#an unlucky denizen; headcanons

[ambcrheart-a]

[[ • Things that keep me up at night:

Amber (and by extension, a good chunk of Andy’s toys) essentially being the victim(s) of one big screwed up social experiment via forced social isolation from human contact

The likelihood that toys’ bonds between themselves and humans were “tested” to their limits because, like with Xion, Young Xeha and the true Organization saw the toys as nothing more than vessels whose existence went beyond any purposeful means

Knowing that Amber spent maybe a day around people at most before the store associates and shoppers disappeared, and literally has no idea how long she spent in that room alone because there’s no windows or calendars to keep track of time

The fact that she had an extremely difficult time adjusting from isolation-induced disorientation in a place where magic is external and creatures of darkness can consume your very being by exploiting your weaknesses to just—

Suddenly everyone’s back and Galaxy Toys’ denizens are here and sentient but god forbid if the ex-MIA Angelic Amber doll starts to levitate and send accidental Dark Fire shockwaves by stomping her feet when it’s not part of the assembly package

And just. Her knowing that things were off from the getgo now that Toy Box is restored but no one believes her when she says she spent weeks/months without a living soul to talk to, let alone that she got her body hijacked. And a part of her misses that because even though she was lonely during the split, at least she wasn’t the odd one out. At least no one made her feel lonely in a crowded room full of toys who barely understand her

[amberangel]

Tag dump!

#guys; look alive! | ic

#pinocchio syndrome | fun with form changing

#bugs; bugs everywhere | ooc

#woody’s staff meetings | psa

#not another possessed toy! | promo

#an unlucky denizen | headcanons

#verum rex strategy guide | dash games

#one stay in the dread and breakfast | crack

#music box | audio

#what a tiny little house | aes

#you're overthinking it | musings

#ball jointed likeness | visage

#just think; a real girl! | live action fc

#galaxy toys catalogue | wishlist

#playtime already? | memes

#angelic postcards | asks

#marionette constructs | anon

#a parting gift to play with | submissions

#window shopping | dash comm

#find the hearts joined to yours | open starter

#verse; urbanite's fantasy | modern

#verse; no strings attached | khux

#verse; a maddening foe to face | posessed

letters in a bottle | bug writes

#another side; another queue

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Infinity Train/RWBY crossover headcanons

Because I don’t have enough time or skill to tackle everyone in this show in actual fic.

Ruby’s immediate priority is getting home to her teammates so of course she listens to One-One’s instructional video and is very serious about getting her number down, but she takes the lesson the wrong way and thinks she’s on the train because she hasn’t properly bottled her problems up. It’s touch and go and a few good cries before she realizes she has to actually confront her trauma to be free.

Cinder fell into the Apex, heard the whole “higher numbers is strength” thing, and immediately set about murdering everyone she could to get her number up. This resulted in her getting eaten by a Ghom less than a month in. Sorry, Cinder.

Qrow gets caught before volume 3 when all his issues are at their max and is very pissed off at the whole affair. He finally acquiesces and tosses away his flask.....and his number only goes down to 134, because it turns out alcoholism is a symptom and not the totality of his problems. (Side note: every time he looks at his number it’s an unlucky number). He actually goes through a number of companions as they finish their missions and leave him, because part of what we’re working on here is codependency, but they all have their own perspective on his bad luck. Either it’s actually interesting, it’s a teaching moment, or it’s annoying but not the end of the world, depending on what he’s ready to hear.

Salem and Ozpin are the first passengers ever to have a number that naturally goes past their wrists. Salem takes over the train to try and make it bring her home, with no success.

Speaking of involuntary vacation, all of the Atlas crew take a long, long time to figure out how to make their numbers go down instead of up. Except Penny, who was gone within a week thanks to the train denizens all affirming that she’s real and should also rely on her friends more rather than assume she needs to do it all herself.

Remnant is very concerned about the disappearance of nearly all of their top officials but also enjoys a surprising amount of peace given that almost every person causing them problems has been kidnapped by a train.

[ambcrheart-a]

Verum Figura (II)

[ [  • Part I: Here! • ] ]

      “Such a pretty world... in a way, it makes me feel free.”

      There’s a steady breath as she takes it all in — if only she could feel that warmth. How the sun dappled across the clearing, leaves fresh and new like summer. It’s enough to sense the blades of grass that brush against resin, just enough to know it’s there and feathered and light against albeit faulty skin. 

      Will it ever be enough?

      Maybe, if she was patient, the doll would find a home with someone. Left waiting in the wings of a comfy display, the world was so much wider than the store she then knew. Lush fields and a painted forest? There was only so much to explore indoors, though she knew what happened when dolls were left in the sun too long. Pretty, delicate, small, limiting. That was how life worked, what she was told and overheard all the same. It was tiring to rely on things out of her control.

      Amber glanced down at herself: why were stories about toys so tragic? A melted-down heart of the Steadfast Tin Soldier — there was no happy ending for the Velveteen Rabbit til the day they turned real. That plush wasn’t the effigy of a girl in a bunny-eared headband and she had no Geppetto who longed for a daughter. The doll wouldn’t know what it’s like to have a father anyway.

      But she had to try. She didn’t want to explain herself each time she broke the rules of toydom, she just wanted to be a girl for once. 

      Lids closed. Leaning back against the tree. Breathe in, breathe out. Could she really change how the Fates designed her? If all else failed, she could always watch the ongoings of Old Corona from a distance. Those happy people in peasantry garb, how they danced with glee against earth and clay and communal cobblestone. The very thought made her smile at the light to it all, that beauty in belonging.

      Amber could only dream of being as tall as she felt she was, but then her eyes fluttered open and it was more than merely something to sleep on. Was it shock? Bafflement? Why was it pounding where her heart was meant to be!? Oh no, oh no——

      “I—It’s not leaving me...?”

      And to think her heart was being taken again. This... was a human thing. It had to be a human thing if she felt this much joy. The doll — no, the girl — she could run without breaking! No risk to it all, no signs of joints or odds and ends, she went to peer at her reflection in the lake before heading for the kingdom’s village. To blend in with all those people she could never risk to meet? At the very least, it wouldn’t hurt to try.

[ambcrheart-a]

Just Human Things™

[[ • Or at least, things that make her more organically-inclined form changes juuuuust a bit challenging when she starts out:

  • When HP is low, or if exceptionally injured/damaged, she reverts back to a doll. Same goes when ingesting/coming across poisons, toxins, or pollutants that would almost instantly kill a human. While it risks her true form being exposed, it serves as a defense mechanism of sorts.

  • When that happens, there’s a biiiit of a wait time before her human form is stable enough to shift into again. It can span between a few hours to a few days depending on the infliction, but the wait time shortens as she gets used to the transformations.

  • Early on? It also happens while experiencing significantly high thresholds of pain regardless of injury (thankfully without the wait time, major injuries aside). Building up her pain tolerance gets easier with time, and at some point she learns to shift into an intermediate, synthetic form with jointed limbs that increases her defense when her HP lowers.

  • It’s not always physical pain, it can be emotional as well — not to mention injuries of the heart. Her mental state can heavily impact how her formchange manifests. 

  • Enchantments, curses, hexes, and the like. If these are a.) targeted @ her or b.) she enters an area bound by a curse/enchantment/etc, it may cancel out her ability to formchange until the hex is undone or Amber exits the area. Example, if she enters the domain of Beast’s Castle before the end of the film events? She remains a doll for as long as she’s there since the curse also affects the castle servants.

  • If a given world contains certain technological, yet sentient advancements (robots, cyborgs, etc), she’ll automatically (tho not quite willingly) assume a nonhuman over a human formchange, such as becoming an android in San Fransokyo, etc.

  • In cases where she reverts back to a doll in front of worldly inhabitants: in more ‘timeless’/fantasy/fairy tale settings, Amber will 'admit’ that she’s the victim of a curse she hasn’t found a way to break yet. In sci-fi/tech-savvy worlds, she goes the insert-transforming-mech-technobabble route.

  • Sensory-processing disorders? She has it fam! Insert unrelated autistic headcanons that I’ll get more in-depth with at some point. Though as a doll, it mainly manifests with sound (yelling, speaking in a cold/sharp/hectic tone of voice, slamming doors, loud noises and the like? A good way to overwhelm her to the point of a panic).

  • Also, human-sized beings roughly grabbing/shaking/throwing/not handling her properly. Her senses are dulled but bjds man, they aren’t Barbies. It sets her on edge.

 • Aaaaand back to her human form: extreme temperatures are absolute hell (RIP Agrabah & Arendelle during the winter). Conversely, she latches onto her usual long sleeves and petticoat layers strictly because they’re more comfy to wear, so she prefers covering up for winter over dealing with the heat. Also? Very... picky about food, likely has the biggest sweet tooth. Might go on about this in another post tho.

 • Side note: while sensory reactions become a liiiittle less extreme as she eases up to things (and usually the presence of friends/loved ones lessen her anxiety around em), they’ll never completely go away. On the plus side, Amber’s not quite as phased by manhandling as a human and she reaaaally likes her hugs. u.u

[ambcrheart-a]

On the Topic of Amber’s Darkness + Copy Medal Meta

[[ • If there’s anything of note in Amber’s about page (which if you haven’t read, you really should), it’s the fact that not unlike those before her, Amber’s darkness stands prominent to those who can sense it. That, alongside her forced isolation under Young Xe.ha.nort’s experiment, provides a huge internal struggle even though she’s not a Heartless, but rather the former host of one.

      Which makes one think: “but Amber-mun, how come her darkness stands out so much with qualities such as “polite” and “benevolent” highlighted in her personality section?”

      Well, it’s simple: why did Sora nearly succumb to darkness during his Mark of Mastery despite his strong sense of justice & positive aptitude? Why did Terra fail his Mark of Mastery and suffer through the Terra.nort situation despite his loyal and trusting nature? You must remember two things: 1.) the closer you get to the light, the greater your Shadow becomes, and 2.) almost everyone in the game’s universe has Light and Darkness inside them.

      Specifically, Terra was often too trusting in various points of BBS, not to mention the consequences of Sora suppressing his emotional strife during the Final Battle. Their personality traits, while noble, lead to negative effects when taken to certain extremes. Amber is far from the exception to this, especially when it comes to her own naivety as a new toy (and by proxy, a new heart).

      Now, there’s also this to keep in mind:

      "But if the light of friendship is a form of power, the darkness of being alone is a power much greater.”

      For the sake of length, the rest is below the cut:

      Amber was unboxed, and therefore alive, for about one day before YX conducted his experiment. Not only that, but Amber was one of the very few sentient, unboxed toys at Galaxy Toys who were on the same side of the divide as Woody and company. While it’s never said how long Andy’s toys have spent without their owner before their world is restored, it’s safe to assume by Buzz’s anxiety throughout that it’d been a good while.

      Let’s say... maybe 1-2 weeks at least before Sora showed up? A month or more at minimum by the time things were fixed? We don’t have dates, but Amber? Amber spent most of that time alone. Because if forged connections are the gateway to light, then forced isolation from toys and human contact alike is more than enough for someone’s darkness to take fruition. Looking at you, Aqua. 👀

      Basically: no matter how guileless, forgiving, and courteous she may be, Amber’s darkness stems from loneliness. It stands out not in spite of her curiosity and kindness, but because of it. 

      And for one last thing:

      For those who play KH.UX, you’ll know that her medal in-game is a copy medal. For those who don’t? Medals allow wielders to perform special attacks, and copy metals mimic the special attack of the medal that comes after it. Just like her medal, my take on Amber is that she’s someone with massive potential in her abilities, but whose main limitations are what’s ahead of her: “EXP”/experience (or lack there of), and how easily influenced she is by the people around her. While her darkness is innate to her origins, it never actually defines who she is.

      Later games prove time and time again that darkness isn’t inherently bad, and it fact, suppressing one’s Darkness for Light’s sake only breeds more excess darkness. After all and once again, the closer you get to the light, the greater your Shadow becomes.

      And honestly? The same can be said of Amber’s considerate nature when compared to the seclusion that birthed her inner turmoil.

[ambcrheart-a]

The Magic of Toy Box

[[ • In a universe where magic makes its way into every world crevice, one has to ask: how is it that, living toys aside, Toy Box is comparatively mundane when compared to other places with speculative aspects? And why does human interaction have such a profound effect on would-be inanimate objects?

      First off, let’s take a peek at one of my prior posts. We know that human interaction/bonds bring toys to life and that these first moments have a big impact on a toy’s developing heart. Granted, they can’t normally shoot real lasers and weaponize themselves like Buzz could during the divide/experiment, which is one more thing pointed out as off in that world.

      Which leads me to my conclusion: for a lack of better terms, Toy Box operates exclusively on Heart Magic. Toys don’t cast spells because the magic they contain is what brought them to life; same goes for humans by proxy of their magic, tapping straight into the sentimental connections they forge with toys and nowhere else. Or because Pix.ar is a corporate machine strictly aiming to focus on the lives of toys rather than an urban fantasy setting, but shhh.

      As for how Amber ties in? She was alive for a fairly short time before Young Xe.hanort began to tamper with the world and, by proxy, the very way magic takes shape in it. Her heart was forced to develop separate from others after a very brief time of human contact. So not only was Amber shaped by “the darkness of being alone” in YX’s own words, the magic within that experimented-on half of Toy Box had the effect of awakening her magic potential beyond its heart-based, life-giving properties.

      Keep in mind this is more lined with the existence of magic in KH rather than thinking the TS series handwaves this lmao. The former series just... likes to make things more confusing than they are, as much as I love it.

[ambcrheart-a]

Just Human Things™: Nonbinary Edition!

[[ • Soooo I decided to make a continuation of my original human formchange headcanon dump! This time it’s a little more specific and just a small warning for dysphoria talk, but I’ve been thinking a lot abt Amber’s feelings on gender & how her recently acquired formchange ability plays into this. 🤔

      • I haven’t talked about this much bc I know Certain People tend to side-eye these headcanons, but Amber? She’s a nonbinary girl. Or a demi-girl. Or... idk, woman-aligned & nonbinary. As a nonbinary lesbian myself, gender is a harsh mistress. Tho label-wise, she doesn’t... really have a word to describe herself? She knows she’s not a boy, at times feels disconnected from the concept of gender with how it’s enforced, and she knows she dresses & acts feminine. She’s 100% fine with that.

     • Yet also, toys — and esp dolls — are heavily gendered when humanoid. You know how some parents react when boys want to play with toys marketed for girls? Amber just... highkey hates that. Now this could be read as loathing forced gender roles (tho this can heighten dysphoria). However, before learning about form changes, she often questioned herself: “Why did I have to be a doll? Am I a girl because I feel like it, or because I was made to be one?”

    • From this perspective, her penchant for poking around in other worlds, and constantly being mistaken for a young child/illusion/robot/some other malevolent entity taking on an innocent form (and yes, these are all things she's been called or assumed to be in threads), always being mistaken for something she’s not... eeeyep. The gottang parallels man.

   • Side note: I’m never going to shut up about toy-replica parallels. Young Xehanort saw Woody and company as nothing more than potential vessels whose hearts could fray by cutting off their connections — just like how a chunk of the organization invalidated Xion’s right to exist as an artificially made person. 

      • Additionally, I’ve seen folks pointing out how Xion’s treatment isn’t all that unlike the struggles many trans people face (initially created as a clone/via Sora’s memories, constant misgendering, things like that). While I’m not saying that Xion’s experience is a 100% perfect analogy (and it’s no big deal if you don’t incorporate these HCs/theories muses-wise), it’s something I keep in mind when writing Amber with the above parallel in mind.

      • Self note: gotta contact someone with a Xion muse one of these days. Because... for Science™.

      • Anyworm, to get into the meat of things: immediately after she learns to formchange as a human? Gender euphoria babey! But seriously, she feels way less out of place in her own skin in this form and it stands out all the more when she first return to Galaxy Toys. Amber still lives there (she wouldn’t want to get someone fired over “stolen” merchandise by leaving the store for good), the only difference is that she uses her formchange when she runs off during closing hours.

     • Like, from her POV, humans aren’t as limited. They don’t have to wear “girl” clothes, they’re not seen as lesser for being a “girl’s toy”. Well, disregarding transphobia and misogyny but I mean... she’s literally a year old post-DLC. :I There’s a whole lot that Amber doesn’t know and there’s only so much she can witness in a toy store, but she does know that she feels a whole lot better in a human body than in a doll one. Tl;dr it lessens her dysphoria a heckton.

   • Does she bind? Nnnnnnot a lot. It’s not something that bothers her too much, but she may do so depending on the outfits/coords she designs for herself.

   • Speaking of coords: as a preface, a lot of it has to to with convenience but she isn’t world-hopping in lolita coords 24/7 (it takes a lot of petticoats, layers, time to pull off everyday). Often times she’ll dress up in otome kei & related street fashions for easier movement. Kodona too when she experiments with gender expression & any look that’d be pulled straight out of a vintage Oscar Wilde photo.

  • Be it casually, with frills, or blazers & slacks? You bet your behind she’s gonna look elegant! While she loves her skirts and dresses, she really can’t wear anything else as a doll, let alone while on display, without sales floor associates getting suspicious. It’s nice to have a choice in what she wears, y’know?

 • As a last note, regardless or how she feels about gender, she’ll tear you a new one if you so much as imply that dressing feminine makes someone lesser or anti-feminist. She’s here to raise ALL women up (be they cis, trans, or nonbinary), not tear them down.

[ambcrheart-a]

Headcanon Dump!

• It’s rare for Amber to truly dislike anyone, let alone outright hate a person. Mistreatment/abuse of animals, younger children, and retail workers however (or really anyone in the service industry) is bound to get Amber fuming more than any injustice aimed at her.

• ...well, that and denying one’s heart-having personhood + anything tied to the control/stealing of one’s heart, but only if it’s strictly heart-theft and/or a mindset aimed at dehumanizing someone else (albeit, she’ll still show ilk for being dehumanized herself). No matter how terribly someone treats her, she’s way too stubborn not to give someone the benefit of the doubt as long as innocent people aren’t being harmed.

• Toys don’t need sleep like humans do, but it’s completely possible for them to do so in their free time (think Woody’s nightmare sequence in TS2 & any time a kid sleeps with their toys in the films). More often than not Amber’s dreams are nightmares with at least some ties to what happened during Young Xeha.nort’s experiment on her world (isolation, the possession, etc). Therefore, she avoids sleep when she can.

• Related: of the times she does sleep? Amber kind of just... passes out on the doll-sized couch on her display. Or dozes off on her doll stand. Sometimes on the floor. She’s never seen a bed her size and would probably be confused if presented with one since she’d have no clue what they’re used for.

• Amber always uses formalities and titles in the presence of known royalty, nobility, and the respective members of their courts — at least, much more so than her default politeness. It’s literally instinctual to the characters represented in the Angelic Amber toy line and she physically cannot call these people by their personal name unless given express permission to do so. To elaborate, Woody’s a natural leader due to his fictional counterpart’s role in Woody’s Roundup, not to mention being a sherif doll because duh. Meanwhile, Buzz acts vigilant and has the quirks of an intergalactic hero even after he accepts his existence as a toy.

• As for Amber? A becoming Victorian/Edwardian youth, or at least, a Japanese perception of Victorian mannerisms mixed in with kawaii and lolita fashion subcultures. Tl;dr no matter how much she grows as a person, that base personality was there from the start and will always be part of her. This includes holding a certain reverence to authority with the above titles, but this isn’t to say that sweet/demure = passive/weak or that she’ll kiss up to ruthless royals. To quote the linked article:

• “However, Lolitas continue to perpetuate many traditional feminine ideals such as ladylike behavior and wearing dresses. Yet this support of the traditional ‘lady’ does not encourage subservience or submissiveness but rather upholds a belief in feminine strength as shown via strict self-control and maintaining polite, demure behavior.”

• Because y’know. Her morals and common sense are always going to override the inclination to bow down to such people. It gets complicated when you bring her self-esteem in because it’s easier to recognize unjust behavior when inflicted on those around her, rather than herself. Much of this has to do to her trauma surrounding YX’s social experiment on the toys separated from their owners/other humans during the split.

• On a interesting note, this includes the Princesses of Heart and, depending on how you interpret his role as the “king of truth”/titular Verum Rex, likely Yozora. 👀 They don’t have to be literal royalty/nobles/court attendees, the titles themselves are enough for her to use them.

• And as a future reference: no matter the dynamic forged with a specific Yozora muse, be it friendly or vitriolic? “King = important person = the instinct to show strict formalities” will always be her default reaction when she first encounters him. Amber knows of him by virtue of his game and the Gigas dominating the sales floor away from her section once she explores the store post-possession.   However, she’ll believe him fictional until first encounters proves otherwise.

[ambcrheart-a]

Bold the ones that apply to your character.   Italicize the ones that apply on occasion/situationally.

| absent minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | aimless | alcoholic | anxious | arrogant | audacious | bad liar | bigmouth | bigot | blindly obedient  | blunt | callous | childish | chronic heroism | clingy | clumsy | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cowardly | cruel | cynical | delinquent | delusional | dependent (tfw your self-esteem is semi-determined by how ownable you are to humans... and you’re a $200+ doll on display no less) | depressed | deranged | disloyal | ditzy | egotistical | envious | erratic | fickle | finicky | flaky | frail | fraudulent | guilt complex | gloomy | gluttonous | gossiper | gruff | gullible | insecure (and how!)| insensitive | lazy | lewd | liar | lustful | manipulative | masochistic | meddlesome | melodramatic | money-loving | moody | naive | nervous | nosy | ornery | overprotective (when she’s given to a kid... b o y does she not wanna lose ‘em) | overly sensitive | paranoid | passive-aggressive | perfectionist | pessimist | petty | power-hungry | proud | pushover | reckless | reclusive (not willingly but...) | remorseless | rigorous | sadistic | sarcastic | senile | selfish | self-destructive | shallow | sociopath | sore loser | spineless | spiteful | spoiled | stubborn | tactless | temperamental | timid | tone-deaf | traitorous | nonathletic | ungracious | unlucky (I mean. Forced social isolation and Heartless possession within the first week of your birth is preeeetty unlucky..)| unsophisticated | untrustworthy | vain | withdrawn | workaholic |

tagged by: @fairestmusesofthemall​ tagging: ...you know whaat? I’m just gonna use this opportunity to call out everyone within the KH RPC who has talked of and/or rebageled Cursed Shenanigans this weekend. Y’all have been tagged. You know who you are guys.

[ambcrheart-a]

[[ • S creec h so I thought I’d post the full version of the Patchwork Animal icon I made for this ask (original heartless-possessed sprite to the left), and make an add-on to this smallish headcanon I made a few months back: One of Amber’s favorite critters at Galaxy Toys is this lil guy, a lion plush she calls Shishi!

      She knows it’s not wise to get attached (most folks aren’t going to purchase a simple plushie alongside a 200+ USD collector’s doll), but Shishi just kind of,, started following her each closing time. Sometimes he’ll sit by her while she’s reading, even travel behind when she visits the next floor down. However, he’s never been able to reach the Corridor of Darkness in the upper vents of the Kid Korral. For Shishi’s safety, Amber prefers that it stay that way.

[ambcrheart-a]

[[ • I’ve been seeing “reblog if you’re willing to do toxic ships” and similar posts float across my dash and, while I’m not too comfortable putting Amber in a situation like that romance-wise and for reasons very obvious, I’m not at all opposed to toxic dynamics of the platonic sort. 🤔

      As long as she’s not seeing someone irredeemably throwing their weight around, it’s easy to gain Amber’s trust. She tends to believe that Rousseau Was Right — that everyone has some good in them regardless of intent. When topped off by the fact that she’s a lonely kid who spent mucn her early existence without company, By extension she’s very susceptible to manipulation & tolerating treatment that she really, really shouldn’t have to put up with on the basis of a.) not wanting to be lonely and b.) being less apt to stand up for herself as long as others aren’t being hurt alongside her.

      There’s much she’s yet to learn and the biggest of them all? The fact that there are people she 1.) should never put her trust in nor seek validation from, and 2.) has every right to cut ties with, even when she’s the only victim being targeted.

      Basically: I’m 100% open to these (non-romantic) dynamics, and there’s no need to hold your evil/morally grey muse back. Just as long as it doesn’t get into Stranger Danger Grooming Territory™ since my rules are against that and I have common sense. Communication is key of course, and again, I respect the fact that villain muses shouldn’t have to be watered down simply because a corresponding muse in nice.

[ambcrheart-a]

🙌

🙌 Introduce an NCP | Accepted!

      “Look. Unlike the girls, we both know what we are. The sale signs, the registers lined on the first floor, the fact that we’re all made from dirt-cheap plastic — except for the resin dolls. You know, the ones in your little corner? But seriously, I wouldn’t let that get in over your head if I were you.” Julie’s crossed arms fold over a violet ballgown, all while she eyes the doll staring at her lap. “Did you hear even a single thing I’ve just said?”

      Painted lips twist in discomfort, followed by Amber’s strained nod. Glass eyes flutter up to view the other doll’s face before looking back down. Julie was not impressed.

      “Hey. Look at me.” Fortunate for her, Amber’s seat is low enough that the blonde could turn the other’s face towards her — Amber herself is not so lucky. “Want me to get to the point?”

      There was a pause, then the sharp turn of her head as she pulls away from Julie’s grasp. The strain in her face begins to fade in her seclusion, but even then, Amber is the more nervous of the two. “Why must you say it? I—you don’t like me. Please just stop—”

      “That’s not what I meant.” Julie shakes her head and places a hand on her shoulder. There is no resistance either despite earlier protests. “Sweetie, just look at yourself. You’re perfect. Everyone who works here loves doting on your display! Angelic Amber is the latest hit — just look at that sale sign. How many individual toys actually sell within the hundreds range without losing their business? You’re practically a designer doll.”

      Amber shoots up. Of course she knew this, but to see the blonde acknowledge it, she isn’t sure what to think. However, as Julie let out a deep sigh, she knows that praise is too good to last. “But, if the manager had any idea about what you could do? They’d recall your entire line in a heartbeat. Because that’s the kind of thing that should never, ever happen in someone’s home. I’m not saying this because I hate you, I’m saying this because I don’t want an innocent child getting hurt because of you just — just stomping around and making sparks come out of you.”

      By that point, the ball-jointed doll pulls her knees to her chest in the chair of her choice. Julie’s eyes widen in shock, but the concern in her voice is laced in dubious intent. “Angie — Angie please. Someone was bound to break it to you. And better me than someone else, because I know you’re not some action figure from a video game. Those Gigas with their lasers and such? That’s not you.”

      She watches as Amber let it slowly sink in. As she withdraws further into her seat, Julie offers her a soft smile.

      “All I ask — as a doll, a role model for so many little girls — is that you act like it. That can’t be too hard, right? Just allow yourself a little more restraint. I’m sure you can do it, because even those brutes in the Video Game Corner know how to handle themselves around children.”

With this, she lets out one last sigh before cupping the sulking doll’s cheek. Teal eyes tremble before Julie pulls back, and that’s when the statue has her last say.

      “People don’t care about a toy’s feelings, you know. They only care about whether or not that you’re broken. It’s best that you remember that.”

[[ For an out-of-character intro and some general meta on “Julie”, click here! ]]

[ambcrheart-a]

[[ • When Amber returns to the real Toy Box — no laser-wielding Gigas, not quite riddled with Heartless as the other side was — Galaxy Toys is actually pretty lively. The reason why the toys inside the store didn’t move isn’t necessarily due to them not “figuring it out yet”, because otherwise? You wouldn’t have canon scenes like this.

It’s implied in-game that the connections forged between people and toys is the very thing that gives toys their hearts. Barbies are popular dolls so they likely got attention from kids despite their packaging; Prospector Pete stays in his box throughout 2, but was handed down between folks who never played with him and that lack of stimulus took a toll on him; then you have Bonnie creating Forky when she was alone on kindergarten orientation in 4, and that in itself brings Forky in question to life.

The list goes on but regardless, my main point is that the real denizens of Galaxy Toys, Amber aside, were on the other side of the experiment’s divide: the side containing humans and the rest of Woody’s friends. Meanwhile the side that Woody and Buzz were trapped in, like the simulated Twilight Town, hadn’t transported as many toys into that area. While Amber was only alive a day before Young X.ehanort’s experiment started, she was also a new toy from a brand new line and shipment. This got her some attention while put on display, just enough to begin developing the slivers of a new heart.

Then cue the divide and her suddenly living in isolation. Her heart is forced to develop itself from there, and that... well, there’s no wonder why the Marionette took advantage of her.

[ambcrheart-a]

[[ • You know, if Amber ever made a contract with K.yubey, it wouldn’t take that long for her to turn into a Witch 👀💧

[ambcrheart-a]

YX Thoughts

[[ • Not sure if this is more of a headcanon or reminder, but whenever Amber mentions seeing a white-haired man in a long black coat? It’s for the same reason why Buzz mentions that he and Andy’s toys mention seeing ‘a guy wearing a hood’. It’s already canon that the gang spotted Young Xeha.nort prior to Sora’s visit and, therefore, it makes sense that Amber might’ve seen him too. 

      Like, she knows of him. Her memory of YX can be foggy due to how dang skewed her sense of time was when stuck in that copy of her world. Being alone in that store for so long, surrounded by Heartless and Heartless-possessed toys, can do that to someone. But she saw him in Galaxy Toys at the time the heartless arrived, just like Buzz saw him in Andy’s neighborhood. Beyond that, she knows nothing about YX (sans future interactions with these muses, ofc). 

      But even if YX meets her & pretends he’s never been in that store (keep in mind: I don’t expect Young Xeha muses to remember her), Amber will at the very least have a sense of deja vu whilst around him. Her first thoughts of him will always be tied to feelings of uncertainty — the same can be said of other Xeha.nort incarnations, if only those that bare his resemblance.

      Also: Amber’s nooooot going to take it well once she finds out that this whole missing-toy-slash-isolation-slash-trauma-based-dehumanization-conga-line is the result of a stone cold social experiment. Like. At all.