Alice Cooley (.)

Personality

Alice has always been a quiet person, often tending to herself on her own. Pitifully lonely as a child, one could easily have called her desperate for companionship, and overly trusting. As a child, if anyone were to offer her such, she would be stalwartly loyal to a fault. She was very secretive of her feelings, as well, keeping any uncertainty or discomfort to herself out of an intense fear of further abandonment. Her desperation and concealment of feelings made her a perfect candidate for manipulation.

Post-Death, however, Alice became intensely embittered. She was in pain and she could understand that, now-- Seeing her killer celebrated as a hero was the last straw that pushed her over the edge. Unable to express her distaste, it festered into abhorrence and resentment. Obsession was the name of the game, at this point in her life, unable to let any grudges go, and having nowhere to vent it to.

Further into the future, though, as an adult, Alice has mellowed out significantly. Though more than a little ashamed of the actions her younger self took, she does her best to give her current self grace and patience.

Past

Alice's childhood was fairly quiet and isolated, raised in a group home where she was more or less ignored by those around her, if not explicitly bullied. Because of this, she was an intensely lonely individual, often keeping to herself and biding her time with books and make-believe. Desperate for any sort of attention and friendship, Alice was quick to trust when approached by Herbie, a talking rabbit that claimed to be able to help her.

Herbie, however, was not as trustworthy as Alice thought. An agent for a bloodthirsty God, Alice was coerced into committing physical violence to feed Him. It started with small animals, forest creatures, before eventually being forced to kill other people in the town in order to please Him. She didn't want to, of course, but felt as though she had no other choice than to follow the instructions given to her. She didn't have anyone else, after all.

This came to a head when Alice had ended up killing the parents of another young teen around her age, Jenn, who decided it was their job to enact justice on the small town spree killer. Unfortunately, they succeeded in killing Alice, able to find her while she was out alone and unarmed. It was a gruesome death, disembowelment.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Alice didn't remain dead. Returned as a ghost, latched onto the soul of her killer, Alice was forced into a solitary and intangible presence. Unable to interact with anyone but having to watch everyone around her cheer for her killer, Alice grew intensely hateful and resentful.

Present

... But that was in the past. Nowadays, though still a ghost, Alice lives happily with Jenn, as the two were able to bond over a shared enemy-- The God that caused both their grief in the first place. Alice is a homebody, keeping to those close to her and avoiding the town that shunned her. She still struggles with violent urges, at times, but does her best to keep herself and those around her safe and comfortable. Despite her lack of organs, she's taken up cooking as a hobby.

Appearance/Design

Alice, as a ghost, retains the wounds that killed her. A hollow torso and broken ribs mar her body, thick claw marks through her phantasmal flesh. The interior of this cavity is often stylized as pitch-black, impossibly deep, but can be drawn realistically as well.

Other than the obvious, though, Alice is fairly mundane, and can be described as looking like a stereotypical librarian. Rectangular glasses and hair worn in a bun, Alice looks as bookish as she acts.

Trivia

Alice, as a tangible ghost, is unable to leave Veilwood.

Alice is adept at cooking, and keeps a well-stocked pantry at home.

She enjoys reading, and in modern-adjacent AUs finds young adult novels thrilling.