{ 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

[lethechained]

A frown flickered over the girl's face at the description of his world, her head tilted faintly with a concerned curiosity. Nevertheless, she held her tongue for the moment, opting instead to allow her smile to return in earnest as Gabriel's son was mentioned. Though she didn't say as much in quite the same words, the honest joy her expression might have made it clear how sweet she found such a notion.

"I hope he knows how much he means to you," she found herself saying - though she grew briefly shy thereafter. "That is - you seem like a kind father." And it'd be a shame for someone's heart not to be known by those they cared for, no matter how challenging they might have found it to express themselves.

But matters of guardians and children were hardly Naminé's forte, lacking parents as she did. Shifting in place for a beat, the lass let her eyes fall toward her own still-sleeping charge, then come back up again, growing more serious in the process.

"By the way, your world... I hope you don't mind me asking, but - what is it like?" Because she had to wonder, after a comment like that.

[papillion_de_resistance]

"I hope so to," Gabriel said, half to himself, before addressing Naminé more directly. "And thank you. I try to be." As much as he could, anyway.

The puppy in Gabriel's arms had also finally drifted foo to sleep by the time she asked him about his world; that was one of the many things- if not the only thing- that kept him from startling slightly at the question. Though he mentally scolded himself for such a reaction; it was him who'd mentioned it, after all. Her question was natural.

That didn't make the answer any easier or more pleasant, however. "My world is ruled by an evil being known as the Supreme," he said. "He rules the world with an iron fist, and under his rule any form of mutual aid is a crime. Even something as simple as what we're doing now would be illegal. It's a harsh, cold place, and has been so for so long that most have difficulty even conceiving of anything better."

[lethechained]

Offering a nod by way of, 'you're welcome...!' the lass smiled gently in response. That was usurped soon enough by the raise of her brows at his reaction to her inquiry; it might have crossed her mind then to retract the question, though she did ultimately elect not to.

But hearing the response only lifted her brows higher, then pressed them down with her perplexed frown. "That sounds--" Blinking as she realized it might be rude, Naminé nearly bit back her instinctive response, but-- shaking her head, in the end she finished her, "... awful."

He didn't seem the type to approve of such a situation, necessarily, so perhaps it wouldn't go amiss. Still frowning to herself, Naminé took a moment to try to process the repercussions of such a system. "In a place like that, wouldn't you get in trouble just for having friends...? So-- why would anyone want to live that way?" As Supreme overlord or otherwise.

[papillion_de_resistance]

He nodded solemnly at her assessment of his world. It was, as she'd described, awful in a great many ways. "I doubt that most people want to live that way," Gabriel said. "I certainly don't. But as I said, it's difficult for most people to conceive of how things could be different. And even those who can are afraid; the Supreme and his agents are powerful... and merciless."

"It is a bit more complicated than simply not having friends however." He considered a moment. How to describe it in simple terms? "Relationships that are necessary for society to continue exist, such as commerce, marriage, families to raise children, and yes, friendships. But nothing is meant to be done purely out of affection, kindness, or altruism. Any favor, any gesture of goodwill, is meant to come with strings attached. Whether it actually does, of course, can get somewhat muddled, but that's the basic idea."

[lethechained]

Eyes lowering, the girl considered this home of his as he described it further, her features sad despite the adorable view of the creature sleeping in her arms. Relationships still existed there, then, but in a twisted sense. The very notion made her feel ill just imagining it; to her, positive connections between people with true affection for one another were more or less sacred. "I knew that sometimes cruel people could gain power, but to make a whole world treat each other like that..."

What terrifying authority. Shaking her head contemplatively, "I don't understand what the... 'Supreme' would gain from it. Unless - it was some way of keeping power...?" That would certainly make some kind of sense, in her experience; fear did tend to keep people in line, as she knew well enough.

[papillion_de_resistance]

"It's exactly that," he said solemnly. "Those conditions make it extremely difficult to foment rebellion. When everyone is on edge and even the most innocuous gatherings can be suspect, organizing any kind of resistance would be challenging at best." As he knew from personal experience. "Divide and conquer. The Supreme relies on fear and despair to maintain his rule. And they are, unfortunately, rather effective."

"Still, even in such a world, I still managed to find a measure of happiness with my wife and son," he said, smiling a bit, solemnly. "And this world gives me hope that perhaps a better world is possible, even for one like mine." The kind of world his son deserved.

[lethechained]

The Supreme - the Superior. Did such men always have to take on titles like those? Naminé's crumpled features made no secret of her thoughts on those methods and the one employing them. "I suppose that's clever, if it works so well." But the words were suitably disapproving, despite the quiet acknowledgement of fact. "It seems like almost everyone who wants that kind of power winds up abusing it, when they get it."

In one way or another. Perhaps, though, she could not have said that she was better; she'd never desired power, but she'd used what she had been born with regardless, in the distant past. Out of desperation it might have been, yet the guilt lingered - although her mood was nevertheless visibly improved by Gabriel's further words. Similarly solemn but hopeful in her own right, the lass offered a tentative smile in return, one she intended to be encouraging.

"I'm sure it is - somehow. Yours isn't the only world out there that's in need of a hero, and... well, I've met quite a few, both here and elsewhere." So his hope, she figured, was justified. "Even when it felt like it would take a miracle, I've seen impossible things happen just the same."