Heartfelt body horror With A Doll That Loves You knife there's a knife hey Don't Toy With Me

Don't Toy With Me is a horror game where you get a new toy and you quickly find out toys don't get along too well. Video has all endings.
Game Info: karmic-punishment.itch.io/don...
"Senpai"
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#donttoywithme

[@ManlyBadassHero]

Welcome to the You're My Favorite Deputy Club, how You're My Favorite Deputy are you?

[@Voidalot]

*You've got A Friend In Me Manly Kun.*

[@rakiahbaker5589]

Oooh! Yandere doll? With a knife? Reminds me of Benny. 🔪♥️💔❣

[@adriannavarrete9332]

I sing, a Crack jokes, make stories about you calm almost witcher methods, and poems

[@walterbrink5391]

Day 38 of asking Manly to play A Cold Love Story through KZbin comments

[@luckyswordsmen991]

I am deputy donut with my pall sheriff Starbucks

[@bandgeekforlife406]

Huxley definitely has PTSD from a previous owner, given how he covers his head and seems scared when the dollmaker directly interacts with them. It's like he associates human hands with bad experiences.

[@kailevil3444]

Some say that it could be because he seems like a hand puppet.

[@siegwardinspirit]

@@kailevil3444 oh no

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@siegwardinspirit UwU

[@elvis5384]

I think he's been in the *jar*

[@runedoom]

@@elvis5384 oh, is that why Dahlia is jealous

[@vincentthe1st]

Damn the doll maker just let Huxley die because he didn't wanna get pricked by a comically small knife

[@felixe2007]

Yeah seriously, that actually broke my heart a little. The owner just sat there and watched him get stabbed to death because they didn't want to get cut by the tip of an x-acto knife. Dahlia probably could have done some damage, but no way she was gonna kill them with that. And now poor Huxley had to die as punishment for earning the "favor" of someone who clearly didn't actually give a shit about him at all. Makes me sad thinking about how sentimental he got when the owner gave him gifts and acted like they cared about him, only for the last thing he saw to be their hand pulling away and leaving him at Dahlia's mercy. Poor guy.

[@Inksanity]

@@felixe2007 Even if they were worried about being injured, the owner could've easily pushed Dahlia away from Huxley with a pencil to give them a chance to take him and Wisker out of harm's way

[@propyro85]

That kitchen knife was the size of an X-acto knife blade (I'm going to assume a No.11), and that's more than enough to do serious permanent damage to your hands very quickly. And just knocking Dhalia off him is risky too, since she's porcelain and already damaged ... so you're sort of in a loose loose scenario. Though I have to agree, the owner is pretty crappy to his sentient toys.

[@stacyimagination3936]

@@Inksanity from the perception, the toys are pretty small that mean the knife are twice smaller so it wouldn't be hurt so much

[@Inksanity]

@@propyro85 There are multiple ways to have saved Huxley using household items Multiple flat objects could be used to create a barrier between them, a pencil could be used as a way to hold/push Dahlia back (or push Huxley far enough away to safely grab him), a magnet to hold the knife away, effectively restraining her (at her size, a decent magnet could possibly rival her strength) Or just letting Dahlia crack by forcefully pushing her back, her own weight wouldn't be enough to seriously damage her as shown in her own route, and having to fix damage to her body is better than losing lives

[@MakDemonik]

Dhalia: literally owns the entire house, the only one with a bedroom, makes the limbless puppet sleep in the attic above hundreds of stairs... Huxley: gets one single puzzle to call his own Dhalia: "THATS AWFULLY MEAN, HOW COULD YOU!?"

[@-kxtvxbez-]

LITERALLY 💀

[@starringintheskies]

And then people defend her because she was 'raised that way' This game is basically a metaphor to how some relationships are, so I 100% do not trust anyone that defends her. Because you were raised a certain way doesn't give you the right to be rude to someone and belittle them whenever you can. I don't care if it's all you've ever known, if it is then at least TRY working on it and acknowledge it. Huxley literally explains her actions and they try defending her Not only that but she murdered him out of JEALOUSY, while he murdered her because she was emotionally and psychologically abusing him. They both are in the wrong, they're basically metaphors, Dahlia was ruthless because of JEALOUSY in Huxley's route, and in her route she gaslit him and told him to stay in a box and sleep in it, basically became an (abuser) herself. Huxley is the victim because he was the one being gaslit and tried defending himself, apologized plenty of times but she only cared about HER feelings in Huxley's route (while the gaslighting was in her route). Not only that, he followed her orders because he didn't want to suffer the consequences and the only thing he had for transport got taken away from him. He killed her, which makes him a murderer, THAT'S what makes him in the wrong.

[@AnglosArentHuman]

@@starringintheskies Small problem with this logic is that when you're raised by shit people, you eventually become an adult and get to make your own choices and fix yourself as best as you can. Dahlia doesn't get this privilege. She's a doll stuck with a clearly sadistic owner for at least three decades. The power dynamic is so ridiculously tilted towards the player (having what is essentially God-like powers compared to the toys) that I don't think that IRL relations of any kind are a fair comparison. But hey, knowing the internet, cue someone saying being a past victim of abuse makes me an enabler.

[@edgartheslayer3]

it's a matter of perspective. It's just that at the heat of the moment she feels neglected and doesn't realize this, as it's not emphasized in the moment. She feels like it's a sign that she's becoming less relevant and more alone.

[@Skellyender]

@@starringintheskies I honestly think the excuse of her being raised that way is valid. The game purposely shows that the owner is an awful person, hating the character that isn’t the favorite. The owner could’ve easily made all parties happy, but rather antagonized the non favorite.

[@ieatfairies]

Manly’s voice is literally perfect for Huxley, it has a bored emotionless tone yet still you can tell what the puppet is feeling. It also matches his personality extremely well.

[@C.G.Souza_]

Agreed :D.

[@accident8357]

So true, I was literally going to write the same comment before seeing this one. Glad to know I'm not the only one thinking this!

[@snackbasket1214]

I can't not imagine Huxley having any other voices other than Manly's.

[@user-ej4eq5im4r]

So Manly is a clown?Depressed and done clown?

[@christopherrichard1531]

It's also empty, like my soul.

[@raec.9308]

Owner: I can't stand when Dahlia acts out or becomes dramatic for my attention. I know I punish my toys with solitude whenever they act against my wishes but I wonder why she's like this? My brother in Christ, you made her this way

[@mitsubachihachi9643]

The Owner's lack of self awareness is very telling.:/

[@spacemarine6212]

@@mitsubachihachi9643 So this was a super long Sims game, but far more depressing.

[@b-chroniumproductions3177]

@@spacemarine6212 The Sims (in all it's removing-the-ladder-from-the-pool, summoning-the-grim-reaper glory) but the Sims themselves are actually sentient

[@RanMouri82]

Amen! 😅

[@hustle_rose]

the owner is basically a neglectful parent lmao

[@Halucygeno]

The owner is definitely some kind of sadist. No matter which gift you choose for Huxley, they place it in the entrance, where it's likely to be seen by Dahlia, even when it's the bed, something that would make much more sense to immediately place in the attic. It's clear that even though their narration tries to make them sound reasonable, they're contriving the situations to create conflict and drama. There are ways to make Huxley feel welcomed without handing him gifts so extravagant they make Dahlia feel insecure. And this isn't just a case of "boredom makes you kill your Sims" - the toys are clearly sentient and operating with human-level intelligence, to the point that they're aware of their existential predicament. Hurting them, in my eyes, is akin to hurting a real person, which is why I consider it sadistic.

[@ZorotheGallade]

It's especially horrific because they can't even do anything. Escape? They would fall apart eventually, either from their material degrading or being broken by a stray animal. Fight? Unless they get a very lucky shot to a vital area, extremely unlikely. Bargain? The owner will write it off as attempted manipulation. In all endings, Dahlia attempts to kill herself and Huxley stoically waits for the owner to destroy him because that is the best thing they can hope for.

[@creepypato3984]

@@ZorotheGallade I think the problem is rather any and all of these situations could've been defused by anyone there, be it the clown or the owner

[@Kristofer382]

The owner is also very narrow minded, hyperfixating on one toy and completely disregarding the other's feelings. While Dahlia is very selfish, she was the main toy for so long, so it makes sense for her to feel a close atatchment to the owner. In either choice he punishes both toys without even a thought about how it might affect them. TL;DR: Owner can't put himself in the toy's shoes.

[@rodrigolopez6054]

a bed isnt extravagant, more like a necessity considering the remarks about huxley current bed, and what was the owner supposed to do? hand over the gifts in secrecy to not upset dahlia? that only enables her conduct, she needed to accept the fact that the owner giving attention to other toys doesnt mean he no longers cares about her.

[@rodrigolopez6054]

@@creepypato3984 defused how? dahlia was clearly looking for conflict, what was huxley supposed to do? bend over to each and all of her wishes? return to his box to not upset her by existing?

[@techsupport01134]

Huxley crying over the cane made me feel worse than it should have.

[@404_coffee9]

oof

[@SquirreI_Brain]

It makes me feel even sadder because I think it’s the first gift were true effort and care was put into it like the first handmaid thing met for exclusively him and seeing it shattered by someone else who has everything he didn’t and who doesn’t have to fear their owner, unlike him who probably had to and has probably been through a lot of crap in his life.

[@techsupport01134]

@@SquirreI_Brain Honestly, I think Huxley is a victim of some kind of abuse. He doesn't mind other toys, but he is terrified of the human, even just knowing the human is there makes him nervous. I don't doubt he suffered some physical abuse becaue of his lack of legs and fear of being touched. He made a 'jacking' joke, which none of the other toys understood, so you could argue there is a darker form of abuse in Huxley's past. Sadly, the game doesn't go into Huxley's backstory. I wish there was another game that took place in the past.

[@SquirreI_Brain]

@@techsupport01134 yeah all the signs are there of PTSD. I’m not a professional, but there are a lot of signs. I’m just hoping the one ending where they let him live that maybe it got slightly better as in the toy maker person sold him to someone who actually treated him like a human being or something like that because I don’t wanna live with sad, implications because those make me sad.

[@Soroboruo]

WAIT I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING. Wisker has a giant vertical seam down the top of his head... I thought it was just part of him, but that's a really weird place for a stuffed animal pattern to have a seam, right? But then look at what Dahlia does to Huxley.... and Wisker is missing an eye, and the game starts with her threatening/offering to cut him a mouth... damn, girl, you really leave no one unscathed.

[@22dolls19]

The way Dahlia acts, and also the description of the persons in the diary plus the bowtie in the attic.. I think it's a bit played upon that the one fuzzy man (which name I forgot) was some sort of magician, and Whisker was his pet. Of course we can imagine what happened..

[@theGhostWolfe]

Plush animal heads can be made in two ways: using four or three pieces. The most recent teddy bear I made is a four-piece head which has a seam that runs down the centre of the face. The three-piece style has two seams that make a V at the nose with two seams going over the head and down the back. I think Dahlia is responsible for the missing eye, but it’s not strange for wisker to have a seam there (see also Stitches in Animal Crossing).

[@mitsubachihachi9643]

That explains why Wiskers is so scared of Dahlia too. Even if it's normal to have a seam there like theghostWolfe said, the missing eye implies Dahlia did it.

[@verybarebones]

Well, its a normal place for a seam if it has a snout.

[@pinkpugginz]

wiskers mouth was sewn shut too

[@elementallobsterx]

I never realized how terrifying Toy Story would be if Andy silently watched and punished his toys for their arguments. An inescapable, slow burn type of horror.

[@KayMayhem777]

If you don't like THAT then you may as well head for the ocean and start swimming to nowhere... That's EXACTLY how real life can go here on Earth.

[@tallic967]

@@KayMayhem777 what house do you live in where your every move is observed and punished?

[@vinnyart92]

@@tallic967 an abusive one, it seems :/

[@samuellinn]

@@KayMayhem777 Bro your parents aren't normal you should swim to the ocean

[@KAngel32]

@@KayMayhem777 ok nihilist

[@irmakdurak5548]

"Maybe the owner will give me a miniature violin to play for you next. " _Huxley 2022_

[@silvercandra4275]

That was an S-Tier roast.

[@nuibaba280]

based huxley

[@youdonotcare]

Let me play you a sad song on the world’s smallest violin

[@zombiezapple]

he had NO reason to be so funny lmao

[@dirtpeanut1820]

@@youdonotcare "This is serious!"

[@tsurifisher]

I really love Huxley. Despite being a clown, he's ironically the voice of reason in the dollhouse. Dahlia puts all of her worth into pleasing the owner, who is actually just a sadistic weirdo with a God complex who uses these sentient beings for their own amusement. As a result, Dahlia becomes entitled and jealous and only cares about being the favorite. Huxley tries to tell her that there's more to life than winning others' approval, and to live by her own purpose. Also I just love the sad emo lads

[@Bridgahid]

I like Huxley and Wisker. I love how Huxley typically just sulks, hides in the dark, and feels lonely (only because I actually typically PREFER solitude and darkness). It reminds me of myself. I also like how Wisker actually helped Huxley down the stairs when Dahlia wasn't looking. BUUUUUUT, when Dahlia pulled out the knife, Wisker just went running rather than at least, like, knocking the knife out of her hand. Wisker was just like "Hell, no! Imma get outta here. Save yourself, Huxley!"

[@minty111]

@@Bridgahid I think Whisker runs because it's implied that Dahlia has cut Whisker before (the weird vertical seam)

[@RanMouri82]

Huxley being the voice of reason seems to be his downfall, because he's a logical creature in an absurd world.

[@Dove9-u-]

I’m not sure if whisker could have helped Him whisker is smaller then her and made of fabric and stuffing and (as pointed out in another reply) has probably been hurt by the doll but, I do wish he could have helped

[@TransformingWing57]

Wow looks like Huxley finally told a joke that Dahlia understood. Cause he had her cracking up at the end!

[@sheiyanejooste7697]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@birdthatdontlie7441]

OH WAIT- that took me a sec to figure out lol

[@doodlebug47]

"Nooooo you can't just smash my porclain doll's head!" "Haha chess peice go brrrrr"

[@IHaveBeenDoingTaxFraud]

@@doodlebug47 😂that has the same energy as me smashing a roblox characters head into pieces and turning their other body parts into a smoothie

[@shanikamensah7288]

This one right here officer

[@ShinigamiSamaH]

Yeah, the game isn't hiding the fact the player (human owner) is playing god. They are pretty open about being in control and getting the toys to behaves. Even in Dahlia route where they claim that she have sentimental value to them, the only reaction they got from her getting broken is being taken aback, and essentially shrugged off with an "Oh well, there goes all my hard work..." They were more upset at the fact that the toy disobeyed them rather than the murder. The toys were never anything more than an amusement to them, like interacting with a fish in it bowl. You are literally just playing house.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Ikr? I hate the owner on this game, and it seems like i'm not alone in that feeling.

[@rubyred6687]

True. The owner bears a lot of similarities to a narcissist (with them playing god and treating others as their playthings).

[@Willowisp927]

@@rubyred6687 Ironically, most children are also 'narcissists' and careless too when they play with their toys. Breaking them up, throwing them out when they can't be used anymore. Abandoning them into the attic/basement when they get bored of using them as their 'playthings' for their own amusement. There is actually a hidden message in that game and anyone who denies this behavior is a complete hypocrite.

[@chasecollins3263]

Your option choices literally have spiders on them, which would imply you're the one pulling the strings.

[@ShaddySoldier]

Lol or instead of like fosh in a bowl, they're like, ya know, dolls in a doll house.

[@taylorwright7428]

Aw, I feel like both toys deserved better. Huxley gets most of my sympathy, but also, Dahlia seems very dependant on the owner, to a point where it's sad.

[@DeadHardTV]

The owner is really evil here(

[@samdal420]

Yea ;-;

[@erihtea0719]

Exactly. Dahlia was poorly raised by her owner and maintained the mindset of a spoiled child. It doesn’t excuse her actions but at least we acknowledge the reasons behind them.

[@mitsubachihachi9643]

Dahlia, though I like her, is pretty terrible on her own, but Huxley was right when he said the owner spoils Dahlia too much and she's been practically conditioned to be dependent and jealous when it comes to them. It doesn't excuse her actions but I understand why she's this way.

[@taylorwright7428]

@@mitsubachihachi9643 Yeah, I think she's past the point of changing now, but the fact she was basically conditioned to be like this leaves a bad feeling in my stomach. No matter how much she wants a friend, she couldn't possibly have a friend she could truly connect with, unless they were constantly able to just put up with her walking all over them. Even then, any possible favoritism would draw her jealousy. It's very self-destructive, and serves no one but the owner, which feels very slimy to me.

[@afieldofroses]

Why has like, nobody mentioned Whiskers? The notes in Dahlia's diary imply he had a stuffed bear friend, who was likely killed or taken away. Whiskers is visibly scared of Dahlia, tensing up when she's upset and being the first to run out of a room when an argument breaks out, implying Dahlia has done something that scared him. (Maybe she killed the teddy bear or the dollmaker kills him cause' Dahlia got upset). The game starts up with her casually remarking to cut his mouth open, Whisker has a missing eye and a very oddly placed stitch line on his head. I feel bad for the other toys but somehow I feel the worst for the one who barely got touched upon.

[@BugBoss1205]

Yeah any sympathy I had for her instantly vanished after it was shown how she mistreated Wisker. especially since she considered him to be a pet.

[@lucas23453]

I feel like if Wisker witnessed the death of his friend, that would make sense if it was her that did the murder, and it would explain why she tears the pages from her diary, she can't bear to think of anyone in a positive light after she has dealt with them. If the Owner tore wisker's friend in half, Wisker might have a similar reaction that Huxley has.

[@A-Dino-Named-Mennany]

@@lucas23453 I think Wisker does cover his head when the owner puts their hand in the doll house, at least when the owner grabbed Dahlia to lock her in her room. Also the owner tore out the pages in Dahlia's diary, not her.

[@milowolfface9392]

Manly does talk about it.

[@ZephanyZephZeph]

I cried when I saw Dahlia shattered, and it tore my heart out when Huxley's spring was taken. The pages are missing because the creator took them out. It is clear the only reason nothing ends well is because the dollmaker never realizes the responsibility of a god, as a guardian, or a parent. Dahlia is left starving for affection and attention and the maker does nothing but attempt to replace himself with someone else. The situation wasn't irredeemable, but the one in power sure was.

[@overlord5032]

moral of the story: do not play god unless you are god

[@ZephanyZephZeph]

@@overlord5032 Well you don't need to be god to create life, you just need to be a parent, but the dollmaker neglected Dahlia so much it created her abusive tendencies, and enabled her as a form of "love"

[@Flammifleure]

Technically I don't think the owner is irredeemable either. They do care about the toys. But the problem -- well, the big problem -- is their desire to control the toys. Theoretically they could realise that's the issue and let go of that desire.

[@ZephanyZephZeph]

@@Flammifleure The question is if the care is conditional to having control over them. The doll maker doesn't seem to be the one to learn either, repeating the story where Dahlia kills another due to insecurity and then removing her bailout to remember.

[@Flammifleure]

@@ZephanyZephZeph Oh, I agree. I'm sure the owner's care is more-or-less contingent on the toys' obedience.

[@aghostbat]

Huxley is genuinely the best character that can talk in this game. Like, in both endings he tries his hardest to get along, and literally only killed Dahlia after she had the creator effectively just rip his legs off. Dahlia is actively an antagonist in his route, literally just breaking the first thing he ever had made for him just because it wasn't hers.

[@rowzee_sidon7813]

I 100% agree. Exactly why I would've chose Huxley over Dahlia any day. And just cause I like him. But then again, Dahlia was sort of "raised" like that. Spoilt. Cause with the owner ripping pages from her diary so she didn't try to remember things (at least it's assumed it was the owner). So she can't TOTALLY be blamed But my dislike for her is still immense 🙃

[@aghostbat]

@@rowzee_sidon7813 Honestly, Dahlia dying ending is the best ending. Both Huxley and Wisker are still alive, and Dahlia finally has her suffering ended. Imo Dahlia is unfixable as a character, so her dying is the only outcome that makes any sense other than everyone else dying.

[@Hauntaku]

Wow, a lot of people don't understand Dahlia. Rewatch the video from the start and see how Hexley introduces himself to her. They do NOT get along at all. It's not because of Dahlia, Hexley is just emo.

[@aghostbat]

@@Hauntaku Ah yes, not getting along with somebody is an excuse to literally cut their face in half for them receiving a present, or for you to order somebody to rip off their legs. Even if they don't get along, Dahlia is a terrible "person" lmao

[@shenronsuper]

@@aghostbat fr

[@dondon8025]

tbh, Dhalia reminds me of Early Storyboard Woody, who had a much more toxic obsession w/ being Andy's favorite and letting that power go to his head. It's interesting to see how the Toy Owner has unhealthy ideas on how relationship dynamics should be in the Dhalia favorite route, leading to Dhalia developing her current entitled attitude. I wonder how she would be if she had a different owner. There's a lot of interesting dynamics within these relationships, and I can see some of my past flaws in both Huxley and Dhalia's communication.

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

bruh the clown is clearly rude as hell and even smashed her face in, what part of that makes dhalia the toxic one here

[@ntkn]

From what i gather everything, including the house belongs to dhalia. She was perhaps the original toy made by the dollmaker and whisker was the first friend, as in the second toy made to keep her company. So really the dynamic makes sense in the dhalia route because of this snd all other toys are just guests. The issue is that they are all sentient and have no other lives or purpose beyond that house. Its made worse by the fact that other dolls only exist there to make dhalia happy but not necessarily themselves. Since they are sentient with no other purpose its natural they will get mad and jealous of having to basically live only to make one person happy and never themselves. Dhalia is too spoiled and naive to understand this however since the owner always makes her happy. This would also explain why whiskers dislikes dhalia. As the 2nd toy he was with dhalia the longest and is basically sick of her. Because she is happy but he only exist as a pet to her. But again dhali has no idea because he can't talk.

[@seancrosby6837]

Woody was obsessed with being Woody's favorite? lmao

[@EinsamPibroch278]

@@seancrosby6837 Andy he means.

[@dondon8025]

@@seancrosby6837 my mistake. fixed it.

[@cheezit1x1]

I like the never ending parallel for if you leave Huxley alive. He will slowly turn into how Dahlia is. It is foreshadowed in Dahlia's journal about how when she first came to the dollhouse another doll got jealous of her and damaged her face. Dahlia got them back most likely by killing them. Just like how Huxley got back at Dahlia by doing the same thing. And in the 'keep Huxley' ending even the doll maker comments on how easy it is to get the dolls to start relying on them.

[@sanamori]

I love Huxley and his overall designs, I was never very fond of clowns but I found him oddly cute with his sprites and the pretty illustrations of him the creator did especially 55:23

[@addyxinwonderland1473]

Amen

[@ASTAROTH_L4M]

I love his sprites most, really captures his mood too

[@lenlenthezeldafan]

He looks like he needs a hug.

[@akun50]

Saddest part is that there could easily be a balanced ending. The owner could've avoided the entire scenario (at least in Huxley's route) by giving Huxley, Wisker AND Dhalia each new items instead of focusing entirely on Huxley or Dahlia.

[@Lulu-qp6oh]

Technically that only would've solved so much. Daliah Is beyond saving and mentally messed up due to her circumstances over what seems to be a decade. The mc loves to play god with the way he seemingly controls everything down to her diary , but is an unfair and lazy "god." They were set up for failure from the beginning. The problem isn't the toys but their "god" and his laziness to fully play his part.

[@TheSolBlader]

Bru Huxley got literally one gift and she was already losing it. She was heading the way she did no matter what

[@nuibaba280]

@@TheSolBlader correct

[@hypyu1458]

Or yknow, they can clearly read books and stuff so wouldn't it be an idea to maybe send down a small letter or something to explain exactly what the owner is thinking?

[@papapalps2415]

@@hypyu1458 Oh, oh! Or perhaps even better, if we are just spitballing ideas, how about this amazing idea? Why doesn't he put on his big boy pants, and just use his God damn words to simply TALK to them?

[@moosenman]

Dahlia is somewhat of a tragedy. She’s very clearly been conditioned to depend on the owner, and her self worth is solely dependent on them. But she also reminds me deeply of a needy jealous ex, especially at Huxley. He really didn’t do anything in either routes. Edit: OKAY LET ME MAKE THIS VERY CLEAR. HUXLEY IS AT FAULT FOR STEALING HER DIARY. THAT WASNT A GOOD THING. I UNDERSTAND THAT. I DONT LIKE HIM FOR DOING THAT. IM JUST TRYING TO POINT OUT THAT DAHLIA JUST DOES TOO MUCH FOR ME TO LIKE HER. I UNDERSTAND HER. I DONT LIKE HER.

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

did you actually watch the video where he smashes her head in?

[@ntkn]

it certainly seems that way but pages were ripped out of her diary so its impossible to say. All i see in both routes of this game tho is the clown constantly escalating things, and i get it, he is a depressed clown that gave up on life. But still he was the main problem. If you think about it he killed dahlia simply for being spoiled. But at the end of the day it was the dollmaker who enabled her. Its possible she killed other toys, but it wouldn't make sense for her to burn down the house with Huxley and not with the other toys. She did mention she liked huxley alot but he still never cared. She probably felt cornered as everyone, even the owner, was turning on her despite her spoiled but seemingly good intentions. This is why i say its mostly the clowns fault in both routes followed by the owner not actually trying to communicate with his obviously sentient dolls.

[@snowzep667]

The real one behind the tragedy is owner, he choses between сonsicuensuous creatures, leaving the other behind, he had responsibility about them, yet he failed.

[@Dr4kq]

The way I see it it’s almost as if she developed Stockholm syndrome in a way

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

@@snowzep667 the owner is definitely an idiot, very skillful for sure but an idiot nonetheless who doesn't watch anime

[@big_brein4]

1:28:16 This is terrible. His right side shows the pure fear and terror in his face, but the second... seems like his second half just accepted it and gave up. And also the line "He stopped moving early in the attack". For me he just accepted his demise and gave up.

[@vowgallant4049]

I mean, I do feel terrible for Dahlia too. The diary entries imply that it was decades between other toys being in the house with her. And not only did the owner make her dependent on them, but they also seem genuinely neglectful of her. So imagine if for decades at a time THE ONLY contact you had was the occasional interaction with a very disinterested godlike being who was also keeping you isolated. She's pretty tragic.

[@lilmao4482]

Honestly, I’m not even sure that it HAS been decades. Since the days are so similar to her in her isolation, the owner could have simply lied about the date to gaslight her on how much time has passed so she becomes more desperate for any form of interaction and attention

[@angela.luntian]

Its not even that i think. Dahlia has a skewed perspective of the world around her. We cant ever be sure if she was pushed off the roof, or if rose was ever mean. Because we see later in her route that she painted huxley in a similar light too. So its either this doll was abused for 3 decades which made her this way to cope, or this doll is a narcissistic psycho since the start.

[@wildfire9280]

@@angela.luntian But if that were the case, the owner would have to favor her and reward her for that behavior. Meaning even if she was bought that way displaying the opposite behavior would result in what happened to the others.

[@angela.luntian]

@@wildfire9280 its implied that the owner only really keeps her as an obligation. So even if she ever was manipulative (the owner is shown to often ignore her pleas too), owner would still have to keep and maintain her. Its implied to be out of sentimental importance. Maybe she was gifted by someone deceased. She wasnt really around to be entertaining. You'd find in Huxley's route that owner is more entertained by humour and play. They enjoy the thought of doing and making things for the toys and see them appreciate the work. BUT, they never tended to Dahlia's wants and didnt gift her anything for a long while after the bear magician incident. Compared to the Dahlia route, owner doesnt display as much enthusiasm to favoring her. So im obligued to believe she was merely an heirloom or something and doesnt really offer anything else to the table in terms of play. So what happened is that, out of necessity, the owner had to enable her manipulative antics. That is until they go Huxley route.

[@ariannaatkinson9648]

​​@@angela.luntian The owner didn't have to enable anything though. He could have stepped in at any point to mediate or properly reprimand either of them but didn't. It's implied that in huxley's ending that Dahlia was difficult too, meaning she wasn't always like this but the owner's manipulations that brought her to the line of thinking she has now. If anything it seems that the owner likes initially breaking them in and then gets bored, abandoning them for periods at a time and then picking back up again when they feel like it. Even though her reactions were extreme, Dahlias fears are valid considering everything she went through before Huxley appeared. Even if it was out of obligation, being kept around to be kept around does not do well for someone's mental state at all.

[@sussydogwithcheese]

Manly: "she is doing a JoJo pose, leaning back and pointing out, like this..." Me: "I see."

[@AgraelTheDemon]

WRYYYYYYYY

[@pizzabagelzmanning7277]

@@AgraelTheDemon DIO! STAR PLATINUM.... STAAAAR FINGAAAAAAA!!!!!!

[@5KOP]

muda.

[@ryand7817]

@@5KOP ora😔....

[@A_trans_sneasel]

Did you make a jojo reference...out of a jojo reference?

[@Globalnet626]

A lot of people hate on Dahlia here but I think the most deranged individual is the fucking toy owner who, even knowing that each toy has it's own thoughts, still intentionally does this shit. Traps them in a small toy house, starve them of affection when they are alone and censor their memory aids to influence their emotional state. It's quite disgusting and I kept putting myself in the owners shoes and hardly ever agree with the solutions they come up with.

[@Soroboruo]

Yeah, the owner is a pathetic control freak. In a world where toys are demonstrably sentient, self-aware, smart, autonomous, etc., what they're doing is blatantly unethical and creepy, and it's mentioned that they have multiple "projects" going. It's like if someone was obsessed with the Sims but in the grimdark alarmist way ppl talk about when they've never played the Sims and think video games are the devil. And someone running that many "projects" is probably obsessed with them in some way, reliant on the feeling of control over these tiny, nearly helpless beings.

[@ashlirabid9614]

I suspect the owner is maybe on the spectrum.

[@sasaki8765]

@@Soroboruo it makes me wonder if perhaps there's some reason he CAN'T talk to them. Like maybe he tried that once, and it's almost a situation in which to them you are a god as a god would be to us, and even our voice causes serious reprocussions?

[@TheNinjaNiky]

A God shouldn't interfere too much, that's bad as well

[@dmolegend1699]

She killed my guy over jealousy 🤨. Like bro wth

[@WatarouDesiderus]

Really I quite love how much depth is in Dahlia, like she's a terrible person but only due to isolation, dependency, and being enabled. You can tell if it weren't for her environment she could have turned out a lot better and learned to deal with other people. It's sad how she went out of her way to get Huxely comfortable but that considerate side wanes over time. Almost like she has best intentions but just cant understand. I also get uncomfortable when I see Dahlia trying to gaslight/manipulate Huxely and Wiskers, having someone you care about do this to you when you dont know better was greatly captured in this. Though part of me would like more endings and one where Huxely is able to neutralize or fix Dahlia. However the four endings we get are good on their own.

[@pinkpugginz]

all the characters have depth and are well written. the writer of the story is amazing

[@fruitymcfruitcake9674]

The creator is making a good route!!

[@aname6794]

@@fruitymcfruitcake9674 Really? Can you tell us more?

[@StormyStories]

Huxley being a puppet and having such trauma around hands is so messed up. I like that they added that detail, but jeez... also, this reminds me of the book The Plucker. I would recommend it if you haven't read it before.

[@noodlesandwich2945]

Also why does Huxley have confetti in his guts? It's most likely there as a design choice(?) to go with his clown theme, but I can't help but think that someone put it inside so it will be "fun" to rip him apart when he's no longer useful to anyone. Not that I would enjoy it.

[@pang3nd3rg0d5]

Honestly, the real horror in this game is that one way or another, you’re going to end up favoring one character over another and the other will eventually mentally break because of it either way leaving you absolutely guilty because of your actions and making you feel like a monster. For me, this feels like that one moment where you feel like your parents side with your older sibling more than you.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

It never has been such a big concern for me when something like you described happens. Am i weird?

[@jeremyhall2727]

Cain & able kind of stuff

[@justinlindfors8512]

I kinda hate the player because of this but it's mostly because you're a toymaker and they're just your projects. You barely intervene especially when you should and when you do it ruins the situation making things worse at the end, the worst part being "gaslighting" Dahlia's Diary.

[@pang3nd3rg0d5]

@@jestfullgremblim8002 No you’re not weird

[@pang3nd3rg0d5]

@@justinlindfors8512 The player isn’t a saint nor is the player a bad person I feel the player has suffered through the same trauma as the player is exerting onto the dolls The player has been neglected by their parents and now is taking it out on these dolls. The player would’ve done a better job at breaking up their fights or is aware that they’re not going to be compatible together no matter what if they didn’t suffer some trauma.

[@KarmaLarma]

Heya Manly! I'm so excited that you played my game. I always watch your playthroughs of indie games, especially horror, so imagine my surprise seeing this one pop up on my feed! Like you guessed, this was originally a jam game, but I wound up going twice over the deadline by making it too long. I want to eventually update it to include the things I had to cut out, including more CGs, but for now this is what I had time for since I didn't want to risk not finishing it at all. I really appreciate the feedback! I do want to address one thing you mentioned in the ending summary just because I think you missed it, but it was just one line. Lil spoiler here for anyone reading who hasn't played: - Dahlia mentions in her diary about the doll that pushed her off of the house. When she mentions that she got what she deserved, she says the owner did something to the other doll. It's left vague, but that's kind of intentional since you see in two of the endings the owner is fine with breaking toys for going against what they want. I'm happy hearing so many interpretations of the story though, from your video and from the comments! Thanks again for playing it!

[@hugorueda6080]

what happens with wisker in the huxley kills Dahía ending?

[@dearlynightshade7541]

I absolutely loved your work. It's quite beautiful and hope you have a day.

[@jpqgg]

i loved this game! the story overall is well written and the artwork looked amazing, im excited to see what you do in the future!

[@nyb8358]

Hey, Dev. Please be nice to us and give us an alt ending in a story way in which the player, aka GodRollplayer85 separates them and at least let's Huxley and Wisker love a decent life 🥺 I can't take the games with no good endings I-... I'm so soft have mercy on my soul

[@nyb8358]

Also, this game was amazing. 10/10 I hope of you make more Manly plays them!

[@Mat69420k]

Huxley: How about another joke Dahlia? What you get when you cross a depressed clown, with a owner and a doll who abandons him and treats him like trash! I'll tell what you get, you get what you fuckin' deserve!

[@rinyaskyline]

- The last thing Dahlia heard before being curbstomped.

[@Spingerex]

Lol

[@demon_xd_]

Some other comment said that there was a big DTWM update in the works with a new “good” ending, but after seeing this now I want Huxley’s Joker arc

[@dragondastan4763]

Huxley takes great pleasure in saying that. Dahlia isn't sure what he means but she figures it out soon enough. Huxley grabs literally everything and smashes her until she becomes a doll with no face.

[@Rain_boot]

@@demon_xd_ Do you know where they got this info?

[@jcdf2]

This was a good story. Some genuine horror without the cheap jump-scares. I felt that that the owner of the toys was the true villain of the piece and Dahlia just an inevitable consequence of surviving in the Doll house owners world. They should have shown a more sympathetic aspect to Dahlia to make for even better endings.

[@Flammifleure]

I actually thoguht the journal entries made her quite sympathetic, plus the implications of the way the owner treats her. Well, both her and Huxley. If they behave "properly," the owner ignores them. If they do something the owner doesn't like, they punish them severely. Even when Huxley so much as expresses doubts about the owner's intentions, the reaction is a harsh condemnation of Huxley for not giving the owner absolute love. The fact that we know Dahlia's been putting up with this kind of abuse for decades really makes me feel for her.

[@refrone]

Is Huxley a hand puppet, and that’s why he’s afraid of your hands? Since he hates being a puppet and only being able to joke when he’s being “used”? Edit : What have I done

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Yeah he is some sort of hand/finger puppet. That's probably why he has no hands, the fingers of the puppeteer can fit inside the sleeves.

[@FeenieVonKarma]

Yeah that's actually really fucked up to think about, that's almost another level of 'body horror'. I am pretty sure they implied he has no legs cos it's a hand puppet hole. 😅

[@SecuR0M]

@ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ uwu

[@violettvi1485]

Yeah i would be afraid of hands too if they were supposed to be shoved up my body in order to make me move

[@toxiathrr]

@ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ayooo, if ur thinking what im thinking... 👀

[@junkyporpoise4254]

This is a really interesting game because it’s got heavy undertones of abuse and neglect, every character is a reflection of this: Dhalia is obviously a cruel, entitled, obsessed and jealous character but I feel like that isn’t what she used to be, there’s some clear sense of gaslighting and emotional abuse from the owner, the most important sign is het diary, I believe the owner is intentionally removing the past other toys from her diary to make her stay in the dark, it’s a classic way for controllers to stay in control, I think it’s the owner because Dhalia makes it very clear she does not like anyone touching her diary, and the other candidate is Wiskers. I believe Dhalia has been conditioned into what she is through gaslighting and isolation that made her become dependent and obsessive to the owner, some twisted sense of ‘love’ that leads to being easily irritable and downright cruel at times. I believe she’s become lonely to the point of chasing affection by trying hard to make herself seem organised, you can see how she notably becomes angry when Huxley becomes favoured by just being himself and feels forgotten. Dhalia is a horrible character but has been abused to the point where she’s co-dependant and is reluctant to change anything. Huxley is, in my opinion, quite clearly a representation of an abuse victim, from the very start you can see how he’s emotionally shut down from the world, probably in order for him to stop getting hurt by others, being a Puppet is a nice reference to being used for others gains and he clearly is unsatisfied that he is a puppet, also a lot of people state that whenever the owners hand is in the house, he retreats into himself, probably because it reminds him of his previous owner. Despite this cold exterior, Huxley does try to get along with Dhalia and has some awareness of how she’s been conditioned into what she is, he is a generally good person who cares for others but is waller by Dhalia who gets jealous when he does start to open up. Wiskers is more likely a victim of trauma, it’s widely agreed he saw or at least knew what happened to the bear he was with and knows Dhalia did something in it so steers clear of her. He is quick to flee and when Huxley arrives, he is quick to attach as he’s the only one who he doesn’t see as a monster. Even the owner is a figure, judging by his excessive time watching the dolls and seeing how he had other projects, i believe he’s a recluse who has little connection with the world. He doesn’t know a healthy relationship which is why Dhalia is so obsessive and toxic, he doesn’t understand the nature of arguments and is quick to have bias of one and neglect the other. And here is my over-analysis of this game.

[@kitkat25195]

Yeah and just replace the toys with orphans/adopted children…

[@Shar3dAccount]

*_and the toys are basically humans so..._*

[@professorxavier620]

I have no words to describe how good your comment is Take it, you deserve this 👑

[@mitsubachihachi9643]

This is a REALLY good analysis!!!

[@fruittypun799]

I totally agree with you. The owner is definitely some kind of anti-social who don't understand emotions. Dahlia IS a self-centered and obsessive little doll, but throughout the game, I just think of her as a child who needs someone to guide her on how to maintain friendship and relations. If only the owner didn't suck so bad, she would've just been a somewhat willful doll that can have friends and can apologize if she's in the wrong.

[@ZorotheGallade]

It's all quite a tragedy. Huxley is clearly traumatized and snaps when under pressure, Dahlia is manipulative and needy, and the owner of the doll house treats toys that they know have their own personality and desires like animals they have to condition to their life, ignoring or neglecting the fact that makes them frustrated and they end up taking out that frustration on each other. And in all that Wisker is just watching everything unfold while being powerless to do much of consequence.

[@soullessginger168]

Can I just say, all the characters in this game were developed so well- Like when Huxley kills Dahlia, it's for a good reason. She crossed the line when she asked for the owner to rip his spring off, and the owner is messed up for doing whatever some doll says. The owner provoked many of the fights, they could have put the gifts in the attic to prevent any toys getting killed.

[@prescibee2478]

Oh god, Huxley is afraid of your hands specifically because he’s a puppet… this game about toys hits harder than expected tbh. Existential horror yay!

[@Soroboruo]

Yeah we've seen people in media being puppeted against their will as a tragic/whumpy/angsty thing, but this game made me think about it would mean for a puppet to be sentient from the start. It may be similar to being a doll, but there is a distinct difference in the expectations of how each is handled, literally. And Huxley repeatedly shows discontent or upset when forced to do things (especially in the first run where Dahlia physically shoves him out of her room when a simple request would have worked fine).

[@Rock_on_R0bita]

I didn't want to say anything earlier because of the horrifying implications behind that, but yeah Huxley's reaction seemed close to that of somebody who's probably been abused/messed around with before being brought to the dollhouse. And the fact that he was a hand puppet too makes it so much worse. Ugh...

[@sir-ani8927]

Its pretty obvious Huxley experienced past trauma from an owner with the way he reacts to the situation and identifies her toxic traits (or his place in the household in her route). When he has something to say about her behavior in his route it actually is pretty wise, which also fits the theme for a jester. Historically Jesters were allowed to say whatever they wanted without getting punished at all, which they'd use to make jokes and commentaries about the state of the royals from their perspective. To the point where Royalty would actually ask their jesters for advice. I wonder if the game dev choose him to be a jester on purpose because of that idea/theme?

[@a.k8185]

Probably.

[@SleepyLittleFrogOnARock]

Wow! That is an interesting fact and take. I think that could be possible. 😃

[@bigbrainenergyguy]

The history of jesters is actually quite fascinating. They could say basically anything because it would be unbecoming of a king to take offense at the words of a "fool." This meant the jester to give him honest advice. If a duke were openly critical of the king it might undermine his authority but if it came out of the jester's mouth then the king can play it off as a joke in front of the court while seriously considering his words. That's why a common sign of corrupt king is one who executes his jester. If even a fool can injure his ego then anybody could be next on the chopping block.

[@a.k8185]

@@bigbrainenergyguy You have good words.

[@pinkpugginz]

I love Jester history

[@user-jl7cz2pe6d]

I honestly just feel the most bad for Wisker. Poor guy. Imagine being a fully sentient creature with seemingly human-like intelligence. Losing your best friend then having to live alone with a crazy person as a pet without even being able to talk to them for who knows how long.. In Huxley's endings he's either left completely alone or with a murderer. While in Dahlia's endings, the poor fella's just dead...

[@RanMouri82]

His inability to speak reminds me of how PTSD can render people mute.

[@heartlup7831]

Manly, eventually there's going to be a BIG update for DTWM. It's going to include a brand new route with an actual good ending! I hope you play it when it comes out.

[@phantom-ri2tg]

Ehh? Where did you read this? I see no info on it.

[@heartlup7831]

@@phantom-ri2tg I think the creator mentioned it on her blog.

[@ASTAROTH_L4M]

WHEN IS IT I NEED TO KNOW

[@CringeEXE]

RELEASE DATE WHEN

[@goldstarburst1984]

is it gonna be where the owner is brutally destroyed

[@heroawesome8495]

I so wish they made cgs of the parts where Huxley was destroyed by the owner and when dahlia was burned in the sink. It would've really solidified the body horror aspect I think

[@redvenge709]

The 'body horror' tag is from the community, not the creator. While I agree with your idea, I'm not sure the creator was going for body horror as much as emotional distress.

[@salvatorecastellitto1375]

I think they probably didn't do the jar scene because they probably didn't want to design a naked doll lol

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@redvenge709 yeah

[@JacklynBurn]

@@salvatorecastellitto1375 Yeah when you mention it, probably better that they didn't do art of a figure in a jar. The internet has a bad history with that

[@elvis5384]

@@salvatorecastellitto1375 the WHAT?! I didn't completely watch the video, uhhhhhhhh.

[@helix9445]

i feel like the reason dahlia has memory problems is that she keeps getting destroyed in some way and then getting rebuilt by the owner, and every time they remake her her personality and memories get twisted a bit. we see that in the ending where she gets burned she's still able to be salvaged and repaired, we can't be too sure that this was the first time she acted in a self-destructive manner.

[@Soroboruo]

That's a really good point. I thought it was a targeted, uh, amnesia process initiated by the Owner, but that makes more sense. And it creates a depth to that comment about the evidence of her previous roof escapade, that there may have been way more damage than we the viewers see because the Owner has already "fixed" it. God, no wonder she's messed up. Aside from all the creepy control experiments stuff and the Owner just being outright irresponsible (accidentally or deliberately) in regard to the toys' wellbeing, can you imagine what it would be like to keep being brought back from functional death to play out your God's little games? No wonder Dahlia is obsessed with the Owner - they're the sole constant in her life at this point, not to mention the one constantly reviving her. And that also explains why the Owner was so certain with one glance in the first run that Dahlia was "irreparable". (Not even... dead. Just impossible to effectively, or economically, repair.)

[@kitkat25195]

Not only that, but the owner says that maybe this time he would fix Dahla to perfection or something in the attic burning ending.

[@delane4160]

ween

[@zosasho8036]

Reminded me of phos ):

[@snackbasket1214]

That's an intriguing take on the memory thing. I could have been underestimating how old the toys were, but I found it odd that Dahlia lost her memories of other housemates like that.

[@ForemostCrab7]

Wisker being affraid of Dahlia might also be why he does not want to have a mouth, cause then he would risk arguing with her.

[@Inspiration_Inspires]

i also find that’s why he was able to live in the same house as her since he can’t verbally disagree with her since she takes it as a personal attack

[@derekfelson5509]

Wisker likes to play with crumpled up pages more than the things she makes for him, and the diary is missing a lot of pages. I really like that little detail.

[@MLGHazrad]

I know it's a classic thing to have a kitchen knife as the murder weapon. I wish horror games have more variety of knives than just kitchen knife. If a Doll comes at me with a butterfly knife and they do those CSGO level knife tricks, I'd be amaze and stunned long enough for the doll to get a hit.

[@GLDragon93]

Wait until you realize the Doll could comes with shadow butt-plug daggers!

[@redundantfridge9764]

I just imagined two dolls talking smack to each other on whose knife is better. There may or may not be a Russian curse worse in there.

[@Player-df7ny]

I think they do it on purpose to use kitchen knife, because it's such a dangerous and handy weapon that can kill in 1 hit, yet is very common (can be found in everyone's kitchen), so it can scare people even more, i think, but aside from this, i agree with you, I'd also like some pro fighting in horror games (not just the classic gut stab), also with weapons such as katana, etc.

[@sinny5404]

It not too uncommon for people to collect knives, there should be a character with a knife collection the murderer steals from to use just for variety p:

[@chilomine839]

Nothing beats the yandere knife though...maybe if she had a tiny chainsaw...

[@Zeronial01]

Dahlia in her route: "So it's treason then?" In Huxley's route, she's like, "You turned the creator against me!?" And Huxley like "You have done that yourself!"

[@killerbean6254]

So Dahlia is palpatine and Anakin and Huxley is space Jesus

[@red_cosplay]

I don't like sand

[@doodlebug47]

Ah yes, oversimplification through memes and tomfoolery. I love it.

[@Misfolded_protein]

Dahlia turns into Dahlia Vader

[@Misfolded_protein]

She’s even a burn victim

[@-R.E.D.A.C.T.E.D-]

Dahlia is the representation of the owner. Like a child to a parent. The child's personality and beliefs is morphed by those who takes care of them.

[@Soroboruo]

I think a lot of ppl blaming Dahlia for overreacting in the Huxley route need to remember: this is not her first rodeo! There was a time when *she* was the Secondary Character in the attic room, where she was the less-favored toy, and then she rose to her laughable mote of power through a combination of factors. Previous toys becoming violent with her and getting taken out, taking out other toys herself, etc. Now she's seeing Huxley receive favor where she is not and she knows that means her time is coming to an end. She is completely materially and emotionally dependent on the owner's good graces, and she refused to be replaced. What Dahlia does isn't *good*, but it's very obviously behavior that has been rewarded and reinforced over time, especially compared to the start of her diary. The Owner, willfully or no, has set down the law and it's kill or be killed in this dollhouse. Hell, either route makes it clear that the other toy is or is becoming an accessory to the chosen one. Dahlia refers to Huxley as a 'gift' at the start, and it's less metaphoric than we might originally think. Dahlia cannot be condemned for monstrosity unless we accept that the experiences that made her that way are monstrous, particularly the actions of the owner. The Owner doesn't even comment about intervening during Huxley's murder until Huxley is already a lost cause; anyone can see that Dahlia was losing her grip and she's obviously been violent with the other toys in the past, but the Owner takes no moves to prevent her very obvious course of action by, say, removing the knife block?? Either the Owner is doing this deliberately (very possible, considering how all of Huxley's gifts are delivered in a way that unsettles Dahlia and lbr, could have been put in the attic or along with a shipment for her instead of being placed in the middle of the house for her to trip over), or the Owner doesn't care enough to stop things when they go horribly wrong, except for the sake of whatever the point of their "projects" may be.

[@PersonMan000]

I agree with you. In fact, I feel like when Huxley kills Dahlia, that becomes Huxley moment of transformation into a destructive monster like Dahlia. Not only did he coldly plan the murder, and smash her head in with no remorse, he even wore her face as a joke, practically mocking her corpse, something even Dahlia doesn't do. This is the moment Huxley, through trauma and abuse, becomes a monster, the same way Dahlia became a monster through her own trauma and abuse.

[@Jdmj1703]

​@@PersonMan000 I thought that too! That Huxley is different from the Huxley from before (when things weren't that problematic in the house)

[@huntercraft5674]

@@Jdmj1703 He even throws the liner "Im your new favorite now" or something like that

[@d.o.p.d.o.p.1775]

Dahlia has a bad memory though, so idk if she would have remembered being the underdog anyway.

[@foadchode]

-saying that it's "her house" / everything belongs to her -doing things for you and holding the favors over your head to make you feel like you owe her everything -treating disagreements like a personal attack -always saying she loves you and does everything for you so you feel too guilty to contradict her rules -having to watch everything you say around her unless she gets upset, consequences follow -having a false face of joviality when dealing with those above her, but mistreating people she considers "inferior" Dahlia sounds exactly like my mom. No wonder I related a lot to Hux and Wisker.

[@vienna-mf8xb]

I hope you escape from her and have real support

[@pinkpugginz]

I hope you have a good therapist. my stepdad acted the same way

[@amisterblah]

Hope you can get out. My mom likes to gaslight me whenever I try to talk to her about her flaws. Just because I'm a hypocrite doesn't mean i'm wrong

[@Kalebsonyoutube]

Omg twinnums!!! And my dad is a complete pushover (kindaaaa…like the owner) he gets gifts and takes us on trips but barely talks to us, we feel like we love him but we don’t see him enough to know for sure… (KINDAAA….LIKE THE OWNER..???) he’s never the one to hit us tho (that was mother 😋) he never actually laid a finger on me

[@tiaradinaputri6500]

no way i was about to say the exact same thing

[@meatymaggot]

Honestly the character dynamic was really good. Huxely and Dhalia felt like real people. In the start of it I literally didn't want it to end, they were getting along so well and everything was so happy despite knowing this is a body horror game. Even the arguments sounded like real arguments people would have. The transitions where awesome and the art style gave it a sorta cutesy and discomfort feel. Sorta like the game It's Not Me It's My Basement or Undertale, games like this do so well at making their characters seem real and relatable.

[@gusty7153]

ya now i think about it, undertale was essentially the same as this but with self aware video game characters, and it made a point that you the player were the hero/villain for each route you chose to take

[@meatymaggot]

I'vr already played it lol, though the characters weren't as relatable in my personal opinion

[@charadreemur8884]

@@gusty7153 Hmm sort of. Don’t forget about the neutral runs. There’s Doki doki literature club with the self aware video game characters as well.

[@KayMayhem777]

@Person who hates Bill Nye The Science Guy Well said.

[@HappyBirddi]

They actually updated the game recently and added some more images for the endings. And yes, they make you feel even more like a horrible person. 😭

[@BorsalinoOPreal]

I know this is supposed to be an open-ended game, but i need an epilogue for some of these endings. What happened to Wisker? Was Dahlia able to return to her normal relationship with the owner after being remodeled? Did Huxley ever meet any other toys after his incident? I just need the slightest bit of closure

[@Some_day_i_may_find_a_name]

I think that theory on whisker makes a lot of sense, because he was added to the house along with Theodore, but Theodore vanished and whisker is still alive.

[@suitov]

I thought the detail of Theodore's name was a great touch. Dahlia mentions only once that she seems to remember once knowing a _bear..._ Fun related fact: teddy bears were given their name as a marketing stunt, after the US president of the time, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.

[@youdonotcare]

@@reyalfa18 They do taste good though

[@suitov]

My vegetarian butt is /so/ not getting into a veganism debate on a thread about teddy bears lmfao. Not gonna happen. Anyway stuffed toys are one of the truly good things in this world. 🐻

[@angeek1879]

On the menu screen theres a teddy bear on one of the shelves and also a chess board

[@sirsage3311]

It's probably been mentioned but in the Huxley route the split face being similar to the comedy and tragedy masks was very poignant and well done.

[@Cam1417-TK]

Same with the "Dahlia is my favorite" ending where he wears half her face.

[@Chaos7887]

Would have appreciated a good ending, where both Dallia and Huxley became friends, and there was peace. I get that this is a horror game, but even horror games have potential to have a good ending.

[@countcock5694]

I think the dev wanted a bitter end to be inevitable for the sake of the game's lesson. Its sad but its very fitting.

[@lvrboi92]

I have a theory regarding Huxley's heightened fear whenever the narrator's hand enters the dollhouse. He's always had A HAND INSIDE of him, up his rear end. As realistic as these "toys" are, I can imagine that would cause severe trauma, adding another dark and sad layer....

[@barryaaron6665]

I think dahlia's reaction seems disproportionate until you realise she's been through this cycle several times. First she plays the role of a replacement and then twice as the one being replaced

[@davidbrevik2537]

Great game, but this hit hard. Most terrifying still is that this feels somewhat realistic. Not the toys being alive, of course, but the owner's god complex about the toys. Far too many people treat folks like their own 'projects' to do what they want. I'm morbidly curious as to how he treats his other 'toys.'

[@AlmaHeartfire]

Really does remind me of a abusive parent picking a favorite child super messed up I get they are toys but by all accounts he needs to take better care of them I think it would've been best if the doll house was huge with a bunch of toys that could balance each other out and make things interesting and the owner making sure they have thier needs met with new items would surely have been a better outcome

[@Soroboruo]

@@AlmaHeartfire Yeah the whole thing with Dahlia and her attitude towards Huxley is not merely toxic but truly abusive by the end, like Red Flags Checklist levels of abusive. And either she was "made wrong" from the start and has always been like that, or was made to be that way. Either way the Owner is the one truly responsible for the results of this situation. You can really see what Huxley means by her being "spoiled" in a way that isn't limited to a child with little autonomy, and the dangers that holds.

[@gabiz1331]

It's like playing a game and one of you're favorite characters dies, you get upset but not really since they're just a game character, you'll keep on playing

[@AnekoAkabane69]

The toy owner truly is cruel, why couldn't the portrait been like a "family" portrait? Or give them a bigger house with their own customized rooms. Perhaps even as Dahlia suggested, making her a parasol and gifting Huxley his cane, or possibly even make him his own wooden legs and hands that way he wouldn't have as much trouble around the house and to avoid allowing Dahlia to make him feel indebted to her "generosity". I honestly love this change of concept though since there's hardly any that will show the true horrors of all the things that could go wrong.

[@runzumarun4925]

I've been in a relationship with someone who constantly needed reassurance they were loved and cared about more then anything...so dahlia went from thinking she wasn't worth the owners time..to being their number 1but she saw that she only got attention when she got hurt or ignored...dahlia lived for the owner so when the thing she lived for is turning even a little bit of attention from her she felt abandoned..so Huxley had PTSD and abusment issues while Dahlia had abandonedment issues

[@thatspiritthingthatfollows4229]

I feel bad for Huxley man. In both routes he just tried to just live but he's always getting harmed & it's mostly not even in his own hands. In Dahlia's route he gets bullied then when he tried to fix himself to be likeable to Dahlia by reading her diary, he gets his legs taken away from him & left in a box. In his route, just his existence is what makes Dahlia fucked up to the point of killing both him & Whiskers all because he had the toy owner's attention. When Dahlia got locked up by the owner she was atleast in her room, Huxley got his legs ripped away & he had to crawl into his box (not even in his room because now he can barely move). When he killed, it was because he was betrayed by everyone & he has no one to love him, Dahlia killed because she was jealous. She still had Huxley yet she pushed him away, Huxley had no one in her route. Dahlia got to die in her own hands while Huxley had to die on the hands of the toy owner, the person that only bought him for Dahlia who also is the person who removed his only means of transportation. Every toy is a tragic character but I feel the worst for Huxley.

[@mitsubachihachi9643]

I feel bad for him too. Dahlia takes out her insecurities on him and abuses him and he's alone in this because the toy maker not only sides with Dahlia but also enables her to lash out and the only one who doesn't hurt him is Whiskers - and he can't talk.

[@Late0NightPC]

Agreed. I think Manly was onto something when he said "This is the worst kind of horror". The owner is openly sadistic and literally "playing house" with sapient beings for their own amusement, Daliha's been gaslit and manipulated into being a horribly toxic person, and then that toxicity was further enabled by the owner. They both are so twisted that they are clearly in the wrong, and yet because they hold the positions of authority, "their reality" is what is the norm. So when an actually reasonable and normal perosn comes along like Huxley, he is ripped apart again and again because his logic, while 100% reasonable to us, is "wrong" in their world. He's a sane person trapped in a world of insanity, and every ending has him break because of it. Meanwhile we can't do anything but sit and watch helplessly...

[@JxBlackstar]

Dahlia seems to have Borderline Personality Disorder.

[@EdwardNewgate72]

Thx for the juicy lore

[@phantom-ri2tg]

"Dahlia got to die in her own hands" I would take this as a weak point. He was expecting to die. and you also left out how in the alliterative he lives he is likely to become another Dahlia while Dahlia lives disfigured and trauma-ed. it is not mere jealousy when she let herself burn to death after the act. Also both of them killed the other in part do to jealousy. Huxley did not have anything taken from him that he did not have before. I know Dahlia was the abuser in this situation but I think people are being way to biased against her. you think someone who lived a decent life chose to burn themselves to death just because someone else got some presents? and that wanting owner's attention takes another aspect if you factor the owner only occasionally paid attention to her.

[@erikm8373]

I like to think that, in any game with no defined protagonist character (often dating sims and visual novels, but there are some others), it's always the same version of Manly as a character in all of them, and he just leads a _very_ interesting life. He gets home from one of the high schools he goes to, heads off to work at a top-secret government facility, then once he's done, he spends his free time doing stuff like occult rituals trying to summon a cute girl from beyond the stars, or watching his weird dolls.

[@shascircus]

Manly lore manly lore

[@a.k8185]

This type of stuff is very cool to think about honestly.

[@thegrimreaper6150]

Hmm yes lotta manly lore for the lore book

[@theCreamyCrusher]

huxley is a fuckin awesome character. and obviously the biggest antagonist is the toy maker guy fuckin sees his toys are pissed at each other so he gives them more reason to be pissed at each other.

[@Candy-im1kp]

bro Huxley crying freaking shatters my soul

[@princessbeexxxx]

This game was precious in a twisted way. Huxley is best boy. Also, we(the player) is terrible. I mean geez...

[@sheikhjaved9203]

ikr, we were like "dahlia is sad, Lets continue doing that!"

[@NeonSonOfXenon]

We're the worst character

[@sharkshock5397]

the dollmaker is the one to blame anyways they would prefer to pick over another instead of balancing things out but honestly i think that fits the narrative more since the dollmaker while not exactly a child is very childish about their approach on one character during the entire game

[@Willowisp927]

@@sheikhjaved9203 The thing is, either we 'spoil' her or we are making her 'sad'. She is beyond repair.

[@noreingravity]

In the ending were you choose to keep Huxley they mention that they were gonna make him trust him even if he was a difficult one, because Dahlia used to be one too. That means she too opposed the toymaker at some point, but after literally two decades of manipulation, gaslighting (by destroying pages of her diary to mess even more her bad memory, since she said a lot of stuff she can only know happened because she wrote them downshe

[@WinterFerger]

Aschenputtel is the original version of Cinderella. The one where the sisters cut off parts of their foot to try and put on the shoe. Goes pretty well with the body horror theme.

[@salvatorecastellitto1375]

The original Cinderella predates Aschenputtel by about 2 centuries.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@salvatorecastellitto1375 lol

[@thisusernameisalreadytaken5132]

My copy of Grimm's fairy tales contains that one. Traumatized me quite a bit when I was 13 lol

[@WinterFerger]

Just so no one bursts a blood vessel I was referencing Grimm because her having fairy tale books was mentioned and Aschenputtel is specifically theirs and named.

[@WinterFerger]

@@thisusernameisalreadytaken5132 Yeah it was on of the first stories I read as a kid learning German. I kept going, "Wait, did I read that right????"

[@takemywordforit4128]

The writing is so good. I love great story tellers. Nothing complicated, but still filled with so much depth.

[@charmainelee5085]

i can't help but laugh everytime Manly does the 'hmm' sound whenever he's feeling sus at Dahlia for the things she say HAHAHAH 😂

[@danieldonnert3747]

Imagine: you're a toymaker, one with a gift where any toy you touch (or especially make) comes to life, so you put them in little toy houses to socialize them before selling them to children. You can never get too attached (they're to be sold after all), and you're not a psychologist able to help more than just watch and wait until they're ready. But one house in particular never gets sold, never can be, with a tragedy behind every door.

[@Knaveof-Arts]

Your a *really* good writer dude!!!

[@rock7146]

some youtubers rarely dont cut out a couple of scenes, but you dont and we appreciate that

[@hellspawnedhero1123]

I’ve seen a couple games where he cut out a scene or two

[@nexmorrison4802]

@@hellspawnedhero1123 Maybe, but from what I've seen it's usually a s3x scene that can't be easily censored (or something along those lines). Nothing to really make a game shorter, multiple playthroughs aside.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@nexmorrison4802 sometimes he cuts parts where he needs to do a long puzzle. And i recall that time he was playing The Gray Garden when he made a cut because he had to defeat around 23 enemies, it probably would have boring to leave that fotage.

[@jeremyhall2727]

Yes we do

[@jeremyhall2727]

@@hellspawnedhero1123 hentai stuff 🤷🏾 guidelines rules

[@o0Scarrow0o]

The fact that huxley is referred to as 'broken' a couple of times and how he has this fear of the owner that the other two don't have makes me think he actually used to have legs and his original owner probably played to rough with him or something and accidentally (or on purpose) ripped his legs off

[@mogenoof]

well, he's a hand puppet, so the og owner probably moved him around without his consent, and above that shoved their entire hand inside of huxley so i'd assume that that would traumatize anybody

[@christinehurley2487]

So, it's clear the owner definitely messed with the diary, they even said in the crepe choice "I'd just tear the pages out if I used my fingers" they know from experience And it's clearly referranced in the diary, Dahlia wasn't the first doll in the house, and, like Huxley, when the previous home owner started being mean and jealous she was confused and upset because she thought they were friends, and initially mentions the other doll hurting her and the owner "not believing" her, despite the fact that we see the owner very heavily monitors them, then after having to fix her the owner seemingly has grown more attached to her now and the other doll disappears... It's clear why the diary is so heavily tampered with, as Dahlia probably took some time venting and dealing with the fact the owner could switch favorites on a whim and simply get rid of toys he deemed too troublesome, with the pages gone though, you could almost interpret it as the owner protecting her, as opposed to just punishing the other doll for acting out Dahlia, who maybe can't remember prefectly clearly (whether that's from the roof injury or a trauma response is unknown) does still seem to understand her life is dependent on her onwer, something Huxley *doesn't* understand as he seems to think they can just live together and almost ingore the owner, though we, and possibly Dahlia, know that eventually just watching everyone get along and play together would get boring for an outside viewer All though every ending seems to imply that things went "out of control" and the owner will simply have to try better with the next dolls it's clear that they create these same situations on purpose, seeing as Dahlia turned out the same as the abusive doll before her, so much so that it had to have been identical situations that made them that way, and the fact that there were simple solutions to getting the dolls to get along I mean, it's clear they can read and the owner can craft things to their scale, if they had *wanted* to be understood they could have easily been, but it's much easier to keep the dolls afraid if the owner is more like an unknowable god to them They see Huxley afraid of them but have no problem reaching in and doing whatever they want anyway, even if those things seemed to be nice, it's still a show of power over them, a very clear "even though this is your space I still control it" Hell, even getting to control if Huxley gets to walk or crawl as the spring can be taken or gifted whenever the owner pleases, much like a god that you have to keep appeased There were no happy endings here, but there never would have been, they wouldn't have ever satisfied the owner, and so the most telling of all the endings is really "You spoil her" Because Huxley understands exactly what the owner did, that he made Dahlia the way she was, and he could either do the same to Huxley or break him for being defiant and he was resigned to either decision (having previously stated that, as a puppet, there was nothing he could do about his situation except to refuse to play along) (implying if you did choose to keep him he could very well have been thrown out later for not doing what the owner wanted) And as far as easy solutions to the toys getting along, even without the owner getting directly involved in that... Well, it was a bad sign immediately when it made you pick a favorite, if it was ever going to work there shouldn't have been a favorite, Dahlia even said it herself, she didn't care that the owner gave Huxley a present, she cared that she didn't get one, and continued to not get any as the owner made it increasingly clear they had moved on from favoring her, if she hadn't snapped it would have only been a matter of time before Huxley became the bossy one with their all powerful god now on his side (and in fact, that's why he had to kill her in her endings, because he knew that she could, at anytime and for any reason, ask the owner to get rid of him, and rather than live like that he took the choice out of her hands entirely) The fact that there was no choice the player could make to lead to a happy ending, despite the owner being all powerful ruling over the dolls implies there was never meant to be one.... And so of course the owner *did* have to pick a favorite, because after all.... It isn't really a game without a winner and a loser, is it?

[@suitov]

This was a thoughtful, gruesome game. Huxley is so beautiful that I fell for him right away, so I can see why the toymaker chose him. Dahlia's design is nice too. Old-timey flavour with damage indicative of a long history. I agree with you that Dahlia didn't have much to redeem her in the end. There were some moments of desperation that made me feel bad for her, but at her worst she was just awful. Wisker's fear of her left no room to trust her even early on, and Huxley... she coaxed him out of his shell, got him trusting her, then turned nasty, and he clearly didn't know how to handle it. The way he responded to being forced back into the box was heartbreaking and too relatable. (The actions afterwards, maybe not so much. But hey, you know what they say about dead dolls' shoes.) So I think some more self-awareness on Dahlia's part wouldn't have gone amiss. But _could_ she realise that this was a pattern with her? Clearly her memory has some issues - as the toymaker says, she _is_ an antique. Maybe dolls age. More to the point, she's had her mind messed with - *ten years* alone each time she failed to get along with a new toy, not counting Wisker who coped by avoiding her, and having her aide-memoire censored. Does she even remember what she's like? I definitely see that it was on purpose that the game has no good ending, no route where you walk the line and ensure equality (I think you're right and the dollmaker low key wants the drama). All the same, I wanted there to be that option. I hate when toys are damaged. I watch a ton of old toy restoration videos.

[@sharkshock5397]

I think anyone that wouldve been Huxley during the Dahlia route would also do the same thing. Its essentially what happens when you push someone to their limits too far

[@alexkatc59]

Huxley is dick. He stole diary. He harmed her. He killed her. In second route he deliberatly provoked her.

[@cheddarchemist5644]

The way they fight and the owner doesn't interfere reminds me of something not discussed often: sibling relationships. Huxley and Dahlia are siblings, the owner is the parent. Whiskers is more of the silent sibling that gets caught up in their fights and just wants peace. It's become a norm in our society for siblings to fight. It's so expected, that *sibling abuse* is overlooked. We never talk about siblings being abusive. Why have we ever normalized this toxic behavior in families?

[@RX0_GundamUnicorn]

I have a lot of collected broken toys, there's one time I found a head of a broken dino bot (colored orange and doesn't even have a moving jaw), picked it up, repainted it, split the unmoving jaw, made a jaw mechanism and attached it to the head and now im currently for a perfect body to be washed ashore the same way I found the head

[@DondonII]

I believe dahlias journal was the only way she could consistently keep up with her actions. And have a place to vent to, soon after however it's removed. I believe this is due to the doll maker reading the journal themselves and realizing what's going on, thinking it would be best for everyone to forget he simply tears the pages out and has dahlia forget. Due to how nothing really happens in the dollhouse eitherway, it's just how she described her memory slipping with rose.

[@Nexipop03]

Bruh I really like Huxley so it hurts that almost every ending was a bad outcome for him. At least Whisker escapes most of the time

[@mitsubachihachi9643]

Huxley deserves better!

[@elementdoom0775]

I like to imagine that the ending where Huxley shatters Dahlia's face but isn't destroyed by the owner as the good ending. I imagine that whiskers didn't make it too far into the room. No way he'd be able to get out either way. He'll likely be placed back into the dollhouse alongside Huxley and live together tension free until the owner decides to place another toy inside. Even then as long as that toy doesn't go out of it's way to make trouble I'm sure they'd be able to peacefully co-exist alongside Huxley and Whiskers. On either route it seems like Huxley tries to keep things fair and aside from a few well timed quips is never really guilty of doing anything. I don't see why any reason to believe he'd cause trouble if another toy were introduced to the home.

[@Nexipop03]

@@elementdoom0775 still feels like a bad ending because he probably will never feel truly happy or trust the doll-maker that was so obviously on Dahlia's side. The other route where he was actually happy is even worse so I guess we can't win

[@dontatmeimmoody2895]

@@Nexipop03 also the doll maker didn’t like Huxley in that route. Which is sad

[@nuibaba280]

@@Nexipop03 Exactly.

[@alexs.7956]

Daaamn, the art in this game was so good! I absolutely loved it, and the character design is cool. Huxley carried the "body horror" Part, and I honestly empathized with him a lot.

[@crystalcryptid2022]

This game hit TEN THOUSAND downloads last night. And it looks like you're a big part of the reason why. Thank you for playing this, and games like this. You always seem to make videos on games not many people have heard of. And now that you have so many people who see your videos, a lot of people get exposed to games they might love, but never would have found without you. There's also the game devs this affects. Don't Toy With Me's dev? She said she never thought something she made would get this much attention. Artists pour a lot of time and love into what they make, and for something like this to happen to something they've made? It feels amazing. Keep up the good work.

[@ninjahunterx7497]

It's sad how Dahlia could have been so much better, if only she actually understood that others have their life too. Hucxly and Whisker is totally good.

[@alexkatc59]

Huxley is dick. He stole diary. He harmed her. He killed her. In second route he deliberatly provoked her.

[@hanin_gurl]

she's definitley brainwashed by the dynamic the owner has created. Doesn't excuse her actions at all, but it really shows that there is a bigger antagonist and that's the player's persona in the game.

[@ninjahunterx7497]

@@hanin_gurl Yeah, he should have been way more responsible. Since, these are sentient beings. Should have put someone with Dahlia as a friend at the beginning. So, she won't feel like it's just her own house. Also, could have given them more to do outside the house as well. Even if he didn't do those, there was another way to save her after all those years. That is by transferring her to another dolls house, who is kind and willing to help. By doing this Dahlia won't be able to be entitled as she owns the house and would be just a visitor in her mind. So, she will probably become less aggressive over time.

[@somdudewillson]

Huxley was very much not totally good. He stole her journal, escalated the ensuing verbal argument by physically attacking and injuring her, and, y'know, _murders Dahlia._ (Yes, she told him to sleep in his trauma box, but she makes no action to actually make him do it or make any threats to that effect either.)

[@ninjahunterx7497]

@@somdudewillson That's also true, but it's clear that Huxly has gone through a lot of trauma in his previous life. She, made him into a prisoner in a place, he should get equal footing. If anything, he was pushed to that state by Dahlia and the owner. While, Dahlia and the owner is usually bad in their behaviour and Huxly was not.

[@saltyoverlord5742]

Weird take but I would love to see a game where you take care of different doll houses and try to make the toys get along and stop them from hurting each other or getting out of the toy house.

[@zakoppi777]

That sounds like a fun game concept ngl

[@burgir7899]

Sounds like a good idea. You should post that in a dev forum

[@jpqgg]

yes! i love this idea

[@baronreeves9232]

A survival management game like this sounds pretty cool!

[@Soroboruo]

Oh that does sound great. Maybe even as the one taking in a bunch of "rescues" from this dollhouse owner.

[@Konani_the_unicorn_queen]

the amount of rising suspicion in manly's voice around the 17-minute mark was hilarious

[@eleenajackson2915]

Okay let me say this. Huxley.. is the best character I've ever seen! The first ending when he ripped Huxley in half. I screamed "Huxley noooo!!!" Huxley is such a sweetheart.. 🥰

[@kupari906]

21:36 Yup, The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks is the original story. A little boy in England discovers a magic cupboard that makes his toys come to life by bringing over a real person depicted by the figure. The first one is an Iroquois native named Little Bear. I grew up on the books and remember them fondly. Probably dating myself with that, but oh well.

[@captainshyguy3175]

good movie

[@gost1997cj]

Ye that movie is still fire lol

[@MintyCoolness]

TBH, the Owner is the greater villain in all this.

[@chilomine839]

Dahlia ended up developing dependency issues because of her lost memories due to Owner ripping out the pages in her diary so everything you do has no context for her. From her point of view everything is for her so when you switch gears of course she’ll feel slighted.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Not the greater but THE ONLY villain. Everyone else is just a victim... i hate (and thus love) this history so much!!

[@Willowisp927]

@@jestfullgremblim8002 Dahlia is also a villain. Being a victim DOESN'T justify you to make more victims for your own selfish beliefs.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@Willowisp927 you have a point, but pls note how she was driven mad by the owner. Or don't you see how the law protects people that get strongly driven by others into commiting crimes? (Even tho sometimes they get sent to rehab centers and that kind if stuff, but you know what i mean). Don't you see how even Huxley ended up killing her? Yeah she had to do with it, but she has that personality because of the owner, and Huxley snapped because the owner took his spring and he was also told to go back into the box. The owner has all the faults, he doesn't seem to reslly care about them. On the endings where she kills Huxley, she was right even! (Kind of) she said that she felt that the owner was pulling aways, and it was true! They were turning Huxley into the new "favorite" and with the personality that the owned made her adopt, she obviously wasn't going to take that in a good way, she was also locked on her room by the owner after she accidentally broke the cane. Yes, yes i totally believe that even tho she is did bad things, she isn't at fault, Huxley did come and take the owner's love from her on that one ending, and yet Huxley didn't want have anything to do with that, the owner just decided that he was the new favorite and that the others didn't matter as much anymore. And she having that bad personality is on the owner's fault, just look how he refers to Huxley on the first endings, he openly thinks that the clown is a no one that is only there for Dalhia to speak to. He also used to give her all the stuff that she asked for and took away anyone who bothered her. And also, he just clearly made her feel "special" like she was above everyone. The same happens with pets, this whole game just makes me feel bad about domestic animals... like really, the whole thing can be represented on real life with pets...

[@Willowisp927]

@@jestfullgremblim8002 Man, she is a almost a psychopath and she would probably murder a lot of 'dolls' non stop if she didn't die. Didn't you see her diary? She 'got rid' of EVERY 'friend' owner put in there. She even killed small Wiskers who didn't had anything with it. I know people could claim that they are 'crazy' to avoid law, but that's not the point. The point is that someone like that is a danger to the society and honestly, in her case, the owner should've just destroyed her MUCH sooner as she is beyond repair. That's what law does to serial killers, no matter how they claim they were abused in the past. Lethal Injection. Either that, or they are sentenced to be jailed forever and isolated. But they are a danger even to the guards so a quick death is much preferrable. This is why at the end death to her was also a punishment and 'mercy'. The thing is, you can't dictacte whom someone loves. This isn't 'love' nor is healthy, this is possession. And possession is something only very sick people have in relationships. The biggest mistake of the Owner was letting her live on the first place after she started with her drama long ago. I would have destroyed her immediately and put other dolls there to replace her. And no, I don't believe pets are the same, animals are NOT evil. If an animal suddently attacks you, it's because either they felt pressured/feared by your actions, they want to protect ther cubs (like mama bears), they are very hungry if they are carnivore, or they have like a cancer on the brain like sometimes happens to dogs. It's not malice, planned murder and manipulation like she did. In other worlds, animals do things by survival instinct.

[@micahbruce4547]

I have never related more with a character in my life. What happened to Huxley in Dahlia's route has happened to me before and pretty much went exactly how it did in the game (besides the whole murder but or course) and it almost makes me think that the game devs must have gone through an experience similar to what happened in game or know someone who has gone through that experience.

[@sophie0918]

Preferably I like Huxley, his sarcastic personality is really fun for me

[@milkshakedemanga8653]

Same, adored him since the start

[@gyarurespecter3386]

Also I made an earlier joke comment, but for real though, the game is actually a pretty great example of how different love/friendship can impact people. Dahlia is obviously the toxic overbearing ex-girlfriend type that thinks the world is falling if she doesn't get her way, but one unique thing about her is that she feels genuinely depressed unless she's "given" the same amount of care that she shows. She clearly puts a lot of effort into being the "favourite", and what makes her hate Huxley the most is how effortless he "gains" favors with the owner by not trying too hard, and just being himself. For all of Dahlia's talk about how the owner's love is something that fulfills her and gives her life meaning, she ironically has a more direct and almost materialistic belief in what "love" is, as the narration says she expects the owner "owes" her things whenever she does things right. It's like being a good doll is a job to her, not something that she does because she simply enjoys being with her owner and has faith that her owner enjoys her company back. It's tragic in a way, it almost feels like Dahlia could turn into a good person by just realizing that her owner does care for her just because she's there for him, rather than because she does things "right" or is an over-zealous perfectionist. Dahlia's toxic, but calling her simply 'entitled' might not be the right term because from her perspective, yeah, she's totally putting in the effort, and now she's being "abandoned" by someone who just walks around without "working" like she does. She learned to appreciate the wrong things in life and relationships, and her envy is all a product of that. She's not the perfect doll, but she has a more complex mindset than the average yandere. Huxley is far, far more mature in comparison, but he doesn't have it all figured out either, and can be read as someone with depression who has difficulty loving himself, as well as believing that he can't be loved by others. His belief that meaning comes only from you yourself sounds inspiring at first, but it's not like he has a high level of confidence or is totally fine with being all by his lonesome. Rather, he has difficulty caring for other people because of how he's been pretty much abandoned, and developed an apathetic attitude because there's no way to know if someone else cares for him for sure. So even if it hurts, he just closes himself off and gets by without putting in too much effort, as it's the "safest" route to take. If you don't expose yourself or put your guard down, there's no way you'll befriend or fall in love with others, but there's no way you'll get hurt either. He befriended Wisker very quickly, but I wonder how much of it is just A) to feed into Dahlia's paranoia that "everyone is leaving her", and B) because Wisker is desperate to be with someone who isn't an envious paranoiac. Hell, even the owner gets in on this. More often than not, relationships are depicted as either toxic or loving with no in-between - either you're a loving person or you're an abuser. I've seen very few stories in games deal with people who are just abandoning, apathetic or detached without it being part of a grander abusive/manipulative route. It's clear that the owner doesn't see either Dahlia or Huxley as loved ones, just "projects". But at the same time, they're "projects" that matter to him because of the time and investment sunk into them. It's possible the owner doesn't "care" for them as Huxley fears, but at the same time, the owner sees them as an extension of himself. It's not even like he's COMPLETELY out of touch with morality, or of the massive power imbalance between him and the dolls; in all the endings, the owner acknowledges his mistakes, understanding that it was HIS spoiling and enabling that made things escalate to the point that they did, and seems to genuinely want to learn from his error, even if it's for the sake of his own projects and goals. He clearly states that he wants to be "undefiable", which can bring to mind a controlling parent or guardian. But from his point of view, how can a parent discipline his children if they don't believe in the paren't authority at all? It's an unique take because the owner is not portrayed as a sociopath or manipulator trying to hurt the dolls to satisfy his own ego because of his lack of real attachments, but more as an overseer, possibly as an utilitarian that sees the doll as "interesting" rather than "loved ones", while still showing some care that undoubtedly paints him as truly invested in their development. There's no "love", only "favourites". Or, to put it in a more blatant and obvious way, he's the player. If a character you like dies in a game - because of your own choices, no less - you'll be sad about it and try to do better, but it's not like you lost a REAL friend, right? You can always try again. Get characters that are similar to the last, maybe even customize them to fit the same niche if that's possible, with the knowledge that they'll be better than the last "batch" due to your new knowledge. Why get worked up over your toys? If you want them to be better than the ones from yesterday, you have to remain in control; not only of your emotions, but of their behavior, too.

[@sharkshock5397]

great essay

[@justapassingbycommenterrem5642]

In a metaphysical way the player here is depicted as "God" In many ways similar to other 4th wall breaking games. I notice that dahlia and Huxley are also equivalences to how people react to believe and religion. Dahlia is the traditional conservative Christian and Huxley is the existentialist, seen through their behavior and view of the player. You can also equate that as a relationship because religion can also be seen in a way close to a relationship. I'm not gonna try to jusge which view is "the right one" Or whatever but here's the main difference when it comes to the "God" Here, he isn't perfect. He tries his best to maintain peace but he has his biases, he makes errors, is unkind and unfair at times and shows favouritism in his creations. So to me the game read as "how would 2 people who have completely different views when it comes to religion react to an imperfect god, how they interpret the things he does do and how they respon to that." Here's the ironic part though their endings have them do things that are opposite of their ideologies, Dahlia burns the house and herself (effectively taking control of her own life and choosing to end it (existentialism) ) while huxley kills dahlia and lets the player decide if he lives or dies, parallel to each other one is choosing to die and can be saved and the other is choosing to live and can be killed. Pretty deep stuff huh

[@Willowisp927]

@@andersn4931 Since you couldn't even write a single line of text correctly and thinks several paragraphs is a book, I'd say good luck in life doing anything that isn't about pure physical force.

[@hanin_gurl]

@@justapassingbycommenterrem5642 Agreed!

[@hanin_gurl]

While i mostly agree, your last sentence about comparing your favourite character to this is a bit different. Mostly because these dolls are sentient. They have feelings, they act realistic, they are suffering. If you were to compare them, they would be humans. He's using the dolls more as a show he can watch. He has the most smallest care in how much suffering these dolls are holding. I honestly do not like the creator at all. He is definitley the bigger antagonist. So i might have this bias.

[@AlyceMalyce]

As someone who owns a ball jointed doll, I am one of those people who get very excited over perfect replica miniatures that fit my bjds scale. She's 60cm and I love how it looks and enjoy the idea of treating her well due to a belief that good energies, or spirits may inhabit anything but are drawn to human looking things. So treating things well is important, but it's not a popular belief or scientific.

[@pinkpugginz]

I love this

[@horsefuneral27]

its funny how when you 'favour' Huxley, all you do is give him a present and punish Dahlia for being a blatant asshole. But when you choose to favour Dahlia you literally allow her to abuse Huxley and even rip off Huxley's legs at her request LMAO

[@candicenutzfit-inurmouth142]

Even the- Thumbnail!

[@kimchi8022]

Hi manly, I just wanted to say thank you. I’ve always loved pixel horrors and indie horror games in general growing up. But for years I thought there was only IB,Mad Father, Witches house and that was about it. I was sad about it for awhile. But when I discovered your channel, I felt like I hit the jackpot. There’s so many amazing horror themed games out there that I didn’t know of.. I really want to thank you for playing Your Boyfriend too. When I watched your YB video, it gave me the suggestion for Sunny Day Jack. The game isn’t fully released yet, but since I’ve discovered it, I’ve joined the devs Patreon, discord and above all that, a community that I love. It’s so awesome being part of something with people that share the same interest and are also all waiting to experience something together. On top of that…I feel really happy. I was going through some emotional problems but lately they seem to have subsided. Thank you so much for everything :)

[@intelligentduck9255]

Girl my favourite is Misao

[@otaku-roblox398]

Glad your manly enough to explain all of that

[@jeremyhall2727]

I know it's going to be awesome 👍🏾

[@Arcueid_Brunestud]

The Crooked Man is another good RPG Maker horror game.

[@EmeraldAshesAudio]

MBH videos are really good for game recs. I am clearly the niche demographic for this channel, haha. If you like YB & Sunny Day Jack, you might be interested in the demos for Invite Me In, My Dear Hatchet Man & 14 Days with You. There are a surprisingly large number of horror romance games in development right now, and I found those to be among the more intriguing ones.

[@eldritchabomination9726]

It's quite interesting how you aren't really choosing a favorite, you're choosing who dies. Whichever is shown more favor is the one who dies, and I think that's what happened to the other dolls who used to live there. Dahlia started being sidelined, so she killed them, making a never-ending loop of new doll, losing favor, then killing.

[@phantom-ri2tg]

I do not think that is what happened. Dhalia's comments on toys disappearing after not getting favored suggests that is not the case. That she killed herself after strongly suggests that is not the case. I read some suggest the first doll though was similar to how she was now though.

[@eldritchabomination9726]

@@phantom-ri2tg I more meant as you play the game. You can always save the least favorite, but the favorite always dies

[@phantom-ri2tg]

@@eldritchabomination9726 I was referring to the dolls that used to live there in the past.

[@aquarys4425]

In my opinion, the scariest stories are the ones steeped with truth and this one is unfortunately, very real with how it portrayed abusive relationships. Well done. Was haunting and spooky and I feel bad for everyone involved :(

[@dolycon]

The toys are sentient and have feelings and thoughts, so shouldn't they be protected and treated well? The owner: perhaps ;)

[@FalselyProfound]

Love the little detail of Dahlia making a quiche for breakfast the morning after she fights with the Owner. Given she woke Huxley up to do so, I like to think she deliberately broke routine and didn't ask the Owner what to have.

[@DeadstreaK_]

This really messed with my heart dude, this seemed more like a sad fairytale than a horror story. Like, I felt more like I wanted to do something so fuckin bad than really terrified over what I was watching; not that I wasn’t but, y’know. I really really hope that there’s an update that adds a secret happy ending. If at least, one that’s hidden very well.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Exactly

[@enigmastudiosgaming]

I can totally understand Dahlia's feeling upset at being replaced. But clearly she has a basket of mental issues, and yes, I have to agree that the REAL antagonist in this story is the Dollmaker. Huxley didn't deserve his ending, that is true, but I think that the Dollmaker could've easily shaped events to help soothe them both. In the end a strangely compelling story, and a very sad one! It would be interesting to see into the larger world of the game, what was happening in the other dollhouses. It could easily have been a series. Or maybe will yet be?

[@buttons551]

Yeah, the Dollmaker is the root cause of everything. At times he seems caring but that's surface level as he seems so cold about their feelings. They definitely didn't communicate well with Dahlia about things because they make their presence known to her regularly but doesn't really talk to her. Much better communication would go such a long way with her.

[@bluehydra2582]

I think the Owner can be analogous to a parent in some ways, with how they provide everything for the toys, and how they control their lives. And there are three things everyone can agree not to do with children: A) Don't keep them isolated. B) Don't spoil them C) Don't pick favorites. What strikes me as darkly amusing is that the Owner goes ahead and does all three, then makes the surprise pikachu face when things go horribly wrong. Because he doesn't see them as people, not really.

[@RainbowTeddy9417]

This is actually such a pretty good horror game to be honest. It’s such a shame it’s underrated.

[@o.s.1406]

I really want more of these characters.

[@jpqgg]

im honestly very excited to see fanworks based off this. i think an interesting idea would be Huxley starting to get treated like Dahlia (aka spoiled), but Dahlia doesn't have the option to get violent because of the owner preventing her! its a bit weird how ive came up with 5 ideas based off this story alone in under 24hrs..

[@macelyamanyaklkyapyo4177]

I'm actually happy that this game is underrated, don't get me wrong, the only thing i'm sure about fandoms is more populer = more of weird side. There is a weird and awfull side in EVERY fandoms, especially in popular games. So if a game stays underrated, then the posibblity to attract weird side is less. I'm honestly scared of some weirdo making nsf-w of Huxley and Dahlia. It would be a nightmare...

[@blackandwhitecats4243]

@@macelyamanyaklkyapyo4177 Yo,I wonder what the tags will be for that "art".

[@macelyamanyaklkyapyo4177]

@@blackandwhitecats4243 it's actually a good question- YUP I'M WONDERING ABOUT IT RN-

[@sheikhjaved9203]

"dahlia please..seriously we don't have organs and your just stabbing me"\ best quote.

[@marcusmusicals9446]

> "oh no, I can't interfere because it's all too small and I don't wanna get stabbed too" > "I'll pick up an on-fire Dahlia with my tools, EZ PZ" buddy ole pal... I expected no more from the dollmaker, but man, they sure like to act like they have no way to stop any of the tension or straight-up murder that goes on in the Dollhouse. yikes, my dude.

[@phadenswandemil4345]

I feel like Dahlia is the devs' favourite lol. She got a pretty prolonged murdering Huxley scene, Huxley's murdering Dahlia wasn't even shown. Also, Dahlia gets a more dramatic ending when she burns the house. Huxley basically sits on a bed for his ending.

[@pinkpugginz]

that could be true. also dahlia had such a more intense emotional response overall. I think her being killed and not being shown was the writers choice to show how apathetic huxley was overall

[@pinkpugginz]

or they didnt have time/budget to show it I would love to see it