#[[Mind's Fragment ║ The Mad Hatter

[kazeofthemagun]

The Mind

[The Omega big brother demanded to be drawn, that is very rare. XD]

[charalysis]

Alice Liddle: American McGee's Alice

MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNING: THESE GAMES AND THIS POST WILL BE DISCUSSING THEMES OF S.A, PEDOPHILIA, MURDER, MENTAL ILLNESS, SELF HARM, PROSTITUTION, AND MEDICAL ABUSE.

Alice Liddle of American McGee's Alice and its sequel, Madness Returns, is a severely mentally ill character in the games she stars in. She endures trauma after trauma, with next to no assistance, alone. In this post we will break down what happened to her, her reactions, and how she developed.

Disclaimer: Despite mental illness being the main theme here, I will not be attempting to diagnose Alice, as I am not professionally trained and she does not have an official, canon diagnosis of any kind. I will however make inferences.

For those unaware, American McGee's Alice is a horror twist on Alice in Wonderland, following the protagonist Alice. In this first game, you play as 18 year old Alice Liddle, who from eight years old to that point has been living in Rutledge Asylum in England. The game begins with the player introduced to the catalyst of Alice being in the asylum: a house fire.

In this fire, Alice is the only one to survive from her family, with her parents and sister, Lizzie, dying in the fire. This causes a massive snap in Alice's mind as she watches the house burn and townspeople surround her.

In this scene we are also introduced to the idea that Alice was likely already mentally ill, as when the fire begins, what wakes her isn't the smoke or screams, its Hatter and March Hare screaming in her dreams about the fire, begging her to wake up. (However, its likely it was just a framing device, but we do see its what woke her.)

From then on, Alice spent her time in the asylum, nearly comatose. She was catatonic and would only speak in shrieks and shrill screams. She'd have seizures and episodes of hysteria before falling unresponsive and mute again. Her doctor's notes also describe an incident where she "wielded a spoon like a knife and the orderlies, then turned the makeshift weapon in her own arms".

Needless to say, the fire that killed her family severely traumatized Alice, and she struggles heavily with possible PTSD and survivors guilt.

Alice in the first game also expresses suicidal ideation, or at the very least a passive desire to die. She's heard saying, "Save myself? From death, is that it? Is that why I've come here? I'm not afraid to die! At times I've welcomed death..."

And, "Everyone I love dies violently; unnaturally. I'm cursed! Why go on? I'll just hurt others."

The latter of these quotes is indicative of her guilt; it shows she blames herself for not just her her family's deaths, but others, and believes those she grows close to will also die horribly if they stay around her. She expresses she thinks people are better off without her.

In regards to Wonderlands occupants and how they relate to her fragile and broken psyche... American McGee has stated that all in some way represent her fragments mind and emotions. How, I don't think is explicitly stated beyond the Queen, but I have theories:

Cheshire: Her subconscious and manifestation of Dinah in her mind. Dinah lead her to safety in the fire, showing the way out. Chesh is guide that knows more than Alice consciously knows, but things she's got hidden in her mind. He tells her the clues she's seeing and picking up on subtleties she can't. That's why he uses riddles.

Hatter: Hatter is obsessive and rambling. He's a sort of representation of her doctor in the asylum, after all he runs one himself. He's paranoid and obsessed with time and loathes mechanical malfunctions. He may very well be a sort of ego aspect, where the Queen is super-ego. He could also likely be the manifestation of Alice's own paranoia and frustration surrounding her own "malfunctioning" mind.

Queen of Red Heart: She is Alice. She is the part of Alice that causes her the most grief and torment. She is what keeps Alice locked in her psychosis; a malevolent manifestation of super-ego. Cheshire compares her to a cancer in the body, which must be excised or Alice would die.

Jabberwock: A creature who taunts Alice and accuses her of not caring about her family. He is what taunts her about their deaths and says that she was, "in dream land taking tea with friends", and she, "couldn't be bothered". He is her guilt and self anger and he is there to remind her of this guilt constantly.

Caterpillar: He provides her wisdom giver. He takes things she sees and can help her recontexualize them. He is similar to Cheshire, but more to the forefront. He is also seemingly the calm part of her mind.

Tweedles: looking identical to the orderlies in Rutlidge, the Tweedles are cruel to Alice and lack any higher intelligence beyond orders. They are childishly cruel and likely have something to do with Alice's self punishment.

Rabbit: More obsessed with time than Hatter, Rabbit is a mostly absent guide who rushes ahead of Alice and he's very, very fidgety. He likely represents her conflict between anxiety and comfort. The comfort being from him being based on her favorite toy, and his face being easing to her. But he's very paranoid about time and danger.

Duchess: Initially a manifestation of the cruel nurse in charge of her, Nurse D, Duchess is a violent cannibal. It could be argued her outfit initially resembles a nurses outfit too. Later in the second game, she is seen in more revealing clothes and no longer eats people, and prefers pig now. Her "overbearing goodwill" and appearance now more represents her nanny, Nan Sharp.

While I do not believe these games are a 100% accurate depiction of mental illness and trauma, they do a good job showing the struggle between one's self and the inner machinations of their mind as they struggle with their mental health, and struggle to learn to cope on their own.

The second game is much better about the direct correlation between Alice's real struggles and Wonderland falling apart.

In Madness returns, we see an older Alice struggling in therapy as her doctor, Angus Bumby, tries to make her forget her past. She wants to forget everything rather than continue to struggle with it. We see she's still being abused and exploited by Nurse Witless, who's blackmailing her.

In Wonderland, we see the Corruption and the pollution destroying Wonderland piece by piece as the Dollmaker (Bumby's influence and brainwashing) takes over her mind bit by bit. We see her remembering her childhood and the past Bumby tried to erase, and we see her piece the truth together as she slowly banishes the Dollmaker.

By the end of MR, we see a confident Alice, the pieces of her fragmented life and mind put back together as Wonderland blossoms and Bumby dies via a train after Alice confronts him with his crimes.

Tl;Dr: While imperfect in their portrayal of mental illness, PTSD, and more, American McGees Alice And A:MR depict the grittiness, the despair, and the pain that can come with these things fairly well. It also depicts a woman struggling but succeeding in helping herself and bettering herself. These games revolve around facing your issues head on and healing. Their use of symbology is fantastic in my opinion.

[granulesofsand]

We’ve recently been researching ramcoa to figure out what happened in our expierience, and we think we had Alice in wonderland programming, but I can’t find a lot of information about it. Can you explain it a little more in depth?

🗝️🏷️ RAMCOA, weird childhood torture shit, mild swearing

I don’t think we have an Alice in Wonderland script, but I can describe some of our features that might’ve been ripped off from it. There are a few people who’ve written long descriptions, but it’s not the easiest read.

A programming script is a piece of media superimposed onto a dissociative system. Alters might have roles or names tied to the story, the map of the innerworld similar to given landmarks, programs related to plot lines.

Alice in Wonderland is fairly common because of its age and thematic elements (an “induction” into another world, a guide figure, fantastical nonsense). There are also several versions of the media in circulation, which makes it easy to pick one for the kid to memorize.

The particular programs you have depend on the kid and the perps, and some groups have a set method of using a piece. The major points are all included in some way, but the variation can be pretty extreme because it’s been used in this context for so long.

It hasn’t been my experience that an absolute understanding of the media is required, but it’ll be pretty center stage if it’s the main script used for your system. Don’t look into the media if you can help it.

This is a mix of what I know and what I guess based on the stuff my system has, so feel free to take and leave as much as you want.

Some big ones (not all require the script, nor will the script guarantee these items):

Characters (can be 1 or more of each)

White Rabbit - programmer (introject or npc), guide role, sometimes carries a pocket watch related to programs

Alice - host or amnesiac alter, confusion and alienation from other alters, has a visitor effect for the programmed alter

Dodo - gatekeeper, introduces Alice to nonrules of Wonderland, opposites programming, sometimes scramble in the form of trained learning disability symptoms

Caterpillar - gatekeeper of sorts, apathetic guide, blows smoke that triggers memory movement (gaining or losing)

Cheshire Cat - gatekeeper, trickster guide, sneaky cat, important but uncooperative, smile and stripes usually stick depending on the role

March Hare - persecuter kinda, crazy and no escape programs, party guest at teatime

Mad Hatter - higher up, crazy and no escape programs, time loss amnesia, disobeys time and normality

Dormouse - sleep program, drugged sedation, doesn’t mind chaos, spooks easy

Flowers - no good programming, berate Alice and target weak spots, might be alter or landscape

Queen - higher up, strict enforcement of nonsense rules, obedience without question, trails and parties and croquet in the palace, commander of card army

Events

Rabbit hole - induction, sometimes includes disorientation or vertigo, feature of the innerworld, no panic despite situation

Eat me - if literal it messes with interoception or scramble/shutdown, also might be the name of a program or cue, the tear river and hall of doors as well as prop fan, gloves, and food may be traps in the innerworld. Enforces backwards thinking and lack of concrete rules

Teatime - may include the screeching duchess and pig baby, the Cheshire Cat takes Alice to the Mad Hatter. It is always 6 o’clock, but the date changes, enforcing amnesia for time loss. Everyone at the tea party insists Alice is the mad one. Lots of cue phrases come from this scene, the tea may represent various functions

Party - the Queen of Hearts throws a party and demands Alice join her game or croquet, obedience, fear, sometimes party refers to torture, leads to trial and escape

All of that is the first book. Another big thing is Looking Glass programming, where mirror fragments of alters split as a deterrent against exploration of forbidden areas. Card hierarchy, garden maze, and reality reversal are all possible too.

Lots of options, as with everything, and it’s entirely possible you have this script and don’t see any of these in your system. Consuming source media tends to reinforce programming, so have a support system who really knows how to handle your shit if you need to look.

[ghostflowerdreams]

Isekai Story Ideas

Here’s a collection of isekai ideas inspired by various light novels, films, manga, manhwa, anime, and video games that revolve around a displaced person or people who are transported or reincarnated and have to survive in another world.

You don’t have to follow these ideas exactly unless you want to. I've included some suggestions in brackets to spark your creativity, but you’re welcome to add your own twists or blend multiple concepts together.

You can also use any character (or more than one) – such as an original character, canon character, self-insert or reader-insert. Ultimately, you have full creative freedom with this.

1. You are currently a child and the only daughter of a duke, living in a grand estate surrounded by luxury and privilege. One day while playing around, you trip and hit your head on a rock, suddenly recalling the memories of your past life: that of a 21st century young adult [or teenager] from Earth [or more specifically from Japan, America, United Kingdom, Australia, etc.]. What's more, you realize that you're now living the life of the antagonist in an otome game [or novel, film, etc.] that you were deeply invested in before your untimely death. As the antagonist, you learn they weren't truly evil, but rather a misunderstood character who was framed for a terrible crime and executed [or murdered] by their own family to preserve the family's reputation. Armed with this knowledge, you rewrite your fate and uncover the truth behind the conspiracy that doomed your character.

2. You are a private detective, who receives an anonymous phone call requesting your services to track down an elusive hacker known only as the White Rabbit [or Cheshire Cat, Red Queen, Mad Hatter, etc.]. Intrigued by the challenge, you accept the case and learned that three other detectives who previously took on the case met unsettling fates: one committed suicide, another went missing, and the third went insane. Each of them leaving behind the same cryptic message: "A dream is not reality, but who's to say which is which?" Everytime you see the message it triggers a headache that increases in strength to the point that it even effects your vision. With that your reality begins to inexplicable glitch, and you find yourself in a futuristic world that the inhabitants insist is real. And that you're still you, but your former life was merely a dream.

3. As you sprinted across the rain-slicked bridge, desperately fleeing the relentless horde of zombies [or vampires, werewolves, aliens, machines, etc.], your foot slipped. You fell hard, striking your head [or plummeting into the river, getting shot, etc.]. Just as your life flashes before your eyes, you are abruptly summoned to another world. Though you escaped the horrors of your own world, a new nightmare awaited you—one teeming with demons [or alien parasites, ghosts, ghouls, etc.]. You were barely able to survive the hell that was your world, so why do the denizens of this realm believe you can save them from theirs? It turns out that during the transition between worlds, one of the side effects was gaining superpowers. They don't really want 'you', they just want to know what you're capable of. Too bad for them that you aren't a pushover.

4. You jolt awake, disoriented and surrounded by a warm, viscous fluid. As your vision clears, you realize you are inside a translucent pod within a cavernous chamber illuminated by the eerie glow of bioluminescent plants. Shadowy figures move outside the pod, their forms indistinct and unsettling. Panic grips you until a voice in your mind calms you, speaking in an unfamiliar yet strangely comprehensible language: "Welcome, traveler. You've been chosen for a new beginning." Heart pounding, you struggle to remember how you ended up here. Flashes of your previous life come in fragments, but nothing makes sense. The voice continues, explaining that you have been brought to this world for a purpose, a destiny that only you can fulfill. As the pod begins to open, the fluid draining away, you see the shadowy figure more clearly. They are not human. Their eyes gleam with an otherworldly light, their forms alien yet oddly majestic. The voice reveals that they've plucked your soul from the darkness and created a strong, durable, and resilient body for you. This new body is designed to increase your chances of succeeding in the task ahead and to help you adapt to this new world.

5. Disoriented and furious, you find yourself in a dark, ominous chamber filled with lingering chants and robed figures whose eyes gleam with fanaticism. The air is thick with the scent of incense and something more sinister. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you would become one of the 'chosen ones'. But what's worse is that you've been summoned not by a magical kingdom or a benevolent god in desperate need of a hero, but by cultists [or the enemy faction, demons, a rival evil kingdom, etc.] to be their savior instead. Guess you'll have to play the part—for now.

6. You've been reborn, inhabiting the body of the antagonist of an otome game. Your newfound self-awareness comes at the exact moment where your characters' former fiancé, the Prince [or Princess], confronts you in front of the entire school over your bullying of the protagonist [or to dissolve the engagement because they fell in love with the protagonist, reveals your character's underhanded ploy to sabotage the royal family, etc.]. Thinking fast, you manage to leave the school with your dignity intact [or your family's reputation intact] and avoid being executed [or exile], which was the fate of the original antagonist. Impressed, your father leaves you in control of the family's fief, which you use your previous life's knowledge to bring about major, positive changes to and to the kingdom. You just want to be left alone and build a happy life for yourself and your people, but those that turned their backs on you are now keen on getting on your good side.

7. An old man finds you washed up and unconscious, on the beach [or on the riverbank, etc.] and brings you back to his village [or town, nearby city, etc.] With nowhere else to go, the kind Mayor lets you stay at an abandoned farm [or in an empty shop, dilapidated house, spare room, etc.] to make it your own. You have amnesia, but know enough to remember that you're an otherworlder. Your memory loss also excuses your strangeness and lack of knowledge when it comes to the magical aspects of this new world. However, you soon realize your arrival wasn’t accidental—dark forces are at play, and your presence might be the key to saving or destroying this world. That sucks, because all you really want to do is look after your plants and animals [or become a herbalist, open a bakery, bookstore, study magic, open a tea/coffee shop, etc.].

8. You wake up from hypersleep on a spaceship [or a multi-generational starship, etc.] to escape a dying Earth [or escape the aliens, machines have taken over, etc.]. You've got memories of a 21st century person where interstellar space travel has yet to be possible [or that you're from another world and replace the original passenger, maybe switch places with a parallel version of yourself, etc.]. You do your best to blend in, but someone's going to notice that one of their engineers [or doctors, teachers, security personnel, etc.] is lacking up-to-date knowledge and training. Did you really regain your past life memories, which are completely useless to have in the future? Or did someone erase your memories and implement someone's else? Perhaps this is what they call space madness? Either way, how long do you have before someone catches on?

9. Trapped in a dead-end job and suffocated by the monotony of your everyday life, you long for something—anything—different. One fateful evening, your life takes a shocking turn when you die at the hands of a robber. Instead of plunging into darkness or facing the afterlife you always imagined, you awaken to a new world—as a fairy [or as a slime monster, a dragon, a magical sword, a sentient tree, a legendary bird, a stray cat, a guardian spirit, a merperson, etc.]. Now, you must grapple with your new form and extraordinary powers while navigating a world filled with both dangers and opportunities.

10. You are a background character that wasn't even important enough to be mentioned in the novel, however that changes when you meet the protagonist's younger sibling and saved them from bandits [or assassins, from choking on a piece of food, poison, getting losts in the woods, drowning, etc.]. They were originally supposed to die, but have now attached themselves to you like a little duckling, which unfortunately draws the attention of the protagonist. It wouldn't be such a problem, if the protagonist didn't insist on marrying you instead of their intended. You don't want to be an Empress; that's too much responsibility for an anxious nobody like you to handle!

11. After being hit by a car [or a truck, train, murdered, etc.], you find yourself reincarnated as the serial killer's twin [or as their younger sibling, older sibling, cousin, etc.] from one of your favorite horror movies [or book, television show, etc.]. You didn't realize it until you caught sight of the cursed book [or the famous creepy mask, weapon, etc.] that the killer was well known for using. They care for you, but is it enough to keep you from becoming one of their victims? Or better yet, can you even prevent them from becoming the killer in the first place?

12. After a horrific plane crash abruptly ends your first life, you awaken to find yourself reincarnated as a minor villain in a historical novel—one whose fate is sealed with an untimely death. Determined to escape this doomed destiny, you resolve to rewrite your story with a happy ending. To survive, you'll need to outsmart powerful enemies, navigate treacherous court politics, and even consider an unlikely alliance through marriage to the formidable archduke [or archduchess] of a rival nation.

13. You're summoned to a world that values beauty [or physical strength] over intelligence [or kindness, integrity, etc.]. Rejected and left to fend for yourself, you embark on a journey of self-discovery, uncovering talents and strengths you never knew you had. Using your unique skills and wisdom, you slowly rise to influence, helping those in need and turning your perceived weaknesses into powerful assets. As your reputation grows and your contributions become undeniable, those who once rejected you begin to regret their actions, realizing too late the true value of your character and abilities.

14. Devastated by the loss of their beloved [or soulmate, companion, sibling, hero, etc.], a grieving demon lord [or nobleman/woman, mage, etc.] performs a forbidden ritual in a desperate bid to bring them back. Instead, they inadvertently summon you into their world as a near-identical replacement. Struggling with your new identity [whether you have been transmigrated into a new body or reincarnated], you must now deal with the demon lord’s feelings and adapt to the wonders and dangers of a fantasy world.

15. You are reincarnated into a magical world as a five-year-old adopted child of a renowned witch [or wizard]. You recall from your past life that the story you're in focuses on a cursed prince [or princess] locked away for their own safety. No one knows what the curse is; they only know that the individual suffers from one. It also doesn't help that no one has actually seen them, leading to many rumors. Some say the prince [or princess] is cursed to look hideous, while others believe that looking at them can turn people to stone, among other speculations. Believing yourself to be a mere background character, you go about your life, befriending a strange creature—a dog [or cat, dragon, bird, etc.] while studying a magic plant in the forest. Noticing their curiosity and frequent presence in your life, you think they are meant to be your familiar. However, one day, you accidentally spill an experimental potion on them [or you playfully cast a silly spell on them, affectionately kiss them on the head, or you tell them you love them, etc.], unaware that they are the cursed prince [or princess] all along and that this simple act would lift the curse.

16. You're summoned to another world, assuming they need you to be their hero. However, your excitement quickly turns to horror when you discover the grim truth: you were only summoned to be sacrificed in a dark ritual to empower their chosen hero—a loyal royal knight [or the prince/princess, their strongest adventurer, etc.]. The rulers of this world don't trust or care for otherworlders, but they need your unique power to defeat the demon lord and maintain control over the people. Determined to survive, you escape the sacrificial altar and go on the run, using your otherworldly knowledge to navigate this dangerous new world.

17. After a fierce battle with the hero, you, the mighty demon lord, met your demise only to find yourself reincarnated on Earth as a baby [or as a high school student, a college graduate, child, parent, celebrity, etc.] with your memories fully intact. Struggling to adapt to the mundane life of a human, you must navigate the bewildering complexities of school, friendships, and eventually teenage drama. As you adjust to this new existence, you slowly discover that your formidable demonic powers are still present, albeit in a dormant state. However, the world you're in isn't as boring as you first thought; nearly everyone around you possesses unique abilities and is obsessed with heroes, who are idolized like celebrities. The pursuit of becoming a hero dominates society, and unfortunately the awakening of your full power attracts unwanted attention from both aspiring heroes and dangerous villains.

18. You're summoned to another world along with a diverse group of strangers from various worlds [or from your own world]. Each of you has a unique ability or class crucial to facing the demon army and its ruler. However, you quickly realize that working together is more challenging than expected, as conflicting personalities and differing goals threaten to tear the group apart. Amidst an unexpected attack from the demons or monsters, one of the group's members betrays you, stealing your unique ability [or pushing you off the cliff, setting off a trap to kill you, etc.] and leaving you for dead. As you struggle to survive and reclaim your power, a burning desire for revenge against the betrayer drives you to become stronger, ultimately discovering hidden strengths within yourself.

19. You've reincarnated as a princess [or the hero, noble, wealthy merchant, knight, etc.] in a kingdom on the brink of war. You discover that your new identity is fated to be assassinated to ignite the conflict or further a sinister scheme to seize power. With limited knowledge of the book plot and only fragments of the princess's memories, you must figure out who to trust and thwart the impending catastrophe. However, your sudden shift in personality and behavior, influenced by your modern sensibilities and the urgency of your situation, does not go unnoticed. This change draws the attention of both potential allies and hidden enemies, each with their own agendas.

20. You're an archaeologist sent to explore a newly discovered tomb [or temple, object, etc.]. While investigating, you accidentally activate a portal that transports you to another world. According to the inscriptions in an ancient language, this world is the realm of the Gods, and only those with divine blood [or blessings, chosen ones, soulmates, etc.] can enter. The denizens of this realm are puzzled and curious about a mortal like you. To complicate matters further, you begin to exhibit signs of possessing latent divine abilities or blessings. This newfound power attracts the attention of powerful deities and beings, each with their own agendas. Some seek to mentor and protect you, while others aim to manipulate or eliminate you to prevent any disruption to their plans.

21. You suddenly find yourself in the body of the infamous evil stepmother from a fairy tale. As you navigate this new life, you realize you now have the daunting task of caring for your stepchild [or stepchildren], who are wary of you due to the stepmother's previous actions. Determined to turn things around, you do your best to adjust to being a parent and change everyone's perception of you. However, with a reputation for being cruel, earning their trust won't be easy.

22. You discovers an enchanted mirror that transports you to a parallel world where every person has a counterpart with opposite traits. Initially, you believe that your counterpart ceases to exist when you appear in this world. However, you soon learn the truth: both of you have swapped places. As you navigate this strange environment, you hear stories about your counterpart's actions in your world—stories that fill you with concern. Your counterpart's opposite traits make them unpredictable, and you worry about the chaos they might cause in your place. To make matters worse, there's a limit on how long you can stay in this mirrored reality. The longer you remain, the greater the risk of becoming a permanent resident. You would think teaming up with mirrored versions of your friends and family would be a good thing, but they want you to stay forever. Meanwhile, those who were your enemies in your world genuinely want to help you. Everyone is different, and it's hard to know who is actually trustworthy.

23. You awaken in a world both unknown and oddly familiar. Towering city buildings stand broken and partially reclaimed by nature, with vines and moss clinging to the walls. Abandoned cars are swallowed by overgrown grass and flowers. Here, androids and alien machine life-forms have been locked in a millennia-long war. Humanity has long been extinct, leaving behind the androids as their legacy. You are a human, but not an ordinary one [or maybe you are normal and have no special powers]—you possess abilities beyond anything the humans of this world could have achieved. Yet, even your extraordinary powers can't keep you hidden forever. Eventually, your existence will be noticed, marked by signs that make you unmistakably human.

24. In a strange turn of events, you're thrust into a fantastical world brimming with magic and wonder. Disoriented and unsure of how you got there, you wander aimlessly until you stumble upon a small, frightened child, who latches onto you. With no other adults around and the child's unwavering belief that you're their guardian, you reluctantly become their caretaker. As you struggle to survive in this unfamiliar world, you find yourself growing attached to the little one, even as you search for a way back to your own reality. But as the days go by and your bond deepens, you start to wonder if this strange new world—and the child who sees you as family—might be where you truly belong.

25. In your world, you were a mage of unparalleled power, feared and revered by all who knew your name. But an experiment gone wrong, [or perhaps a curse laid by a jealous rival], sends you spiraling into another world—a world where magic is forgotten, and mages are the stuff of ancient legends. You awaken in the frail, weak body of a child, imprisoned in a dilapidated, empty tower. Your memories of your past life and the magic that once surged through you remain intact. With no clear understanding of why the child was imprisoned or who locked them way, you must uncover the truth. After all, to avoid unforeseen complications and to ensure a smoother transition, you need to know to safeguard your future. Is this child a kidnapped heir, an illegitimate offspring of a noble family, a test subject, the chosen one, political hostage, etc.?

[sophieinwonderland]

Alice lidell from Alice madness returns is 100% plural in our eyes.

Quick summary of the game, you play as Alice trying to figure out who caused the fire that burned her house down, all while trying to stop a train that's going through wonderland.

In the game unlike the other Alice wonderland its something her doctor has made for her to go to. The first sence you get in the game is Alice and the doctor sitting in his office as the doctor urges her to "go to Wonderland" so wonderland is her headspace/inner world.

In the game Alice seems to go into wonderland almost at random and will come back at random places where she doesn't know how she got there. So that's probably her switching in and out.

The Chester cat (or however you spell it) mad hatter and the queen are definitely alters (there are more but we can't remember their names) she's also definitely poly fragmented with a lot of NPCs since wonderland is very lively in certain chapters.

At first we thought Alice was definitely a maladaptive daydreamer and wonderland was her parascom but it makes more sense for her to be a system.

She can also be both bc we are both LOL

We also thought maybe Fran bow but too us Fran was experiencing heavy psychosis and wasn't really entering her mind more of not seeing the world the way others where seeing it and LAST ONE I SWEAR

Spoilers for this one

ash and Sal (from sally face) and the end of the game they share a body due to Sal dieing that's plural there's no singlet explanation for two people working together to work a body

Great addition! Never heard of it before, so I very much appreciate the detailed explanation! 😊

[mortalghost]

Magic is in the air as shallow words drip like honey from your soul, and stars fall from your fingertips as you touch me. The mad hatter runs rampant, while burning winds ease the insanity of a clock running backward in time.

May the seas part, may the planets align, may the serpent in your lies penetrate my being tonight. As imaginary faults flay through flowing rivers of constant flickering rain drops that evaporate as they touch bare skin, illusions of another life are interspersed with an other that you used to be.

How unreal.

Philosophies of failing fortunes fleeting from fragments fully formed from fortuitous fiends find friends for freeing forms forgotten for fortnights.

Where does the mind go if lost within its padded rooms with no doors or windows?

-H. Murcia 10:08 AM 3/23/2022

[simplyshelbs16xoxo]

'Madder Than a Hatter' Chapter 3: Running from the Madhouse

FFN | Ao3 | Buy Me a Coffee?

.

.

As soon as morning arrived, Hatter and Charlie set off, deep into the thicket of the woods. They were heading north for the untouched Wastelands. It originated from an even darker time in Wonderland’s history, hundreds of years before Hatter was born, decades before the first Alice of Legend tumbled down the rabbit hole. It was once called the Kingdom of Souls, ruled by a ruthless Queen who could make Mary Heart look like a helpless puppy. Her subjects were frightened of her, mad as she was. The White Queen in the southern region had aided in freeing the citizens, sending out armies to help them fight back.

Depending on who told the story, the Queen of Souls had either been strung up on the hanging tree or she escaped, never to be seen or heard from again. Hatter sincerely hoped it was the former. If she did find a way out, it could be possible for her to still be alive. Wonderlanders live much longer than otherworlders, though only if they remain here. Hours passed riding through the forest, and they finally came across a small lake. They stopped to let their horses drink and filled their own canteens with water.

“How much longer do you suppose it’ll be before we reach the Wastelands?” Hatter asked, taking a sip. He then removed his hat, sliding a hand through his hair.

Charlie paced around the area slowly, his hands posed as if ready to grab something. He was getting a feel of the area, not having been this far north before. He took a large intake of breath. “Galadoon…de boosh.” His eyes closed as he consulted with the Oracle. Though it was only seconds, it had felt like minutes, hours, to Hatter. “We should be there in no more than a day, Harbinger.”

A whole day. Twenty-four hours. Who knew what could happen to Alice in that time. He felt sick, his throat tightening with nausea. Even if she was still alive by the time they found her, would she even be Alice anymore? Maybe not, but at least her heart would still beat. Hatter would love her regardless. They just needed to get to her as quickly as possible. Though he wasn’t a praying man, Hatter prayed to the gods of old, asking them to protect her until he could take over for them. “Please,” he begged, “let her be alive.”

.

.

Locked from the outside, Alice wondered if one of the bobby pins in her hair would work. She quickly got to work on freeing herself from the dismal room. Screams continued to echo through the halls outside. Were they real? Or were they a hallucination? The water had been tampered with, its sole purpose to poison her mind. Eventually, she’d get a grip on reality—she hoped so, anyways.

A click sounded and she smiled like the Cheshire Cat. Slowly, she opened the creaking door, wincing at the sound and hoping no one heard it. Well, if anyone was actually here. Alice was beginning to suspect that not all was as it seemed. It was bad enough she couldn’t remember how she got there. Even worse, she couldn’t remember the man who helped her in her dreams. But maybe that’s all he was—a dream. There wasn’t time to think of that now. She took a tentative step out into the hall, observing her surroundings. Whoever locked her up didn’t appear to be around and neither was the one who brought her food, pills, and water.

The sound of a saw cutting through bone reverberated in the walls. The asylum would be a bit difficult to navigate with a semi-dense fog impairing her sight. Someone’s unsettling laughter sent chills down her spine. Alice took a deep breath, plunging herself down the hall to her right, amongst the fog and the shadows. She kept her back to the wall, her hands feeling around for corners to go around. Slowly she crept, making sure to not creak the wooden floors too much. Her fingers made contact with a metal handle and the entire door shook, the sound of fists pounding on it causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

“Screw this,” she panted, quickly making her way down and around. There was an elevator just across the way. Alice took a quick glance in every direction before sprinting towards it, pressing the button. Footsteps from afar caught her attention. She took shallow breaths as the sound grew louder. The elevator had yet to make it down to her. Listening as the steps grew closer, louder, Alice prepared to fight, thankful she could at least remember that. The doors suddenly opened, ready for her to make her escape. Whoever the footsteps belonged to was now running and Alice frantically pressed the buttons to get the elevator doors to close. A resounding screech sounded as the doors shut and the lift began to move.

Soft whispers filled her head as she slowly moved down. There were so many voices; she couldn’t decipher a single word. Seeing she was almost to the ground floor, Alice began to breathe easier. And then she heard a snap. She was falling. Down, down, down until she crashed down on the basement floor.

Miraculously, she hadn’t been hurt. The doors still opened, revealing a dimly lit hall. An old rickety bed was positioned up against a wall. There was a trail of dried blood on the floor having probably seeped into the wood long ago. Old music was playing on a gramophone, echoing down the hall. Despite the distorted sound, Alice recognized the song as Sam Cooke’s ‘You Send Me.’ It gave her the creeps. Normally, a sane person wouldn’t follow a trail of blood, but Alice knew she had to. Either she would find answers or a way out. It was a risk she would just have to take.

.

.

Just outside the edge of the Wasteland Woods, Hatter and Charlie took a moment to prepare for the perilous journey that lie ahead. The branches swayed in a breeze they wouldn’t feel until they stepped foot in the darkness. The trees were beckoning them, whispering nonsense to lure them inside the thick canopy of limbs and dead leaves that still hung desperately to the wood. A creeping chill hung in the air, giving its possible next victims a taste of what’s to come. Slowly, on their horses, they crossed over into the unknown.

“You could always turn back ya know,” Hatter said, checking to see if Charlie was up for it. With a firm shake of the knight’s head, they continued through the thicket. It was unsettling just how silent it was, as if there were nothing outside of the Wastelands. A slight breeze came through, shaking the branches where it tore away a few crunchy leaves.

Charlie quietly sang his song, still keeping an ear out for Alice or any dangers lurking in the woods. There was a cry reverberating through the trees, setting their teeth on edge. “Was that…Alice?”

Not wanting to believe it, Hatter ignored the question. “Let’s keep going. We don’t stop until we reach the asylum. If we’re separated, the woods will win.”

And whatever lurked in the shadows, if anything, would surely be out to get them as well. It was important to remain diligent. Every whispering voice, every rustle of the trees had them a little jumpy. They dared not rush through despite wanting to get in and out as quickly as possible. For an hour they remained on their path before the singing began. The voice was powerful, the song haunting. It could be heard all throughout the woods.

“Harbinger…” Charlie said with a quiver in his voice. “Could that be”—he lowered his voice—“the Queen of Souls?”

Hatter took a deep breath. “Possibly. C’mon, then. Perhaps just a bit quicker, yeah?” As they picked up the pace, a figure popped in and out of the trees. Neither of them noticed they had been followed the entire time.

.

.

Alice traveled deeper into the asylum, underground and utterly alone. There had to be a way out of there. She turned the corner at the end of the hall. The trail of blood stopped. It looked almost as if someone had been dragged while bleeding out. A sound from further down alerted her. Someone was there. They were laughing wildly, crazed. Alice briefly considered turning back. Instead, she marched on, determined to break free. Down at the end of the hall, there was a tree growing through the floor. She looked down, just now realizing that the wooden floor had changed into dark grass. There was a pair of glowing yellow eyes nestled between the bare branches and a wide, illuminating smile.

“Which way to go, which way to go—up above or down below?” the mysterious figure sang. In spirals, it was revealed he was a cat with purple stripes, varied in different shades. “Though you have been drugged and kidnapped, the one thing you’re not is trapped. Quick! Through the hole, before she takes over the palace. Our only hope is Hatter and Alice.”

She furrowed her brows, curious over the creature. “I’m Alice, but I’m afraid I don’t remember much of the past few months. It comes in fragments, but not enough to make sense of anything. Who are you?”

The cat took hold of his ears with his tail and lifted them up like a top hat. “The Cheshire Cat, at your service.”

“Wonderland,” she mused. “I remember being here before—in this world, not the asylum. You said something about a hole…I don’t see one.”

The Cheshire grinned, looking up at a hole in the ceiling. “Up and over, in the hole; hurry along before the Queen takes your soul. Right you are on a forked path; choose quickly or face her wrath.”

A loud bellowing scream alerted Alice. She looked behind her. Nothing was there, but she could hear someone coming. “Cheshire,” she turned back to the tree, but he was gone. There was no time to spare. Alice climbed the tree to reach the hole in the ceiling. She pulled herself up and over into a solid tunnel. Crawling along as quickly as she could, Alice tried to see exactly where she needed to go. It was terribly dark. She continued to go along the narrow path until her hands slipped at the edge of another hole, and she screamed as she fell into the darkness.

[doe-b-log]

HAPPY B DAY!🎂

It has been excatly 118 days since I become a Deobi and exactly today we celebrate the 3rd anniversary since The B was created. 

So, let me be a little dramatic today. As I let you on about he friendship I have created as I explore the crazy world of stan twt.

It was crazy and chaotic. Especially when I finally have a filogdm that I can be myself freely. It was a culture shock because I was practically older than most of them. But to be honest, I was crazier than a mad hatter. Yet they join me and my insane plots and conversation. TBNLZ was a masterpiece. We had late night talks in discord. Sharing experiences and random things in life. It will be the og gdm I will never replace.

Then Kingdom came and a moot of mine wanted to create a support team, I agreed to her idea and we were able to recruit 80+ filodeobis.  Which we were shock about because we didn't knew we could round up that many fans of tbz. Because of the huge amount new members we manage to create 3 gdms. It  was the epitome of chaos and confusion at first. But we were able to control it after a few days. The B Club is our official fanclub name. (I doubt the members knew.) We were also glad because of the huge amount of interaction we got. I found more friends in the process and learn from them. I got to talk to people ages younger or older than me. I was truly glad I met them. 

So, before this special day end, I want to thank you to all of my moots that I made laugh, confuse, maybe irritated. I hope in the far future we will be able to stay friends  or maybe remember each other from time to time. It doesn’t have to be forever. Its okay if this time become a fragment in your mind. Because at the very least it become a part of your story. 

So for now, even if we couldn’t meet, Let’s keep supporting each other!!

The B Get it! Got it!

DEOBINATION DAY

[snowflake-of-destruction]

Because we’re not even going to pretend I’ll stick to six sentences. This week: Not technically a current project, but something I jotted down one night awhile back only to banish to a doc full of forgotten fragments, that may be worth bringing back now as it’s tonally appropriate for spooky month.

Post Canon. Luxu snaps and starts preying on Guadians of Light. Roxas and Xion are the ones who need to bring a best friend home.

Warning: Dark and unsettling tones and a little bit of gore

The note was found on the stained tablecloth of the tea garden table deep  in Wonderland’s Lotus Forest underneath a string of macabre fairy lights composed of dripping chunks of fur and flesh that may have once been the Mad Hatter and March Hare interspersed between winking colored bulbs and actual fairies tied to cord. It was addressed to Poppet first, with Roxas’s name written underneath.

Don’t worry. I’ll have him home in time for tea

Xoxo

Luxu

They were too late at every point, following Luxu as the ancient keyblade warrior carved a path of carnage through the worlds so theatrical it was easy to imagine it had been planned over lifetimes. Roxas thought about Xigbar on mission back in the Organization, thinking about how he was going to scar the worlds with malice and creativity Heartless could not display once he was not bound by the resolutions he’d made to his old master in between bored, snarky quips.

Wonderland proved to be a dead end in more than one sense of the word, but that was where the clues in Luxu’s last note had led. Roxas talked a big game about what would happen when he caught up to Luxu, but the last to do so had been Axel and Kairi before Riku had found Braig’s dead body preserved in ice near Elsa’s palace with Luxu nearby admiring how fun it was going to be to be in a female body again even if Braig had still pulled off high heels well enough as they spun around, admiring Kairi’s form in the reflection of the ice-and skipping through a dark portal before Riku recovered his faculties enough to charge. There had been no sign of Axel even then, but Luxu’s notes assured he was still alive. Taunted may have been a more apt word for the tone of the messages, but Roxas’s sanity depended on the hope Axel was still alive. Stomachs could churn and minds could boggle at how a keyblade wielder with access to all the powers associated as well as dark portals could be held securely for long periods and at what Luxu may have been doing to Axel in the meantime, but as long as Axel wasn’t dead there was a chance he could escape or be rescued and Roxas would be able to reunite with him again..

Hope was dashed when Xion and Roxas returned to the gummi ship, and there was a package waiting for them.Xion told him not to touch it, but by the time she voiced the warning it was already in Roxas’s hands and the box was open.  Tea pot, two cups, an infuser, and a small tin. He looked inside the tea pot for any other hidden items, and turned the tea cups upside down to see if there were messages on the bottom.

“It’s the tea.” All the protest had went out of Xion as soon as she gave the first token warning that had gone unheeded. The dark circles under her eyes were starting to consume her entire face and energy went to standing tall not to arguing.

Roxas popped the tin open with shaking fingers and the smell of cinnamon and oranges struck him, followed soon by a sickly, charred undercurrent. He tipped the tin to its side and fanning bits and larger broken leaves of tea spilled along with other dots of color...and a good portion of gray dust.

“Ashes,” Roxas observed though his mind refused to attach meaning for a good several seconds even after Xion was already running down the gummi gang plank to retch in the bushes of the Red Queen’s hedge maze. 

“That doesn’t make sense,” a voice that could have been Roxas’s own chimed in with a dull monotone seconds-minutes-hours later as implications nudged and tried to burrow under Roxas’s skin instead of sliding off. It was such a senseless and arbitrary end to that part of the game, an end with cheap shock value but nothing that would make a last twist of the knife any more painful than the loss itself or set them blaming themselves or each other instead of being united against the monster they were pursuing. Too sudden. Too inglorious. Besides, that wasn’t the only issue if you wanted to be morbidly reasonable. “He would have taken up more space.”

[kazeofthemagun]

Chaos' claws scrape at the heavy doors. What secrets do these foreign magics hold?

Amestris No More - Shadow Troupe POV

blogs involved: @shiroi—kumo  ||  @kazeofthemagun || @flameleads|| @angcrmanagcmcnt || @avariciousheir  ||  @deathleads​

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound reverberated across the room freely, light bleeding through the fabric of the circus tent to paint the scene in a vibrant hue of red. The local sun had already risen in the sector, a new dawn upon a land that hardly welcomed its fresh inhabitants kindly. A new dawn... and it was up to them to embody its warmth, to bring joy to this now oh so lordless realm. To be Wonderland's very finest greeting for those lost souls that flowed in from yet another Outer World enveloped by -

Chaos.

There was a smile, and the tapping stopped, a white-gloved finger halting mid motion. "Hatter, what time is it?" A lazy drawl, almost like the whine of a bored child. The jester's other arm was propped up by the elbow, pale cheek resting against a hand.

"The hour of the rabbit." A click of a hand watch, and a deeper voice. Striking cyan eyes meeting pale orbs for a brief moment, then falling once again behind a curtain of disheveled blue. The magician's smile widened.

"Excellent!" And suddenly, the form upon the chair sprang up, furniture disassembling into fairy dust as though it was never even there at all. "I do think the time is quite perfect, now. Thank you very kindly, Hatter."

They floated down, boots touching gold-and-black tiles. The man with the watch let his back push off the side of a wooden pillar, following his master in silence.

A pair of curtains parted, bringing the two into another, smaller room. There was a table there; Another person seated with a delicate cup of tea in her hand, painted lips stretching into a playful smirk to welcome them. The slightest jingle of bells attached to the petals of her flower crown - a flower that bloomed right out of the back of her skull. If she even had one, that is; A lady made completely of plant, her nature reflected in the green shade of her skin and the small, golden thorns growing out of her forearms.

A dark shape shifted in the back of the room, dragging the red-and-white striped fabric of the tent with its hulking side. A beast, raising its head to meet them - a grotesque gramophone perched where a mouth should be.

And another person yet, dressed completely in a robe - a black costume - that left his true shape forever a mystery. If he even had such. A mask of tragedy replacing one long shattered, piercing red eyes hidden from the world by the darkness of his crafted visage. A most ridiculous title sounding in a voice smooth as bleached bone. "Ah, Your Frabjousness, we welcome you~"

With a muffled cracking of joints, Anarchy stretched their back and arms, fingers interlaced over a head of candy floss pink. Ah, they had been sitting in that chair for quite a bit, after all. What wouldn't one do for dramatic effect - the perfect entrance. Their face was positively beaming, eager to partake in the new day.

"Ah~ My lovelies, I must admit I am so very excited to meet the denizens of that backwater world we had found. I do hope they are finding Wonderland a kind place. It would be a waste should something unexpected happen to them so soon."

An emphasis on the final word, pearly white teeth showing in perfect rows. Herba and Oscha were both nodding, with the Hatter standing still as a statue and reminding them of a certain pesky Destroyer. In a way, they both were - but what was a Destroyer to the one true God of Joy? Their last encounter only solidified that hierarchy. The magician laughed, patting the man on the dark green of his coat. The Hatter grumbled, making unenthusiastically for the table.

"Now that we are all here. I would like us to prepare something very nice for our new guests!" A slow circling in front of the table, basking in all the undivided attention. Indeed, Anarchy always liked it when eyes were on them and them alone. "After all... Why, they are the most exquisite guests we've had in quite a while. I must admit, I am positively buzzing at the thought."

A smile growing wider upon a doll-like face. All the while, those pale blue eyes told a different story yet. The story of a cat... so very happy to finally corner the mice.

"Oh, I am buzzing to know what secrets this... Amestris holds. It feels... like nothing I have ever had before. And they have the key. All of them, different flavors of the key. I wonder which will prove the right one for our marvelous composition..."

The members of the Gaudium Shadow Troupe all nodded, with the huge, black-furred creature rising to his full height, ready for action. Unfortunately, his golden parts caught on some decorations hanging from the ceiling of the tent, and a turn of the head sent them crashing to the middle of the table.

There was a small pause. "Yarukiel, you cannot just keep doing that. It's not nice. I've just hit the groove with this monologue so can you not?"

The creature stared (if one could stare with a giant broadcast device in place of a face) and promptly whined in radio static. Oh, that was high pitched. "Oh my -" An awkward wiggle from the shadowy Oscha, horned head rocking from side to side. Anarchy frowned, biting a lip, the Hatter covered his ears and cussed, while Herba promptly threw her shoe at the massive beast. The static briefly morphed into an advertisement for a vacation service before the creature sat back down and fell silent.

"Thank you, Herba." A sigh from the devil magician. "Now, where was I..."

"Explaining the marvelous composition, Your Frabjousness -"

"That was a rhetorical question."

With a brief lingering of a freezing cold gaze on Oscha's mask, and the deepest bow the shadow being could muster, Chaos' visage found the atmosphere suitable to continue. With a snap of their fingers, the wreckage of silks and jewels upon the table was no more. "Much better."

A stroll towards the edge of the table, and their body lowered, elbows resting on smooth wood and fingers now tap-tap-tapping idly against porcelain-pale cheeks. Their boots lifted off the ground, swinging slowly overhead, leaving the being simply floating. Childlike glee painted those enthralling, ghastly features, even if their eyes remained forever a picture of predatory efficiency.

For Chaos had found new toys - ones that intrigued it greatly. A set of keys, each shaped different by their hopes and desires. Which of them would fit in that grand gate? Open a door Chaos could not quite open itself? Yes, it could break it into splinters with ease, devour it just like everything else it ever touched. But what fun would there be in that, knowing how many delicious secrets it could hold?

How immensely it could enhance the feasts to come. That cosmic spice - the visage of Chaos could never deny.

"As I was saying... I want the guests to feel welcome here. And I can feel the children have landed nearby. Let us move and collect them, first order." The softest, featherlight lick of a tongue against tips of perfect white teeth.

"Can't have them fall prey to the beasts that roam this land, after all. How sad would that be..?"

Very sad indeed, and Anarchy fancied themself strictly a bringer of joy.

[sidereal-fantasies]

Blurb Time! It takes a traitor to know one...

Out of all the experiments you worked on, Jung Wooyoung was the most unstable. He knew how to push people’s buttons in all the right ways. He knew how to manipulate people to get what he wanted. The sweet sensation of seeing people crack underneath was all Wooyoung ever wanted to witness. It was a desire, he called it; a desire to fulfill the empty space that all the negativity left him with. And he was willing to satisfy his thirst to feel something even if it meant hurting those that put their trust into him.

The room Wooyoung resided in was the last one down a barely traveled hallway. The fluorescent lights in the neighboring corridor was the only source of light that flooded that area. After attempting to gather your thoughts once again and heading out to finish your task, you quickly ducked into that hallway and made your way towards the iron door, keys in one hand yet no weapon in the other.

“Alice, you’ve returned!” Wooyoung exclaimed once his gaze landed on you as you entered the room. You remained some distance away from the lilac haired man, hesitant to approach any further for the time being. You were surprised to see no mask in sight and even less chains than you remembered the last time. “We need to have a short chat,” you stated as you jingled a pair of keys in front of him. “Traitor to traitor.”

The grin plastered on Wooyoung’s lips only grew wider before he bursted into a fit of laughter. “So you’ve accepted your fate as well? I who betrayed a few of my brothers and you who fooled everyone around you? There is nothing, but there is also everything to chat about.”

“And you’re still mad as a hatter,” you muttered under your breath. You finally approached him and grabbed a handful of the chains leading to the man kneeling beside you. You shivered at the thought of how long Wooyoung was left like this, chained and stolen of his freedom. True, he was unstable, but you still believed that something could have changed if you weren’t blinded by everything. If only you listened, then maybe fate wouldn’t have been as harsh.

“Well, what do you want to chat about? Must be important if Mingi left you to free me,” Wooyoung urged you. It was your turn to laugh now. Your dried eyes watered slightly from all the tears you spilled moments before coming to this room. You still weren’t sure if your mind was stable enough to carry on a conversation, but here you were, playing with time and your life as if it was worth nothing. “Are you gambling with your potential freedom here?”

“Not at all,” Wooyoung countered, still beaming brightly. “Just generally curious as to why a person like you who’s obviously two steps away from falling off the edge would want some answers that they may not want to hear.”

“First question,” you began without a second thought, “why did you do it? Why did you sell San away like that? Why did you let them use Yeosang like that? Why did you do it all?”

Wooyoung’s eyes glimmered faintly as he watched a few chains fall away from him, his aching bones already feeling light as a feather. “Just like you, I wanted to survive. So, I let them condition San to be the perfect soldier after I told them of his natural abilities. I let them lock Yeosang away like that after I convinced them of the threat he could be. Lie after lie after lie, I did with the intention of surviving.”

“Really now? Or maybe it was for some unknown treasure promised to you,” you mused. You watched out of the corner of your eye as Wooyoung slightly flinch at your words. Complete survival would have meant total sacrifice in your eyes. Someone promised him something and it unfortunately led to the current predicament he was in.

“Next question, you’re obviously playing along with the plan. Why, though? What are you trying to gain from me losing my mind?”

Wooyoung was oddly quiet for a moment, causing you to sneak a curious glance at him. The atmosphere shifted, pressing down on your shoulders instead as you worked on the remaining lock.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Wooyoung questioned softly. “You’re just like us, but completely different at the same time. You’re a counterpart just like us, but the negativity didn’t rob you like us. You’re cruel like us, but you can actually feel. You taught Yunho how to imitate emotions, thinking it would ease some of us, but it didn’t, [Name]. It felt like you were laughing at us while we all got our heads chopped off.”

You swore you could hear something shatter completely inside of you, causing you to pause for a brief moment before continuing on.

“Aren’t you doing the same thing, though?” You retorted. Wooyoung froze as he gazed up at you, watching you quietly fumble with the last lock as tears glazed over your eyes. “I am a counterpart, just like you said. A failed one at that since I still have emotions. I bottled them up in fear that they would take them away. I got it easy, just like Yeosang told me. But it was my mistake, just like Mingi told me. By bottling it all up, I created this mess— my Wonderland. And with that, I destroyed all of you.”

The final lock fell with a loud thud along the remnants of your mind. Having emotions was just as cruel as being numb. Nothing could be gained from it other than a fragmented mind and a loss of sanity.

“You all succeeded though. I don’t think—”

“Then don’t speak,” Wooyoung interrupted as he slowly rose to his feet. His hand gently wrapped around your wrist just before he began to tug you along. The unspoken words were vile, almost sickening as they fell back into the abyss that was your mind. Pitiful, you thought. All you wanted to do in that moment was rip your hair off your scalp. After all, Jung Wooyoung was your mirror. A traitor facing a reality that they built themselves, never truly holding any intention to harm someone. The cruelty you inflicted on all of them just for the sake of survival left you with a much more severe punishment than what Wooyoung had endured with all those chains. Or so you thought.

Your gaze traveled down to where Wooyoung was holding you, the sleeve of his jacket slowly rising naturally due to his efforts in making sure you followed him out. It was hard to see the exposed skin until the two of you entered the dingy hallway.

That’s when you saw all the bruises that decorated his skin like paint splatters on a canvas.

[curekibouka]

Memento (one-shot Pandora Hearts fanfic)

Summary: How should one advance onward, when one’s preferred reality was the past?

A/N: So, this is my first Pandora Hearts fanfic posted on tumblr (and it’s my worst one yet 🙂). I tried to convey something sad and something light-hearted at the same time and I don’t know how you guys would take it.

*This fic is also on FF.net and Quotev.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Break?”

Ah. Right.

He was gone.

Forever.

Sharon sighed, it appears she had to do her hair herself today.

A week had passed already. And her habits still refused to be changed. He had always been the first person she’d greet in the morning, and the one she’d count on to arrange everything for her, and the one she’d bid goodnight to right before she slept.

15 years had been such a long time. Sharon couldn’t even begin to imagine what her life would have been like if she hadn’t found him that day.

But she reckoned that forever was a time longer than anything she could conceive of.

It had barely been a week, and she was already missing him so, so much that it felt as if her heart could shatter into a thousand fragments with the slightest touch.

How was she going to live with the knowledge that he was gone forever?

From time to time, the sensation of his head resting on her shoulder still remained. It plagued her to no ends.

His exhausted, raspy voice. His pale complexion. His skin losing its temperature. All of it…

…had felt so surreal.

They all knew Break was going to die one of these days. Besides, he had had just about a million near-death occasions due to his one-man show persona, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise.

But it didn’t feel right at all.

It didn’t feel right talking about him in past tense when she delivered the eulogy, he had always been the liveliest creature in the room.

It didn’t feel right seeing him being placed in a coffin and buried underground, left to rot and perish and decompose, alone.

It didn’t feel right placing little flowers there, those flowers belonged in his once beautiful long, silver hair, not on that dreary, grey tombstone.

It didn’t feel right not being able to watch over him as he rests while calling out his name, pleading him to wake up. That was what always happen when he had used too much of Mad Hatter’s power. It was always terrifying, but at least she’d see his weak breath and his slight movements, at least she’d be by his bedside, clutching his hand, praying.

She had been allowed to hope every time he had collapsed. But she had smelled the sweet aroma of candy when he had breathed his last on her shoulder, and that had crushed every glimmer of it.

Setting down her hairbrush, she felt a churn in her stomach. The truth had been so abrupt, so nonsensical, so uncomfortable, it made her feel sick how her life seemed to be unchanged still.

It was almost repulsive to her. How dare the Earth continue to orbit when he was gone?!

She clutched her head, messing up her hair again. She should not think this way — Break would not want her to think like this.

If Break were here, he’d…

“Sharon-sama?” Reim’s voice came with a few knocks on the door.

“Oh, come in,” she called out, forced to regain her composure.

How rare, Reim was in a casual suit instead of Pandora’s uniform. She tried to remember if today was some special occasion.

Reim saw her assessing his getup, he sighed, “Today is the tea party, Sharon-sama, have you forgotten?”

“Tea party…?” she murmured, and then practically jumped up when the memory hit her, “Oh dear! I did forget! Ahhhhh…! How careless of me! Why did Break not… remind… me……?” She slowed down on the last few words as Reim’s brows furrowed instantly.

“I…” she stuttered, faking an apologetic smile, “Please… pay it no mind, Reim-san. I have yet gotten used to daily life without a valet is all. It’s noth—“

“If you do not wish to go,” Reim said, “if it’s too painful to bear, I shall inform Gilbert-sama of your predicament so that he would not expect you.”

“No. No, I’m fine. Truly.” Honestly, she thought she didn’t really have a reason not to go. Almost everyone who would be there lost someone precious. Leo lost Elliot. The Baskerville lost at least half of their comrades and Fang. Ada lost her family. And even Gilbert, the one who insisted on organising this tea party Oz proposed, lost his master, and a dear friend, and someone who he had almost treated as his own uncle.

Gilbert probably learnt that if sorrow and grief were kept locked away in the darkest depths of a person’s heart, that person would never see the light and might do something foolish they’d end up regretting, mostly because of Vincent’s case. As such, he wanted to do something for everyone, he wanted everyone to get along and try to be happy, even for just a brief hour or so.

Sharon understood Gilbert’s intention, and she did not want his efforts to go to waste.

“I will go.”

Though she doubted his efforts would be of any help to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Glad you both came, Sharon, Reim,” Gilbert welcomed the two of them as they stepped out of the coach.

“Good morning, Sharon-chan,” Sheryl was already there with Rufus.

“Good morning, grandmother. Good morning to you too, Duke Barma,” Sharon curtsied, and went along to greet other people she knew.

The Baskervilles were surprisingly friendly, it was actually nice to hang out with them and to know that they weren’t sworn enemies anymore. Lottie even complimented her dress, and she complimented her hair in return.

But it was no use. Her mind refused to let go of her precious Xerx-niisan for even a second.

She was constantly picturing him standing right beside her, glancing at the scrumptious-looking desserts in front of her over her shoulder. Or him sitting on a table and laughing at the most ridiculous thing ever. Or him bickering with Vincent with an apparent hint of bloodlust behind those sweet smiles of theirs.

Her surroundings felt eerily empty when he wasn’t in it.

A child’s voice pulled her back from her trance, “Hey, Eques… I mean, Sharon.”

She turned to see Lily tugging at her skirt to get her attention.

“Hello, Lily-san,” she immediately put on a smile, as any proper lady would to appear polite, “You look very cute today.”

“Thanks,” Lily looked at her feet like a child found guilty of shattering her mother’s favourite vase.

“Is something the matter?”

“Well, not exactly~~” Lily drawled, “I just really~~ wanted to apologise for what I said and did back… when the Hatter… died. It must’ve scared you, when you were in that state of mind.”

“I…”

“I’m sorry! Tell me how to make it up to you, I’ll do anything I can~~”

“It’s… it’s all water under the bridge now,” Sharon quickly said, half-genuine, half only wanting to drop the topic, “Besides, you and Bandersnatch protected us afterwards, no? I’d say we are even.”

“Eh?” Lily snapped her head up at once, eyes sparkling with joy, “So you’ll forgive me?”

“Of course.”

“Yay~~! Since you and Reim seem to be really close, I thought we might as well be friends too!” she flashed Sharon an innocent smile.

“Friends… that sounds… very nice,” taken aback by the little girl’s proposition, she stuttered, but at least she was genuine this time, “I would… love to be your friend too.”

“Yay~~~!” Lily jumped to hug her, “Oh, I almost forgot~~” She landed back on her feet and delved into a little pouch she was carrying, “I have to give something to you~~”

“To me?”

“Yup! Lottie found it back then~~” she whipped it out and placed it in Sharon’s hands, “Here!”

Sharon’s eyes shot open, gasping, “E… E… E…mi…ly…” Her hands trembled violently, dropping Emily on the ground, herself dropping to her knees along with the doll, tears spilling out uncontrollably, blended with screams.

Reim and Ada both rushed to her side, worried, trying their best to calm her down.

“Lily, what did you do?” Lottie and Leo interrogated the little girl.

“Eh…? I… I don’t know!” Lily was also freaking out, unable to comprehend Sharon’s extreme response.

“No… I…” Sharon defended her, “It was my… fault… When I… saw… Emily… I just…”

She picked up Emily again, held it close to her chest, and continued crying.

At that, Ada also couldn’t help but start weeping along.

“Ada-sama…” Vincent placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I… I am sorry… My mind… starts thinking… about Onii-chan and Uncle Oscar again…”

“No fair…” Lily pouted, “I wanna cry too…! You’re not… the only ones… who lost people you loved…!”

“Lily…” Lottie embraced the child tenderly.

“Fang~~~~~~~~!” Lily bawled, yanking on Lottie’s arms.

“Sharon-sama…” Reim knelt in front of Sharon, not that he knew what to do, he was about as scared as Break had been when Sharon cried.

“Sharon-chan…” Sheryl clearly yearned to take it upon herself to comfort her granddaughter, but Rufus didn’t move her wheelchair.

“The grief of the bereaved could only be fathomed by those who bear the same heartache, ‘tis best to allow them the liberty to manage the situation by themselves,” he said.

Sheryl was about to retort. In her eyes, the scene was full of depressed and confused children, unable to pull themselves together in the midst of woe.

But those very children proved her wrong.

Gilbert trod to Sharon wordlessly and placed a hand on her head.

“Master Gilbert?” Reim questioned.

Gilbert took Emily and strained his voice to sound like how Emily usually sounded, “ShARon, yOU cRyBABy! KeKEkEkE!”

He continued in his normal voice, “It’s a lame quip, I know. But I had the feeling that Break would’ve tried to cheer you up with some distasteful jokes of his if he were here.”

More tears trickled down Sharon’s cheeks when he said that, but she nodded with certainty.

Gilbert joined his brother and Ada next. “Ada-sama, if Oz were here,” he gave Ada a quick embrace, “he would surely allow you to weep on his chest like this.”

“And if Oscar-sama were here,” Vincent added, stroking Ada’s short hair and wiping her tears away tenderly with his thumb, “he would have done this.”

Gilbert turned his focus to Vincent.

“I’m fine, nii-san, Noise… Echo did well. I’m proud of her.”

“Leo… Master,” Gilbert continued.

“I already know what he’d do, Gilbert,” Leo gave a small smile and glanced at a book he brought, “He would’ve punched me playfully and quoted from Holy Knight volume 11, when Edwin taught the readers how to cope with such grief.”

Gilbert reciprocated the smile and moved on to Lily, the (physically) youngest of them all. Lottie seemed to be at her wits’ end as well, for Lily hadn’t had the chance to go on a rampage like this to mourn for Fang before.

“I… don’t know much about Fang, Lily, I’m sorry. But…” he scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders, “but I know how much you loved the piggyback rides he gave you.”

Lily bawled even louder and bashed him on the head, “Gil, you idiot~~~~! Your piggyback ride is NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS FANG’S!!!!!! I want Fang’s piggyback rides! I WANT FANG TO BE HERE~~~~!!!!”

Lottie couldn’t help but let out a whimper at that too and Doug clasped her shoulder in comfort.

“And I’m sure that,” Gilbert declared to everyone, “if Stupid Rabbit… Alice were here, she would’ve offer to bite everyone’s cheeks.”

Some managed to laugh at that, which proved Gilbert’s attempt fairly successful.

“I cannot speak for everyone,” he returned Lily to her companions and continued to announce, “I understand that everyone deals with grief differently, and that it may be painful for some to remember the past where your loved ones were by your side, only to be pulled back to the present, where they are not. But for me…

“For me, as painful as it is to remember, these wonderful memories also brought me solace. I had cried like you all, I had screamed like you all, but when I cry and scream, they faces would always come to mind. They are not gone, they are and will always be living here in our hearts, forever.” He averted his eyes from everyone, “That is… what I think Oz would’ve said to cheer everyone up.”

“But… But I don’t want Fang to be in my mind~~~!” Lily bursted out, “I want him to be HERE!!!!!”

Surprisingly, it was Sharon who approached the little girl and hugged her tightly.

“Eques…?” Lily sobbed.

“I… understand you, Lily-san…” Sharon spoke with her still trembling voice, “Break… was like a caring elder brother to me too… just like… Fang-san was to you… And I… I do not think I can bear… with the knowledge… that he can only be… in my mind from now on… either…

“But remember… Fang-san must’ve… left the stage… while pursuing the path he had believed in,” she looked Lily in the eye, her cranberry-coloured one’s about as teary as Lily’s light blue ones, “If we… halted in our steps now… they would surely be… disappointed… would they not? For they… had created our paths… one way or another…”

The memory of the blade protruding from Fang’s back instead of her own, the image of his body crumbling to dust, the terror and the fury and the sorrow all recurred to her now. She leant into Sharon’s chest and shrieked madly.

“We must… advance… on their behalf,” Sharon wasn’t very sure whether she was saying this for herself or Lily anymore, “We must… carry their courage… and their will on our shoulders… and move forward…”

If Break were here, he’d surely have implored them to do so. He’d surely have ushered them on the path to that sunlit finale he never managed to reach.

A pair of arms wrapped around the both of them and caressed their heads softly. It was Reim, dutifully holding back his tears even now.

“That’s right,” Gilbert nodded in agreement to Sharon’s words. He spoke with the decorum befitting a proud (adopted) son of the Nightray House, “We stand here today, thanks to our loved ones who had instilled in us the strength to live. Let us commemorate their courage, perseverance and love; and let us remember their fears and mistakes, so that we learn from them.”

Lily looked up at Reim and Sharon, and forced a smile, “Thank… you… I’m happy… to have become friends… with you~~”

Gilbert raised his teacup, “Let us celebrate, today, the wondrous memories they had etched in our hearts, and the lives they had relayed onto us.”

“Happy unbirthday!” everyone cheered, on behalf of those who had cheered alongside them the last time.

And the morning sun shone upon the hopeful paths of those who had overcome the tears and would continue to advance on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The End

[featheredwyrm]

My Muse...is into fanfic...

So, I was trying to do NaNoWriMo last month, and it failed horribly until halfway through I started playing Overwatch again and I was introduced to the new tank, Sigma. Well, like most of my Special Interests, I started doing research on wikis and wading through fan art and all sorts, and a story came to mind that I started writing down that became my 1/5 attempt to NaNo. I didn’t make it, didn’t expect to, but my muse had returned...

And it had me writing fanfic.

This particular fanfic has Siebren having a family, and the POV centers around either him or his granddaughter. I’ll leave one of my more recent scenes if any other in the Tumblrverse is interested. If I generate some interest, I might post more, but as it is horribly fragmented at the moment, it’ll be a slow process.

Apologies for not putting under cut. I only have access to mobile right now.

They walked along, enjoying each other’s company, a few precious moments away from their four-year-old son, Ravi. One of Selene’s coworkers had been gracious enough to take him for the night so they could have an actual “date night”, something they hadn’t had since he was born. Their breath came out in great puffs from the cold, but neither cared. The gardens at Christmas had always been special for them: the first true off-campus date they had, then Siebren walking in freezing temps with a frozen knee from asking for her hand in marriage, culminating in their wedding at noon on Christmas Day.

Street musicians serenaded, children giggled and yelled and ran, chasing the snowflakes that had begun to fall again.

The young couple purchased a cup of cocoa each before walking over to an empty bench, Siebren brushing the seat clean with his scarf, folding it and placing it down on the wood so Selene could sit. She sat, and when he did, she leaned over and kissed his lips. They sat and people-watched until Selene wrapped her arms around one of his and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Are you happy?” she asked, voice hardly loud enough to hear over the noise, but she knew he heard her; he always heard her, even if he wasn’t fully paying attention to what she said.

“Happier than you can imagine. They couldn’t put words or notes to express, nor equations to quantify how happy I am. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing big, really. I was just asking.”

He nodded, kissed the top of her head, and took a sip of cocoa before returning to people-watching, chuckling as children attempted to play fetch with their dog, the poor thing losing the snow “ball” in the piles on either side of the sidewalk.

“How many stars are in a binary system again?”

“Two,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Bi means two. Surely you learned that in elementary school.”

“I did.”

A return to sipping and sightseeing, broken again by Selene.

“I was wondering if you were able to get days off from your lab and your teaching assignments yet.”

Siebren adjusted his position so he faced his wife entirely. “I’ve had days off available since I started. Are you attempting to hint at something that I’m clearly missing?”

She laughed. “As badly as that poor dog is missing that the ball they’re throwing is made of the same stuff he’s crunching through.” She kissed him, lips soft, the feeling briefly warming their chilled skin. “Do you think Ravi would like a little brother or sister?”

“Oh, I suppose not at first, but I’m sure it’ll…” he stared at her blankly, realization filling his eyes, a nervous laugh escaping. “Are you? Really?”

“The campus doctor confirmed it at lunchtime. Don’t be mad at me for waiting this long to tell you.”

“Mad? As a hatter! Positively delirious!” He pulled her close and kissed her, a long, lingering kiss. “That’s wonderful news! Two!” He jumped to standing, climbing up onto the bench, arms stretched wide. “I’m going to be a father! Again!”

Many shouts of “congratulations!” and various blessings came from everyone around them, Siebren bouncing off of the bench, wrapping his arms around Selene, pulling her up with him and twirled around. “Another son!”

“Or daughter,” she proposed as he set her back down.

“Or daughter,” he conceded. “Do they have a due date yet?”

“Siebren! I just got it confirmed! I haven’t been to the OB/GYN yet!”

“I’m sorry.” He simply stared at her, grinning from ear to ear.

They sat there, discussing various things, from names to colors to if they should have the new baby share a room with Ravi when they were older, before the cold finally won and they started walking to the car.

Explosions rocked the air, shattering the streetlights above. Siebren quickly threw himself over Selene, brushing glass shards out of her hair as they stood. He told her to stay put while he walked out to the street, seemingly the epicenter of the chaos.

A second explosion sent the crowd rushing back into the park, he trying and failing to move any further towards the street. He used his height to his advantage, catching glimpses of moving machinery marching closer.

Omnics.

He had heard on the news that several cities had been attacked by the “sentient” machines, casualties numbering in the hundreds before that battle was silenced, only to have another one break out a country away. But that would never happen here…

Until now.

He turned back to the park, trying to force his way back to where he had left her. “Selene!” He spun around. Had he gotten pushed off course by the stampede of frightened citizens?

“Siebren!”

Behind him. He spun on his heels and forded through the throng, stooping to help up a child and hand her to her hysterical mother—

Automatic fire. Machine guns.

He dropped to an awkward crouch as the chaos swelled, his forward progress agonizingly slow.

“Selene!”

No answer.

Or was there, her voice simply lost in the discord, his exceptional hearing unable to filter out anything in the din of shrieks and gunfire?

“Selene!” he tried again.

Still nothing.

The crowd thinned enough to where he could see the bench they had just been sitting at, a shadow on the ground not far away. He ran forward, foot catching on a discarded backpack, he scrambled forward on all fours, fingers numb when he finally reached her. “Selene!” He pulled off a soaked emerald glove with his teeth, checked her over, hand coming back covered in crimson. “Selene, stay with me!”

“I was thinking of something maritime based this time for names,” she stated, unaware of her wounds.

“No, that’s good, that’s good. What were you thinking, exactly?” His eyes searched in vain for someone in uniform. They were too far away from the street, no one would reach them in time.

“I was thinking…maybe a split room. At first. Then give them…space…” Her breath came in labored gulps, growing more shallow by the moment.

He used his gloved hand to try and push away the tears in his eyes, to keep them from freezing his eyes shut. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Selene. But I need you to stay here. I need you with me.”

Flashing lights. Sirens.

“Over here!” he bellowed. “Help! She’s been shot! Help me!”

“Siebren?”

He looked down at her, beautiful blue eyes somehow closer to gray. “Yes, Selene?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. I love you more than the stars in the sky. Don’t go.”

“I’m not going anywhere…” she said with a smile. Her chest rose and fell one last time.

“Selene!” He shook her. “Selene!” He rested his forehead against hers.

The light in her eyes…it was gone.

He stayed knelt over her, believing that his own failing body heat would inspire hers to return. His head slid off of hers into the snow, he finishing the motion, coming to rest in the snow beside her. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close.

There.

Together in the snow. How he had always suspected it would be. Together.

Ravi.

For his son. He had to.

He pushed himself to sitting as boots crunched through the snow towards them.

“Stardust to stardust…”

[eterneli]

“ delusions  ,  too  ,  die hard with memory ”

american mcgee’s game. alice: madness returns — accepting.

he has been staring at the clear reflection on the surface of the dark and steaming liquid within the cup ever since the waiter placed it on the table, lithe fingers coiled around the warm piece of porcelain to maintain it steady and undisturbed.

it’s their usual meeting spot, yet it somehow feels different. everything does actually. he should’ve excepted it. maybe it is the lack of distinctive and bewitching aromas he had grown used to, or the change in their dynamic. he doesn’t have a pen and paper today, no question in line to jump out at the tip of his tongue, no itch of curiosity to decode the enigma this mad hatter has proven himself to be.

his mind is elsewhere when he hunches over to take a sip of the piping hot coffee, brows furrowing as the unpleasant sensation of burn murders a layer or two of cells along his lips. the latter’s words are only registered when his thumb is done rubbing the sore spot in a futile attempt of easing the ache.

“do they?”

hazel hues avert from his reflection to rest on dongwoo instead.

isn’t it a comic statement for someone so out of touch with reality? a chuckle is muffled against the palm of his hand as his form reclines against the leather-coated chair.

assumptions are his basis. a theory of split personalities -- a friendly smile one day, an arrogant remark on the other. they’ve met enough times for baekhyun to pick up on at least a few characteristics. a few delusions. delusions that appear lively when fragments of memoir appear to be long gone. or maybe the man just isn’t willing to share any of them.

so he wonders as fingertips circle the delicate, golden rim of his cup.

”how do your manage to keep yours alive then?”

[musicofglassandwords]

Wonderland and Time for Tea

fun little snippet!

“Yes, that’s it,” said the Hatter with a sigh: “it’s always tea time, and we’ve no time to wash the things between whiles.”

“Then you keep moving round I suppose?” said Alice

The Mad Hatter set his teacup down with a shatter, plucking a tulip off of his hat and flinging it across the table, hitting the still dormant dormouse right on his snout.

The dormouse sprang up, looking around wildly, then curled back into his tea saucer, snoring into a pile of sugar lumps. The Hatter rolled his eyes; the dormouse had been in hibernation for two hours and had already woken up six times. 

He was quite sure that dormouses, or was it dormice, or dormices or dormi, were not hibernating creatures.

But he wasn’t a dormouse. He was exactly seventy-eight percent certain of that which was nearly twice as certain as he was that the sky was blue.

Across the table, the Hare was singing into the teapot.

           “Mary had a little lamb

           Its fleece as white as snow

           And everywhere Mary went

           The lamb was sure to go,” he whipped his furry head up, his ears sprinkled with tea the exact color of the dirt the flowers were growing in.

 “Lovely…” a furry grin had appeared above the table, and was slowly swelling out, until the Cheshire cat was perched on the plate of scones that the Hatter had been eyeing. “Are you attempting a career in the opera?”

The hare widened his eyes at the cat, and buried his face back into the teapot.

“Some cream?” The Hatter snatched the pitcher from the opposite side of the table and shoved in front of the Cheshire.

“I prefer fish. Tuna, for that matter.” he grinned again, exposing his needle-sharp teeth.

“Not catfish?” the Hatter giggled, tipping back in his seat, and immediately falling over. He came up, spat dirt into his tea, and pulled a pocket watch out of his top hat. “Goodness, it’s already six o’clock! Time for tea!”

“It’s always time for tea here.” the Cheshire drawled, sniffing at the plate of raspberry tarts.

 “I mean Time for tea, you uncultured feline.” the Hatter repeated, pointing at the figure draped in a cloak the color of stormy clouds on the beach slowly dragging itself to the table and sitting down on an ornate chair, rather the kind that one would find the queen’s sitting room.

The cat hissed and sprang of off the table scurrying away and upsetting two dishes of biscuits drizzled with honey, providing an abundant feast for the ants now crawling onto the table.

“How do you do?” the Hatter doffed his hat, scattering pollen and yanked on the Hare’s ears, pulling him out of the depths of the teapot.

Time pulled off his hood, staring off into space.

“I do believe I am lost to someone.”

“Again?” the Hare guffawed, passing a plate of seed cakes to the empty seat beside him. “Nevermore of this. These cakes are quite the spectacular treat. I insist you try a few.”

He proceeded to tip approximately six and three-quarters of a cake onto Time’s plate, generously giving him the crumbs as well, brushing them off with a grubby paw.

“What brings you to our lonely glen?” the Hatter nodded to Time, who picked up a seed cake looking at it bemusedly.

 “I heard that someone had been hurt over in this wondrous land.” Time whispered, picking off a single seed off of his cake and dropping it into his half-full teacup. “And it is supposed that I can heal all things, no?”

“No,” the Hare chortled, but after a glare from Time, busied himself with stacking the sugar cubes into a sculpture of the dormouse.

“What news have you heard that I haven’t?” the Hatter demanded, looking rather offended. He prided himself on knowing the news of wonderland. Most of it consisted of which flowers had been withered, what sorts of tunes the turtle was singing, or what shade of red the cards were now painting the roses.  “Is it that the Caterpillar has finally moved more than an inch?”

“I do believe that that may be impossible.” Time said solemnly, reaching for a danish. “No, my mad friend. It’s abo–“

“WAIT!” the Hatter interrupted, throwing his scone down. “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

“I could not care less.” Time sniffed, poking at the dormouse, who blinked and looked solemnly at the hatter.

“Because neither one is a cup of tea.” With a loud snore, he went back to sleep, while the Hatter scowled.

“What a terrible answer.”

“What is the answer then?” Time asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I haven’t yet found it,” the Hatter said dreamily, picking hi scone off of the grass and dunking it into a lukewarm cup of tea. “Hurry up, tell me why you’re here.”

Time sighed loudly, his breath blowing the pollen off of the tablecloth.

“I have been sent to take care of that human girl that came passing through.”

The Hatter had no immediate recollection of this, but he searched through his memories anyway. It was a jumble in his mind, all scattered pieces, everything topsy-turvy, broken and shattered. In the midst of the mess, he found a fragment of a young girl with a blue apron.

He hadn’t liked that apron; it had been much too blue for his taste.

“Well, what about her?” he asked crossly, reaching across the table (because as you remember, his first teacup had been broken) and picking up a glass vase full of tea.

“She is not allowed here anymore, so I’ve come to help her pass on. Cure her of that childhood merrymaking.”

“I wouldn’t call that a wound, would you Hare?” the Hatter turned to the mammal, who nodded absentmindedly, now working on painting a portrait of the Cheshire on the grimy, lace tablecloth in tea. “What do the royals think of this?

“She angered the Red Queen.” Time said simply. “I’ve been sent to take her back and let her grow away from us.”

“Silly children. Turning every right-side-up when everything should be upside downside. They always seem to be deaf to those who you’ve passed by, no?”

 “I suppose.” Time said, watching the Hatter drain the glass vase of tea.

“You ought to hurry then.” the Hatter tossed the vase aside, and checked his watch. The hour hand kept spinning and spinning, while the second and minute hands continuously crashed into each other, over and over, and over. “Time shouldn’t be kept waiting, and you shouldn’t keep others waiting either.”

“Point taken.” Time bent his head in acknowledgement. “When is your tea over?”

“Never, never, nevermore.” the Hatter leaned back in his chair again, paused, and seemed to think better of it, falling forward with a thump. “Tea time is forever time. Six o’clock is the only place for me.”

“Indeed.” Time eyed him, a hint of pity in his eyes. “Then I believe I shall come again.”

“Whatever you please.” the Hatter nodded at him. “Also, your new robes are quite the piece of news in themselves. Rather dusty, wouldn’t you say. The exact color of gray one might find in a dirty laundry water.”

 “Haven’t you ever hear how rude it is to be judgmental?” Time narrowed his eyes. “If only you could be tolerant of everything you see. I might say that your hat is the gaudiest piece of material I have ever seen, but I shan’t, because unlike you, I have manners.”

The Mad Hatter gasped indignantly, clutching his plum velvet top hat to his chest.

“How hypocritical.” He stuffed a biscuit into his mouth, chewing angrily at him. “Seeing as how you wear the same dingy old hat every single day.”

“Look who’s being hypocritical now,” Time snorted.

“To each their own.”  The Hatter pulled a plate of crepes and whipped cream to himself, using a gold-knobbed cane that had appeared out of nowhere.  “How about you leave then?”

“As you wish.” Time rose and bowed to the dormouse, to the March Hare and to the Mad Hatter, who ignored him.

           “Mary had a little lamb

           Its fleece bare and gone

           Now everywhere Mary went

           There was only one.”

But he watched Time as he raised his arms, feathery gray wings springing out from his back. He flapped them once, twice, and soared into the sky.

The Hatter watched him go until he lost track of him in the clouds.

He jumped as a poppy sprouted out of the teacup Time had left behind, scarlet petals opening up to the sun. Within his second cup of chamomile tea, its petals had been scattered to the wind, the stem withered, seeds falling back into the cold puddle of tea.

That was the effect of Time.

So, the hatter thought about the girl with the blue dress. Somewhere in Wonderland she was marching through the game board, going against the rules of the land, paving her own way, no matter how many pawns she had to crush in her wake.

The hatter took another sip of tea, as a breeze whipped through the glen, sprinkling their table with an assortment of fall leaves, then blew away.

He checked his watch, and poured himself a fresh saucer of tea. Besides him, the dormouse and the March Hare snored away.

The Mad Hatter raised his saucer in cheers to nothingness.

[wipstoriesandart]

Not Your Princess Ch 8

ok this one was mostly finished and managed to get the rest of it done, i warn there is some violence in it. and summoning of monsters... not your thing then please dont read.

Questions are welcome, and feedback is always appreciated. i will link it to the previous and first when i get time later.

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            Maddy was walking down the hall, her mind focusing on solving this puzzle of a mix up. She was biting on the end of her thumb as she thought, unaware of the people who seemed to great her with happy faces, And some girls bouncing up and down, Maddy had replied kindly though mostly on autopilot so she hadn't even noticed her own response. It wasn't till a lanky arm draped over her shoulders.             “Well Good evening Little Queen,” Chess smiled with a toothy grin, others about seemed unnerved by his smirk Maddy however side glanced him then stopped in her tracks to look his face over. She knew something was just not adding up.              “Why do i know you?” She asked bluntly.             Chess’s grin widened even more, “We have classes together of course,”             “No, Why do i know You? Since i met you two here in school i had this feeling i have known both you and Shadow, yet i even asked my mother and she has even concluded the fact I had never played with any child outside of the family before school itself and no one else seems to know or recall you. So why Do I? Is this a trick? Are you two here to accomplish something? What are you after?”              Chess’s smile went from evil and dark to one of sadness and remorse, “My friend and i are only here to find a lost friend,” he removed his arm from her, “I wish you no stress young Queen, nor will i go against you. If you wish for He and i to leave i will see to it. After all, i am but a servant in the Great Queen’s court,” he gave a little bow and a wink. Then before anything else could be said by maddy he seemed to evaporate from where he stood, no one else seemed to have noticed or seen him.               Was that real? Had he actually been there? Or was her mind starting to come undone?               “Princess!” the title rang out before anything further could be thought on it. Maddy cringed and turned to see the once seen as Gallant Knight.               “What do you want Prince?” she was already running late for class she did not wish to deal with him.

             “I wanted to tell you i forgive you for embarrassing me in front of everyone. I may have provoked and confused you with what i had said and know you didn't mean to hurt me. So… i'm willing to give us a second chance.”

            Maddison had no reaction for him, and her irritated deadpan expression apparently was enough to make him squirm under her glare. She eventually rolled her eyes and walked off. Someone was following behind Maddison could hear the footsteps but didn't care. She was hoping who ever it was would simply leave but eventually Maddison stopped and turned around to face the prep who seemed livid.

          “What do you want Linda?” Maddy could feel a headache starting.

          “Who do you think you are? Being so rude to Judicial like that?” She glared at Maddy, who noticed an absence in the entourage that would often follow the brat.

        “And what exactly is a Judicial? Is that class i missed or something?” She didn't recall ever hearing about it before.

        Linda stepped back confused and shocked, “prince? Your suiter? His actual Name!?”

        Maddy narrowed her eyes, “Firstly he is no longer my suiter, i freed him from any responsibility he felt he had. And secondly i don't think he ever told me his actual name… he had always been referred to as Prince around me. So if your pissy over wanting to date him, go ahead. I have no say in what he does nor do i care,” Maddy walked away, rubbing her temple… she went straight to her room and asked the maid to collect her assignments  for the rest of the day. The Maid gave a bow and rushed off to do just that.

        Maddy found a tin of chocolate covered coffee beans, and a Book. She picked it up and raised a brow reading the title “Alice in Wonderland”. She sat down at the edge of her bed, looking it over. Her brows were frowned as her memories seemed to be fighting with one another. She knew this book, But… she had never seen this title before… this book didn't belong here… but this was HER book…

        She opened the cover and found her own name written in the “This book Belongs to” mark, it was in her own handwriting… Her head ach was getting worse. She looked to the clock it was still just past noon, she had time to take a nap and get back to the thought later before dinner…

        She was laying on a pile of pillows and blankets, it was dark… when had it become night… had she slept for that long? She could feel something running up and down her back gently in a massaging manor, she looked over to a dark figure, his face and body was hidden from her but she knew the silhouette, she was about to call out to him, when a gentle shake upon her shoulder woke her up.

       “Lady Drake? Are you alright Miss?” a young sparrow woman asked.

       Maddy looked over to her, blinking in confusion, it was not dark. She wasn't on a bed of pillows and blankets. But on her own school bed. The book hugged close to her chest. Her uniform wrinkled and disheveled from being slept in.

       “Um… ya… i think.. I think i just have been pushing myself a little to hard recently,” She sat up rubbing her eyes, the book still close to her.

       “I knew it!” the older Sparrow called from the hall, “Tell her stay in her room! We will find her dinner and bring it in to her! She needs to rest!”

       “Uh… i am so sorry Lady Drake the elder one is a little … set in her ways” the younger sparrow bowed.

      “It's quite alright, i don't mind, she is right though i should probably get some rest to make up for all of the sparing i have been doing instead of resting” Maddy smiled. She sent the young bird woman out assuring her she could dress herself in her nightgown, and gave a sigh of relief when she finally left..

       Maddy changed and opened the tin to eat a few of the chocolate covered treats. She sat down at her desk finding her school work but setting the book down atop of it and reading the pages that seemed oh so familiar to her.

        She had flipped through to the tea party scene, She read over the hatter… it wasn't right… the books description of him didn't match her memory… she remembered a tall lanky being… his golden eyes watching her, his presence watching over her even when she couldn't see him… but why? He was a fictitious character, and one who allegedly she had never read before though she knew the book… she flipped over to the cheshire cat, and shorted. Instantly she thought of Chess the boy. She seemed to recall Hatter getting mad when Chess had taken her on a tour of the lands…

        Her head was hurting even more, she stood up and went to the window, Dusk having crept upon the area. She opened the window to get some air hoping desperately for some relief from whatever was causing her discomfort.

        The air was cool and crisp, though it did nothing to remove the pulsing pain. She sighed looking over the grounds, a strange figure running from the building to the woods once more. She narrowed her eyes rage filling her for whatever reason she was unsure but she had to figure out who this was and what they were upto. She lept from her window, tumbling when she landed nearly silently Darting as quietly as she could in her bare feet behind the figure, keeping to the shadows.

         The figure had paused once or twice to look back over their shoulder, she felt irritated it wasn't who she was expecting, though to be honest she wasn't sure who she was expecting. She followed him into a clearing… unfortunately she lost sight of him. After listening for any movement within five minutes she stood up from her crouched position and decided to make her way back but when she turned around she was struck hard knocking her out.

      There was random chanting… her mind was fogged, Her vision Blurry. A sudden sharp pain in her left hand caused her to semi focus. The figure who she had been following had her bound in the center of a circle in the woods, they had just cut her hand open and with the same dagger stepped toward the top of the circle and stabbed the air. It was as if the Man was cutting through the very air itself opening a black void. He stepped back with a wicked grin.

     “I honestly am almost sorry for you little girl. I was only paid to take care of that nuisance you call a prince. Pity you had to stumble onto this place… Though fortunate for me, I was getting impatient of trying get rid of him, so i plan to call something to help me,” He smiled wickedly.

     Maddy had a headache and couldn't figure out what the hell this man was saying… “What?” she was irritable, testing the knots.. Unfortunately he seemed to have known what he was doing and she couldn't find a end or means to work it loose.

     He laughed, “Haven't you figured it out? The poisoning? The Gargoyle? That was all me. I have been trying to get rid of that bastard to make way for my Lord. But seems he won't die… oh well. You will serve as a first meal to the very creature that will finish the little nuisance,” He walked over to his items, Maddy’s head was still spinning only thought she could muster was he was annoying, and what the hell did he say?

      The man opened a book and began reading from it, it was then that Maddy noticed she was near the center of what seemed to be a summon ring. The Man raised a hand his voice booming and the clouds above began to swirl and swallow the stars. The light fire though still aflame started to darken the light itself seeming to be dimed by the forces answering the call… Maddy’s stomach churned and she felt fear clutching her heart as a Dark portal spun into existence before her. She felt dread wondering what beast would come forth, but a fragment of her mind was thrilled, she could almost envision that part of herself reaching into the dark vortex and calling to something….

        “Come Forth Child Of the Shadows! Come forth and rid this world of that retch!” the man yelled with a evil laugh.

        Despite it all Maddy found herself irritated and annoyed by the man, But when the vortex pulsed her attention shot back… from the twisting darkness emerged what seemed to be a black serpent, black feathered wings flapped keeping it afloat, golden amber eyes locked onto maddy, atop its head what could only be described as moth enteni ears flicked. The vortex closed and Maddy… felt confused… the snake could not have been more than 3 ft long… its facial structure was rounded, and over all she would go so far as to call it cute. This was the evil monster the man summoned to kill prince? When she tilted her head the snake itself did the same then with a flap and a “Churr” it spring forward nuzzling its face into hers, and gently rapping about her shoulders perching comfortably as if it belonged there.

          Maddy found herself smiling and giggling as the Moth ears tickled.

         The man seemed enraged, “What? No! Your not supposed to be friendly with Her! You are supposed to Kill her! Foul and useless thing” the man stepped toward them.

         As soon as he stepped into the cercle the Shadow snakes attention was on the man, Its features seemed to sharpen, as it hissed in warning, its tail wrapping over Maddy’s eyes. She struggled to move it, but she felt as if there was a hand upon her shoulder now, and felt the heavy force of sleep claiming her… the last thing she recalled was the man’s scream before sleep took her.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sorry. Not sorry for the Cliff hanger, You are welcome to make a guess what you think is occurring with the feeling of the hand on the shoulder, i would love to hear your ideas.