Joker no Kuni no Alice - Joker 7th Event
Joker 7th Event
Alice: “…Ah!”
*scene flashes from Joker’s forest to the prison*
Alice: (It changes.)
Not always, but occasionally it changes.
Alice: (Again…it changes)
I don’t know how many times I’ve been here, or how many times I’ll come here. Sometimes I stay here for a short time, sometimes longer.
The stone pavement, iron barred doors and windows, it’s a cold place. It’s not the temperature, but the atmosphere that’s cold. Cold, hard and distant.
It’s a prison, so I can’t relax.
I’m not used to such a place and this feeling where everything is so cold.
Alice: “…Joker?”
I don’t see Joker this time, though I always meet him here. I look around my surroundings. The circus is nowhere to be seen.
I don’t want to get to know this place. I don’t even want to meet Joker.
Alice: (Why do I come here so often?)
I don’t intend to end up in the prison when I come here. It’s different from going to a tourist attraction and going to a prison for a class trip.
It’s a cold place here. Even so, there’s no trace of anybody. This isn’t a good sign…
Alice: (…Joker runs the place, so does that mean he has to give a wide breach? However, there are little signs of life here. There’s no prisoners. No one has been caught, no one is in sight.)
I look into a nearby cell. The windows are barred and no one is inside.
No one. I was able to look because I judged no one was in there. I’m not mentally prepared yet to look a prisoner in the eye.
Alice: (I wonder if it’s completely empty.)
It’s a considerably big prison. Though I don’t know the whole layout, I understand the scope of the prison control in fragments. I try to avert my eyes from anything sinister looking, but there’s no signs of life anywhere. It’s simply a dark and gloomy jail.
Alice: (After all, is this place used at all anymore?)
I begin to walk slowly. I try to look inside each cell, one by one. Each one is the same size and the rows are arranged to look the same. Sometimes, the lattice blocks my view into some cells and it worries me to an extent.
Alice: “!!!”
Unexpectedly, it seemed that a shadow wriggled on the edge of the passage. I turn around in a hurry to check.
Alice: “…?”
I expected an eerie figure, but there is only the prison where the shadow fled.
Alice: (…Are my eyes playing tricks on me?)
It’s dark here. How would you mistake a shadow?
Alice: (Maybe it was an afterimage…)
Perhaps the mood instilled the fear in me. As a result, my imagination is being overactive.
Alice: (…I’m too conscious. To make matters worse, I am afraid… The horror is not part of the usual pattern.)
After I slowly exhale, I turn around. Even looking ahead, there is no shadow. It’s just a dark passage.
Alice: (…There is nothing. Not even Joker.)
I calm my heartbeat and continue walking slowly, peering into each cell. I want to go back to the forest. If I walk around, I’ll eventually reach it. I’ve gone far and I pray I get back quickly.
Alice: (The empty prison…it’s eerie.)
When he was here, it was a different kind of scary.
Alice: (But there’s not even a prison guard here.)
Even if management is necessary, the Joker is not here. There would be no reason to neglect a position. The after image of the prison guard couldn’t have been here…
Alice: (…Is there anything here?)
There are no prisoners in this prison. I advance timidly. Time here is different. I stray off in the forest and end up here. If I walk through the prison, I might be able to return. Though my patrol is going slow, nothing is happening. Nobody is here and the scenery isn’t changing.
Alice: “!”
But, on the other side of the iron-barred doors…
Alice: “Wh…”
She can’t be here. She can’t, she can’t be in this world.
Alice: (…sister)
Behind the iron door is my sister.
Alice: (sister)
She’s inside the cell. I watch her. I’m not asking for help yet, she doesn’t move and her expression…
Alice: “…Ah.”
Sister is not here. She can’t be. However, she’s sitting right in front of me.
Alice: (…it’s an illusion.)
I didn’t make a sound because I didn’t know if she was hurt. I deny her existence in front of me. However, this isn’t real, so I don’t run over to her. I follow the distant traces of my memory. I compare the image in front of me to the one in my memory. They are the same.
Alice: (…completely tasteless)
If this is a dream, it’s more like a nightmare. Perhaps it’s a rule for Joker. Even so, I have a few questions to ask him.
Alice: (It’s not a dream. And it’s not a nightmare. Then how is… is this just a show for the Joker?)
If it’s her, then the Joker has atrocious taste. Instead of approaching the cell door, I draw back. I understand that she can’t be real, she can’t do anything to me.
Alice: “…Joker. …Joker! Come out, Joker!”
Alice: (Is it possible he will show up? Is he laughing at me from a distance? This sort of thing is the lowest.)
Joker: “You called, Alice?”
Alice: “…Joker?”
I heard a voice from behind before I could raise my own. I looked for the voice and found the figure himself.
But, I’m puzzled. Something feels very wrong.
Alice: “Joker?”
Joker: “Ah, that’s me.”
Alice: (Eh?)
Alice: “…who?”
Joker: “I’m the Joker.”
Alice: “…Joker?”
Joker: “Yes, I’m Joker. Do you get it know?”
Alice: “…”
The Joker is a Joker. I always find the Joker here. He’s dressed like a prison guard. But, the uniform he wears isn’t what I usually see him in. I meet the Joker at the surface.
Alice: “…Why are you here?”
Joker: *chuckles* “Is it different from understanding it?”
Alice: “Your speech is totally different.”
Joker: “But, I noticed before I registered it. So as to understand the difference…you became friends with the Joker? …With which Joker?”
Alice: “I’m close to neither”
I understand the few differences only because I’m cautious.
Joker: *laughs* “That’s cruel. I thought we already became good friends.”
Alice: “…I don’t make friends who don’t clarify themselves. Why are you here?”
Joker: “Can’t I go anywhere? I’m not a prisoner, so I can leave the prison. I’m here because I’m the director of the prison. It is the same with the other Joker, he’s in charge too.”
Alice: “After all, your split personalities are making me sick.”
Joker: “You got it wrong. If you said that, the Joker would be angry.”
Alice: “Yeah…You lose your temper too easily.”
Joker: “No, a Joker is the Joker, but I’m different. My boiling point is higher.”
Even if we met, the other person seems to be decided everything.
Alice: “…It’s nice that you’re prison director, but why is my older sister…”
Joker: “Your older sister…? Where?”
Alice: “Right there.”
I point to the prison where my older sister sits in.
Alice: “…!?”
The prison cell is empty.
Alice: (But just awhile ago…)
Even if I can’t confirm it, that was my older sister. In this world of irregular time, how long was she there? But I don’t forget her.
The same figure was the one from my memory.
Joker: “…you have to do a bad thing in order to be imprisoned. Until judgement, everyone is confined. Was your older sister such a bad person? If she was, then we can’t help if she was imprisoned.”
Alice: “Don’t say rude things! My older sister would never do such a thing!”
She wasn’t a bad person. At the very least, she was an excellent woman, to me.
Joker: “Hmm? Then who’s the bad one…? If the one in the cell is not bad, is it still bad to confine them?”
Alice: “Of course. Imprisoning my older sister…She never did anything bad. Confining her is irrational.”
Joker: “Yes, that is absurd. Even so, confinement was necessary.”
Joker affirmed it quickly.
Joker: “However, this world is full of absurdity.”
Alice: “No matter how irrational this world is, I can’t forgive you for imprisoning my sister.”
Joker: “Not only in this world, but doesn’t this happen in your world also? It is hopeless to be absurd. …Being confined here at the wrong time isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Alice: “Then release my sister. She hasn’t done anything bad.”
Joker: “Unfortunately, I don’t make the decisions. I can’t pass judgement on the prisoners.”
Alice: (Even if there were judges…)
My sister is in prison under a false accusation.
Joker: “I can’t control who is contained in the prison. I can’t undo the crime of the prisoner.”
Alice: “Such…”
Although this isn’t the reality for my world, I can’t send my older sister to prison.
Alice: “I have to free her…”
Joker: “Hmmm, but its impossible… But, it’s not all bad being confined here, you understand. Even good memories come with bad ones. The good is always mixed with the bad.”
Alice: “She’s a good person. She’s at no fault.”
It doesn’t matter. They’re not complete human beings. However, she’s not a person who would do a bad thing. I can assert it.
Joker: “I got it, I got it. But I’m hopeless anyway. It’s terrible to throw innocent people into prison so…”
Alice: “?”
The Joker pointed at me as I had pointed at the empty prison. Pointing at someone is rude. But, when he does it, it seems almost gentlemanly. It looks elegant and refined.
Joker: “I’ll grant a pardon.”
Alice: “Pardon?”
Joker: “Ah. I’ll cut her innocent time and release her….because she’s not guilty at all. Any criminal has the right to enjoy themselves. That’s why there’s a circus. I provide the fun, so they only feel pain a part of the time.”
Alice: “…So my older sister disappeared from the prison?”
Alice: (Because the circus is close?)
It was decided on a false accusation and its not reality. To begin with, older sister would never be in prison. I think giving a pardon is generous after hearing the story. However, it seems very dark.
Will the circus overflow from the crime?
I watch the empty cell. It is a dark and narrow room. I seem to be trapped just by looking at it.
I want to go outside.
I want to go back to where I’m staying.
*fades to black*
…It’s dark here.
Pitch dark.
Boy: “What are you doing?”
Alice: “!”
I’m startled.
Alice: “Eh? What?”
Boy: “The circus isn’t on yet. We’re still preparing."
The circus stage is being prepared in the tent. A dim light is burning, so it’s not completely dark.
Boy: “You can’t cross the tape if you’re not staff…”
Alice: “Eh? My apologies, I’m leaving now.”
I don’t understand how I entered such a place.
Alice: (Like sleepwalking? I wonder…)
Split personalities are just as bad.
Boy: “…Can you wait?”
Alice: “Hm?”
Boy: “The circus. It’s going to begin soon, can you wait for it?”
Alice: “Ye-yes. I’m looking forward to it. But, it was wrong of me to peek at the preparations. I’m sorry.”
Even though he’s a small child, I apologize seriously. He’s obviously staff.
Alice: (This child…)
Alice: “You…It’s been awhile. You’re the boy I met before.”
He was with a girl. I haven’t seen them recently…
Alice: “I was certain…you were together…”
The ambiguity of the situation is rising.
Boy: “Yeah, but I was scolded by Joker and Joker had to fix it.”
Alice: “Oh, do tell…”
I don’t understand because of the boy’s clothes and make up. I can’t tell if he’s injured. In this world, he could die and it would be of no consequence.
Is it fiction? Is it reality? It is a lie? Is it the truth?
It’s too real to be a dream and too strange to be reality.
Boy: “Joker is cruel, but Joker is kind.”
Alice: “That is…”
Alice: (Split personality?)
Boy: “You should go before Joker finds you. Either way, I don’t want to be scolded.”
Joker: “…That’s right. The circus hasn’t started yet, so you should go.”
Alice: “…! Joker.”
He appeared naturally as if he was always standing there.
Joker: “You are an important customer, but I can’t give you a sneak peak.”
Alice: “I’m-I’m sorry…”
Joker: *chuckles* “You don’t need to be afraid. It will start soon, you can see it then.”
Black Joker: “Ah, That’s right. Until it starts, keep quiet.”
The Joker’s mask speaks. I was startled when I first heard it, but now it’s usual.
Alice: (The cruel Joker…)
Joker: “You should know a magician never reveals his secret. If you know everything, you can’t enjoy the circus.”
The cruel one is the one in the mask, but right now, it seems they are both cruel.
END
When Joker was telling Alice he was going to release her sister, I couldn’t help but think of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Maybe it’s because I’m a huge Disney whore, but the resemblance made me squeal with delight and listen to the soundtrack on repeat. Take your sister’s place, fall in love with the Joker and break the spell damn it! Of course, I think you could do a Beauty and the Beast parody with a few of the other guys (mainly Julius and Blood) if you wanted to base it off the original fairytale, but I’m going to stop before I start to ramble...
Alice: “…Ah!”
*scene flashes from Joker’s forest to the prison*
Alice: (It changes.)
Not always, but occasionally it changes.
Alice: (Again…it changes)
I don’t know how many times I’ve been here, or how many times I’ll come here. Sometimes I stay here for a short time, sometimes longer.
The stone pavement, iron barred doors and windows, it’s a cold place. It’s not the temperature, but the atmosphere that’s cold. Cold, hard and distant.
It’s a prison, so I can’t relax.
I’m not used to such a place and this feeling where everything is so cold.
Alice: “…Joker?”
I don’t see Joker this time, though I always meet him here. I look around my surroundings. The circus is nowhere to be seen.
I don’t want to get to know this place. I don’t even want to meet Joker.
Alice: (Why do I come here so often?)
I don’t intend to end up in the prison when I come here. It’s different from going to a tourist attraction and going to a prison for a class trip.
It’s a cold place here. Even so, there’s no trace of anybody. This isn’t a good sign…
Alice: (…Joker runs the place, so does that mean he has to give a wide breach? However, there are little signs of life here. There’s no prisoners. No one has been caught, no one is in sight.)
I look into a nearby cell. The windows are barred and no one is inside.
No one. I was able to look because I judged no one was in there. I’m not mentally prepared yet to look a prisoner in the eye.
Alice: (I wonder if it’s completely empty.)
It’s a considerably big prison. Though I don’t know the whole layout, I understand the scope of the prison control in fragments. I try to avert my eyes from anything sinister looking, but there’s no signs of life anywhere. It’s simply a dark and gloomy jail.
Alice: (After all, is this place used at all anymore?)
I begin to walk slowly. I try to look inside each cell, one by one. Each one is the same size and the rows are arranged to look the same. Sometimes, the lattice blocks my view into some cells and it worries me to an extent.
Alice: “!!!”
Unexpectedly, it seemed that a shadow wriggled on the edge of the passage. I turn around in a hurry to check.
Alice: “…?”
I expected an eerie figure, but there is only the prison where the shadow fled.
Alice: (…Are my eyes playing tricks on me?)
It’s dark here. How would you mistake a shadow?
Alice: (Maybe it was an afterimage…)
Perhaps the mood instilled the fear in me. As a result, my imagination is being overactive.
Alice: (…I’m too conscious. To make matters worse, I am afraid… The horror is not part of the usual pattern.)
After I slowly exhale, I turn around. Even looking ahead, there is no shadow. It’s just a dark passage.
Alice: (…There is nothing. Not even Joker.)
I calm my heartbeat and continue walking slowly, peering into each cell. I want to go back to the forest. If I walk around, I’ll eventually reach it. I’ve gone far and I pray I get back quickly.
Alice: (The empty prison…it’s eerie.)
When he was here, it was a different kind of scary.
Alice: (But there’s not even a prison guard here.)
Even if management is necessary, the Joker is not here. There would be no reason to neglect a position. The after image of the prison guard couldn’t have been here…
Alice: (…Is there anything here?)
There are no prisoners in this prison. I advance timidly. Time here is different. I stray off in the forest and end up here. If I walk through the prison, I might be able to return. Though my patrol is going slow, nothing is happening. Nobody is here and the scenery isn’t changing.
Alice: “!”
But, on the other side of the iron-barred doors…
Alice: “Wh…”
She can’t be here. She can’t, she can’t be in this world.
Alice: (…sister)
Behind the iron door is my sister.
Alice: (sister)
She’s inside the cell. I watch her. I’m not asking for help yet, she doesn’t move and her expression…
Alice: “…Ah.”
Sister is not here. She can’t be. However, she’s sitting right in front of me.
Alice: (…it’s an illusion.)
I didn’t make a sound because I didn’t know if she was hurt. I deny her existence in front of me. However, this isn’t real, so I don’t run over to her. I follow the distant traces of my memory. I compare the image in front of me to the one in my memory. They are the same.
Alice: (…completely tasteless)
If this is a dream, it’s more like a nightmare. Perhaps it’s a rule for Joker. Even so, I have a few questions to ask him.
Alice: (It’s not a dream. And it’s not a nightmare. Then how is… is this just a show for the Joker?)
If it’s her, then the Joker has atrocious taste. Instead of approaching the cell door, I draw back. I understand that she can’t be real, she can’t do anything to me.
Alice: “…Joker. …Joker! Come out, Joker!”
Alice: (Is it possible he will show up? Is he laughing at me from a distance? This sort of thing is the lowest.)
Joker: “You called, Alice?”
Alice: “…Joker?”
I heard a voice from behind before I could raise my own. I looked for the voice and found the figure himself.
But, I’m puzzled. Something feels very wrong.
Alice: “Joker?”
Joker: “Ah, that’s me.”
Alice: (Eh?)
Alice: “…who?”
Joker: “I’m the Joker.”
Alice: “…Joker?”
Joker: “Yes, I’m Joker. Do you get it know?”
Alice: “…”
The Joker is a Joker. I always find the Joker here. He’s dressed like a prison guard. But, the uniform he wears isn’t what I usually see him in. I meet the Joker at the surface.
Alice: “…Why are you here?”
Joker: *chuckles* “Is it different from understanding it?”
Alice: “Your speech is totally different.”
Joker: “But, I noticed before I registered it. So as to understand the difference…you became friends with the Joker? …With which Joker?”
Alice: “I’m close to neither”
I understand the few differences only because I’m cautious.
Joker: *laughs* “That’s cruel. I thought we already became good friends.”
Alice: “…I don’t make friends who don’t clarify themselves. Why are you here?”
Joker: “Can’t I go anywhere? I’m not a prisoner, so I can leave the prison. I’m here because I’m the director of the prison. It is the same with the other Joker, he’s in charge too.”
Alice: “After all, your split personalities are making me sick.”
Joker: “You got it wrong. If you said that, the Joker would be angry.”
Alice: “Yeah…You lose your temper too easily.”
Joker: “No, a Joker is the Joker, but I’m different. My boiling point is higher.”
Even if we met, the other person seems to be decided everything.
Alice: “…It’s nice that you’re prison director, but why is my older sister…”
Joker: “Your older sister…? Where?”
Alice: “Right there.”
I point to the prison where my older sister sits in.
Alice: “…!?”
The prison cell is empty.
Alice: (But just awhile ago…)
Even if I can’t confirm it, that was my older sister. In this world of irregular time, how long was she there? But I don’t forget her.
The same figure was the one from my memory.
Joker: “…you have to do a bad thing in order to be imprisoned. Until judgement, everyone is confined. Was your older sister such a bad person? If she was, then we can’t help if she was imprisoned.”
Alice: “Don’t say rude things! My older sister would never do such a thing!”
She wasn’t a bad person. At the very least, she was an excellent woman, to me.
Joker: “Hmm? Then who’s the bad one…? If the one in the cell is not bad, is it still bad to confine them?”
Alice: “Of course. Imprisoning my older sister…She never did anything bad. Confining her is irrational.”
Joker: “Yes, that is absurd. Even so, confinement was necessary.”
Joker affirmed it quickly.
Joker: “However, this world is full of absurdity.”
Alice: “No matter how irrational this world is, I can’t forgive you for imprisoning my sister.”
Joker: “Not only in this world, but doesn’t this happen in your world also? It is hopeless to be absurd. …Being confined here at the wrong time isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Alice: “Then release my sister. She hasn’t done anything bad.”
Joker: “Unfortunately, I don’t make the decisions. I can’t pass judgement on the prisoners.”
Alice: (Even if there were judges…)
My sister is in prison under a false accusation.
Joker: “I can’t control who is contained in the prison. I can’t undo the crime of the prisoner.”
Alice: “Such…”
Although this isn’t the reality for my world, I can’t send my older sister to prison.
Alice: “I have to free her…”
Joker: “Hmmm, but its impossible… But, it’s not all bad being confined here, you understand. Even good memories come with bad ones. The good is always mixed with the bad.”
Alice: “She’s a good person. She’s at no fault.”
It doesn’t matter. They’re not complete human beings. However, she’s not a person who would do a bad thing. I can assert it.
Joker: “I got it, I got it. But I’m hopeless anyway. It’s terrible to throw innocent people into prison so…”
Alice: “?”
The Joker pointed at me as I had pointed at the empty prison. Pointing at someone is rude. But, when he does it, it seems almost gentlemanly. It looks elegant and refined.
Joker: “I’ll grant a pardon.”
Alice: “Pardon?”
Joker: “Ah. I’ll cut her innocent time and release her….because she’s not guilty at all. Any criminal has the right to enjoy themselves. That’s why there’s a circus. I provide the fun, so they only feel pain a part of the time.”
Alice: “…So my older sister disappeared from the prison?”
Alice: (Because the circus is close?)
It was decided on a false accusation and its not reality. To begin with, older sister would never be in prison. I think giving a pardon is generous after hearing the story. However, it seems very dark.
Will the circus overflow from the crime?
I watch the empty cell. It is a dark and narrow room. I seem to be trapped just by looking at it.
I want to go outside.
I want to go back to where I’m staying.
*fades to black*
…It’s dark here.
Pitch dark.
Boy: “What are you doing?”
Alice: “!”
I’m startled.
Alice: “Eh? What?”
Boy: “The circus isn’t on yet. We’re still preparing."
The circus stage is being prepared in the tent. A dim light is burning, so it’s not completely dark.
Boy: “You can’t cross the tape if you’re not staff…”
Alice: “Eh? My apologies, I’m leaving now.”
I don’t understand how I entered such a place.
Alice: (Like sleepwalking? I wonder…)
Split personalities are just as bad.
Boy: “…Can you wait?”
Alice: “Hm?”
Boy: “The circus. It’s going to begin soon, can you wait for it?”
Alice: “Ye-yes. I’m looking forward to it. But, it was wrong of me to peek at the preparations. I’m sorry.”
Even though he’s a small child, I apologize seriously. He’s obviously staff.
Alice: (This child…)
Alice: “You…It’s been awhile. You’re the boy I met before.”
He was with a girl. I haven’t seen them recently…
Alice: “I was certain…you were together…”
The ambiguity of the situation is rising.
Boy: “Yeah, but I was scolded by Joker and Joker had to fix it.”
Alice: “Oh, do tell…”
I don’t understand because of the boy’s clothes and make up. I can’t tell if he’s injured. In this world, he could die and it would be of no consequence.
Is it fiction? Is it reality? It is a lie? Is it the truth?
It’s too real to be a dream and too strange to be reality.
Boy: “Joker is cruel, but Joker is kind.”
Alice: “That is…”
Alice: (Split personality?)
Boy: “You should go before Joker finds you. Either way, I don’t want to be scolded.”
Joker: “…That’s right. The circus hasn’t started yet, so you should go.”
Alice: “…! Joker.”
He appeared naturally as if he was always standing there.
Joker: “You are an important customer, but I can’t give you a sneak peak.”
Alice: “I’m-I’m sorry…”
Joker: *chuckles* “You don’t need to be afraid. It will start soon, you can see it then.”
Black Joker: “Ah, That’s right. Until it starts, keep quiet.”
The Joker’s mask speaks. I was startled when I first heard it, but now it’s usual.
Alice: (The cruel Joker…)
Joker: “You should know a magician never reveals his secret. If you know everything, you can’t enjoy the circus.”
The cruel one is the one in the mask, but right now, it seems they are both cruel.
END
When Joker was telling Alice he was going to release her sister, I couldn’t help but think of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Maybe it’s because I’m a huge Disney whore, but the resemblance made me squeal with delight and listen to the soundtrack on repeat. Take your sister’s place, fall in love with the Joker and break the spell damn it! Of course, I think you could do a Beauty and the Beast parody with a few of the other guys (mainly Julius and Blood) if you wanted to base it off the original fairytale, but I’m going to stop before I start to ramble...