dreamcrystals | open 💀 first recording

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Beat had thrown the question out there without much thought or expectation. So there's a bit of surprise from him when he sees the reply. He can't help but chuckle dryly at that.]

sounds like you and mes the same then
least when it comes to that

It would seem so.

[ So they had that in common, at least. But where to go from here? ]

Those expectations you're trying to live up to. Are they your family's?

yeah least from my folks
they the type who want some kinda result that i just aint built for
and even if I try to do what they want all of it is for shit cause it dont reach that result they want

[Outside Beat's treehouse, a bolt of lightning strikes nearby, the follow up of thunder rumbling and echoing throughout the residential district.]

[ Sitting awake in his own treehouse, Dorian catches the flash of light that's actually not that far away, and despite expecting it he does startle a bit when thunder crashes just a moment later. ]

Not that it really stops them from pressuring you to do what they expect of you anyway.

[ That's definitely been his own experience, at least. ]

[The rumbling continues for a while, Beat's own feelings projecting out into dreamotion outside. He doesn't even realize that it was his doing, still frustrated by both the dream and how it had been projected for people to see. If anything, he's glad no one seems to have brought up his name yet despite it having been said.]

nah they dont
like they aint seeing that you struggling with it and just keep breathing down your neck
its hella suffocating yo

[ Dorian keeps an eye on the sky, even as he reads the words in the journal. ]

Right. And then they wonder why you aren't doing as well as they think you should be.

yeah yeah you totally get where im coming from yo
its like yous reading my mind

[ He snorts to himself. ]

It's not too difficult to guess when you've experienced it yourself.

[A melancholic smile finds its way onto Beat's lips. He doesn't mean for it but it's somewhat reassuring hearing someone else understands this.]

heh didnt really think id find someone else whod get it you know
sucks that you had to deal with that shit too

Neither did I, to be honest. But I suppose everyone has something going on that others might not know about.

[ And, as much as it is an unfortunate circumstance, Dorian can't help finding some comfort in it as well. ]

I appreciate that. For a long time I thought it was just something I had to live with, until I just...didn't want to any more.

[When Beat had said it was like Dorian was reading his mind, he wasn't kidding, seeing as the pattern seemed to continue.]

yeah dealing with all that... it gets old real fast
dyou do something about it?

It really does.

I did, actually. You see, my home is pretty closed off from the rest of the world. So one day, I just...left, and started traveling on my own.

[Now that was something he had tried to do more than once. But he kept finding himself back home in one way or another. But there's no jealousy hearing that, only curiosity.]

damn that sounds like a pretty sweet deal yo
what was it like without them breathing down your neck?

It was all right, at first. I won't deny that I enjoyed my new-found freedom for a time.

But eventually it did get pretty lonely. Turns out being all on your own isn't as fun as people make it out to be.

huh aint ever thought about it like that before

ive tried running away a couple of times too
never got very far because of my sis
i just cant leave her behind you know?

[ He doesn't answer right away, and guilt gnaws at him a bit as he reads the words a few times. ]

You're more admirable in that regard than I am, then. I hadn't given much thought to my brother when I had left home.

look i dunno how things was with u and your bro but i get why youd wanna go too
sometimes shit just gets real bad and you just gotta bounce

I suppose it was something like that.

[ Some people might say that his life hadn't been particularly stressful, but...he'd disagree to a certain extent. ]

So if you had to stay for your sister's sake, what did you to deal with all that?

i hadta tell them off
tell them that i was sick of the bullshit they kept pulling and that i was done with it
me and them still fought but least they kinda backed off

[There is some guilt that surfaces as he recalls that. How some of the fights he had gotten into with their parents caused trouble for Rhyme. Even thinking about the accident the two of them had gotten into because he had run away.

Though he knew she was safe at home, a part of him wished that she was with him in this dream world too.]

sides its cause of me that they started focusing on her instead
and rhymes too good to tell them off like i did so i gotta stay for her
me and hers tight
shes my skate or die

[ He couldn't help a small laugh to himself. ]

It's nice that the two of you are so close. I'm kind of envious of that, really. My brother and I have been getting along better these days, but it might have been easier growing up if he'd been a bit more supportive.

[ Then again, he wonders if he would have had the courage to leave if Cyrus had been like that. ]

i getchu
i probably wouldnta made it this far i didnt have rhyme by my side
but its still something if you and your bros doing better now
least you aint on your own no more

That's true. I think having a bit of time apart helped us appreciate one another more, so that we could better get to know each other when we reunited.

[ Even if that time apart meant Cyrus had gotten into so much trouble on his own, honestly. ]

[There's a longer pause this time around before Beat replies.]

yeah its kinda like one not appreciating what you got til you dont got it no more kinda deals

[He knows the feeling all too well. While the circumstances were different, he could remember the pit in his stomach that formed after he realized that Rhyme had suddenly lost her memories of him.]

open 💀 first recording | passive dream

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