Rabbit 123

"You Rabbits aren't going to ruin this tournament for me. I won't allow it." ― #123, English Lop chat.Rabbit #123 was a member of the English Lop division in Tournament Two. In early October, he became a target of the Slender Man. His mental and physical health began a downward spiral, until he seemingly vanished during a call – and returned to the game as a brainwashed proxy of the Slender Man.
#123 was a finalist in the tournament, and (following Rabbit #110's death) was slated to win the game. However, he vanished on one of the last days of the tournament, and is believed to have been killed by Rabbit #157
== History ==
=== Early Days ===
Rabbit #123 signed up for the tournament along with the rest of the Rabbits. He was sorted into the English Lop division, where his friendly, optimistic, unassuming personality quickly gained him friends, including Rabbit #110, Rabbit #130, and Rabbit #135. He became known as the division's resident "chip eater" due to his love of snack foods (and his habit of eating them during chat discussions and calls).
For his Trial One video, #123 chose Rabbit #104 as division Leader, because he felt he had a great "vision" for the Lops. He nominated Rabbit #113 as Runt, due to their arrogance.
=== Sickness & Disappearance ===
During a Lop call on October 6, #123 suddenly developed a severe nosebleed; he asked HABIT for permission to leave the call to treat it, turning off his camera as he left the room. In #123's absence, his camera suddenly turned itself back on; the picture became heavily discolored, the audio feed permeated by a buzzing sound. By the time #123 returned to the call, the camera had turned itself off again; when he turned it back, the previous visual and audio distortion had vanished. HABIT forbid the other Rabbits from mentioning the incident to #123.
In the following weeks, #123 developed a number of troubling physical symptoms: in addition to the nosebleeds (which became a regular occurrence), he suffered frequent headaches and a persistent cough (sometimes so violent that it caused him to spit up blood). Furthermore, all of his videos began to show visual and audio distortion. It was painfully obvious that #123 was being followed by the Slender Man; however, the Lops were forbidden from warning him about the encroaching danger – and, when they tried to do so, found that #123 was unable to see their messages in the chat. HABIT explained that #123 was too "innocent" to sanely process his situation, and was deliberately blocking "certain messages" from his mind. The Rabbits asked HABIT why he was leaving #123 to his fate; HABIT replied that there was nothing he could do, adding that he didn't care and the situation was "ENTERTAINING AS FUCK...YOUR REACTIONS TO HIS DEATH WILL BE AMAZING".
On October 28, #123 submitted his second Trial. In the video, #123 destroyed his first Yu-Gi-Oh card, tearing it to pieces on camera. #123 coughed badly throughout the video, making it difficult for him to speak.
On November 4, #123, seemingly experiencing memory loss, began talking excitedly about his plans for Halloween. The Lops had no choice but to go along with it (despite being afraid that he'd be arrested for showing up at his neighbors' wearing a creepy mask in November). When #123 posted pictures of his mask in the chat, they showed up in black and white and horribly distorted (though #123 claimed they looked perfectly normal to him). 
On November 6, #123 (having survived "Halloween"), joined the Lops for a division call. In addition to coughing constantly, he was highly disoriented and slurred his words. However, he seemed unaware that anything was wrong, and continued talking about his Halloween (expressing disappointment that he only received one Snicker's bar during Trick-Or-Treat). The Rabbits attempted to converse as usual until #123's camera feed cut out. Several minutes later, the feed resumed; this time, however, the picture was distorted black and white – and a figure in a suit was visible on the left side of the screen. HABIT warned the Rabbits not to look at it, and ended the call to force #123's camera feed to cut out. The call resumed, and the Rabbits attempted to analyze the situation; suddenly, #123's camera switched back on – this time revealing his mask on the floor of an empty room, surrounded by a circle of discarded clothing. HABIT forced the call to re-start a second time; this time, #123 did not join the call.
Three days later, on November 9, HABIT posted a Missing Person poster of #123. When the image was posted in the Lop division chat, #135 and #102 noted that the picture of #123 showed him standing on the same boardwalk frequented by the Slender Man and the Collective in the TribeTwelve YouTube channel.
=== Return & Changes ===
On November 10, HABIT held a dual-division Angora/Lop call. When the call started, HABIT admitted that he "MIGHT HAVE BEEN WRONG" about #123 being dead; he linked the chat to a post of a new video that had just appeared on #123's blog (showing distorted footage of the Boardwalk and #123 waking up on it). Several minutes later, HABIT added #123 to the call. As HABIT had warned, #123 had no idea what had happened to him, and explained that his internet had gone out for several days (hence why he believed he'd been absent). 
After finding his Halloween mask on his desk and staring at it intently, #123 excused himself from the call; HABIT removed him from the chat, and explained to the Rabbits that #123 was no longer under his control: he now belonged to the Slender Man. The Rabbits, however, decided that #123 wasn't a threat, as he was a harmless, "Cheetoed-up 18-year-old" (albeit one with potentially supernatural powers). Once #123 was added back to the chat, the Rabbits tried desperately to explain to him (both during and after the call) what had happened, providing links to videos of the November 5 call and his Missing poster. #123 was unable to view their evidence, however, and didn't seem to understand what they were saying (even insisting that he didn't know who the Slender Man was at one point).
On November 18, #123 began typing with more clarity and formality than usual before joining the Lop division call. He seemed more wary and attentive than in the previous call, but was still unable to understand his predicament, misinterpreting or ignoring what the Rabbits were trying to tell him – including Rabbit #157's demonstration of the device. While he made a show of trying to assist #157 with his coughing (linking him a website for remedies), he ignored #01's frightening supernatural eye problems, and began mocking the other Rabbits' fears and perils, even pointing his finger like a gun at each of the Rabbits in the call (including himself) and "shooting" at them. Before the call ended, #123 revealed he was the host and kicked each and every Rabbit out one at a time (accompanied by more shooting sounds).
After the call ended, #123 began replying to the other Rabbits in the chat in a much more formal and self-righteous tone. When the Rabbits tried to discuss #01's predicament, #123 quickly changed the subject to #157 and his cough (drawing special attention to his own efforts to "help" him). When #110 became exasperated with #123's behavior and snapped at him, #123 threatened him, warning #110 not to "underestimate" him.
=== Servanthood ===
#123's Trial Three video was uploaded November 30. In the video, he destroyed a paper mask he had made in honor of his deceased grandmother, tearing it to pieces on camera. The video was ominous, showing sickly, overly-distorted colors and static, and #123's voice sounded oddly raspy and emotionless in tone. 
On December 8, the Lops had their first division-exclusive call in weeks. When #123 joined the call, the Rabbits immediately noticed that his voice was much deeper and raspier than usual. #123 turned on his camera, revealing that he was wearing his white Halloween mask; his camera had completely glitched to black and white, and his movements were jerky and puppet-like. #123 informed the Lops that he was now the most capable Rabbit in the game; that the Slender Man had shown him "how things really are", and that he was the Rabbits' only salvation.
#124 revealed that he'd been under the Slender Man's thrall since the October 6th call – and that he had been aware of his condition the entire time. He insisted that he hadn't been faking his innocence completely, but that he had feigned ignorance in order to avoid alarming the rest the division and destroying their trust in him. #123 also revealed that he'd been stalking #157 (playing "ding dong ditch" at his house) and that he intended to "get rid of him" if he continued to be a hindrance to his plans. After telling the Rabbits they were "weak", #123 removed himself from the call, leaving his division mates frightened and frustrated.
The following day, #123 posted a video, "WhyWouldYouPretend" (with the description "ThatYoureGoingToBeatMe?"). HABIT posted a link to the video in the Lop chat, and #123 gave his fellow Lops an ominous warning, echoing a quote from the video: "You Rabbits aren't going to ruin this tournament for me. I won't allow it."
During her secret call with the Rabbits, Amrett said that #123 had "played [them] all like a fucking fiddle". She said that #123 was "corrupted", and stated that she was unable to include him in her rescue mission – not because Dr. Corenthal was incapable of helping him, but because #123 didn't want to be helped. #123 made his next visceral appearance during the December 19 cross-division call. He provided the Rabbits with a link to his new video ("To Prove Oneself"); he explained that, in order prove he was a legitimate threat (both to #169 and to the rest of his division), he had kidnapped a homeless man and tortured him in his garage for ten days before murdering him. His only regret was that he hadn't supplied the man with a bucket to use as a toilet, and would now have to hose down the garage as a result.
In his Trial Four video (posted January 14), #123 cut off his left arm with an electric hedge clipper, declaring that drastic measures were needed to get the division "back on track" (and that his master could still use him in his new, mutilated state).
=== Projected Winner ===
On January 28, HABIT privately messaged #123. HABIT revealed that he had known about #123's deception from the very beginning, and that #123's new position as a Proxy put them at odds, as he now stood a good chance of winning the Tournament – and was unable to be killed or controlled by anyone other than his new master.
On February 1, Amrett 2 announced to The Hidden Ones that they were facing a new threat, an unforeseen change in the timeline. She had seen #123's private conversation with HABIT; after viewing the timeline from the outside, she confirmed what HABIT had already: #123 was slated to win the Tournament, as he had the power (and drive) to kill all of the Rabbits; however, he would do so without being bound to (or controlled by) HABIT. She explained that this was the Slender Man's way of “dicking with HABIT", of ruining his game by “claim[ing] a golden piece that can’t be destroyed”. She told the Rabbits that they needed to formulate a plan, or else #123 would "sail [his] way to the end". Amrett 2 decided that #123 had to be killed – and that #157 was the best candidate for the job. Unfortunately, a short time later, #157 seemingly vanished from the chats.
=== Detox ===
On February 25, #123 posted a startling new video, in which he appeared to be conflicted about his proxy status for the first time. On camera, he frantically removed his mask and punched the ground in frustration; he started to cry, and alternated between sobbing and sinister laughter for the rest of the video before replacing his mask at its conclusion. After the video was brought to the attention of The Hidden Ones, Amrett 2 began to panic, stating that #123 removing his mask wasn't "suppose to happen" (as she hadn't forseen it).
On February 29, Amrett 2 announced that a "major change" was occurring in the timeline. The following morning, she added #123 to the Hidden Ones chat so she could keep an eye on him and monitor his condition. She confirmed (as the Rabbits suspected) that #123 had begun to "detox" (cleanse himself of the Slender Man's influence), because the Slender Man had been focusing his attention on #157. When the Rabbits expressed concern that #123 would be a security risk, Amrett 2 reassured them that this was the real David, returned to his former harmless self, and that they had nothing to fear from him.
=== End of the Line ===
Three days later, HABIT announced in the English Lop chat that #123's time was "running short"; something was going to kill him soon. On March 3, in #123's absence, Amrett 2 announced that it was nearly time for #157 (who had recently returned from being abducted by the Slender Man) to kill #123.
On the night of March 14, #00 was added to The Hidden Ones; after #00 addressed him as "the fucking Proxy", #123 spoke up, introducing himself for the first time by his real name, David. A short time later, Amrett 2 uploaded her "Cold Hearts and Warm Corpses" video; the video revealed (among other things) her real reason for wanting #123 dead: David had been the only thing standing between her and total control of Timeline A itself; not only was HABIT unable to harm David, but so was she. With David out of the way, Timeline A (broken and malleable as it was) would be hers to do with as she pleased. In light of the knowledge, #123 fell silent.
From that night on, #123 barely spoke to the other Rabbits. On the night of March 26, he was unable to be reached for the final Hidden Ones call. The Lops said that he hadn't spoken for several days; they believed that he had been attacked and killed by #157 (who had also vanished). Near the end of the call, with #00's encouragement, #152 entered #123's number into the chat, linking David to Eden and ensuring that he would be resurrected when Timeline A was reset.
== Personality ==
#123 began the tournament as a (seemingly) amicable, laid-back boy. Easily given to cracking jokes and making offbeat observations, he was quickly able to make friends with most of the Rabbits in his division. Unfortunately, many of #123's more outgoing tendencies were an attempt to hide the sickness that was growing in his psyche as a result of the Slender Man's influence. Dr. Corenthal believed that #123 was quickly indoctrinated because, being young and rather innocent in nature, he was unconsciously searching for an authority figure to look up to (causing him to easily give in to the creature's ministrations).
After he returned from his abduction, #123 showed marked personality changes; his speech became more direct and formal, his demeanor cold and arrogant. His behavior also became rather threatening (e.g. warning the Rabbits not to "underestimate" him, shooting at them with a make-believe gun during a call). While the Rabbits believed these were new developments, they were in fact his "proxy" personality making itself known.
During the December 12 English Lop call, #123 appeared on camera in his Halloween mask, revealing himself to be a proxy of the Slender Man. From this moment on, #123 was shockingly unhinged and violent, behaving like the true murderous psychopath he had become. Though he continued to speak to the other players after that point, he made it clear that he had no respect for them and regarded them (with the possible exception of #169) as little more than a hindrance to his plans.
For the two weeks he was active in the Hidden Ones chat, #123's demeanor was quiet and subdued. While he was clearly broken, he still afforded the Rabbits a small glimpse of "the real David", speaking to them with compassion and understanding (even making an effort to comfort #102 and help her cope with Daniel's death).
== Abilities ==
#123 is a smart, resourceful, and calculating young man. He is a convincing actor, and was easily able to hide his true emotions and intentions from the other Rabbits throughout most of the tournament – not only keeping up a childlike, sometimes goofy persona for the first two months of the game, but feigning ignorance upon his return and revealing his allegedly "new" corruption gradually, so as not to alarm the other Rabbits.
== Relationships ==
=== Rabbit #157 ===
Rabbit #157 and #123 were both rivals and foils. Both were victims of the Slender Man, and both were abducted by the creature at one point; the key difference is that while #123 gave in to the creature's indoctrination and became a full proxy as a result, #157 was able to fight off the creature's influence (due in part to the device), and thus remained "himself" (except, perhaps, at the very end). While both men wore masks to hide their faces, #123 also wore one in the figurative sense, hiding his true nature and intentions from the Rabbits; #157, by contrast, concealed his face and identity, but was open and honest about his intentions and actions.
#123 frequently threatened #157, using his powers to play "ding-dong ditch" at #157's house (for no other reason than to put him on edge) and proclaiming that if they should ever meet face to face, he would kill him personally. #157 threatened #123 with the same, and may have made good on it at the end.
=== Rabbit #169 ===
#169 was the only Rabbit #123 treated with respect following his indoctrination. Though the reason isn't certain, it may have been because #169 (unlike the other Rabbits) was brutally honest with his words. #123 listened to #169's advice and took his criticisms seriously; after #169 informed #123 that he needed to "earn" respect and fear, #123 decided to up the ante by abducting and torturing a homeless man to death in his garage.
== Quotes ==
"One of these days I want to name a hurricane. I'll call it 'Joe'." ― Lop chat.
"I like to live with a good view of the edge." ― 10/1 Lop call.
"I wish I were a Cheeto. Then I'd eat myself. And die happy." ― 10/1 Lop call
"Mark my words: there's no way I could possibly get more screwed-up than I already am, all right?" ― 10/1 Lop call
"First rule of ficuses: we don't talk about ficuses." ― 10/2 Lop call.
"Welp guesswhog ot another noserbleed... [Five minutes pass.] ...I just fucking sneezed." ― Lop chat.
"Hey guys, I got more Cheetos." ― First words after returning from his abduction, 11/10 call,
"Would you rather be chewin' on something that tastes like fake fruit, or would you rather be chewin' on fake fruit?" ― Explaining to #00 why gummy vitamins are superior, 11/10 Lop call,
"Ficuses are like...yeah, they're generic. Cactuses...they're like, um...more of the...prickly...t-t-they're more menacing, they're cool-looking. Like, y'know? It's like comparing...it's like comparing a...you got...the birds, and then you got the dragons. Y'know? There's a difference." ― 11/10 Lop call, explaining why cactuses are superior to ficuses.  
"You're underestimating me?" ― To #110, after the 11/18 Lop call.
"See, the Tall Man, he was merely a key to showing things...for how they really are. I am...your only salvation, Rabbits. I am the way." ― 12/8 Lop call.
"[Me] [a] messiah? Well. I was gone for three days." ― 12/8 Lop call, after Rabbit #81 sarcastically called him a Messiah (in response to #123's claims of being the "salvation" of the Lops and "the way").
"I'm no Lucifer, either." ― After #130 proclaimed he was "no Jesus Christ", 12/8 Lop call.
"If I had shown you all how aware I truly was, none of you would have trusted me. Now, I've come clean. Because in the end, you can't trust anyone in this tournament." ― Lop chat, after 12/8 call.
"They say a mask hides one...one's true face. I disagree. I believe a mask can...show a person for who they really are." ― "WhyWouldYouPretend".
"He showed me just what I need to do to succeed, everything I've done, killing that man, cutting off my arm, its all just a path to success I've decided to go on. I've been given a chance to winning this tournament."
"I'm David, I joined this tournament under the ruse of being someone blissfully unaware of the danger around me, and I've been a puppet for the better part of the past few months." ― To Marty, after he formally introduced himself in the Hidden Ones chat.
== Trivia ==
*123's love of snack foods (and eating them during calls) earned him a number of nicknames, including Sweet Innocent Snickers (#110) and Our Great And Powerful Chip Eater (#110). #123's favorite snacks are Cheetos and Doritos.
* 123's favorite color is Green.
* 123 lives in Cape Coral, Florida – as he describes it, "in the middle of nowhere".
* 123 is unemployed (much to his chagrin). As he once put it, "I'm avoiding work – only because I keep applying to jobs and they don't call".
* 123 can walk on his hands.
* As a child, #123 enjoyed making masks. As he puts it, "[I]t was as if I was trying to make one that was better than all the others." (He eventually "grew out of it".)
* 123 is a fan of the TV show The Walking Dead. (After he returned from his disappearance, one of his first statements in the call was, "I just want to know if Glenn is alive".)
* 123 is a fan of the Fallout video game franchise. He was eagerly anticipating the release of Fallout 4 prior to his disappearance.
* 123 was the first Rabbit to be taken by the Slender Man, and the only Rabbit to officially become a Proxy (though he disliked the term, as he claimed he wasn't a "stand-in" for anyone).
* It is possible that #123's "detox" period was due to the Slender Man focusing his attention on #157.
* While #157 was #123's biggest foil, #123 was also a foil to several other figures in the game:
** Find-the-way. Like Amrett, #123 proclaimed that he was the Rabbits' savior and "The Way", and presented himself as a teacher and "voice of experience". Both Amrett and #123 wore "masks", both figuratively and literally; while Amrett wore a physical mask for only a very brief time, she, like #123, hid her true identity, intentions, and motives from the Rabbits at various times. Both Amrett and #123 had plans and motives they believed to be altruistic, which were actually selfish and destructive. (However, Amrett's modus operandi appeared positive at first glace, whereas #123's always appeared malevolent.)
** Amrett 2. Unsurprisingly, #123 is also a foil of Amrett 2. While Amrett 2 never concealed her identity, she – like #123 – masked her true nature and motives. However, #123 never gave up his humanity completely, whereas Amrett 2 gave up hers without hesitation.
** #110. Both #110 and #123 were searching for authority figures to obey and look up to, and both gave up part of their humanity in order to become the puppets of supernatural beings (HABIT and The Slender Man, respectively). While #110 was intensely worried about losing his humanity, however, #123 gave his up willingly. In the end, both men managed to "break free" in a sense and revert back to themselves, before ultimately losing their lives.
== Gallery ==
Rabbit123.png|#123's original Skype profile pic.
123TrialOneLeader.png|Trial One: choice for division Leader.
123TrialOneRunt.png|Trial One: choice for division Runt.
123TrialTwo.png|Trial Two: #123 destroys his first Yu-Gi-Oh card.
123BlurryMask.png|Distorted picture of #123's Halloween mask, as posted in the Lop chat.
NegativeMask.jpg|Second picture of mask, showing the Slender Man's trademark negative distortion.
David.jpg|#123's Missing poster.
123.gif|I'm capable.
123TrialThree.png|Trial Three: #123's paper mask.
123TrialThreeTorn.png|Trial Three: #123's mask destroyed.
123OnesTrueFace.png|WhyWouldYouPretend?
123TrialFourCut.gif|Trial Four: "How many times do I have to prove myself?"
123Detox1.png|#123 conflicted.
71's Rabbit 123.jpg|Rabbit 71's doodle of #123.
123 Portrait.png|Depiction of #123 in Lop group portrait. 
== Links ==
Tumblr: whywouldyoupretend
Category:Rabbits
Category:Finalists
Category:Slender Man Victims
Category:English Lops