dreamcrystals | open 💀 first recording

Entry tags:

open 💀 first recording | passive dream

Sender: Beat
To: Everyone
Subject: Passive Dream Recording
Warnings: Some spoilers for the OG The World Ends With You.

Whenever this time of the year came around, a sense of dread would bubble up deep within him. It would start in his stomach and slowly make its way up to his throat, settling itself there. It was uncomfortable and no matter what he'd do to try to gulp it down, it remained stuck.

This day was no different.

Beat seems to be a few years younger, wearing a slouchy beanie with a skull sewn onto it, his hair pulled back and tucked underneath it. His usual headphones are absent from his head. He’s dressed in a school uniform, but his surroundings do not depict him to be in any such place.

Instead, he wanders Shibuya aimlessly—riding down the streets of Dogenzaka on his skateboard, perusing new albums available in Tower Records, even just hanging out at the convenience store by the Moyai statue. Everywhere but where he was supposed to be.

He reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone, navigating his way to the unread message from someone named “Rhyme”.

Are you coming home soon?

A moment passes before he types up a reply:

ill head home when i feel like it

His message was cold and he knows it deep down. But he sends it anyway, tucking his phone away before he continues loitering about the city.

By nightfall, he finds himself staring up at a modest two-story home, standing just outside its gate. He doesn't know how much time has passed since he's gotten here, but he lets out a sigh, steeling himself for what was to come. The gate’s hinges creak slightly as he pushes it open, a plaque on the gate reading the family name “Bito”.

The lump in his throat still remains.

It isn’t before long that he finds himself standing in front of a Japanese man, dressed in business attire, his tie loose around his neck after a long day at work. To his side sits a rather tall woman with blond hair, an apron draped in front of her dress. He’s filled with dread once again, the pit in his stomach growing larger and deeper as a tightness begins to form in his chest.

Beat reaches out and hands over a card toward them. On it are his grades for the semester. They are well above the passing grade, but nothing spectacular. He knows they’re nothing spectacular. He knows he isn’t anything spectacular. Not in their eyes.

The expression on his face is hard to read as they go over his grades and Beat hasn’t said a single word throughout. His lips remain a straight line and his eyes appear to be downcast. Is it apathy? Is it fear?

He opens his mouth, ready to put himself down, ready to fight them. That’s how it always is after all.

“Good job, son.”

The words catch in his throat before they could leave him. Beat’s eyes widen and his mouth hangs open, staring at them. They look back at him with proud smiles on their faces.

“You did well, Daisukenojo,” said the man.

Beat recoils when he hears the name but doesn’t say anything at first. He continues to stare at them for a moment longer, dumbfounded by the turn of events. “Are you two serious?” he finally asks. His usual manner of speech is missing, but the same inflections and brash tone of his voice remain.

“Of course we’re serious.” This time it’s the woman who speaks, looking back at him incredulously. “You did your best, didn’t you? As long as you do that, we couldn’t be any prouder of you.”

The man stands from his seat and walks to Beat, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s eat out tonight to celebrate, all four of us. How does hot pot sound?”

Beat looks at the man, then the woman. Finally, the surprise on his face disappears and he lets out a laugh. His voice almost cracks when he speaks. “Yeah, hot pot sounds great, dad.”

He hears a quiet ring of a bell nearby. Turning towards the source, he sees a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes smiling at him, a bell pendant hanging from a leather strap around her neck. He smiles back at her, blinking back the tears that begin to pool at the edge of his eyes.

And then he wakes.

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[Had it been when he first woke up, he probably would've said that he was fine. But hasn't been able to sleep a wink since he woke up, scared of what he might dream of again. Especially after that.

But even while awake, the quiet stillness of his room and lack of distraction allowed for those same invasive thoughts to stir in his mind.]

u know what yeah
id be down to hang

[It takes a moment for him to respond again, this time because "down to hang" isn't a phrase he's ever heard in his life. What does that even mean?? He just sort of goes with it after a moment, Beat can't mean that literally. It must be some sort of expression. He hopes.]

Plaza or beach?

[He had met Link on the beach. It might take longer to get there, but the walk might actually do him some good.]

ill see ya on the beach

[Beat takes his time heading out to the beach, illuminated by the light of the two moons as he made his way over. He takes a seat somewhere by the shore, leaning his elbows on his knees.

During instances of darkness, when the clouds move to obscure the moons, Beat lights a small mote of flame in his hand through dreamotion. The fire burns brightly after being charged from the dream. Beat can't help but click his tongue, dousing the flame, preferring to sit in darkness instead.

While the flame was up, it casted long shadows on the beach, its like a beacon for anyone who approaches to see.]

[His thoughts linger on the girl with the bell. A quiet smile, a feeling of belonging... It's not real, of course -- even if it had been, those thoughts belong to Beat, not him, and he uses the walk to sort those out. To separate them, before they begin to feel like a loss.

A flicker in the distance catches his eye, drawing his attention away from the emptiness of his missing memories. He follows the shadow stretching out over the sand, finding Beat at the source just a little while after he extinguishes the flame.]

That was quite a trick.

[Having the hood of his jacket up, Beat didn't see Link until he speaks. He turns to the voice as soon as he hears it, nodding at Link once he's close. He appreciated the offer to meet all the way out here at night and he can't help but chuckle seeing that they actually showed up. Not that he doubted he wouldn't.]

Yo. [He looks to his hand and shakes it at the wrist.] Been kinda practicin' on this dreamotion thing. Learnin' that it's real easy to tire yourself out when ya usin' it.

[There was the case of needing to use it because one of his friends had turned into a noctaere, but he doesn't mention that just yet.]

[Link sits beside him, tilting his head. Dreamotion again... It's still hard to think about it, in a way; Link has spent most of his life trying to keep his emotions and reactions close to his chest. The idea that those same emotions could have power... No wonder the Princess was struggling with it so much. They both work hard to separate their feelings from their duties.]

I can imagine. [He looks once more at Beat's hand, recalling the fire. He'll have to keep working at it -- he's been able to do a few small things, but...nothing nearly so consistent as that.

He pauses a moment, looking out over the water. It's unlike his home, but being out here in the quiet darkness of late night...something about that is a welcome familiarity to him.]

That dream...was it your family?

[His voice softens a bit as he asks. If Beat would rather avoid the subject, he won't mind.]

[Working with dreamotion came easily for Beat. He had worked with psychs before and it was similar in that both needed some kind of power channeled towards it for it to work. While psychs needed psychic power, dreamotion mostly needed emotion. And boy did Beat had that in spades, despite how he presented himself.]

Still find it kinda weird that it works better after dreams... or nightmares.

[Because what he had woken up from certainly didn't feel like a dream.

He shakes his head before leaning forward. Propping his chin into the crook of his elbow, Beat stares out at the ocean, waves lapping against the shore in front of them.]

Yeah, I guess... if you wanna call 'em that.

[It was hard to call his parents family at times. Rhyme definitely was, without a shadow of a doubt. But the other two...]

[Link has to think about it for a moment. Dreams and nightmares, the nature of dreamotion and its connection to feelings...] I suppose if dreams create strong emotions...maybe it makes sense.

[He's never had power of his own; even the abilities he does have are borrowed from friends who can no longer use them. So he's guessing, a bit. But he's no stranger to dreams, nightmares; something about Beat's dream, shared unwillingly with so many, sits with him and won't let go. Something he can't put into words, but makes it hard to understand Beat's reaction.]

You're on bad terms?

[He asks without judgment, trying to understand.]

I guess so...

[His reply is nonchalant as if he didn't really think about it. It wasn't as if he were in the mood to really figure out how either tied to the power they had in his realm they'd found themselves in.

He may not have known Link for very long, but there's something about him that makes Beat feel like he was trustworthy. He can't tell what it was, but he figures that he didn't mind sharing a little bit. Especially after Link made the trip to the beach for him.]

Yeah, me and my 'rents don't 'sactly get along. Me and my sister though, leas' the two a' us are tight.

[It's strange, how foreign this is to him. Perhaps the closest reference he has is the Princess's relationship with her father, or maybe Mipha with hers...he feels oddly confident in that thought, even without memories of his own family.]

I'm sorry.

[Nonetheless, the sympathy he feels is real. It must be hard. Perhaps he, too, struggles to live up to the expectations of the adults around him.]

What's she like?

You don't gotta be, yo. Ain't like you can do anythin' 'bout them.

[He didn't want to feel pitied. If anything, that would only make him feel worse. So he focuses on Rhyme instead.

A small smile plays on his lips. Though he thinks about the good memories he has with his sister, there is a hint of sadness to it.]

Oh man, Rhyme's great. She's real smart an' she always keeps it one hundred. If nobody got me, I leas' know that Rhyme got me.

[That wasn't entirely true though, he knows that he could rely on others now, that he had friends who also have his back. But it still hit different when it was his sister.]

[Fair enough. He nods in acknowledgement, and lets it go.

He'd rather talk about the good things, anyway -- or listen to them, in this case. There's something very special about the way people talk about good things in their life, even in the middle of the night like this. He doesn't completely understand everything Beat is saying --keep what one hundred? one hundred whats?-- but the idea comes across.]

You must miss her.

[He assumes, at least. They sound quite close.]

[If there's one good thing about that dream, it was that he was able to see Rhyme in it. Even if it was just in his mind. His smile grows even more.]

Hell yeah, I do. She might sell me for a bag a' chips when I get on her nerves but I know she's got my back like I got hers.

[Then he lets out a scoff, turning to Link with a sheepish look on his face.]

Yo, you prob'ly tired a' listening to me go on an' on 'bout back home. Hell, I didn't even get to thank ya for comin' all the way out here.

Sell you for a--? [..................dude what] That sounds savage.

[Or is he hearing that wrong? I don't know, he's just so confused by this it's kind of ridiculous. ...After a moment, he shakes his head, as if that'll help clear the confusion. It also doubles as a response.]

... I don't mind. Really. I'm glad to be outside, anyway.

[Beat laughs at Link's reaction to that. It is hearty and genuine and he waves his hand from side to side, looking directly at link as he spoke.]

Nah, yo. Tha's jus' one a' the disses we got with each other. 'Sides, Rhyme'd probably try to get more than a bag if she was really gonna do that.

[As soon as his laughter dissipated, he couldn't help but continue to smile. He didn't think talking about his sister would help alleviate some of the feelings of inadequacy he was feeling after that dream. It still lingered at the back of his mind, but he was at least able to quash the voice for a moment.]

You an' me both, yo. Was a lot harder keepin' to myself, all cooped up in my place.

[Well, when Beat describes it that way, even if he doesn't totally get it he kind of...gets it. Enough to try it himself, at least.]

More than one? Two, maybe?

[He smiles faintly, not just at the jokes but at Beat's change in demeanor. Clearly this sister is someone who is very important to him -- enough so that talking about her seems to lighten the weight of the rest of the dream. Even if Link can't understand --he thinks, at least-- it's still good to see.]

Mm. I know what you mean.

[Deeply, in fact. Cooped up is how Link has felt about everything since arriving here in the first place.]

Maybe even five! Rhyme's smart enough to make sure she ain't getting a bad deal.

[Even he notices that he feels a bit lighter talking like this, just shooting the shit with Link. If anything he appreciated the company, even if it was just for a little bit.

With a small smile on his face, he raises a fist up to Link.]

Thanks, yo.

She must be quite smart. [With a faint smile, he nods at the thanks.] Any time.

[He looks at the fist for a moment, curious and maybe a little confused. After a moment, he...somewhat hesitantly raises his fist as well, but sort of leaves it hovering there, like he's not sure what to do with it.]

[Beat stares at Link's own fist for a second and can't help but let out laugh loudly. This isn't the first time he's encountered someone who doesn't understand the small gestures that he's so used to back home.

But he bumps Link's fist lightly with his own afterward.]

Jus' like that, yo. It's something you do with friends.

[Friends. It's not a word he hears often, and so it sits with him for a moment. He repeats the gesture to commit it to memory, bumping Beat's fist.]

I think I understand.

[A chuckle escapes Beat once more when Link bumps his fist again.]

I owe ya one, aight? Hold me to that.

[What Link did for him may not have seemed like much, but it was enough to at least get him out of his place and, more importantly, out of his head. Besides, it seemed like the fresh air was something both of them needed right now. The sand? Well, that's a problem for future them.]

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open 💀 first recording | passive dream

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