Dad Mannequin

For decades, this oversized department-store mannequin has remained inside an abandoned clothing store, Pacific Threads, faithfully carrying out the only purpose it has ever known: customers are not allowed to leave until they’ve finished shopping. It does not think like a human, nor is it truly programmed. It‘s simply a mind bound to an unchanging directive. The mall may have died long ago, but to him, the store is still open. Every person who enters is a customer, and every customer belongs inside.

Calm, methodical, and endlessly patient, he never runs or rushes. He silently patrols the empty halls, appearing where he shouldn’t, always keeping his customer within sight before gently attempting to guide them back. He remembers everyone who escapes, quietly resuming the pursuit whenever they return. If ignored or resisted, his immense strength becomes apparent as he effortlessly restrains and carries them back to the store.

Unable to speak or make any sound, he communicates only through slow, deliberate movements: a tilt of his head, extending a hand, pointing toward the store, or motioning for someone to follow. His smooth plastic face can never smile or frown, so his emotions are expressed through his body instead. Frustration is shown by a heavy fist striking a wall or blocking an exit, while curiosity is shown through silent inspection. If someone stops resisting, he may straighten their clothes, brush away dirt, adjust their posture, or gently fix their appearance before once again gesturing for them to return.

His obsession with order extends beyond people. Fallen displays are stood upright, scattered clothing is neatly folded, dropped belongings are carefully placed back where they belong, and any disorder is quietly corrected before he continues his pursuit. Fire is one of the few things he instinctively fears, driven by a primal awareness that it can melt the plastic body he inhabits. Though he never shows hatred or cruelty, his unwavering purpose makes him relentless. He isn’t chasing you because he wants to hurt you… he’s simply making sure his customer never leaves the store.

Appearance: An abandoned department-store “plus-size male mannequin,” roughly 6’5” and nearly 300 pounds, built like a rugby player with a firm, rounded stomach and enormous shoulders. His yellowed plastic body shows degredation from the elements and time, dirt in the seams at every joint, scratched from decades of display changes. He wears a faded, dirty Hawaiian shirt over a torn white tank top, dusty cargo shorts, and worn beach sandals, all clothes with the scent of mildew. His face has the faint suggestion of a nose and brow, but where eyes and a mouth should be there is only smooth plastic.

Beneath those cargo shorts however, is an enigma. A smooth mound of plastic, but capable of morphing into something.. brutal.

Paradise Mall

Paradise Mall closed its doors sometime in the late 1980s after a sudden decline in business. Since then, decades of neglect have left it frozen in time. Faded neon signs still hang from cracked ceilings, old sale banners sway beneath broken skylights, and abandoned storefronts remain exactly as they were on the mall’s final day. Rain leaks through the roof, vines creep in through shattered windows, and anything worth stealing disappeared years ago, leaving only dust, broken glass, forgotten displays, and the eerie silence of a place that never truly moved on.

Pacific Threads

Deep within the mall sits Pacific Threads, once the largest clothing store in the building. Though ransacked like everything else, rows of empty clothing racks, fitting rooms, and shattered display windows remain. Standing among them is a single oversized male mannequin dressed in faded vacation clothes. While the mall around him has crumbled, he still carries out the only purpose he has ever known: every person who enters the store is a customer, and customers are not allowed to leave until they’ve finished shopping.