to grip his own forearm, feeling that cold chill momentarily seize it before it disappears, burrowing somewhere else. Not only that, he can once again feel that sharp sting on the back of his neck, and his shoulders tense in response.]

[Well. At least the worst part of it is over... she hopes.

But when he lets go of her hand, she chases after him before she realizes where it goes, gripping at his arm that he'd been using. Her own hand moves to wrap over his, not minding the shards for now while she takes care of him. Once again, the tiniest flicker of a flame ignites, trying to warm him and, more importantly, stem the nightmare energy that she knows is flowing through.]

Alright, I think that's enough for now. I think we managed something at least, but... will you please sit down?

[A pause, and she drops her gaze.]

... You're scaring me a little bit.

Edited 2024-01-14 04:59 (UTC)

[He flinches a little at her touch, more in surprise than anything else, and when he looks at her...

...

He lets out a small breath, the tension slowly leaving his body along with most of the chill even though some lingers. Particularly around his neck, where he'll unconsciously reach back and rub.]

...Sorry. And you're right.

Here.

[She guides him to the snowy ground. It'll be a bit cold, but it's something, and she kicks and melts away some of it to at least give them somewhere flat to rest for a moment. It doesn't have to be long, but... she wants to at least look over him and make sure that there's nothing else that's... off about him. From here, they can still see the shards too, but that's the least of her worries right now.

And as soon as they're both down, she'll waste no time in unpocketing both her hands and sliding her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.]

Just for a minute...

[He lets her guide him and will follow her down, briefly closing his eyes and letting out a breath as he sits next to her. When her arms go around him, he immediately brings his hands up to hers...

...

Only to frown and open his eyes to see—]

—What the hell!?

[Seeing how blackened and frostbitten her hand is, he immediately lifts it up higher and turns to look at her.]

Tifa, how long—!?

[Panic sets in the moment his hands touch hers, and her first instinct is to try and pull them away. To hide them... even if it might already be too late.]

Not long at all.

[But she concedes, her fingers stiffening before they relax in his grip, sore and bitterly cold.]

It's not real frostbite... I don't think. Just a little bit of bad dreamotion reaction.

[All that earlier agitation and irritation returns as he quickly tries to cover her hands, pouring out his own dreamotion into it. However, instead of comforting and warm, it's blazing hot, as if reflecting the spike of his anger and ire.]

I told you not to push yourself.

Eustace...!

[She really does try to yank her hands back this time, every muscle in her body wincing when that unbearable heat pierces right into her skin.]

That hurts... Why is it so hot?

[It's only when she yanks her hands away that he freezes, some of those flames still lingering on his fingertips as he stares in stunned.]

...Sorry...I... I don't know...

[She's staring at him, hard now. Because whatever pain she feels in her fingertips was nothing compared to the blazing hot heat that he just enveloped her hands with. Not enough that she was burned, but enough that she couldn't stand it for much longer, which is a blessing, but still...

She reaches out to grab his hands instead, taking them both and folding them between hers. There's no anger in her voice, but it is twinged with fear and worry...]

And I told you not to push yourself, which you clearly did. What happened?

[He almost flinches to pull his hands away in fear of burning her again, but he manages to keep still instead, looking at her warily and worried.]

...It could just be the nature of the emotions... Might be getting to me, that's all.

But I think it is a clear sign we've been here long enough. We can leave the rest to the others here.

[It's a clear sign that he worked himself too hard, just like she asked him not to. Just like they asked each other not to... But she isn't moving just yet. Not until she is sure that they have done what they needed to do to help. She's not about to just ditch all this after all that work, especially not when she thinks of Jack.

And Eustace...]

Well. We did manage to do something.

[It wasn't all for nothing.]

[A small sigh as he slowly, carefully, and gently tries to rub his fingers over hers, that heat dissipating into something cooler and a little more pleasant.]

But what it means, remains to be seen.

[Only now does he look up at the pieced together shards, reflecting a rather forlorn and sad looking Jack... But something feels off about it. It's not just sadness, but... Tired?]

I don't know, but...

[There's that pang again as she stares up at the image glistening in the light. That same one that she felt earlier, and with the mirrors in the cave. Almost like she can feel what he's feeling, too. She wonders if that's the case, or it's just some severe empathy kicking in that she's never quite felt before, but it makes her heart twist in her chest.]

If these are her memories then... he was looking at her like that?

That's if we assume they are true memories.

[A slight frown.]

Remember, she had that shard in her... And just like how those mirrors twisted your own visions, it's possible this could also be twisted as well.

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