12-15-2021, 04:33 AM
POLKA DOT: Are you allowed to tell me more of what your friend saw?
VINE: Bodies.
POLKA DOT: …bodies?
VINE: Empty ones, not dead. They weren’t people yet.
VINE: Eventually one of those bodies would come to life as a new toy, and they’d be in the Store until they “grew up”.
VINE: But…the longer you’re there, the more frantic it feels to find the exit, even if you’re there for a return visit.
VINE: Entrance disappears once you’re inside, so…
VINE: It’s a race to get out before the feeling overtakes you.
POLKA DOT: How do you get in?
VINE: That, they wouldn’t tell me.
VINE: Said it was too dangerous to let anybody know the way in, not unless they had a really good reason to go- and I’ve got no inclination to make a return trip myself.
VINE: Aside from that, though…
VINE: It’s oversized, super scaled up.
VINE: Massive shelves “stocked” with toy bodies, empty shells…
VINE: Accessories, buildings, food, all in packaging unless somebody managed to tear it open…
VINE: Apparently they came across some people living in one of the houses- but they were pretty much teens, and not doing well considering how long they’d been there.
VINE: They were nice though…I hope that a lot of the toys there get the chance to stay nice, considering how cruel that place can be.
POLKA DOT: Is it, like…
POLKA DOT: Doing it on purpose?
POLKA DOT: Keeping people there until they’re desperate?
POLKA DOT: It sounds like these “forces” or whatever deliberately want to fuck people up.
POLKA DOT: Like, if they’re even stronger than out here…it could get pretty twisted, just in the way that they want.
VINE: Some people think so, yep.
VINE: My personal take…
VINE: …whatever makes a better story, right?
VINE: I don’t think it’s…I don’t know.
POLKA DOT: You don’t think it’s what?
VINE: Cruel. I don’t think it’s wholly, only cruel.
VINE: If it was, it wouldn’t allow places like this to exist, and allow people to actually stay in them, build relationships, build families…
VINE: Whatever it is, I don’t think it thinks. I think it just…does what would fit the narrative of a “better story”, and we’re all stuck in it.
VINE: Thankfully, good stories count too.
POLKA DOT: Yeah…
POLKA DOT: So, why do we know we’re toys? Or any of this stuff?
POLKA DOT: Why do we call it the Toy Store?
VINE: No one knows that one, unfortunately.
VINE: We just…know things, presumably even from the moment we’re “born”.
VINE: Guess the stories wouldn’t work if you had to stop to learn and explain even basic concepts.
POLKA DOT: And memories…do they come back?
POLKA DOT: You said you remembered things.
VINE: Mm, they do.
VINE: Not entirely, as far as I can tell.
VINE: But with time, they can.
VINE: Typically when triggered by something related to them.
VINE: Be careful when digging around, though…
VINE: Not everything from back then is good to remember.
HOST: Welcome to Laurie’s Place’s tenth official fashion show, sponsored by Featherweight Creations!
HOST: Our theme tonight is straightforward- we’re having a focus on fashion mixed with function as usual, but with a bit of a winter twist.
HOST: Expect warm fabrics, cozy materials, and- if you’re really feeling fun, festive accents!
VINE: We can still talk during the show, as long as we keep it at a low volume.
VINE: Probably best to keep things light on the conversation topics, though.
VINE: Just dropped some heavy stuff on you, yknow?
Vine nods, drumming her hand on the bar.
VINE: Bodies.
POLKA DOT: …bodies?
VINE: Empty ones, not dead. They weren’t people yet.
VINE: Eventually one of those bodies would come to life as a new toy, and they’d be in the Store until they “grew up”.
VINE: But…the longer you’re there, the more frantic it feels to find the exit, even if you’re there for a return visit.
VINE: Entrance disappears once you’re inside, so…
VINE: It’s a race to get out before the feeling overtakes you.
You really, really hate the sound of that…but something about it feels familiar, like you can almost remember something like that.
Something…desperate.
Something…desperate.
POLKA DOT: How do you get in?
VINE: That, they wouldn’t tell me.
VINE: Said it was too dangerous to let anybody know the way in, not unless they had a really good reason to go- and I’ve got no inclination to make a return trip myself.
VINE: Aside from that, though…
VINE: It’s oversized, super scaled up.
VINE: Massive shelves “stocked” with toy bodies, empty shells…
VINE: Accessories, buildings, food, all in packaging unless somebody managed to tear it open…
Like your choker, maybe…
VINE: Apparently they came across some people living in one of the houses- but they were pretty much teens, and not doing well considering how long they’d been there.
VINE: They were nice though…I hope that a lot of the toys there get the chance to stay nice, considering how cruel that place can be.
POLKA DOT: Is it, like…
POLKA DOT: Doing it on purpose?
POLKA DOT: Keeping people there until they’re desperate?
POLKA DOT: It sounds like these “forces” or whatever deliberately want to fuck people up.
POLKA DOT: Like, if they’re even stronger than out here…it could get pretty twisted, just in the way that they want.
VINE: Some people think so, yep.
VINE: My personal take…
She looks you in the eye, her own eyes tired.
VINE: …whatever makes a better story, right?
Something about that feels so horribly wrong to you, filling you with dread- the idea that you’re being watched, that this is all just someone puppeting you and everyone else around…
VINE: I don’t think it’s…I don’t know.
POLKA DOT: You don’t think it’s what?
VINE: Cruel. I don’t think it’s wholly, only cruel.
VINE: If it was, it wouldn’t allow places like this to exist, and allow people to actually stay in them, build relationships, build families…
VINE: Whatever it is, I don’t think it thinks. I think it just…does what would fit the narrative of a “better story”, and we’re all stuck in it.
VINE: Thankfully, good stories count too.
POLKA DOT: Yeah…
You wonder if the “story” you’re stuck in is a good one, considering your own memories…but you have more questions that take priority.
POLKA DOT: So, why do we know we’re toys? Or any of this stuff?
POLKA DOT: Why do we call it the Toy Store?
VINE: No one knows that one, unfortunately.
VINE: We just…know things, presumably even from the moment we’re “born”.
VINE: Guess the stories wouldn’t work if you had to stop to learn and explain even basic concepts.
POLKA DOT: And memories…do they come back?
POLKA DOT: You said you remembered things.
VINE: Mm, they do.
VINE: Not entirely, as far as I can tell.
VINE: But with time, they can.
VINE: Typically when triggered by something related to them.
VINE: Be careful when digging around, though…
VINE: Not everything from back then is good to remember.
You’re about to ask more when a chime echoes through the room, and some kind of bendy, cat looking toy steps out of the curtain. You glance up at the clock- it’s finally 10:30.
HOST: Welcome to Laurie’s Place’s tenth official fashion show, sponsored by Featherweight Creations!
HOST: Our theme tonight is straightforward- we’re having a focus on fashion mixed with function as usual, but with a bit of a winter twist.
HOST: Expect warm fabrics, cozy materials, and- if you’re really feeling fun, festive accents!
Most of the bar starts clapping, and you can’t help but join in for whatever reason.
Vine leans over, rotating on her stool to face the stage.
Vine leans over, rotating on her stool to face the stage.
VINE: We can still talk during the show, as long as we keep it at a low volume.
VINE: Probably best to keep things light on the conversation topics, though.
VINE: Just dropped some heavy stuff on you, yknow?