INTESTINAL 5.06

Alright! Fresh chapter! I think I have another one in the barrel for later tonight, but we'll see. I'm in a bit of a hurry today!

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“Because to take away a man's freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice, is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person.”

― Madeline L'Engle 

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Michael isn’t the source of this. 

The way Dani described things to me is that when something happens that’s severe enough, it changes a person. That change becomes manifestations of its own, like my Glove and skills, like Dani’s own ability to seemingly create spells of some kind. By that logic, the ripple effects born from Michael’s presence should be coming from him, catalyzed by a single, startling event.

Either that description is wildly inaccurate, or, more likely, it’s only accurate to some manifestations. Leisha said that she and Dani went months without seeing things like they’ve been seeing now, seemed to think that I’d have a better grasp on meeting with certain things than they would, and I can’t even say they’re wrong. Maybe, in their experience, that’s always been how these things manifest.

All I know is that as I stare up at the puppet, its flawed features glaring and whorling and shifting without ever being anything more than static paint, I know that Michael is not its source of power. Not its origin, not its guide, not its hidden power-source. 

Things are happening to Michael, not because of him. He’s not the source of whatever Dani sensed to lead us here. 

The puppet is.

I stare up into a space that is behind the ceiling and above it, seeing for the first time the thing haunting this home and the man within it. I feel something warm, smelling of copper, rolling down from my nose, over my upper lip and down my chin. I can almost taste the way that my skill has grown, the weird shift in its form, the shape with which it has suddenly begun expanding deeper into my brain. Is it physical? Metaphysical? Just my brain translating an idea that doesn’t make sense? 

It doesn’t matter. The skill wriggles in my grey matter as it spreads its roots, and I bleed at the change, and I look up and I see the shape of the world through the eyes of another. 

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tIme To PlaY. 

tiME to plAY, PlAy, PLAy, plaY. Time TO gEt THE TOys oUT of THe BOx. The sUn IS up lIGht iS oN ANd IT’S ComIng throUgH thE wiNDOWs Of The hoUSe, the PrEtty PRETty hOuSE, WiTh EvERYThinG ALways In tHe RigHt plACES Yes yeS, juSt iN The RigHt PlacEs.

ShiFt The sTRiNgS And Tug THE wIreS, HeRE comes tHe DOLLY, aWAke AT lasT. 

TiMe For tHE DOlLY TO go TO ThE KItCHEN! walk WALK WAlk, shuffle ShuFFle sHUffLe.

oH! dOlly wANTs to gO TO tHE BatHROom! tHAt’S imPOrtANT. EvEry gOOD doLL Needs to do ALL tHE IMpOrtAnT ThInGS In a hoUse, Or ElSe you shOULDN’t hAVe All thOSe RooMS! AnD THOSE rOOmS ArE IMpoRtANt For ThE HoUse!

BatHrOom tImE! stEamy SHOwer aND lITtle PloPS AND litTLE TInkLes in tHe toileT, aND tHeN Wash YOUR haNdS! WAsh WaSh wAsH. Brush YouR tEeTH! no, wAit. THat’S FOR AfTER KiTCheN TImE, siLLy doLLY! bETTer to WaSH Your HANDS again, ThOuGh. have to Be clEan!

ok! kitCHEN tIme! BuT Have tO Be CarEFuL iN ThE KiTCHEn. DOlLs shOUldn’t pLay wiTh shaRp Sharp KnIvEs! anD dolLies alWays havE tO Be CAReful and mAke SuRE thAt THE Stove Isn’t Hot. PUt YOuR hAnd ovER the Stove, dOLly. It’s NIce and cOLd! bettEr TO tUrn It oN!

CliK-ClIk-cLiK GoEs tHE StOVe, AnD TheN fwoOsH! have tO WAIT FoR iT tO wARM Up! 

EGgs aND paN ANd NO shArP thINGs bUt OH FORKs Aren’t sharp ForKS ARe Ok fOR doLLS To pLAY WITh and IT’S impoRTAnT tO Use ThE tHiNGs in tHe houSE ThaT’s imPortAnt. pUT yOuR HANd oVer ThE sToVe TO SeE If Its hOt! OW! YeS, It’S VEry HoT. PeRFECt FOR egGS aNd PaN- GoOD joB dollY! iT’s ImpORTAnT TO cHEcK to maKe SUre it doESN’t Burn anYthiNG! 

yUmMy eGgS. ThEY LoOk tASTY. aLl brIghT YElLOw anD BRIGHT WHITE ANd SaLT and PePpER anD liTTLE GREen thInGies BEcauSE doLLs nEed TO Eat thEIr greeNs JUsT LikE EvERyOnE ElsE and IT’s iMpOrtaNT TO usE EveRythING in tHE hOusE SO THaT you KNOW How TO plAY wiTH ThE doll THe rIGHT waY. DOlLs NeeD to EAt aND Rest anD wASh THEIr haNds BecAUSE THeIr haND is HoT NOw There’S a LitTLE blisTeR, But THaT’S Ok, CausE a BLisTER’s NOT a buRN, and You HAVe To CHecK The SToVe sO YoU KNow if IT’s HOT. it’s IMportAnT.

plaYtIME iS fuLl OF VerY imporTAnT thinGs. ThAt’S hOw YOu KNOW iT’s playtIME. tHaT’s wHy pLaytiMe Is iMPOrTANt. 

THE doLly LOves tO Sit ON ThE CoucH AND wAtCH thE PrETtY LIGHTS! DOlLS likE pREttY LiGhtS, aND tHAt’s impORtAnt. SometIMes tHEy makE NoiSES, TOo, And tHaT’s NIce, That’s EAsIer to SeE tHAn tHE CoLoRs BecAusE tHe COlors Are iN fRONT OF Dolly aNd YoU’rE Up aBOve TheM, WHErE yOu sHoulD be, BEcauSe ThAT’s whErE YOu plaY wiTh DOLlY. tHE MoSt IMpORtAnt dolLy. tHE mosT imPoRtaNt ImpOrTAnT THiNG in aLL of PLAYtimE.

sOMEtiMES THerE’s otHEr DOlLS In thE HOUse toO. thaT’s gooD! HOuseS are For DoLls tO PLAy in. sOmetImEs THeY cOMe aND fIx ThinGs, BECausE tHEy’rE A HaNDyMan dOll! SoMeTiMes THeY cOME bY With FoODS aND gOODieS FOR THe Most iMpoRTANt dolLY, aNd tHEY SpEND tiMe MaKIng NoIsEs at Each oThER, aND ThaT’s NICE toO, bECausE HoUSes ARe For DOlLs TO PLaY In.

BuT sOMETimes tHe DoLLIES areN’t NIcE. SomETimES iT’s AN ACtIOn dolLY! THeY lIKe TO TRY AnD SNeaK iN or bE Mean Or MAke NOiSES thAT arEN’T So NiCE, And THAT’S AlWays ANnoYing. houseS arE fOR DoLLs TO pLAY IN, bUT NOT EVEry gaMe is gOOd fOR eveRY dOLLy. It’s IMPortaNT to mAkE SuRe That thE gaMes arE fUN aNd GAMeS tHAt bReAk ThE mOsT imporTAnT dOlL ArEN’T FUn gAMeS aT all, EvEn IF ThE oTHER dOllIEs wANT To PlAy THEm. theN, tHe DolLies neEd tO bE scARED Away, Or THEY hAVE TO sTOP MOvinG. 

THE lAsT ONE is EaSier tHoUgh. The MOst imPortaNt DOlLY doeSn’t liKE It, BUT ThAT’s uNDERsTANDABLE- iT’s ScarY TO thiNK ABOUt How EasY it Is To LosE All YOUR strINGS! SOmETIMES tHIngS falL dOWN wHen ThEy get playED wiTH tOo HArd, oR whEN THe MOST IMpoRtANt dOLlY MovEs Just rIght AND HItS THeM With A biG knOCkOut, JUST LiKE a bOxeR DolL, and TheN thErE’s a nEw GAmE tO PLAy! it’s LIKe hIDe ANd sEeK, BUt thE MOsT IMPoRTANT DOllY HAs tO HIDe tHE oNE tHaT fElL oveR, AnD tHE oTHEr doLlIes haVE To Try aNd FiNd iT! BUT ThEy’rE just dollS, so TheY’Re noT vERy GooD at it. SoMetiMes They dRIve By In ThE TOY cArS WiTh All of tHe LIGHts, BuT theY nEVeR stOP ANd ask ANYThiNG!

wEll. exCePt fOR tHaT OnE dOlL. THe ONE WiTh Too mANy STrINGs. 

tHAT doll LOoKed up. THAT dOll looKEd Up tO where THe stRIngs Go And It smiled, and IT wANTEd To play A NEW gamE. A GaME wiTh the MOst ImPoRtanT dollY.

THAT’S oK. hoUses aRE FoR doLLS TO pLAy In. 

aNd ALso, ThAt dollY WENT AwAy ON its oWN! it ONly WaNTEd tO PLay OnE gamE, AnD ThAT’s PRETtY BORING toO, even If it iS a VerY NIcE dolLY tHAt is PLaYinG iT. It leFT somE BiTs beHiND, BUt THaT’s AlSO nOrmaL- It MusT Be HARD To wAlK ArOUnd wIth sO manY difFEreNt eyEs, SO It oNly maKEs SenSE tHat THey Can pOp ofF To BE Toys inSTeAd!

lESS DOlLiEs COmE bY NOW, THOUgH. it’S MoSTly JusT The MOSt imPORtANT dOLLy. THAt’S Ok! it’S ThE MosT iMPOrtAnT one, aNd It’s in A HouSE, onE MadE juST for thE dOlLs tO pLAY in. IT WaS a VERy Fun gAME, dOing CleAn-UP, aNd then After cLEAN Up WaS THE ORgAniZiNg CHALlENGE, wherE EVEryThINg HAd to Go In juST tHE riGHt PlAces. it’s a liTTle sad, tHoUgh- thosE aRe bOth gAmeS ThAt YOu caN only PLaY A LitTle, And AftEr, The OTHER GaMEs ArE mORE iMpoRtAnt. SO MAnY THInGS tO DO!

tHEN the NOISy ThiNgS camE. 

tHE DOllY cOUlDN’t HEAR thEM, bECAUSE ThEy’re not NoiSY fOR DOllIES, JuSt fOR OTHer tHINGs. WhiSpEr-cRawlInG HuNGRY-CrAWLiNG AND ThEY DIdn’t LIkE tHe toyS tHAT ThE eYE-doLl LEFt BEhiNd bUt ALso THeY FOunD thE ToyS so fast, lIKE THEY WeRE Loud toO, aND tHEn ThEY cAME insidE. SkItter-PAtTEr on ThE WaLlS, SKitTeR-PAtteR in the halls, SkiTtER-pAtTER unDEr FloORs anD skiTTER-PAtteR behInd DoOrs. the MoST IMportAnT DoLLy dIdN’t notiCE, BEcausE iT’S JUST a dOLL, bUt NOISY ThInGs HAVE TheIr PlAces ANd ThOse pLacES aRE NoT iNsiDE OF hOUsEs, not insidE OF hOUses THat ARE FoR DoLLS tO PLaY iN. thEY hAD to Go AWAY.

sNiP, snip, SnIP.

NO moRE STrINGS for ThE NOISy ThInGS. NoW thEY’rE noT NOISY aNymorE. 

AND THEn CaMe THe biG QUiEt THiNG! THump thUmp ThUmp. lIke A gORilLa IN A zoo! IT wOULD be nIcE TO taKE a DOllY tO thE zoo, buT nOT THE most imPOrtANT DolLy- The zOO Is NOt A plAce FOR THe most impoRtAnt dOlly, nOt WiTH Its HungRY tHiNgS AnD its STrAnGeRS And ITS dANgeRS. Too MAny pLaCeS, too mAnY STRiNGS, ToO MaNY THiNgs tO WaTCH aNd TakE CaRe of- thaT’S too tiriNG FOR pLaYTiMe, And dOllieS arE foR pLAYtiMe.

thE Big THinG WAS sO QuIEt! iT woULD POp UP IN THE daRk PLAcEs and tHEn gO AwaY aGaiN aNd tHEN poP Back In And it Was so cOol. bIG aND cHuNky anD peRfEcT fOR otHer KInDs OF gAmes, thE KindS oF gAmes thaT dOLLS ArEN’t mADe for Because they BREAk And bECAuse THeY DoN’T lIKe some gAmEs, aNd thAt’s Ok BeCAuSe thEY’rE dolLS. bUt tHe Big aNd qUIEt tHiNg sTArtEd ITcHing AT all THe stRINgS, AND thE STRINGs didN’T fIt riGhT, anD THEn IT weNt AwAY. 

wAke Up. bAthrOOm time! kITCHEn TiMe. TiME fOR ThE COloRFUl LigHTS. SomeTIMeS it’S tIMe fOr bOTTLEs, bUt ThE MOST ImPortAnt Doll can ONLY haVE a FEw, Or eLse it’LL Get Sick. CHECk the StoVe! BANDAGes arE IMpOrTAnt. ColoRFuL lIGHTs. BEDTIMe!

iT’S A fuN GaME. it’S tHe bESt GamE. IT’s the gAme tHat IS. 

HoUSes are MAdE FOR DolLs TO PLay in. KeEP The DOLL in the hOUse. play WIth tHE DOll. ALL VERy iMPortAnt tHINGs. 

waKE uP. BAthrOOM tIME! botTLEs. COlOrFUl ligHtS! KITchEn TiMe. cHeCk thE stoVe! bANdages aRe iMporTaNT. SHARp kNiVes Are BaD foR DoLlS aND foR sTrInGS. COlorfuL LigHts. BEdTIME!

BEDTimE is ImpoRTaNt. TUrN OF all tHe LightS, eSPECIALLy the CoLOrFUl ONEs, aND tHEN walk All tHE WaY To Bed. THat’S THe iMpoRTANT pARt. dolLs neEd SLeEp, AnD The MOst ImportANT DOLL neeDS tHE mOSt IMpOrTant rESt. tuMmY full AND BAtHrOom dOne AnD colorfUl lIGHtS doNE ANd BOTTlEs DonE aNd nOW The SUn IS down The LiGhT iS oFF sO alL ThE liGhTS Have TO Be OFF sO that THE dOLl caN plAy beDtimE AnD tHat’s tHe RULE.

anD OveR and over AnD OVEr. somEtIMe’s IT’S paCKaGe TiMe, A fuN gAmE WHERe moRE fooD SHows uP ANd it’s tImE to oRgANIze! soMeTiMEs IT’s pAckAGE tIMe And it’S A fUN GAme WhEre NEw tHiNGs SHoW Up, LIkE THE ShiNY NEw tOY For tHe doLl, LiKe neW BOTTLes, lIKE bAtHRoom sTUff And lIKE the BIg HEavy sHIny tHING THat sEEms ImPORTaNT AnD iS ImpORtAnT iT’S Such an imPORtANT DANGEr tOY foR The MosT imPORtaNt DoLL. It’S iMpORtaNT to plaY wiTH thE moST impORTaNt dOll.

AND nOw TheRe’s A New DOll! iT CAmE aFTEr lIgHts-Out TIME, aFTeR COloRful LIghTs aNd BOttle AND ALl tHE other pLAytImE aCtIVItIES, AnD IT cAmE In, AND IT maDE NOISES. The moSt ImPorTANT dOll was so gOoD ANd PolITE AnD WaS a gOoD hOst in tHE PlaYHoUSe even though IT is AFTeR beDTIME and aftER coloRFuL LIghTS Time, AND ThE NoISES SometImeS ArE iMpoRTaNt FOr ThE mOsT importANT dOLl. AND thE nEw dOLL IS sO pRetTy! SO shiny AnD Wet ANd FulL oF SQUISHy BITS. soMe Of iTs StriNgs go AaAAaaall tHE WaY Up, anD It’S GOT So Many maNY thaT It’S aLMOST HARd To seE tHEM All! a BiG ANd shIny NEw DOLl tHAt wOULd be sO fuN tO Play wItH, BUt wHich ISN’T The most iMPoRtAnt DolL, anD-

OH.

The NEW aNd SHiNY and weT AnD puLSIng and bLeEDiNg ANd LOOKING dOlL Is LoOking up. iT’s Funny, THougH- alL Its StrINGs MOveD, And alL THe oTheR sTRiNGs mOVeD, AnD now TherE’s ONly oNE set Of StrIngs AnD wIRES AND Cords, tHe OneS For THE MOsT IMPoRTAnT doLL, THe OnE THAT YOU’Re-

DON’T LOOK AT THE MAN BEHIND-

DON’T LOOK AT THE FLESH BEHIND-

DON’T LOOK AT THE PUPPET BEHIND THE CURTAIN

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I fall back on my ass, tasting so much blood. It’s dripping down my chin and I think it’s staining one of the sweaters under some of the jackets I’m wearing, and it hurts, it hurts in the back of my head and in my nose and it’s just gushing, and-

“Fuck, what the hell?”

Michael has blinked out of his borderline fugue state, his eyes widening behind the tears as he sees me sitting there, my back against the shitty little coffee table in the middle of the room. I feel my normal hand go up to my face, pinch the bridge of my nose as I lean back, trying to stifle the flow-

I snort blood down into my throat and end up coughing, red spittle coming up. 

“Fuck! Are you-”

“I’m fine! It’s a fucking nosebleed, I’m- apparently it’s better out than in. I thought you’re supposed to tilt your head back-”

“Not when there’s that much blood, man. Wait here, I’ll go grab a towel or something.”

He gets up, and, surprisingly, the wires growing out of him don’t restrict his movement. Seeming not to even notice the difference, he makes his way over to the kitchen, cutting through some of the new-old dust that coats the place in almost every direction save for the pathways that I assume the puppeteer has been moving him through.

And it has been moving him. I don’t know how much he’s noticed, or how much of what I saw makes sense, but… it reminds me of my time in the fungal dungeon. How my perspective expanded into something else, how my sense of self got pulled up into a cloud and then half-absorbed. Except this time, it was… intentional? 

I look at my sheet, and sure enough-

SKILLS:

·        GLIMPSE BEYOND ⦽⦽⦽

A third symbol stands out on the side of the skill’s name. The skill has grown indeed. But this didn’t feel like before, not really. What felt before like a direct upgrade, now, felt more like something new, a side-grade or divergent evolution. The first two just increased the skill’s effect, pushing it from vague instincts and a resistance to illusions into actual hallucinations, followed by full-on in-depth analysis of whatever I focused on hard enough. This time, it felt like I glimpsed beyond… me. Like I slipped out and turned to look out from the eyes of the thing above.

The thing that’s still there now.

I don’t need to focus on it to feel it. Its gaze is focused on the kitchen, where I hear Michael rummaging around, but it’s still very much present in the entire space. That vision… it’s the way that the Puppeteer sees the world. A dollhouse for its most favorite doll. It didn’t feel aware of itself, not until that last moment where I looked at it and it-

Shit. There were other things in the house too. A doll of many eyes, skittering things in the walls, and the big and quiet thing that likes shadows. One of these is not like the others. 

I think I’ve met the big guy. I’m pretty damn sure it’s the same thing that killed me. I’m also absolutely sure that I’ve dreamt of rats in the walls at least once recently, a weird and waking nightmare scenario after I pushed myself too hard in MEAT. Now there’s a new player.

And I can’t help but connect the toys it “left behind” with the wound I saw on the back of Michael’s head when it was reflected on the window. 

The wound almost identical to the one on Jay’s head.

Shit.

There’s someone else out there with powers.

Someone is spreading the eyes.