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dreamposts ([personal profile] dreamposts) wrote in [community profile] songerein2024-03-11 01:52 am

{ mirror mirror }




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


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.

lestray: (Toby no!)

[personal profile] lestray 2024-06-09 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
No!

[She calls out in an attempt to stop the violence, but the arrows are fired. This is all going south so fast...

In the next moment, she catches that flash of color and looks towards him... Not sure what else to do, she fires off a canister of pink gas to try to make it harder for anyone to get hurt.]


Just quit it all already!
noblegarnet: (g: this isn't good)

[personal profile] noblegarnet 2024-06-13 07:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Ferran lets out a noise of surprise—his alarm at the firing of the weapon turns to confusion as his vision is rendered even more useless than it was in his search.]

Agh! What are you—

[Gina will then feel a bony hand around her forearm, though its owner remains largely invisible except for where the smoke moves around him. The fairy whispers to her, other voices seeming to echo underneath.]

Come with me. It's not safe!
lestray: (thinking)

[personal profile] lestray 2024-06-14 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Gina practically feels a chill as the bony hand touches her arm, and she tries looking towards the source, or what she can make out around the smoke at least. She answers in a quick whisper.]

Where're we s'posed to go now?
noblegarnet: (f: spidey senses tingling)

[personal profile] noblegarnet 2024-06-17 06:19 am (UTC)(link)
Away from him—I'll fly, let me carry you.

[Ferran, meanwhile, hears the edge of her whisper, and he can only aim his bow in the vague direction of the silhouette in the smoke. But Gina is there... he can't just start firing indiscriminately.]

I'm telling you, don't trust that thing!
lestray: (neutral)

[personal profile] lestray 2024-06-18 01:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[She narrows her eyes uncertainly as she considers her options. The fae offering to fly with her, the man urging her not to trust it... She really wants to try to settle things between the two of them peacefully, but peace doesn't seem like an option right now. She pauses, looking conflicted. The idea of flying away is tempting, but...]

...I dunno. Why don't you just make yerself scarce while you can? I'll keep tryin' to sort things out wiv 'im. I can't make 'eads of tails of all this the two of you got goin' on! [She can't run away when there's still answers to be uncovered.]
noblegarnet: (f: how could you)

[personal profile] noblegarnet 2024-06-18 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[For a moment, the hand tightens around her arm... but even if the instincts within the Fae call for him to steal her away, he's not so much the monster his future self claims him to be. He'll let go, but not until he's drawn her hand into both of his long-fingered ones for a brief second, leaving her with the strange magical tingling of a fairy blessing there.

Before his presence disappears out of the smoke entirely, the fairy leaves her with this:]


Please—be careful.

[A few arrows of red light fly over Gina into the air where the Fae was, but none of them meet their mark. Ferran curses at himself for his hesitation.]
lestray: (angry)

[personal profile] lestray 2024-06-19 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[She wasn't expecting a gesture that soft. She looks conflicted in the face of his words and his touch. Should she have gone with him?

That moment is disrupted when the arrows fly by her. Now Gina's fuming as she looks back towards the man.]


Enough!! You 'ad yer fun! 'E ain't 'urtin' no one!
noblegarnet: (f: gettin mad)

[personal profile] noblegarnet 2024-08-27 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
You think this is fun for me?!

[But just as the wild rage comes to his face, it leaves only a moment after.

Stop. Don't take it out on her, it's not her fault. Don't turn into that, not again. Don't prove it right.

Ferran shakes his head as if to force the outburst away, his jaw clenched, and his grip on his bow loosens.]


Remembering being that thing... I told myself I couldn't go through it again. But it keeps happening...!
lestray: (thinking coin)

[personal profile] lestray 2024-08-29 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[Her own anger subsides at his response. She just stares him down sullenly while listening to him.]

Sorry. It's clear now this ain't fun for you, but I don't think all thos shootin' is 'elpin' matters, an' I'm still tryin' to sort this mess out. I may be a detective, but there's only so much I can guess at. So that Fae, now yer sayin' that it's you? Or that it was you?
noblegarnet: (f: how could you)

[personal profile] noblegarnet 2024-08-30 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
I was pulled into another world like this before—but it made me into that thing. A monster called a Fae.

[The way he draws out made is meant, however subconsciously, to echo the drawn out and miserable process of his transformation. Though one of his hands moves away from his bow as his arms return to his sides, his fists both clench.]

There was an itch in my head, telling me I could do whatever I wanted. Steal, trick, terrorize. Hurt anyone who didn't follow my rules. And sometimes I—couldn't block it out. [Quieter:] Sometimes I still can't, when the nightmares here take over.

[He continues, raising his gaze to look at Gina with something between desperation and determination in his face.]

But now I finally have control, and I have to stop it. Before it does something we'll both regret!
lestray: (conflicted)

[personal profile] lestray 2024-08-31 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I... I see. I understand now.

[While she might not have ever been given a power like that before, she can definitely understand the allure of temptation. To put people who wronged her in their place, to take anything she wanted... She's not confident about her chances resisting that power. Gina believes him, which means that the Fae is the one in the wrong here. Although, she still can't completely agree with him. She looks back at him with a concerned frown.]

...We do gotta stop 'im. I do get that now. But if 'e's a part o' yerself... shouldn't there be a way to make peace wiv 'im wivout wipin' 'im out?
noblegarnet: (f: smad)

[personal profile] noblegarnet 2024-09-03 07:11 am (UTC)(link)
I can't.

[For as quickly as the words come out, his voice is nearly a whisper. Without the fairy in front of him to focus on as the source of his suffering, he has no choice but to acknowledge it as a weakness. He can tell himself it's for the sake of protecting people all he wants, but the truth is always there hiding underneath. He isn't strong enough to accept everything the Fae represents.]

How can I, when all I wanted at the end of that was to—

[He clenches his jaw shut. Diving into the ocean for that mission, where he knew he'd get infected with that near-fatal plague. Staying to watch the final explosion so close, only surviving through the magic of a greater creature. Sacrificing his last link to his family, because there wasn't much point in a memento for people you'd see again so soon. Returning, willingly, to a world where he was trapped with no way out.

He was so, so miserable.]


... He won't trust me, anyway.
Edited (hit the button ryoko) 2024-09-03 07:11 (UTC)
lestray: (silent)

[personal profile] lestray 2024-09-07 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[She hears him out. She listens to both his words, and what he doesn't say. It's clear that this is a heavy issue for him, even a tortuous one. All he wanted at the end... she can't imagine a pleasant outcome there.

It doesn't seem like there's an easy solution in general. But him just killing that part of him still doesn't feel right to her. Whether or not he likes it, that's still part of him. She mulls things over with a deep frown.]


...I get it. You don't want nuffin' to do wiv that part of you. To be like that again. But 'e still is a part o' you, even if it's a past part. Our past an' wot we regret, those are things we'll always carry wiv us. [Maybe that's what Gregson would say.]

I still think there's gotta be another way, an' maybe this is it. I... I could be your in-between. If 'e won't talk to you, maybe 'e'll talk to me. I can try to 'elp you to make peace... or we could try figurin' out another good solution from 'avin' a good ol' chin-wag wiv 'em.