songerein | { stroke of midnight }

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{ stroke of midnight }

STROKE OF MIDNIGHT

Although the Masquerade is being held on the night of the Fourteenth, some new problems arise in the days after. This log is split into two sections, the Masquerade and Around Town. Everyone is free to participate in either or both, whichever catches your interest.

More details on everything can be found here and here. As a reminder, events double as our TDMs and information can be found here with arrival details here. Any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in February and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of February 14 through 28. TDM only characters can only thread within this log. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count February as their first time in the game without any disruption, so all content will carry over. Those who do not apply will disappear which should not seem too unusual, however players in game can choose to retcon and pretend a character was never there to begin with if it would be easier; or even think their presence was just a dream.

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 Wednesday, February 22nd and Applications will open on March 1. Our next cycle after won't be until JULY.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view, updated 02/22)

Avatar: The Legend of Korra - Korra
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Iroh
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Miriam
Chainsaw Man - Power
Dr. STONE - Dr. Senku Ishigami
Elsworld - Noah Ebalon (Nyx Pieta)
Final Fantasy VII - Cloud Strife
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Zack Fair
Final Fantasy XIV - Erichthonios
Final Fantasy XV - Noctis Lucis Caelum
Final Fantasy XV - Prompto Argentum
Genshin Impact - Shikanoin Heizou
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist - Solanaceae
Katekyou Hitman Reborn - Hayato Gokudera
Kingdom Hearts - Ienzo
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Link
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Sheik
Marvel Cinematic Universe - Kate Bishop
NieR: Automata - 9S
Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Jason Grace
Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Nico di Angelo
Persona 3: FES - Shinjiro Aragaki
SinoAlice - Sleeping Beauty
Tales of Arise - Shionne Vymer Imeris Daymore
Tales of Symphonia - Kratos Aurion
Tales of Symphonia - Martel Yggdrasil
Tales of Zestiria - Mikleo
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Sena
Your Wings and Mine - Shealtiel

We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.

I. MASQUERADE

It's time for the masquerade and the carriages will start arriving before sunset. Upon arrival, everyone who leaves the carriage (or mercilessly spat out if they try to resist) will be greeted by fairy godmothers with an eye for the most dramatic and extravagant fashion. It's a masquerade, after all! For those who already arrive with their outfits, the fairy godmothers may add a little embellishment here and or just change it completely if they think it could look better. For those who did not, they will create a whole new outfit that would fit the wearer perfectly—with magic of course. They will also create the masks and half of the glass slipper brooch that everyone will wear. The masks are enchanted so that regardless of obvious personality or physical traits, they are somehow unrecognizable at first. While it is possible to figure it out through interaction, or if it's someone they already know well, it's more likely they need to reveal their identity first. These outfits can be kept even after the masquerade is over.

A. Get in the Carriage. As the pegasus drawn carriages begin to arrive to transport those who have decided to attend the masquerade, there is some commotion from others. The pair of coach mice—who are only about four feet tall—can be found smiling and cheerily squeaking about the masquerade as they grab and literally throw protesting individuals into the carriage, whereupon the door will immediately shut behind them. Ho ho ho, it'll be such a grand time! Will anyone try to help the poor soul? Or perhaps help the mice? Maybe you're a struggling victim instead. Should anyone want to try and drive the carriage, they might have a chance…but good luck having the pegasi listen to them. Eventually the carriage will land and take them to the front of the castle where the masquerade is hosted.

B. Half of a Pair. Near the entrance, everyone is encouraged to pull out one or more of the shoe brooches contained in a large bowl. The rules are simple: 1) use the brooch to lead them to the person wearing the other half; 2) spend whatever time or activity with them, be it general socializing, a dance, a walk in the gardens; 3) keep the brooch or return it to a designated "Used" bowl. The brooches will absorb whatever kind of dreamotion energy is formed between the two, and the stronger it is, the brighter (if positive) or darker (if negative) it will glow. The interaction can be romantic, platonic, or hostile. For those who do happen to "click" and wish for some privacy, there are numerous terraces and balconies available. Some are public, but there are quite a few with curtains, so be sure to close them to signal the balcony is occupied!

C. Dancing in the Air. The main draw will be the dance floor, and the ballroom is wide and spacious to accommodate numerous pairs to dance to their hearts' content—the music is played by enchanted instruments so they'll keep going without much of a break! Of course, what makes this dance floor truly special is how it uses dreamotion energy to lift everyone up—literally. Pairs who are having a fun time may find themselves floating up and dancing in the air instead of on the ground. Somehow they can maintain some balance…but it's just as easy to lose it.

D. Royal Banquet. There are numerous tables one can use and be served an assortment of foods. In fact, one could make special requests and somehow the dragons serving will be able to make it, or at least as close as possible. One just has to imprint the idea of the dish onto a special card that the chefs will use to recreate it. There are also two bowls filled with special tear drop chocolates, one with only white, pink, and red, and the other filled with the other colors. The "game" is to randomly choose one from each bowl and share a kiss depending on what is picked.

E. Out in the Gardens. Every castle has extravagant gardens, and this one is no different. Filled with numerous pink, red, and white flowers, the gardens have their typical fare…with not so typical effects.

Extravagant mazes that one could easily get lost in are common, but what's special about these gardens is that the flowers will emit a soft, sweet scent that will feel as if they are walking through a dream. In fact, the section they are going through will begin to change to look like a place from their world and must now find their way out. When this change happens, only those who are in the area will be affected and no one else can enter the area until the main person affected gets out. Those inside can help, and there are no threats—it's all in simple fun…unless the place evokes certain memories and emotions for the person. Might not be as fun for them, then.
A crystal greenhouse where the temperature is perfectly warm (or cold!) and houses various different flowers. Here some may recognize flowers from their world, the scents also creating nostalgia. There are instructions left that indicate anyone can try to help grow the flowers. The key ingredient will be dreamotion energy, and should they succeed in creating a blossom, a small marble containing a symbol of their home. There are also special daisies that can be used to play the "they love me they love me not" game. If the last petal is "they love me," then become extra flirty and clingy. If it's "love me not," they become angry, jealous, and possessive. The effects only last for a short time…unless they keep plucking flowers.
The white fountain in the center of the gardens will have a bit of a musical playful side. It will splash colorful water at any who pass by, chime-like notes playing out as it does. But if one were to drop a flower that has absorbed positive dreamotion into its water, it will calm and let people sit to look and relax. There is also a strange frog wearing a crown that claims to be a prince. For those who believe its words that a kiss will free him from the curse, they will be sorely disappointed as nothing happens and the frog just laughs and hops away.

II. AROUND TOWN

A. Mask Up. Attracted by the masquerade, some enchanted masks have found their way to town and are now finding their way onto people, be it by tricking their victims to be put on or just forcibly latching themselves on. Depending on the type of mask, the wearer will behave based on a festive, dramatic emotion. While wearing the mask, the dreamotion that is projected is stronger. Examples are angry emotions will cause tremors and cracks on the ground, happiness could blind people or will cause confetti to fly everywhere, while sad ones will cause clouds and drizzling rain to appear overhead. The only way to remove it is to somehow make the other person feel the opposite of whatever emotion the mask is using. Once the mask’s emotion is countered and stabilized, it could be removed or even fall off if the countering emotion is strong enough. Masks can also be captured and collected before they attach to someone.

B. Special Messages. Throughout the month, valentine's are being delivered to people all over town. Some are even receiving some from the fae and dragons who live outside… Perhaps some caution should be had from those. Regardless, while the messages are brimming with both platonic and romantic (and questionable) love, the messengers are a bit… Well they need help.

Insightful Mockingbirds. Special mockingbirds are flying around and perch on random shoulders. They have the ability to "read" a person's thoughts and repeat them out loud. Without warning. Hope there aren't any secrets because that bird is going to make it public, especially if it's an observation or thought—good or bad—about another person. Good luck shooing it away, too—it'll stick around for a while because it might enjoy sowing this bit of chaos.
Arrow Delivery. The group from last year have decided to use their prank arrows for good and start a business in delivering special Valentine's messages via arrow. A "shot to the heart" in the less literal sense this time! While some of their archers are skilled, others are…less so. Some are hitting a bit too close to comfort or way off the mark. Some messages are going to the wrong person entirely. Help avoid, retrieve, or even deliver these messages around town.

C. Candy Kisses. A special assortment of flat bottomed, tear shaped chocolates are currently selling like hotcakes and can be found practically everywhere. Their main selling point is they come in different colors and each color has a special effect that will make the eater want to kiss the person near them in a certain way (see chart). Some people are deliberately swapping the wrappers around, so be careful!

D. Bleeding Hearts Return. It's Valentine's, yet Cupid is nowhere to be seen. That is because he's still corrupted from last year and now he's thirsting for love, any love. Using the Bleeding Hearts from last year, Cupid is using them to gather all that jealous, possessive love, but of course that's going to make it worse. We're not tackling Cupid here, but the main goal will be helping those who are afflicted by the Bleeding Hearts and purifying them via dreamotion instead of just destroying them. Purifying the Bleeding Hearts with pure love—romantic, platonic, familial, reminders of how they are loved and cared for by others—will help Cupid. Of course this could backfire and make the person feel worse, so be careful!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

PROLOGUE

Immediately upon ~~waking up~~ regaining awareness - Shinjiro was very aware that he was not dead, but should be.

What he was not aware of, was that he was effectively dreaming.

Shinjiro took a breath in - feeling his chest, feeling the scars ~~he imagined would be there~~ left from the two gunshots. They were healed ~~as he'd pictured them~~, and yet, the skin was still tight and stiff with dense scar tissue ~~since he could not let himself forget~~. His heart began to race; through practice, he took deep and even breaths. What. What was happening. Why was he alive, breathing - where was even here?

What was ... it looked like a Persona, some kinda fairy, what -

IA. GET IN THE CARRIGAGE, SHINJI

"Shit - what the hell do you think you're doing, asshole -" was the shouted, if muffled, curse from the man thrown headlong into a carriage. Shinjiro had been stuffed into a rather blue suit with a tiny little hat, with a bright blue domino mask to match. It's clear he's not happy about it - he immediately got up from the carriage floor and rattled the door. "Let me out!"

Shinjiro's shoulders slumped. "Damn it, it's locked."

Sighing, he turned to sit down, crossly, next to - who else had been kidnapped? He's assuming this is a kidnapping. Crossing his arms first, Shinjiro then stuffed them into his pockets, shoulders hunched and around his ears. He frowned, grouchy. "You got any idea what's goin on here?"

ID. CULINARY CURIOSITY

Despite every misgiving Shinjiro had about the entire situation - curiosity had him looking at the various tables people were dining at. The fact they could simply - write down whatever they wanted? And they'd, just. Try to make whatever it was? How, exactly, was it done? Some of the things people were requesting seemed ... exotic.

Of course, not everyone might really like some tall, brooding boy lurking and watching them eat, no matter how strange that food might seem to someone outside of their world.

Or, if someone is exploring around the castle themselves ... they might find Shinjiro skulking around, attempting to discover where the kitchens might be. (Or maybe it's just suspicious, seeing a guy like him poke around ...)

IE1. IN MISERY, THERE CAN BE BEAUTY

It apparently didn't matter that Shinjiro started this path through the garden merely trying to get away from the crowd. (Too many people, too many strange faces, too many unanswered questions.) Soon, instead, he's somehow twisting through the back alleys of Iwatodai, behind the subway stations and in between the strip malls. The air began to grow thicker with the smoke from cigarettes and aroma of food from street stalls.

But there was a lingering sense of dread as Shinjiro hunched down, a sick pit in his stomach. This no longer felt real. Was this proof that he was dreaming after all? Or was he finally waking up - and that trippy masked ball was the fantasy? Which would make sense, except, he's still wearing these stupid-assed clothes, and ...

Shinjiro pressed a white-gloved hand to his chest. He knows he's died. Didn't he?

Something shifts, and the sky turned a sickly green - the streets began to turn red with blood. This didn't bother him.

Seeing someone in front of him, unchanged, did. Operating under the assumption this was real after all, Shinjiro met the stranger's eyes and, "Shit. You're awake."

IIA. EVERY FACE A DIFFERENT SHADE

This wasn't very funny. Shinjiro was trying to get his bearings on this place - wandering around the streets, attempting to get a feel for the geography, learn where things were - like anybody would do. Right? Of course, that's before something weird flew up and latched itself onto his face.

He had no idea what it looked like, of course. Shinjiro hadn't passed by his reflection yet. He couldn't see the scowl permanently etched into the wood, an even greater exaggeration of his usual expression. How it made him seem a bit terrifying, permanently angry. But he could feel it, of course. How everything today seemed to be ticking him off. How each stranger's face made him want to tell them to go the hell away.

And above his head, most aggravating of all, was a black cloud flashing lightning and throwing around wind. Wouldn't anyone find that really, really goddamn annoying? Shinjiro thought it was not funny and he was not out of line for being fucking pissed. Waving an arm over his head didn't seem to make it go away, either ...

WILDCARD

(Want to party? He doesn't, but who's stopping us! Find Shinjiro around a punchbowl? Ask an awkward boy to dance? Hit me up over Discord or plurk if you'd like to plot!)

Gokudera isn’t expecting anyone else to get shoved in this carriage, and especially not someone he’s never met before. Then again, he didn’t recognize anyone when he was shoved in earlier. He’s dressed up in crimson, and busy taking something apart in his lap. A bomb?

“No idea. But I’m gonna destroy the lock. Get back.”

Gokudera moves past Shinjiro, puts a hand out to him to pretty much push him out of the way. He sticks the bomb to the handle, pulling out a lighter to take to the fuse. The miniature dynamite is as small as a firecracker.

Edited (Ugh html fail) 2023-02-15 15:53 (UTC)

You know, ordinarily, Shinjiro might question the wisdom of letting off even a small amount of explosive ordinance in a tiny, enclosed space. If this kid wasn't a stranger - if they had more than half a second to discuss it - but. Under the circumstances? No need to tell him twice, he's moving the fuck over to the other opposite side of the carriage car.

Several things seemed clear immediately. A guy didn't handle explosives like that if it's his first rodeo. And a guy didn't decide that bomb was the best solution unless bomb was the usual solution to a problem. So. Maybe he could trust him not to blow them both up.

Dying from a bullet sucked, but he's not really sure he'd choose getting blown up instead.

"Once that blows loose," Shinjiro said instead, because why wouldn't a bomb work? "the city I saw was to th' north."

In his mind, it was better to run that way than toward the middle of nowhere.

Bomb is Gokudera Hayato’s answer to most every problem. If it can’t be solved with explosives, he hardly attempts to solve. Usually, he’d just walk away from a problem like this, flip someone off, just wait to get out. But… he remembers distinctly that he had something important to do. So, he’s got to get out of here and figure out what he was supposed to be doing.

“Do you anything about it?” Pausing before he lights that fuse, but the lighter is still at the ready. Because he may just run to the North with this guy. There’s got to be some reason that he was shoved in this carriage with him.

Gokudera lights the fuse and turns away. Red/pink flames flutter out behind him and turn to bones (femurs, humeri, and many long bones in the human body). Those bones clack about and create a shield. But there’s no explosion, and the bone loops shrink, looking like bone bracelets that hover just over the floor by his shoes. The space is too cramped. With a groan, Gokudera’s turning back to see why the bombs aren’t going off. He even puts the open flame of his lighter right on them, but they don’t even catch.

“What the fuck?!” Okay… maybe he needs his arm cannon? Gokudera’s arm lights up in a gush of flame, and he’s got a nifty weapon strapped there, that is then gushing pink flames all over the door. But… doesn’t even leave a mark.

So he’s just standing there, armed to the tits with weapons, a little out of breath. He’s got more tricks up his sleeve, but isn’t looking to hurt himself or this other guy.

“Can’t you do something?!” He snaps over his shoulder at Shinjiro. Gokudera is a mess. Too many things happening all at once.

"Nope. Just got here. Wherever 'here' is."

Shinjiro wasn't squeamish - he thought that seeing the Dark Hour and fighting Shadows would readily cure anyone of that if they had that kind of problem - but bones were a bit goddamn freaky. Were they - protecting the carriage? Where the ever-loving hell were they? What the shit was even happening?

And that's before this kid pulled out ... was that some sort of gun? Cannon? It looked like it's from a comic book, he thought, but figured that with all he's seen Aigis do he shouldn't judge. He pressed against the back of the door while the flames did - absolutely nothing.

Grimacing, Shinjiro told him flatly, "If fire doesn't work, if a goddamned bomb doesn't work - there's nothing I can do without killing us both."

No, he's not going to summon Castor in here, even if he wanted to.

But he sighed, and pulled out a huge axe anyway. "Get back. I don't think this is gonna do jack shit, but we ain't got better options."

Edited (I can spel reel gud) 2023-02-15 16:40 (UTC)

Well, at least they’re on pretty equal footing on the whole ‘I’m wherever the hell I am’ situation. Gokudera huffs his frustration and backs up. There are still flames gushing from his arm, but they don’t even put out heat or damage anything. This is not the appropriate use of them, anyways. If he could stop getting so angry, he may be able to come with something more useful in this instance.

He listens and his eyes narrow. How can this guy be even sure they’re alive to begin with? Gokudera pinches himself, and yeah, that hurts. Fuck.

“Worth a try.” The bomber backs up, effectively switching positions with this other guy, and looking at that axe with a little bit of surprise. Gokudera’s entire weapon system is unlocked with his will, so he’s just smuggling a bunch of odd fiery stuff. The cannon and the bone loop both turn to flames and vanish somewhere back under his clothing.

“Good luck.”

Shinjiro Aragaki || Persona 3: FES || TDM

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It's all good!

cw: allusions to the SI discussed on October 4th in canon

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