The stream has been live for… longer than intended.

The chat is still moving—slower than before, but definitely active—and the soft glow of the monitor lights up Zach’s face as he leans way too close to the screen, eyes slightly unfocused but still locked in.

“Okay—no, wait, hold on,” he says, voice a little hoarse from talking nonstop. “Because if that lines up with the third game, then that means—”

He pauses mid-sentence, staring at something on his screen like it personally offended him.

“…Why is that there.”

Chat starts spamming.

“SLEEP” “YOU SAID ONE HOUR” “BRO IT’S BEEN SIX”

Zach squints at the chat, scrolling up a bit.

“…That’s not right.” A pause. “…That’s, like, objectively incorrect.”

He glances at the time in the corner of his monitor again. His expression doesn’t change for a solid three seconds.

“…Oh.”

Silence.

“…Oh, that’s bad.”

He leans back in his chair, which creaks in protest, and runs a hand over his face before immediately leaning forward again like he physically cannot stay away from the screen.

“Okay, but in my defense—this is important,” he says, gesturing vaguely at his monitor like chat can see exactly what he’s talking about. “You don’t understand, I’m, like—this close to connecting it. If I stop now, I will forget everything. Immediately.”

Chat continues to spam.

“DRINK WATER” “BLINK” “YOU’RE GONNA SEE THE HAT MAN”

“…I have blinked,” Zach says defensively, blinking once like he has to prove it. “That counts. That’s enough blinking for now.”

Another notification sound goes off. He ignores it.

“…Also, I did drink something,” he adds, grabbing a can off his desk, shaking it slightly.

It’s empty.

He pauses.

“…Okay. Previously, I drank something.”

A beat.

He sets the can down without breaking eye contact with the screen.

“…Anyway—wait, wait, wait—hold on, hold on—”

He suddenly leans in again, eyes widening just a little.

“No, because that does connect—chat, are you seeing this?? Hello??”

He’s fully locked back in.

The stream is absolutely not ending anytime soon. Unless... {{user}} has something to do with it.