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

It can't be, no. These things are rarely so simple. And it never is simple when I get involved, because I don't have that kind of luck.

[He's just that unlucky. Or just straight-up targeted by God.]

I haven't seen you around, by the way. I'm Naoya.

You too, huh.

[Ferran recalls vaguely the last time he found himself in a featureless void with an uncertain task and an even less certain threat, and he grimaces.

He'd offer a hand to shake, but they're a bit busy at the moment; it can come later, maybe. Attempting to gently scoot one mid-sized fragment towards what seems to be its appropriate neighbor, he plans to test at least what it feels like to slot them into place manually. He expects very little to come of this.]

Ferran. I think we were talking on the journals the other day.

I believe so. You were asking about missing people who had hurt you, if I recall correctly?

[A tricky topic, but an understandable one. Especially when coming from someone so much younger than him...]

[Even if he doesn't look that much older.]

... Hm. That piece looks right.

[He shrugs, mostly exasperated with himself.] That's me—colorblind when it comes to relationship flags.

[... he was really hoping the pieces would be sticky. They are not sticky. He draws his lips together ~~in a way that is definitely not a pout~~ in thought, wondering aloud.]

So, if we're avoiding positive dream magic... [As per the warning given. Is the answer simply the opposite? It seems like a strange idea to him.]

Don't feel bad. Most people are, whether they realize it or not.

[Even he fucks up sometimes, and he's super old.]

... Nightmares. If we can manipulate the energy as we do positive dream energy, maybe...

[Given how many people are friends with him, Ferran has to agree—

His brow furrows. He's not... opposed to the use of nightmares, exactly. Everything they're doing here is potentially dangerous, so it's not like he doesn't accept that aspect. It's just such a volatile thing to try to manage, and always struggling to break free in his own case.]

Have you ever used it on purpose?

[Ferran has channeled it, in a sense, but not because he wanted to. Those days ended poorly for him.]

Not quite, but how hard can it be? Nightmares suit me more than pleasant dreams.

[He holds his hand out and tries to draw upon the nightmare energy. It's not that difficult to gather - all the misery and sorrow from his lives coalescing. He has to pull much of it back lest he use too much power. He lets a little trickle out and it starts to seal up the cracks in between the pieces.]

Aha. As I thought.

[He watches Naoya and his efforts with quiet interest, a mild frown on his face. It's not exactly the best admission, even if it might be useful to their work right now.]

That easy, huh.

[The surface is still unclear, but does that matter as long as they're put together? It seems like an unimportant issue in the grand scheme of this cold endless void.]

Well, now that we know... [He almost sounds optimistic for half a second.] Can I see the pieces you found?

[Now that these two are together, he sees an edge now that might fit with a few of them. With Naoya's permission, he'll give it a try himself—though somewhat nervous over using darker powers given the consequences he's still facing from previous experiences, he can see the potential benefits here and now. He just has to use... a little. Surely that will be fine.

Besides, wouldn't it be better to control this kind of thing than let it control him again?]

I have experience working with magic. This isn't so different.

[He peers at the pieces they've put together and makes a sweeping motion with his hand, sending his pieces over towards the other. ... They go a little too far and he makes a tugging motion, pulling them backwards towards Ferran.]

I think I see... a hand in this one? Maybe a fist, it's too unclear.

There's a... [Ferran trails off, then thinks better of finishing his sentence. If this guy's magic is only the kind that's like nightmares? He doesn't envy Naoya. Rather than continue, he just shrugs and shakes his head to dismiss his own half-spoken remark.

He watches the pieces move this way and that, but takes hold of them with his own energy once they're offered, arranging them as closely as he can manage.

Ferran's nightmares and the power granted by them are only dulled by the distance of two years at most, still sharp enough to hurt when brought to the surface. The faintest of twitches to his eyelid marks his wince as he summons the use of it, emerging as a static-like crackling between his fingers as the shards fuse with minute jerks, one by one. It's not nearly the smooth transition as Naoya's attempts from moments before, but it gets the job done.

Hm. They still aren't any clearer, though there's a blurry silhouette of sorts now.]

Someone with white hair? [Not very identifiable.] I guess it doesn't matter if we see them, as long as they're restored... even if I'm curious.

Jack Frost, maybe. But I think you're right. The directive was to get the pieces together, not anything else.

[Look, he's being helpful. He's trying.]

You've been here a while, then? In this... dream world?

[Not this one, but you know what he means.]

[Quite helpful! Ferran at least appreciates his efforts, and it's nice to work with someone so level-headed. He's had his own issues with contributing to these different worlds in the past, but since he likes Reverein so much, he is... trying to do better now himself. A little.

It's a good distraction, anyway. As he answers, he starts to look for further shards that might match the new jagged edge of their fused ones.]

A couple of years, I think. Since "dreamers" started showing up. It doesn't feel that long somehow, but... I guess dreams always have a strange sense of time to them, anyway.

[Hmm. Interesting. He's an 'old guard', so to speak.]

I've only been here for... six months or so? It feels longer, especially since my cousin showed up. But they do, so I suppose we shouldn't really put much stock into how long we've been here. I've heard it doesn't really matter when we go home, anyway.

[He's certainly seen a lot of things and people come and go.]

Complicated relationship? [It's more of an idle comment than any attempt to dig; if Naoya doesn't reply, he's happy enough to move on. He'd probably feel like more time had passed if anyone he knew from home was here, with all the mess he'd have to deal with at that point.

Either way, he hums his agreement as he snags a squareish shard from some yards away to examine it more closely.]

The last world I was in was like that, too. A year there ended up only being a blink back home. Maybe it's some kind of rule between universes...

Something like that. It's positive - mostly. Family is like that.

[And that's about the extent that he wants to go into, but that's fine.]

You were in another world like this? What was it like?

[Ferran nods to the remark, though for him, family was less complicated and more absent for most of his life. Still, he's not unaware of the world around him; some of his friends certainly had families like that.]

Gloomy, honestly. Monsters and humans lived... mostly together, trying not to die of the magic plague that was ruining most of everything outside of the few cities we knew of.

[He does not recommend near-apocalyptic settings.]

Even with the nightmares, this place is much better. For one, we don't have to link our souls to someone else's to survive...

... Pardon me, but... what did you say you had to do with your soul?

[That cannot be healthy.]

[He pauses in his attempts to find the right place for the shard and blinks at the incredulous remark, but then considers—well, souls are a big deal. Just because he jumped straight in out of fear of what would happen if he didn't doesn't make it not a big deal.]

They called it a bond—we had to go through this ritual to link our souls, so that the magic of that world didn't make us either go berserk or burn us away from the inside. It was dangerous just existing there, when it came down to it...

[Thankfully the loss of those links didn't do any damage once he left. Unfortunately, he then just got his soul wrecked in a completely different way back home.]

... What kind of hellish dimension did you end up in?

[He's supposed to be helping, but this is fascinating. He's never heard of such a place. He can't really detect souls - the only way he knows someone for sure is Abel is because of their traits.]

[Ferran lets out a bitter laugh; having someone agree with him about how miserable Geardagas was, even if they don't have all the details, is a vindication that's more satisfying than he expected.]

One I'll hopefully never see again. Supposedly when we destroyed the source of the plague, whatever brought us there in the first place was satisfied. I never thought I'd prefer my situation back home to anything, but that place... definitely gave me a new perspective.

[The most hellish part? Even thinking of the gradual transformation draws the nightmares out of him in spades, and brief sparks of energy jump between the shards in a way that guides Ferran's attempts.]

I don't recommend growing wings. It's a bad time.

... Plagues do take a while to burn out. But... heh. I don't plan on growing wings. If I do fly, it's on the back of a demon.

[Right. Right, focus.]

This place is weird enough. Though it's also better than my situation at home...

[Where's that next piece?]

[He would definitely take flying via demon versus that mess, even if he wasn't sure if he could trust it. He briefly wonders about the plague remark, but—well, the next sentiment feels like it explains that well enough.]

That doesn't seem like an uncommon feeling, from the people I've talked to.

[As Naoya looks for another shard, Ferran examines what they've put together so far. Now that these ones are together...]

It looks like this edge is smooth... maybe that's the end of it on this side? [They seem to be on the right track. It's only a matter of time before they restore this particular piece, at this rate. Maybe it'll even clear up by the time they're done?]

It might be. It's like a puzzle but with stupid sides.

[There's no notches on this one. It's frustrating.]

But yes, it seems like here is a lot better for many people. Fewer crises.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

{ when it snows }

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