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

[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."

[watchesthebeans]

"That's a thing that happens?" How alarming! Aglet's more relaxed now that she's Borrower-shaped, though he's still reluctant to let his guard down entirely. "No, I'm still back home. I mean, I'm at the shop -- it's not really home, but...."

[wildmage_daine]

"Happened to me," she says, as if that's all the proof he ought to need. She pulls her knees up to her chest and links her arms around them. "The shop?"

[watchesthebeans]

"The house got termites," says Aglet, wrinkling his nose at the memory as he reluctantly lets himself sit down a little ways from her. "Aunt Euphony said it was bad enough there might be an exterminator, so we went to stay with my cousins at the grocer's."

[wildmage_daine]

"Was it far to travel?" Daine asks curiously, wondering how they'd manage a trip of any great distance.

[watchesthebeans]

"Farther than I ever want to travel again," confirms Aglet. "Except we'll have to, if we go back."

[wildmage_daine]

"It's worth it, to go back home," Daine says, thinking of the return trip from Carthak. Neither boat ride had been especially pleasant, in part because a few of her companions hadn't been enjoying themselves (Alanna in particular), and in part because the only animals on the boat had been rats. Getting out of Carthak had still been an enormous relief, though.

[watchesthebeans]

"I guess." Aglet gives a little one-shouldered shrug. He does miss home -- he misses the familiar passages in the hall, and knowing the routines of all the Beans in the house. He doesn't know that he misses it being just him and his aunt, though. "Aunt Euphony says we might get some of our cousins to come back with us. If they won't go, though, I don't think we're going to go home at all."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine rests her chin on her knees and allows her head to tip sideways as she regards Aglet. She supposes Borrowers might not get so attached to places knowing that they might have to up and leave at any time. Sounds exhausting to her, though she does understand what it's like to have a 'home' she'd rather not return to.

"Do you have a lot of family?" she asks. She's noticed that he hasn't mentioned parents or siblings, but it sounds like he has quite an extended family. She's a bit jealous; it was only her, Ma, and Grandda, so when she'd lost them, she'd lost everyone.

[watchesthebeans]

Aglet shakes his head, then pauses and gives a confused little nod. "In a way? My cousins, they've got lots of people living together -- grandparents, parents, kids. Little kids, though. Back home, it was only me and Aunt Euphony, since I was little."