Markiplier: System Reboot

Episode 2: Lazy Day, Dream Away

Episode 2: Lazy Day, Dream Away

Eileen Mackenzie "Mackie" O'Callaghan (ii)

Sundays were the only days during the week that Mackie could call her own. The bar remained open and was left in the care of Rick and Hunter. The duo made an efficient team - and a rather loud one at that. Every Sunday, she looked forward to the silent reprieve.

This particular Sunday was going to be a rather lazy one. Hunter insisted last night that she get as much rest as she could, given that the nightmares had been getting worse over the last few weeks, therefore not permitting a lot of sleep. But rest, to be truthful, didn't always compute. She always wanted to be doing something, even if it meant cleaning. However, Hunter didn't leave much cleaning to do. It was as if he did everything he knew she would do and did it all well.

Mackie sighed as she looked about her immaculate apartment. There was nothing she could do -- other than do what Dr Hunter prescribed. "Rest your freaking ass, you turd blossom!" Hunter had all but shouted at her this morning when he caught her looking for something to do. Mackie's friend threw her over his shoulder and hauled her kicking and screaming back to her bed. He proceeded to roll her up into burrito and left her there. "Stay!" he told her firmly like he was scolding a misbehaved dog. As a joke, she whimpered and whined. Hunter held back a smirk before closing her bedroom door and going downstairs to help Rick open. Sundays the opened earlier than usual for the late breakfast and brunch crowd.

Resigning to do exactly as Hunter said, she plopped herself down onto the couch and pulled out her phone. While scrolling through some memories on Facebook, she came across a video from a long time ago. She smiled at the video screenshot. It had been some time since the video had been posted but the series of events that followed brought her great joy. Markiplier was a comedic genius, after all, and his earlier videos were the best - they were in her personal opinion, at the very least.

Feeling rather nostalgic in that moment, she clicked the link and it opened the YouTube app on her phone. For the first time in what felt like forever, she was watching the Amnesia Compilation -- the video game that got him his popularity on his original Markiplier channel. Once again, she found herself laughing. The quality was lacking in ways of confidence, which he gained over the years posting on YouTube, but the commentary felt real. It was awkward and felt like it was coming from a real person and not the cocky asshole many had felt he came to be. But one would suppose fame does that to oneself, especially when you're living in a place like LA.

And perhaps living in LA was what got to him.

As Mackie finished the video and began scrolling through his newer posts, she found he hadn't posted in quite sometime. Maybe his viewers found his content as equally fake as she did. Maybe the death of a close friend drove him to leave. However, it could have been a number of things. Mackie never liked to assume.

In that moment, she found she missed the goofy man behind the screen, no matter what his content turned out to be. Truth be told, when neither Rick or Hunter could comfort her in her darkest hours, she turned to this silly man's crazy videos to put a smile on her face.

Mackie placed her phone in her lap and looked out the window to her balcony. She silently wondered what happened to him. There wasn't a goodbye video, which was unlike him. He didn't post any sort of note on any social media explaining his absence, either, which was just as strange. One thing was certain: He loved his fans and he always wanted to keep them in the loop. That much was apparent, even to a sporadic watcher like herself.

A sigh escaped her lips and she hoped that he was okay.

When lunch rolled around, the pub downstairs was bustling with life. Mackie made her way down the hardwood stairs with a meal for her staff. They would surely be hungry by now. There was a platter of sandwiches, veggies and dip and a box of bottled water. "Hey! Ms Boss Woman!" Hunter called over all the noise. "What I tell you about working?!"