【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

[composalvation]

[I'll be fine. I will be fine, in the future. It's a spot of hope, and Kanade wants to believe that Mafuyu can find her true self and some spark of happiness, but...]

... Are you fine now?

[applehearted]

I don't know.

[composalvation]

[That's not... good. It's not bad either, as it's so often Mafuyu's response when Kanade asks her questions on how she feels, but...

Honestly, it's making her nauseous.]

... I promised I'd use my music to save you. I promised I'd use it to make you smile, make you happy...

[Her grip on Mafuyu's wrist loosens, brushing past the severed remains of the marionette's strings on Mafuyu's wrist, so she can take her hand. She holds it tight; Kanade's grip can never be enough to hurt, with how frail she is, but it's still... noticeably more firm than it usually is. Like she's afraid to let go.]

And now I promise that I'll use it to drown out her words. You don't deserve to hear them.

[applehearted]

[ Mafuyu squeezes back, making sure to keep herself close, but she doesn't say anything more. All she can do is nod. ]

[composalvation]

[There's a new feeling in Kanade's chest that blooms as they walk. It's similar to that feeling she's now starting to identify thanks to Yuuto, but still... different. Warm, but a sharper sort of warmth.

... Hm. She'll have to think more on this later. For now, she has to focus. Are there any doors or hallways leading elsewhere? Anything that might catch her eye that seems out of place?]

[applehearted]

[ There are no doors.

However, there is one hallway--it's a long, long one but eventually it leads to an end. That end is not doors, however: what it is seems to be a computer, the monitor flickering.

If she looks at it, she'll see that the screen is devoid of any personality. A simple default background and a single, familiar file. ]

[composalvation]

[Hm. That catches her eye enough that she zeroes in on it. Her steps are careful, like she's listening for that voice again, but determined in how she moves forward. She will find the key to leading Mafuyu out of here.]

Ah..

[She leans closer to examine the computer. The file... what is it?]

[applehearted]

[ It's Kuyamu to Kaite Mirai.

It's clear what this means. ]

[composalvation]

[Of course. Kanade smiles past the pang of homesickness in her chest; it's been far too long since they've seen Miku and the others. The Sekai has always been the perfect escape, and there's no way that terrible voice can follow them there.]

... We can leave through here. [Kanade turns, back towards Mafuyu, and steps to the side just enough so that Mafuyu can approach the computer.] Do you want to play it?

[She wants to take Mafuyu out of this place, far away from her mother's voice. But she's not going to take this choice away from Mafuyu - she can't, after what she's just seen and heard.]

[applehearted]

[ Slowly, she nods. ]

...do you want to click it together?

[ She moves closer to the computer and places her hand on the mouse. ]

[composalvation]

[A nod.]

Mm. Of course.

[She reaches out, placing her hand over Mafuyu's on the mouse. (ah, they're close, don't think about that now-) She nudges it forward, hovering it over the file, and clicks.]

[applehearted]

[ And immediately after the click there's a blur--

And the dream fades into whiteness as it ends. ]

[composalvation]

[For a moment, the whiteness remains. Everything except that light fades - sound, feeling, weight - and Kanade feels one long moment of nothing. But then it fades, and as it fades, she feels herself sinking down. Her body settles, and she blinks once, twice - and then she's in her room. In her bed, for once, curled up under that warm, heavy blanket Mafuyu had given to her for Christmas.

Mafuyu.

It isn't often that Kanade remembers her whole dream so vividly, outside of her nightmares, but she can still so clearly feel that buzzing of nerves just under her skin. That dream had been... uncomfortable, in more ways than one, and if she's feeling that, then she can't imagine how her friend is feeling.

With some effort, she rolls out of that warm nest, barely getting her feet in her slippers before she heads out the door of her room and down the hall, stopping in front of Mafuyu's door.

... This is okay, right?]

Mafuyu?

[She knocks, firm but steady, but doesn't answer. No way she'd go in there without permission.]

[applehearted]

Come in-

[ It sounds a bit exhausted on her side of the door, but that's only because she's still kind of waking up. ]