EVENT LOG: ENTER MR. SANDMAN (DREAMERS)

[inthenightmods]

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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Comments

[dadandgone]

Punches are good. Knowing how to get out of a bad situation even better.

[Never discredit that. Maes frowns thoughtfully and glances back into the building before looking back at the other two.]

Did you hear that? It sounds like a kid.

[He hadn't seen anyone in the brief time he'd had the door open.]

It looked like they were in the middle of construction or improvements of some kind if nothing else...could mean there's other entrances or openings that aren't usually there.

[He tries to recall what the town hall looked like from the inside, if he could remember anything about construction projects or parts that looked newer or remodeled at a different time separate from the rest of the building.]

[onlyeverdoubted]

You're right, it does. Better head that way first.

[Bodhi is contrary and all, but if there's a child playing alone in a construction site, he's concerned enough about that to cede the argument. Sure, hopefully there's quieter adult supervision, but even that would mean someone to ask questions.]

[inthenightmods]

[Fortunately, it looks like the construction itself is isolated to a space where a large statue ordinarily stands in the Town Hall they might recall. It's circled by sheets as if to prepare for an unveiling, but easy enough to peek into and see for themselves. The space around the area seems as if it's been functioning as it should; there's a faint sound of typewriting, a large city map on display over the front desk.]

[dadandgone]

[Maes takes in the area with the statue, the sound of typing, and eventually his eyes fall on the map itself. He considers his options, his focus should be on the kid, but since a child playing around a statue isn't immediately apparent, Maes makes a detour for the map.

After all, perhaps there will be someone near the obvious front desk area to speak with -- the lack of people is starting to remind him a little too much of the abandoned space station Astoria had sent them to that one time.

He wants to take in the map, but his eyes are flicking around the entrance for movement or people or both.]

[onlyeverdoubted]

[A bit more single-minded and distracted in a different direction, Bodhi wanders off on his own trajectory, content to mostly ignore his companion. If he were a kid, behind the big curtains is exactly where he'd go. He grabs a length of fabric and peeks under without paying his surroundings any attention.]

Hello?

[inthenightmods]

[When Bodhi peeks behind the curtain, he sees the gleaming dog-head statue. Unlike in the Town Hall of waking Beacon, this one has a placard beneath it. He can swear something, or someone, move around the other side of the statue and escape beneath the curtain just as he does.

Giggling, footsteps.

But Maes doesn't see anyone no matter how fast he looks. A door slams down the hallway where the statue busts line either side.

The map of Beacon...is a complete map of the entire town.]

i didn't want to assume maes could steal the map...so please let me know if maes can steal the map.

[dadandgone]

[Maes jerks at the sound of the slamming door, the push dagger he had drawn earlier resting on the tips of his fingers. He doesn't release it, though he comes close. He has to decide. Is he going to study this map, this COMPLETE map or is he going to go deeper and follow the sounds that are clearly trying to pull them away anyway.

Of course, there may be a third option. Maes eyes the map, trying to decide if it would be easy to take down and run off with.

If he could reasonably get it down in a few seconds and roll up to study later he will. If not, he's going to take a few minutes to study it anyway.]

Did you see someone?

[onlyeverdoubted]

Mm? Not yet. Hello? Hey, are you supposed to be in here? It... looks dangerous.

[It really doesn't, and as an actual child he'd have laughed, but his childhood was way too rich in bombings and collapsing ruined buildings to be a good point of comparison.

The best way out is always through. Bodhi heads in the direction of the flutter of dodging child, though he does glance at the placard on his way, hoping he can get anything there is to read at a glance.]

[inthenightmods]

[The plaque reads:

Woofington Von Bone
Beloved Mayor, Husband, Father
Funded by the citizens of Beacon in honor of his many accomplishments

Before Bodhi gets far, his foot falls on something--it looks like the child left something behind: a piece of colorful construction paper. There's writing on it, but it's way too messy to read from any amount of distance or at a glance.

Maes, meanwhile, will be able to take the map, though it'll take him a moment if that's what he decides to do: it's hung in a glass frame, but this can be removed. Either way, however he decides to study it, he'll see the following:

The harbor and village are easy to find. A medical center to the west. Downtown to the east. Furnaces, a farm, and a train station closer to the mountains.]

[dadandgone]

[If it's behind glass, he's not going to attempt to take it down as he doesn't want to lose Bodhi from the attempt. He does make note of these areas though because, hey, they could definitely use this information. After all, he has a good memory and if these correspond to places in the 'night' version of this place then maybe...maybe that will help.

Before Bodhi can get too far though he spins on his heel and follows the other man chasing after the voice.]

Hey wait up!

[As he catches up, he notices the colorful note on the ground.]

[onlyeverdoubted]

[A nice thing about being, as some would put it, "from space" is that Bodhi has no threshhold for weird. The placard beneath the statue and the person it represents both seem completely unremarkable to him, though he does try to commit the information to memory in case the name of a former mayor comes up.

He bends to pick up the note as Maes catches up.]

I think hiding from us is the game now. Still haven't spotted them.

[inthenightmods]

[When the two of them examine the paper, they'll find the following letter written in very, very young handwriting:

Dearest Paw,

Thank you for always keeping everybody safe and happy. We have all decided to be just like you and Maw when we grow up. Beacon will be just like it is now, and we will have big gold statues just like yours. Can there be three mayors, or do we have to draw straws? Barkley says he'd win because he's a boy, but Puppette and I say boof to that.

Love and Licks,
Pawlina, Puppette, Barkley

It looks like there's another piece of construction paper on the floor, at the start of the hall that the apparent-author disappeared down.]

[dadandgone]

[The letter definitely lends more credence to it being a child they are following. His eyes drift up from the one in their hand to the new piece of paper near the hallway.

Barkley and Puppette are mentioned in the letter. Maybe the child is shy.]

Pawlina? You dropped this.

[Of course, there's no guarantee it's Pawlina they are following. Maes begins making his way to the next note.]

[onlyeverdoubted]

[Bodhi follows a few steps behind, scanning their environment carefully. The place doesn't look as dangerous as he was afraid of, and he's beginning to be a bit edgy about two strange adults pursuing a child. But not enough to give up the angle if they might either find something out or get the kid located and returned.]

It's a very--

[He has no opinions about statues. What is this one besides big?]

Nice statue. That's your dad?

[Maybe giving the kid an angle for bragging at them will help.]

[inthenightmods]

[There's no vocal response, though once they've reached the second note, they'll see the doorway that she apparently disappeared through not too far off. This one reads:

Dearest Paw,

Maw seems sad all the time now. We all wish there was some way that we could help, but Puppette is too tired to get out of bed, even to sign her name to this letter. Why can't you ever leave the office anymore? Barkley and I were hoping we could come and help, so maybe you won't be so busy anymore. Every day when we return from school, we race home and hope to see you there, waiting.

Awaiting your response,
Pawlina and Barkley]

[dadandgone]

[It may be weird, but there also doesn't appear to be anyone else in this building with them. Except the statue and that wasn't running around laughing...as far as he could tell.

Still, their verbal cues didn't seem to do much and Maes turns his attention to the note.

This one is very different in tone and he can't help but wonder the date. Why would she have both of these letters?]

Maybe it's not Pawlina after all. I feel a bit intrusive reading these.

[They're starting to become a trail. Maes glances at Bodhi and then takes a step towards the doorway. He'll peek in, careful to keep his back to the wall and minimize his target. He feels ridiculous, but for some reason this chase and mounting tension reminds him of when Roy told him of another child to a leader who turned out not to be a child at all.]

[onlyeverdoubted]

[He frowns, struck himself by the difference in language, like it was written by an older child and not just a more distressed one. It seems much more likely that the recipient of the letters would have them both, but that didn't sound like an adult. (Though that's hard to say without knowing the species.)]

Even if it is, she's not answering us. Hopefully we find, well, someone, and not another letter.

[He follows readily enough, but without any physical hesitation. He's still more worried about this being socially awkward than anything else. He comes up straight on the door, though he stays a pace behind Maes.]

[inthenightmods]

[They find both, sort of.

And it feels like they're being watched. Are the eyes of those busts moving, or is it just a trick of the lighting? When they reach the door, another paper slides out from the bottom, as if someone is waiting on the other side. Waited for their footsteps.]

[dadandgone]

[Maes glances down at the paper, seconds away from trying to open the door. He hesitates, the hairs standing up on his neck. His eyes are completely on the door and the paper -- not on any busts that may line the hallway. He's focused and wanting to see this through to the end. Maes picks up the paper and unfolds it to read.]

[onlyeverdoubted]

[While the faint sense that this is creepy persists, Bodhi's seeing them as the creeps. But that one was pretty much shoved at them. Whether or not it's the kid or the parent or an older Pawlina dropping mementos of a long past, it... might be ruder not to read? He joins his companion to peer at the letter as best he can while respecting personal space.]

[inthenightmods]

[This letter is written in a hurried script. It almost isn't a letter at all.

Father please tell me what's happening. I don't understand. Mother hasn't come home and Puppette and Barkley are gone. You're all I have left but I don't know why, and nobody will let me get close enough to do more than hand off this letter. I'm so scared, I'm scared.

Everyone is acting strangely. People are gone, or they're angry, or they never leave their homes. My friends stay away from me now. They glare at me. I hear whispers about you that I don't understand. Nobody will explain.

Where are you?]

[dadandgone]

[Maes makes a thoughtful hum, his scowl deepening. He feels like he's being given very piece to a jigsaw puzzle. But all the pieces around it are missing, so he can't make sense of the picture. Is it the sky or the ocean piece? Or someone's blue shirt?

Looking back at the door he decides to step forward and he knocks, rather firmly yet politely.
If it was someone in the room, someone scared and alone now, he had to do something.]

Hello? Is someone in there? Maybe we can talk about this, offer some help or advice.

[He is careful not to promise help, he doesn't know what is going on or where they are either -- outside of being in the daylight version of Beaon -- but he has to try something to find out who is on the otherside of this door.

He glances out of the corner of his eye at Bodhi, curious if he'll add anything.]

[onlyeverdoubted]

[Bodhi frowns at the letter, struck by how... familiar it feels. Living in a place that's breaking down apparently comes with a few universals. He's only been in Beacon a few weeks, is still pretty shellshocked and hasn't figured out much of what's going on or what's still to be found out. This doesn't feel like a mystery to solve, just a few scraps of some small tragedy like any other.]

It seems like it would be, but just hiding out is one of the least, um, good options for... improving anything about the situation.

[inthenightmods]

[After a brief, heavy silence, the doorknob turns, and opens inward from the other side, slow and creaking. There's nobody standing there, but the floor is littered in papers--not like the notes from before, but flyers. One single flyer, covering the entire place. And at the end of the room, covered in the same flyer, other ornaments otherwise knocked over, a desk.

The mayor's desk. The chair behind it is turned away from them, but they can see a man's hands resting on the arms.]

[dadandgone]

[Maes watches the door slowly open, braced for either an upset child or an attack. Neither is there. He looks over to Bodhi.]

You staying out here?

[He doesn't know what to expect, no one is near the door and yet it opened. Should someone stay on this side in case things go badly? Maes hasn't tried to teleport since waking up in this place and he's not sure if it will work or not. He'll risk it though, since he does still have his knives ready to be pulled.

The paper crunches and slides under his shoes and he takes stock of what they say. No longer a note from a child, they remind him more of what he saw posted on the bulletin board out front.

His eyes trace along the room and eventually land on the hand resting on chair. Of course it's turned away. Before Maes gets too far into the office he decides to do the polite thing and knocks on the door jamb.]

Uh...Mr. Mayor? Are you busy, sir?