Little Doll General

In the Market...

stormserpentofparadise

A rare sight indeed, these. Everyone knows that some objects store magical energy better than others, and few others better so than gems, one of the most common and readily available to the majority of magic users. They did not even have to be cut - the same diamond contains the same amount of energy, regardless of how pretty it looks, and it was these gems the dragon intended to build his shrine on. To fill them with divine power and embed them in key positions in the support of the shrine itself, it would make the completed shrine resonate with his divine power, and repel whoever he deemed unfit to bask in his presence.

That had been the plan, at least.

"Oh?"

A doll had addressed him - no doubt a mouthpiece for someone more powerful - he felt very little youki coming from this one, meaning that it was unlikely to be a tsukumogami, the only other option he thought possible at present. Of course, one person leapt to mind, one he had seen performing puppet shows for the village children from time to time - the youkai magician Margatroid, who dwelled in the Forest. Though what she might want with him, she had no idea.

"Can I help you, Miss…?"

A simple attempt to find out if indeed it was Margatroid or someone else who addressed him currently. Something no one who wanted to keep their identity unknown would fall for, but at the very least, he’d know if there was more than one dollmaker with similar techniques.

#stormserpentofparadise #woo yaaay #blank staring. hopefully this is 'kay..?#woo I finally got it done too. high fives muse. we did it.

It may very well have been the dragon's plan, but it was not the doll's plan. Nor was it likely the plan of her master, or one might suppose, her mother. Either one works, to be quite honest. All the same, the plan on Alice's part was more to embed the gems into a few dolls or clothing for the dolls in order to increase their magical power and use. In the case of the latter, it would very well be possible to switch the gems about onto other dolls, but who really knows what Alice would do? Likely put them into some less explosive doll. That way the gems wouldn't be lost via detonation of the containing doll. Whatever usage the gems were put to for Alice, Hourai's job is to obtain them, and she's rather intent on completing her mission. As such, she's not going to give them up to the dragon so easily. Sorry, pal.

She doesn't bother to look much less annoyed with this situation, but she does make some slight effort to be less harsh with her words here. Best try a diplomatic approach first.

"Hourai. That is to say, the Hourai doll in charge of this squadron," She makes some vague indication back to the lesser dolls carrying the other purchased objects, "but that's not too important. What is more important, however, are those gems there. See, lady Alice sort of needs those. So it would be nice if you could at least give us a few of them, if you don't mind? I could give you your money back for them, too."

Hopefully she could get them all from the man, but hey. So long as she gets two or three, she could probably explain what happened to Alice and hope the ones she did manage to get back would do.

(and here we see Hourai, having clawed up from the depths of Hell, probably. Anyway time to get to our responsibilities.)

#ooc #c'mon you little brat time to get to work

A Dream for a Doll

Wh…it’s better not to ask.

"Ehh, whatever." Monoe shrugged. "Send your maker my apologizes if you do explode. But anyways, looks like we’re here.”

There was the bed, sitting in the middle of the monotonous landscape. It looked like someone had recently slept in it, judging by the unmade blankets. But considering the lonely atmosphere, whoever was there earlier certainly wasn’t there anymore. The invisible girl probably took a nap or something.

"All we gotta do now is hop in, pull the blankets over, and close our eyes. You up for it?"

"Nah, it'll be fine. Worst case scenario, I end up blowing a hole in the roof. Or a treetop." Well, okay, that's probably not the worst case scenario, but anything worse than that is kind of unlikely. "I mean, I guess I could if you wanted me to." And she probably should if she makes a hole in the roof.

Well, since the messed up covers and such seemed fairly recent, it probably gave some clue to how far the invisible girl could have gone off to. Though, that didn't really matter much to her anyway, even if it could be interesting to catch a glimpse of the floating clothing. Either way, she hopped off of Monoe's shoulders, floating on over to the bed before lying down and shifting about a little.

"Yeah, sure." Way to say that kind of late, Hourai. She hasn't really closed her eyes yet anyway, so it's really just a matter of waiting for Monoe.

A Dream for a Doll

Detonate? Blast? What kind of doll IS this?

"You explode? What in the world were you dolls even made for?” Now Monoe wasn’t quite sure she wanted to take this doll on a magical broomstick ride. Can things like that really happen in a dream? Then again, this doll wasn’t really dreaming, is it? So many questions left unanswered, who can put this puzzle piece together. Well, not the piece, but the whole puzzle. “…E-Err, but this IS just a dream world, you won’t explode in real life, would you…?”

#bigsismonoe #Bina please #this reaction image. it has a use now #so far it's probably the closest thing I have to smug ahaha.

Clearly, she's the best kind of doll.

"Of course I do. We were made for battle! Even now, it still gives a bit of a thrill, you know? Especially solo, when I don't need to consider strategy." Really, she didn't know if she would actually detonate in the dream either, but hey, best to mention it anyway. She didn't exactly know the answers to a lot of the unasked questions, herself. Not like she wouldn't try to answer things, though. "No idea. Hell, I might not even explode here. But I do explode in real life, so I'm telling you now in case I do." Actually, exploding would definitely wake her up if falling didn't, since she'd probably pass to the next doll. It's really a convenient feature.

A Dream for a Doll

…Weren’t those the names of locations? Oh well, maybe whoever made these dolls just named them after the places.

"Hmm, so it sounds like you have no idea how to wake up, huh? I know how people usually wake up, but since you’re a doll, I don’t really know if it would work for you too… But thankfully, once we get to the rooftop and go on the broomstick ride, there is a surefire way for you to wake up! I certainly hope it won’t hurt!"

Indeed they are named after places. She fidgets a bit, looking around a little.

"Hell if I know. Whatever it is, I doubt it would really hurt. What, am I gonna fall off or something? Because that happens sometimes. We usually end up detonating after that, anyway, so you would do best to move ahead after dropping me if you don't want to get caught in the blast. Still don't know how I'd get back here if I wanted to, though."

A Dream for a Doll

"I’m not making fun of your height, I swear." Monoe shrugged, marching through the strange terrain, "I’m just saying; humans normally aren’t this small. But then again, when you live in this Dream World your entire life, you really wouldn’t pay much attention to that."

"So you’re a doll, eh? That’s an interesting one. I’ve never really heard of a doll being able to enter a dream world like that before. I’ve always thought that only asleep people can enter, but I guess I was wrong! What’s your name anyways, doll? I don’t think I’ve ever gotten your name. I’m Monoe, if you’re wondering."

"Yeah, fine then. It's true, humans aren't really that small..." She shakes her head a bit, crossing her arms and glaring off into the distance. "Sounds like it's more of a weird place than it first seems like, then. Which is really saying something."

"Honestly? I have no idea how I got here either. Or how I'm supposed to leave here or get back here, if I do decide to come back. Whatever, I guess it'll get figured out later. Anyway, it's Hourai, so I guess it's nice to meet you or whatever. Technically, it's not really my name, since I'm not the only doll of my kind, but still. There are other types of dolls like Shanghai, Holland, Ooedo, London..." And many others.

A Dream for a Doll

…What?

"How can someone not sleep, and still be alive?" Wait for it, wait for it… "…You’re not human, are you? …Then again, I shoulda guessed by your size. What exactly are you? What kind of creature doesn’t need to sleep at all?"

As these questions were being asked, Monoe was hauling ass across the Block World. She wasn’t quite as familiar with this place, so she was a bit unsure about where she was going. Thankfully, she recognized the major landscapes, so she could still find her way around. She didn’t bump into the invisible girl, though.

"There, now you've got it. Yeah, not human, I'm a doll. A living doll, actually, but..." Hey wait a minute. "You better just mean it's unusual for a human, because if you're making fun of my height, you're gonna regret it! ... Anyway, I guess I do rest, but I don't actually sleep."

So, with that, she proceeded to look pretty offended through that section of the trip. No invisible girl, though. A shame. Either way, one thing about a less navigable area is more time to talk, whether that's an advantage or a disadvantage.

A Dream for a Doll

"Oh, you haven’t figured it out yet?" Monoe grinned, somewhat amused by the girl’s reaction. "You’re in your dream right now. This isn’t your ‘real world’ or whatever, this is where you go when you fall asleep. Well, sometimes, at least. Not a lot of people actually find this dream world, but once they do, they can easily come back if they wanted to. In fact, you can come back here at another time if you want. All you gotta do is sleep."

"... I don't dream. Actually, I don't even really sleep." Sort of recharge magical power on occasion, or simply rest for the sake of letting someone else cuddle her, but not really sleep. "I've heard of dream worlds off of where I come from, but it's not like I've ever been to one. And I can't say I've heard anything about a place like this. Makes sense of not a lot of people can find it, but... Point is, dreaming isn't something I do much of."

just--another--shadow-deactivat

( Angst Me No More — Ask Meme )

SEND ME ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TO SEE HOW MY MUSE REACTS.

"Are you sure?"

"I never meant to hurt you."

"Forgive me."

"I don’t understand."

"Have you ever been afraid like this?"

"I don’t want to talk to you anymore."

"You wouldn’t understand."

"How could you do this?"

"Your problems are not of my concern."

"I don’t get it."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Nobody else seemed to notice."

"I thought you were different."

"Do you love me?"

"I understand."

"Mind if I sleep here tonight?"

"How long has it been since you last slept?"

"I never meant to hurt you."

"Can I trust you?"

"I’m so sorry."

"Don’t go. Please."

"I’m the same, you know."

"Just go. Leave."

"And if I don’t?"

"You lied to me."

"I thought it would be easier to leave."

#mumbles something about omoito #anyway the 'how long has it been since you last slept' one would be kinda silly since it's Hourai #'how long has it been since you last slept?' 'I'm a doll I don't sleep you dummy' 'oh right'

A Dream for a Doll

"Well, from the bed, we can get to the Underground World. We would be able to get to the spaceship from there, but I don’t have anything to put the fire out with, so we can only go up the elevator. But from there, we can get to the mall, which would lead us to the rooftop, where we can go on a magical broomstick ride. Whaddya think? Isn’t that a great way to end a dream with?"

"Alright, that sounds good enough to me. If there's nothing to put the fire out, then..." She sort of pats around herself, then fishes around in her apron a bit. Nothing really useful here. Maybe the axe, but that's probably not much good either, and exploding generally doesn't help stop fires. "... Nope, nothing. If whatever's around the fire is like wood or something, I guess I could try cut a hole there as long as I don't end up caught in the flames, but probably not... What about a dream, now?"

withoutpeerarchive-deactivated2

frommemetoyou

Send me headcanons you have about my muse!

frommemetoyou:

It can be about ANYTHING:

Health. Ambition. Sex. Sleep. Love. Hobbies. Pets. Style. Habits. Quirks. Parents. Respect. Drinking. Cleaning. Cooking. Self-esteem. Childhood. Music. Escapes. Children. Decorating. Eating. Fears. Family. Strength. Technology. Friends. Food. Holidays. Secrets. Lies. Work. Weather. Stress. Sickness. Art. Exercise. Hopes. Age. Death. Skills. Dreams.

#yeah hey why not #I mean I may not accept them but still #it would be interesting to see the headcanons of others

A Dream for a Doll

"Sex, of course!"

No, Monoe, shut up.

"Just kidding. The beds here actually are great for transportation. Sometimes they don’t work, but a lot of times they do. All you gotta do is climb in and close your eyes, and when you open them again, you’ll be in a completely different location. Pretty cool, huh? Wanna try it out together?"

She just remained silent at that, shifting around a little bit.

This is truly an adventure in questions and answers.

"I'm not so sure I should now, but whatever. Where's it supposed to go, then? Assuming it's even going to work, anyway." She also sort of wondered exactly why the beds do that thing. Was it just the place, or was it the beds themselves? Best to ask later after seeing if it worked, though.

A Dream for a Doll

"Well, she may be invisible, but not when the stoplight’s red! I’m sure no one would want to be seen naked when they’re immobilized." Monoe, stop that. That’s creepy. Besides, only Madotsuki have the stoplight, so that isn’t even a real reason. "Just kidding. She just wants to be known where she is so people don’t bump into her or climb into her bed when she’s sleeping in it." That didn’t sound any less creepy, especially when the girl doesn’t even know why people would just climb into random peoples’ beds in this world.

"Well, that’s really besides the point. The beds actually serve an important purpose in this place, you know."

She sort of regrets asking, at this point. Which only sort of leads to her feeling kind of weird for a bit. Regret, still a weird feeling. "Right. I haven't seen a single stoplight around, but... Right. Good to know?" That's really about all she can come up with about now. She probably should have expected the conversation to get a bit awkward with that, but it was a valid question anyway. Now she knows, at least.

"So they're not just for sleeping or cuddling here, huh. Well, what are they for, then?"

A Dream for a Doll

Well, that question went completely ignored. The silence and usual grin could have meant anything. It’s better not to think too much about it.

"Sooo, what do you think of this place?" Monoe slowly turned around to give the girl a nice 360, even though she could have just let her turn her head around. "Quite mystical and strange, isn’t it? This place may look deserted, but there are actually people living here. Err, person, rather. I only know one person who lives here. She’s usually invisible though, you’d only see her because of the clothes she wears."

"..." Well, there was no answer, but still. At least she's out of there now, then. Best not to continue on that subject, anyway. It's not like the disembodied hands are relevant anymore.

"Well, it's a lot more interesting than the last place. And the noise is gone, so that's nice." Well, there's another sound, but it's not quite as annoying. It's got a kind of nice tune to it, for not actually having any real tune. "It's not really that mystical or strange, but yeah, it's nice. So it's just one invisible person, huh? You think someone like that could just wander around without clothes and nobody would ever know?"

Hourai, stop asking weird questions.

#bigsistermonoe

A Dream for a Doll

"Huh? Oh yeah, they do that sometimes." Monoe chuckled, beginning to take off. "Don’t worry about it, they’re not gonna do anything weird. They’re just disembodied arms."

Aaand so Monoe jogs across the Monochrome Desert, with the tiny girl sitting on her shoulder. Though it was pretty hard to navigate through, since the landscape all look the same, Monoe made it through just fine. She lives here, after all, she already mapped out the entire place in her mind.

After a long while of what feels like just running around aimlessly, they finally arrived at the Block World. How exhilarating. They were standing on an invisible ground in an environment filled with random, geometric blocks of different colours.

"Still weird though. They haven't like... Groped anyone yet, have they?" It's not like she's big enough to be groped anyway, but it's still probably a valid concern. Disembodied arms that grope people are generally not very good things to have around.

Onwards, noble steed! Except not really. Either way, it's nice to be going around with someone who actually has any idea of where they're going, in such a drab and repetitive place like the Monochrome Desert. Especially when you want to get out of there fast.

What an exciting place! Except not really. On the other hand, it's definitely more interesting than the desert back there. She tilts her head slightly, trying to get a better view of the area without moving from her spot. Mostly because it's kind of nice here, yeah.