Entranceway App

[obligatorymerchant]

Name: Jenna
DW username: thelastpupnik
E-Mail: thelastpupnik @ gmail [.] com
IM: bebo the dragon

Other Characters:
America || Axis Powers Hetalia || ahousedivided

Character Name: Zacharie
Series: OFF
Timeline: End of Game
Canon Resource Link: off wiki
Character History:
The story of OFF is one that is told in reverse and relies heavily on connecting to the player and personal interpretation, and interpretations are altered slowly as you go along and learn more of the world and nature of the game.

With that in mind, here is the story I saw:

We are thrown into a surreal world where fantastical elements are the norm. Or in Zacharie's words, "There should be more action and fewer questions." We as the player do not question The Batter's "sacred mission" to purify ghosts, nor are we expected to question how the Elsens mine for smoke, harvest metal from cows, or exist in a world where the rivers are plastic and meat. We are expected to casually go along with the strangeness of the world and shrug it off as part of the video game. (But that doesn't stop me from questioning why the fuck does Zacharie go around selling shit when he owns an amusement park.)

The player first meets Zacharie in Zone 1, and right off the bat he recognizes his role with a casual, "The characters are starting to pile up, aren't they? I'm Zacharie, the traditional items merchant that's necessary in each game." Interestingly enough, to reach Zacharie, you have to flip a switch to OFF in order to enter the room he's in. Hmmmmm.

As the player guides The Batter along, Zacharie is always ready to sell you items in whatever zone your in. By all appearances he is perfectly content with his role in the game; he amiably engages the player and The Batter in idle chatter, affectionately referring to other characters and undeterred by The Batter's aloof demeanor. Even at the very end--and since he knows that this is a game, it would be his end--he only bids The Batter off on his final mission with a, "The end is near, my friend."

About halfway through the game he assumes another role of the cryptic guide. The previous arbiter of infuriatingly vague advice, The Judge, has gone nearly mad with grief after the death of his brother and can be found frantically meowing at the top of Purified Zone 2's library, pretending the echos he hears are his brother's voice. Zacharie is fully aware of this; at first he tries to introduce himself as The Judge, but is immediately called out on his bullshit and replies with "SO MY DISGUISE IS NO MATCH FOR YOUR KEEN AND UNFORGIVING EYESIGHT." He states that "Pablo isn't in top form at the moment" and he's going to replace the cat for a while. He changes into a cat mask when offering advice and wears his usual toad mask when selling items to reflect his two roles.

It is never explicitly stated that Zacharie knows what The Batter is up to, but it almost a certainty since he knows just about every other thing about OFF. Not that it matters. Only the death of Sucre/Sugar (at the hands of The Batter) does Zacharie break his usual tone for a small, sad comment. But even that is fleeting and he goes back to selling shit. After all we've learned about OFF's world--that it was a world built by the Queen, who assigned Dedan, Japhet, and Enoch to the zones as guardians; that their optimistic visions became corrupted in the face of their tasks, even driving Japhet to madness; that the world was made for Hugo, the son of The Queen and the Batter, yet he was neglected by both parents as the world sank into despair--after all this, it seems strange that Zacharie would be unaffected.

(Which means there must be more to our dear Zacharie than meets the eye. This connects to interpretations of OFF, one possibility being that it's all in Hugo's mind, but nonetheless, Zacharie's reality is one of a video game.)

It would seem that Zacharie is amoral, or if he has some sense of morality, he's not too upset with sacrificing it to further the plot of the game. Even now when he's given some free reign over his choices, he's still going to be standing in the gray zone. Like if he was in Fallout and he came to that guy who is begging for water, he'd give him a bottle… unless he was on Hard Mode, then he'd probably ignore the guy and go steal some bagels and murder anyone who in his way.

That doesn't mean he's completely without empathy or incapable of goodness. One of the notes in The Room has an almost-illegible note at the bottom that (as far as I've deciphered) says, "Zacharie is the best guy I know, he is so sympathetic. He's a friend." On one hand, Zacharie is said to be kind to this poor sick kid, even sympathetic. On the other hand he KINDA ASSISTS THE BATTER EVEN THOUGH HE BEATS HUGO TO DEATH so uh. Well then. So he's not a complete bastard who revels in the misery of others, and he does care at least about some things; he's just not a hero.

In Wonderland that means he'll be a bit of a wildcard during dicey events. Oh sure, if you're coming from a fight and need some serious assistance, he'll be more than happy to sell you some healing items. Oh wait, you don't have any payment? You don't want to put it on credit? Well too fucking bad enjoy your punctured lung. See that Big Daddy coming your way? Yeah he's not going to do shit to help you if he doesn't want to. See this other person who is asking nicely and is proving to be a loyal customer? He'd rather go help them.

I bet he'd be like a fucking loan shark if he gave you something good and never paid up too. Breaking legs with baseball bats. No wonder he has all that good shit in his office Japhet probably didn't want to be bitchslapped for not paying up for the amusement park. (I am only half joking. God help you if you steal from him or don't pay.)

Not much is known about Zacharie before the game's start, but the library holds some clues: among the "fake" books are real books, one telling the story of a tyrannical, toad-faced king who was slain by a masked man. When we meet Zacharie at the beginning of the game, his mask is reminiscent of a toad. (Hint hint.) Later, after Valerie's death, Zacharie wears a cat mask with the same sort of teeth as Valerie.

He seems to also have some connection to the woman in Zone 0, Sucre/Sugar, as he expresses sadness at her death even though he shows no emotional reaction to the events during the rest of the game, even when The Judge (who he is good friends with, as stated by the creator of the game) is heartbroken.

He owns an amusement park in Zone 2.

No one knows how or why.

Now that he's outside his role, obviously some things are going to change. After all, it's hard to be the cryptic all-knowing guide when you've been ripped from your game. Not that it'll bother him; he assumed the role in replacement of The Judge and, of all the things he is and has been, the protagonist of his own adventure isn't one of them, at least not to our knowledge. (Not unless a sequel/prequel comes out with Zacharie as the main character OH I CAN ONLY DREAM.) The closest we get is the tale of the Toad King and even that is still up to interpretation.

Since OFF is extremely meta, he's not going to be too bothered by having a "puppeteer." It's a game where the main character manipulates the player into committing genocide and basically makes them an accomplice his his crusade so uh. Yeah. Zacharie will be pretty interested in having a new path to follow and actual quests to go on because isn't it fun to be the main character in your own story??? It sure as hell is for Zacharie. He'll also be inclined to assist other characters in quests. Think of it as having him as a party member in a video game. He'd be that infuriating party member who is extremely useful in some specific situations but you'd be way more inclined to have a brawler on your side for usual battles. He's like when Evil King Stan randomly pops up in the middle of battles to ask you shit and, if you answer correctly, he deals a heavy blow to the opponent, yet he spends 95% of the game just hanging out behind you insulting you.

He's a fairly easygoing character who isn't bothered by The Batter's quest, so he'll be pretty adept at handling more intense events. His demeanor in the game, from assisting The Batter and taking The Judge's role after the cat's mental breakdown, indicate that he's more the type to go with the flow and enjoy the ride than dwell on his troubles. That isn't to say he'll be immune from caustic effects; Sugar's death shows that he can be shaken from his usual cheerful attitude and that he does have emotions. It just takes a lot to crack him.

Monsters, ghosts, and murderers aren't the type of things to phase him, and having limited memories means he's going to be harder to hurt during painful memory events. Taking his mask away or rendering him vulnerable in some way, however (such as the Song of Saya event where people had a sense affected) will be more inclined to spook him. On the plus side he's probably going to have fun with most events, particularly if they involve puzzles or unusual tasks.

On top of that he's got one "power" as stated in the game: he's always where people need him to sell his items. Other characters may find him suddenly appearing near them when in dire straits (when permitted by muns anyway) to offer some useful items.

When he's not dealing with things he's going to be selling items. Even in another game/world/whathaveyou, he's still got a job to do.

Abilities/Special Powers:

Above all, Zacharie is fully aware of reality. He is aware that he is the obligatory merchant (hurr hurr) for the videogame, he is aware that The Batter is controlled by a player (not that it's a big secret in the game), and suggests that the player take a look at the "Read me" file in the game folder. Literally. Knows the information in the game folder on your computer.

In light of this, Zacharie would know that he's in a roleplay game and that I'm his player. He'd know about other players, and (with permission) would not be against engaging the muns in a little chat.

His concept art shows him with wings and holding a sword, though they aren't visible in the game. Then again, there really is no reason for the NPC merchant to use wings, is there? (Most take this art as a throwback to The Toad King story and that the sword he holds is what was used to slay the tyrant.) When adventuring through the Purified Zones, you can find a chest wherever Zacharie stood; it isn't said that he's the one to put them there, but since The Judge can survive the Purified Zones and Zacharie is found toward the end of the journey beyond the Room, it's safe to say he's strong enough to survive in hostile environments, or at least he can move around with enough to stealth to slip past things like the Secretaries. This is probably attributed partially due to being an NPC so he'll find it much more challenging to do that in Wonderland. POINT IS HE HAS A SWORD HE'S STRONG HE'LL SURVIVEEEEE.

Other than that, the only power shown in the game is the remarkable ability to have a shitton of items to sell despite the fact that he owns an amusement park and doesn't need the money.

However, OFF is a game where not everything is shown, much is alluded it, and more is reliant on personal interpretation. It is not only likely that Zacharie has other powers beyond his utter disregard for the 4th Wall and superb salesman powers--it's a probability. At one point he tells The Batter (after challenging him to a race that really only Zacharie was excited about), he says, "Too bad [insert player name here, in this case Jenna]! I’ve arrived before you. At the same time, it was scripted. You had no chance of success anyway.... So here’s a little something to help you forget the pains and sorrows of such an unappealing defeat."

He is everywhere and nowhere, where he needs to be, when he needs to be there. He is something far bigger than the game itself. What is he, exactly?



I could offer you theories, but until the creator offers some more insight (which, bless the man, usually comes in the form of sparse, vague answers because he loves people having their own interpretations) this is all we know for sure of Zacharie's abilities.

Third-Person Sample:

It's a strange feeling, being a protagonist. He'd thought those chronicles had ended when the game was over. (Oh, technically, they'd been over before the game begun, his adventures only appearing in the faded words of a endless library and in the existence of his park. Those are gone now.)

(He thinks, No big loss. Don't you just hate library levels?)

It's a strange feeling, being a puppet instead of an NPC. There's someone to guide him and hear his voice (get in his head, control him, and he isn't sure how he should feel about that, but a new role--ah, that's all sorts of exciting, isn't it?). He stretches a limb. Adjusts his mask. Doesn't take it off, and he thinks, so there are limits? Ah, I suppose there are. Every need game needs rules, after all.

(But his puppeteer knows he is smiling behind his mask.)

It's a strange feeling, being in a new game.

Zacharie looks over at the vendors, and as he heads over, he thinks that old habits die hard.

First-Person Sample:

[ A man in a mask stares into the camera. It looks like it's supposed to be a cat, but whatever cat the mask was modeled after must have had a horrifying face.

The mask smiles and the man sounds positively jovial. ]

Another day, another world! But alas, I am merely a misplaced items merchant far outside his domain. Curious and curiouser.

[ The mask doesn't change, but now that Chesire smile seems purposeful. ]

Of course, I am not one to abandon my role so thoroughly, and don't you all just hate when you're bombarded with questions right from the start? Instead, I'll offer my services to you, and save the questions for later.

I have a handful of items from the place I came from. Unique. Useful. Feel free to browse.

Ah, and I am to pass on a message. Otter, was it? I was told you would be reading this app. Would you kindly click this link?