★ ( bookmarked: sunfish. )

[afterword]

Comments

[afterword]

Hm.

[ yes, thank you kim dokja, helpful reply there. he starts to step around the room, looking from mirror to mirror. Jin is of course here, and he has his sword with him, but he seems mostly curious.

Though the fox herself has her fur fluffing out a little, ears pressed back. this is uncomfortable. ]

[malewife]

[ Niah, not being connected and more as an independent, licks Jin's forehead like that picture of the mama cheetah and the baby. Joonghyuk doesn't pay attention to that, instead his eyes are pinned on the endless reflections seen in every side. ]

There's no door.

[ Hesitantly, he taps one of the mirrors with his sheathed sword. ]

[afterword]

[ Jin huffs softly but gives Niah an appreciative lick on his muzzle. As if the distraction will shake off the sensation. Dokja watches the tap and raises a brow. ]

Do you think it's hidden behind a mirror?

[ where is scenario DETAILS. ]

[malewife]

There are only mirrors here, so it's likely.

[ And as he turns to look at Dokja, it seems that his reflection doesn't mirror Joonghyuk exactly. Instead, it glares at Dokja directly with the same sad... Angry eyes. ]

[afterword]

[ oh... that's cool, i guess. Dokja remains quiet, staring at the reflection, he doesn't know what to do with this thanks. except, you know, look away and move to another part of the mirror room. as if that would help. ]

Worth a try then. [ after you, good sir. ]

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk will go and break one of the glass walls, which distorts the rest of them with a shatter pattern. However, no matter where Dokja looks, Joonghyuk's reflection is glaring at him like before. At least it isn't violent? ]

We might need to break another.

[afterword]

[ Stop glaring sadly at him. What do you want him to do?? ]

Alright.. [ But there is an urge with smashing the glass, which he doesn't particularly like. So of course he just resists it because he doesn't want to cave in so easily and stares at the reflection. His own image frowns back at him before it reaches for the sword at its hip.

His own hand is still at his side rather than at his sword so, uh. There is something incredibly wrong with this room. ] ..Yoo Joonghyuk.

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk isn't doing anything? He isn't in control of the reflections. ]

What—[ Oh, he sees Reflection Dokja reach for his sword, then turns to him. ] What are you doing?

[ But then he sees Dokja ISN'T doing the same thing, which confuses him more. ]

[afterword]

I'm not doing anything! [ THEN DON'T BLAME HIM? It's a bitter look in his reflection's eyes. ] It's obviously this room, the mirros--

[ Jin's muzzle curls back, starting to growl just as the mirror in front of them shatters. Dokja moves back out of reflex, but the one behind him does the same in a splash of shatters.

You know. Maybe they should've just broken the mirrors sooner. ]

[malewife]

[ It's okay, Joonghyuk goes for the last of the mirrors to break them before these reflections can do anything too freaky. Niah starts growling, too, before he starts barking at all the fractured walls.

Even with them broken, they can make out the strange movements in the reflections before they're kicked back out into the hallway. ]

[afterword]

[ Out back they go... which Dokja goes, with an audible shout as they're thrown like ragdolls out of their exciting and interactive mirror room. Jin yips once before circling them with concerned whines and a brief growl at the door.

For some reason, his throat kinda hurts-- unaware of the strangulation marks on his neck, not that him getting choked out is really all that new with Joonghyuk here. :/ Hate how he's used to it. ]

..That's it? [ They got nothing out of this?? ]

[malewife]

[ Niah paces around, anxious, but Joonghyuk is more fixated on his sore neck. It's not an unfamiliar sensation... Still, he didn't expect to feel it, alongside light scratches and scrapes across his hands.

It's not anything out of the ordinary for them, but he... Doesn't like it. ]

... It was short.

[afterword]

[ Rubs at his own neck, glancing over to him. It really could've gone worse. ]

Can only wonder what the other doors are like.

[ do they try another. he's so curious. Jin comes to sniff at Joonghyuk's hands and gently bumps her nose against his fingers. ]

Did you hurt yourself on the glass?

[malewife]

... I didn't, but...

[ Based on the scratches, he must have? But it doesn't make sense when he used his sheathe to break them. When Jin bumps her nose against his hands, he instinctively pats her muzzle, more like pushing it down. Stop that.

Niah is still pacing around. ]

The rest of the door must have short instances like this.

[afterword]

[ Jin responds with a quick lick, even as her muzzle is pushed down. She is used to his behavior after all and not easily perturbed. She goes to bump against Niah after and sniff at him now. It's okay. ]

You think so? May as well try another and see.

[ There's one way of confirming that. So, without warning, he's going to go through another door.

6. You open a door and find yourself at a funeral service of the type you would expect to see in the world you came from. There are shadowy figures that look like the silhouettes of people who care about you, both from your world and from your previous game. They are mourning in whichever way is most natural to them, their mannerisms just the way you remember. You can't hear them speak, but you feel their grief. When the ceremony comes to an end, you realize they are mourning you. Upon making that realization you find yourself back in the hall, disoriented and with a deep sense of loss. Only four minutes have passed.

RNG hates Kim Dokja specifically. ]

[malewife]

[ Niah stops pacing when Jin comes up to bump against him. They can move onto next room and...

Haha! Oh, this is fucking hateful. What kind of funeral is this? During the apocalypse? Or a real one? ]

[afterword]

[ It isn't like one during the apocalypse. It's closer to a real one. It's the real shebang.

Dokja doesn't move from where he stops after entering. Just watching, observing the familiar silhouettes and... its situation is familiar in itself. He has stood by his own funeral once before. But at the time, he was aware he would be fine. That he'd come back again.

However, it won't always be that case. Now Jin is the one to start pacing, especially when she isn't able to get a response from Dokja after pawing at his leg. ]

[malewife]

[ Look at all their friends gazing upon Dokja in his casket. They are emotional. ]

This should be familiar to you.

[ Joonghyuk is just an asshole, really. He wants to dig at Dokja, especially when he hast to see another funeral. There's some relief that it's a regular one... That his companion is being respected and remembered, but he knows the truth. He has watched all of his comrades die in battle. Most were unrecoverable. He can count the amount of times he had the chance to bury his friends, when he had a heart, on his hand.

Dokja... He has left them in the worst ways possible. Every time.

Niah stands there, watching the silhouettes of their companions. ]

[afterword]

[ Well, it isn't as if Joonghyuk is wrong. It is familiar to him. He doesn't respond though. He just keeps watching. It isn't from a closer perspective- he doesn't hear their thoughts, their words.. but he does feel that grief.

His gaze lingers on some of the smaller statures. He knows some are crying. Jin starts to pace around, curiously approaching the silhouettes but getting no reaction. Like that time before, they're mourning him again. Gone through another stage of pain because of him. It really does happen a lot, huh? As that realization hits, they're right on back to the hallway. ]

...Guess they're all short after all.

[ Hm. ]

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk is quiet, as if he was one of the silhouettes in that scene. Even when they're out of the hallway, that doesn't change. His thoughts fall along the line at least those versions of their friends know where Dokja is. Can see him. Maybe he's even whole?

Solemn, still, and silent he stays. Niah noses Joonghyuk's hand and gets a pat on the muzzle, too. It's okay. ]

[afterword]

[ A yank comes to his sleeve, Dokja reaching to pat Jin's head with a light ruffle. Feeling one of those many tails wrap around him as he glances down to her. ]

There does seem to be more to those rooms though. [ That feeling of.. loss. It's heavy. It's hard to ignore. Just like with the earlier door and that soreness to his throat. He doesn't share all the details with his companion, of course. ]

Should we head back? [ He mostly talks to Jin, the daemon peering up at him with a tilt of her head. ]

[malewife]

[ What is it like not COMMUNICATING when it's needed? Niah hears Dokja's words and comes to him, like he's being included even if he's only talking to the fox. Joonghyuk stays where he is, looking beyond to the many doors left. ]

I'll look through all the doors.

[ Which is an AWFUL idea. ]

[afterword]

[ Oh Niah, you sweet sweet boy. Such a good boy. He will fluff his fur at his neck, giving him gentle pats. Though he makes a look at Joonghyuk. ]

You're a masochist. Do you remember what happened when you tried to push out beyond the limits? You passed out and poor Niah had to drag you back to safety.

[ you FOOL. ]

[malewife]

[ Niah accepts the fluffing, closing his eyes as he enjoys it. He really became a little less like Joonghyuk without the connection, more like a happy wolf dog. ]

This is within the limits of this hotel.

[ Niah gently barks when his name is called. ]

[afterword]

[ Dokja will continue petting Niah, even though Jin squeezes against the wolf to join in. She will like attention as well. ]

Doesn't change what I said. Who is to say one of these doors doesn't leave you passed out again.

Isn't that right, Niah? [ he'll agree with him. ]