[network] @MarbleHornets; day 018, evening [open] [cw: offscreen character death]

[genreblindness]

[The video opens to show Jay, out of breath and glancing over his shoulder every now and then. It's hard to tell where exactly he is, but based on the lack of light it's outside.]

Those, uh- those shadow things. It kinda looks like- [He pauses to cough a little, clearing his throat before continuing.] I was filming them, and it looks like that made them want to come after me more. I don't know what that could mean, but...

[He's startled by a rattling sound from somewhere behind him and turns to look, but doesn't bring the tablet around to show what's happening. The way the video is stretching and tearing at its edges might serve as a hint, though.] Oh, sh-

[The next few seconds are too chaotic to fully make out; the tablet falls to the ground camera side down so it shows only black. There are nearby noises from feet scuffling on snow and ice, grunts and coughing from Jay, and then a distant thump from something heavy falling and hitting the ground. After that, there is nothing but silence. Jay does not return to turn the feed off.]

[OOC: There will be no responses from Jay because he is dead :( Feel free to respond and threadjack, though!]

Comments

@TW; voice

[maskintape]

--AY! JAY!

[ There's a desperate hammering in the background of the audio. Almost like a sobbing Tim is banging on the windows of the building he's in, in an attempt to get Jay's attention. Because Jay's alive! Of course he's alive. Okay, he might have just fallen from the roof and been converged upon by shadow things, but he can't be dead. He can't be. He has to be fine, and that means Tim has to get to him NOW. ]

Is anybody close by, he - he might still - JAY! I'm unblocking the door, I'm coming--

[ And apparently that's exactly what he is doing, if the sounds of moving furniture are anything to go by. Coughing, too. A hell of a lot of coughing. ]

@AK; voice

[loopofunhappiness]

You idiot. Are you trying to end up like him?

[alex hates tim with the passion of five million burning suns but BY GOD HE'S GOING TO CALL STUPID SHIT OUT WHEN HE SEES IT]

[maskintape]

[ OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NO. OH HELL NO. HAAEEELLLLLLLL NAW. NAH. NOPE. NUH-UH. Every possible permutation of NO rattles around Tim's chest and hops on out of there in the form of a series of violent coughs.

Which is just a really dumb way of saying that he coughs super grossly all over the tablet before he's able to answer, shut up ]

Shut up!

[ Is there more coughing? Of course there is. Audio distortion, too. THE FULL PACKAGE ]

Obviously you're fine letting him die out there, but--

[ ANNNND MORE COUGHING. Time to scrabble around for the last of his pills. ]

[loopofunhappiness]

He's already dead.

[HEY FUCK YOU MAN ALEX CAN DISTORT AUDIO RIGHT BACK AT YOU]

If you want to go out there and die too, then fine, go right ahead.

[maskintape]

I said shut up!

[ He pops open the cap on the pill bottle, shakes out the last few pills and somehow manages to choke them down through the coughing. SKILLS. Maybe now he'll have enough breath to yell at Alex until he passes out, yaaaaay ]

You don't know he's dead! [cough COUGH] But I guess if anybody around here would know about dead Jays, well.

[ EXCEEDINGLY POINTED COUGHING. COUGH. COUGHITY. ]

@Enoch, voice

[warriorscribe]

[He can't sleep, cabin fever has him in a constant state of nervous shaking, and the paint stains on the walls and floor, dimly visible in the backlight of his and Clayton's tablets, have started to appear to writhe into vaguely hand-like shapes. He can't tell if that's the town, the sleep deprivation, or if he's just losing his mind.

At first, he tries to help, replying directly to Jay. He calls, "Are you all right? Are you still there?" He whistles sharply into the microphone, hoping to draw the creatures away. When he realizes there's nothing he can do, there's no way this person - Jay, according to his friend - survived, he turns his attention to said survivor.]

No! [He still has some difficulty raising his voice, especially after attempting to call out for Jay and draw the monsters away. It comes out hoarse, but there is strength to it. It could carry to him.] You don't sound well...they'll surely kill you, too.

[maskintape]

[ Tim's first impulse is to respond with 'so what,' and it's only the torrent of coughing that stops him. It also gives him enough time to remind himself that Jay would punch him in the face (again) if he tried throwing his life away in an attempt to get to him.

But not doing anything is the same as accepting Jay's dead (again!!), and if Tim gives up and accepts that then he won't know what to do with himself any more. ]

You don't get it! He could still...

[ ...be alive?

Nope. Can't even finish that sentence. Time to sob like a fucking baby instead. ]

[warriorscribe]

I know. Were it me, I would likely be doing the same. If it were my friend-...

[He knows he would be, whether the other person was his friend or not. And out of some double standard of immortality, that is fine for him to do but not Tim. He has overstayed his welcome, so to speak. The thing he was given immortality for is done already. It would be fine if he died trying, fine if he didn't come back.

Never mind that he has always acted recklessly in the face of threats to someone else.]

But I don't want to see lives thrown away, even if they may not be truly lost forever.

[maskintape]

Yeah. That's what he'd say.

[ More or less, anyway. Throughout everything - both here and back home - Jay's been the one really striving to stop anyone dying or getting hurt.

Tim still gives the furniture blocking the door another shove and a frustrated kick before allowing himself to stop, though. ]

I'm not - I can't move it by myself right now an-anyway. So. So yeah.

[ NOBODY IN THE HISTORY OF EVER HAS BEEN AS SAD ABOUT BEING UNABLE TO THROW THEIR LIFE AWAY AS TIM WRIGHT ]

@LELRIC; voice only

[armoured]

Where was he? Do you know where he was travelling from?

[He voice is urgent and there are the sounds of him unblocking a doorway too. He may not get along with either Tim or Jay all the time, but he wouldn't leave either for dead.]

[maskintape]

He was - no. No! Stop!

[ Al is a kid. And Tim is already realising that calling to other people for help is the stupidest thing he could've done, considering the circumstances. ]

He was - he's here. He was upstairs, he wanted to film the things from a safe place before lockdown--

[ -- and he obviously climbed out of a fucking window to get the best view because he is Jay fucking Merrick and has no sense of self-preservation in the face of supernatural mystery bullshit.

And from the sounds of it, being up there wasn't as safe as anticipated. The things can climb.

Tim is suddenly really acutely aware that Jay might not have had time to close the window, and that the house might not be safe any more. ]

[armoured]

[He's still fiddling with the door, because he's foolish and he doesn't think that he can die here. It honestly never crosses his mind that anything can seriously hurt him, he's still hollow, after all.]

Don't go outside, they'll just come after you too!

[God, he doesn't want to hear Tim die on camera too.]

Can you tell me where you were? Is your shelter anywhere near one of the stores?

[maskintape]

[ There's a delay while Tim shuts himself in one of the downstairs rooms. He'd go upstairs to check on the window, but there doesn't seem like much point - if it's still open, he won't be able to get near it anyway.

Plus he's scared. And alone. And grief-stricken. ALL NOT VERY GOOD THINGS. ]

No. We're days away from - I - we're south of the school.

[ He lets out another sob, which is handily covered up by a series of audio-distorting coughs. Convenient! ]

Just - it's. Stay where you are. It's...

[ too late. He can't make himself say it, though. ]

...almost lockdown.

video - @claytonator - private to @TW (in a better place this time orz)

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton doesn't dare move from his spot propped against the door, the last of a meager wall of flesh and cracked canvases defending himself and Enoch from the monsters just outside, but he doesn't need to for him to hear the commotion on Enoch's tablet. It's a small room, the sound carries and Jay's voice is distinctive. So is Tim's wailing after Enoch's failed attempts to contact him.]

[Oh god--Tim! They were traveling together! In a panic, Clayton frantically whips out his own tablet and fumbles with the video control. He's so tired and anxious from lack of sleep that he doesn't even think to try and hide how worried he looks.]

Tim? Are ya safe? Are they in the house?

[maskintape]

I don't know.

[ Tim isn't exactly one to judge as far as the worrylympics are concerned. Especially not now that he's openly crying and generally looking like the saddest hobo in all the land. ]

I think he was - was on the roof so he could film better, he - I don't know if he left a window open or --

[ He takes a few deep breaths, interspersed with coughing, and rubs at his face. Answer the question. ]

I'm - I've shut myself in the basement, so. If - if they get in, I'm - I might still be okay.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton has infinite patience in waiting for Tim to come to a coherent answer. He's been through a lot--enough that being in hysterics is completely understandable. Clayton can handle this.]

[Which is where he focuses next, once he decides that Tim isn't in immediate danger. Priorities, you know.]

Alright then.

[His voice and expression soften in stages, drooping to something calm but deeply remorseful and sympathetic. It's not easy to let someone go. And as much as he and Jay found themselves working around one another, Clayton still considers him a friend--or at the very least, a close friend of a friend, which is more than enough to grieve over.]

Christ, Tim. I'm so sorry. It ain't right and I'm sorry.

[maskintape]

[ Oh no. Tim really isn't used to concern or sympathy from anyone except Jay. Especially not on this kind of level. Vulnerable as he is right now, it elicits a fresh round of heartwrenching sobs.

It takes a lil while for them to subside so he can talk, so it probably gets pretty fucking awkward. THE CRYING IS NOT MANLY OR SUBTLE. ]

It's not - not - he'll be back. So. I just.

[ He wants to say thank you, but words are really difficult right now. It comes through in his tone a little, though. ]

@crescent; voice

[lancingintherain]

[well, that's terrifying. After probably watching a dude die on-camera, or at least hearing him die off-camera, she hears Al talking to someone on his tablet from the other room, and decides to leave him to it while she sorts herself out. That mostly means trying to slow her breathing while thinking about how she definitely just watched a dude die on camera.]

[she hopefully doesn't cause a time paradox/conflict with Alphonse's thread calls the coughing alive dude after a short while, once she feels she can put on a brave voice for him.]

Hello? You're still in the basement, aren't you?

voice

[maskintape]

[ Not recognising the voice, Tim checks out the ID. Oh. New person. Obviously, he's made enough of an ass of himself to warrant intervention from strangers.

Even in his current state - a fucking mess, if that needs any confirmation - he manages to cringe just a little bit before responding. Way to go, Tim. Way to fucking go. ]

I - yeah. Not like I have any other options right now, so...

[ He assumes that even if Jay did leave the window open, it might have closed itself automatically at lockdown. Maybe. He's not going to check, especially with the possibility that one (more?) of those things could even be locked in the house with him now. ]

[lancingintherain]

[this poor guy. Practical concerns about making sure he doesn't wind up like his unfortunate pal come first, though:]

...Good; don't try to leave. Have you blocked the door? Can you hear anything?

[maskintape]

It's blocked.

[ Pretty shittily, but whatever. He pauses to listen to the faint sounds creaking their way through the house - he's pretty sure they're just regular noises. The wind, the walls creaking, the hideous shadow people clawing frantically at the front door...

Yeah, that counts as a mundane noise already. Tim adjusts fast, okay. ]

And yeah, I can hear stuff. But I - I'm pretty sure it's coming from outside. No point checking when I have a luxurious basement to sit and rot in though, right?

[ See how fine he is? Hes joking and everything HE'S FINE TOTALLY FINE. ]

audio ; @lovesya

[victorytothesexy]

[Zelos is nothing short of speechless, at first. That was definitely not the kind of video he expected to run into, and he isn't even sure which part of it shocked him the most; the fact that someone just kind of died in front of his eyes (albeit likely far from him in reality), or the fact that someone was actually stupid enough to go outside and film the monsters lurking there.

Oh, and then there's someone else shouting in the background of the video, hysterical enough that at this rate, there could very well be two dead idiots frozen in the snow.]

... Give it up. He's dead.

[maskintape]

Will - shut up!

[ Alex saying it is bad enough, but Tim can convince himself that the asshole is just being, well. An asshole. That's harder when it's a stranger.

He does know Jay's dead, of course. If the fall hadn't done it, he's sure the creatures out there would finish the job. But if he denies it hard enough, he might be able to believe that all this is just another of his hallucinations. Wouldn't that be swell. ]

You don't know, and you're not helping!

[victorytothesexy]

I do know - and so should you. [Unless this guy's either an idiot or in denial - both of which sound likely, at this point. This person knew the dead guy, after all. Still, denial or ignorance, the guy needs to start getting a grip.] There's no surviving that.

[There's a pause.]

And I am helping, man. [His voice isn't cheery as usual, but neither is it really agitated - quite the contrary, each word is calm. Someone has to be, after all. And-] Someone's gotta make sure the amount of bodies out there doesn't double. Yeah, dying sucks for your friend - [To put it lightly.] - but you can't help him now.

[maskintape]

[ To say this isn't what Tim wants to hear is like saying that water can be slightly damp on occasion. You know, you might get a touch clammy if you dive on into a big pool of it. Nbd. ]

Well gee, buddy, thanks for - [cough COUGH] - the wisdom. That makes it so much easier to deal with the way my friend just fell off a roof and - and probably got eaten by shad--

[ The more worked up he gets, the more he coughs. Time to get cut off by his own gross hacking and choking! Delightful. ]