【EVENT】 New Year's Wishful Dreaming

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Wishful Dreaming Event

On the Eve of the New Year, the city of Starsand is surprisingly quiet. For a place so eager to throw parties, you might think that the streets would be full of life. But instead, Starsand’s streets are quiet and it’s citizens shutting down shops early. In this city, the last night of the year is contemplative and quiet. Citizens might make their last shrine visits, but it’s uncommon to see them out past 11.

They say that it’s important to fall asleep before the New Year, because you want to treasure your first dream of the New Year. Supposedly it’s lucky and prophetic. If you write it down and remember it, that dream can even guide you to your greatest desire. And rumors are always good ideas in Starsand.

Sleep comes easy on this night. Characters will find themselves getting drowsy by 4am at the latest. When they do fall asleep, they fall into a deep and elaborate dream.

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OOC NOTES

The first dream of the New Year will show characters their wishes come true. They will get to enjoy the life they long for. But strangely, they may find other Fallen Stars wandering into their dreams. These encounters may shake them out of their dreamlike state and make them aware that the dream is just that: A dream. If the dreamer denies their dream or has doubts, then the dreamscape will fall apart into a nightmare before both dreamer and visitor wake up.

It is possible to have multiple dreams: Characters must wake between dreams, even if just briefly, then fall back asleep in order to change their dream. There can be multiple visitors before the dream ends for good.

On the morning of January 1st, all characters who had a dream will find a prismatic crystal clenched in the palm of their hands. The crystal will reflect the contents of their dream, so long as they hold the same wish. If they change wishes or lose faith, then the crystal will turn black and melt into Rumor goo.

NPC characters may reply to dreams with clues. Please indicate which characters you want to receive clues by putting a “*” in their toplevel title. You may request clues for up to 3 characters. Thank you for your help!

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Comments

[lunarcycles]

[ This is... a lot.

And the moment Kaguya finds herself in this room, she's already eyeing everything in it, trying to puzzle things together like she were in some sort of escape room.

But there seems to be some sort of theme going on here: music. As an unparalleled genius, of course Kaguya can read the sheets of music, although she can't say she's familiar with any of the songs to pin anything down. But let's start here - is there anything about any of the unfamiliar sheet music that seems off?

She'll make her move then. ]

[composalvation]

[It's nothing concrete, not like the song Kanade posted on Christmas or any of the completed songs in the collage. There are no lyrics or any particular notes about themes, but unlike the deep, raw sound that resonates in the proper songs, the unfinished ones seem to carry a muted loneliness in them.

Hunched over in her chair, with headphones snugly over her ears, Kanade doesn't even realize there's another person in the room.]

[lunarcycles]

[ Honestly, this should be none of her business. She isn't the vice president of a school anymore; she doesn't need to give advice to those in need of it. And she isn't like the president who can't help but be kind to others--she's a shrewd woman.

However.

Loneliness is something she understands too well.

After living a good many years of her life alone, she understood all too well. So this room... is familiar to her. Not in the sense that she recognizes it, no. But in the way where the walls feel like a cage. The voices outside recognizing that loneliness.

She supposes that given that she's stuck in this dream, she'll have to fix it.

And of course, being the rude girl that she is, she finally walks over to Kanade, where she's sitting and goes to yoink the headphones off her head. ]

[composalvation]

[Kanade is someone who, when so focused on what's in front of her, tends to tune everything else out. So of course she doesn't notice the presence behind her, nor the footsteps, until her headphones are unceremoniously yanked off. She lets out a startled yelp, hands darting up to try and pull them back down over her ears, but it's too late. She spins around, careful not to get tangled in the now-dangling cord of the headset, and- oh, a stranger.]

Ah- Hello?!

[HELLO MA'AM???]

[lunarcycles]

[ Kaguya debates on what kind of role she should be playing here. This is a dream, so hypothetically she can probably go crazy with the scenario here, and so what she ends up choosing is... ]

As your newly appointed Fairy Godmother, it's about time that you head outside and join them.

[ Yeah. This is what we're going with. ]

[composalvation]

[????]

F-Fairy Godmother???

[Her dreams aren't usually this... strange. Even the ones that tend to crop up when she's gone a few days without sleep usually just involve Miku or the other virtual singers popping up here and there.]

Them? [A pause. Ah, the voices...] Those are just... people outside. I don't need to join them.

[lunarcycles]

And whyever not?

[ She says strictly, planting one hand on her waist. ]

Is it not lonely being in a room like this?

[composalvation]

[I-Is this what it feels like to be on the bad end of Ena's judgement...?]

... A little, but... it's fine, really. [She's used to it.] It's not so bad when I can still talk to people online.

[lunarcycles]

[ ...

She's tired of being nice. There's a smile, but it's a dangerous, sharp one. ]

If you are lonely, even just a little, then it is not fine. So. We are leaving. Right now.

[ She'll even grab Kanade by the wrist to attempt to do just that. ]

There is a world of a difference between speaking to people online through applications like LINE versus seeing them in person.

[composalvation]

[Well, she's not wrong there. Spending time with Niigo offline versus on Nightcord was like... well. Night and day. But this-!

It's hard to tell if Kanade puts up a fight, but really, she's no match for a stiff breeze. Kaguya can easily grab hold of her too-thin wrist and pull her out of the chair, poor Kanade letting out another surprised squawk as she stumbles forward to avoid falling flat on her face.]

I'm not-! [she is, but it doesn't matter-] R-Really, everything's okay...!

[She says that, and yet... when they make it to the door, there's nothing. A hallway, but with no other doors, nothing on the walls, just stretching out into darkness without any hint of an end.]

[lunarcycles]

Stop being so stubborn. I'm not so blind as to be unaware that sort of feeling bleeds into the music sheets.

[ Certified actual genius who knows how to read music over here. ]

And if "everything's okay", then explain this.

[ Just. Gestures at the dark hallway. ]

[composalvation]

[There's a... conflicted look on Kanade's face, as she gazes out into the endless hallway beyond. There's a lack of surprise, like she knew there was nothing beyond her room, but a shadow still crosses her eyes, like the sight is making her heart sink.]

... I don't know why it looks like that.

[Well... that's only kind of a lie.]

But... I don't need to worry about that. All that's important to me is here.

[Her music. Her work. Nightcord. What else does she really need?]

[lunarcycles]

How annoyingly persistent. If you're saying that being here is what's truly important to you, then I'm not quite certain that you truly care about those things entirely in the first place.

[composalvation]

[Oh. Ow.]

W-What do you mean by that?

[lunarcycles]

Excuse me for being so blunt, but you cannot see the fruits of your labor being inside like this. You might be able to see the impacts through the news or the internet but you aren't experiencing it completely.

Isn't music meant to be enjoyed with others? You can't possibly experience all there is to music alone in a box like this.

[composalvation]

[What she's saying makes sense. Kanade completely understands that reasoning. She can so clearly remember now those trips to the park she and her parents took, the feeling of utter peace and contentment as she sat in her mother's arms while her father played the guitar. It was like flying, the feeling of being weightless and any sad or bad things surrounding her just crumbling away. She wants to be able to make people feel like that - she wants Mafuyu to be able to feel like that someday.

But...]

It's okay. I'm not doing this for me.

[Which is kind of a lie. A lot of her drive is still to find some reason to keep on living, but... she can't just openly admit that. Not yet.]

As long as others can enjoy my music... that's what matters first and foremost. Me being there is secondary compared to that.

[lunarcycles]

It doesn't sound like it's fine.

[ Kaguya's voice is quieter now, even if there's still something serious about it.

But then, Kanade continues and... ]

It sounds like you really don't care about yourself. Why?

[composalvation]

... I don't matter. Not to me.

[It's the easiest way to say it, without digging deeper into her own self-loathing. She hasn't cared about herself in over two years. She does the bare minimum when it comes to taking care of herself purely so others don't worry, and so she can keep functioning well enough to compose more music. That's all.]

[lunarcycles]

. . . .

[ There's a lot she could say here.

So instead, she counters with: ]

So you're going to disregard that you might matter to other people?