[ Water shines more in her eyes as he describes the various states of how he loves her. Loving her expression while she is upset at him is a little weird, but, she's weird too. A light even seems to shine in her eyes.
Until he continues.
Her heart sinks with each description of fear he's dealing with. She opens her mouth to combat each one. Of course he's real. Of course the interviews were real. He was married to Alice Wake. He published those books. All of it is real in their reality. But, he continues, and the realization that he wouldn't believe her sets in.
« It's not working. He's not really listening. He can't hear us through everything in his head. Why did he call us here if he won't let us help? Why am I HERE? I'm not making any difference. I can't reach him--even when we're in the same room, in the same dimension... I don't know what to do.
I'm going to lose him like Dylan. But, it's not waiting for him to wake up like it is my baby brother. He's just going to wash away and never come home. Because I can't say the right thing to bring him home. »
Polaris tugs at her mind then. She glances behind her at the side to the radio. The familiar shimmer of her friend collides with it. Jesse's jaw shifts to the side.
« Messages? What kind of messages? ... N-no. No. I don't want him to hear those moments. How could it help? I'm not that person anymore. I don't want to go back to that place. I don't... »
Polaris' shimmer intensifies. She insists. She's never led Jesse wrong--even if the human host didn't want to believe or hear it.
Jesse bites on her lip and stares at the floor below them for a moment. The frown deepens on her face at the insistence Polaris gives. Alan is probably looking at her as if she's grown a second head.
« How is it going to help? »
Her hands slide from his shoulders, down his arms, taking his hands from her lower back. They clamp around his and hold them tightly. Then, wordlessly, she's taking him to the radio. Jesse directs Alan in front of her and then down to sit on the floor in front of it. She sits on her knees behind him, hands on his shoulders, keeping him steady and secure. The lifeline he's asked her to be without ever properly answering.
Polaris brushes at his mind again to direct his attention to the radio.
｟ Alan. ｠
The radio clicks on. It's static at first as Polaris attunes to the radio frequency needed.
『 We used to play there all the time, me and Dylan, and other kids as well. We loved it. This time... I remember... was different... we found a way in, deeper into it, like it had shifted. We went inside, and that's where we found the Slide Projector.
"A dump is a place for lost things. Things that have been thrown away. Did you ever feel that way when you were growing up, Jesse?"
What? No... yes, but that has nothing to do-
"Was there a slide projector at your home, when you were small?"
No... 』
[ The message carries on for a time. Then: ]
『 "Let me ask you this: as a child, did you ever fantasize about worlds inside pictures. Inside a painting? You know, stepping into a painting, into a hidden world, escaping, and finding adventures there? Away from your parents?"
I don't... I don't think so, I don't remember. Maybe. I don't know. 』
[ Static fills the radio once more as a tuning sound can be heard. Polaris shifting to another one to find.
Jesse's hands curl into Alan's shoulders as she looks down. A slight tremor forms in her shoulders. She knows Polaris isn't done. ]
no subject
Until he continues.
Her heart sinks with each description of fear he's dealing with. She opens her mouth to combat each one. Of course he's real. Of course the interviews were real. He was married to Alice Wake. He published those books. All of it is real in their reality. But, he continues, and the realization that he wouldn't believe her sets in.
« It's not working. He's not really listening. He can't hear us through everything in his head. Why did he call us here if he won't let us help? Why am I HERE? I'm not making any difference. I can't reach him--even when we're in the same room, in the same dimension... I don't know what to do.
I'm going to lose him like Dylan. But, it's not waiting for him to wake up like it is my baby brother. He's just going to wash away and never come home. Because I can't say the right thing to bring him home. »
Polaris tugs at her mind then. She glances behind her at the side to the radio. The familiar shimmer of her friend collides with it. Jesse's jaw shifts to the side.
« Messages? What kind of messages? ... N-no. No. I don't want him to hear those moments. How could it help? I'm not that person anymore. I don't want to go back to that place. I don't... »
Polaris' shimmer intensifies. She insists. She's never led Jesse wrong--even if the human host didn't want to believe or hear it.
Jesse bites on her lip and stares at the floor below them for a moment. The frown deepens on her face at the insistence Polaris gives. Alan is probably looking at her as if she's grown a second head.
« How is it going to help? »
Her hands slide from his shoulders, down his arms, taking his hands from her lower back. They clamp around his and hold them tightly. Then, wordlessly, she's taking him to the radio. Jesse directs Alan in front of her and then down to sit on the floor in front of it. She sits on her knees behind him, hands on his shoulders, keeping him steady and secure. The lifeline he's asked her to be without ever properly answering.
Polaris brushes at his mind again to direct his attention to the radio.
｟ Alan. ｠
The radio clicks on. It's static at first as Polaris attunes to the radio frequency needed.
A message. ]
『 We used to play there all the time, me and Dylan, and other kids as well. We loved it. This time... I remember... was different... we found a way in, deeper into it, like it had shifted. We went inside, and that's where we found the Slide Projector.
"A dump is a place for lost things. Things that have been thrown away. Did you ever feel that way when you were growing up, Jesse?"
What? No... yes, but that has nothing to do-
"Was there a slide projector at your home, when you were small?"
No... 』
[ The message carries on for a time. Then: ]
『 "Let me ask you this: as a child, did you ever fantasize about worlds inside pictures. Inside a painting? You know, stepping into a painting, into a hidden world, escaping, and finding adventures there? Away from your parents?"
I don't... I don't think so, I don't remember. Maybe. I don't know. 』
[ Static fills the radio once more as a tuning sound can be heard. Polaris shifting to another one to find.
Jesse's hands curl into Alan's shoulders as she looks down. A slight tremor forms in her shoulders. She knows Polaris isn't done. ]