alice sawashiro

shsl doll doctor condition: broken beyond repair

[macherieamourr]

[puresephone]

[dolljudgements]

oh no | Alice | Ch. 1 Body Reaction

The ghosts were gone. Finally, Dominique had figured out a non-dangerous spell to get rid of them! Despite the gnawing, horrible feeling in her gut, that was what Alice wanted to believe. There were a lot of reasons someone would have screamed like that. Big scary monster, please god please be a big scary monster be anything but the worst case scenario they can work together to fight a big scary monster please let it be a big scary monster, please please please. When she saw Dominique, she hoped it would offer some sort of comfort, wished with everything she had in her that they would explain it away with a wave of the hand and alternate explanations they found in the library that could make the ghosts go away.

Who was it? Who’s missing? No, no no no, that was silly that was very silly why would anyone be missing, of course no one was missing, stop stop stop STOP STOP. Not again, never again, even if it was someone she’d hardly spoken to she didn’t think she would be able to handle it again. Against her better judgement, Alice made her way down to the parlor, face pale with fear and visibly shaking with trepidation, expression unfaltering but threatening to crack any minute. Against her better judgement, she followed Matthew and Dominique out to the courtyard. Against her better judgement, she didn’t close her eyes and pretend for just a little bit longer that everything would be okay. She wanted to believe it so badly. She should have let herself believe for just a moment longer.

She couldn’t believe that Kaoru Inukai’s body was slumped in the fountain.

Her hands shot up to cover her mouth, eyes wide in shock and terror, trying desperately to muffle the horrified gasp, trying to pretend it was okay, trying to pretend everyone was okay, trying to pretend she was okay. Kaoru was her friend. A nice friend, even if they were a mysterious dark spirit who had cursed her on their first meeting. She wasn’t even thinking about Shayler at that point. Tears were already welling up in her eyes and spilling over almost immediately as she struggled to silence her imminent sobbing, hands slowly lowering and clenching into fists. Steady hands from years of work and the shock of realization not fully setting in were the only reasons Alice could even get a half-decent picture of Dominique’s note amidst her sniffling and last futile attempts to keep it together.

Holding her phone in both hands, trying to focus on the image through bleary eyes and failing while the last vestiges of her composure pushed past their boundaries and stretched the flexible wall paper-thin, Alice heard Dominique loud and clear but the words just did not make sense when put together in that order. Figure out who did this? Why would anyone have done this? The violent shuddering of the ground only served to raise her panicked emotional state and the doll doctor hastily crouched to the ground, trying both to not lose her footing and simultaneously trying to pull the edges of her cap down like she was trying to pull it over her face, to no avail. She was openly crying now, loudly and - and while it was unlikely anyone could see her face the way she was positioned - making quite a mess of herself in the process. Between choked cries it seemed almost like she was trying to sputter something out and completely failing to form anything close to words.

Even as the tremors subsided to a more manageable level of stable footing, she stayed there a little longer afterwards. Finally, after a few agonizing moments, she stood up slowly, quivering with fear and wiping at her eyes and face with the hand that wasn’t clutching her phone, trying to stay strong. It was then that she laid eyes on the definitively dead body of Kaoru Inukai for the second time,  and in that moment, it seemed like the veil of tears had lifted to show her the horrid image more vividly than she’d ever seen anything in her entire life. Her lip wobbled again as finally, the full painful truth of reality set in. Kaoru Inukai was dead. Someone had killed him. Someone had killed Kaoru Inukai, and they had to find out who it was, and the castle was crumbling. Even if they did find out who it was, what good would that do?! What would any of them do with this information?! What would… any of them do at all, in the face of despair threatening to overtake them? Alice, at least, seemed to have a very good idea of what she would do.

She was going to cry.

Her legs all but gave out as she collapsed back to the ground, bawling her eyes out, seeming as if she was trying to hide from everyone but was too weak to even pull herself away from the scene. She wanted to look at the ground, look at anything else, but her gaze remained fixed on Kaoru - maybe the dog trainer would turn around, maybe she’d be cursed for all eternity. It’d be worth it. It’d be so worth it. She’d live a thousand lifetimes of the dark spirit’s curse if only it meant her friend would get up from where they lay motionless in the Courtyard’s fountain. It felt like her eyes and nose wouldn’t stop leaking, no matter how hard she tried to stand up, no matter how much she wanted to be strong for Kaoru and be strong for everyone and prove that she could help. Dolls she could fix. People she could fix to an extent, even if that was mostly bandaging silly but non-threatening injuries. This situation, though... there was nothing she could do. Nothing she could do at all.

After all, it was incredibly clear now more than ever that she was nothing more than a scared little girl.

[romantichydrocity]

Hey Now! You’re an All Star... Right? || ... || Chapter 1 Motive Reaction || Open

[dolljudgements]

Yeah, that was fair. Alice could totally get wanting to leave after/before crying and/or making a scene in the library. She furrowed her brow in confusion slightly nonetheless, though - the sort of mixed bag reaction between that, and the offer, and the everything was a bit much for the girl to parse emotionally. But even if they didn’t say anything directly confirming it, the look on their face was all she needed. It was really sad, she thought, that they couldn’t even say they needed or even just wanted a hug. That, in itself, probably meant they didn’t just need a hug now. Maybe they’d needed one for quite a long time, and that wasn’t just sad. It was unfair.

Before it became too overwhelmingly upsetting to think about, Alice promptly wrapped her arms around the six foot disaster for the best hug she could muster - like the kind she’d want to be given when she was that upset. It wasn’t the greatest approximation considering that usually, the person giving that kind of hug was taller or otherwise more physically imposing than the person on the receiving end. But sometimes, all you have to work with is being short, being 15, and being the kind of person who’s going to at least try to care, dammit!

“It’s okay to feel bad.” It probably wasn’t the most helpful thing she could have mumbled at that point, but she was a physical doll doctor, not a mental people doctor.  “So take your time.” Pulling back in a timely manner so that it wouldn’t get awkward and so that she could at least try to look them in the eyes while making a Very Important Promise. “But, um… if you ever want to talk, I’m here for you. We all are.” She couldn’t speak for everyone else, of course, she could hardly speak for herself sometimes in a literal sense. Alice had sufficient faith in her class, though, that motive or no motive, there would be no loss of trust among them. They were all in this together, after all, and there was just no way she could foresee any of them letting anything bad happen to the others.

[romantichydrocity]

Hey Now! You’re an All Star... Right? || ... || Chapter 1 Motive Reaction || Open

Once the words of the ghosts got through to Marquette, they froze in one of the corridors.

They hoped and prayed that it was only a dream, that it was all in their head. Thoughts like that weren’t rare by any extent… it was a bit too colourfully phrased for them maybe. Maybe that’s the true effect of the castle! Makes you think in old English too, haha, how wild! That was it, that was the truth. It was just another one of those days, just another day to show the world they were worth someth–

The titter notification from Dominique threw them off though.

Oh. Oh no.

Why would their host be asking such a thing? Maybe there was something different occurring! More monsters, perhaps? An announcement as to more of the workings of this castle? It had to be… right?

Marquette wasn’t feeling too good and they sure as hell knew it isn’t the spoiled milk anymore. They staggered to the library, keeping closer to the walls and wrapping their arms around themselves as this unnatural wave of anxiety washed over them.

Marquette, stared at the stressed Dominique in wide eyed fear. The fidgeting of their host didn’t reassure Marquette, and although they strained to hear what they wanted- that those groans were just temporary, that only they heard their blasted insecurity- it never came.

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, nO, NO, NO.

Marquette, Well, Morgan desperately looked around at everyone else in the library, visibly shaking.

“N-no, they’re lying! What do ghosts even know?! That’s… not true! I AM Marquette D’airelle! I am! I Have to be! I am Marquette D’airelle, the Ultimate Bachelor. I-I…” They yelled, trying to sound confident like they had done previously; trying to even pull it off as a joke, but the tremor in their voice was enough to crack this fine veil of denial. They ended up stumbling into one of the bookcases on the walls and used it for support.

“I am Marquette D’airelle and I am not anyone else!”

“I am Marquette D’airelle, I am loved and I am worth something.”

“I am Marquette D’airelle… I prefer Cats to dogs? No… that’s not right. I like dogs? Long walks on the b-beach and um… I’m left handed. No wait. I…”

“S'il vous plait, Je m'appelle Marquette D’airelle, et La vérité fait mal, non…?”

“I… Call myself Marquette D’airelle and I…I  h-h-have no sibling. N-none at all. Non-existent, fictitious, fake, no one needs to know!”

That had been the breaking point. 

All their near crazed and frantic statements were made as tears pooled out of their eyes and they tugged on their hair in frustration. But they physically struggled with the final comment. It sputtered out, as if it was tearing them up inside to even utter the words.

Yeah, they’re a bit of a mess.

[dolljudgements]

It hadn’t been her most well-rested night, but in spite of the everything Alice had managed to rest up at least a little bit. Was it great? … No, and it left her running at a slightly lower speed from the exhaustion. Normally she was very well rested, and sure, she had a late night here and there. This brand of ghostly nonsense was very unusual, though. And the brand of ghostly nonsense about Marquette (Morgan???) was extra concerning. That… was probably fake. Right? Sure, it was a magic castle, and sure, some wild and crazy shit had happened, but how could ghosts formed in and of the castle possibly know anything true about them? It was probably just trying to mess with them, although Dominique summoning the lot of them to the library was concerning to say the very least.

And Marquette Morgan??? Whichever name they would go by, didn’t look too good. Alice wanted to pay full attention to what Dominique told them, she really did, but the bachelor’s(?) reaction did little to reassure her that they were okay by any meaning of the word, and even less to assure her that the claim was false. And if that worried her, what on earth was it going to do to them? Even worse, the last time this happened was only stopped by the death of a human in the castle? Everything was happening so much, and she didn’t know how to handle it, and her friend didn’t know how to handle it, they were nice, they didn’t deserve that but what could she possibly do to make this any better at all? Not a lot, probably! Emotions were one of the things that she couldn’t fix! It’s not like cutting yourself opening a rusty can and being able to just wash it off and wrap it up. You can’t put a Hello Kitty bandaid on someone’s feelings and expect it to be all better.

They were frantic, and crying, and god it hurt to watch and probably hurt even more to feel and someone had to do something and that someone might as well be her. Even if she was probably the least qualified person to help an older person work out a crisis or three, she couldn’t just stand by and let it happen. While she did wonder why someone would impersonate their entire brother, she was equally sure that there had to be a reason for it. Nobody here was bad, and she believed in that more firmly than anything. No one had enough of anything to hide that those pesky ghosts would get to them, surely. There were a couple things she wasn’t exactly looking to share with her class, but nothing she wouldn’t be able to face up to if she had to. Probably. But that wasn’t important right now.

Approaching the ambiguously M-named person she considered a friend carefully, wanting to comfort them but not impose, trying to walk the fine line of acceptable conduct with someone she knew and liked but wasn’t especially close with. Why were they talking about themself like that? Who hides an entire brother? Who does that? If Marquette was the one who hid an entire sibling, why would Morgan want to be him? Or was this entire thing beyond her understanding? Even though she didn’t really get it, Alice just wanted everyone to feel okay despite the situation at hand. “... You’re worth something no matter who you are.” With as much conviction as she could muster, she looked up at M______, almost but not quite pleadingly. “You’re my- well, you’re our friend. That’s true no matter what.” Hopefully. It was a little bold to speak for everyone on that matter, but it was what she believed. Marquette, Morgan, whoever, it didn’t matter! The person before her was her friend no matter what name they went by.

After a moment of brief uncertainty, like she wasn’t entirely sure of what to do next, she remembered what was probably a comforting gesture to make. It had helped her the last time she was so upset over something, so maybe it would make Marquette feel better? “... Do you want a hug, or something...?” Was that a stupid thing to ask??? Maybe??? She’d already proven ineffective when trying to prevent them from drinking spoiled milk, and this was a considerably more serious matter she was considerably less prepared to handle.

[shsl-swing-singer]

Lost or in thought? | Luna | Chapter 1 | Closed for Alice

Waking up in an odd location? Fine. Skeletons and other monsters? Understandable. Being told to murder the next coming of dracula? Fair. What was NOT ok was the complete lack of a wardrobe this sudden teleportation had left her with. If her stay here was to be short she supposed she could make do, but there was a fair chance that she may be stuck here a while.

Luna had already inspected the living quarters and appreciated what Dominique had prepared on (presumably) short notice. But a desk, candles, and a bed weren’t exactly going to aid in any form of hygiene now were they. Well, there were the fountains outside she supposed. At the very least she could wash her clothes when the water wasn’t tinted red for whatever reason. Food was a whole other thing she would attend to at a later time.

Luna sat with her back lightly leaning against one of the more intact walls, ever wary of the possibility of old stone coming loose and propelling her backwards. The red tinted moon loomed over distant grey watch towers, and a forest of pine trees visible from a large gap in the opposing corridor wall. The decay of manmade structures over time and tragedy still remained one of the most breathtaking sights to her. Although her reality had been abruptly thrown out the proverbial window, Luna sat here admiring the moon, its red colour reflecting in her maroon eyes. For what it was worth, it was a good thing that Luna had been wearing her winter jacket when she blacked out, or else the slight chill may have made her shiver. The green parka cushioned her seat and wrapped her in a soft warmth that she may’ve been able to appreciate better if she was back in her apartment on a rainy day. She removed the memory from her sphere of attention and pulled the goose down fabric around her body so that it covered part of her folded legs to her side. Now, to formulate a plan… or not. Luna turned her head in the direction of the small girl and waved, her smile rivalled her jacket’s level of warmth.

[dolljudgements]

The Metal Gear alert sound effect would have gone off when Luna waved her over if Alice was the sort to be predisposed to sneaking around on purpose. Even with her general appearance somewhat in contrast to the rest of the castle, her height and silence left her with the nasty habit of accidentally startling people. Luna was really pretty and had a nice smile - maybe it was, again, just her tendency to trust people off the bat but something about the girl felt immediately… tranquil. Or at least safe - it’s amazing, really, the wonders a warm smile will do. Even if she was getting the wrong vibe, Alice wasn’t the sort of person who would readily realize that about anyone, especially so soon after adopting a sort of ‘we’re all in this together’ mentality about… everything that had been happening recently.

She waved back promptly, taking the gesture to be a sign that it was okay to approach. Alice hadn’t been too sure what Luna was looking at and briefly glanced out past the lack of wall, and-- well, that explained it. It was kind of really pretty, which made sense enough. Pretty girl, pretty view. A flawless, logical conclusion. Maybe the weather was a little brisk, but Alice wasn’t particularly sensitive to the cold. If she was, she’d either wear a longer skirt or longer socks. Or something more sensible like those tights which have insulation in them? Anyways.

Kneeling on the ground nearby enough to hold conversation but at a far enough distance to be respectful of the fact they didn’t… really know each other yet, Alice went to greet the singer with the thought-provoking “Hi.” of champions. Glancing back out through the wall, attempting to spark conversation on common ground (having the same things in your line of sight is common ground, circumstantially, she commented as well on the “Nice view.” This is how friendships are born.

[dolljudgements]

Paw Patrol | Alice | Prologue | Closed for Kaoru

[dolljudgements]

Her will to resist the urge to pet was declining by the moment. Alice resolved herself, she had to ask at a more opportune moment - at least that way if she got told ‘no’ it would be a lot easier to not touch the dog. Either way, it was awfully nice of the dark spirit to hope the gods were watching in her favour after apparently cursing her. Very considerate. She didn’t particularly believe it was her only saving grace, figuring there were probably other ways to break or at least alleviate a curse, but maybe she wouldn’t say that in front of the spirit that cursed her. That was probably, like, the fastest way to get cursed even more. It didn’t sound like her idea of a good time normally, even less so with the mysterious mystery of the spooky scary courtyard. That never did stop being a thing that was happening, and didn’t seem like it would any time soon either.

Alice remained rapt, attentive to the way Kaoru described Shayler as a goddess. It seemed almost unbelievable that such a good dog, best friend, absolute gift to the world was descended from the heavens. But, what did she know? The dark spirit would probably know better than a regular person like her. After taking a moment to digest the information, she nodded, seemingly willing to accept it at face value. “Huh. Neat.” Dogs really were amazing, weren’t they? Benevolent, loving creatures - if any animal was gonna be a deity accompanying a human, a very good dog seemed to be one of the more probable. Nothing about Shayler seemed to like, radiate godliness, but maybe that was entirely on purpose. Gods in disguise or something? It was entirely possible. Be not afraid and all that.

Still. Kaoru still seemed nervous, but like... calm enough to actually talk to her. Could it hurt to ask? Was there anything to lose by doing so? Fiddling with the hem of her skirt like she was summoning the courage to ask a question, she finally sucked a breath in and did so. “Can I… pet the goddess? Would you, or, she mind?” No questions asked about dark spirits or goddesses. Pure unfiltered Please Let Me Pet Your Dog here.

[shslpurble-blog]

Short But Not A “Baby”Doll | Jotaro | Prologue | Closed For Alice

[shslpurble-blog]

Getting excited over small, mundane things was a virtue of the boy’s. Still, he usually did have a small bit of restraint, but with the weird situation they were in, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to be too nice. Everyone had to be on some level of confusion, which probably meant some softer kids were quaking in their boots. Though Alice didn’t seem too fed up, he wondered if she was internalizing some type of fear. It was hard to tell with this girl. She seemed very quiet. 

“I never really understood that book.” Jotaro admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I….think that’s the point, but its very silly to confuse readers, don’t you think? Or, maybe I’m just not wacky enough!” He gave a light chuckle. “You seem like you’d like those kind of books.” 

“Cool?” The purple-haired boy cocked his head to the side. Huh, weird way to phrase that. He did suppose the environment was kind of cool, though it was too dark and mysterious for his tastes. “I mean, it’s lovely architecture. I’m sure I’d enjoy it more if I knew how we got here, and why, don’t you think?” 

[dolljudgements]

All the talk about silly books and confusing readers was somewhat lost on Alice. Books were supposed to make you think, right? At least most were, maybe not those ‘cow goes moo’ type books they give toddlers to familiarize them with the world around them. But, she seemed like she’d like ‘those’ types of books, apparently. Was… that a bad thing? Normally when people pointed out things they thought she would like, it was done disparagingly. Even moreso when they were correct - she didn’t read anywhere near as much as she would like to, but her taste in literature could be esoteric at times to say the least. “Oh. Maybe. I don’t have much time to read.” That wasn’t technically a lie. It was more dodging the statement, granted, but You Know.

That much was a fair point, though. Maybe she’d just stopped thinking about it to ease her own nerves, and had gotten a little too enthusiastic about the architecture. The how and why was pretty important, yeah, but were they gonna get answers anytime soon? She’d more or less figured out that beard guy (who she still hadn’t spoken to) wasn’t any adult-ier than the rest of them, or if he was he wasn’t any more clued in than the rest of them. Alice simply shrugged her shoulders in a manner that could be taken as agreement. “I guess so.” Again, she glanced up at the looming spires of the courtyard. Even though she wasn’t exactly thrilled to be there, the lack of immediate danger probably meant it was fine to appreciate the aesthetic. Other than the “water” which was a little unsettling, it seemed like the kind of place her family might visit after saving up and taking the time off for a trip.

The whole ‘not actually knowing where her parents were’ thing made that a pretty sobering thought.

Looking back to Jotaro and adjusting her bag straps, she exhaled a little more sharply than usual - she hadn’t even realized she was holding her breath a bit while contemplating that. “... Think there’s any clues?” If he didn’t think it was cool, maybe he would think it was useful. By now, they’d probably all figured on some level that they’d been left alone for at least a bit.

[dolljudgements]

Through the Looking Glass | Alice | Prologue | Open

[dolljudgements]

Alas, poor Matthew. It hadn’t been her intent to come across as so uncaring, nor did she particularly realize that she was contributing to anything of the sort. Alice was, in fact, too focused on the fact that she could not shake the feeling she recognized him somehow. It was probably just her mind scrambling for anything that might be slightly familiar, and she was just imagining things. Yes, certainly just imagining things. Her brow furrowed slightly sympathetically when he apologized again, and she seemed quite like she wished to say something more, the words would not come to her.

Say something, anything, don’t just stand there or let him stand there this is getting awkward oh dear oh dear oh dear. At the very least, she still got her answer. “Um… please don’t apologize. It’s okay.” Alice reached out halfway to pat him on the arm but hesitated - did she know him well enough for that? Would it even make anything better? Yikes, yikes indeed. She was very much not sure how to approach this, but hoped to at least try and show that she was invested by carrying conversation. It wasn’t something that came especially naturally to her, but it was worth attempting, at the very least.

“It’s nice to meet... you... too.” The last bits of her sentence trailed off, as if she’d realized something midway through speaking that demanded more of her attention. His name was Matthew. Could it be, was it possible? It didn’t seem the most plausible thing in the world, but if it was less of a coincidence and more of an actuality, well, colour her surprised! If she was right about who she had started to suspect he was, it would explain why she thought she recognized him, and if she was wrong… well, it’d be kind of embarrassing. With nothing to lose and… like, a couple things to gain from trying, with a little more confidence to her tone she spoke up again. “Sorry if this is weird, but are you... Matthew Wanderlust?” The faintest glimmer of hope shone in her eyes, which again wasn’t much, but maybe it would make her monotony sound a little less monotonous. Alice was almost eager to see if he’d say yes - about as eager as someone as unexpressive as her (or Juzo probably) could be.

[dolljudgements]

... | Alice | Prologue | Closed for Juzo

[dolljudgements]

Thank god, the thread title was apt! … Okay, well, that, and thank god it seemed like this would be a situation where fewer words were more acceptable. It wasn’t a spoken agreement (lol) per se, but it would be nice not having to hold an extensively wordy conversation out of politeness or anything like that. Especially with someone who was so UNSPEAKABLY COOL. It wasn’t as comforting as, say, having it explained that they were brought here all together to prepare for a surprise party for Hope’s Peak’s class of 30xx and they would see their families again in a bit. But, it was something, and something was a heck of a lot better than nothing. Having the reassurance that not everyone was as inclined towards wordiness was a small comfort which would almost certainly be insignificant in the long run, but we’re not in the long run here, now are we.

Alice’s eyes widened just a bit with surprised enthusiasm when she realized that she had been understood. If this was some kind of anime or, heaven forbid, visual novel, there might have even been some of those sparkles in her eyes and slash or around her head. But that would be ridiculous. The sentiment is here in the narrative and here it will lie, may it rest forever in peace knowing that it conveyed its message to a specific audience. Indeed, might as well try and make some kind of conversation. That, or set a record for the lowest post-to-dialogue ratio, considering how little it seems either of the two would talk if they could so help it. It’s like that sometimes, but the back and forth is helped along easily enough in spite of that. “Alice Sawashiro.” Simple enough. That… sure was her name. She also cocked her head to the side like it would heighten the nonexistent ability to telepathically converse, although she didn’t have as much accessory flair to go with it. “You?”

The straps of her bag were starting to dig into her shoulders a little bit by that point - but most reasonable people would likely not be so eager to dump their personal belongings so soon after waking up in a mystery zone where it seemed like some others didn’t even have that much on them. While definitely odd, the lack of… well, necessities, was also reassuring in a sort of bizarre way. They wouldn’t be staying long without supplies, after all. Someone knew where they were and they would be able to get, like… water and stuff soon enough. She simply adjusted the position of the straps slightly, relieving the pressure from one spot and reapplying it in another which would inevitably have to be moved back later (or, more likely, would just kinda… slide back there, since gravity and movement tend to keep things like backpacks in a fairly consistent place.)

[shslpurble-blog]

Short But Not A “Baby”Doll | Jotaro | Prologue | Closed For Alice

[shslpurble-blog]

Energy poured from every orifice of his. This girl seemed a little quiet, but he didn’t mind doing the talking. Anyone who had any sort of similarity to him made him euphoric. He was tiny for his age, so seeing someone remotely small made him feel just a bit bigger inside, no pun intended!

When she stuck her hand out, his shoulders wiggled side to side. “May I?” He asked suddenly, gently putting his hand against her own. Practically identical, but her palm was just a tad bit bigger. It still made him chuckle happily. 

“Alice…! Like that one English fairytale?” He prompted, still smiling sweetly. “I’m Jotaro Ainara! I’m usually not at this kind of place…” He looked around. “..wherever we are, but it is nice to meet a friendly cohort!” 

[dolljudgements]

Well, she probably wasn’t going to say no anyways, but it was always a curious thing to her when someone asked if they could do something while in the process of doing it. She wasn’t bothered in the slightest - the closest thing would be how weird it felt to have very slightly bigger hands than someone. “Hm.” It was more of an exhalation than an actual response, but take what you can get, kids. She wasn’t used to people being so friendly right off the bat, doubly so when they were as animated as Jotaro. Not that it was a bad thing.

Given that she didn’t actually know if it was the definitive origin or not, when questioned about the similarities between her name and the eponymous in Wonderland series, all she had to say was “I guess so.” She’s better off probably not knowing that she was in fact named after a video game character. By me. But nonetheless, she took another look around the courtyard as if to affirm that yep, this didn’t look like the kind of place that any of them usually were. Sure, it kinda seemed like some of these kids were the type to hang out in graveyards for the aesthetic - but massive freakin’ courtyards with no discernible way in or out?! Unlikely…

It felt odd to be called a cohort too, but it was hard to think that he could possibly mean anything negative by it. It was like all the energy that she should have had was siphoned out and somehow magically transferred directly to Jotaro, then fucktoupled in intensity. “Nice to meet you, Ainara-san.” Pause, beat, figure out what to say next. Uhhhhh. “Have you… found anything cool around here?” GG. Conversation won. You did it, Alice.

[dolljudgements]

Paw Patrol | Alice | Prologue | Closed for Kaoru

[dolljudgements]

Whoops. Startling Kaoru was definitely not what she intended, and she immediately felt pretty not great about that. The reaction when they met eye-to-eyes, even for a second, pretty much solidified that it wasn’t just an unlucky coincidence. Alice turned her head slightly aside, both out of mild embarrassment and respect for the fact that as far as she could tell, Kaoru didn’t really want to be looked upon. From what glimpse she’d caught, she couldn’t really tell why. But it wasn’t ever that fun to have lots of attention on you when you didn’t want it, so maybe they just didn’t want attention right then. She didn’t really know, nor did it matter. She should still apologize even if it was an accident. Opening her mouth to do so, it was just as quickly again shut by the words coming out of the dog’s-- er, collar?

Apparently, she was now cursed! Alice certainly didn’t fancy herself a heavenly being, and wasn’t really sure if any beings, heavenly or otherwise, were currently watching over her. Well, that would be a problem to deal with later. Maybe they were all already cursed and that’s how they wound up in the weird courtyard. The way this information was being relayed was pretty cool - putting a speaker in a dog’s collar and talking through it? Real neato. If she didn’t know any better, she might have thought for a moment that the dog was talking all by itself. Through some kind of thought-to-speech technology in the wonderous year of 30xx. That aside, the last thing Kaoru said seemed to pique her interest quite a bit. Both her eyebrows raised slightly and she leaned in just a little closer, intrigued.

“Really?” Was she really talking to a dark spirit, for real? Alice didn’t sound like she was doubting it in the slightest, at any rate. Whether she believed it or not, the doll doctor seemed satisfied to leave it at that. “Cool. I’m, um... just a human… also trying to get by.” Her eyes kept darting over to Shayler, who at this moment was looking like the absolute fluffiest most friendly lovable dog in the entire world to exist, ever. So pettable. So wonderful. A good girl. No, not a good girl - the best girl. As earnestly as possible, the next most important question to ask… was asked. “So… is your dog also a spirit then?” Resist urge to pet resist urge to pet don’t be rude you have to ask first RESIST URGE TO PET.

[dolljudgements]

Through the Looking Glass | Alice | Prologue | Open

[dolljudgements]

Now there was a man who was probably about as nervous as the rest of them should have been, considering the circumstances. She certainly couldn’t blame him for being so outwardly freaked out about the… well, everything. Alice’s gaze remained intently focused as he sort of kind of gave a greeting or two. Or three. Several was okay too. She wasn’t here to judge.  Actually, she - much like everyone else - still did not actually know why she was here. But it was definitely not to judge others. While she made some attempt to hold eye contact, it wound up seeming like Matthew preferred to not at the moment. Not that it bothered her in the slightest - nerves were nerves. Although speaking of nerves…

“It’s okay.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “It’s okay.” she repeated a bit louder, though not with any more energy or enthusiasm. She spoke slowly and deliberately, like she was trying to recall an exact script she had forgotten, and was struggling to put the words in the right order. “But I… don’t know. Sorry.” The flat intonation probably wasn’t helping matters much. Cocking her head to the side slightly with her eyebrows raised just a little more than they originally were, she figured that maybe introductions would possibly stabilize things a little? Like, just establish that they were both actual people in this situation which might be a little grounding? Eh. Whatever. It was worth a shot.

“My name’s Alice.” Her hands were a fair bit more animated than her words as she introduced herself, signing along out of habit. “What’s your name?” That seemed to come a fair bit more naturally to her, although it was in the way that you could kind of tell it had been practiced a lot beforehand. Like the lines to a play you’ve known by heart for years. Throughout all of it, her expression remained unchanging.

[dolljudgements]

... | Alice | Prologue | Closed for Juzo

@pleasantpandemic

It was certainly proving to be a colourful group gathered by... some means for some purpose? That part was still pretty unclear to her. That little voice asking ‘ever wonder why we’re here?' in the back of one’s mind was getting just a bit louder. Not in the existential sense of meaning and reality - like, why we’re here. In this courtyard. Maybe the answer would come in time - they had gotten there somehow, so someone probably knew what was going on somewhere. Like one of those prank shows where they let you panic for a bit, then jump out and laugh at you for believing it was real. Yeah, mean-spirited as all get out, but ultimately harmless in the long run. Just like this.

Yep. Just like this.

At any rate, it wasn’t especially nerve wracking to consider the idea of maybe actually approaching some of the others. Some of them seemed to have a fair lot more energy than she suspected she could really break into in any meaningful way. Some of them were completely, utterly unreadable, especially those among them with facial accessories. Really, really cool facial accessories. Yes. Absolutely the person who is probably radiating the strongest air of ‘don’t talk to me’ is the best place to start. Maybe it would just be a short conversation, or if luck favoured her a nonverbal alternative. Not that she was holding her breath on that one, though.

Okay wow the closer she got, the more absolutely dead Juzo’s eyes looked. It would almost be unnerving if Alice was any more expressive herself, and if she wasn’t already the slightest bit awestruck by the overall very cool aesthetic which was only slightly the opposite of her own. The whole foot of difference aside, it was time to MAKE FRIENDS IN THE MOST FITTING CIRCUMSTANCES EVER. “Hi.” Her initial greeting was spoken aloud (albeit a little quietly) and and then you know when you’re talking, go off script, forget what you were going to say and there’s like an uncomfortable five second awkward pause? It was kind of like that, but after a couple of those seconds she promptly signed “It’s nice to meet you.” Worst case, she’d have to take a moment to collect her thoughts and maybe try again.

[shslpurble-blog]

Short But Not A “Baby”Doll | Jotaro | Prologue | Closed For Alice

@dolljudgements

The people he had met so far were unique and quite nice. He presumed whomever he’d stumble upon next would be just as interesting. He found someone, a small girl who looked fairly timid. She was like a living doll! He just had to compliment her!

“Hiya!” He shouted excitedly, practically skipping towards her as he was so excited. “You’re tiny! Like me! Gosh, I’ve never seen someone my size!” He sticks out his hand. “Our hands are pretty much the same size! So tiny! So cute!! I like you!”

[dolljudgements]

Alice’s expression did not change when the purple ball of energy’s shout came her way, nor when he came bounding towards her. It was, admittedly, somewhat unusual for her to encounter someone shorter than her, but it wasn’t really that noticeable anyways, and she wasn’t going to point it out unless he did, and oh okay he did point it out. In fact, it seemed to be why part of why she was sought out. Alice did find it to be slightly odd that he apparently hadn’t seen anyone else around their size, but simply surmised that he might have just been unlucky when it came to friends and classmates prior.

She held eye contact best she could, only breaking it to glance down as she wordlessly stuck out her own hand in response, nodding softly at the observation that they were close enough to the same size. The faintest hint of pink flooded her cheeks upon being called cute, more out of surprise than anything else. Well, at least it seemed like she was already making friends? He certainly had more than enough energy for the both of them, and just as well considering that Alice didn’t seem particularly energetic herself. Almost as if reflexively, she signed a quick “thank you” in response, before realizing that whoops maybe he wouldn’t actually understand that.

“Thanks.” Enough time had passed since the awakening that she’d had time to adjust somewhat, but it still seemed like she was taking her time to think really words out before actually saying them. And even then, while not disinterested, her delivery was just kind of... flat. “You seem pretty nice too.” She cocked her head to the side, ever so slightly, not seeking to break eye contact.  “I’m Alice. What’s your name?”

[dolljudgements]

Paw Patrol | Alice | Prologue | Closed for Kaoru

@shsl-darkdoggie

The bush commotion hadn’t gone unnoticed, and while Alice was dealing with some mild problems of her own, she couldn’t ignore the strange and mysterious individual hiding in said bush. Communication might prove difficult if she was unlucky, but if nothing else she was determined to make sure they were okay and then, if it was what they desired, leave them alone until they were feeling totally better. Even if she was arguably the least qualified present, she still felt like it would be the right thing to do. Leaving someone in that sort of state, knowingly, would just be unacceptable.

Determined, she finally made her way over - not particularly quickly, but definitely with a purpose. Gathering the skirt of her dress, Alice sort of knelt close-ish to the bush in question, far enough to leave some respectful distance but close enough that what voice she’d hopefully be able to muster would be heard. “Are… you and your dog okay?” It came out quietly, more like a statement than a question, and quite a lot like the words were hesitant, struggling to come out of her mouth. Her expression didn’t really change much other than one brow raised slightly from concern. Fidgeting with the fabric of her skirt would probably be enough to suggest her own nerves were a thing which were existing at the moment.

Man, she wanted to pet the dog so bad. Whatever the dog’s name was looked really fluffy and nice and had a cute ribbon but there were more important things at hand, dang it! The dog’s presumed owner was in bad shape, they were in mystery courtyard hell, and it was rude to pet dogs without asking! Besides, you weren’t… even supposed to pet dogs with vests, right? Something like that. A good second step might have been to introduce herself, but it was completely forgotten in the midst of her concern and anxiety.

[dolljudgements]

Through the Looking Glass | Alice | Prologue | Open

Running water wasn’t the most unpleasant of sounds in the world, although a rather strange one to wake up to when someone doesn’t expect it. For a brief moment, Alice thought that maybe she’d just been that stunned by the eclipse. And maybe everyone else had. And that dog. Hm. Well, no, that definitely wasn’t the case at all. Bringing herself to a position where she was sitting comfortably on the ground, still waiting to gain her bearings before standing, her first order of business was to look for her parents. After seeing fourteen older kids, a dog (a dog! good dog!), and someone who was maybe a responsible adult judging by the beard, the logical conclusion was that her parents were also not here.

Well, that wasn’t normal.

With nothing to be done about it, she felt for the straps of her bag and, finding them on her shoulders, slid them off and flipped the bag around to her front to root through its contents and check that nothing important was missing. Satisfied that she hadn’t been robbed on top of everything else, she closed the bag back up, re-equipped it, and stood up as straight as she could. The surrounding architecture, the spires, the fountains, what foliage there was, and… the doors. There really did seem to be no way in, and no way out. Which then begged the question - how did they get in there? The doors were sealed, so they shouldn’t have been able to get in. Which left what other option? The doors were sealed after they got there?

Wait. Yeah, that kind of was the other option.

Alice very slightly furrowed her brow in thought. Neither of those options sounded great, really, but maybe she was just overthinking things. Someone would probably be along soon to explain it to them. Everyone else seemed nice enough, as far as she could tell, and they were more or less the same age - again, as far as she could tell. Part of her wondered if she should go try to talk to them, and part of her knew that it would likely prove somewhat difficult, given the nature of… whatever all this was. It sort of left her feeling tense in the neck and shoulders. Or maybe it was because she’d been asleep, and it was just a little sore? Either way, she was more or less just sort of staring blankly at everyone else with the same neutral expression that didn’t give much of anything away. A reasonable and normal reaction to have at a time like this, really.