GREEN   1200   1
   8029 45.74 KB    937

/bootleg/ Photo Finished α

By BlondieAnon
Created: 2020-10-22 21:31:33
Updated: 2021-11-18 00:00:11
Expiry: Never
anonymous/bootleg/photo finished

  1. >Be you
  2. >Be a dollfag
  3. >You can't really help yourself to be honest
  4. >Balljoints
  5. >Articulated fingers
  6. >Expressive eyes
  7. >They really are just the best
  8. >Though you have had your eye on something a little special
  9. >A pony doll
  10. >Articulated legs all the way down to the hooves
  11. >Fully articulated neck with smoothed wooden slats to help keep it looking natural
  12. >Even a working jaw
  13. >Because of your freaky fascination, you often find yourself low on funds
  14. >But you need your pone
  15. >You opt out of going for the fanciest one your preferred seller has and email him if there can be... a budget model
  16. >A cheap version of an expensive doll is heresy but something just keeps nagging at you to buy now and upgrade later
  17. >After a few days of the seller not being the most willing, you manage to convince him
  18. >The days melt together while you wait
  19. >Until finally
  20. >She shows up
  21. >It's Photo Finish, in the flesh
  22. >Or rather, in the wood and resin
  23. >Sure, her mane is the right color of light grey, but her body is also grey
  24. >Not like she's unpainted but more like she was purposefully given that dull color
  25. >Regardless, you're happy to have her
  26. >You begin to carefully examine each of her joints, both to make sure that everything is smooth and solid
  27. >Evidently it's too solid
  28. >When you get to her jaw, you feel a sharp prick on your finger
  29. "Gah, shit!"
  30. >You glance down at your finger and see that blood has already been drawn
  31. "What the hell? Does she have a splinter or something?"
  32. >You wrap your finger in part of your shirt and lean in to see what caused it
  33. "Oh great..."
  34. >There's blood on her mouth
  35. >Your blood, presumably
  36. "Well... so much for that, huh? Well... maybe I can give you a bit of a touch up later."
  37. >It wouldn't be the worse thing to paint over her body either way so you leave it there
  38. >At night, you can't help but have a difficult time going to sleep
  39. >To tempt fate, you have what few dolls you have aimed toward you
  40.  
  41. >Because nothing says tempting fate like having almost a dozen realistic eyes staring at you without ever blinking
  42. >But something about the pale Photo Finish just rubs you the wrong way
  43. >It's the shades she's rocking
  44. >You didn't get a chance to remove them and check out what eyes she's equipped with
  45. >But you really do get the feeling that she's eyeballing you hard
  46. >After a few passing thoughts of movie scene terror, you get up and gently bent her neck so she's looking away
  47. >You sleep much easier after that
  48. >The following morning, however, you find yourself unable to get out of bed
  49. >You're afraid to move
  50. >Now you're a horror sort of guy
  51. >You're fond of Chucky and all that
  52. >But something funky is going on
  53. >All of your dolls aren't looking at you
  54. >They're looking at the pale Photo Finish
  55. >The head movements aren't subtle either
  56. >They're fully fucking zoned in on her
  57. >She looks like she hasn't moved any at least
  58. >At least her head isn't turning or something demonic like that
  59. >Yet
  60. "Ha... ha..."
  61. >You finally make a noise
  62. >Your entire body tenses up at the mere thought that something might happen
  63. >That the dolls will snap back to you
  64. >Or that the pony doll will imitate your laugh
  65. >Your blood runs cold at the anticipation of that happening
  66. >Yet it doesn't
  67. >After entire minutes of your eyes being glued to the scene, you finally get up
  68. >Not only do you have your morning bathroom rituals, but you feel genuinely spooked to the point that you're ready to pee yourself
  69. >After a shower and examination of your finger, you come to realize that you haven't been devoured at least
  70. >You don't want to burn down the apartment quite yet
  71. >But maybe you should email that seller again
  72. >Just in case
  73. >With a towel around your waist, you walk back to your ro-
  74. >Where did she go
  75. >The pony doll you paid $69.99 for is not on your desk
  76. >The other dolls are staring at your bed
  77. >Not you, thankfully
  78. >But not the spot they were looking at earlier either
  79.  
  80. >You should be far more outwardly spooked but to be perfectly honest, where would you go?
  81. >You can't leave your home, no matter how fucked you are
  82. >This must be why horror protagonists can't just splitsville
  83. >A whole lot of you is trying to stop you from looking at your bed, but you force yourself to anyway
  84. >Your phone is on the bed
  85. >As well as the Photo Finish doll
  86. >What makes you feel almost dizzy is that the blood you shed on her changed shape
  87. >Rather than an unseemly splotch, it's on her lips like lipstick
  88. >There's an old joke somewhere about horses
  89. wearing lipstick, isn't there?
  90. >You were hoping to get your phone but she's close to it
  91. >Worse, one of her well-formed hooves is resting on the rubber outer shell
  92. >Fuck
  93. "...hey there, little photo mama. Is it ok that I grab my phone?"
  94. >You've spoken to your dolls before just fine
  95. >You've even flirted with a few of them
  96. >But you have a hard time keeping a straight tone with this one
  97. >You stand still, watching the doll with every ounce of focus you can muster
  98. >Which is quite a lot given the circumstances
  99. >Quicker than a hiccup, her neck snaps up to look at you directly
  100. >There's not even any audible snapping or cracking noise
  101. >There shouldn't be, the neck segments were very smooth
  102. >"ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵃˢᵗᵉ ᵍᵒᵒᵈ"
  103. >Her wooden chomps open and closed as she speaks
  104. >She's speaking
  105. >She spoke
  106. >At you
  107. >You're tempted to question this on a deeply personal level but you've fallen face down on the floor before realizing it
  108. >You lose consciousness just as quickly
  109.  
  110. >Your eyes open
  111. >Holy shit was that a weird dream
  112. >You have half a mind to stop watching all of those things an-
  113. >You notice that you're in a towel
  114. >You immediately freeze
  115. >Your eyes scan over what's visible to you
  116. >You still have your legs, arms, hands, feet
  117. >Your eyes go to the dolls that have been fixated on your newest... thing
  118. >They're looking at you
  119. >Kinda like how they were before
  120. >Well that's not so bad, you're used to their creepy yet cute eyes
  121. >You inhale to sigh
  122. >But you don't exhale
  123. >If they're looking at you
  124. >At your face
  125. >Against your better judgement, your hand swats above your head
  126. >You grab something and bring it to your face
  127. >Sure enough it's the Photo Finish doll with blood-coated lips
  128. "Fuck, FUCK!"
  129. >Without thinking you sit up and hurl the doll against the wall
  130. >You watch it break into dozens of well-crafted, lacquered pieces of light wood
  131. "doɴ't do tHᴀt"
  132. >That voice came from behind you
  133. >You stumble off of the bed toward the direction
  134. >The doll is sitting there
  135. >What?!
  136. "WHAT?!"
  137. >Your head whips to where you hurled the doll
  138. >There's nothing there
  139. >You crouch over a bit and hold out your hands, ready to throw down with the pale firewood mascot reject
  140. "Hold the fuck, how?!"
  141. >You expect her to answer you but she doesn't
  142. "Don't try that silent, dormant shit on me, I'm wise to those games. I've seen Monkey Bone."
  143. >As if to oblige, she, IT, slowly stands up
  144. >There isn't a scratch at all that you can see
  145. >No matter what, you can't leave
  146. >You understand, you can't leave her alone because she has tasted your blood
  147. >The bond is made
  148. >The rules will not be ignored
  149. >All it takes is the sound of a passing ambulance siren
  150. >You're sitting on the bed
  151. >Holding the doll
  152. >With it's mouth right up against your ear
  153. >With the might and agility of a fully grown man that realized a spider was on his earlobe, you kung fu yourself away from the doll
  154. >It lands harmlessly on the bed, on it's side
  155. "Ok, neat fucking trick. Who are you. What are you."
  156. >The doll rolls over and stands up on it's hooves
  157. >"i'ᵐ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠʳiᵉnᵈ. i ᵖʳᵒᵐiˢᵉ."
  158. >It speaks but you get the funny feeling that the sound isn't coming from the doll itself
  159. "Yeah, uh huh, then that makes me mayor of fucking Friendly Town. Who are you?"
  160. >The faux-fashionista pony doll tilts it's head at you, jaw chirping and swinging
  161. >"i'ᵛᵉ ʰᵉᵉᵈᵉᵈ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜᵃˡˡ. ʷᵃˢ iᵗ nᵒᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ʷʰᵒ ˢᵘᵐᵐᵒnᵉᵈ ᵃ ᶜᵒᵐᵖᵃniᵒn ᵗᵒ ˢʰᵃʳᵉ in ʸᵒᵘʳ ˡᵒnᵉˡinᵉˢˢ?"
  162. >The voice is only vaguely feminine
  163. >It reminds you of too many specific voices but it fits none of them
  164. "I... no. No, you aren't gonna trick me with that shit."
  165. >You relax somewhat and reach for your desk chair, plopping yourself onto it
  166. "Now you... you keep your spooky ass over there while I... "
  167. >While you what?
  168. >What could you possibly do?
  169. >You don't really have anyone you can go to as is
  170. >After it probably sensing your leaking sense of hostility, it jumps off the bed
  171. >It lands on the hard floor with an appealing wooden clop
  172. >"i ᵃᵐ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠʳiᵉnᵈ. i ᵃᵐ ᵗiᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰiˢ ᶠᵒʳᵐ ᵇᵘᵗ i ᵖʳᵒᵐiˢᵉ ʸᵒᵘ i ᵈᵒ nᵒᵗ nᵉᵉᵈ ᶜᵃʳʳᵒᵗˢ."
  173. >You watch the doll jerk it's head back and forth, as if it's emulating a laugh
  174. "Funny."
  175. >You're scared beyond your personal capacity for fear
  176. >In a revelation that makes you question everything, you can no longer say that you don't understand what's going on
  177. >Beyond fear, is a sense of anger
  178. >At the seller, at it, at yourself
  179. >When it comes to whether you're afraid or mad, madness is starting to win out
  180. "So... you're my 'friend'... because of my blood. Are you the doll, or are you controlling it?"
  181. >The bright purple lenses reflect a misshapen caricature back at you
  182. >"i ᵃᵐ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠʳiᵉnᵈ ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˢᵒᵘˡ ˢinᵍˢ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵉ. ᵗʰᵉ ᵇˡᵒᵒᵈ ᵒᶠᶠᵉʳᵉᵈ ᵐᵉʳᵉˡʸ ᶜᵒnnᵉᶜᵗˢ ᵒᵘʳ ˢʰᵉˡˡˢ."
  183. >The voice that speaks directly into your head is sweet enough to make you want to vomit
  184. >Or maybe it isn't sweetness that is trying to cause you to lose your stomach
  185. >"ᵐᵃʸ i ᶠinᵈ ᵃ nᵉʷ ˢʰᵉˡˡ ᵗʰᵃᵗ iˢ ᵇᵉᵗᵗᵉʳ ˢᵘiᵗᵉᵈ?"
  186. >What does that even mean?
  187. "N-no... no. Stay... in there. Around there. No."
  188. >You bring your hand up to your head
  189. >You didn't know you were sweating
  190. >What's kinda funny is that you normally have little hand tremors every now and again
  191. >Your hands aren't shaking at all
  192. >"i ʰᵒᵖᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵈᵒ nᵒᵗ ᵐinᵈ ᵗʰᵃᵗ i ᵃᵐ ʰᵒˡᵈinᵍ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʰᵃnᵈˢ. ᵗʰᵉʸ ʷᵉʳᵉ ˢʰᵃᵏinᵍ ʰᵃʳᵈ."
  193. >Is that what that is?
  194. >You look at your hands
  195. >Try as you might, you can't will yourself to see anything but your own two hands
  196. >Wait, you see something!?
  197. >...nevermind, that scratch was from last week
  198. "Do I... want to know what you meant by my 'soul'? Did you come with this doll?"
  199. >The tiny doll sits down
  200. >Between the dress, the artsy hairdo and the 'lipstick', the doll looks downright ready for a social evening
  201. >"ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵈᵒ nᵒᵗ ˢᵗʳᵃin ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵐinᵈ. ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᵛiᵒˡᵉnᵗ iᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵒnᵗinᵘᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵃˢᵏ. ˡᵉᵗ ᵘˢ ᵖˡᵃʸ ᵃ ᵍᵃᵐᵉ inˢᵗᵉᵃᵈ"
  202. "I AM NOT GOING TO BECOME VIOLENT, TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO F̸͡͠U̵̢̢͜C̸̡Ḱ̴̷I̛Ń̨͡G̡͢͢ KNOW!"
  203. >You attempt to stand up
  204. >But you can't
  205. >Your legs aren't moving
  206. >What?
  207. >How?
  208. >You try to move your arms to push yourself out of your chair
  209. >You can grab the arm rests but you can't push yourself up at all
  210. >Madness is starting to lose
  211. >Panic is winning
  212. >"ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵈᵒ nᵒᵗ ᶠiᵍʰᵗ. ʳᵉˡᵃˣ. ʷᵉ ʷiˡˡ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᶠᵘn ᵗᵒᵍᵉᵗʰᵉʳ. i ᵖʳᵒᵐiˢᵉ ʸᵒᵘ."
  213. >As tiny as the doll is, the voice is in front of you
  214. >Behind you
  215. >At both of your sides
  216. >Unable to physically escape, you scream the only thing that makes sense
  217. >The only coherent thought that shines in your mind
  218. >The only concept that isn't devoured by doubt and terror
  219. "L-L-LIEUTENANT DAN AIN'T GOT NO LEGS?!"
  220.  
  221. >You don't remember what happened
  222. >But you're at your desk
  223. >You have a nice cup of tea in front of you
  224. >The pony doll is sitting opposite of you, on the desk
  225. >The other ball-jointed dolls you have are sitting next to her
  226. >All of them are looking at you
  227. >You're used to their stares
  228. >You've always kinda thought it was cool to have something so obviously spooky always in sight
  229. >But now that they were moving, it's a little less funny
  230. >You blink a few times, like you're realizing where you are
  231. >One of the human dolls blinks back
  232. >You don't remember them having eyelids
  233. >It blinks again
  234. >You realize that the fleshy film that goes over it's eye isn't what it normally came with
  235. >You should be more violently freaked out but you just feel like your nerves are fried
  236. >You understand how horror protagonists can continue in a hopeless setting now
  237. >Like an RPG, you feel like you have a thousand things to ask
  238. >But you don't think you want to play a game of Twenty Questions
  239. "W..."
  240. >The pony doll's head snaps to attention as soon as you make a noise
  241. >The pink lenses are almost high enough quality that you can see something resembling your reflection in them
  242. >Along with something else behind your shoulder
  243. >Watching you
  244. >Watching it
  245. "W..."
  246. >You swallow hard
  247. "Was my kitchen awkward to work with?"
  248. >The pale fashionista pony shakes her head
  249. >The other dolls shake their heads as well, each one going at a different speed
  250. >You nod and swallow again
  251. "C... cool. It's... not that big. A little cramped."
  252. >You look down at the cup
  253. >You feel the need to look into it's glasses to try to understand what's looming over you
  254. >Something primitive tells you that you really shouldn't push your luck
  255. "Is... uh. Is this cup for me?"
  256. >The pony nods
  257. >The other dolls start to nod too
  258. >One nods faster and faster until you can hear the smooth wood squeaking against itself
  259. >That's not spooky at all
  260. >Whatever amounts to 'spooky' at this point
  261. >You reach for the cup and manage to grab the handle
  262. >You almost expected it to blow up in your face
  263. >Or for your hand to fall off or melt into a skeleton
  264. >You almost feel like the fact that a skeleton is hiding inside of you is still scarier than all of this
  265. >Almost
  266. >A smile twitches on your face and you lift the cup to your mouth for a drink
  267. >It's almost too hot for your mouth but you end up gulping it down without trying
  268. >You set the cup down and sigh
  269. >It's that coconut bark tea you kept meaning to try out
  270. >You feel almost normal for a split second
  271. "Thanks for that... seriously. I didn't know I was that thirsty."
  272. >You look back at the dolls
  273. >Specifically the one calling the shots
  274. >If you're going to die at least you had a good drink
  275. "What happens next?"
  276. >The dolls look to the center, at the pony ringleader
  277. >"ᵃʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵗiˡˡ ᵃᶠʳᵃiᵈ?"
  278. >A few nerves twitch at the sound of it's voice
  279. >It sounds a little more refined than before
  280. >Still like at least a dozen female voices speaking at once at varying volumes
  281. >Less a chorus and more a choir
  282. "Yeah. I'd be lying if I said otherwise."
  283. >You get the feeling that speaking is merely a formality at this point
  284. >The doll nods
  285. >You feel something petting your shoulder
  286. >It takes everything you have to stop from trying to shrug it off or shiver
  287. "...is that you touching my shoulder right now?"
  288. >The pony nods
  289. >Well that's good to know
  290. "...are you the one moving the other dolls too?"
  291. >Rather than the pony nodding, the other dolls nod
  292. >The one that nods too fast squeaks and starts to nod into a blur
  293. >It's head falls off and rolls toward you as a result of the overzealous notion of affirmation
  294. >It's head rests in front of your right hand
  295. >It's still looking up at you
  296. "Oh... nice..."
  297. >You casually pluck the head with your thumb and index finger
  298. >It's still staring at you
  299. >And blinks with a fleshy film you could almost describe as eyelids
  300. "You gotta be careful with these... this type of wood isn't meant for tough punishment, you know?"
  301. >With practiced precision you take the now headless doll and examine it's neck
  302. >Thankfully nothing was broken
  303. >The finish is starting to wear down though
  304. "Ahh... crap... well, I'll fix that up later. Gotta let the finish help glide things. Can't grind it away because that reveals the raw wood. That's where you can get real damage."
  305. >You rub the area with your thumb to get a feel for the damage
  306. >It could be worse
  307. >You fit the head back on
  308. >And tilt it back and forth a little
  309. "Better?"
  310. >The doll nods
  311. >But far slowly this time
  312. "Groovy. Remind me later to get that spot done."
  313. >You set the doll down
  314. >It's face focuses on you
  315. >The body, however, turned around to a complete 180 and walks back to the group
  316. >It turns around again before sitting down
  317. "So... did you find me and show up on purpose? Is this just... luck? Chance?"
  318. >Every other doll shakes it's head
  319. >The others nod
  320. >The pony doll itself only tilts it's head at you
  321. >"ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ nᵒᵗ ᵘniᵠᵘᵉ. nᵒᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠiʳˢᵗ."
  322. >Not the first?
  323. "...how long have you been around?"
  324. >That's really the only question that matters, isn't it
  325. >"ˡᵒnᵍ ᵉnᵒᵘᵍʰ ᵗᵒ ᵏnᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐʸ ᶠʳiᵉnᵈ."
  326. >That almost sounds sweet
  327. "I... I suppose that's one way to explain it."
  328. >You're still a little concerned
  329. "Am I insane now? Do I look like I'm going to smear my crap on the walls, try to eat people and review movies online and claim it's a respectable profession?"
  330. >The pony tilts it's head at you
  331. >At least one of the dolls imitates a laughing motion with one of its hands covering it's mouth
  332. "See, at least one of them got the reference."
  333. >"ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳˢᵗ iˢ ᵒᵛᵉʳ. ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐᵉʳᵉˡʸ ᵈiˢᵗᵘʳᵇᵉᵈ. iᵗ ʷiˡˡ ᵖᵃˢˢ."
  334. "Neat."
  335. >At least you won't end up a whimpering, shattered mess
  336. >If the dozen or so voices in your head speaking at once is really being honest with you
  337.  
  338. >Given the current circumstances, you find yourself working on the doll who's head fell off
  339. >Not like you can go outside and leave this thing to yourself
  340. >The doll itself, whether lifeless once more or merely docile, is set on a stand and still
  341. >As it should be, one would hope
  342. >The pony doll watches you work, her, it's head following your hands
  343. >A half dozen little jars and containers hold all you could need for such fine pieces
  344. >Normally they don't ever move around, by your hand or otherwise, so there's not many reasons to give them touch ups
  345. "But the lack of lacquer... that's the finish that needs to be refinished. That... is what counts."
  346. >You don't want to admit it to yourself but you know that your hands are moving with extra finesse today
  347. >You know that your hands aren't being led purely by your own effort
  348. >The longer you think about it, the more you know you'll be... agitated
  349. >So you just focus on your work
  350. >It's not work as in something you get paid to do
  351. >But you enjoy it far more than you could enjoy any mundane nine to five you've managed to hold down
  352. >Your left eyelid twitches
  353. >It's a little unnerving to see so many dolls watching you
  354. >The human ones watched you before
  355. >But not by choice
  356. >And they aren't even watching you
  357. >It's all the pony
  358. >The human dolls are just being manipulated like how you would manipulate or pose them
  359. >You know, to an extent, the pony itself is just being manipulated by something
  360. >An hand
  361. >Like the hands you're working with
  362. >Despite your best efforts to think nothing of it, you feel a bead of cold sweat go down your forehead
  363. "Alright... there we go. Now we just gotta let it dry."
  364. >You lean back in your gaming chair, sighing
  365. >You still haven't gotten dressed in more than a towel
  366. >May as well stay that way at this point
  367. >You hear the beginning of a rumbling in your head
  368. "No... nope. Don't say anything."
  369. >It probably wants to ask why you enjoy such a chore
  370. "It's not a chore, alright? It's... a passion. I like creating. Modifying. Customizing. Leaving my mark."
  371. >The pony tilts its head at you
  372. >The other dolls make variations of the same gesture
  373. >Including the headless one
  374. >If it bothered to speak it would probably call you silly
  375. "I'm not silly for liking what I like. Evidently it's enough to make you pop up and... whatever else."
  376. >"ʸᵒᵘ ᵖʳᵉˢᵘᵐᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵏnᵒʷ ʷʰᵃᵗ i ʷiˡˡ ˢᵃʸ"
  377. >You flinch at the choir of voices
  378. >It doesn't sound as loud as it was before
  379. >It's not as loud as it was before
  380. >But it's not something you wanted to hear at all
  381. >The voice
  382. >Voices
  383. >Are beyond anything you've imagined
  384. >That's how you know that this is real
  385. "Well, isn't that what you were going to say?"
  386. >"i ᵃᵈᵐiʳᵉ inˢᵖiʳᵃᵗiᵒn. i ᵃᵈᵐiʳᵉ ᶜʳᵉᵃᵗiᵛiᵗʸ."
  387. "Well in that case, that's sweet of you."
  388. >Not really
  389. "You say I'm not the first... what attracted you to those who came before me? That they worked with their hands? That they didn't kill themselves as soon as they realized a freaky doll was playing human karaoke?"
  390. >Do you really want an answer to that?
  391. >Fuck it
  392. >Omae wa mou shindeiru and all that
  393. "And while I'm at it... are you going to be the one that kills me? When I die, do you get my soul or something?"
  394. >"ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵃ ᵛᵉʳʸ ᶜʳᵉᵃᵗiᵛᵉ ᵛiᵉʷ. ᵈᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ʷiˢʰ ᶠᵒʳ ᵈᵉᵃᵗʰ?"
  395. "No. Not that I know of. But I imagine it's going to happen. I would be surprised if it doesn't."
  396. >You bring your hand up to your head
  397. >You're sweating profusely
  398. >When did it get to this point?
  399. >You bring your hand down
  400. >This isn't sweat
  401. >It's blood
  402. >You wipe your forehead again with your other hand
  403. >It isn't coming from your head
  404. >You wipe the side of your face
  405. "What...what the fuck?"
  406. >You reach for a small hand mirror
  407. >The one you mostly use to look at corners and crannies to check if paint is evenly distributed
  408. >You look into it
  409. >You're bleeding from your eyes
  410. >Or maybe it's more apt to say that you're crying blood
  411. "What is this... what are you doing?"
  412. >"i ˡiᵏᵉ ᶜʳᵉᵃᵗinᵍ. ᵐᵒᵈiᶠʸinᵍ. ᶜᵘˢᵗᵒᵐiᶻinᵍ. ˡᵉᵃᵛinᵍ ᵐʸ ᵐᵃʳᵏ. ʸᵒᵘ ʷiˡˡ ᵇᵉ ᵇᵉᵗᵗᵉʳ ᵒnᶜᵉ ᵗʰiˢ ᶠiniˢʰᵉˢ."
  413. >You feel like you should be panicking more
  414. >You feel like you should be mad, or angry, or terrified
  415. >You feel something pushing you, gently, back into your chair until you're leaning back
  416. >Your vision starts to blot out
  417. >"ˡᵉᵗ ᵘˢ ʷᵒʳᵏ. ᵗᵒᵍᵉᵗʰᵉʳ."
  418.  
  419. >"We're soul alone, and soul really matters to me! Take a look around..."
  420. >"You're out of touch! I'm out of time! But I'm out of my head when you're not around!"
  421. >You recognize that song
  422. >That fucking song always plays at work
  423. >Wait
  424. >What?
  425. >The fresh blast of AC against your face and the impact of the song knocks you into your head
  426. >What the hell?
  427. >You look at yourself and you're dressed
  428. >You have your coat on
  429. >Shirt
  430. >Pants
  431. >Boots
  432. >And the pony doll's head is poking out from your chest pocket
  433. >Wait a second
  434. >Regaining your capacity to move, you scramble back until you nearly trip over a pile of shopping baskets
  435. >"Oh, hey Anon! What're you doing here on your day off?"
  436. >Fiona, one of your coworkers, trots up to you
  437. >She reminds you of a living embodiment of Fluttershy
  438. >Just with popsicle stick and wire art instead of animals
  439. "Huh?"
  440. >You want to say at least a dozen things but nothing comes to mind fast enough
  441. >"Aw man, don't tell me you forgot... is it Bryan who's causing you grief again? Geeze, let a commoner rest sometime, right?"
  442. >You want to avoid her but you know you don't have the chance
  443. "Oh... yeah... well shit, I guess I am here, huh..."
  444. >You cover your chest pocket pony doll with a hand and wipe at your face with the other
  445. >No blood
  446. >Thankfully
  447. >Fiona smiles at you, but gasps
  448. >"Anon, you finally did it! I can't believe you!"
  449. >You feel a deep sense of panic grow from your gut
  450. "W-what? I didn't do anything. You can't prove it. I didn't leave witnesses."
  451. >She points to your face
  452. >"You finally decided to get contacts! You know, cosmetic contacts are neat but I thought you were joking about that sort of stuff."
  453. "Contacts? No, I didn't..."
  454. >Shut up
  455. >This is a good excuse
  456. >You don't have a clue what happened to your eyes
  457. >You reflexively grab your cellphone and bring it up to your face
  458. >At least your phone was where you left it since you last took off your pants
  459. >You open the camera app and aim it to your face
  460. >Your eyes
  461. >Your fucking eyes
  462. >They're...
  463. >...pink?
  464. >Purple?
  465. >The eyes you've had since the day you were born are gone
  466. >Or maybe it's accurate to say that they've been stained or dyed by
  467. >Well you know who by
  468. >What by
  469. "Oh fuck..."
  470. >"Right?! What made you go get those colors, anyway? Did it hurt? I thought you were afraid of, like, touching your eyeballs and feeling them squish?"
  471. >You put away your phone and blink so much your eyes water
  472. >You could never stand contacts but you'd use them for kicks if you could stomach the process
  473. "Yeah... yeah, I am. I'm pretty sure I was crying blood."
  474. >"Metal... so, like you're going the demonic, Satanic style? Blood red is really common for that type of theme, good going on picking up something new."
  475. >She always was quick on the draw
  476. >You just wish she knew how right she was
  477. "Yeah, spooky ain't it? Halloween's right around the corner after all..."
  478. >You try to not look at her directly
  479. >Even though the shorter girl keeps trying to stare right into your eyes
  480. "Listen, did Alan finally set up those..."
  481. >"ʸᵒᵘ nᵉᵉᵈ ᵖᵃinᵗ."
  482. "Uh... new paints? They've been back there on a pallet for a fucking forever."
  483. >"Ahh, Anon's Angels need a new coat and your hot glue isn't enough, huh? I haven't been to that department today, check it out. If he hasn't, just swipe them and go home. Gotta rest when you can, right?"
  484. "Yeah... yeah, thanks Fi. I'll bug you tomorrow."
  485. >Nothing says 'worthwhile member of society' like working at a hobby shop
  486. >This is your fourth year now
  487. >It pays the bills, mostly
  488. >But it also gives you an easy line to your important resources
  489. >And it's even allowed you to look into making doll clothing
  490. >You aren't gay but God damn it you have ideas and you want your gals to look ready to dominate any party they could ever be a part of
  491. >Doll clothing is expensive as hell too
  492. >It could be a good bonus source of income
  493. >You cruise through the coloring and drawing isles, as you usually do
  494. >For some reason some of the colors are really starting to pop out at you
  495. >Not that you were colorblind before
  496. >Another isle down and you're around the paints
  497. >Of course, nothing on the shelf is directly what you need in it's original form
  498. >Years of watching 40K and Gundam painters has taught you well about the importance of dilution
  499. >You look for what you're looking for in particular and...
  500. "Fucker mother."
  501. >Of course the lazy bastard hasn't restocked the shelves
  502. "What does that loser do all day, anyway? How does one man fuck up so hard by doing nothing?"
  503. >You mumble to yourself with the intent of ripping his head off while walking to the back of the store
  504. >Of course, the paints are still in their cases on a pallet
  505. >It's still all wrapped up too
  506. "Swear to God, I'm gonna change reality to change your name to Anal and fuck you."
  507. >You pause in mid-ripping of plastic wrap
  508. "...up. No homo."
  509. >After enough mumbling and ripping, you manage to grab two variety packs of your drug of choice
  510. "Acrylics, come to me..."
  511. >You aren't taking the cheap stuff either
  512. >Everyone tends to cover for everyone else as is so you consider it an employee perk
  513. >"HEY, STOP RIGHT THERE."
  514. >You flinch at the sudden shout from behind
  515. >But the shock lasts only a second before you turn around
  516. "Fuck off. You were supposed to put these up on the shelves."
  517. >It's Alan
  518. >The sleepy-eyed kid from a rich family
  519. >Some days he's ok
  520. >But for the most part he's a little prick you'd love to run over
  521. >"Hey, you paying for those? It's just me and Fiona here bu-"
  522. "Yeah, yeah Fiona knows I'm here. On my day off to check up how badly you're lagging, mind you. She's gonna ring me up."
  523. >You really need to get out of here
  524. >"Sure. Hey, what the hell did you do to your eyes?"
  525. >Fuck
  526. "I thought I'd pop in the eyes of Frakenstein, what does it look like?"
  527. >"Yeah... whatever, man. But it's fucking creepy."
  528. "Yeah? Mission accomplished then."
  529. >Alan mumbles something and walks off
  530. >"ʷiˡˡ ʰᵉ ˢᵗᵒᵖ ʸᵒᵘ?"
  531. >The faint choir starts off almost pleasant, but it has a certain verbal edge to it
  532. "No... shut up. It's fine."
  533. >You keep your voice down
  534. >It's not like you can reply to it through telepathy or something
  535. >"ʰᵉ iˢ ʷᵃiᵗinᵍ ᶠᵒʳ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵒ ʷᵃˡᵏ ᵒᵘᵗ. ʰᵉ iˢ ᵍᵒinᵍ ᵗᵒ ᶜᵒnᶠʳᵒnᵗ ʸᵒᵘ."
  536. "Yeah? And why would you know that?"
  537. >"ʰᵉ ᵈᵒᵉˢ nᵒᵗ ˡiᵏᵉ ʷʰᵃᵗ ʰᵉ ˢᵉᵉˢ. ʰᵉ iˢ ᵃᶠʳᵃiᵈ."
  538. >If you can't trust the thing that tampered with your eyes and speaks in your head, who can you trust?
  539. "Shit... fine, we'll go out the other door."
  540. >Holding the two variety packs like you have business with them, you stroll out through the break room, which connects the warehouse to the zone of perpetual autumn
  541. >It's technically the seasonal area but if it isn't winterized and full of plastic snow men, it's all autumn leaves and plastic fruits
  542. >Before hustling out, you reform a few of the fruity sights until every banana has two apples next to each other at the base
  543. >The eggplants get two oranges
  544. "Ok, now my work here is done."
  545. >You leave through the front, once again glad that the store doesn't have those RFID security scanners
  546. >"ᵒnᵉ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ᵈᵒˡˡˢ ˡᵒᵒᵏˢ ˡiᵏᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵍiʳˡ. ʷʰʸ?"
  547. "Shut up... not discussing that here..."
  548. >"ˢʰᵉ ᵃᵈᵐiʳᵉˢ ᵐʸ ʷᵒʳᵏ ᵗᵒᵒ."
  549. "No she doesn't."
  550. >You're glad to see that your car is out front and properly parked
  551. >You're still not completely sure what you need the paint for but you hop in and hurry back home
  552. >You have work to do
  553. >And you need to figure out what the hell happened to your eyes
  554.  
  555. >You return to your apartment in silence
  556. >The doll hasn't been speaking to you all that much
  557. >You're not exactly wanting conversation with it
  558. >But the more it speaks to you, the more you learn
  559. >Maybe this is why people go crazy after learning things they aren't supposed to know
  560. >After a sigh, you clear your throat
  561. "So... what do I call you? What's your name?"
  562. >The doll in your pocket shifts
  563. >It almost feels like a kitten kneading against your chest
  564. >"ʸᵒᵘʳ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ iˢ ᶜˡᵒˢᵉ."
  565. "Yes it is. Can you answer my question?"
  566. >"i ᵃᵐ nᵃᵐᵉᵈ ʷʰᵃᵗᵉᵛᵉʳ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜʰᵒᵒˢᵉ iˢ ᵃᵖᵖʳᵒᵖʳiᵃᵗᵉ."
  567. "Is that part of the supposed creativity I'm supposed to have?"
  568. >Aren't demons or monsters supposed to have true names?
  569. >Is this a defense mechanism or is it some un-named thing?
  570. >What's worse?
  571. >You glance at the paints you swiped from work
  572. >That's a lot
  573. >You aren't sure what they're for
  574. >Maybe if you paint the doll you can at least try to make it look more... normal
  575. >At least you're just about home
  576. >Whatever you end up painting, it'll help your nerves
  577.  
  578.  
  579. >Your head is in splitting pain
  580. >What time is it?
  581. >The last thing you remember...
  582. >That's right
  583. >Anon
  584. >You were going to check up on Anon
  585. >It had been weeks since he showed up to work
  586. >Days since he last texted you
  587. "Uah... ow, my head..."
  588. >You roll your head, feeling the pain roll around your head like a billiard ball
  589. >"Oh, hey. You're awake. Cool. Sorry."
  590. >That voice
  591. "Anon? What happened?"
  592. >Though it hurts, you open your eyes
  593. >One of them opens
  594. >Anon is sitting on a bar stool in front of you
  595. >This room...
  596. >It's his living room
  597. >You've been over once before
  598. >You went to the grocery store to buy him some things when he was sick
  599. >His face...
  600. "Anon, what happened?"
  601. >His eyes
  602. >His eyes are completely bloodshot
  603. >Rivulets of blood are streaming down his cheeks
  604. >They go down his chin and pool around the collar of his shirt
  605. >"I... uh. Yeah."
  606. >Despite how coked out he looks, he sounds... normal
  607. >Apologetic, but he doesn't sound all broken up or freaked out
  608. >You reach up to feel the pain on you head
  609. >You fe...
  610. >Wait
  611. >You try to reach up
  612. >You can't
  613. "What is this...?"
  614. >You look down at your arms
  615. >You have a few zip ties tied together
  616. >Your wrists are bound to something in the couch
  617. "...is this one of your fantasies? I mean the hot glue is one thing but this really isn't ok, you know?"
  618. >Anon cracks a smile
  619. >But it drops
  620. >"I... ah... shit."
  621. >He wipes one of his eyes
  622. >The blood seeping out smears across his cheek
  623. >"Ah..."
  624. >He keeps wiping his eye
  625. >The blood is starting to smear more across his face
  626. >His other hand comes up to wipe his other eye
  627. >He can't stop
  628. >"Ah... shit..."
  629. >You're paralyzed
  630. >What's wrong with his eyes?
  631. >Are they infected?
  632. >He stops wiping his eyes and bellows out with a madman's frantic tone
  633. >"I AM NOT STALLING, YOU FUCKING FUCKED WITH MY EYES YOU BITCH."
  634. >You flinch so hard you thought your skeleton would pop out from behind
  635. "W... who messed with your eyes Anon?"
  636. >You swallow hard
  637. "You... w-we gotta go to a doctor about this. This sort of bleeding... it's not normal."
  638. >Anon smeared blood over his face and hands now
  639. >"No. No it's not, and... ah..."
  640. >He raises a hand up again but lowers it after thinking it over
  641. >"I just... I need some help. She needs it. And she won't really let me go with anything else anymore."
  642. >She?
  643. >Who she?
  644. "Needs what?"
  645. >"I try to tell her to shut up but I just-I haven't slept in four days now, Fi."
  646. "Anon, you're not making any sense."
  647. >"I know! I know I'm not, I-FUCKING SHUT IT, YOU HAVE DONE ENOUGH."
  648. >He points a bloody finger at you
  649. >At your lap
  650. >At...
  651. >There is a pony doll on your lap
  652. >It is looking at him
  653. >Has it always been sitting there?
  654. "Anon, you need to tell me why I'm stuck like this. Why does my head hurt?"
  655. >"Because... ahhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GOD DAMN IT."
  656. >Anon goes back to rubbing his eyes
  657. >He starts to grunt
  658. >His wiping turns to scratching
  659. "Anon!"
  660. >He's scratching his eyes
  661. "ANON, STOP THAT!"
  662. >Anon lets out a panicked scream and rakes his fingers across his closed eyes one last time
  663.  
  664. >He quietly huffs, his head twitching
  665. >There are visible scratches that his nails made over his eyelids and part of his face
  666. "OH MY GOD, ANON."
  667. >"IT'S FINE!"
  668. >His fists raise and shake when he screams
  669. >The sheer anger you can hear stifles you from making any sudden moves
  670. >"It's... it's fine. my eyes are... ah. They're fucked, Fi. Because even right now I can see fine. But it fucking itches and scratching really just seems to fix it."
  671. >Your eyes water at the sight of his face
  672. >His eyes are bleeding further
  673. >They aren't even focused on you anymore
  674. >One is looking off into the distance
  675. >The other is only vaguely focused on you
  676. >This isn't real
  677. "A-anon, this isn't funny... I know this is Halloween but-"
  678. >"It's Halloween?!"
  679. >His shocked expression is...
  680. >Heart breaking
  681. >He doesn't even seem to act like his eyes are nearly destroyed
  682. >"It... it's been this long?"
  683. "Don't you remember us texting...?"
  684. >He texted you saying that he had a huge project going, and that he was going to lie and fill out some medical leave forms
  685. >You helped him get them set up
  686. >His mouth drops
  687. >"I... we did? You... you aren't serious. Are you?"
  688. >This insanity is starting to really get to you
  689. "HOW ELSE HAVE WE BEEN TALKING?!"
  690. >You thrash against your plastic restraints
  691. >"YOU FUCKING WHORE!"
  692. >He lunges out to you and
  693. >Grabs that doll?
  694. >He whips it to the side
  695. >It smashes against wall and breaks apart
  696. >"YOU WHORE!"
  697. >He lunges out to you now to
  698. >What...?
  699. >He has the pony doll in hand
  700. >He whips it to the side again
  701. >It smashes against the wall and breaks apart
  702. >You can hear the hollow wood it is made out of
  703. >He reaches for your lap and whips his hand out time and time again
  704. >Each time he smashes a pony doll against his wall
  705. >It continues until the wall itself is starting to get spattered and smeared with trace flecks of blood
  706. >What is he doing?!
  707. >WHERE ARE THESE DOLLS COMING FROM!?
  708. "ANON FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP IT!"
  709. >He grabs the pony doll from your lap and holds it
  710. >He's huffing and panting
  711. He holds it out to you
  712. >"THIS... thing. Is FUCKING with me!"
  713. >It looks like just a normal doll
  714. >A pony doll, but it isn't holding a gun to his head or anything like that
  715. >He grabs the head with a bloody hand and wrenches it off
  716. >He throws the parts away and immediately lunges for you again
  717. >This time you look down
  718. >The doll is on your lap
  719. >It's looking up at Ơ̷͉̫Ȟ̸͔̈́G̶̙̬̉Ỏ̴͇̊D̷̥͎͂͒D̴̤͕͝͝O̶̟͆̊N̴̫͕̈'̷̺̭̌Ṫ̵̖́L̵̨̕O̶̢͘Õ̷̠͖̕K̷͖͐A̷̼̺͒͐T̷̙̃̎Ţ̸̠͒H̴̝̦̊̕Ě̵̖Ḙ̷̹͋Y̶̨͒͒ͅÈ̶̝S̵͉̍I̵̪̤̾T̸̤͝Ḧ̸͍U̷̱̒̇R̵̻͒͝T̸̙̤̐͌S̶̡̠̆̈́D̵̠̎́Ö̴̖̙́̋N̸̟͗̿'̷͖̓T̵̫̬̍̓L̵̩̗̊̌Ô̸̭O̵̦̖͆K̵̦̋̆D̵̘͊͠Ö̴̬̮Ň̶̢'̶̻̈́T̶̞͑̕L̸̤͎̾O̵̭͊ͅO̷̢̞͗K̵͖̇͗D̶̢͘Ő̷̳̀N̸̢͍̍͑'̵͈̆͒T̶͔͌̏L̴̠̇Ȍ̸̘̦Ò̵̥͝K̷͕͠Ḏ̵̀͜O̷̺͗Ǹ̵͓̘'̸̩̈́T̷̮͕̓L̷̢̦͒̋Ỏ̵̪̦Õ̷̳̔K̸̻̯̆
  720.  
  721. >Anon grabs the doll from your view and holds onto it tight
  722. >You think you might be screaming
  723. >In fact, you are screaming
  724. >You've been frozen in the spot, screaming for what feels like hours now
  725. >Only a hard slap to your face allows you to recover
  726. >"It's fine, you're alright!"
  727. >The voice sounds like it's trying to put you at ease
  728. >But it's Anon saying it
  729. >Somehow his eyes look even worse
  730. >One is scratched so hard it looks cut
  731. >He isn't even looking at you
  732. >"Listen... Fi. You gotta help me. I swear it's just one thing. I know I've had you help me out and all that but I just need this one time I don't think I can keep going if I don't get this done I've been trying my best to stop it I just can't do it anymore just look at me you can tell I just can't do it anymore!"
  733. >He rambles, trying his best to not sound upset
  734. >It fails
  735. "...what do you need, Anon?"
  736. >He smiles
  737. >Like it was finally a wave of relief
  738. >"You promise? I swear, I just need help one more time. That's all, I swear. I promise you I swear."
  739. >He sounds like this is going to take a massive load off of him
  740. >What in the world has happened to this man?
  741. "Of course, I promise... what's wrong, Anon? What do you need? How can I help?"
  742. >He pulls out something with his free hand
  743. >It's a sort of kitchen steak knife
  744. "...wha?"
  745. >"I need your blood. And I need your eyes. Mine are rotting at this point. They aren't for me."
  746. >Before you can tell what is going on, he's slashing at you!
  747. >You scream while he hacks at you
  748. >He's screaming too
  749. >It stops after five swipes
  750. >You know it hurts but you don't even know where he hit you
  751. >He shushes you and kneels down
  752. >He crudely rubs the face of the pony doll into your cuts, coating the head in your blood
  753. "ANON! WHAT THE FU!"
  754. >This is sheer insanity
  755. >Anon ignores you and wipes at the pony head
  756. >"See? There... there we go. Stop your yammering, it'll set."
  757. >The only thing you can do is scream
  758. >Anon holds up the pony doll
  759. >Her hair is blood red and well maintained
  760. >She even has lipstick on
  761. >A little pair of glasses are on
  762. >The eyes behind the lenses are gleaming
  763. >"Thank you Fi... thank you. She wants to talk to you now."
  764. >Talking?
  765. >What is there to talk about?
  766. >Anon holds out the doll to you for an entire minute
  767. >HE then pulls his arm back and look like it like he was a child spoiled realizing that the glow in the dark magic wand he got for Christmas wouldn't actually let him kill his neighbors
  768. >"...don't tell me you're shy now."
  769. >What?
  770. >"No, I don't think she'll turn violent. You're being retarded."
  771. >He sighs and puts the pony down on your lap
  772. >"I am sorry, Fi... I just. I can't stop her. She said I can go back to sleep after this. Just... hold on, ok? You can live through it."
  773. >What?
  774. >He sets the doll on your lap
  775. "Anon, this is crazy, please just let me go and I promise I'll never..."
  776. >Your voice trails off
  777. >The doll's head spins around to stare at you
  778. >The eyes
  779. >They're glowing bright
  780. >You hesitate
  781. >"ᴸᵉᵗ ᵘˢ ᵇᵉᵍᶦn."
  782. >Everything is white
  783.  
  784. >"We're soul alone, and soul really matters to me! Take a look around..."
  785. >"You're out of touch! I'm out of time! But I'm out of my head when you're not around!"
  786. >You recognize that song
  787. >That song always plays at work
  788. >Wait
  789. >What?
  790. >The fresh blast of AC against your face and the impact of the song knocks you into your head
  791. >What just happened?
  792. >You were just at Anon's apartment...
  793. >Right?
  794. >You immediately check your body for any cuts or marks
  795. >Nothing
  796. "...Anon?"
  797. >You're dressed as normal but the store is empty
  798. >You check outside and it is black as pitch out
  799. >...This is not normal
  800. >You've seen enough horror movies to know what's going on
  801. >Immediately you start running through the isles
  802. "Anon!? ANON! Answer me!"
  803. >You hear him before you see him
  804. >"You're out of touch... I'm out of time..."
  805. "Anon?! Come on, speak to me!"
  806. >You nearly stumble while growing a full-blown sprint
  807. >If there's anywhere he would be, it would be with the paints
  808. >"But I'm out of my head... but I'm out of my head..."
  809. >You hang your arm out and cause a display piece on the end of the isle to fly out and crash onto the floor
  810. "Anon!"
  811. >You see him
  812. >In his usual clothing
  813. >Down on his knees
  814. >Staring at his hands
  815. >He looks up at you
  816. >His eyes aren't bleeding!
  817. >"...bull in a china shop much?"
  818. >THAT is his reaction to this?!
  819. "THAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THIS?!"
  820. >He smiles
  821. >He isn't happy but he's smiling
  822. >"I'm sorry, Fi."
  823. >He looks back down at his hands
  824. >You rush up to him
  825. >His hands are pouring blood
  826. >But it doesn't smell like blood
  827. >It smells like fresh paint or something
  828. >You kneel down to him
  829. "Anon, let's go, we have to get out of here."
  830. >"Nah. There's... no real escape out of here. I've tried."
  831. >"What? What do you mean? Where are we?"
  832. >"I can only answer one question at a time... listen, just calm down. Ok? When you get tired here, sleeping doesn't actually get you rested up."
  833. >He's staring at his hands still
  834. >...
  835. >Is he?
  836. "Why are your hands bleeding?"
  837. >"Look."
  838. >You lean over to look down
  839. >It isn't his hands he's looking at
  840. >It's the puddle of red growing on the ground
  841. >You see... you
  842. >A pair of hands are applying alcohol to your wounds
  843. >The pony doll trots along the back of the couch and jumps up onto the top of your head
  844. >"ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ ˢᵃᶠᵉ ᶦn ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ. ᵖˡᵃʸ nᶦᶜᵉ."
  845. "...who is she talking to?"
  846. >"(ʸᵒᵘ). ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶦˢ ʷʰᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ, ᶦˢn'ᵗ ᶦᵗ?"
  847. >You feel your blood run cold
  848. "...Anon. What is happening?"
  849. >You back away from the pool, out of sight
  850. >"I... think you're our new project. I think."
  851. >He sounds exhausted
  852. "...ok. What does that mean, exactly?"
  853. >If this is what you think, you can't escape from here
  854. >Because you are actually still on the couch
  855. >Is this heaven?
  856. >Hell?
  857. >Purgatory?
  858.  
  859. >"This is her 'play pen'. It's where she puts me when she's busy."
  860. >Why did he say that?
  861. >"Your thoughts are pretty loud. They're on the shelf too."
  862. "W... what shelf?"
  863. >He isn't looking at any shelves
  864. >The shelves in front of him are just of paints, like normal
  865. >The shelves behind him
  866. >What is this?!
  867. >Your thoughts are on the shelf!
  868. >In a fit of panic, you scream and slap th
  869. e
  870. wo
  871. rdsof
  872. foft
  873. he
  874. shelf>Theyfalloffand
  875. endupinpilesonthefloor>Thewords
  876. givenphysicalfo
  877. rmbreakapa
  878. rt>S
  879. omesticktogether
  880. >You stumble backwards and fall onto your butt
  881. "This is unreal... this is insane."
  882. >"That's what I've been saying."
  883. >You look at Anon
  884. >He's still watching
  885. "...can you still influence your body like this?"
  886. >"I want to say 'yes' but I don't think I can. I think if I really try hard enough she lets it happen."
  887. >Freaking out and panicking isn't the way to go about this
  888. >Even if you wanted to, you believe him when he says that sleeping here won't let you recover
  889. "...what is it?"
  890. >"She's... my friend. I guess."
  891. >He guesses?
  892. "You guess?"
  893. >You try to ignore how neatly these words fit on the shelves
  894. >They're all those cheap wooden letters that you see children buy for school science projects
  895. >"I guess. I really don't know what else she is. She did something to my eyes."
  896. "Yeah... I guess I saw."
  897. >Hall & Oats still plays over the speakers
  898. "Did you really not have any other place your mind could retreat to?"
  899. >You can't stop yourself from giggling
  900. "I mean, you hate it here. I mean, I do too. But still."
  901. >Anon chuckles
  902. >"Ahh... don't I know it. But you know as well as I do. I'm either here, at the Walmart or at home."
  903. "And that includes memorizing all of the songs?"
  904. >He shakes his head and lets out a painfully heavy sigh
  905. >"Bruh, I could be a fucking zombie right now for all I know and I will be more haunted by these shit 80s songs more than I'll ever be haunted by anything else. I'll be the fucking Michael Jackson zombie grabbing my crotch-which will have fallen off by then-and stiffly dancing to this seven seasons from now."
  906. >The words linger in the air as well as on the shelf
  907. >Within a split second of each other, you're both laughing
  908. "Well... I guess we're stuck here together at least then."
  909. >You really aren't in that much of a position better than him, to be honest
  910. >But you do like helping out when exasperated parents come in, asking where the school or art supplies are
  911. >If you had a kid of your own you could probably help with any science or art project known to man with your knowledge
  912. >If you could ever have a kid anymore
  913. "...hey Anon. Am I gonna die?"
  914. >"I don't know, Fi. But she's having me take care of those cuts."
  915. "Oh... thanks, I guess. That still hurt."
  916. >"I know, Fi... I'm sorry."
  917. >The man sounds so crestfallen
  918. >You aren't sure what to say
  919. >He wouldn't do this on purpose
  920. >You know that much
  921. >The speakers have changed to a different song
  922. >Some sort of smooth jazz muzak
  923.  
  924. "...there food here?"
  925. >"Break room in the back still has soda and shit from what we had last month. It resupplies when I'm not looking at it and it makes me feel better so I guess it's legit."
  926. "Oh... awesome."
  927. >You let the words hang in the proverbial air and sit on the literal shelf
  928. >You nudge his arm with yours
  929. "Hey. Let's get something to drink and put our heads together. Alright."
  930. >Anon blinks a few times over the course of what feels like entire minutes
  931. >"...Alright."
  932. "Alright?"
  933. >"Yeah... alright."
  934. "Well alright thing."
  935. >You stand up and brush yourself off
  936. >And hold out your hand
  937. "We'll figure something out. It's not like we don't have unlimited time or something, right?"

/bootleg/ Jacky Part One

by BlondieAnon

/bootleg/ Jacky Part Two

by BlondieAnon

/bootleg/ Jacky Part Three

by BlondieAnon

/bootleg/ Jacky Part Four

by BlondieAnon

/bootleg/ Jacky Part Five

by BlondieAnon