{ mirror mirror }

[dreamposts]

MIRROR MIRROR

With the sleepwalking curse over, everyone will have some time to rest and recuperate—until Jack Frost comes barging in with news of a clue on how to help his beloved Ice Queen who still remains asleep. The clue was the mirror shard that was in her chest, and there are theories that it may have been a fragment of a much stronger, powerful mirror she had been given some time ago. Problem is, he can't find it nor can he remember who gave it to her. He does, however, have a magic incantation that will allow people to enter mirrors and hopefully find a trace. Unfortunately, this horrendously backfires and we have mirror chaos instead. Dammit, Jack.

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

I. REVEREIN

II. MIRROR WORLD

COMMENTS

I. REVEREIN

It all begins in Reverein, where there's a strange shift in the air upon Jack's attempt to cast the spell. But instead of affecting just one mirror, it reflects off the surface and spreads out to the entire town, hitting every reflective surface instead. Ripples can be seen before the surfaces still, but it's too late. Every reflective surface—glass, mirror, window—is under a different effect because of the botched spell.

And some are being unwittingly pulled into them.

Fortunately It is possible to communicate and even watch people from the other side of the mirror, but it's only through certain mirrors and at certain times. It also will be temporary, so while one mirror might work one time, it may not work again.

A. Strange Reflections. While some mirrors may still reflect proper images, many will have…unusual changes.

🪞 You are what you see. Whether it's an odd hairstyle, change in skin color, or style of clothing in the reflection, suddenly the viewer will look exactly like what's reflected. The most extreme is a different form entirely.
🏡 Glimpses of home. Everyone will have a rare glimpse of their home world, and these can be instances from the past, present, or even a limited future. They are just reflections and cannot be interacted with, and future reflections may be blurry to prevent the person from seeing too much. For those who have memory issues, such visions will also be blurry, but perhaps they can help stir some things…
🔮 Most desired. Mirrors that have a bit of a pink hue to them will reflect the viewer's most desired "thing." It could be an object, person, place, or even a general idea. However, if not careful the viewer may become trapped in a trance and will need to be removed or smash the mirror.

B. Clone Wars. Mirrors that do not show any kind of reflection are to be quickly taken away and covered as it will begin to create duplicates in Reverein of what is reflected within it. Yes, even people, and they will be very obviously fake: wrong colors, different voices, odd behavior, etc. and will usually be harmless. These "clones" will continue to appear and multiply until the mirror has been covered, and will need to either be destroyed or captured and shoved into the mirror, where it will lose its "no reflection" status and become a proper mirror again…only for them to appear on the other side in Mirror World.

C. Mirrorsnatched. A mirror with a black rim has the chance of absorbing a significant personality trait or memory of the one looking into it, and when this happens, the person will walk away feeling very muddle-headed and off. The mirror will "keep" this part of the person and someone from the Mirror World side must find their essence and "shove" it back out onto any mirror surface so that the original owner can break the mirror and retrieve it. The downside of this method is that breaking a mirror means one less mirror those on the Mirror side can use, so they need to choose carefully.

D. The Unknown. Appearing in both the Mirror World and Reverein will be a strange mirror masked, black cloaked figure called "The Unknown." It traverses through the mirrors and through the walls, seeking those with happy reflections and will try to corrupt them with nightmares. People on both sides of the mirrors will be able to confront and try to stop the Unknown, though beware its chocolate attacks.

II. MIRROR WORLD

Everything in this "Mirror World" is, in a word, chaotic. Imagine an AI-generated monstrosity based off of Picasso, Escher, and Dr. Seuss, where everything seems to be upside down, backwards, colors everywhere and nowhere, and everything feels so fragmented that one step feels like walking towards the edge of a cliff. In a way it's nightmarish in an unusual sense, and those inside can feel that touch of "madness" that seeps through the cold air.

Beware the strange creatures in the Mirror World. They are grotesque monstrosities, many of them looking as if they were stitched together from different parts. Fortunately they are susceptible to weapons and dreamotion and those inside the Mirror World will find they are able to use different abilities, especially those with reflective properties.

A. Fragment of their old self. In order to get out of the Mirror World, those inside will need to catch a small fragment of themselves that has escaped and is running around. This fragment is actually a piece of their old self prior to arriving in Songerein. For some, this self may not be so different, but for long-time residents, they may seem a lot more different. To make things more interesting, this self can be from any point of the character's past. It just has to be a version of the character from before entering Songerein. This version will also appear "homesick" and "want" to return to their original home, regardless if the character actually feels that way. Thus the fragment will seek out mirrors that will reflect anything of their home world. Shattering these mirrors will weaken the fragment until it can be caught. But that's only half the challenge. If the fragment is injured, the original will also feel the damage but to a lesser degree. If the fragment is destroyed, then the original will be "knocked out" for a few seconds before a new fragment appears. However, this fragment will be much more distorted and worse than the one before.

B. Distorted Memories. At random points while traversing, characters may come across strange pockets of the world that they will feel drawn to. Following said instinct will lead them to a shifted landscape that will reflect images of home from different points in time (past, present, maybe even future) as if they've just walked right into it, but just like everything else, they are distorted. The changes can be as subtle as the wrong color of clothes, having too many limbs, to something major like the sky now being the ground. The only way out will either be destroying the anomalies or correcting them, and they will be rewarded with a mirror shard that will aid in their escape.


C. Warped Sense of Self. The longer a person stays within the Mirror World, the less "coherent" they will feel, and sometimes sound. Their memories will slowly become more disjointed, their personality feeling a bit "off", and they may even forget who they are or where they are from. Even their physical selves will start to twist and change, starting with something subtle (e.g. eye color) and then growing more drastic as time goes on (where did those extra fingers come from? Or why are they suddenly much shorter?) Finding those reflections of home will help with these anomalies, but those weak of heart be warned: the distortions may only exacerbate the issue and make them believe that they are the truth instead. Help anyone who might be caught in fixing these so that they can recover.


D. Finding an exit. To leave the world, those inside must find a mirror that will connect back to Reverein, and those on the other side can also try to help by posing as "anchors" for those inside to recognize. Otherwise, there are many mirrors in the Mirror World that will lead to different places within Songerein—presumably. However, perhaps due to the magic or needing something else, they will be unable to pass through any mirrors that are not connected to Reverein. This is where players have the fun opportunity to make up whatever kind of location or place the characters may see reflected on the mirrors. They could be existing locations in the game, or new ones that could be explored in the future. One unique place we can mention will be reflections of a city covered in night.

Only upon finding a mirror that leads back to Reverein, but they will also need help from the outside. Someone from within Reverein must also be there to physically reach in and pull them out—while hopefully not accidentally be pulled in themselves.

I. REVEREIN

II. MIRROR WORLD

COMMENTS

Comments

Hermes | Final Fantasy XIV

[not_42]

I-A: Glimpses of Home

Hermes, as a rule, didn't spend a lot of time looking into mirrors or other reflective surfaces. Nor was he especially big on window shopping. So why was he so fascinated by this particular shop window? Well if one paused to look at what it was currently displaying, that would become quite clear.

Instead of reflecting the Reverin street he's standing on or showing the wares for sale inside, it instead displays images of a collection of floating islands covered with beautiful gardens and art deco architecture and populated people in robes and masks identical to those worn by Hermes along with various fantastical creatures such as gryphons and strange plant creatures. It's easy to see how someone could be distracted by such images, playing out like a vibrantly colored silent film on the window glass, but Hermes looks almost... nostalgic. Or at least as much as possible when half of his face is hidden.

I-D: The Unknown

Catching a glimpse of a figure in black robes and a mask, Hermes at first thought it was another citizen of Etheirys standing behind him, but a closer look revealed that this was someone quite different; the mysterious and troublesome 'Unknown' who'd been harassing the citizens of Reverin. "Who are you?", he demanded of the entity. "And why are you troubling the people of Reverin?"

Dreamboard- Personal Raincloud

Sometime after the trouble with the mirrors has passed, one might find a very wet Hermes sitting on a park bench and looking rather defeated. Why is he all wet, despite it being a relatively clear day? Because there's a personal sized raincloud hovering above him, raining on him and only him. He doesn't seem very happy about it, but also seems to be somewhat at a loss as to what to do about it. Maybe someone could lend him a hand?

The Unknown

[grandduchess_anya]

Anya has been trying to figure what is causing all this chaos for a while now as she traverses around the town center when she finds two cloaked and masked figures staring at each other. She has heard about the Unknown for a while but she didn’t expect to run into it while it’s being confronted by Hermes.

And honestly, she would have done the same thing: asking it why it wants to harm the people of Reverein in the first place. But if she knows about shady figures like it from her time in Songerein, they would never easily give those answers freely. Pooka growls at the Unknown, sensing something evil in them and wanting to snap at its ankles furiously.

“It sure seems to be awfully quiet,” she informs Hermes as she tries to see if there are any weaknesses for them to use against the Unknown.

Re: The Unknown

[not_42]

"It does...", Hermes said. "Almost unnaturally so." Before there had been the distant sounds of people moving about, of early spring bird calls, of a light wind... But none of that was present now. Even the wind had fallen silent. Only their voices and Pooka's growling could be heard. The Unknown remained inscrutable, though he gave the definite impression that he was smirking.

"I know not what sort of game you're playing, but the people of Reverin do not find it amusing. You come from within the mirror world, yes? Should you return there peacefully, no harm will befall you."

[grandduchess_anya]

“Grrrr… Bark, bark, bark!”

“Pooka, be careful,” Anya informs her little dog, “We don’t know exactly what this hooded figure is capable of just yet. This cloaked masked figure might be up to no good so stay vigilant.”

Anya wished that she had brought her Vasilisa staff with her today but alas the timing wasn’t in her favor right now. So she will have to rely on her existing dreamotion abilities and skills to fight or subdue the Unknown.

[not_42]

As if to demonstrate the truth of Anya's words, the Unknown briefly shimmered, then vanished from on front of them... only to appear directly behind Anya. "Up to no good, am I...?", he said in a low voice, the smirk still in his tone as Hermes- and likely Anya as well- whirled to face him again. "And what proof do you have that I'm up to anything at all, good or bad?"

[grandduchess_anya]

“Well, from what I have been observing, you have been making a huge mess and causing so much grief to this town, what with you hopping between mirrors and trying to corrupt memories just for your own sick amusement. What else terrible folks like you would do?”

Anya couldn’t help but glaring back at the Unknown while Pooka tries to bark back at him and possibly even attempts to launch himself at the hooded figure to attack.

[not_42]

The Unknown snickered. "If you think the current state of the mirrors is my doing, girl, I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken," he said. "I merely... took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself."

Once again, the Unknown vanished, only to reappear just as abruptly off to one side. "And while I'll not deny that I enjoy my work, who are you to judge my actions? After all, where there is light, there will inevitably be shadow. And should one become overly dominant, well, who knows what may occur?"

Hermes frowned. "I know not who you are, but I know that you are certainly no Emissary, to pass such judgements," he said. "I believe that Anya has the right of it, and you're merely tormenting people for your own amusement."

The Unknown shrugged slightly. "Believe what you will, then. The true question is, as you're so convinced of my villainy, what do you intend to do about it?"

[grandduchess_anya]

“Then maybe you should stop asking us one too many rhetoric questions and throwing us off right now. You’re just trying to deny any and all responsibility of your actions,” Anya protested at the Unknown, “Oh heavens, you’re also trying too hard to be smarter than the next person in the room. Agh. You do hate being proved wrong, don’t you?”

She is so tempted to punch the hooded figure in the face, if he has any. Pooka growls back at him, now with more angry barks than a pack of irritated wolves.

Sorry again for even later tags. orz

[not_42]

"I deny nothing," the Unknown said. "I am one who walks in shadows and half-seen reflections because that is my nature. But ultimately, a mirror can only reflect all or part of what stands before it. If the citizens of Reverin dislike what they've seen recently, perhaps they should look to themselves, rather than laying the blame solely on me."

"But I see that you've come to find this conversation as tiresome as I do. I'll take my leave... for now." A wave of his hand and a shower of chocolate chips rained down from above them. Despite being hard enough to feel like small hailstones, they were unusually sticky, quickly getting stuck to hair, fur, and clothing. Thankfully it lasted only a moment or two, but when they looked back up, they would find the Unknown nowhere to be seen.

It’s all good no worries

[grandduchess_anya]

“Agh! Stop lying, you hooded annoying pain in the -” Anya grumbles before she and Hermes get caught up in the sticky chocolate gunk the Unknown has thrown at them.

Pooka is fuming mad, barking as he tries to free himself from the chocolate. At the same time he is very vulnerable too. Anyone with experience on caring for dogs would know that dogs and chocolates don’t get along well so Pooka is in danger of getting poisoned by the Unknown.

“Oh great, just great! That hooded fiend got away and got us covered in chocolate. Plus he might be this close to harming Pooka too.”

“Bark, bark, bark. Grr… Bark, bark, bark!”

[not_42]

Hermes scowled briefly at the spot the Unknown had just been occupying but quickly refocused his attention on the matter at hand. "Yes, as I understand it, chocolate can be harmful to many animals," he said. "We should likely focus on getting it out of his fur before seeing to ourselves." He crouched down and began suiting actions to words, carefully plucking chocolate chips out of Pooka's fur.

[grandduchess_anya]

Pooka is full of anxious energy as he desperately tries to shake off the chocolate chip out of his fur. Forget that horrendous Unknown who wants to shrug off responsibility for his own actioms right now, there is a dog to be saved.

“Right. Pooka is not liking getting coated in chocolate like that, we should get it all off his fur right away,” Anya agrees as she joins in the chocolate removal as sticky it can be.

[not_42]

"Be at ease, little one," Hermes said gently to Pooka as they worked to get the chocolate out of his fur. "The Unknown is gone, and you'll be free of this mess shortly." As much as he was angry at the Unknown for his antics, expressing such to the little dog would only make their task more difficult. When dealing with an agitated animal, it was generally best to remain calm.

Re: Hermes | Final Fantasy XIV

[uncle_iroh]

Dreamboard

Iroh allowed a small chuckle when he came upon his new friend in such a situation. "Did you annoy a Waterbender, my friend?" he asked, hands on his belly, amused.

[not_42]

Hermes looked up- thankfully the mask allowed him to do so without getting water in his eyes- and offered Iroh a faint smile. "If I did, I'm unaware of it," he said. "This cloud simply formed over my head earlier this morning and has thus far resisted all my attempts to dissipate it or shield myself from its effects. It's quite embarrassing to admit, but I'm somewhat at a loss as to how to proceed."

[uncle_iroh]

"Have you tried going indoors...?" Sometimes the simplest answers were the best, after all.

[not_42]

"If it were as simple as that, there would be no issue," he said. "Alas, the cloud follows me wherever I go. Thus I felt it best to remain outdoors until I find a solution to avoid damaging my own possessions or those of others." Not that he had many possessions of course, but still...

[uncle_iroh]

"Well, when one is given more water than one can use, perhaps that is simply the world's way of suggesting that one makes tea..."

[not_42]

"I fear any tea would become diluted by the rainwater ere I could drink it," he said. "Though I imagine a warming cup will be welcome once I've managed to dissipate it."

"It's clearly magically generated, so dissipating it should be a simple matter of altering its aetheric composition, turning its aspect away from water and towards wind. Yet it has resisted my every attempt to do so. Which is especially frustrating, as I'm ordinarily rather skilled with wind aspected magics."

[uncle_iroh]

"Perhaps we should find the Avatar," he suggested, wind making him think of it. "If something does not respond to the Element you can Bend, perhaps it will respond to another. But even if not, I can simply get you a cup with a lid for your tea."

[not_42]

Hermes didn't know who this 'Avatar' was but they sounded like someone rather important. "I would... rather not have this be their first impression of me," he said. "Dripping wet and seemingly unable to perform what should be basic magic. In any case, wind magics are merely my personal preference; I have attempted to alter its elemental aspect to all five other elements to no avail. Tipping its nature toward the umbral in hopes of rendering it static similarly failed."

[uncle_iroh]

He had been about to answer when something caught him. And he had to ask. "Dod you just say... five?" Was he counting... Spirit?

[not_42]

"Yes," Hermes said matter-of-factly. "There are six basic elemental aspects that aether can possess: earth, fire, wind, water, lightning, and ice. Likewise, there are two attributes that they can be attuned to: astral and umbral, which are sometimes also referred to as darkness and light, respectively. Astral refers to the forces of activity and growth, while umbral, conversely, refers to forces of stability and stasis. Each element can be lean either way but most are naturally drawn more towards one or the other."

[uncle_iroh]

"This is an odd dream indeed, for never have I imagined such a thing before. After all, ice is part of Water Bending, and Lighting the rare domain of a few well trained Fire Benders." A shake of his head, then a chuckle. "Do not tell my niece I said so, but an army of Lightning Benders sounds terrifying to an old man like me."

[not_42]

"I'm certain that in your world, that's true," Hermes said, "but in my own, I assure you that they are aetherically distinct from one another. For example, ice is far more umbrally aligned than water; indeed, of all the elements, it is the most inclined toward stasis. Whereas lightning, conversely, is the one most aligned to the astral; toward activity. Water and fire, meanwhile, are more neutrally aligned, though neither is purely so."

"If you would hold out your hands for a moment, I'll create for you a chart of the elements in my own world. I would simply form it in my own hand, but I fear the rain would ruin it." Even as he said this, the rain seemed to have lessened, albeit only slightly, though Hermes didn't seem to notice.