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Yuu walked into the Dorm cautiously, not expecting to have to stay in Twisted Wonderland for a while or make genuine human connections. All they wanted to do was find their way home, wherever it was, and get back to their family, if they could remember them.
Did they have a family back home, waiting for them?
Did they even have a place to call home?
(They did now. They could say with certainty that they did now.)
They strode into the lounge, looking around at it in disgust. Dust covered everything like a gray sheet of snow and all of the furniture was ruined, potentially beyond repair. A rocking chair and coffee table were laid down face first haphazardly. The rug and couch were scrunched up and moth-bitten into pieces. The wallpaper was peeling and floorboards weak with age and rot, and they needed to test each step carefully, lest they break the already run-down Dorm more. Paintings hung halfway off the walls and laid on the floor, and cobwebs filled each and every crevice.
Was the place they lived in before better than this?
Was the place they lived in before a place of warmth and safety, filled with bright laughter throughout the days and quiet lullabies at night?
(It was now.
The place they lived in now was better than the place it used to be, a million times better.
The place they lived in now was a place of warmth, because physical contact was very frequent between their family and them.
The place they lived in now was a place of safety compared to the harsh world outside, because their family was there to pick up the broken, shattered pieces of them and put them back together.
The place they lived in now was a place of pranks and bickering during the days, because outwardly, their family didn't seem to get along.
The place they lived in now was a place of gentle lullabies, shaking hands and distant gazes at night because all of them were oh-so-very broken.
Like recognizes like, doesn't it?)
Moving on, they made their way to the hallway beyond the lounge, finding it in the same disheveled status as the lounge. A massive cobweb stretched across the ceiling and they paused to stare at it in awe, because it wasn't every day that they got to see a cobweb that big. A couple rugs were laid down messily on the floor and first step up the stairs leading up, for whatever reason, and the floor was the same as the room before. Already, the floor would have broken below them seventeen times if they didn't check each step. Paintings were on the walls in the same status, some half-off the peeling wallpaper, some still there somehow, and some on the floor.
What would their family think of the giant cobweb?
What would their family think of the broken dorm?
(They knew now that one of their family members would demand that someone take care of it, as they were terrified of bugs, and from there, a massive argument would start over who had to destroy the cobweb that would spiral into something entirely different somehow and all of them would forget about the cobweb until someone saw it again.
They knew now that many of their new family members would demand that the dorm be cleaned, but there were many of them that were too lazy to help without something good waiting in stock for them at the end. They knew now that the whole place would be cleaned soon, with new furniture to boot, because so many of them were hard workers and there were several who were literal royalty.
They knew now that many feet had thundered down this very hall, running from someone chasing them despite the warnings not to run indoors.
They knew that many conversations consisted of hushed whispers and tear-stained faces had taken place in this very hall, that pale-faced people had stumbled into the hallway, desperately searching for something to stop them from thinking about their most recent nightmare.
They knew that some of them had shattered in this very hall, that many more had been put back together carefully, despite the fact that the person that came out each time was different.)
Finally, they moved up the stairs, being more cautious than ever. If a plank on one of the higher steps gave way beneath them... well, they wouldn't have a good time, that much was obvious.
Thankfully, the stairwell was in better condition than the rest of the dorm, which honestly wasn't saying much, and as they carefully climbed up, they wondered.
Did their home have stairs like this?
Had their family climbed up stairs like this millions of times, moving from floor to floor?
(They could say with certainty that their home did have stairs like this. Exactly like this, except that it was in better condition and they weren't afraid of it collapsing beneath them.
They could say with certainty now that their family had moved up the stairs time after time, each in their own unique way. Some liked to run, some liked to go up them on all fours, some climbed them like normal people, which they very much weren't.
They could say with certainty now that their family had kissed foreheads goodnight and dragged others down or up the steps and stumbled down the very stairs they were climbing up after waking up from a nightmare and making sure that their family was safe, because it was all of their worst nightmares that they weren't.)
At last, they found the master bedroom, which they decided to claim because they just wanted to sleep and it was the first bed available. The room was, once again, absolutely covered in dust which didn't even surprise them anymore. There was a bucket on the floor and an armchair covered in a dirty sheet for some reason, but they gave not a second thought to those and collapsed onto the bed, which actually had a blanket. A stained and dirty one, but everything in the dorm was dirty so they cared not.
Exhausted, they collapsed on their bed, hoping that they wouldn't have to stay in this room, in this dorm, in this world for much longer.
Deep down, they knew that their hope was in vain.
(They didn't stay in that room much longer.
Before they knew it, cuddle piles and pillow forts in the somewhat clean lounge were a nightly occurrence.
Before they knew it, they couldn't sleep with the warmth of their family beside them, even in the middle of summer.
Before they knew it, they couldn't sleep anywhere other than their home, and to them, home was their family's waiting arms.
They didn't stay in that dorm much longer.
Before they knew it, that dorm had become a home and couldn't be called 'that dorm' anymore.
Before they knew it, that dorm was a place of warmth and safety, away from the cold, harsh world.
Before they knew it, they didn't think of it as 'that dorm' and instead thought of it as home.
They didn't stay in that world much longer.
Before they knew it, that world was their world, because their world was where their family was and this was their family's world.
Before they knew it, that world was where home was to them, because their home was always there, waiting for them.
Before they knew it, that world was where they were shaped to become the person they were, even if it took their soul shattering and having to have their family piece it back together, bit by bit, even if the final result was different.
The Dark Mirror said their soul was unclear to it.
Colorless.
Shapeless.
Utterly Vacant.
But didn't you know?
Mirrors are never to be trusted.)