logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: ENTER MR. SANDMAN (DREAMERS)

Entry tags:

EVENT LOG: ENTER MR. SANDMAN (DREAMERS)

characters: all characters that signed up as a dreamer for the event.
location: dreamland feat. beacon of the past.
date/time: november 16-29.
content: the dreamers investigate beacon as it once was.
warnings: psychological/existential horror. further cws will arise depending on the location; mods will cw tags appropriately, and you will too!

say your prayers, little one.

Hello, dreamers. Welcome to Beacon.

Below, each group has a toplevel ready and waiting for the investigation to begin. Feel free to tag in however to establish a tag order, and mod responses will begin once each character has tagged in. If you need a refresher on how the event will work, give the OOC info another read!

As for those of you in the ~~sin bin~~ opt out area...

The Beacon of the past isn't all too different from the Beacon of the present, frankly, except for a few notable exceptions. For one, it's far better lit: daylight leaves everything feels a lot brighter and more sensible than eternal night does. Several advertisements for community theater in the Invincible are hung up (Tryouts for the Ice Man Cometh! Cometh try your luck!) and minor lost and found posters are tacked to a community bulletin board nearby. Oh, and a merry little tune is playing on loop from a record player set up outside the Invincible.

It's cheerful, if not a little off-putting. But the signs of life are clear, even if the forest still looks darkly oppressive over yonder.

Additionally, since investigation threads 1) rely on mod responses, and 2) will likely move on the slow side given the nature of the event/size of the groups, if you would like to have your characters "mingle" in their assigned location, please feel free to write your own toplevels! We ask that you post them as separate toplevels not in response to the mod toplevels (so our inboxes don't get super flooded/we don't accidentally miss stuff). Remember that groups may only interact with each other during the event, but you're welcome to assume timey-wimey shenanigans to excuse why your characters are mingling instead of searching for clues—they do have two weeks in this dream, technically, and dreams are not always linear. If your investigation thread has not yet progressed to a point in which you've got enough of a handle on the setting to write a separate mingle starter, ask the mod you're working with! We'll fill you in on some OOC details so you can mingle accordingly while still allowing for characters to discover those details ICly in the investigation thread.

If you're still jonesing for more threading action during the event, we encourage you to check out the TDM!

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[Matt is able to use his other senses as well as he'd normally be able to, but it doesn't seem like there's anything particularly troubling...or clarifying. Just the sound of the lake, of the train, of the barge, the ferries. Fish splashing in the water. The rustle of leaves in the wind from the distant forest. The crunching of sand under everyone's feet.

Eliot is able to summon his fire without any apparent trouble. In fact, it even looks the way it's supposed to: like a real flame! Amazing!

One of the empty ferries beaches itself in the sand.]

Edited 2019-11-18 23:20 (UTC)

( it's not that it's too bright, not really. it's just a lot to process when that sense has only offered fuzzy black for a good few decades. the hand on his shoulder, the concerned murmur, the reality that this is no time or place to lose it, forces Matt to try and relax. the comforting hand on his shoulder helps. whatever is happening, it's clearly far deeper and complicated than the hallucinations from a few weeks ago. )

A dream. ( that's both comforting, and not. because while Matt has never dreamed in pictures, that's an explanation, though not necessarily the most delightful of ones. it is far more to try and wrap his head around sudden eyesight — if this is a dream, there's no point in trying to overthink it.

it can't last forever. so there's probably a better use of his time.

slightly comforted by the senses he's used to still providing what he'd expect, he hesitantly takes in their surroundings again, and he can't help but look a little awed. yup, still not used to seeing. )

They've shared dreams before. Or... something like it. A little while ago, people were looking through the eyes of spirits when they dreamed. Maybe this is similar. ( only far more advanced. ) If they're trying to help, trying to show us something... then we have to figure out what.

[The fire gets a sidelong look. That's flashier magic than Stone is used to, but he can still mostly take it in stride. Groundling magic is always kind of weird.]

So we ought to look around. If you're gonna be okay, son. Stick close together, maybe, both of you.

[And there's... fish. Fish? The lake back in the current version of Beacon absolutely doesn't have fish in it. Stone gives Matt's shoulder a squeeze, then goes closer to the lakeshore, crouching to peer down. Maybe even holding a hand steady to flash down and grab a fish if he spots one.]

Whatever this dream is of, there's life in it.

[ the eyes of spirits? it sets a reference, even if this isn't quite the same. maybe it really is that the spirits intend to impart something by this. or they're just bored and messing with people. ]

Will do, Mushu. [ he says it mostly for himself, even though he gives his newfound dragon companion a small, lazy salute. ] Light's working correctly too, so.

If this is Beacon, which-- [ he turns on his heel to get a lay of the land behind them ] --it certainly seems likely, is it something real or imagined? And if real, a memory? Or. Precognition?

[ he pivots again, finishing a full 360 spin. ] It's almost hard to imagine people could have lived and worked here.

[Stone catches a fish out of the crystal clear water! It writhes, panicked, in his hand, the slippery little thing. Nearby, something else glints: in the ferry that's beached itself, it looks like there's a stack of metal sheets.]

I'll be fine.

( Matt hasn't clarified why he's being Weird, but does he have to? just let him have his baby panic attack over seeing things, he's earned it.

and he's masterfully suppressing it, anyway. while there's a big chance this could just be some new and unique method of torturing residents, there's also a chance they could learn something here. and he's not about to waste the opportunity freaking out about his eyeballs working. he's too practical for that. Matt has never met an emotional reaction he can't powerfully suppress to worry about later. he's fine. )

Beacon used to have a mining operation, way before things went dark. It makes sense all that had to leave somehow. ( he's never seen the dock where the ferry arrives, technically, though he's sensed enough to know it's not as grand as this. that, and the light, makes him think this might be some sort of bizarre flashback to the way things used to be. ) We should get closer. See if we can figure out anything. Does that ferry resemble the one we arrived in?

( Matt can't tell just looking at it. he'd have to go over there and use his other senses to know for sure. )

Well, since it's being so obvious about making itself available to us, I think we probably should. Does look similar, I suppose.

[Squirming in Stone's hand is literally fresh meat. Meat that hasn't been frozen, salted, or cooked. Even if this is a dream, Stone is going to stand up and sink his teeth (sharper than the average human's, even in groundling form) into the fish's spine to kill it, and then make an attempt at eating, if he can. Even while starting for the ferry making itself so easy to investigate, there.

Sorry, guys. He's basically half-feral compared to them: attempting to eat random dream-fish raw is just what you get out of him, sometimes.]

[ really, he doesn't find himself too surprised that a dragon would gobble down a fish, even though eliot is a tad tempted to ask if he needs a napkin. luckily for everyone else, a glint seems to flick into his sight from the ferry, so he's cut off by his own curiosity. his eyes stay locked to the point as he answers the others: ] Honestly? It's so dark in Beacon--well, now--I can't really tell? But. I guess it's similar too, yeah.

[ after a moment, there's the glint again, and he squints. his hand raises to dial back the sunlight hitting his eyes. angling to get a better look, he starts toward the beached ferry. ]

Are you guys seeing that? On the ferry. Sheet metal? Do you think it's from the processing plant?

[ but how the hell did it end up here? is the thing even manned?

eliot scans nearby, trying to gauge the best way aboard the vessel. ]

[It is similar, but smaller, more like a glorified rowboat. It shouldn't be hard to get in, since it's washed itself up to the beach. If they look more closely inside, they'll find a set of oars, as well.

Of course, it's impossible, but it seems to be urging them in, somehow. It would be so easy to push it back out onto the lake.]

( Matt is gifted at controlling his reactions. he still blinks placidly at tearing into a raw fish with one's bare teeth. that's sure something.

maybe it's commitment to his aesthetic, maybe Eliot is right and it's just too damn bright out here, maybe it's because Matt feels more comfortable making sense of their enviornment when he can retreat back to the senses he's used to. either way, he puts back on his sunglasses before he suggests, )

Let's go poke around. Maybe there's something on board.

[The fish isn't horrible-tasting or fake or anything, so far, so he keeps munching right down the fish's body until there's nothing left but a head-- which he also pops into his mouth and crunches contentedly. He's not actually making too much of a mess, almost daintily keeping blood from getting on his clothes, and using a too-long tongue to keep his face neat. His hand is gonna need a washin', though.

He stands on the shore while the other two climb aboard, holding the prow of the little boat with the non-bloody hand.]

I can hold it here so it doesn't drift off, if you want. Or else I can just shift big and haul it back to shore if it does, I suppose. It's almost small enough that I could pick up the whole thing.

[No, it's not, Stone.]

[ bones too? oof. eliot grimaces at the sound and ignores remarking in favor of stepping up and into the ferry. ]

They usually hold if they beach this way just because of the direction and momentum. [ ah, physics, a physical kid's best friend. since it's his core practice, he could easily bank the boat further himself, but with the oars set inside, it's almost like a boat shaped present asking to be taken out for a ride.

well, without the fancy bow like they put on cars in those commercials. also the car keys probably aren't left in those cars. ]

Either of you up for an afternoon boating excursion? I kind of feel like. Like something is out there. Or. [ wait, what? he shakes his head. why would he want to row out? the mining operation is connected by land. if they wanted to investigate that, it'd be easier by foot and make more sense to check that out instead of just shipping out into the water. ]

[But, it's interesting, isn't it? Those metal sheets in the boat...underneath, a container of nuts and bolts and other such useful construction materials. Not something that was likely meant for the mine. At least, it would be odd to put it on this little thing if it was meant for the mine.

It's sturdy enough, as well. Holds Eliot's weight just fine, and there's still room for Stone and Matt, as well.]

( yeah that's an oof for sure. he's glad it's over sooner rather than later — no matter how many times he's heard it, the crunching of bones doesn't do anything for him.

Matt doesn't see any reason not to climb into the boat, feeling a similar pull to explore it, and having no good reason not to. there's nobody manning it, or shooing them away. and it's a dream, or something close to it, right? shouldn't they try and find out as much as they can? )

There's something under the sheet metal. ( HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT MATTHEW, HUH? ? ? ? surely not bc he looked. because he sure didn't. between the shock of seeing stuff and the weirdness of the dream, he flat out says something he'll regret later. hopefully nobody is paying attention, or feels like hefting up sheet metal to fact check him. anyway, he glances skeptically toward shore, trying to spot anything they might want to scope out first. ) Should we check the shore first? ( he sounds skeptical because like Eliot, the obvious pull is to bon voyage into the water. )

[Stone doesn't question the comment. He doesn't ignore it either, though. He considers the boat, dipping his bloody hand into the water to rinse it off, then shrugs and follows the other two. He doesn't know how to steer a boat, but maybe they do, and after all, he can still swim or fly and get everyone back to shore if need be.]

Smells like more metal, to me. Maybe a slightly different kind. Do we care about metal in dream-Beacon? I'd think we should look for people. If there's fish, there might be people.

[ it's a little easier when someone else suggests it, something mutual to follow so he can better fight his way out of the strange draw he feels toward pushing the boat out and dipping the oars into the waters. ]

Yeah, maybe-- I mean, I don't know that finding people matters that much. In a dream? Usually dreams are more about learning things. Or remembering things. Even if, say, we are trapped here somehow, having more people would only cause more confusion.

[ he looks to his companions again briefly before stepping over to check under the metal. while he doesn't want to seem outright doubtful, he did arrive here from the year 2019, and fact checking seems to be a necessary part of daily life on Earth now. there is indeed something under the sheet metal.

eliot will remember that. ]

There's construction materials. [ mines aren't usually about those. mines are usually about bare minimum structures to prevent disturbing the earth too much, even while digging ridiculously large tunnels to acquire raw material. eliot can't imagine what they'd be used for directly. or why they would be on the boat.

he tries to see if there's any hint on the boat as to where it came from or why it has what it has. then he wants to hop off the boat and continue with that exploring the shore plan, assuming the boat doesn't lure his attention back somehow. ]

Edited 2019-11-21 04:15 (UTC)

[After assessing that the boat doesn't have any apparent markings or indication as to where it belongs, the three contemplate the shoreline. Certainly, it might be a less risky place to explore.

...except, all three of them find themselves inside the boat, needing to brace themselves or take a seat as it begins to drift away from where it had itself stranded in the sand.

Wait, when did that happen? When did they all get in the boat?]

I'd like to know why it's here, where it was supposedly going. If this really is the past, it might be something we can find when we get back.

( as for people, Matt would never say no to a gentle interrogation (it's a dream, maybe he wouldn't even have to feel guilty about mildly torturing someone), he just doesn't know it should be a priority. more of a "take advantage if it happens" sort of situation. in the end, they don't get much of a chance either way, as a blink later and they're all in the boat, headed away from shore.

well, that was unexpected.

there seemed to be plenty yet to explore on shore, though the choice is more or less made for them. the sudden jolt of a start is enough to make Matt stumble into a seat, whether he likes it or not. )

Great. Just... ( he stifles his annoyance at a dream yanking his chain around. ) I guess whoever is orchestrating this wants us to go this way. Now to decide whether we trust whoever that is.

( they could jump for the water and head for shore, though the being in the boat thing sort of indicates that's not where they're supposed to go. whoever and whatever was responsible for this, wanted them in the boat... it's just a complete tossup whether why it wanted them there was a good or a bad thing. )

[Stone rides out the jolt like he would a sudden burst of wind: arms out a little for balance, gripping at the wood with his bare toes, and scowling.]

If we feel like being contrary, I'm still pretty sure I could get us all back to shore. Unless this dream-magic keeps me from shapeshifting, I suppose.

[For now, he peers out over the water, looking for what they might be heading towards.]

Though if we're already on a ride, might as well see what's on the other side of Beacon's lake. Maybe find out if it's close enough for me to fly across it, in waking-Beacon.

[ damnit. dream magic, and powerful stuff at that. there wasn't even a chance for thought.

sighing, eliot settles into a seat easily enough, thankfully not really losing his faux physical bearings with the jump. he takes up the oars. just another row around brakebills. that's all, right? ]

If they can pull off what they just did, we may as well cooperate. We don't have to trust it, but fighting against this kind of thing where I'm from is usually the quickest way to getting your brain fried if you're not a psychic.

[ which is good enough reason for the stigma psychics faced at brakebills, but. anyway.

eliot presses the oars into the water, letting whatever is guiding them to also guide his direction. ]

Just try to remember as much as possible. In case we don't come back here. Any detail could be useful.

[ his gaze wanders back to the ore dock, trying to pick out anything he can manage that could prove useful. ]

[Ya'll just got picked up by a dreamboat.

Haha, get it? But it's like, literally a boat in a dream.

Anyway, nothing seems to stop Stone from doing whatever he thinks he needs to do. Now that the boat is in the water, that whole compulsion thing seems to chill. Like, the boat itself has totally chilled out.

But even better, is as they sail out farther on that calm, clear water, they get closer to other floating ferries. They all seem to be full of metallic construction supplies.]

( they did get picked up by a dreamboat. if only they could be excited about it, instead of mildly uncomfortable.

Matt ended up by one of the oars, and once they decide they might as well go with the flow (more boating puns!! yay!!!) and does what he can to help Eliot row. he's not exactly experienced with it, though he'll pick up fast.

as they near the other boats, his eyes narrow. they seem to be filled with similar supplies to their own. )

What could they have been hoping to build with all this? ( the scope of the project seems utterly massive. )

Don't ask me. My people live in giant trees, we don't build anything.

[Stone lets the two young people row, instead prowling carefully around the little boat to take in the scents, and then hopping up onto the prow to peer as far into the distance as his gaze will let him.]

Though I guess there's that portal thing that the Lighthouse Keeper said all our supplies come through. Don't suppose that's made out of metal, is it?

Maybe they're thinking about founding the Principality of Sealand.

[ haha. get it? because sealand's in the middle of the ocean? and it's mostly made of metal? ah. he needs a better audience. ]

Whatever it is, it makes the least sense that there's nobody here. [ a pause as realization strikes. ] Well, other than us.

[ another pause because what the hell. ]

You. Uh. You guys don't think this is what the dream wants us to do, right? Because that would be crazy. [ insert nervous laughter here. ]

[Stone won't be able to see anything. Looking forward, it's all just cool, sparkling water. Each and every boat holding its multitude of construction materials makes its way resolutely forward, just as they are.

But then, the boat begins to tip forward. Almost imperceptibly at first, but then faster, more abruptly, its path steep as it plunges into the water.

...or to what should be the water. But the water itself opens up, as if the lake itself was holding a secret doorway, a secret watery tunnel.]

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