| Mabel Nash | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Japanese Name |
メイべル・ナツシュ |
|
Romanized Name |
Meiberu Nasshu |
|
Nickname(s)/Alias(es) |
- |
|
Debut |
|
|
Voice actor |
遠藤綾 |
|
Status |
Alive |
Mabel Nash, Patricia’s older sister, is a young policewoman and user of the Rahōto Reihō Kaigen, which allows her to control wooden dolls to replace the inhabitants of her little town who died during the war. She is present in the Libricide story.
Background[]
Mabel lives with her grandparents and her younger sister Patricia in an old but spacious three-store house located in a small rural town by the bank of a lake. It’s a place with a calm mood, with houses made of stone. On the opposite side of the lake, a factory with a long chimney is seen next to several warehouses. The weapon industry produced ammunition, bombs and gun parts during the Great War, attracting military people and migrant workers. Many brothels were established in town to appeal to these men. Mabel was employed as a police officer because, as a woman, it was easier for her to deal with the prostitutes. Furthermore, the district was lacking manpower due to the war.
Everything changed during a chaotic night, when her town was attacked by German bombers aiming the weapon factory. The airplanes hit the gunpowder in the storehouses, causing part of the town to be destroyed. Buildings were swept away by the shockwaves and streets were burned by the flames. Mabel watched the whole scene from an elevation outside the town. According to her, from a population of 3,000 people, fewer than 400 survived the bombings. Her grandparents were among the casualties.
On the occasion when the policewoman was desperate, witnessing the fire enveloping her home town, friends and family, she met Rasiel and the Professor. They handed out the Rahōto Reihō Kaigen, a book written for Mabel’s sake. With this Phantom Book, she became able to control wooden dolls. She used this power to protect the town by replacing those who died during the air raid, including her grandparents. The townsfolk accepted her actions, since it was the only way to have their loved ones back. The dolls were ordered to produce even more dolls at the deserted factory. Since then, the town stopped in time, presenting a strange atmosphere, as if its inhabitants had no emotions. The puppets play as the stand-ins of the deceased villagers. However, they turn hostile during an unfamiliar situation, attacking travelers, merchants and passersby. Rumors talk about more than 80 people going missing in the town during the two years after the end of the war. People who stayed at Mabel's house never returned. She was also the responsible for barricading and modifying the nearby roads to remove any access to the ruined part of the town.
Somehow, she knows about the staff of Surtr and the Phantom Book used by Hal as fuel for the weapon.[1]
Personality[]
Mabel watches the attack of the enemy's bombers.
Mabel seems a polite and cheerful policewoman and a responsible officer. She cares a lot for her home town, to the point of becoming a puppeteer, using a Phantom Book to replace those who died during the bombings with wooden dolls. She suffers from a trauma, living an illusion and being unable to accept changes. The young woman eventually admits her mistake, but affirms that it’s too late to correct her ways. She loves her sister Patricia and wishes to show her how the town looked before the war. Mabel ignores the puppets' unnatural behavior.[1] In the anime, she’s very popular among the townsfolk.[2]
Appearance[]
She’s a young woman with a fearless face. The policewoman is described as having a plain hairstyle and common but comfortable clothes. She wears police uniform and carries a baton.[1] Her attire is blue in the anime adaptation, with details in white and a knot in the back of her long skirt. In this version, Mabel also has a police whistle with a red cord. She also sports white gloves and a peaked cap. A blue bow ties her beige hair, although strands of different sizes hang from each side of her head. Freckles can be noticed below the woman’s hazel eyes. In her flashback, she's seen with a frilly blue-and-white dress.[2]
Plot[]
Mabel receives a Phantom Book from Rasiel.
Mabel drops powerlessly to her knees on the grass of an elevation, desperate while watching in the distance her home town being attacked by German bombers.[1] In the anime, she puts Patricia down before reaching the cliff.[2] She raises her head, seeing someone nearby. The young man tells her not to cry, since she could rebuild that which was broken. The little girl hands out an old book to him. In turn, the man presents Mabel with a Phantom Book written specially for her. The duo disappears without her noticing.
Mabel stops Hal and Flamberge.
Years later, Mabel stops Hal and Flamberge. The young woman was off duty when, according to her, an acquaintance asked her to investigate a suspicious man riding a motorcycle around town. She introduces herself as a policewoman, hired to compensate the lack of manpower due to the war. Mabel is surprised by their unusual clothes. After knowing more about Hal and Flamberge, she decides to release them. Because the man is low in fuel and there are no decent inns in town, Mabel invites them to stay at her place until a travelling merchant selling fuel comes.
In the shopping district, Hal and Flamberge points out how unnatural the townsfolk appear. Mabel defends the people, saying that they are earnest inhabitants of a rural town. When Hal notices the abundance of brothels around, she talks about the military factory which was active during the war, attracting manpower, officers and prostitutes. The policewoman turns pale while denying the rumors about people going missing in the town. She affirms that not a single person disappeared or died in the recent years. Hal and Flamberge want to investigate if the rumors are related with the young woman they are looking for.[1] In the anime, Mabel purchases food at a pub, showing to be very popular among the townspeople.[2] Hal and Flamberge finally arrive at Mabel’s house, where they see her grandparents, a couple that sounds artificial, like mechanical puppets. They also meet Patricia, who doesn’t welcome them. Mabel runs after her rude little sister.
After midnight, Hal leaves the house to investigate. He finds a barricaded route leading to a destroyed part of the town. The man has a brief confrontation against a wooden doll which was acting as a prostitute. When he returned, Mabel apparently had already left to work. Later, Hal and Flamberge find her inside the factory. After the war, the place was being used to produce wooden dolls. Applying the powers of the Rahōto Reihō Kaigen, Mabel was giving orders to the puppets as a way to replace the people who died after the air raid from years ago. Hal suspected that she was the puppeteer since the first time they met. After all, he purposely rode his motorcycle in a suspicious way to lure the person who met the Biblioprincess. As he explains, without accepting changes, Mabel prefers living an illusion while forgetting the calamitous sight caused by the bombings. Even the roads around the town were altered to prevent anyone to access the ruins of the town. However, like the prostitute who attacked the Book Burning Officer last night, the puppets become hostile during an unusual situation, explaining why outsiders go missing.
Mabel acknowledges what the man says, but affirms that it’s too late to change her ways. Wishing to protect her town, even if not real, she wakes up the puppets and orders them to attack Hal and Flamberge. Hal opens the Long Lost Library on Flamberge’s body. He removes a Phantom Book from the Silver Biblioprincess’ void. Contrary to Mabel’s knowledge, instead of reading it, the Book Burning Officer uses it as a cartridge for his staff. After burning the puppets with the magical power, he points the staff at the policewoman. She affirms that he will eventually be consumed by flames if he kept wielding the staff of Surtr. Hal accepts his destiny. Mabel and her Phantom Book are engulfed by the fire.
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Patricia opens the door of her house to Hal. The man lays an unconscious Mabel on a sofa. As a Book Burning Officer, he had destroyed everything related to Phantom Books, including the part of Mabel's mind which had been corrupted by the forbidden knowledge. Mabel wouldn’t remember anything from after receiving the Rahōto Reihō Kaigen. Additionally, all the puppets around the town had stopped moving. Patricia thanks Hal and Flamberge for ending the illusion they were living in.[1]
Trivia[]
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- In real life, Japanese artist Tsukimi Ayano also makes dolls to replace the people of her hometown who moved away or died. Located in southern Japan, the tiny village has more than 100 dolls, but fewer than 35 inhabitants.[3]
- The name Mabel derives from the Latin "amabilis", meaning lovable or dear. It was common in Victorian Britain, but its popularity declined at the start of the 20th century.[4]
- In the United Kingdom, women first worked as police officers during the World War I. In 1914, Margaret Damer Dawson and Nina Boyle founded the Women Police Volunteers, later renamed as Women's Police Service, motivated by assisting the war refugees and helping children and other women. They were also asked to police the government munitions factories and deal with prostitutes.[5]
- Aya Endō is the voice of Miyuki Takara in Lucky Star and Komugi in Hunter x Hunter. She and Rina Hidaka, Patricia's voice actor, have worked in Sword Art Online, Fire Emblem Heroes and Girl Friend Beta.[6][7]
References[]
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