(open) rough seas will be calm

[scythegun]

WHO: Jaeger (eventually) and you!
WHERE: Dreamscapes.
WHEN: 8/25.
WHAT: Dreamdives!
WARNINGS: Suicidal implications, threads are warned accordingly.

[You find yourself on a grassy plain. It's nighttime, and while this whole thing is probably incredibly surreal, the scenery is at least peaceful. You can see a dark building ahead of you.

If you look behind you, you'll notice that there's a large, thick forest. Listening for a moment will tell you that there's plenty of wildlife there, and it doesn't sound happy to see you. It's probably not a good idea to head that direction. But hey, if you really want to, there's nothing stopping you.

If you choose to approach the building, you'll hear the distant sound of waves crashing, but otherwise all is silent. It would almost be serene, if not for the ominous look of the building. It appears to be a very large manor. There are plenty of lights on inside despite the late hour, which gives you a little more light to see the building itself. For some reason there are massive chains decorating the left side of the building that don't actually seem to be there for any specific purpose, and above that are flags for... some reason. The whole thing is kind of an experience, and the gloomy atmosphere and isolated nature of the house probably aren't doing much to make you feel at ease.

Since the manor is most likely where you're headed, you might want to get a bit closer to the front door to check it out. Be careful, though - you won't be able to get too close without two guards spotting you. They're dressed in yellow uniforms complete with masks that hide the upper halves of their faces. They don't exactly look friendly; one of them has a crossbow in hand and the other has some kind of large daggers that look like they're attached to the back of his hands.

You'll find that there's a solid wall around the perimeter of the manor; you can hide here for a moment if you'd like. Climbing over the wall seems to be out of the question given the height of it and the spikes on top.

How do you want to proceed?]

Comments

[manufactured]

[WELL, THAT IS- ...honestly he has no shame about that whatsoever, though he probably should.

But yes, sure, this all looks business-related and as such he'll leave it alone; what else is in here?]

[scythegun]

[It's a very familiar item - it's your heart stone from earlier this year. It's exactly how you remember it, cracks and all.]

[manufactured]

[...Oh, that's... All right.

He'll actually take that with him for now; he's not comfortable leaving it here, and he knows Jaeger wouldn't leave it unattended for no reason. So it's coming with him for the time being.]

[scythegun]

[It seems it is a little different from your heart stone, actually - touching it brings with it a strong sense of love! So you probably want to pocket it or something.]

[manufactured]

[Definitely.

Is there anything else in this immediate area? He'll put everything back in the chest and close it up, except for the heart stone itself, which he pockets; he'll check the office in the back first, but if there's nothing there of note he'll go back out into the hall.]

[scythegun]

[Nothing else in the immediate area, no! Checking the office, though...

It isn't the office at all, actually. It's still a very familiar place, it's the study in your house! It's exactly as you remember it, and walking in will give you a sense of comfort and security.]

[manufactured]

[...It's going to give him a sense of being very wigged out, is what it is. Okay. Wow.

Admittedly, the comfort and security is nice, and he's not going to complain about that, but this is a bit unexpected and it kind of takes him a moment to really parse out what's happening here. Why this is here, of all places...

Is there anything immediately off about it? Anything like the chest from the shop.]

[scythegun]

[There isn't, actually, everything looks pretty much exactly as it should.

...Though it looks like something was left out on your desk.]

[manufactured]

[...Let's go see what it is, then.]

[scythegun]

[It's a cell phone! You'll definitely recognize it as Jaeger's.]

[manufactured]

[...He's going to have a fucking Inventory by the time this is done.

Is it on, and if it is, is it unlockable/can he access it at all?]

[scythegun]

[It's on, yes! You can access it easily, there's no lock screen or anything, because Jaeger's not allowed any privacy here.

What do you want to look at?]

[manufactured]

[What did he last have up? He won't invade privacy too much if he can help it, but he at least wants to see the previous apps he was using, in case there's something relevant there.]

[scythegun]

[It looks like he was last looking at text messages - specifically the ones to you. You'll immediately notice that they're not quite right, since these are definitely not the texts you guys last exchanged, instead they all look like they were sent from Jaeger.

...They're all really sappy sentiments such as the following:

I'm really happy I met you.
You've changed my life and the way I want to live.
I'm much happier than I ever was.
You make me want to try to be a better person.
I admire you; I wish I could be as strong as you.
I'll always be here for you.
I love you.

...You can scroll up if you'd like, but do you really want to risk seeing even more embarrassing things like this??]

[manufactured]

[Oh...

He'll turn the phone back off once he's seen those; he considers for a moment before pocketing that as well. Not near the heart stone, but somewhere reasonably close at hand.

Is there anything else he should take note of in here?]

[scythegun]

[Nope, you're good! Heading back out to the hallway, then?]

[manufactured]

[Yes, for now. Let's go.

...Once again verifying that that poor dude isn't dead. If he isn't and is still solidly out, let's go into one of those doors on the left, the one nearest by.]

[scythegun]

[He's still not dead! And still completely unconscious. You really knocked him out good, huh...

You'll find that this door is locked! Huh.]

[manufactured]

[...He won't kick it open like a savage. For now.

He'll check it over, though, to see what it looks like. Is it a standard lock, does it take a key, is it deadbolted from the inside...?]

[scythegun]

[Good question - it doesn't seem to have any way to lock it from this side, so there isn't any sort of key or way to open the lock from here.]

[manufactured]

[Duly noted.

All right, there's one other door besides this one, isn't there? Let's try that.]

[scythegun]

[That's right! This door leads you into another room that looks like it's part of the manor, thankfully. It is pretty strange though, given that it's a smaller room with no furniture - the main attraction here are the paintings on the walls.

Which wall do you want to start with? Left, right, straight ahead?]

[manufactured]

[Straight ahead, since it's the most immediately visible.]

[scythegun]

[Directly ahead of you is a large painting of two teenage girls. The red-haired girl looks serious while the green-haired girl has a bright smile on her face. The longer you stare at the painting, you'll start experiencing feelings that aren't exactly your own. Thankfully(?) they're rather muted, but you'll get a sense of familiarity and familial love, along with something darker and more difficult to place beneath it.

There are also blank canvases on this wall, like paintings might have been here once, but aren't any longer.

One of the smaller canvases isn't entirely blank, though. The painting's colors have faded significantly, but you can still make out a woman. Staring at this one gives you a dull sense of longing and loss.]

[manufactured]

[...He recognizes her. Jaeger drew her once, that's the woman he was in love with. The girls are presumably his daughters...

So, this entire room is probably going to feel weird and personal. Got it. He doesn't like the intrusive feelings, but they're bearable for now.

Let's try the wall to the left.]