Goro Akechi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
herewardbound) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dreamcrystals2023-02-13 02:41 pm
herewardbound) wrote in dreamcrystals2023-02-13 02:41 pm
Entry tags:
The Spirit
Sender: Goro Akechi
To: All
What: Passive Dream Recording
▶ OUT OF KINDNESS
The Faith
Almost for the first time since he’d arrived here, Goro Akechi was having an actual dream. Not a traumatic memory relived, not a fearful projection conjured, not even a nightmare, just… a dream.
He was distantly aware of how disconnected everything felt, in the moment, as he sat in the stands, in the front row, just… watching. The trappings of the gymnasium floor declared it the site of a gymnastics competition, and the pair of girls occupying the floor were masters of their craft. One in black and mask, one in white and ribbons, hair and eyes the same shade of crimson- though one kept it up and bound, the other long and hanging.
The music was slow, a waltz whose name he dimly remembered from a film somewhere. It was relevant to… ah, right. It was from Cinderella wasn’t it? A soft, dreamy waltz that guided the twins through their steps, the one in white light and graceful, the one in black bold and striking, a gymnastic re-imagining of the dance from the film…
“They really are something,” said a soft voice, feminine and familiar, to his right. It was something that calmed him, brought a smile to his face, if only a slight one. “They’ve come a long way.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, quietly. What else was there to say?
The music slowed, the strings building to an embrace, baiting the audience with resolution-
And then the bell struck twelve, and the one in white was forced to bound away, the one in black watching with hand outstretched towards the maiden that would not return. She fell to her knees, face arched towards the ground as crimson hair spilled around her, hiding her face from view. The picture of grief, as the performance drew to a close.
He stood, and applauded, and even though the gym was empty save the two of them, he heard the applause from an invisible crowd, claps and cheers as unseen judges gave nonexistent scores.
Tears, in her eyes, as someone pressed a trophy into her hands, and she held it aloft and waved to him, smiling, shouting- though he couldn’t hear her over the din of the crowd.
The woman’s voice spoke again. “She’s going to be busy from now on, won’t she?”
He nodded. “Most likely.”
“I know you’ve been taking her coming absence hard. Will you be okay?”
Akechi gave that question some thought before answering. “I think so. She’ll be around sooner or later, and if not…”
“If not?”
“Then sappy as it sounds, she’ll always be close.”
“That’s good to hear,” said the voice, and a warm hand grasped his, briefly, before the sensation vanished… and when he looked down, in his left hand lay a card, shining softly in the afternoon light.
I am thou, thou art I…
▶ NO MORE WHAT IFS
The Magician
The same night. Another dream, this one with a familiar atmosphere, a jazz bar at night, a table for two, a soft voice singing a familiar tune.
People come and they go
Some people may stay with you though…
Not the usual singer, he thought. The voice was untrained, but there was an earnest quality to it he admired. It was a good cover.
“I think this really is my favorite song,” he said, after a while. “It puts my mind at ease, you know?”
I am all alone tonight and I kept on
Asking myself questions…
His companion nodded. Quiet wasn’t unusual, and honestly, he sometimes felt like sharing in silence was easier. Still, beneath the glint of glasses and a mop of black hair, there was a smile, warm and inviting him to continue.
“Can I be completely honest with you?”
A rhetorical question. It wasn’t like there were any more secrets between them. The other man smiled, anyway.
“I don’t hate you. I think I did, when I first said it. But how could I not? You were better than me at everything. As hard as I worked to succeed, to get where I was… you were better. You had friends. People who cared, in spite of everything.” The others, so varied and colorful. So different. And yet, they all got along. And, with a little effort, those friends had been his, too. “You had everything I wanted… but couldn’t have.”
He smiled, faintly, and there was a touch of sadness, there. “Rivals… that’s what we agreed to, isn’t it? Stupid. I got into this mindset of constantly comparing myself to you… when I should’ve been comparing myself, to myself. Am I better now than I was before…?”
The other boy opened his mouth to say something… but he couldn’t hear it.
My story will be starring me, just like yours, ooh…
“I’m glad.” Akechi sighed, staring into his drink. “I really am a mess, aren’t I? All this fucking time it took, just for me to be able to admit to myself that I’m going to miss you.”
The slightest of frowns, on his opposite number, but no words.
Who knows when will it end…
“But that’s… fine. I don’t need you to stand, anymore.”
What matters most is how you bring joy to life so…
The song drew to a close, instruments fading to a stop… and he smiled, even if there wasn’t much joy in it. “I can’t just be ‘your rival’ forever, after all. I need to… write my own story.”
The singer was descending from the stage, thanking patrons, moving towards him.
There was a nod, from the other boy, and their eyes met… and for a moment he hesitated, uncertainty passing for the briefest instant- and then it passed, and his companion stood from the table, strolling out of the bar and off to one of his many obligations, probably.
There was faint disappointment in the singer’s voice, as she reached their table.
”That’s a shame. I wanted to thank him for coming to see me.”
“It’s alright,” he replied, finishing his drink and then standing. “He’s a regular. And when he returns…”
But the singer was gone, no hint of her presence left, except… a card, left on the table.
When they met again, he’d be ready. Not just a rival, but someone who could stand on equal ground. A partner.
I am thou, thou art I…
To: All
What: Passive Dream Recording
▶ OUT OF KINDNESS
The Faith
Almost for the first time since he’d arrived here, Goro Akechi was having an actual dream. Not a traumatic memory relived, not a fearful projection conjured, not even a nightmare, just… a dream.
He was distantly aware of how disconnected everything felt, in the moment, as he sat in the stands, in the front row, just… watching. The trappings of the gymnasium floor declared it the site of a gymnastics competition, and the pair of girls occupying the floor were masters of their craft. One in black and mask, one in white and ribbons, hair and eyes the same shade of crimson- though one kept it up and bound, the other long and hanging.
The music was slow, a waltz whose name he dimly remembered from a film somewhere. It was relevant to… ah, right. It was from Cinderella wasn’t it? A soft, dreamy waltz that guided the twins through their steps, the one in white light and graceful, the one in black bold and striking, a gymnastic re-imagining of the dance from the film…
“They really are something,” said a soft voice, feminine and familiar, to his right. It was something that calmed him, brought a smile to his face, if only a slight one. “They’ve come a long way.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, quietly. What else was there to say?
The music slowed, the strings building to an embrace, baiting the audience with resolution-
And then the bell struck twelve, and the one in white was forced to bound away, the one in black watching with hand outstretched towards the maiden that would not return. She fell to her knees, face arched towards the ground as crimson hair spilled around her, hiding her face from view. The picture of grief, as the performance drew to a close.
He stood, and applauded, and even though the gym was empty save the two of them, he heard the applause from an invisible crowd, claps and cheers as unseen judges gave nonexistent scores.
Tears, in her eyes, as someone pressed a trophy into her hands, and she held it aloft and waved to him, smiling, shouting- though he couldn’t hear her over the din of the crowd.
The woman’s voice spoke again. “She’s going to be busy from now on, won’t she?”
He nodded. “Most likely.”
“I know you’ve been taking her coming absence hard. Will you be okay?”
Akechi gave that question some thought before answering. “I think so. She’ll be around sooner or later, and if not…”
“If not?”
“Then sappy as it sounds, she’ll always be close.”
“That’s good to hear,” said the voice, and a warm hand grasped his, briefly, before the sensation vanished… and when he looked down, in his left hand lay a card, shining softly in the afternoon light.
I am thou, thou art I…
▶ NO MORE WHAT IFS
The Magician
The same night. Another dream, this one with a familiar atmosphere, a jazz bar at night, a table for two, a soft voice singing a familiar tune.
People come and they go
Some people may stay with you though…
Not the usual singer, he thought. The voice was untrained, but there was an earnest quality to it he admired. It was a good cover.
“I think this really is my favorite song,” he said, after a while. “It puts my mind at ease, you know?”
I am all alone tonight and I kept on
Asking myself questions…
His companion nodded. Quiet wasn’t unusual, and honestly, he sometimes felt like sharing in silence was easier. Still, beneath the glint of glasses and a mop of black hair, there was a smile, warm and inviting him to continue.
“Can I be completely honest with you?”
A rhetorical question. It wasn’t like there were any more secrets between them. The other man smiled, anyway.
“I don’t hate you. I think I did, when I first said it. But how could I not? You were better than me at everything. As hard as I worked to succeed, to get where I was… you were better. You had friends. People who cared, in spite of everything.” The others, so varied and colorful. So different. And yet, they all got along. And, with a little effort, those friends had been his, too. “You had everything I wanted… but couldn’t have.”
He smiled, faintly, and there was a touch of sadness, there. “Rivals… that’s what we agreed to, isn’t it? Stupid. I got into this mindset of constantly comparing myself to you… when I should’ve been comparing myself, to myself. Am I better now than I was before…?”
The other boy opened his mouth to say something… but he couldn’t hear it.
My story will be starring me, just like yours, ooh…
“I’m glad.” Akechi sighed, staring into his drink. “I really am a mess, aren’t I? All this fucking time it took, just for me to be able to admit to myself that I’m going to miss you.”
The slightest of frowns, on his opposite number, but no words.
Who knows when will it end…
“But that’s… fine. I don’t need you to stand, anymore.”
What matters most is how you bring joy to life so…
The song drew to a close, instruments fading to a stop… and he smiled, even if there wasn’t much joy in it. “I can’t just be ‘your rival’ forever, after all. I need to… write my own story.”
The singer was descending from the stage, thanking patrons, moving towards him.
There was a nod, from the other boy, and their eyes met… and for a moment he hesitated, uncertainty passing for the briefest instant- and then it passed, and his companion stood from the table, strolling out of the bar and off to one of his many obligations, probably.
There was faint disappointment in the singer’s voice, as she reached their table.
”That’s a shame. I wanted to thank him for coming to see me.”
“It’s alright,” he replied, finishing his drink and then standing. “He’s a regular. And when he returns…”
But the singer was gone, no hint of her presence left, except… a card, left on the table.
When they met again, he’d be ready. Not just a rival, but someone who could stand on equal ground. A partner.
I am thou, thou art I…
Sender: Wendy Carter
Congratulations.
[It may be a strange thing to congratulate someone for, but it seemed the only appropriate response.]
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I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.
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I see. Thank you, I suppose.
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I have not seen you since the train. Thank you again for accompanying me.
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I see. I don't know that I've ever heard someone call a death 'beautiful' before, but I suppose I appreciate the sentiment.
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I still wouldn't want to go through it again, I hope you understand. I think most people don't get a second chance to cheat death, let alone a third.
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Of course. This place is not like the Constant, so ones survival should be tended to more seriously. Even if this place is more mercurial.
Sender: Ira
Akechi, just to let you know, you were projecting a dream last night. Normally I'd ask if you were alright, but they seemed to be pleasant ones.]
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God dammit. Thank you for letting me know, Ira. I don't think I'll ever get used to the way this place operates.
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Dreams are unpredictable at the best of times, but this takes it to another level.
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Is that strange?
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Or, were the images we saw not especially private ones?
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It came out easier than he thought it would. Being able to simply… admit that. That he'd cared so much about Ren and Sumire, and now they were gone.
They're gone now. I don't know what those dreams meant, or the… significance. Of the cards. I'm going to have to look into tarot cards, apparently.
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Though perhaps it is simply an affirmation of those relationships and their importance.
[He'll respect the privacy, as much as one can in a situation like this.]</small
sender: Zenkichi
I'm sure he'll show back up again.
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Thank you for your sympathy.
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