[semi-closed] hello i walk into empty

[itsjiaheng]

Who: jongdae lee & folks!
When: aereuer 13th.
Where: the looking-glass house + memories
What: dream a little dream catch-all!!
Warnings: violence, gore, emotional/physical abuse, trauma, death (will update if anything further).




[ for most, jongdae's mirror is just as boring and plain as all the others. its bright, silvery glass is the only thing remarkable about it but then every mirror that isn't cracked and abandoned can claim the same.

those that know him a bit better can see some of the details emerge from the frame. the delineation of two distinct halves is the most obvious and noticeable — one half is rendered in a pale, nearly white wood while the other is rich and dark like ebony. they meet in stark lines of light and dark, swirling and tangling with each other along their boundaries. it's not at all a seamless transition, like the eye is meant to be drawn to the fact that they don't meet cleanly. it's all a bit lopsided as well, perhaps infuriating to those who prefer symmetry. the ebony wood more strongly encroaches upon the light wood, to the point that it might be more accurate not to say each colour occupies a strict half at all. along the topmost part of the frame the patterns come together to clearly form the digits 2 and 0.

it might be possible detect a deeper layer beyond that where the light wood is inlaid with gold that branches out into finer and smaller fractal patterns or where the wood has been carved into flowing shapes like feathered wings. similar designs appear on the dark wood as well, although the gold has been replaced with silver and the shapes are harsh and angular, soft feathers replaced with hard bone claws. ]

—

( OOC : for good organisational purposes because ya boi is scattered, i am keeping all the memshare stuff in this log. i'm also not writing open prompts just because i already have A LOT and this is sure to be A LOT so i want to make sure i have the capacity! HOWEVER if you'd like a memory and we haven't already talked via the cr meme or plurk you can also find a list of memory options here and you can contact me via pm, plurk (koutenko), or discord (koutenko#5884) and i will make for you a prompt!

i will keep adding to this as i write prompts~ )

Comments

⚡ @ sylvia (cw: bullying, slurs)

[itsjiaheng]

[ beyond the mirror, sylvia will find herself in what appears to be a school. regardless of one's country of origin, all schools essentially look the same. it's clear that it's an older building judging by the style. she is standing in the middle of a narrow hallway lined with windows to her left with two doorways leading to classrooms on her right. the doors slide rather than open out like in a more Western-style building. over the doorways signs denote which class is which but one of the signs appears blurred enough that she can't read what it might've said. the other is perfectly clear however, bearing a stylised image of a cartoon tiger and the kanji 虎 that reads tiger.

the windows look out over what appears to be a rural mountain village. there isn't anything particularly interesting or remarkable about the scenery, except for the fact that it seems very old-fashioned and very simple. there's a few very modern and sophisticated looking vehicles parked within view outside, but that's all.

the silence in the hall and the sound of muffled voices beyond the doors suggests class is in session. sylvia can notice now that the colours in the scene have shifted, like someone's started turning down the saturation on everything. that makes it very easy to notice the presence of a young boy walking down the hall towards her, familiar with his silver hair and light eyes. there seems to be plenty of colour around him that moves along with him, following his steps as he opens the sliding door to the tiger room and heads inside.

everyone stops what they're doing to look over at the intrusion, even the teacher lecturing at the board. there are at least twenty other children there, the variations in hairstyle suggesting they haven't just been copied and pasted entirely. they could have been, considering none of them bears a proper face. everything about them seems like someone took time to fill in the details but their faces are all the same flat blank void.

it's true of the teacher as well though for some reason sylvia has the distinct feeling that no one in this room is looking at the young jongdae with anything other than disdain and disapproval.

since you're late, you can be first, the woman says. the words "golden yellow" and "waves" come to mind for some reason. rather than head to sit down at the low table he occupied by himself, jongdae moves to stand at the front of the classroom. no one seems to find it strange that the faceless woman switches on what appears to be a geiger counter and starts waving the little metal rod around to scan him before she makes a note.

next, she presses a coin into jongdae's hand and mutters an instruction that sounds like gibberish to sylvia. whatever it is, jongdae seems to know it well as he stares down at the coin in his upturned palm.

if you wish hard enough, maybe someone will bring the poor prince more!

one of the boys comments, earning laughter from several of the other children. "indigo" and "half-circles" comes to mind this time. how the children arrived at theiir assumption is fairly clear, especially given that jongdae's uniform doesn't fit him well. it looks like someone bought clothing a size and a half too large, anticipating that he'll grow into them someday. in the meantime, he just looks bad. easy enough to assume that his family must be poor.

the teacher does nothing, continuing to watch jongdae as if she doesn't hear the other children teasing and laughing. jongdae is similarly unaffected despite their words, although the reason is clear soon enough.

the coin floats up out of jongdae's palm, suspended there in mid-air. it rotates a few times end over end before it simply drops and jongdae has to react quickly to catch it again out of the air.

the room is completely silent now as everyone stares at the front of the room. no one seems to know what to say. finally, the teacher grabs jongdae by the wrist so abruptly the coin falls from his hands and rolls noisily under a bookshelf. she examines his hands, turning them over and looking at each finger like she's on to something but there's nothing there at all to see.

he cheated, didn't he?

stupid little cheating konketsuji!

my dad says you can't trust people like him.. it's in his blood to be dishonest..

despite the facelessness of the class, it's clear exactly who said what. she can't see it, but sylvia just seems to know. along with that knowledge more words seem to pop right into her mind like before — "red" and "triangles" with one or "sky blue" and "uneven circles" with another. while she can think them, the meaning behind the words or why exactly they seem to relate uniquely to each person isn't clear on its own.

the teacher finally releases him, although the firm hold of her fingers on his wrist leaves him with a painful sensation that he tries to rub at discreetly. she rushes right out of the classroom, sliding the door closed behind her so hard that it bounces closed and then opens back up a little.

jongdae is left standing there where he is and completely at the mercy of his classmates. it's not as if anything's been done to silence them thus far, but without direct supervision they double their efforts. some of the boys closest to the front get up, forming a tight semi-circle that boxes jongdae in while some of the girls keep taunting as they try and find a good place to watch. jongdae couldn't fight all of them if he wanted to, definitely not the biggest child here.

even with the taunting of the others and the occasional shoves to try and get a rise out of him, jongdae never really reacts beyond some mild irritation that shows only on his face. naturally, that only makes the other children want to try harder. eventually backed up against the wall bearing the chalkboard, he finally responds with what he assumes might just get them to stop.

it's only a few simple pencils pulled from the teacher's desk, but the fact that they're suspended and kept floating around jongdae's head right now makes everyone else back off. the pencil tips point toward the ground rather than at any of the other children and the happy smile he's wearing shows how much more fascinated he is with the fact that he's managed to accomplish it than anything else, but the very same kids who definitely weren't trying to pull any punches a minute ago start screaming and carrying on now like he's pulled a real weapon on them.

the pencils fall to the ground harmlessly when the door opens again and their teacher returns with several other adults in tow, breaking his concentration. one of them is the director of the school, judging by her more formal dress and the badge she wears pinned to her lapel along side another button shaped like a stylised sun. she also seems to be somewhat less faceless than the others, the features of her face filled in enough to read her severe expression, at least. the woman crosses the room and no warning precedes the fact that she slaps him hard across the face, making the rest of the class wince and react (though clearly not out of sympathy). jongdae looks understandably startled by it considering he believes he hasn't done anything wrong, his eyes wordlessly seeking some kind of understanding. he never seems to even try to speak, even now when that would probably be reasonable.

out. now, the director commands, nudging him towards the door when he seems confused. another impression, "white" and "crossed lined" this time. the other children keep on with their snickering and small, biting commentary as he's marched out of the classroom. the other adults follow, leaving the original teacher behind with the rest of the class. sylvia can hear the teacher say something, gesturing in a way that's intended to be obviously comedic, but she can't understand the woman's words now. the other children erupt in loud laughter and just like their teacher the words they say are just empty sounds to sylvia's ears but it's rather obvious whose expense they are joking at. she only has similar vague impressions with no explanation as before — just more vague colours and shapes associated with each speaker.

when the door is slid closed again, jongdae is there leaning against it. it's the older, mirrorbound version of him now and he looks rather amused, if anything (and also as half-dead as the last time she'd seen him). ]

I guess if you're in here seeing things, you lucked out. Everything pretty much changed after this, so it's like my last good memory for awhile..

[ all things considered, he's very happy sylvia ended up here and not in some other, worse memory. comparatively, this probably is a good one.. ]