{ 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

[sagesurvivor]

[There's... something else to Aerith's reaction to that information, something that hits deeper than simple fretfulness for a lost young child, Sheik can tell that much, but what it is, exactly, he's not sure. His thoughts are too scattered to narrow in on the nature of the shift to her expression, and the question she asks a moment later is an interesting one, anyways.

Would she recognize him? He hadn't thought about it, honestly, too caught up in the idea of anyone else doing the recognizing, no matter how far-fetched it might be. Sheik quiets as he considers, his gaze falling to some indistinct point on the ground before continuing further to the tabard hanging over his chest.]

This... [He pulls a bit at the fabric, the stylized eye emblazoned upon it stretching disproportionately as he does.] She would recognize this before anything else, I think. It's something like a symbol of... protection, so to speak, and she would understand it as such.

[Though she might wonder why in Nayru's name there's a second person going around wearing the Eye of Truth, which may throw a wrench into Aerith's current assumptions about their relationship, but he'll burn that bridge when he gets to it.]

[inheritedearth]

[She nods steadily; one can almost see the wheels turning if they looked closely enough while Aerith brought a hand to rest against her chin, thoughtful.]

That's good, then, isn't it? A symbol of protection... she would know you're 'safe.'

[Kids back in the slums all had their own ways of determining who was a safe adult and who wasn't, but this one seemed fairly straightforward.]

I'm worried about her getting lost in here for good. We can't have people running around in the mirror realm forever, so the sooner we find her, the better. Though, if she's skittish—

[She presses her lips together as she looks up, then looks Sheik over once more.]

You are safe, aren't you? Someone she can trust?

[sagesurvivor]

[It's not that he stops listening to Aerith a moment later, but in the midst of his lightheadedness, her voice... grows distant in a way, as though she's speaking through a heavy wall—

(she could hear through the stone of the secret passageway running through the castle, dull and muffled but panicked voices screeching questions, orders, prayers, and Impa just kept running for the stables, refusing to stop or turn around for a single one)

—but she's watching him, almost suspiciously now, he thinks. He blinks, once, twice, mentally rewinding the past few seconds to process what she asked of him, and when he does... the ghost of a smile plays at his eyes, wistful and melancholy. He nods.]

... Yes. It is my duty to keep her safe above all else. It's... been some time, so she may not recognize me, but I swear to you that I mean her no harm.

[his self-loathing isn't that bad—]

[inheritedearth]

[Aerith says nothing for a few moments, studying his face hard— or what she can see of it— tipping her head to one side as she does so, considering.

Finally, she gives a single nod in response, letting out a soft noise of assent.]

I believe you. You feel honest to me.

[Simple as that. She extends a hand to him, inclining her head in the direction they'd both appeared to be turned towards a few minutes earlier.]

Let's get looking, shall we?

[sagesurvivor]

[It sends an uncomfortable chill down his spine, being stared at like that. Already dizzy from the effects of being stuck in this place, his nausea almost becomes too much to bear under the scrutinizing gaze he has come to fear while spending nearly a decade in disguise. But he is honest, in this way at least, and that’s enough for now, it seems. He sighs, tension melting from his shoulders, the drooping of his head also serving as a nod of agreement to her proposal.

Sheik leans forward, as if to follow— then leans further, too far, nearly stumbling if not for his hand rapidly reaching out for Aerith's. Taped and callused fingers clutch wrap around hers with a desperation he does not appreciate displaying, but of the options, he'd rather remain upright instead of spilled out upon the ground. He's not entirely unconvinced that he wouldn't shatter into a dozen pieces if he did, or worse yet, that the illusions he cloaks himself in would.]

... My apologies, but if I could ask for your support as well, just for a short while... It— It doesn't feel as though this realm agrees with me, truthfully.

[Of course such a chaotic place would be difficult for one blessed by a goddess of wisdom and law, which just makes this search all the more infuriating. Perhaps his past self is having an easier go of it.]

[inheritedearth]

[She lets out a muted sound of surprise as he startles her by grabbing her hand harder than she'd expected, almost stumbling, but she immediately reaches to steady him by grabbing hold of his shoulder, her brow furrowed.

This place was really getting to him, wasn't it? How many others were being effected in this way— and why wasn't she?

Questions for another time. For now, she only nods, shifting so that she can help him to put an arm around her shoulders and lean his weight against her.]

Of course. I might not look like much, but I'm sturdy enough. I'll help you through, okay? But—

[She presses her lips together for a moment, worried.]

Are you going to be okay? Maybe a little healing might help.

[sagesurvivor]

You... look like plenty.

[He argues, nonsensically, mostly for the sake of arguing something as she moves him around, and little else she says gives room for it. He doesn't like it, not being in complete control of himself in mind or in body, and he can count the people he's allowed to touch him in the last half decade on one hand and have fingers to spare. To be confronted with both discomforts at once is agonizing, but he has little in the way of choice.

Long, dusk-gold hair spills out over the arm Aerith steadies him with. He brushes it away, unthinking.]

... I do not know. [He admits, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. False bravado would feel better, certainly, but is just as likely to cause more problems later.] I am not... hurt, exactly. But I feel— scattered, almost. It's hard to describe.

[Especially without getting into issues of identity and so on. That can of worms is remaining vacuum sealed for now.]

I'm uncertain how much healing would help, but if you are offering... [It couldn't make things much worse, right?]

[inheritedearth]

I'm offering.

[She offers him a faint smile in response, reassuring.]

Maybe it won't help, but it can't hurt.

[By very definition, she figures. It's better than doing nothing at all.]

We're going to need you strong and focused if we're going to find this friend of yours. Here—

[She raises her free hand to reach for his forehead, but pauses before touching.]

You don't have to take anything off, but is it okay if I touch your face?

[sagesurvivor]

[His lips purse beneath his cowl, a tightness in his eyes as he watches her hovering hand swim in his blurring vision that suggests he would really rather she didn't, but... he tilts his head towards it following her question in quiet acceptance.]

If... you could perhaps explain what you're doing while you're doing it, that would be appreciated.

[It's a weak request, one that he doesn't entirely expect she'll follow up on, given the inclination towards intuition she'd displayed within the Ice Queen's nightmare (oh, he can remember that more clearly now, how nice), and who's to say he'd even be able to make sense of the way her magic works even if she does, but it would put his fracturing mind at ease, at least a little.]