skyglider: (they could hear every sound)
Link ("yeet it or eat it") ([personal profile] skyglider) wrote in [community profile] dreamcrystals2022-10-06 12:10 pm

001 ⚘ dream recording

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.]
stillarhino: (18 ☠ they've been holding us down)

sender: beat

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-10-09 11:43 am (UTC)(link)
[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
stillarhino: (11 ☠ and build it up again)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-10-11 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
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.]
stillarhino: edit by <user name="graffiti_bri" site="twitter.com"> (42 ☠ I'm here for you)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-10-16 09:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Beat notices the delay in response, and he can't help but worry a little about Link.]

yo cant even imagine having to deal with that sorta shit
you need anything?
i got a couple of onigiri from the konbini i can bring over if youre looking for a snack
stillarhino: (16 ☠ let's start again)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-10-17 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah shit, right. He forgets that some people don't know the usual Japanese terms he's used to.]

convenience store
its usually got most things u need in a pinch
and food thats ready to go like yeah riceballs
i got tuna salmon egg and furikake
u feeling up for any?
stillarhino: renegades || one ok rock (Default)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-10-27 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
hows the fountain sound
least that aint as far as the beach like last time
stillarhino: (44 ☠ let's start again)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-11-07 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
[It doesn't take Beat too long to get to the fountain now that he has his skateboard from back home. He skates his way over, a large red fanny pack slung over his shoulder and chest containing the onigiri he promised his friend.

When he finds Link, he can't help but watch for a moment, absorbed in how he moved with a sword, handling it with such ease. The way Link seemed to fight was so different from how Beat does, that he can't help but admire it. The closest he's got to something like that was with the psyches that got him up close and personal with the Noise he fought back in the UG.

He gets closer, chuckling as he balances his weight on his board.]


Didn't know you was good with a sword, yo! Those was some smooth moves.
stillarhino: (26 ☠ we will make it)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-11-07 06:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Few fights? Looked to be like you was some kind of sword master, yo.

[That wasn't too far from the truth, considering all the sword fights he'd seen prior was in movies or television, and Link seemed to know what he was doing. Despite his lack of knowledge of swordsmanship, Beat was always ready and willing to gas up his friends.]

This one's from home but I think I'm real close to finishin' leas' one a them. Jus' gotta figure out the wheels an' we good, yo.

[But as much as he would love to talk about the details of his board, he was here for Link and not himself. Getting off the board, he unzips his pack reaching in with both hands to pull out the onigiri he had promise. He held out two in each hand towards Link, the packaging of each differing slightly to indicate its flavor.]

Aight, so I brought leas' one a' each that I got. Jus' pick whatever you want.
stillarhino: art by <user name="min2nr" site="twitter"> (64 ☠ all my life I've fought)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-11-09 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[Meanwhile, Beat is none the wiser as Link moves away from the subject. He grins back as he takes one of the onigiri for himself, setting the rest down down by one of the flowerboxes that line the perimeter of the fountain.]

It ain't no biggie. Brought 'em for you after all.

[He tears open the packaging of the snack, taking a bite from it before looking back down at the skateboard at their feet.

The reason he had come to meet Link was to help get his mind off of the dream that he had just had after all. Beat was never very good with advice and he knew that dealing with anything family related wasn't very easy. Even more so when Link seems to have forgotten about them. He didn't know how to solve that problem, considering the only time he dealt with something like that was back in the Game. And it wasn't like he could win the Game to get those memories back for Link.

So, a distraction then. That much he can do.]


Y'know how I said I'mma give you one a' the first ones I make so you can test it? You still up for it?
stillarhino: (25 ☠ but we know one day)

hi I'm sorry for the wait :(

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-11-23 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
Jus' missing one more part. Should be ready as soon as I get it and put it together.

[Link really is a man after Beat's own heart. He notices how quickly he's gotten through the onigiri and Beat makes sure to have another one at the ready should he choose to take it.]

But since I got this from back home— [He steps back and kicks the board upward, snatching it from the air as it comes within reach. It's a practiced move, but the cocky grin on Beat's face makes it look natural.] D'you wanna give the real thing a spin?
stillarhino: (24 ☠ we may be underestimated)

<3

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-11-29 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Wouldn'ta even said anythin' if I wasn't cool with it, yo.

[He's seen how Link handled himself at the beach before. That alone was enough for Beat to trist him with his board.

He holds out the board to Link.]


C'mon. Give it a shot.
stillarhino: (16 ☠ let's start again)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-12-04 12:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[Beat watches Link with some amusement as he tries to familiarize himself with the board. Seeing others take an interest in his hobby was something that always made him feel lighter as he was more than happy to share what he knew with them.]

Try to keep your weight low while you're gettin' used to it. Jus' practice on keepin' your balance, kinda like with your shield.

[His tips were the same techniques he had applied when the two of them had first met, and he was able to take Link's shield for a whirl.

He adds one more thing with a chuckle:]
An' try not to fall, yo.
stillarhino: (25 ☠ but we know one day)

[personal profile] stillarhino 2022-12-07 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[Everything moves too quickly for Beat to try to catch Link from taking a spill as the skateboard flies from beneath his feet. But he laughs a little, offering a hand to Link to pull him back up.]

It's only fast when you ain't used to movin' on it. Don't blame you for tryin' though. C'mon, let's get you back on it so you can give it another shot.

[They spend the next hour or so with Link practicing and Beat coaching him to help him get the basics. Though Beat didn't know how to help Link regain his memories, at least he can help him make new ones, even if it were only in a dream world.]