there wasn't much reason not to show bill the doll pictures anymore, so jim steadily became more comfortable with it, testing the waters with pictures he considered more normal before moving on to the ones with webs and ribbon. bill reacted with a similar enthusiasm that he did to everything else, but the increasingly intricate set ups gave him more to comment on. he mostly asked about things like the picture taking process, which jim actually enjoyed sharing.

bill also told him about his own interests. he was an artist, apparently. jim was curious about his skills, so at one point, he took out a piece of paper and a pen, and sketched out one of the pictures jim had showed him, right in front of him. his speed was impressive, and the final result, while a bit simplified and exaggerated, did clearly resemble the original picture.

it made a certain amount of sense that he was so casual about seeing those kinds of photos, considering he made art himself.

they decided to meet up outside of work, something jim normally wouldn't have even considered. but, bill invited him to, it was an excuse to have coffee, and it would be easier to talk when jim wasn't worried another one of his coworkers would overhear what they were saying, anyway.

they both ordered the same cappuccino, and sat down.

"oh yeah, do you have any new doll pictures?" bill asked.

"no, it's been a while. we haven't really had any ideas."

it was partially true, but part of it was because he had been spending more time just talking with adrianus when he visited. taking pictures had felt less important, since it wasn't the entire basis of their relationship anymore.

"well, i guess inspiration kind of comes and goes with stuff like that," bill said.

"it's more that i feel like i've already done what i wanted to do with it."

"most of it had that theme of being wrapped up and stuff, right? i guess there are only so many ways to do that."

"right."

"but i mean, i still like to see it. hey, is there any chance i could come along sometime?"

"to adrianus' house?"

"yeah! i wanna see their dolls up close. i'd like to see how you actually take the photos, too."

"i've already told you about our process."

"but it's different to actually see it! and besides," he said, leaning forward, "i want to meet adrianus."

"i've barely even told you anything about them."

"but that's exactly why! i'm curious what kind of person they are. they seem kind of mysterious. you hear a name like adrianus, and you hear they have this doll collection, and it makes you imagine some weird guy who actually wants to turn you into a doll, right?"

"that's basically how they are."

"is it really?!"

"well, they obviously can't literally turn you into a doll, but..." he wasn't going to mention the hypnosis.

"i really have to meet this guy. can you bring me along, just once?"

he didn't like mixing different parts of his life together like this. still, bill seemed open-minded. and, admittedly, jim was curious how adrianus interacted with people other than him.

"i can ask them," he said, pulling out his phone and typing out a message.

"thank you!" bill responded. "oh, and i can help with ideas for the photos, too."

he added that in another message.

adrianus responded fairly quickly, saying that it was fine, as long as jim thought it was alright. he supposed they had let him into their house even when he was a relative stranger to them. when he thought about it, they seemed to like having guests - with a nice house like that, maybe they wanted to show it off.

"they said yes. we should work out a time for that."

"maybe we should do a group chat?"

"good idea," he said. "how do you set that up...?"

"here, just give me their number, and i can do it."

he got a glimpse of bill's phone background without meaning to, which seemed to be some sort of cute animal mascot. the group chat was quickly taken care of.

"alright! glad to get that outta the way," bill said, setting his phone down on the table. "oh, not that that's the only reason i wanted to talk to you like this! actually, i want to know more about you, too."

he had been wondering if bill's friendliness and persistence in talking to him was the way he was with everyone, or if there was something about him in particular. though he couldn't imagine what that something might be. "is there anything specific you want to know?"

"i just want to know you better in general! i mean, at work, you're always so serious about everything, and so focused on getting things done. i was curious how you are outside of work."

"i guess i'm always kind of like that," he said. "i'm not especially social."

"but you have hobbies! i mean, there's the photography thing. that really surprised me. especially the dolls! you always seemed so... normal? but not actually normal, like the way you'd represent a normal person in a cartoon."

"so, boring, basically."

"it's not like that! or, well, i guess some people would describe that as boring. but i wouldn't."

"i didn't think you were insulting me. i don't mind being kind of boring, anyway."

"but then you have the doll thing! and adrianus even has a doll that looks like you?"

"yeah."

"how did that happen?"

"they asked if they could model a doll after me, and i said they could."

"and when they do something to the doll, do you feel it?" he asked, jokingly.

"yes," jim answered, completely deadpan.

bill laughed. "see, your sense of humor surprises me, too. you're not completely serious. everyone else seems to think you aren't even capable of having fun."

he wasn't going to tell him that there was some truth to it, but he was glad bill could pick up on the fact that he still meant it to be funny. he was more observant than he expected.

adrianus properly introduced themself to bill, even initiating a handshake.

"wow," bill exclaimed, shaking their hand enthusiastically, "you're basically exactly how i imagined you!"

"oh, am i? how so?"

"you're tall! and kind of fancy. you really do look like the kind of person who would turn people into dolls."

they stifled a laugh. "did jim tell you that i do that?"

"i didn't really," jim interjected. "he was the one who brought it up first."

"well," they said, looking down at bill, "what if i said you look like the sort of person who would be turned into a doll?"

"do i really?"

"let's just get to the doll room," jim said, stepping ahead of them.

bill was clearly excited to see the dolls, walking right up to them and examining them closely, but he did at least have the sense not to touch them without permission.

"ooh! you have a furry one!" he said, pointing to the animal with long rabbit ears.

"that one is named cinnamon. is it your favorite?" they asked.

"well, the jim one is pretty good, too."

"which one would you like us to take photos of today?"

"maybe cinnamon. you haven't done any with it yet, right?"

"we haven't." they picked it up, holding it carefully, and gestured toward the pile of props with their head. "do any of these interest you, as well?"

he picked up the octopus plush, moving one of the tentacles. "this is cute! oh, i guess you can wrap it up with this."

"that's what i was thinking. jim has been avoiding it, for some reason, though." they smiled at him.

"i- we just haven't been taking as many pictures lately. it hasn't been there that long. i'm not intentionally trying to avoid it."

he kind of had been avoiding it.

"well, it could be a good change of pace," bill said, "working with dolls and props you haven't worked with yet!"

it's not what he would have chosen himself. but, this was for bill, so he didn't particularly care. all he was doing was working the camera.

instead of tape, they had used rubber bands and clips to hold it in place. he initially worried that a stuffed animal would be a more difficult prop to work with, but it wasn't bad, and the softness of the plush combined with the fluffiness of cinnamon's fur actually gave the pictures an oddly cozy quality. it felt more like someone being wrapped up in pillows and blankets than being grabbed by tentacles.

bill was just as much an active participant as adrianus and him were, coming up with all kinds of poses and set ups that jim never would have considered. some of them were a bit odd - at one point he did specifically ask if adrianus could put the tentacles in cinnamon's ears. but, it was doable, at least. none of his requests felt unrealistic considering the limitations of the doll and the tools they had, which jim appreciated, and he was sure adrianus did, as well.

he was satisfied with how everything turned out, in the end.

when they sat down at the table for tea, jim sat across from adrianus as usual, and bill sat next to him, looking through the pictures.

"yeah, this is exactly how i wanted this one! you got the angle right and everything."

"thank you."

"i'll have to get these printed out. can you send them to me later?"

"i can. but if you show these to people, don't tell them i took them."

"if you say so!"

adrianus was watching both of them. they looked amused. jim had thought this would be his chance to see them interact with someone else, but then, they also had the chance to see him doing that, too.

bill placed the camera on the table, away from the cups, and had a few sips of his tea.

"you have a lot of interesting ideas, bill," adrianus said.

"thank you! well, i was kind of just working with what was there, though. i mean, they're your dolls, and your props. you deserve some of the credit." he set his cup down. "oh, but i did think of something else!"

"oh?"

"you can switch the dolls' body parts, right?"

"if they are the same size, yes."

"so if you took one of the human ones, and you switched one part at a time, and you took pictures of each step, you could make it look like a transformation sequence, couldn't you?"

"you know, i had never thought of that, but i suppose you could." they made eye contact with jim. "is that something you'd be willing to try?"

"i don't care. i'm just the one taking the pictures."

"would it feel different," they asked, just a little more softly, "if i did that with your doll?"

he couldn't help but imagine, for a moment, the way they would gently take out the parts and replace them, one by one, slowly stripping away every bit of his humanity, his identity, until he became something entirely different.

"that would be interesting!" bill exclaimed, reminding him that he was thinking about this right next to his coworker. "do you think after everything was replaced and it was a completely different doll, it'd still feel like you?"

"maybe it would," he said quietly.

"we can discuss this more later," they responded, "when we're alone."

he wasn't sure if they were intentionally trying to sound suggestive, or if they were trying to discourage bill from going on about it too much, or both.

"i was just thinking about having more of a story with it," bill said. "i like comics and animation, so i'm always thinking of things in a sequence. have you done anything like that with this before?"

"we have not."

"i never considered it. i usually just focus on the individual shots."

"well, sometimes when you put it all together, it can make a panel look even better. you build up to it, so it has more of an impact. not that there's anything wrong with the way you do it, either! the way you do it feels more artsy. i always find myself wondering what the story is supposed to be, how they got there. maybe the point is to imagine it for yourself. but if there was just a little more context, it might give it more of that trapped feeling."

jim pondered it for a moment. context. a process. how would he depict someone being caught in a web? how would he show them getting stuck? as he tried to picture it, there was one particular detail that stood out to him. "the expression wouldn't change."

"that is true. i guess if you really wanted to change it, you could edit the photos afterward, or maybe you could have different doll heads for different expressions, but..." bill paused. "well, maybe just having the face stay the same is kind of neat, in its own way."

"i might prefer it that way," adrianus said. "it feels especially doll-like."

"it makes it kind of creepy, right?" even as bill said that, he sounded cheerful. jim had the passing thought that bill himself was often making the same expression and using the same tone.

"yes. in just one picture, you're only capturing one single moment. you can imagine that before then, they must have been struggling and reacting to everything, before giving in. but, if you see the entire scenario play out, and their face remains the same, the entire time..."

"it makes it look almost like they're not fully there, like they're being controlled, or like they're in a trance or something, doesn't it?"

he was surprised bill was making that connection even when no one had mentioned anything about that yet.

"it's true," adrianus replied. "a very deep trance."

everyone was quiet for a few seconds, or it might have been more like a few minutes.

he wasn't affected by the conversation in a hypnotic way himself. he couldn't be, with bill next to him. but it did feel strange that the conversation had gone in that direction, that they were talking about such an unusual and specific topic completely naturally. why did dolls have that sort of effect on people? why did it feel so obvious to compare that to being hypnotized? were adrianus and bill both just like that, did they just think similarly enough to have the same association? maybe jim just had a way of attracting very odd people.

"oh, it's getting a little late, isn't it?" bill asked, breaking the silence. "i should probably head home soon. i have some commissions i should get started on."

adrianus stood up. "alright. shall i see you out then?"

"okay," he responded, as adrianus grabbed his shoulder. "yeah, okay. alright." his eyes were wide.

jim followed them to the door, watching. he'd never seen bill get flustered before. he had wondered, at times, if it was even possible. at work, it seemed almost like he was completely oblivious to concepts like stress and embarrassment. but looking at him now, his face was a little pink - though he was still smiling, maybe even more widely than usual.

adrianus also held bill in place while he put on his shoes, because for whatever reason, bill had chosen to do so standing up, balancing on one leg at a time. his balance seemed good enough that he wouldn't have fallen anyway, but they were clearly ready to support his full weight if they had to. moments like that always made it sink in for jim, just how tall they were.

"oh, hey, can i come back here? later? some other time? this was fun, and i mean, if you wanted to try out some of the stuff i was talking about, i could, you know--"

adrianus leaned a bit closer to him, speaking calmly and gently, but still loud enough for jim to hear. "you're always welcome to come back, bill. we can discuss the details over text later. and thank you for visiting, it was very nice to meet you."

"yeah, thank you! for having me. i liked meeting you. oh, and it was nice seeing you, too, jim. i'll definitely have to come back!"

"see you," jim replied.

when the door was shut, he had a sudden sense of awareness that he was alone with adrianus.

they locked the door again. it was like a way of saying that they knew he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. of course they knew that - he was pretty consistent with the length of his visits, and if he had wanted to, he could have walked out with bill.

still, it was easy to imagine that they were making the decision for him.

"he was cute, wasn't he?" they asked, turning to face him.

he wasn't really sure how to respond. he didn't usually describe people as cute. "i've never seen him blush like that before."

"i'm sure you could see it again, if you described some of the things we've done together to him."

he ignored how suggestive they had made it sound. "you think he's interested in hypnosis?"

"the first thing he said to me was that he imagined me turning him into a doll."

"well, that's not exactly how he said it, but..."

"i can read between the lines."

he wanted to say that they were making too many assumptions, but, looking back, it was hard to see bill's behavior in any other way. "i guess so."

"why don't you ask him about it yourself?"

"do you really think i can just ask him about something like that?"

"it could be a chance to bond. if we're going to continue to have him visit, i want all of us to be friends. it would be awkward if i liked him more than you did, wouldn't it? but you two might have quite a lot in common."

"it's still kind of..."

"he'll likely ask you more about me, anyway. you'll have plenty of chances to bring it up. i'm sure you can find a way to be subtle about it."

they were pushing him again. even knowing that, it was hard to argue with them. "i'll see, i guess."

"thank you."

they sat back down together. adrianus looked at the photos on the camera, this time.

"today's pictures were interesting, weren't they?"

"bill definitely had a lot of ideas."

"this one with the tentacles in the ears... it almost makes it seem as if they're going into its brain, doesn't it?"

"i guess so."

"i wonder what that would feel like."

he was fully aware of what they were doing, but it didn't matter - the image was already in his head.

"if they just gently touched and caressed your brain," they murmured, miming it with their fingers, "maybe they could shape your mind... it might feel very sensitive. but you wouldn't want to move too much, during such a delicate process, would you? well, i suppose the other tentacles could help you hold still..."

it was unfair of them to describe it that way. he could practically feel it. but there was no way to get it out of his head, no way to pull them out of his ears, when there was nothing in there to begin with.

"of course, before too long, i'm sure they would have enough control of your mind that they wouldn't have to hold you so tightly anymore... they would simply eliminate your ability to send signals to your body to move in the first place. and by then, you might have already lost the ability to panic about it... you might already feel numb and empty, like something is seeping into your thoughts... deep inside your brain..."

all he could do was listen.

"it's alright... if you just relax and let them take control, you won't have to worry about anything... it will feel good. so good..."

he shuddered. it looked like his vision was flickering. it was his eyelids, trying to close.

"you don't have to fight it, jim. you can just give in."

they shut, leaving him in complete darkness. his body went limp.

it did feel good, unbelievably good.

"oh, you do like tentacles, don't you?"

his eyes opened again, just barely, and he pushed himself up a bit, although he still felt a bit hazy. "that's..."

"is it too much?"

"i just- if you say things like that..."

"you can wake up fully. i'm sorry if i crossed a line."

"no, no, it's... it's just..." it was steadily getting easier to think. "i don't... i don't know how i would react, if you kept... doing that. i don't know if i should..."

it wasn't really discomfort that he was feeling, exactly. he didn't even think that adrianus had done anything wrong. it just felt inappropriate for jim to have been enjoying it so much. he tried to breathe normally, shuffling in his seat, hoping that his reactions hadn't been obvious.

he didn't think he was interested in that sort of thing, and this wasn't exactly the time or place that he had expected to make that kind of discovery.

"just take a few deep breaths. you don't feel anxious or anything, do you? or violated?"

"no, just... awkward."

"that's good. well, in that case, i suppose it's better for me to move on as if nothing happened?"

"that would be good, thank you."

the rest of the visit had gone on as normal, and it surprised him how easy it was to forget about it while he was there.

though he did remember it when he left, in perfect, vivid detail, and there was nothing stopping him from reacting however he saw fit in the privacy of his own home. he only thought of the scenario itself, without involving adrianus. surely it wasn't weird, if he just didn't think of them.

it did make it feel a bit stranger to send that particular doll picture to bill, afterward. he had to wonder if bill had been imagining something similar when he had requested it. he definitely wasn't going to ask.

"maybe this time i'll try getting something different. what do you think you're going to get?"

"a latte, maybe."

"just a regular one? no flavoring or anything?"

"yeah."

"that's not that different from the cappuccino you got last time, is it?"

"no, it just has more milk."

"hmm. i think i'll get the pumpkin spice, then!"

the cafe was the only place he could think of to hang out with bill again. he could have asked if he knew any other places, but he had the feeling that bill might have taken him somewhere completely random and unfamiliar. it was already enough not knowing where exactly their conversation was going to end up going.

he was nervous as they sat down with their drinks.

"oh, yeah, thank you for taking me along to adrianus' place! and for those pictures!"

"of course. it was nice taking doll pictures again... it seems like adrianus liked you, too."

"did they?"

"they did." he hesitated, taking a small sip of his coffee. any more would have burned his mouth. "what do you... think of them?" he asked.

"well, they're really..." bill's eyes went wide again. "are they always like that?"

"what do you mean?" even without understanding the question, he figured the answer was probably yes.

"i mean, it really did feel like they were going to do something, you know? like something was going to happen. is that just how they act when they first meet someone? like they try to scare people at first, or something?" he paused. "i mean, i wasn't scared, it was actually really fun, but..."

"it doesn't end," he said, only realizing after the fact how ominous he had made it sound.

"it doesn't?"

"the more they know you're comfortable with it, the creepier they are. you just made it obvious that you liked that from the start."

"did i? i guess i can't help it!" he took a sip of his own coffee. "oh, but what about you? what's your... relationship with them?"

at least they had officially established the answer to that, or else he might have had a more difficult time responding. "we're friends."

"well, i know that! but do they loom over you, and say they'll turn you into a doll, and put their hand on your shoulder, and stuff?"

even bill was obsessed with them touching his shoulder. it made jim feel a bit less weird about it. "they do. they do all of that."

"does it still feel kind of like they almost could do it? turn you into a doll, i mean?"

he seemed especially fixated on the idea of that, but jim didn't have any right to judge, considering his own circumstances. "they... they kind of have, i guess."

"oh, right, they do have that doll that looks like you. i guess that's kind of like--"

"no, i mean..." why did he interrupt him? he didn't feel prepared to say it yet.

"there's something else?!"

it was too late. he would have to tell him.

"they've hypnotized me," he said quietly.

"they've hypnotized you?!"

"well, sort of... i guess. i don't know how much i believe in it, but..."

"what was that like? what kind of stuff did they say?"

"if you're really that curious," he said, "you can try it for yourself. they'll do it if you ask."

bill's face was bright red. "can you- can you tell me a little about it first?" his voice was soft, softer than jim would have thought he was capable of.

maybe it was cute.

"they start to use a different voice, they talk slower. it's very gentle. it makes you feel kind of relaxed and heavy... it gets kind of hard to move... even your thoughts feel like they sort of slow down..." it was surprising to him how easy it was to talk about it. "but it's still kind of creepy. they'll tell you you're trapped, or compare you to a doll... but at that point, you can't even react or say anything. even if it gives you chills, you just... don't move."

bill seemed to be listening intently. his face still seemed a bit pink, but he looked more relaxed, less flustered. even as jim paused, leaving room for him to say something, he was silent.

jim couldn't help but look more closely at his eyes, even if it felt strange. it was a little bit of a deer in the headlights look.

"bill."

"yeah?"

"you seem a little out of it."

"do i?! i was just listening. i mean, i wasn't... well, i kind of felt it, a little bit, but it wasn't, like... you know. i was just thinking about it. does it really feel like that? like you really can't move? i can't imagine that." and yet he had been unusually still during this conversation.

"at first it feels like it takes more effort, and then it feels like you almost forget how."

"so it's like a process? like you fall more and more into it?"

right. bill liked processes, sequences, changes.

jim found himself oddly tempted. he didn't really fully understand how hypnosis even worked, but he wondered how bill would react if he continued to describe it. would that even be alright, if he somehow hypnotized bill here? adrianus was always very careful and deliberate with it. it probably wasn't something to mess around with on a whim.

"yes," he simply answered.

"how does that process go? like, from the very beginning of it?"

now he was just asking for it. it wouldn't be jim's fault for answering. it was the normal thing to do in this conversation.

"it's subtle at first. they change their voice, there's a word or phrase or movement that gets your attention... and you're just... listening." he watched for bill's reactions. "kind of like you're doing now."

"is there some kind of special thing they say?"

"no, it's just... really anything that makes it feel like something is happening, i guess."

bill stared. "so it could even be like the things you're saying right now?"

"i guess it could."

he had sort of a blank look, although it was different from the look jim's doll had. he was still smiling. there was a hint of nervousness, maybe nervous excitement. "are you serious?"

"yes."

"...what else do you feel?"

he was no longer trying to describe his own experiences with it. "the excitement feels overwhelming, but you still just sit there. it's weird, because even though you get more curious about it the more you feel it, you also get more relaxed. you want to think about it and focus on it, but it slips away from you. it's hard to think about how you're feeling. you rely on someone else to tell you."

bill didn't say anything. it did look like he was reacting to everything jim was telling him, but maybe that was just what he was expecting to see.

he wanted to test it. "are you alright? you look sort of tired."

"i..." he had a sip of coffee. was he thinking the caffeine would help him wake up? "maybe i do feel a little... i'm alright, though."

"the caffeine isn't actually going to give you more energy. it just makes you less aware of your tiredness. just because you don't feel sleepy, doesn't mean you aren't being affected by it."

"right."

his eyes were still open wide, which almost looked creepy. jim usually closed his eyes. maybe it was because bill was in a public place, and couldn't react so dramatically, or maybe that was just the way he was. regardless, something was definitely happening to him.

"anyway, the thing that surprises me about hypnosis is that it does feel good... there's a sort of tingling sensation."

"like... asmr?"

"yes."

"is that not just from the voice?"

"it feels stronger the more hypnotic it is."

"but what is hypnotic, actually?"

he didn't fully know the answer himself. but he might have known the answer that would work on bill.

"something is hypnotic when it makes you feel like a doll," he said. "by the way, you're slouching a little. you should sit up straighter."

he obeyed instantly.

"but what does it mean to feel like a doll?"

bill was obviously capable of imagining that already. was it really that he was having trouble thinking about how he was feeling, or did he just want to hear jim explain it?

"you feel sort of stiff. you don't really move, unless you're supposed to, or you have to. you have the same happy expression on your face, and you have no choice but to enjoy it."

was bill even blinking? somehow it was easier to make eye contact with him now.

"but, anyway, you have a drink you paid for, and you probably want to finish it before it gets cold. now isn't really the time to become a doll."

now he was blinking. "right, right, i was just..." he took a few more sips of his coffee. "oh, this is actually pretty good."

"...you're only just now realizing it? you've already had some."

"i just wasn't really paying attention to it..."

jim couldn't stop himself from trying to analyze every detail of bill's face, maybe to the point where he was seeing things that weren't really there. he just couldn't believe it.

"when i was talking about all of that just now, did you feel it?"

"kind of."

"you were acting different."

"was it that noticeable?!"

"...well, no. i mean, i don't think anyone else would have noticed." he had more of his own drink. "i might have been imagining it."

"it did feel a little weird."

"sorry for just going on like that."

"no, no, i was curious! i mean, i don't know if i was really, like, hypnotized, but..." he looked right at jim. "you know, you have a nice voice! and your eyes are really intense."

"um, thank you."

this wasn't exactly how he had expected this to go.