So here's a drawing of Annabelle! One of my favorite characters from Electricpuke :3 I think even though Annabelle seems so sweet and kind, I don't think she's THAT innocent. (Who the hell is innocent in Gato or Electricpuke and Darqx's work?😭). Annabelle has moments where she gets emotional and desperate when things don't go her way. She's very sweet and charming, but if something goes wrong and she didn't expect it, she'll go mad.
(Annabelle,I love you, and you are very cute,but your arms were such a pain to draw 😭)
There's a file on your desk, would you like to open it?
>YES NO
Annabelle is a shy reserved child, rarely talking with the other patients or staff. At night, nurses have heard her talking to someone named 'Josie'. No one knows who Josie is or what they look like.
If she misbehaves or tries to harm the staff or other students, she will simply respond with, "Josie told me to do it"
*snaps fingers* Guess what? I got the “okay” sign to talk a little bit more about Runawayoutlaw’s unfinished Dollmaker build.
That means yes I will be going into my thoughts about the characters and setting this time. I focused on Dollmaker being outside the Rockland canon and the game mechanics last time.
(MAJOR spoilers below for the unfinished Dollmaker build)
First of all, what is the plot of Dollmaker? Well the MC this time around is a medical student attending a seminar that day on improving relations between demons and humans for the greater good. One of the very speakers at the lecture is none other than Dr. Sano Kojima. The MC apparently catches his eye and you two seem to get along fairly well considering you admire him for his position (he’s a demon ambassador) and he appreciates that you seem to be specializing in demons for your medical degree. All seems to be going well and you look forward to discussing the profession with him more...only to get caught off guard when he knocks you out and brings you to his home. The atmosphere quickly changes when you wake up and he cuts straight to point that his main goal is turn you into a human doll! He puts a binding spell on you so you can’t escape the house, but he gives you the freedom to walk about as you please.
That’s pretty much the gist of the game. From there it’s about exploration and getting to know the inhabitants of the house, and on rare occasions, seeing some visitors.
Sano Kojima
As I stated in my previous post, both Sano and Akira have been introduced beforehand in BTD. This game was meant to revamp the characters and stories. For the most part, I’d say personality wise that Sano stays very similar to his BTD counterpart. He’s very calm and professional. He’s very much into his research and appreciates compliance from the MC. He can still kill you in this, but the only such ending I found is if you fight back repeatedly right away. Like I said, he prefers compliance. He is probably one of the more sane of the three main house inhabitants and possibly the nicest? It’s hard to say when I feel like both Sano and Annabelle’s routes weren’t quite finished yet. That or I haven’t found everything yet.
I will say compared to the BTD game, Sano here doesn’t show nearly as much sadism or malice. He DOES still want to turn you into a doll though, but again I don’t think his route was fully finished (or I haven’t found the right paths yet). I didn’t get a full ending with him completing the doll transformation, so other than the beginning, we don’t get to delve into that obsession as much as I would have liked. I remember playing BTD and getting that one ending and thinking, “Oh! I love that concept, I wish I could have seem more of the character focused on that.” Dollmaker is obviously supposed to do that, but the creator didn’t get around to the finishing touches. I kept getting stuck in the same loops with “Sano’s route,” so I can’t say much else.
Annabelle Winter
Annabelle is a brand new character. There’s a bio for her luckily in the game to explain some of who she is (a former lead singer), but otherwise I probably was able to get the least information about her in the game. I remember some notes about her one tumblr way back when Dollmaker was being developed. Basically, she’s supposed to be Sano’s “first doll.” You, the MC, would then end up being the second doll. You can tell this really doesn’t sit well with Annabelle, even if I couldn’t get much more information about her feelings in the game. There’s a conversation between Akira and her you can spy on, but you really aren’t quite sure what’s happening. Her room was also always locked for me. I don’t know if the programming for it all hadn’t been completed like Sano’s wasn’t, or I just wasn’t performing the correct actions.
The existence of Annabelle is interesting though because then it does make you ask questions like: What’s her relationship with Sano? Are they lovers or something else? Is she jealous that he’s making a new doll? Does Sano plan to throw Annabelle out after he has you? Does this mean the MC could also get tossed out later? What’s her relationship with Akira? Stuff like that adds more tension to the atmosphere. On the plus side, at least you know Sano’s successfully turned someone into a doll before, so you know the procedure should go fine (yay?). Personality wise, I didn’t have enough to go off of to get a real good idea of what she’s like. She can be a little bitter and creepy, that’s for sure, but also talks sensibly with someone like Akira. It’s hard to say.
Akira Kojima
Ah Akira! Probably the character that was the closest to completion in my opinion. That doesn’t mean his whole path WAS complete, but compared to Sano (one death ending vs. couldn’t progress) and Annabelle (hardly any progression and no ending found), Akira actually had decent introductions, quality time with the MC and an ending. Granted, it was mostly the ONE ending...but I kind of loved it and it wasn’t a death ending at least. Before I get into that, what’s he like in Dollmaker? Well he definitely has more of a domineering and feisty personality I’d say, contrasting nicely with Sano. He also can be both naughty and tender I’d say when it comes to romance. He can be pretty sensitive at times. You also learn he’s a contract killer in this game, but he doesn’t seem to really enjoy the work. That’s the only major hint I’d say of the guy being unhappy. I remember during the development process it was hinted that Akira has a LOT of baggage in this universe. Baggage unfortunately that seems to make unstable enough that he will completely flip his lid if he thinks someone is turning on him. What I’m saying is...the dude actually has a yandere ending XD I’m not joking. For those who know of my main blog and are probably thinking, “Did YOU enjoy that?” the answer is obviously HECK YES! See what happens is if you get too cozy with Akira, apparently that makes him latch onto you.
I swear to god when I played my first run, I was NOT trying to make him jealous. I thought there was more to do so I didn’t think it was a big deal if I didn’t wake him in bed (it seemed rude to me), go to the kitchen and compliment Sano’s eye. But those Telltale mechanics from the last post I talked about? This is where I realized too late they were hinting that Akira gets VERY aware of what you do in the house once he starts to like you. He doesn’t like it AT ALL if you either seem like you’re trying to leave or get friendly with anyone else then. He goes full “snap.” What he does is try to “train you” so that you agree the MC belongs to him and him alone then. I love how he does it actually because I find it pretty realistic. Yeah he gets really rough with you initially once he’s snapped, but the big thing is he throws you into a large closet. He just leaves you with a bucket and nothing else. And then he makes NO CONTACT with you. You go through...who knows how many days with occasional bottles of water or food placed on the floor without Akira talking to you or even you seeing him. Depending on your actions, sometimes he’ll pop in to check on you, but if you show that your spirit isn’t broken yet, he goes back to the no contact. He’s essentially driving the MC insane through isolation. It’s very simple but incredibly effective. Imagine literally being given nothing to do for days on end with limited food and water and just a bucket to relieve yourself in. It can start to wear on you. Humans are social creatures too (we NEED other people). I love MC’s with stronger spirits actually that don’t bend to a yandere’s whims all that easily. So yeah, I kept the MC yelling and tried to just hold out as long as I could. This puts you in a loop though and Outlaw did a nice little touch where there’s this static effect over the screen when you continue to make decisions. This helps to emphasize how monotonous this routine is becoming for the MC and you really feel less of the urge to fight back anymore. I can see why the MC broke in the end. Once they are broken, Akira comes to collect you and that’s pretty much the end.
Obviously I loved playing through Akira’s path the most. I will do one small critique here since...I’m kind of a nut about yanderes. I think it would have been nice to have a FEW more hints before Akira’s “snap” that he suffers from something like anxiety or separation over losing people. There might have been some and I just got lost in the build maze finding this information XD Like I said, I knew he had baggage (and even lost a lover) from the creator’s tumblr page during development, but I think it would have been nice to have some hints like that in the game. Just food for thought in case they want to try another yandere character in the future. Some people don’t like if you pull a “yandere snap” out of nowhere without at least dropping some kind of hint of instability with the character prior. I mean I’ll always enjoy yandere endings regardless honestly XD It depends on how serious you want to take it though. This situation was different than say Marcus from Till Death Do Us Part only because....that game basically is ALL about the “snap” there (no real progression to it like in Dollmaker). You had just enough backstory (The MC and Marcus are divorced and Marcus gives you nightmares) that him coming back as the ex from hell isn’t surprising. People can fill in the blanks and fantasize all they want there about what went wrong with the relationship beforehand. With Akira, you’re seeing the relationship progression play out, so there’s a little more pressure to make the “snap” a little more believable.
I don’t know how fair it is to critique an] game that’s clearly not finished though 0.o
There’s was other stuff in the game I enjoyed like all the little Easter eggs with the plants and paintings, and Cain even popped up briefly in a bad end :P There was other stuff I also didn’t learn about though like Mio (sorry I scared you lol), but it is what it is.
i wrote a little bit of fluff (and a lil’ angst) for akira & annabelle after an idea popped into my head.... enjoy~
aki & annie belong to @electricpuke!
"Do I really have to wear this dumb blindfold?"
Akira chuckled at Annabelle's tense voice next to him, one hand leaving the steering wheel to give a playful flick to her hair.
"Yes! Don't you know what a surprise is?" Akira said, chuckling again at the huff that came from Annabelle.
“Who ever said I liked surprises?” Annabelle replied, sticking her tongue out. Akira just smiled at her response and gave her head a pat with his free hand. He had decided to take Annabelle on a date tonight after seeing that the carnival was back in town. The thought of just getting away for a night, pretending things were normal… It was worth it for Annabelle.
Bright, multicolored lights appeared up ahead, the view of an assortment of rides and booths soon popping up after. For a local carnival, it was rather big. He quickly found a place to park and took a deep breath.
“We’re here!” He said, reaching over to untie Annabelle’s blindfold. She blinked at the bright lights, but didn’t say anything. He couldn’t read her expression.
"It's kind of silly, but I thought it might be fun." Akira rubbed the back of his head. "Is it too stupid?"
Annabelle smiled at him and shook her head. He felt a little self-conscious about it. He didn't really get to go on many dates... With Annabelle, he wanted it to be extra special. Sano only agreed to let her come out after Akira begged.
“Actually… it’s perfect.” Annabelle said. Akira felt relieved. They both got out of the car and made their way to the carnival, Akira grumbling a bit at the overpriced tickets.
“So, what first?” Annabelle said, looking around as she spoke. Akira’s stomach grumbled, and he smiled sheepishly. Annabelle shook her head. “Guess that’s my answer.”
They wondered for a bit among the food booths before deciding to split a giant funnel cake, finding a place to eat near the ferris wheel. Akira ripped off a large piece with his hands and shoved it in his mouth, powdered sugar smearing on his cheek. Akira leaned towards her and wiggled his eyebrows. Annabelle laughed at him and rolled her eyes, leaving Akira to pout.
“We’re not in a movie, Aki. I’m not gonna lick it off your cheek.” She said, taking a bite with her fork. He stuck his tongue out at her, using his hand to wipe it off his face and onto the bench. She rolled her eyes at him again but smiled as she took another bite.
Once they finished eating they wondered around the carnival a bit more, Annabelle’s hand eventually finding Akira’s. They attracted a lot of stares as they wondered but ignored them as they got lost in their own conversation.
Annabelle hadn’t been too keen on riding anything, but Akira convinced her to get on the ferris wheel. The ferris wheel had topped with their seat at the top, giving them a great view of the carnival. Akira wrapped his arm around Annabelle as she scanned the carnival and jumped a bit when he heard her gasp.
“What is it, Annie?” He said, concerned.
“Giant. Stuffed. Animals.” She said, her sights zeroed in on the games area of the carnival. Even from the top of the ferris wheel, Akira could see the giant plushies she was talking about. There were several booths with an assortment of various animals. “Will you win me one?”
“Of course.” He said, placing a kiss on the top of her head. He couldn’t help but get a chuckle out of her serious attitude. Well, stuffed animals were serious business…
As soon as they exited the ferris wheel they made their way to the games area, Annabelle stopping at every booth to view the prizes. Several typical carnival games were scattered about, from the ladder climbing game to the classic milk jugs game. Akira felt confident he could win any of them.
Annabelle took a moment to choose, before pointing to a gigantic purple cat. It was located under the game that involved knocking milk jugs down. The attendee noticed them looking and whistled.
“We gotta couple looky-loos over here! You two gonna play or what?” His voice was amplified by a small microphone he was wearing. Something about him made Akira angry. But maybe that was his intention, he thought.
Annabelle grimaced at him, ignoring him, and pointed at the giant purple cat again. Akira nodded and pulled his wallet out, pulling out some bills to play.
"Look at this hot shot! You really think you can do it, meathead?" The attendee laughed again. A small crowd of people had gathered to watch. "I doubt you can even get one hit in."
Akira bristled for a moment at his jab, but Annabelle's hand on his arm reminded him to calm down. Oh, he would win all right.
He handed the money over to the attendee who just smirked in response. The attendee handed him the balls and stepped to the side.
Akira took a moment to assess the game. Sure, they were usually rigged, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t win. Most people didn’t have the accuracy and strength he had. The attendee clapped his hands.
“Now or never, big guy. 3 hits for the cat.” He motioned for Akira to throw.
Akira lined up his shot quickly and threw the ball, smirking as the first jug fell over. The attendee clapped again.
“Lucky shot, lucky shot.” A few more people had gathered to watch. A crowd made him feel even more confident. But really, he just wanted to win this for Annabelle. He took his second shot, smoking the milk jug straight in the middle and knocking it down. The third shot had the same result. Akira tossed the 4th ball in his hand for a moment, showing off for the crowd before knocking down the 4th jug. The next two went down the same, and he received applause from the crowd. The attendee just grumbled as he went to grab the giant cat down.
Akira grabbed it and looked at him expectantly.
“Since I got all 6, don’t you think I should win another prize?” He smirked at the attendee. Annabelle had walked up behind him, and he heard her giggle. The attendee rolled his eyes but nodded.
“Your pick, Annie.” Akira said. Annabelle looked again and laughed loudly before she pointed at a giant black snake plushie that was hanging behind the others. The attendee grumbled again and handed them the snake before turning his attention elsewhere.
Akira wrapped the giant snake around Annabelle’s shoulders, its body hanging halfway down hers. The giant purple cat she was holding dwarfed her body too, making Akira smile.
“Thank you, Aki.” Annabelle said, squeezing the cat. “Now we have to think of names!”
“If you don’t name that snake Akira, I’ll be wounded.” He replied, putting his hand over his heart. “As for the cat… how about Ace?”
“Interesting. I like it.” Annabelle said. “Hmm, I suppose the snake can be Akira.”
“Good! That way, I’ll always be with you.” He said, watching as her face fell. What he had just said dawned on him – it was definitely a sore spot for her. He pulled her in for a hug, squishing the giant cat in-between them.
“But what if you’re not one day? Things have been hard lately. You know that.” Annabelle said beneath him, her voice quiet. He felt the pain in her voice.
“I will always be here for you, Annabelle.” He kissed the top of her head. “I promise. Even if I can’t be near you… I’m protecting you.”
He felt her nuzzle her face into his chest before stepping back, arms still wrapped around the giant cat plush.
“Thank you, Akira. For everything.” She leaned up and Akira bent down to meet her, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. She stepped back after a moment, and Akira realized the crowd from the game was still gathered around. “Let’s spend our last hour somewhere alone?”
“Perfect.” Akira replied. “For now, let me carry Ace, yeah?” He said, and Annabelle handed him the stuffed cat, which he was easily able to hold in the crook of one arm.
“Let’s get out of here.” Akira said, and felt Annabelle’s hand reach for his free hand. He squeezed her hand as they turned to walk away, wishing that the moment didn’t have to end. Maybe one day, it wouldn’t.
