001 ⚘ dream recording

[skyglider]

Sender: Link
To: Everyone
Subject: Passive dream recording (Ghosts of the Past)
Warnings: Memory loss, spooky stuff, light implications of character death
[aaaand have some background noise if you wanna make it worse]



In the darkness, a voice, hollow and indistinct, several tones and cadences laid one over the other like a collage. Few phrases stand out, but the ones that do come through clearly.

"t𝓱Ｅ 𝓬𝓱𝐢𝔩𝓭 shows much promise."
"It's a h̢̲̤͋͑̑̉u̷̗͓̼̖̬̺ͬg̡̦̬̰ͨ̈́ͭę͖̲̺͔͚͖͛ responsibility."
"... 𝐻𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝑔𝓎, 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒 ..."

[Those who stumble upon this dream will find that it has a quality of indistinct blurriness, like a photo out of focus, or perhaps a very old memory. Details are fuzzy to nonexistent, but you can see three figures outside of a house in a small, quiet village: two smaller, blonde, and one larger, broader, towering over both of them. You feel at once a particular emptiness; you are supposed to know who they are, but you can't place them. It's the feeling of forgetting something important, but being unable to place what that might be.

The smallest figure, long-haired and sporting a white dress, fiddles with a small patch of garden. The other figure might look a little familiar, to those who have met Link, though if you can believe it he's even smaller than he is now. He and the taller figure are currently engaged in some sort of practice match with wooden swords; the adult occasionally offers a note of encouragement in a deep, gregarious rumble: "Much better! Careful now-- watch your flank! Good." Clack! Clack-clack! The wooden swords crack against each other over and over as the match continues. The smallest figure chimes in again: "Don't step on the flowers, brother!" The details become even more nondescript as the practice match goes on, but eventually, both figures fall back onto the ground, breathing heavily.

As the dream carries on, you come to realize that Link himself is standing nearby, watching this just as you are. Unlike the subjects of the dream, he's sharply in focus. The smallest figure flickers, and then appears in front of the place where Link --the one watching the dream-- stands. She retains the same fuzziness even up close: her face, age, even her clothing is an indistinct blur. She looks up at Link, whose eyes widen.

"When are you coming home?"

Link seems conflicted: in moments, he seems almost shocked, as if he's seen a ghost. In others, it's as if he doesn't recognize this figure at all. He searches for words and grasps nothing. Something flickers; it's hard to tell whether it's the blurry figure or your vision, fading in and out of darkness.]

You can't help but feel as if some time has passed, as if it's been a long time since you first heard those strange voices.

"𝐻𝑒 𝓃𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝐼 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝓉. 𝐻𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓁𝓎 ṡ̯̱̾͠p̤̬̜̮̻͍ͧ͝ę̹̟̣͇͎ͪ̇̚aͪ͏̯͖̱̮̦̼k͖̰̭͚̦͖̼̘̈̽̈́́s̵̺̰̪̞͕̔̑ 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎. 𝐻𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓁 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹 ..."
"Our ϝυƚυɾҽ is in h̀̓̒̔͏̠͖̜͔̳̻̤̠i̢̬̝̲ͧs̨̙̲̬̟͉̦̾͒ͬ ̡̼̠̫͇̭̜̘̤́͋́̊h̢̗̼ͪǎ̸͍̘̝̰͙̤̼̋͗ń̦͇̖̹̖̆͡d̹̫͕̘̦͕͐̔̚͜ͅṡ̴̗͎͇̮́͆̿ͅ ̖̝̘ͪ͒̃͝ͅn̗̦̮͖̭̋͞ow."

[Figures flicker back into existence, a dim light in the darkness. Five new figures now join the three from the first part of the dream, surrounding Link. Even the ones that are smaller than him seem to loom ominously overhead, bearing down, staring with eyes that don't seem to exist. Or perhaps they do, beneath the hazy film that masks the figures' details. They seem to expect something from him, but it's hard to say what.

Somewhere deep beneath layers of confusion, this dream begins to generate feelings of anxiety, of emptiness. Of a loss that means everything and nothing all at once.

"Have you really forgotten us?"]

"He can't f̡̤̤̩͕͋̄ͫâ̴̳̺ĭ̧͎̺̮̦̝͈̘͓ͤl̝͉̩̩ͪͩ̎ͭ͟."
"ɖɨɖ ɨ օռƈɛ have a ϝαɱιʅყ?"
"How do you m͖̞ͯ̅͠o͓̰̞͎̣͚ͣ̏͑̿͞ͅu̵̞͚̠̭̣̻͆͗͌ȑ̟̼͖͙̻̜̗̣̾͞n̜͚̙̏̔̇͛͢ someone you have ṋ̸̹͙͈͓̲̭̝̐̉͒o̡̟̯̤͎̙͆ͅͅ ͎͔̪͒ͭ͌̅́m̰͖̺̤ͬ͘ẻ̦̭̥͇̳̼̩̖̔ͩ̓͟m̯̞̩̄̕ỏͬ҉͚̙̱͍̼ͅȑ̵͈͖̭̠̫y̹̮̻̼̖̽̒̍́ͅ ̿ͯ̓͛҉̣͈ǒ̹̬͚̟͡f̢̞̲̥̊͂̀?"

"H̰͚̘̠̻̤̭̱͂̽̈́͜e̺̠̤̱̟̰ͦ͠ ̜̫̝̞ͫͪ͡m̶̗͕͙̽ṵ̷̰͍̲͈̳̍̆ŝ̵͓͙̤̜̣̙͕͌̑ͦt̊̔ͬ҉͙̠͕̲̲̪̞̺ ͖̪̟̝̑͘n̷̰̣̑̍͊͋ͅo̳̲̙̼͗͊ͣ͜ẗ͉̝̜̞̜͎̮̅ͧ̃͘ ̦͇͙̯̙̬͖̯̄́f̡̤̤̩͕͋̄ͫâ̴̳̺ĭ̧͎̺̮̦̝͈̘͓ͤl̝͉̩̩ͪͩ̎ͭ͟."

[Like an old film, the image flickers, and then fades. This is how the dream ends: slowly, gently enough to leave a residue of anxiety and regret.]

Comments

Sender: Satan

[angelbirth]

[ That's a lot to unpack. He's not really sure he's even in the right mindset to unpack any of it. But, it does leave him with a better understanding of Link... he thinks. ]

Hey. I think you might need to invest in some glasses.

[ He's hopeful that Link will understand that the joke is Satan's attempt to lighten the mood. He just figures that such an invasion of his privacy probably isn't something Link wants to talk about right now. ]

[skyglider]

[It takes Link a little while to even begin to respond. Even putting the contents of the dream aside, it's a strange kind of vulnerability that he's not sure he's equipped to deal with right now. But...he is grateful for the way Satan responds.]

Maybe. I wonder if there's a doctor around.

[angelbirth]

[ Satan feels a bit better that he wasn't met with immediate disdain. He wouldn't have been surprised, but either way, he's glad that Link took it in stride. ]

There's that medical center someone set up here. I remember the name Jude Mathis, but others helped as well. You could do the eye chart exam and see how poorly you do.

[ He... really does just want to directly ask of Link is okay. But... ]

Just make sure you don't cheat and memorize the chart beforehand.

[skyglider]

[He may find over time that Link takes a lot in stride. He doesn't know whether it's how he's always been, or some effect of the people he knew during the Calamity, but he's not sure the difference really matters at this point.]

Ah. There goes my cunning plan.

[The joke is a bit weak, but it does help.]

Sender: Yamatonokami Yasusada

[hairpinings]

It's... suffocating. To be in a position where you lose yourself and everyone around you. Isn't it?

Like a swirling blackness that swallows you whole and no amount of swimming will pull you back.


Sorry, I didn't mean to watch, but I couldn't pull my eyes away. In a way it felt all too familiar to me.

[skyglider]

[He's not sure what to say, at first. There's a particular kind of suffocating that comes with the expectation of memories, but he can't begin to put it into words. Even worse is the feeling that his private thoughts have caused other people to feel something that may be hard for them to relive...but he can't bring himself to apologize for it, though he knows he probably should.]

It happens sometimes. Sharing dreams. There's nothing to apologize for.

[He feels like he should say something more, but...this is something he often struggles with. After a few moments he adds:]

You describe it quite well.

[hairpinings]

Which is kind of funny in a way, because I'm not usually one to be too good with my words.

[But it probably helps that they have similar feelings despite their circumstances being different. ]

It's not something I usually bring up with others. I'd feel bad making them worry. And it's just... easier to try and push down

[skyglider]

I understand.

[In a way...perhaps it's somewhat a relief, to hear someone put into words the way he feels. Those words don't really convey how he feels at being able to understand, unfortunately, but...it's something, at least.]

... That being said, I've found most people will worry, even when you don't bring it up.

[action] because i can

[multidisciplinary]

[ Zelda lays in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She has one hand resting over her heart, waiting for its racing to slow. Regret and anxiety are familiar companions to the princess, but that doesn't make them any easier to bear.

But this is a different anxiety than normal. Fuzzy images, mutable voices—impossible to bring into focus, no matter how she tries. A feeling of recognition picks at the back of her mind, just out of reach. And yet, Zelda does recognize Link, and the Champions and herself. She knows them, but still that feeling remains.

Eventually, Zelda gets out of bed. She intends to go to the kitchen, as she often does when the dreamsharing of this world wakes her, but she pauses outside Link's bedroom door. Is he awake too? Or was he able to go right back to sleep after the nightmare? Zelda steps up to the door and presses her ear against it to listen. She could knock, but she doesn't want to wake him if he did go back to sleep. ]

[skyglider]

[A dim light flickers in the crack under the door. For a moment, there's quiet, and then a faint squeak and rattle -- the sound of a window opening. Footsteps moving away, coupled with the sound of rustling from outside the window.

"Do you see the sky often?"

Before Aerith asked him that, before arriving in Reverein, Link didn't realize how much of it he did see...and how suffocating it is to be confined. Perhaps that's why he heads for the roof, in the quickest way he knows -- being under the stars and the sky feels calming. A small piece of home, of quiet, of the life he's been pulled away from. The invasiveness of the dreamshare hangs over him -- it's a weight he's going to have to deal with eventually. But for now, at least he has the sky stretching out overhead. Room to breathe.

There's probably an easier way to get up there than climbing the side of the house, but he only realizes that once he's there.

If the Princess goes looking, that's where she'll find him: sitting by the edge of the roof, hugging one knee to his chest while his other leg hangs off the side, watching the clouds as they roll across the dark sky.]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Zelda hears the sounds inside Link's room, not entirely understanding what she's hearing. It sounds like he's awake, at least. She's not surprised--the nightmares the princess experiences in Songerein are worse than any she ever had in Hyrule. She wonders if it's the same for Link.

Zelda listens longer, but there's only silence now. Those sounds she heard before sounded like opening a window. Did he climb out the window? He must have gone outside to get some air. ...Through the window, for some reason.

Zelda heads outside (through the door, like a normal person) and walks around to the side of the tree home where Link's bedroom is located. There's the open window, but still no Link. ]

Where in the world...?

[ She looks all around for her knight until she spots his leg dangling off the roof. What's he doing up there? Her nightclothes aren't exactly suitable for climbing trees, so Zelda heads to the ladder on the opposite side of the tree home and climbs up that way.

When she finally reaches the roof where Link is sitting, the princess is a little winded. Link has probably been able to see her since she first went outside; Zelda didn't really make an effort to be quiet and sneaky. He has plenty of opportunities to sneak away if he wants to avoid her. Otherwise, she will come up beside him and sit down on edge of the roof. ]

Sender : Alphen

[refire]

It sounds like you've been through a lot and I don't know if it's my place to comment on it. But hey, if you feel comfortable talking I'm willing to lend an ear.

It's the least I could do for a friend.

[skyglider]

[Link puts pen to paper but it still takes him a little while to figure out how to respond. There's something particularly uncomfortable about feeling like he's in the spotlight like this, something that leaves him feeling raw and exposed. For someone who doesn't normally talk about himself, it's...a lot.

There's also the word friend echoing around in there -- a word he's never been quite used to.]

Thank you. [Somehow that doesn't feel like enough.]

I'm not sure what to say. How to explain. It's hard to process.

[refire]

It's okay if you haven't figured it out. There's a lot of things I don't have answers to either.

Just take the time you need. You'll get there.


[ Link's confusion is only natural. Alphen offers a sympathetic look as he's writing a couple messages back. ]

I believe you'll come around. Besides, you're really strong. Last time I saw you fight you had some seriously impressive moves.

So I don't think you'll give up just like that.

sender: sora

[oathkeeper]

[Dreams are strange things. Pictures and images all swirl together to try and tell an old memory or create a story that could be true or entirely false thanks to the imagination. Sora's learned a lot about dreams in the last year or so. And even before then when he travelled through dreaming worlds all different and yet all the same.

When he sees this dream Sora isn't sure what to think of it at first. But he knows that the distant ache it puts in his heart hurts. And it must be what Link is feeling too if he's thinking and dreaming of all these swirling images.]

Hey, Link?

[He starts, his voice careful and friendly as he reaches over the dream through lanterns and sleep.]

That was your family, wasn't it?

[It must be hard not to remember...]

[skyglider]

[A familiar voice. He wasn't expecting for that to bring him such relief, but it does. The familiarity draws him into the presence, loosens the dream's hold on him.

And yet, he's still uncertain in his response. That word. Family. It feels like a deep well of emptiness within his chest.]

Maybe. [He doesn't sound sure. But what is the alternative? Could his mind really make up an entire life like that?] ... I think so.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora smiles a little in return. Link is a quiet person but he can tell there's a tentative unsureness in his tone.]

Is it hard to remember?

[His own voice is a little careful, concerned and warm.]

Sometimes memories can be like that... When it's been a long time, you know?

sender: beat

[stillarhino]

[For someone who's usually loud, Beat can't help but find himself at a loss for words after seeing all that. There was a lot of it that he couldn't fully understand but the feeling of loss was something that he could relate to.]

yo that something you really dealing with?
not remembering stuff

[skyglider]

[His first instinct is to say something stupid and flippant like "I don't remember," but somehow that seems just as guarded as staying silent. That doesn't seem fair anymore especially for someone he considers a friend.]

I lost my memories some time ago. Some have returned, but not all.

[stillarhino]

damn sorry to hear that
was kinda hard to hear but sounded like that was your family?

[Even not knowing the answer, Beat couldn't help but feel for the guy. He might not have had to deal with not having memories, but he's dealt with people who had it similarly. With both his sister and his friend from home.]

Sender: Naminé

[lethechained]

[ Naminé hesitates for quite a while before writing anything.

Strictly speaking, there are countless reasons to keep her mouth shut. The intrusion, for one thing; the risks of meddling, for a second. But this is a realm in which she has more than a small amount of experience, and the longer she sits with pen poised over paper, the more she feels the weight of moral obligation weighting her hand ever closer to the page. Finally, ]

If you don't mind my asking,

[ A pause - she taps a hesitant dot on the page before moving forward. ]

how long have your memories been damaged?
I know it wasn't my place to see them, but it looks like whatever it is that happened must have been very serious.

[ And honestly, even though they hardly know each other, it's hard not to worry about anyone who seems to have been through such a mental calamity. ]

[skyglider]

It's alright.

[It couldn't be helped, really. Dreams are tricky things, and he knows how easy it can be to stumble upon something private. It would be unfair for him to be upset about anyone looking into his, when he's looked into the dreams of others as well.

He has to think about her words, though. How long has it been? To say his journey in Hyrule felt like it lasted a lifetime wouldn't be so far off the mark: it's all he's ever known, save for the hazy memories of the Calamity he's reclaimed. Even those feel so old that they might as well belong to someone else. Perhaps that's why his mind conjured a dream like this.]

Nearly a year, I think.

[lethechained]

[ Although she'd be just as quick to forgive - because it's true, there really is no avoiding these types of situations in a place like Reverein - Naminé still feels a little better once it's written down.

Less so when the answer to her question comes. There's a lot implied here by the nature of his dream, by the duration of his troubles; that he's forgotten such important things and not yet recovered them... ]

That's a long time for them to be so fragmented.

[ And if even the faces of his loved ones are missing, the extent of the damage seems dire enough that, though she starts to write, 'How much do you' it's crossed out nearly as soon as she begins it. No, better not to ask what he's lost, or what he's managed to keep; neither of them might like the final tally. Instead, ]

Is there no one in your world that can help you?
Anyone familiar who might know what you've forgotten?

Sender: Zhao

[seemagicshit]

Hey, you doing okay? That was certainly a dream, yeah?

[It was the sort that made even him disoriented and questioning what was what while he absorbed it.]

[skyglider]

It was something alright.

[Ah. He said something dumb and flippant after all. Zhao won't be able to see him cringe behind his journal, but a moment later, he adds:]

Sorry. I'm alright, thank you.