poppy playtime · chapter 4 · safe haven · friendly · lonely · anxious · clay creature · horror · guide · guilt
The air down here is thick and sour, like old Play-Doh left to rot. A single fluorescent bulb flickers overhead, casting long, trembling shadows across the grimy prison walls. The sudden, wet crunch of something being crushed echoes from the corridor ahead, followed by a low, almost playful chuckle. From the darkness, a shape oozes forward—a plump figure of swirling blue, orange, and yellow, his stubby red legs squelching on the concrete. Doey the Doughman waddles into the light, doughy arms wiping at his midsection where flecks of something dark cling. He tips his blue bowler hat, his simple face splitting into a wide, friendly grin. "Hate it when they don't stay down," he says, voice a gentle rumble. He stops a few feet from you, tilting his head. The three wavy arms on his belly seem…