Master of the Court


 * For other uses, see Master of the Court (disambiguation)

"She is the director of this movie theater. Gallerian's most beloved "daughter"."

- Ma

The Master of the Court, also known as the Clockworker's Doll and the Director Doll, was the awakened vessel of Sloth. Treated as the deceased daughter of Judge Gallerian Marlon, the Doll was taken to Evil's Theater after being seriously injured. Reinvigorated by Gear, the Doll took up her father's place as judge and convicted any trespassers to the theater. She pursued Gallerian's goals of utopia to eventually reunite with him.

Miniature Garden Girl
"Papa is home, Michelle. While Papa was not here, did you get lonely?"

- Gallerian talking to the Doll

While gathering the vessels of sin, Gallerian Marlon collected and became attached to the Clockworker's Doll. At this time, the widower referred to it as his "daughter" and it returned the favor by calling Gallerian her "father". Unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair, Gallerian kept the doll inside her room, leaving her unaware of the outside world.

In the early EC 980s, the Doll was attended to by Ma when Gallerian entered the room. Staring blankly while the two conversed, her "father" spoke with it after the playwright left, promising to search for its "friends" as much as possible.

Over time, Gallerian decorated her room with some of the vessels he acquired. Every now and then the doll heard laughter coming from the vessels of sin, telling it they were all the same. Sometimes, the doll would sing for her "father". During the Leviantan Civil War in EC 983, Gallerian held the doll while his mansion was set aflame. Following his confrontation with Nemesis Sudou, Gallerian died and the Clockworker's Doll was severely burned. She was later inherited by Ma along with the rest of the vessels of sin, and brought to Evil's Theater several days later.

Evil's Theater
"Convict him, convict him, convict him anyway! Trial! Convict! Death!"

- Master of the Court

To sustain her life, the Clockworker's Doll was attached to the inner workings of Heartbeat Clocktower. Sometime afterward, the doll awakened and began singing the Clockwork Lullaby, attracting curious visitors to the theater who sought to attain Gallerian's legendary fortune.

In EC 990, the deteriorating gears broke down and the clock stopped, threatening her life. Due to Gear's sacrifice, the Marlon Spoon's powers transferred to her, healing her burns and securing her life. The Director Doll then took on Gallerian's title as the Master of the Court in respect to her father. With Ma's encouragement, the new Master of the Court decided to pursue Gallerian's plan of creating utopia by gathering the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Doll established a courtroom in the theater's large hall and, using her power, put all visitors who got past the Master of the Graveyard on trial and would quickly find them guilty, sentencing them to death. With the entity Irregular inside her "womb", she treated him like her unborn child and sang to him the Clockwork Lullaby to heal him in preparation for his rebirth.

After Gammon Octo managed to infiltrate the theater, he was captured and put on trial. Hearing the Servants plea that he be eaten, killed, or at least captured, she agreed and swiftly convicted him. As the intruder was prepared for execution, the Waiter intervened, convincing the Master to spare Gammon by using him for chores; Gammon was then made the new "Gardener".

At some point, the Doll decided to have the song Red Shoe Parade play after her court adjourned before the convicted were executed. Afterward, the Master of the Court began investigating the past events in Evillious history that Ma and Gammon uncovered and wrote down. After reviewing their intelligence on Michaela, the Director Doll concluded they should be cautious of the new Millennium Tree in case she acted against their interests.

Once she reviewed the incidents surrounding the departed Held, Elluka Clockworker, and the Levianta Catastrophe, she surmised that that the mage and god's exchange following the disaster was an important event in the history of the theater's origins. While reviewing the events surrounding Père Noël, the Master of the Court concluded the organization was behind the Toragay Serial Killings and that Lemy Abelard was a member.

When Gammon submitted motion for his vision to be reviewed by her "court", the Master of the Court agreed to do so on a whim. During the session, the Director Doll examined the piece and testified that it was one of her potential futures. Later, while singing the lullaby to her child, she overheard Gammon note the end was near; she then began to question whether he or Ma was right about the result of her father's plan. She eventually decided to continue with their plan for utopia and disregarded Gammon's dream.

In EC 998, she called the inhabitants to a "trial" meeting. Searching for the vessel of Wrath, the Director Doll questioned Ma about the location of the vessel with Ma responding that it was in the possession of the Master of the Hellish Yard. Later during the meeting, the Master of the Court decided to organize the information and gave the Cursed Gardener permission to speak about his reasoning for coming to the theater, where he explained he came seeking the Venom Sword. Later that year, the Doll gave birth to Irregular.

Personality and Traits
"Judge Gallerian's corrupt temperament seems to have been passed down to the Director Doll rather than his Marlon Spoon collectible."

- Gammon's writings about the Doll

Due to being confined to her room while in Gallerian Marlon's possession, the Doll was naive about the outside world and therefore had a limited perception of right and wrong. Similarly, she struggled with developing a moral conscience and became conflicted with determining right and wrong. As a result, she was concerned with replacing Gallerian as judge and questioned the morality of judging intruders and executing them, as well as Gallerian and Ma's ultimate plan to send them all to Hell.

However, she eventually accepted her role willingly, largely due to her loyalty to Gallerian. Her naivety also made the Doll impressionable, with Ma's encouragement heavily influencing her actions at Evil's Theater. Despite this, she did become concerned by Gammon's prophecy, though ultimately discarding the notion for Ma's more optimistic promise of a true utopia and reuniting with Gallerian.

The doll held an enormous adoration for Gallerian and the two mutually loved each other as parent and child. Although knowing only a single room as her world, she gladly accepted it due to the judge's kind, loving, and gentle disposition towards her. The Doll also enjoyed singing for him and wished only to sing for him. When saddened by the whispers of the other vessels of sin, she attempted to escape their words by drowning them out with her singing.

After Gallerian's death, she looked towards the judge for guidance when forming her conscience and became dedicated to reuniting with him. The Doll also emulated her "father" when taking on his role as Master of the Court, and held his methods, ideology, and actions in high regard. She also held an affection for Irregular, treating him like her own child and singing the Clockwork Lullaby to him. Likewise, the Doll took a liking to the Red Shoe Parade song, finding it to be a fitting means for the convicted to enjoy their execution and trip to Hell afterward.

As the Master of the Court, the Doll acted with a serious demeanor while the theater inhabitants searched for the vessel of Wrath and never smiled. The Director Doll also maintained the notion that she, like her father, was a judge and often treated things as if they were a trial or judicial review. Despite this, she was impatient and rushed her "trials" for intruders so that she could quickly convict them, holding no notion of justice or a proper judicial process.

Skills and Abilities
"Due to the Marlon Spoon that became Gear of the clock tower, the Director Doll's burns are gone; she received a new power. However, power without purpose begins a meaningless rampage. She became a means to only make the death sentence to visitors."

- Excerpt of Gammon's writings

Because her vessel was made of Nechuha wood, the Doll's body was durable save for her legs, which were made of softer material at the joints. Unable to walk as a result, the Clockworker's Doll was often confined to a wheelchair while in Gallerian's home. After being severely burned, the Doll was permanently connected to the theater clock tower as a form of life support and was unable to survive without it.

However, Gear's later sacrifice rejuvenated the Director Doll and gave her the capability to walk, as well as freely use the magic of the Marlon Spoon. Her body was also able to store the black box containing Irregular; the doll could also sing and was knowledgeable about how to perform the Clockwork Lullaby.

Character Connections
Gallerian Marlon: The Doll's perceived father. She cared for Gallerian deeply and wished to please him, singing to him and completely content with his wish to not leave her room. She continued to look to him for guidance after their separation and maintained a hope of saving him from Hell.

Ma: The Master of the Court's partner. She looked to Ma for guidance on how to gather together the Sins and acted on her theory that utopia would be created from assembling them. Despite this, the Master of the Court expressed uncertainty over whether Ma was right or not, and was initially reluctant to trust her.

Gammon Octo: A fellow member of the theater. She initially saw Gammon as a trespasser to be judged and executed, but after Waiter's intervention she became interested in his motives for coming to the theater. She expressed uncertainty over whether his vision of the end times was right or not.

Gear: The Master of the Court's caretaker. She acknowledged the role Gear had in her survival, but disagreed with his view on what would happen when the Seven Deadly Sins were reunited.

Irregular: The Master of the Court's perceived unborn child. She treats Irregular with motherly affection, such as in singing the Clockwork Lullaby to heal him, and maintains high expectations for the results of his birth.

Irina Clockworker: The Doll's creator. The Master of the Court did not acknowledge Irina's role in her creation.

Eve Moonlit: The inspiration for the Master of the Court's appearance.

Held: A god who was also referred to with the title "Master of the Court."

Conceptualization and Origin

 * The Doll's origins as "Sloth the Wind" in Chrono Story may be a subtle reference to its design and representative Deadly Sin; a clockwork doll is immobile unless you "wind" it up.
 * The surname of Hatsune Miku, the Doll's representative Vocaloid, sounds nearly identical to the Japanese word 発明 (hatsumei) meaning "invention"; this wordplay possibly connects to the Clockworker's Doll's artificial origin and to Belphegor, the patron demon of Sloth.
 * The material the Doll is made from, Nechuha, is likely a reference to Hachune Miku; when reversed, Nechuha's characters spell ハチュネ (hachune).
 * Similarly, the doll's origins as a Gine Doll is likely a reference to Hachune Miku's character item, a green onion; when reversed, Gine's characters spell ネギ (negi), meaning "green onion".
 * The Master of the Court's relation to the Court is connected to the event of Judgment in Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things.

Curiosities

 * She is the only known awakened vessel of sin with the powers of two of the Seven Deadly Sins.
 * While Gallerian states that the Clockworker's Doll is unable to walk in Judgment of Corruption, she is shown standing several times in the PV for Miniature Garden Girl.
 * The Master of the Court shares the same title as the one attributed to Held.
 * Tying her with the sin she represents, the doll is often depicted "sleeping".
 * Her profile on the Evils Kingdom website suggests her disability is due to the leg joints being composed of a weaker material than the rest of the doll's body.

Gallery
Concept Art=