Dream

**This article is about the character played by Erika Ishii from Misfits and Magic, Dream**.

For the article about the team name of player characters from The Unsleeping City & The Unsleeping City: Chapter II, see The Dream Team.

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* History; Relationships

## Karen Keiko Tanaka

* Misfits and Magic
* Holiday Special

* Pre-Episode 3
* Episode 3
* Episode 4

### Alias(es)

K (current preferred name)Dream (previous preferred name)

xX\_BrokenDream\_Xx (online username)

### Affiliation

The Magical Misfits Gowpenny Academy of Arcane Arts

 Chimeron

## Character Stats

### Charm

d6 (+1)
d8 (+1)
d12 (+1)

### Grit

d10 (+1)
d4 (+2)
d20 (+2)

### Familiar

Lilac wood; Pink diamond core(Princess Wand)

Blocker's Broom
Theodore

### Adversity Tokens

🟣🟣🟣 (🟣🟣)

> "*It's less bullying and more holding people accountable. In a very aggressive and effective manner.*"
> ― xXBrokenDreamXx
>
>

**Karen Keiko Tanaka**, also known as **K**, and previously known as **Dream** or **xXBrokenDreamXx**, is an American exchange student at Gowpenny Academy of Arcane Arts. She is in Chimeron.

## Description

> "*Karen is in her bedroom. There's posters of My Chemical Romance on the walls. There's a multi-monitor setup with all the RGB lights. She's currently typing furiously, responding angrily to some tweet from somebody else in the Steven Universe" community. [Aabria: "All I'm saying is, if the gems could be dudes, what would they look like?"] "Oh my god, no! It's total erasure of all these incredible female characters. I can't even..." And suddenly the owl slams into the window.*"
> ― Erika Ishii
>
>

### Personality

K is a very passionate individual and draws a lot of pleasure from things that are considered dark, tragic, and generally emo. She believes herself to be special and capable of incredibly dark and powerful magic, even if she hasn't been able to prove it yet. Her outlook towards dealing with interpersonal conflicts is to let one's self feel negative emotions like sadness and anger, to sit and examine those feelings, and then to gently let them go.

Despite this dark aesthetic, she openly enjoys lots of popular fantasy media, posting on forums and message boards, and even writing fanfiction (presumably under the name xXBrokenDreamXx). She as shown interest in several fandoms such as: Steven Universe; Harry Potter; Marvel's Wandavision; Sailor Moon; and more. She also enjoys My Chemical Romance and has several posters hanging on the walls in her room.

After the Scuppers game, K developed a personality similar to that of a stereotypical Disney Princess, having a friendly disposition and an angelic singing voice. However, during the tournament a few days later, K's personality once again changes, but this time it settles on a mix between the two previous personas they displayed in the past. Currently, K has been shown to be overall very kind, happy, and gleeful, but also very dark and terrifying (they also finally figured out how to do dark magic).

### Appearance

True to her emo soul, K wears lots of dark colors and has lots of piercings and tattoos, which her parents allowed her to get because they value her need for artistic expression.

After a Scuppers game about a month into the school year, she undergoes a transformation, changing the dark and brooding aspects of her outfit into a more pink, feminine, magical-girl-esque ensemble. Her hair also transforms, going from split-dyed with raccoon tails to long and luxurious, like what one might find in a hair care commercial.

A few days later, they have found somewhat of a balance between these two clashing aesthetics, wearing aspects of both outfits. The look consists of a lot of bright pink, but a lot of black as well, incorporating a puffy skirt, bows, chains, fishnets, what appears to be a petticoat, and fingerless gloves. Their hair has not been re-dyed, but it is shaved on one side, much like the hair of their player, Erika Ishii.

## Background

K lived with her parents, Janet and Maurice Tanaka, in Seattle, Washington before enrolling in Gowpenny Academy of Arcane Arts. They would occasionally have curry nights, which she promised they could still have when she visits.

She's always dreamed of being a dark witch with magical abilities and was very disappointed when she turned 11 years old and her Hogwarts letter did not arrive. Over the years, she's prayed to Lucifer in order to finally gain the abilities she always knew she deserved.

Sometime in her childhood, K met and befriended Sam Black, as they shared several interests. At one point, they both spent time on Sailor Moon online forums, until the forums were shut down.

## History

### The Chosen Ones

K is in a heated Twitter argument when an enormous owl, carrying a massive envelope in its beak, slams into her window. Having read Harry Potter, K is immediately thrilled. She enthusiastically throws open the window to let it in, and the owl is a little intimidated by her intensity. K posts online bragging about the letter before opening it.

The owl is half way through speaking the letter out loud, when her mother, whom she calls "Janet", knocks on her door to let her know her TV is a little loud. Concerned about the hostile response K gives, she enters and sees the owl sitting in the window. She believes that K rented the owl on the internet, which K denies (though she has definitely looked into it before), and Janet calls for her husband, Maurice. He shares a similar reaction as he enters the room and believes the letter to be a craft that K made, which he is very proud of.

K's parents continue to support her as she insists that she'll be going to magic school and that they can't stop her. She suggests several times they truly do not understand, and they admit they believe this behavior might be caused from bullying at school. After a brief discussion about K's online habits, they finally inspect the letter closer and the owl begins reading again, sparking a small breakdown in Janet.

K explains to them how much she wants this: all those years of praying to Lucifer and now it's paying off. But more importantly, she's felt different her entire life, which makes her unique and creative and deserving of this opportunity. When she explains that she would like them to respect her boundaries and allow her to go, they tackle her for a hug and tell her through tears to kill everyone if they make them forget her.

After she gets the letter signed, K crushes the pellet and appears in Vertiq Alley alongside the rest of the Magical Misfits: Sam Black, an old friend of hers; Whitney Jammer; Evan Kelmp. K asks if Sam still frequenting the Sailor Moon message boards. As the group discusses their pellets, Headmistress Boudicca Philtrum appears in front of them in a flash of blue and silver light. She greets them cheerfully and informs them that they're the school's first ever foreign exchange students.

When Evan asks if the textbooks and supplies will be comparably expensive to American textbooks, the Headmistress assures them that the school understands that they all come from Namp families, and will be provided with a stipend of wizard gold. Before she can get there, however, the group begins to protest the term, as it sounds even worse than "M\*ggle". The Headmistress tries in vain to stop them all from saying it, as they are no longer non-magical and are not allowed to say the word. As Jammer continues to say the M-word proudly over and over, the Headmistress casts a spell on him that magically seals his mouth shut.

The group discusses whether or not this course of action is technically corporal punishment since England doesn't have the same basic right to freedom of speech that the US does, and when Jammer's mouth unsticks, he complains about the old-British-sweets taste, mentioning he would have preferred a McDonald's dollar menu ice cream sweet instead. Confused by what McDonald's is, the Headmistress begins to explain that they'll have to work to unlearn some of the bad habits that they were raised into as Namps, until she gets distracted by Sam as she takes selfies with her cellphone. The Headmistress objects, saying that they'll also have to get used to not using their electronic devices, as they won't work inside the school.

Evan wonders what kind of services the school will be offering, and working off her knowledge of Harry Potter, K assumes they'll be getting their supplies and then going off to a whimsical academy to have grand adventures. She brings the well-known series up to the Headmistress when asked how she knows this, but Philtrum seems not to know what Harry Potter or movies are. When K attempts to get a baseline for what she does or doesn't know about, she brings up Billie Eilish, and the Headmistress points to Billy Frumpshire, a gnome walking by.

Before they can get off track any further, she provides them each with a pouch of 20 gold coins to spend on their school supplies, but it quickly gets off track again when she mentions it comes from a Namp fund. The conversation devolves yet again into attempting to gauge what words she does or doesn't know.

She reiterates the pilot program that they're a part of, but realizes that the more she explains, the weirder things get. She implores that there are lots of people counting on the group to show up and do what it is in their nature to do, then summons a small, ringing purple owl-- a clear reference to a telephone, as Evan points out-- to excuse herself for more pressing business. Before she can leave, she informs them that the three essential items for them to purchase are a wand, a broom, and a familiar. After a brief discussion with Evan, she turns to the rest of the group to bid them all farewell and teleports away mid-sentence.

With the Headmistress gone, Jammer turns to K for guidance, who knows everything there is to know about shopping for magical items. She suggests they get their wants first, since it's the instrument through which their magic will manifest. They make their way to Ace of Wands, a massive storefront reminiscent of a big box store. They approach with expectations of finding something personal, the thing that will induct them into the magical world, but instead open their eyes to find themselves facing out towards the street again, having completely forgotten their experience inside the store. Aabria asks the cast to look under their chairs where they find their own prop wands as she narrates how they each hold in their hands the same box containing identical plain wooden sticks.

K is understandably upset, while Evan simply compliments its construction as a dowel. Jammer and Sam flick their wands at each other to see if they work, and Jammer finds that his emits a small puff of basketball-scented baby powder. Realizing Jammer cast the spell almost inadvertently, Evan quickly repackages his wand and ties it shut with his belt. As the others notice this, he diverts their attention with a question about whether or not there's a McDonald's in Vertiq Alley. K complains that she wants to try all kinds of magical British sweets, and that he's probably the type of guy who just gets McDonald's whenever he travels. That is, until he admits he's never been outside of Iowa before and K truly comes to realize how sad of a person Evan is.

She brings this to his attention and he begins to cry a little until Jammer diffuses the situation to suggest they get their brooms. As he does, he feels his wand change in his hand-- the handle is now made of bamboo. Delighted that there was still a chance to get a snake or something dope on hers, K begins to wave her own wand in the air, to no avail. Sam draws a piece of lint out of her pocket and points her wand at it, successfully turning it into a delicious McDonald's sundae and causing the wand to turn slightly pinker. Evan compliments everyone's incredible magic work and offers to get rid of the sundae, but he eats it instead of magic-ing it away.

As the four of them stand in a weird circle in the middle of the street, they notice three other Gowpenny students watching them. The party walks over to greet them and the three introduce themselves as Tallulah Jillymont, Fergus Ponst, and Digsby Cooper. Tallulah is immediately condescending, insulting their 1st year skill level as 6th years and mocking their pride over their small spells. She offers help or advice should the group need it, and Jammer asks if there's any McDonald's. Tallulah turns to Fergus, who is just as confused as she is, until Digsby steps forward and explains that he used to be a non-magical person as well. He informs them that there are no McDonald's, but recommends the Knave's Navel if they're hungry as British food is much better than fast food.

The Magical Misfits begin to discuss amongst themselves how exciting it is to be studying abroad, and Jammer and Evan bond over both being from/never leaving the American Midwest as Tallulah grows ever impatient over their lack of attention towards her and her offer of help. Jammer lets her know they still need to acquire their brooms and familiars, and they are led to the broom shop, the Streaking Straw. On the way, they note to each other how weirdly rude the trio is being, and Sam compares them to the movie Mean Girls. Once inside the shop, Evan leans into the group to remark some more on how upset the trio is making him, and Jammer, K, and Sam take turns giving him advice on how to deal with it. None of it is in his wheelhouse.

In an attempt to summon the broom that is "right" for her, K lifts her wand and successfully casts a spell for the first time. To her dismay, however, the spell that erupts is a sparkly pink. The man who runs the store complains that she could have just walked down the aisle instead of using magic, until he realizes the four of them are Americans. He begins to talk down to them about wand safety until K protests, and Evan points out that the first wizard they met cast a spell on one of them within three minutes of their arrival. Jammer admits that it was because he kept saying "M\*ggle", and the shopkeeper explains that the movement to outlaw the use of the word is relatively recent, and they all have to do their part to stop the use of bad language.

Once the rest of them buy their brooms, they head outside and ask Tallulah if they'll need to take a drivers test of some kind before they're allowed to fly, but she tells them since they're 6th years, they won't be taking the usual 3rd year flying lessons, so they should be good to go.

Before they pick up the last necessary item on their shopping list, familiars, Evan asks K if she thinks they're going to need to provide food care for them as well. K begins to ask if he's asking because everything he cares for suffers and dies a horrible death, but dissolves into a wide smile and laughter before she can get to the end. Evan attempts to brush his feelings about the situation aside as he leads them to the pet shop, but as Jammer and K whisper that the answer has to be "yes", he overhears and has a small outburst in which he explains that they don't all die.

Jammer quickly notices that Evan is drawing unwanted attention, both from people looking on in shocked British propriety, but also from those who seem to have locked onto his frequency and are staring at him, unblinking. K is a little entranced as well and hears whispers in the crowd about a "Dark One". Jammer steps between Evan and the crowd to calm him and ushers him away towards the pet shop with both hands. The touch soothes him, and in the moment of connection between the two boys, Sam catches sight of something like a glowing tether form between them. Sam mentions this to them, but dues to the unspoken rules of masculinity they are unable to actively acknowledge the moment, so Jammer and Evan simply head off to get familiars.

The group heads to Merwyn's Minions, where they briefly discuss how most of the shops in Vertiq Alley seem to be alliterative. Sam considers changing her stream name to be alliterative too, in order to appeal to the viewers in this new country, and K suggests she could get something whimsical to add to her stream instead, like a walrus. Jammer asks the attendant at the front, Freya, but she reports they don't have any walruses. She then explains how the familiar-acquiring process works: customers walk through the area at the back of the store where something will be drawn to them, and whatever that may be, animal or not, is the familiar that they'll be charged for.

As Sam and Jammer both acquire their familiars, K soon notices a small chipmunk sitting on her shoulder which greets her in plain English. She struggles to understand how something so cute and not-edgy could be her familiar, and even sidles up to a boa constrictor to try and get her familiar to change. It asks for a name, and she begrudgingly names it Theodore. Evan attempts to reason with her that such a capable familiar is a good thing, but she insists that she does best scrutinizing other people and breaking them down into tropes. Frustrated with her turning the conversation back to him somehow, he walks into the enclosure.

All the animals immediately slam up against the walls and start spitting up blood. Another shop keeper steps in to investigate why Evan didn't attract a familiar. She puts a magical, prismatic shard up to his chest, and she steps back in shock when she sees his heart. She announces that he already has a familiar, his shadow, and amid resigned nods of confirmation from Evan, she points to the ground where everyone is casting shadows except him. She warns them to run if they see it and offers them a discount on their familiars if they leave her shop quickly.

Outside the store, Evan lets the group know that he knows that being near him is dangerous, and they don't have to hang around him if they don't want to. Sam reassures him that they do, as he's part of Team M\*ggle just like they are. Watching from the sidelines, Tallulah, Fergus, and Digsby warn them once again not to say that word. Thrilled at Evan's powerful display, K attempts to raise his spirits by telling him how exciting his dark power is, that it's brought them all together, and that they have a chance to nurture it.

## Relationships

### Janet and Maurice Tanaka

Janet and Maurice are K's loving, if somewhat ineffectual, parents. Both fairly well-off professors, they raised K to have a strong sense of self and the language to advocate for herself (and, later in life, to weaponize in her online "crusades"). While they don't entirely understand K's interests, they're supportive of their child almost to a fault - Janet was concerned about K's internet use, especially when she let slip just how aggressively she put people on blast online, but seemed reluctant to discipline her even then. K, on her part, genuinely loves her parents, and briefly cast aside her token teenage rebellion to reassure them that she would still visit after she left for Gowpenny. (*she/her pronouns used for clarity*)

### Sam Black

K and Sam were childhood friends and shared similar interests growing up. At one point, they both spent time on Sailor Moon online forums, until the forums were shut down. Sam seems to understand the reasons behind K's obsession with all things dark and edgy and is more often than not the one to rein her in when she starts to cross lines.

### Evan Kelmp

Evan's effectively more dark and sinister grapple on power coupled with his sad soft boy personality surrounded in tragedy gravitated K towards him. She romanticized his dark magic, while struggling with her sparkly pink magic that clashed with her aesthetic, which made Evan uncomfortable. He would make casual comments about his rather pathetic and lonely life, making her swoon almost even though that furthered his discomfort.

During the Scuppers tournament, she instinctively tried blocking an attack from Tallulah directed at Evan. Failing to bubble block, Evan gave in to the Eldritch beings that haunted him in order to save her from the devastating blast and teleported away. The pair, alongside the inky black shadows that possessed Evan, began a heart to heart where the newly transformed K admitted to her crush on him. She assisted in the dispelling of his curse, gave him a celebratory kiss to which he reciprocated happily and awkwardly.

## Trivia

* K's character is inspired by early 2000s online fandom culture among teens, the epitome of which many might consider to be showcased in *My Immortal*. It is a self-insert Harry Potter fanfiction featuring a teenaged emo girl named Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way as the main character.

## References

1. ↑ Adventuring Party (Season 5) Episode 3: Wet Fire (and Bad News Brooms)