songerein | { when it snows }

Entry tags:

{ 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

"... I'm not going to hurt you, and you aren't going to hurt me. So what can we do about this, eh?"

He grins a little bit, still a bit giddy from the laughter.

"... I could teleport your naked ass into a snow drift." He threatens, very, very mildly.

"You could. But you probably won't." Probably. "Or you could just tell me."

"Can't tell you about something that never happened."

And it is looking more and more like a great idea to teleport him into a snowbank naked. Not that Naoya cares too much about the naked part, but that is a lot of snow, and a lot of very sensitive exposed places.

"Mhm." This is just getting ridiculous at this point. He knows something happened, and he knows Kazuya is hiding it.

But it doesn't look like he's going to give it up now. ... His grip loosens slightly but doesn't release.

As long as he doesn't say what happened aloud, then it's like it never happened, or something.

He's going to take that losened grip to immediately pull himself up and away from the waters edge, eyeing Naoya warily. He'll find out somehow, some way, but it won't be from Kazuya himself.

He'll have to go question Kazuya's friends, in that case. He just sighs and sinks back into the water, grumbling softly.

"You're just making this harder on yourself."

"Literally have no clue what you're talking about."

And he won't make him break so easily.

"When do you plan on getting out of there anyway? You're going to get all wrinkly."

"When it stops being cold." Which it won't do any time soon. "If this is a dream why does snow have to be cold here?"

But he does at least pull himself back up again, looking back at Kazuya. "Are you sure you don't want a dip?"

"I'm already pretty toasty. Fire aspected, and all." He says, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

He also still doesn't trust the dragons, and it is incredibly uncool to fight naked, if the situation comes up.

"Fine, fine..." He grumbles under his breath and finally pulls himself out, wrapping his towel around him as he does. He shivers slightly in the cold and heads towards the changing room, careful to not slip on anything.

... Yeah, he's going to follow, because now that Naoya's not hanging around here, he has no reason to hang around either, though he does give one more long look at the dragons perched and lazing around before leaving.

He still doesn't trust them. He probably won't ever.

He redresses quickly and heads out to Kazuya, ruffling his hair as he passes him. "You're so suspicious... you can calm down, you know. It's not as if I'm helpless in a fight either."

If he's not worried he sees no reason why Kazuya should be.

He takes the hair ruffling, and then proceeds to flatten and smooth his hair back down. Rude, honestly.

"I know you're not. But that doesn't mean I can just leave you alone. What if you fall and break your hip?"

He's being a jerk, just for the sake of being a jerk.

"That's what the demons are for, to carry me to safety." Never mind that neither of his have hands. "You should be out making friends. Don't make me have to drag you around to introduce you to people."

He will treat Kazuya like a five year old, don't test him.

"You're forgetting I'm a demon too." And one contracted through more traditional means to hin at that.

"I have enough friends, thanks."

Well, he has some. A few. Okay, not many, and it does feel a little weird that Naoya of all people has more than him here, but honestly he hasn't been in a very friendly mood anyway lately.

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten." He can't - both between what Kazuya keeps reminding him and because of the years he spent designing this outcome.

'I have enough friends' is a blatant lie and he knows it. They both know it. He lets out a long breath and nudges his brother gently. "... Do you want to get something on the way home? We could get you some cake. Or coffee. Or whatever you want."

Almost anything. Not the souls of the innocent or something, but within reasonable boundaries.

He's nudged, and nudges Naoya back on reflex.

"Maybe some tea? It's been awhile since I've had some good tea..." Since... Well before the lockdown, honestly. Maybe the last time Yuzu was over? Or maybe when Atsuro was over, or both of them were at Naoya's.

He can't really remember.

"Tea? We can get some tea. I found a cute little tea shop the other day. They have sweets to go with it, but they're not overly sweet."

He slings an arm around Kazuya's shoulder and tugs him close. "We need to get you to be more relaxed. You're so tense lately..."

[Gross. Affection.

Kazuya, notably, does not shrug Naoya off, and there's no sensation of him feeding off of him when they touch like he normally does either. Instead he just nudges Naoya, leans into him heavy because this? This is a reprieve, and one he plans on taking, even if his cousin is being nosy and caring way too much.]

Maybe if you cared about yourself a little more, I wouldn't need to be so tense and high-strung all the time. It's your fault.

[He huffs and rolls his eyes.]

I do care about myself. I've been cutting down on energy drinks.

[Mostly because they seem hard to get here and he's not wasting a bauble on them. And he doesn't have a big project to work on.]

That's not what I meant, and you know it.

[You're killing him. You're killing him and it's impressive considering the fact that he's immortal.]

[Suffer. But actually don't because that would make him upset.]

I'm getting sleep, I'm eating, I haven't gotten sick again in a bit. What else do you want from me?

[ Every day hes suffering....

Kazuya sighs, big and performatice, and shakes his head.]

You're not getting anywhere near enough sleep, and your eating habits leave much to be desired.

[ Why does he feel like an exasperated parent when Naoya is his brother...? ]

... You know I don't like to sleep. And why.

[Even with sleep aids, the nightmares come.]

As for eating... I prefer quick foods. And it's not like there's a big project I can work on to get a lot of things to trade.

{ when it snows }

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)