I'll See You in My Dreams [WIDE-OPEN PARTY THREAD]

[applesaucemod]

Sometimes the rift only gives the denizens of Manhattan strange dreams. Sometimes, two people will find themselves together in the Dreaming. And other times? Other times, the Dreaming takes hold of dozens of people at once, throwing them all together into one shared mental space while they sleep.

Tonight is one of those nights -- what's more, the rift has outdone itself this time, telepathic tendrils reaching out through the rift into other universes to pull in even those who haven't been physically transported to this world...yet. You might meet a stranger from another world, or you might run into your next-door neighbor. You might notice right away that this isn't the waking world and that you are not alone, or you may drift through blissfully unaware that anything is out of the ordinary. You might not even remember this in the morning at all.

And that's probably going to be fortunate for at least a few people, because what you will notice is the overwhelming desire to get cozy with someone. It's chilly in this big house where you've found yourself, but luckily for you, there are beds, beanbags, and blankets galore, all of them just perfect for getting cuddly with your new friends. Consider yourself lucky that dream-world cameras can't upload photos to the real-world internet.


[It's a Dreaming party, and everyone is welcome! Tag a friend, tag a stranger, whatever! Everyone who's been pulled in will be feeling unusually friendly and cuddly, so get a-snuggling. Some characters (particularly those with strong telepathic defenses) may not be as strongly affected as others; the extent of the Dreaming's effect on each character is up to the mun's discretion.

Also, when we say everyone, we mean everyone. Non-members are welcome to tag into this post, so feel free to voice-test new characters here, and to invite friends who aren't in the game to come do some meeting and greeting. If you've come upon this post and aren't a member of this game, you are welcome to tag into this post.

For those who are familiar with the brbG parties, this is basically like that. Post a tag with your character's arrival and await replies. Time is bendy in here, so each character can have multiple replies/threads. Have fun!]

Comments

[wildmage_daine]

I'm not really a mouse, Daine reminds him, I'm only in mouse shape because it's smaller than my proper one. And I might not know much about being a Borrower, but I do know that if you're taking things that aren't yours with no mind to give them back, it's not borrowing, it's stealing. And Daine does not approve of thievery.

Maybe if you did ask a 'Bean' if you could have little things like buttons, they'd let you have them. She probably would, though she's irked enough with Aglet that she doesn't want to say as much.

[watchesthebeans]

"Well, I don't see what a Bean would know about borrowing!" Aglet snipes back. Stealing only happens when one Borrower takes from another -- or when one Bean takes from another, if he's being generous -- but Aglet knows better than to say so just now.

He glowers. "Or they'd set out traps."

[wildmage_daine]

Can't say I'd blame them, if all you're doing is taking their things, Daine sniffs. I suppose if you found out bugs were getting into your stores, you'd just let them have at it if they weren't taking much?

[watchesthebeans]

"We're not bugs!" Aglet feels his face grow hot. Why did he think a Bean would understand, even if she's pretending to be a mouse?

[wildmage_daine]

I didn't say you were! Daine snaps back, frustrated. There just aren't many other things that'd be Borrower-sized to you, are there? She makes herself take a few breaths before continuing in a calmer tone, All I'm saying is that you can't expect folk to thank you for stealing from them, no matter who--or how big--they are.

[watchesthebeans]

"It's not stealing, and I don't expect that!" Why is she being so unreasonable? It's not like he ever said the Beans should be grateful. "You're the one who's too dumb to realize they'd kill me if I tried talking to them!"

[wildmage_daine]

It is stealing, Daine insists, beginning to lose her temper, And I'm not dumb! She shifts into ermine shape and starts to pounce, but realizes midway through the motion that he'd probably just take it as her proving his point if she knocked him over, even if she didn't really hurt him. She twists herself back in a rapid, serpentine motion and crouches on the edge of the sofa arm, glaring at him. If you actually knew anything about Beans, you'd know you're no better than they are.

[watchesthebeans]

"It's no--!" Aglet starts to protest. Suddenly, though, he's not dealing with the oddly reassuring form of a mouse, but a giant, pouncing weasel-thing. He lets out a shriek and scrambles away on autopilot, feet getting caught in the blanket and tripping him up. He realizes she isn't on top of him only when he twists onto his back in what he knows will be a hopeless attempt to ward her off, and sees her poised a ways away from him. His little heart thudding, he stares at Daine as he very carefully gets back to his feet. "You don't understand," he says, voice shaky.

[wildmage_daine]

Explain it to me, then, she says, though she doubts he'll have much to say beyond the narrow-minded nonsense he's already been spouting. She settles into a less threatening pose, but keeps the ermine shape, too irked to make any greater effort to reassure him.

[watchesthebeans]

"It's just how it is," argues Aglet, still watching her, ready to run if she moves. He licks his lips nervously, trying to gather his thoughts and finding it difficult. "You talk to mice; do Beans get along with them?"

[wildmage_daine]

Some do, Daine says, thinking of Lady Maura. And those that don't might think differently if they could talk to mice like I can. She blinks at Aglet, perplexed. Do you really think that after talking to you, a human would try to trap you like they would a mouse?

[watchesthebeans]

"That's what they do," replies Aglet unhappily. "Everyone knows that. If a Borrower gets seen, the whole family has to move away."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine lets out a little sigh, then shrinks back down into her mouse shape. She supposes some folk might try to trap them, either because they thought they were dealing with mice (or some other tiny pest), or because they wanted to pop the Borrowers into cages and study them. That doesn't mean all humans would, but she's finding it hard to stay angry with someone so easily terrified.

I'm sure there are plenty of folk who wouldn't mind you living in their homes if you were honest about it. I wouldn't try to trap you.

[watchesthebeans]

One thing Daine might come to understand about Borrowers -- or at least about Aglet -- is that they're almost always at least a little bit scared. And wouldn't she be, if she were his size and had an angry ermine jumping at her?

"What if they did mind?" he asks, not trusting her enough to sit back down. "Even if they didn't trap us, what if they said no?"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine tilts her head. Then I suppose you'd have to move on. But wouldn't it be better to talk to them and maybe have to move on than just assume you'll have to because you were seen?

She can tell he's still on edge, and she considers her options. If she sort of blocks out everyone else at the party and concentrates on Aglet, she can almost pretend he's a normal two-legger and she's a giant mouse. Maybe she could take human shape, but small. If it's a dream, there's no reason it shouldn't work. Daine shuts her eyes, concentrating hard, and when she opens them, she's human, but Borrower-sized, feet sinking into the blanket beneath her as if she's standing on thick moss.

"That worked well," she muses, plucking a large, stray mouse hair off of her sleeve and trying not to feel ridiculous for not thinking of this earlier.

[watchesthebeans]

"We already had to move once," argues Aglet, thinking of the long, dangerous journey it had taken. It doesn't occur to him to point out how hard it is to move, since it seems self-evident to him.

He stares at the changed Daine, not sure what to make of her. "I didn't know you could do that," he says a bit stupidly.

[wildmage_daine]

"I couldn't, normally," Daine replies with a sheepish smile. "That's why it took me so long to think of it. But since we're dreaming, things are different." She casts a cautious glance around, reasonably confident that she isn't going to forget herself and grow back to her usual size. "Goodness. This is fair strange."

[watchesthebeans]

"We're dreaming?" Aglet hadn't caught that. "...I guess that explains why I'm here instead of home," he adds sheepishly, looking around the room. He's glad none of the other Beans have come by, now.

[wildmage_daine]

"You didn't know?" That explains a lot, actually. Granted, Daine's grasp on where she really is tends to come and go, but she might have tried to keep her temper if she'd known Aglet was unaware of things. "I'm sorry," she says, "I would've tried to be less scary."

[watchesthebeans]

"I wasn't scared." Aglet looks away, not actually that good at lying. "Does that mean I'm not really talking to you?"

[wildmage_daine]

Good question. Daine frowns. "I think... I think we must really be talking. I wouldn't dream about Borrowers."

[watchesthebeans]

"...I don't think I'd dream about a Bean who can turn into animals," says Aglet dubiously. He's dreamed about Beans before, but not really...talking to them. Not usually.

[wildmage_daine]

"So it's real," Daine decides with a nod. Then, "Have you come through the rift, too?"

[watchesthebeans]

Aglet's brow furrows in confusion, and he shakes his head. "What's a rift?"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine wrinkles her nose and flops down onto the blanket, enjoying the fluffiness. "It's like a hole in the world that takes you from your realm and dumps you in another one. You're lucky, if it hasn't gotten you."