【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

[spacialeyes]

Uh. Right, hey…

[Yuuto feels that dread returning. She looks paper thin, more like a photograph than a person. And yet, the world around them is four dimensional.

He waves back.]

What’s wrong? You’re…

You’re not okay, huh?

[dereban]

"What do you mean?

I'm fine."

I had to be.

[spacialeyes]

[Naturally unconvinced, Yuuto lowers his gaze briefly to the ground. If she’s not freaking out, then she must have accepted it. That’s almost worse than if she was panicking.

Before meeting her eye again, he takes a sweeping glance around the new shrine and the new world. Then he corrects his expression as much as he can when offering his hand. An offer that he retracts just as fast.]

Wanna go for a walk? You’ve got a lot to show me, huh..?

Unless you’re busy?

[dereban]

I shake my head.

"No, I'm not busy at all. There isn't really too much to show, though - the world wasn't change so dramatically that the structure's too different."

[spacialeyes]

You won’t know until you look around, right? Let’s go see.

[Mostly because he’s worried that Inaba might need a distraction. Even if it’s something very small to keep her from overthinking. They can talk more along the way, but he wants her to have plenty of excuses to disengage a conversation.]

It’s kind of weird to see the shrine gone. Are the others gone too?

[dereban]

"The shrines themselves are gone, although the people and spirits who were there aren't."

[spacialeyes]

So cool..! So they must have new houses somewhere… I guess that it would be weird to go looking for them!

[He chuckles softly. Yuuto isn’t going to mention the other relief that crosses his mind: How he won’t be born in this world and he won’t curse his family anymore. He would have no intention of seeking them out.

Instead, after swaying energetically, he points down the nearest path.]

Theeen- Let’s go~! We can get a treat to celebrate!

[!!!] Can you eat like that? Are you sure you’re okay? Is this a flu?

[dereban]

"Perhaps. But I didn't erase anyone's memories of the old world."

I shrug.

He's so energetic as always...

"I can eat just fine. This isn't the flu."

[spacialeyes]

Oh no~ I still have to repay my old debts then?

[Yuuto wants to trade and have fun, but there’s that narration again.

He hates it. He doesn’t want to see her feelings. He’d rather she told him herself.

Slowing down, he finally sighs in slight defeat.]

Well, it doesn’t look healthy… You’re not hurting, are you? How can we undo it..?

[dereban]

"I suppose."

I stop when he does, glancing at him with a confused look in my eyes.

"It's not painful."

Physically, at least.

"It can't be undone, though."

[spacialeyes]

[He didn’t need the narration to know that much. Yuuto steps closer and quiets his voice, since he still thinks this is a real world. If no one else is reacting to Inaba being flat, maybe no one else can see it.

He shakes his head.]

Can we talk about it? We can go somewhere quieter. Unless… a distraction is what you need, Inaba.

[That’s what the walk is for. He won’t be subtle or try to pretend otherwise. Worrying about his friend isn’t something to be ashamed of.]

[dereban]

"What is there to talk about?"

This was her true nature, after all.

[spacialeyes]

Why you’re making that face..?

[He keeps quiet, like it’s still a secret here.]

Because if it’s heavy on your mind, then I’m here to listen. You don’t have to feel like this alone. We’re friends.

[dereban]

"Huh?"

Was I making a making such a strange face? I hadn't noticed in the slightest bit.

"...I don't know, Yuuto."

I didn't want to talk about it.

It was too selfish of me. I didn't want him to about the truth that I was hiding. That I was pretending didn't exist this whole time.

[spacialeyes]

You still don’t trust me, huh?

[And he still wants to kick this narrator in the shins for giving away Inaba’s privacy this way.

Yuuto sorts his own thoughts in private. He knows that Inaba overthinks. She’s an expert at making herself stressed. If he can relieve that with a distraction, then that’s more important than knowing what’s going on. But it doesn’t sit well with him that she’s afraid.]

You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But I know. Whatever you say or whatever you’re thinking, the Inaba in front of me is my friend. I know that.

[And he turns to keep walking, if that’s what she wants.]

[dereban]

[ Hey, if you want to fight me one on one I sure ain't stopping it. ]

"That's not--"

Of course, I'd be hesitant.

Would he believe me? And if he did... what would he think about it?

About this?

I'm not real. That's why I'm like this.

[spacialeyes]

[1v1 him--

Yuuto bites his lip. It doesn't feel fair to be seeing her thoughts when Inaba's words suggest that she wants to hide them. He has to think hard about whether or not to acknowledge what he had just 'heard.'

He already knew that she was 'fictional.' They'd watched her anime, talked briefly about her having fans, and then decided it was too heavy for that moment. And he certainly has his own thoughts on the situation and his own similar experiences, what with his weird state of being. But none of that matters if Inaba doesn't want to talk about it.

So when he addresses her again, Yuuto uses his old tactics of softly hinting at an opening;]

You're my friend. Whatever you say, that's a fact. My feelings for you won't change. Okay? Whatever makes 'you' is important to me.

I won't leave you until you tell me to go away. Promise.

[dereban]

"Even if what makes [me], me is--another person?"

There.

She's said part of it.

[spacialeyes]

Hmmmm… Well…

Probably not..? Maybe I’m just weird, but if they’ve been here this whole time…

[He tilts his head.] It bothers you though, huh?

[dereban]

"What the hell is probably not supposed to mean? But yeah. They've been here this whole time. They're watching too, but they're not a presence that can be felt."

[spacialeyes]

Hmm, well… If they’ve been here this whole time and never introduced themselves, then that’s a little bit rude? But I could probably forgive them..?

[He shakes his head. He can worry about that later.

All in all, Yuuto is far too chill about this. He recognizes this too and subtly addresses it:]

It’s a lot to take in, mm. My brain isn’t really sure where to start.

[dereban]

"I don't think they can introduce themselves. That's why they have to use [me] as a medium to talk to any of you guys."

[spacialeyes]

I see… That sounds a bit lonely, huh..?

[He bows his head slightly, as if greeting the text now.]

How do you feel about them, Inaba?

[dereban]

"I don't know if they're lonely, to be honest."

I remember that Courier had spoken about there being a group of Narrators, after all.

On some online Discord server.

As for how I feel about them...

"I don't know. I don't know anything about them. Except for that one line that I've never forgotten, how they told me that my narrator likes me. They're probably just some weird old geezer NEET in their mid to late thirties that has some sort of gross obsession with me."

[spacialeyes]

I see, well… I don’t know if I’ll ever want to visit them myself. But having someone care about you is… nice, I guess?

[…]

Do you know what would happen if they let you go?