entranceway | Juego [video]

[The video opens up to the beach. Still just as pretty as anything else Wonderland has to offer on the surface. Nice weather, beautiful and clear waters. And a masked, 4th wall breaking merchant.

He's sitting in the sand near the edge of the water, back to the camera and a little ways from it. One might think he set it up so he was filmed this way but judging from awkward angle it's more likely Zacharie simply dropped it and it turned on randomly, as Wonderland's communicators tend to do. Zacharie himself seems fairly relaxed yet is dripping wet. Evidently someone decided to go for a dip, even though one might question why you'd go swimming in a sweater and jeans.

Then again, Zacharie's a weird guy. He claimed to be from a video game so maybe he just like swimming in heavy clothing.

The feed continues to record him simply staring at the sea before him. Nice weather today. Always nice.]

....A-a-a query, Wonderland. [Was he someone who stuttered like that?] Would you all leave here if you could? Could? Switch strings to something else? I know some of you won't leave. Won't walk away or Qu-

[Whatever Zacharie was about to say is cut off by a sudden burst of static. If any Wonderland's residents remember a certain man and a certain entry he made a long time ago might recognize it.

Something is wrong here and something is very wrong with Zacharie.]

--at is fine. That is why we are here. So we are fine and we should not worry. Everything is fine. It's okay, it's all okay. I promise, I mean it I͟ ̴̧͝me̸a̕͢n͞ ͞͡i̛͏t̢ I̴ ̷̛m̴̡ęàn ͝ì́̕t̵̀͜ ̢I̶͠ ̵͢͢m̴e̵an͘͟͡ ̴i̷̧͘t͞ ̡̢I̧͘͞-̸͟

<̴͢>͜͠M̨̕͟e̸s̡̛s̡͠͞a͞g̷̀e:̶̴ ͜T͞ó̡ ̶͝m͘u̸̵c͟҉̀h.̴ ͢͞Th̵͡er̛e'̴̢̀s͝͡ ̷to ḿ̡u҉ch҉͜ ̛o͜f̵ ̢̨i͢͠t͢͢. ̢Į̶ ̴̷t̨͘h̶͡i̷̛͏n҉ḱ̴ ̶̛I͞ ̷̷un̛d̡̛ę̵͞ŕst̢̀á̴́nd̶ ̧t̢̨h̵̀͠e̢͜m̕ ̵̢ņoẁ̴.͞

[The audio begins to glitch out as another distortion kicks in as Zacharie sharply turns to look at something that's behind the camera before it cuts out. Quickly words flash on the black feed:

'HELLO AGAIN'

The feed re-appears and Zacharie is walking down one of the many hallways of the mansion using the camera as a recorder. He turns to one of the doors, although the camera fails to catch the number, and tries to yank it open. Locked. Then the camera freezes and the action repeats. Still locked! An unpleasant screech distorts the audio as it cuts out once again.

It picks up in the forest. Zacharie walks through it quietly but there's still something wrong the audio. For some reason it sounds like there are two sets of footsteps despite the merchant being the only one there. He doesn't seem to be looking for anything in particular and at one point Zacharie turns around and the camera catches the still-visible mansion in the background.

He's not that far away. But again a distortion corrupts the image and a few more words appear before it ends for good.

'DtDtDt

* HERE WE ARE

SWITCH IS off']

[ooc: as the links suggest, thanks to an overdoes of DT and interactions with the Operator Zacharie's not doing so good. Zacharie may or may not respond to this, so feel free to threadjack if you like!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( the masks, while they aren't blank and lifeless, make him jolt. maybe it's just masks as a whole that make him remember home and being stalked, but it's an uncomfortable reminder, a terrible feeling that courses through him. the only thing that's more reassuring is that it doesn't look real.

but that's still a small thing. )

It— ( jay could almost stop breathing then, because of course he knows. of course he should have figured it would be here. of course tim wouldn't tell him, because why would he? what would be the point?

a warning, maybe. )

It's been here? ( it's said weakly, and his face has gone pale. for a moment he'd let himself believe he would be safer here. that's just lying to himself. ) Tim— he knew. How did it happen? How did It get here, if it wasn't down to him?

[Zacharie's about to answer when the feed glitches out and he's sent off again on a merry go around of Wonderland.

Give him a bit Jay.]

Not his fault not his fault not his fault not his fault not his fault not his fault not his fault not his fault not his fault Dreams. Just dreams. Puzzles. You'll have to ask.

( jay is sick of puzzles. they've dogged his every step in trying to figure out the mystery of marble hornets for the past couple of years, and he's had enough of them - totheark was merciless about it. it's too much.

he hopes there aren't any puzzles for him to solve. )

Ask Tim?

[hey jay what's good

Just kidding, nothing is good. Tim is panicking, and it's clear enough in the fact that he thinks to toss up a filter before initiating a conversation, his voice trembling. The camera isn't directed at him. It's a wild shot of the hallway, the camera jerking sporadically as he moves.]

It - I couldn't be sure if It was real. I thought It wasn't but -

[Apparently not.]

( HEY TIM NOTHING'S GOOD AT ALL

jay almost wishes, just for a moment, that he was at home again - or wherever he ended up, after being shot by alex. it would make things easier. he wouldn't be here, dealing with It again, dealing with the anxiety and the paranoia and the overwhelming feeling of terror. it would be easier.

but he'd also be dead, and he wonders which option is better. )

This place brings monsters here, Tim. I've been here for-- for a lot less time than you have and I know that. ( he dumps his phone somewhere next to him on his bed and buries his face in his hands, taking as many deep breaths as he can without feeling dizzy. ) Even if you thought It wasn't real, you should have told me about it. Just in case.

[Boy, is he regretting that self-righteous burst of anger the day Jay showed up. The panic is, apparently, damn near contagious, and the fuzz of static as Jay just breathes is palpable.

He did this. He did all of this. Ruined Zacharie, and then that machine bled itself all over him, and now whatever comes next - that's on him. It's always been on him.]

I know, okay? I know. It wasn't real, It didn't stay.

[Then again, It never has to stay to make Its presence known. It just coils itself into some part of your mind and burrows there. Forever.]

Of course It didn't!

( that's one thing jay had learnt over the past few years. and it doesn't help the paranoia, never knowing if It is there or not, if It's watching or if It decided to disappear. it always felt like there were eyes on you, following your every move, though jay supposes that the cameras didn't help with that feeling.

but they were necessary, and documenting it all, putting it on youtube and updates on twitter - they were the only way to make it feel real, if other people saw it too. though perhaps it's just spreading the influence.

he never really thought about that. )

When did It ever stick around when It didn't need to? That wouldn't be different here.

I didn't know It was real, I - when can I ever know if anything I'm seeing is real?

[The "hallucinations," when he grew up in that small, contained room, that weren't really hallucinations at all - how would he know, exactly? Because years later, decades later, he ends up in that same room again, ash and flaking paint and detritus crackling underfoot, screaming that something was there even if the film never tore and the static never threaded its way into the video footage.

How can he ever know?]

( jay seems to deflate at that. it's a good point, all things considered, and he feels bad for pushing tim to the point where he had to say that. of course he should have taken it into account, the worry of reality being morphed into something unreal, the fear of not knowing whether or not something is actually there - he knows it well enough, and god, he's an idiot.

he rubs a hand over his forehead and eyes, and sighs explosively. )

Sorry. I know. Just— I thought it would be over. We're in a whole new world. This isn't fair.

Welcome to my life.

[The words are little more than a bitter rasp as he glances away, sidelong, apparently unable to hold eye contact. At least now there's some kind of - impartial confirmation that It is real. Or at least, the ripples of Its influence are.]

I don't think It's here. I just think it's...I think this is like a, a ripple of It being here.

[But then again, he said it himself: how would he know?]

Juego [video]

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