songerein | { flower festival 2022 }

FLOWER FESTIVAL 2022

The three day Flower Festival has started and the town is covered in blooming flowers, music, smell of good food, and excited atmosphere. Full details on everything can be found here, but an important reminder that this event log doubles as our Test Drive Meme and information can be found in this section.

This means any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in April and will remain in Songerein for the rest of the month of April. However, outside characters can only thread within this log, so for those seriously considering the game, you are welcome to use non-festival prompts for your toplevels. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count April as their first month in the game, so all content will carry over.

IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.

TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open Sunday, April 24th and Applications will open on May 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle after won't be until July.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view)

Y'shtola (FFXIV)
Kotetsu Kaburagi (Tiger and Bunny)
Aerith Gainsborough (FFVII)
Nene Yashiro (Jibaku Shōnen Hanako-kun)
Isabela Madrigal (Encanto)
Rinwell (Tales of Arise)
Lumine (Genshin Impact)
Gran (Granblue Fantasy)
Sanji (One Piece)
Meilin "Mei" Lee (Turning Red)
Rob (The Amazing World of Gumball)
Akira Toya (Hikaru no Go)
Zhongli (Genshin Impact)
Yuuki Konno (Sword Art Online)
Kuja (FFIX)
Nice (Hamatora)
Peggy Carter (MCU)
Leo Valdez (Heroes of Olympus)
Snatcher (A Hat in Time)
Roland (Library of Ruina)
Son Gohan (Dragon Ball)
Gracious Skylark (OC)
Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Thancred Waters (FFXIV)
Izaya Orihara (Durarara!!)

I. FLOWER VIEWING

There are gardens and flowers everywhere, but the main central location for the flower viewing is around the eastern side of town between the treehouses and the outside fields. Here there are plenty of both open and shaded spaces anyone can take to sit back, have a picnic, and enjoy the flowers blooming in the trees and along the ground. Food stalls are stationed by the treehouses for anyone who needs a meal and they provide blankets and picnic baskets as well.

A. Flower Crowns. Can't enjoy a flower viewing without flower crowns! There's an abundance of flowers that can just be taken and used to make them, but there are folks who go around and pass some out for those unable to. Or perhaps flower pixies may "bless" people with special flower crowns, tailor made with flowers that match the individual's personality. Once worn, the flowers will reflect the mood of the wear and may even grow depending on how much positive emotion they soak up from the wearer. That crown may become more of a headdress.

B. Flower Serenade. Although it's meant to be a calm, relaxing affair, the flowers are drinking in the festive atmosphere and now have a tendency to sing their joy. They are especially drawn to any couples and will start to serenade them with…an assortment of "romantic" songs. Some may be persuaded via calm emotions to quiet down to a more melodious hum while others may be a little more obnoxious.

C. Flower Maze. In one of the fields, a special flower maze has been erected made of hedges and questionably large flowers, their petals spanning several feet in length. These flowers will move and shift, using their petals to create sudden dead ends and new openings to alter the paths through the maze. No pushing past! The petals will be resistant. If a couple is being particularly flirtatious, they'll curl out and drop down to form a kind of "flower curtain" with their petals surrounding the pair. Whether it's to give the couple privacy or to shield innocent eyes, who's to say. In this scenario the petals can be easily brushed away and the flower will lift up to return to its position.

II. ENTERTAINMENT

All along the market square and the riverbank, stores and booths line the streets to provide goods, food, and entertainment for all festival goers.

A. Music and Dance. In the Central Plaza near the Tree of Memories is a cleared off area with a stage platform set up. Here anyone is welcome to grab an instrument, the microphone, and start singing or playing music to entertain the crowds. The floor is open for anyone to dance along or even show off a special dance performance of their own. Flower petals will join along as well, swirling through the melodious winds and even taking on the shape of some of the music notes.

B. Game booths. Come one, come all! Try out the various carnival games on offer. The game booths can be found lining around the riverbank and while there are many, here are some of the more popular ones:

Pebble Toss. Use dreamotion to change the color of a pebble and toss it into a bucket of water. The bigger the effect on the water, the more points scored. Earn enough points to win a prize!
Goose Rings. Try to toss a ring around the neck of a goose sculpture. Which is, of course, magically enchanted to move around and dodge the rings. Being a goose, the sculpture is a bit of a jerk; it’s attuned to players’ dreamotion energy and will absolutely move around more as they get frustrated, so keeping one’s cool is important.
Bubble Pop! Use dreamotion darts to pop magical bubbles floating across a board. Can be played alone (score points by popping as many of one color as possible) or competitively (whoever pops the most of their color wins).
Flighty Flowers. Create colorful paper flowers and use them to craft a floating lantern. The higher and further the lantern flies, the bigger the prize earned. Or, if one is especially creative or creates especially colorful flowers, they may just win a big prize regardless of how high it flies. Players can keep their lanterns if they wish.
Smash! Toss balls at a series of bottles to try and knock them over. To keep with the theme of the festival, the bottles are tiny terrariums. Thanks to the magic of the festival,, the plants inside the bottles remain undisturbed no matter how many times they’re knocked over.
Swan Boat Races. Find a boating partner and participate in a timed race where you have to navigate through obstacles and try to post the fastest time with fewest penalties. Use dreamotion to get through obstacles like ramps, slow whirlpools that will cause the boat to spin in place, turbulent waters, etc. If not interested in the races, people are welcome to help paint and decorate the swan boats! They have to match the mood of the festival, after all.

III. TREE OF MEMORIES

At the center of town is a giant tree that is as tall as a clock tower and with giant books about as tall as a person hanging off its branches. There are a few attractions set up here and there are also some small owls that fly around and greet anyone who come by. They serve as the "guardians" of the tree, and should anyone try to harm it, they will converge together to form a giant owl to deal with them.

A. Dream Petals. As the Tree's petals fall, anyone who manages to catch one before it hits the ground will find their secret dream reflected on it. It could be something they are longing for or something they wish to keep from anyone. Once the dream's reflection is complete, it will remain on the petal and can be viewed at any time.

B. Dreamscape Rooms. Selected by the owls, a few of the books can be found lying open on the ground. Everything is blank—there are no titles, no words, no pictures. The owl will beckon anyone who wants a "fun adventure" to dreamwalk into the book and have an adventure through its pages. It could be any established fairy tale, folklore, myth, legend or perhaps something random. The "players" will be thrown into random roles for the story and will need to complete at least three objectives (which can be handwaved). There is a one hour time limit so if anyone is unable to get through the story, the owls will yank them (safely) out and the book will remain on the ground for another group to try their luck. If they succeed, the story will magically appear on its pages and the book will hang proudly on the tree's branches.

C. Soaring Butterflies. Ever wanted to just ride on something huge and enjoy the flight? There are giant butterflies that are large and strong enough to carry up to three people on their backs. These butterflies are actually local to Songerein and brought in by a native Fae. Whether that makes them more or less trustworthy is up to the character, but the butterflies are definitely frisky—and fast.

D. Book Cages. Sometimes something a little weird happens around the Tree. Black wispy energy will seep from the hanging books and they will suddenly drop down on unsuspecting visitors, especially anyone who has a lot of love in them. The book will open and the pages will fly out like walls and trap the victim before it transforms into a cage and hurls them back up high into the tree. Although unharmed, the prisoner will start feeling some of their feelings of love being drained away and making them more irritable and hateful towards things. It will be up to someone else to try and get them out. Fortunately it's not too difficult a task—just need to get up that tree somehow and break through the iron-paper bars. Some fire should do the trick. The problem is, it needs to be fire made from dreamotion and focused on some variant of love or loyalty. It doesn't have to be towards the prisoner at least, so anyone should be able to help. However, the tree seems intent in keeping the prisoner, so thorny vines will try and smack anyone away. The owls will also try to assist, but they're kind of small and useless and can't use their ultimate transformation to harm the tree. Maybe the Giant Butterflies might be useful?

IV. FINAL DAY

On the third and final day of the festival, the winners of the Flower King and Queen contest are announced. However, there's a huge surprise as everyone finds themselves in a costume. While all contest participants have their own "Royal Court" theme, everyone else will find themselves suddenly dressed like a flower. There are a lot of variations from elegant to downright silly. Best(?) of all, the costumes will stay on until sundown. While parts may be loosened, altered, and removed for a short period of time, the costume will refuse to be changed out of and any attempts will be futile.

A. Flower Power. While some may feel very…uncomfortable in their new "wardrobe," others are having a blast with the small powers that come with the costume. With just a wave of their hand flowers will appear and bloom, and they will leave a trail of flowers wherever they go. But most importantly, they have glitter pollen which is to help bring about love and joy to all! However, not everyone is enjoying the glitter all over the place and some are growing more irritable and hateful instead, which is twisting their own pollen to spread negative feelings instead. Help soothe the unhappy ones and clean up the mess!

B. Flowerworks. Once sundown hits and everyone is back to their usual attire, a call is made to announce the "Flowerworks" presentation and for all to gather out into the fields. The moment the sun is completely set and the stars appear in the strange, moonless sky, a light will shoot up and burst into a beautiful, flowery display. It's a fireworks show, but instead of using traditional fireworks, glowing flowers are sent up instead, their petals illuminating brightly as they drift harmlessly down to the crowds.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Well, he's probably expecting this when he makes the offer, but Sana (who is immediately looking at awe at an adorable stuffed cat on the top row) just as quickly shakes her head to negate the very generous suggestion. ]

That's very kind of you, but... I think you should win something for you. You're the one playing, after all.

[He follows her gaze right up to the top row and he feels a particular warmth bloom in his chest. She probably won't tell him outright that she wants something, but he's pretty sure he knows that look.]

Well, even if I won something for me, I'd probably just give it to you, or someone else I know. Not because I don't like any of the stuff. More because it's just something that I'd like to do.

[He's looking over the attraction itself. There's a line of relatively small bottles with patches of greenery within. A ball in hand and he realises that he can easily get carried away and possibly break something, which isn't really his intention here. All he has to do is knock stuff over, after all, or so it's been explained to him. But who knows how gentle Nier can be when he's excessively built the way he is.]

You wanna try with me? We can do this together, I bet. That way you're not feeling like I'm just doing it for you.

... My aim isn't all that good, but... I can try?

[ He's right, it's better than just watching him expectantly, waiting for him to earn her a prize she feels she didn't deserve. ]

But I think if you have someone else you'd like to give something to, you should aim for that. [ There's no way someone this nice doesn't have important people. ]

Isn't it better to at least try?

[Than not to. If one never tries, then they never know what they're capable of. Fear and uncertainty are great motivators to keep someone from branching out, but in his opinion, it's not the right way to go about things.

He smiles encouragingly and barks out a laugh.]

I offered to get one for you because I want to get one for you. Sure, I'll probably get stuff for some others I know, but right now, you're the one I want to get something for.

[He grins as he keeps an eye on her, as if it's so easy for him to talk to her as though she's the only person in the world who matters. At least for these moments.]

Nier-san...

[ Is she ever going to not feel overwhelmed by this man's kindness and generosity and patience? Signs point to no, honestly. Like this, it feels... a little easier to breathe, though it feels strange to relax while also feeling very very nervous. ]

You're so incredibly kind, aren't you?

I don't know about that.

[He's not always kind. He hasn't always been kind either. In the five years following the Shadowlord taking Yonah from him, he had become some a drastically hardened man. Remnants of that man still touch him now. Perhaps the only reason he can be this kind in this moment, in this place, to these people, is because he understands his part in that story came to an end the moment he gave himself up for Kainé.

Before he can fall into those thoughts, he grins.]

There's actually a young woman here who likes to tell me often that I'm too nice. Never lets me hear the end of it either. Maybe you've seen her. White hair. Bandaged up arm. Tends to wear this little light blue ensemble. Kind of swears a lot.

[Even as he's describing her, he can't help the flutters of joy that come being able to know they can be in this world together.]

Her name's Kainé, if that helps.

Oh!

[ Her eyes widen; clear recognition is very present. ]

Yes, I-- we've met. I mean, we fought golems together last month for a quest... she... um, she's a little scary, but...

[ She falters, shifting from foot to foot. ]

She was really understanding... about a lot of things. And she didn't seem to think I was a burden. I didn't know you two knew each other, though?

[It's evident that Sana does, in fact, know of Kainé. He looses a soft chuckle. Scary. It's an apt descriptor for her, isn't it? She'd probably take it with some pride.]

Kainé's a good woman. A lot of people find her a bit frightening, but don't let that get to you. She's reliable. You can depend on her. If, for some reason, you need something and I'm not available to get it for you, you can go to her.

[Yes, he's really volunteering Kainé for this. She'll love it. Maybe. Or she'll just come back to him later and yell. Wouldn't be the first time he's gotten under her skin.]

Kainé and I are from the same world. She helped me a lot. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.

[In more ways than one. Even then, he's understating just how valuable she is to him.]

Oh... really?

-- Um, not that I'm doubting you or anything, I'm not--

[ Help. ]

I just... didn't expect that. She must be really important to you. [ It also sounds like there's a story there. ]

Uh. Well, yeah. She is.

[Sometimes she's more important to him than he's sure he readily... realises. Not for lack of observation. Just that those kinds of conversations aren't the types he has regularly. Or even often enough to really give voice to.]

Guess you could say there's nothing I wouldn't do for her. But don't go tellin' her that. She doesn't like that kind of talk.

{ flower festival 2022 }

2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject