As Perfect As A Prototype ||INDEFINITE HIATUS||

Who

Lou.

Is that something they say here?

Jason stood there with a blank look. He wasn't sure how to respond to a simple word, name, who knows. The lime green, one-eyed bunny in front of him stared up at him. Jason shook his head and scanned the crowd - or what he could see of it. Upon closer inspection, he realised that he was on a platform with a stairway down what seemed to be the side of a cliff. Only a few stood on the platform, others on the stairs and many down below. There were dolls with the same structure as him and others who were just plain ugly.

"Who?" A single word left Jason's lips as he straightened his posture only to stare down at the bunny. The two locked eyes - well, only a single eye for the bunny but anyway - they wanted to say something to Jason, that the blond knew but they just stood there. "Is that something you say to greet someone, or." He paused, shaking his head and laughing quietly.

Act sweet and be on your way.

Act sweet and be on your way.

Act sweet and be on your way.

Jason repeated in his head. He was disturbed at the look of this... thing, whatever it was. It's not perfect. This can't be the institute of perfection, right. Everyone looked so sloppy, so ugly, so imperfect. His hand twitched at his side, wanting to get as far away from the green creature as possible.

No, be patient. That's what a perfect doll is.

But I'm not a doll, I'm a prototype.

Jason breathed, looking elsewhere from the doll with an unnoticeable scowl. "I'm new so, apologies for not understanding. My name's Jason, I've only lately been made." The creature seemed to snap out of whatever daze it locked itself into and smiled vigilantly.

"Oh, well. I'm sorry too, Lo- I mean, Jason. It's just that you're like somebody else." The bunny hesitated to continue talking. "My name's Ox, the mayor of this town." Jason curled his lip into a displeased look and flinched away from Ox's outstretched hand. Dolls noticed this and shared whispers, questioning him.

Am I acting weird?

What am I doing wrong?

He only stared at Ox, furrowed brows and confused eyes. A disapproving noise squeezed its way from Jason's gullet as he swallowed the lump in his throat. They were judging him. They didn't like his attitude. They didn't like his expressions. They think he's ugly, disgusting, hideous.

They think he's imperfect.

They hate him.

They hate him.

They hate him.

They hate him.

They hate him.

They hate him.

Jason started panicking. All the stares. It made him feel something. Insecure. The bottle-blond looked away from the dolls and backed up from them all. He felt uncomfortable under their stares, leaving his body to curl up on itself.

"Hey, stop judging him, you guys! How would you feel if you were in his situation?" An annoyed voice came from the crowd, leaving the cleanly dressed model to stare in its direction. The few dolls parted to show a brunet guy walking his way towards Jason. Cobalt blue eyes gaze up at the doll, bewilderment apparent on his features. When the brown-haired doll closed in Jason noticed a green streak in his perfectly combed hair. "Hey, you alright?"

The doll laid a hand on the prototype's shoulder, leaving the blond to relax under the comforting touch. Though, Jason never spoke a word. He raised his head to meet the other's eyes - peacock blue meeting bottle green and violet orbs. "I'm Nolan. You said your name was Jason, right?" This seemed to snap the criterion from his insensibility and simper at the friendly stranger. 

"Yeah. I'm Jason, nice to meet you, Nolan." Nolan smiled at the warm greeting and nodded, trying to distract Jason from the judgmental looks from the few who stayed to watch what Nolan would do. It seems like the freckle-faced boy's angelic behaviour rubbed onto Jason; making him smile and chuckle - his pearly whites visible to the light of day. The mismatch eyed boy giggled too before turning to the stubby, green mayor.

"Hey Ox, could I show Jason around town? And could you tell everyone to lay off, I know what Jason's feeling like with all the unwanted attention he's getting." Nolan gave the new civilian a sideglance and raised eyebrows. Said perfectionist loosened his posture and waved confidently - albeit only a little more than before - at the slowly disappearing dolls, of all ugly and pretty figures. He even got a few smiles and waves in return.

"Uh, yeah sure." Ox's southern twang called out as he looked up at Nolan. A toothy grin soon fell as he lowered his voice and motioned Nolan to come closer. "Just make sure he doesn't go near the janitor's shed. We don't want him knowing about his lookalike or wanting to help Lou back into power. Or worse! Jason becoming the new Lou." Nolan rolled his eyes at the mention of the power-hungry prototype. "We can't trust that Jason won't come out the same."

"Hey, we've just met Jason. Don't assume stuff like that!" Nolan huffed, crossing his arms. This caught the attention of the new prototype though Jason didn't say a thing but listened in on what the two were saying. "He's not like Lou. He isn't a prototype either. And as long as he isn't, there won't be any problems concerning Jason working with that egocentric and manipulative doll." Jason decided to pitch in with his own question.

"Who's Lou?"