deernet | video; un: shiro

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video; un: shiro

[The video clicks on to show Shiro, sitting at a dining table - in the Mouse House, for anyone who's been there before. He looks... different. Hollowed-out. More exhausted than usual, which is saying something, for him. But the biggest difference? His greying hair has gone completely white. All of it.]

[His hands are curled around a mug, with the omni propped up on something else.]

Hey, feels like long time, no see.

[The smile he goes for falls flat. He reaches down with his left hand, the real hand, to ruffle the fur of his Omen, the lion with her head in his lap.]

First of all... I'm sorry for what happened, recently. [The Beasthood Incident.] I want to thank the people who helped me out. You know who you are, and - I'd rather not get into it more than that, please.

That aside - I've really noticed there aren't a lot of us left from the Dream. From Deerington. That's no one's fault. It's just a little alarming to realize. Maybe it's better forgotten - I don't know. But, I'm offering what I have to anyone who wants to learn.

Either what Deerington was, what happened there, who was involved. Anything I still have.

I don't think it should be forgotten. Not after what was done to get us here. After what people went through to make it possible to wake up here. And who we lost in the process.

[He takes a deep breath, and lifts up the coffee mug for a drink. You know, to get himself centered and everything.]

[Except... the mug stopped steaming halfway through his speech. Something heavy slides around inside instead, and impacts Shiro's face with an audible THUD. His head snaps back, which allows the object to go plummeting down to the tabletop.]

[It's a solid brick of frozen coffee.]

[It isn't even melting in the summer weather. Just sitting there. Mocking him. Another slow, deep breath, to keep his eye from twitching.]

... also, if any coldbloods out there want to... help with this... blood ability mess? I'm... listening.

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I didn't end up really doing much, but you're welcome.

[She also wont go too far beyond that. But she'll look at the coffee and give a little laugh.]

Have you tried-

Thinking hot thoughts.

Get the whole fire side of things working.

That's what I usually do.

Uh, not sure I can help with the whole frozen coffee thing.

[ He pauses. ]

I'm pretty new, though. Just washed up! What is - was - the Dream?

[sansa's expression is one of sympathy, albeit faintly amused.]

You might be better off asking a Coldblood mage to fix your drink for you. I haven't known anyone to have very much luck melting their own ice.

[she pauses.]

I should like to learn what I can about the world before––the dream, and the role the Pthumerians played in it.

[Keith casually skims past the beasthood thing. He felt guilty enough about that, thanks. About not being able to help. About being one of the contributing factors to it happening. He'll just... ignore it and move on. That's healthy, right?

Except not, because his post-death appearance, while having dialed back a bit on the corruption appearances, was still not all that great. His hair was closer to black than purple again, but not completely, and when it shifted near his left temple during movement, a very pale violet streak, almost white, could be seen. The fangs were practically permanent now. There were other things, but none of it visible at this angle of the video.]

Maybe you should write that all- [What the-?]

[Keith winced as the ice came out of the cup.]

Why is your coffee frozen?

I'd be interested in learning about the Dream. I've read a book about the history of the Pthumerians, but I've precious little information about the Dream itself.

Er... I'm a coldblood, but I haven't really been able to use my blood magic yet, I'm sorry.

[Thank you, Ruby - for not going into things. He definitely appreciates it.]

Your abilities aren't acting up at all?

[A baritone voice, not as throaty as usual, but still husky speaks.]

There are fewer, it seems, of the Sleepers who'd awakened in Sodder's Nightmare, but some of us are still around. I'm one of the younger of what I call "the Elder Sleepers". Perhaps a census is in order, as well as compiling our experiences, however brief a time we spent in the Dream.

It's better if the younger Sleepers know about the Dream. It birthed this world. To forget it is to forget the origins of this place.

It's starting to sound like not a lot of people can.

[So no worries there, buddy.]

It was the world before this one. Literally a dream from one of the Pthumerians, but a child. She pulled us into it by accident, and tried to help us survive the nightmares she kept having.

[Shiro tries to coax the cylinder of coffee back into the mug while he answers.]

Hopefully - one of them sees this. Most of the ones I knew were... they're not around anymore.

[Or it's awkward for one reason or another.]

Yes ma'am. I'd be happy to. I could do it here or in person if you'd like.

[That's... kind of a concerning look for you, bro. Shiro regards the video feed for a while longer, his expression creasing the longer he watches. He has no real room to talk, what with his hair looking like it does now.]

It's mostly written down. Mostly.

[He grimaces, trying to coax the cylinder of coffee back into the mug.]

I think I caught Coldblood.

No, that's fine. It... sounds like I'll just have to heat this up the normal way.

[He pushes a hand through his hair.]

Sure thing. It was the world before this one - a world made by one of the Pthumerians. Just a kid, really. She pulled us in by accident, and then did what she could to keep us alive during her nightmares.

There's... a lot more to it, but it'd take more than a couple messages to go through.

Is that the term people are using now? "Elders"?

[Wow that. Makes his hair feel even more appropriate.]

I was there when the first round woke up in Deerington. It's... been years. So I'm happy to try and go over as much as Peter Parker and I were able to compile.

[A closed-mouthed chuckle, a bit eerie but still genuinely amused.]

I can't say that it's stuck yet, though I had Lovecraft's Elder Gods in mind when I coined the term.

I'd arrived in September of the final year of the Dream, though I'd manifested very briefly in August of the same year. Perhaps Julia found me too strange at first, or I was passing in and out of consciousness during my arrival. If you desire some additions to Peter's well-prepared portfolio, I have some notes I would be willing to share.

Are you going to mention to people how many people in Deerington chose to sacrifice a little girl at the end of it all?

[Guess who is still bitter, angry, and absolutely salty about how he wasn't able to save Julia?]

I have a few questions but - if you're one of the people who's been here the longest, I have an idea that I think might help with ensuring that it gets remembered?

[She's not even going to bother to offer help with the blood abilities, it's been... a nightmare, considering the sheer amount it's fucked up her blood magic.]

There's an archive here run by Remina, and then the school run by Never-Mind... But that just means that any information we get is filtered through those two, who we still have no reason to trust. I was wondering if maybe we could uhh... set up, like, an archive of our own?

[The joke was sitting right there.]

You know, to keep information together about the dream, the sleepers who have gone but who made an impact, events in the past, what to expect in the future, the mysteries behind this place as we unravel them, a sort of general bestiary of the types of monsters that linger around this place...

I'm interested in all the information you mentioned. Trench may not be the Dream, but they are connected. If we can avoid shooting ourselves in the foot over something we could have known- we should.

As for the coffee... are you more interested in fixing that (by yourself or someone else), avoiding it in the future, or actively controlling them so long as you... have coldblood.

.. are you alright?

[ Shiro says he'd rather not go into it more than that, sure. But whereas Ange isn't the type to put her foot down and demand he talks about it, just because she happened to be involved in the entire mess, she at least wants to know this much.

Because she did worry, especially since she wasn't there to see how it ended. How Shiro ended up back here as Shiro. And that worry is obvious even now. It's in Ange's eyes and tone, in a way she can't hide like everything else. ]

Sorry. We.. We really don't have to talk about it more than that, if you don't want to. I just.. I was worried.

I'd be interested in meeting with you and hearing more about what you have to say about that place.

If you're interested as well, of course.

...that sounds kinda familiar. Or similar, anyway. And that's a bit of a story.

[ He pauses. ]

How long have you been here?

Does it? Have you been through something like this before?

[Shiro has to stop and think about that one for a minute.]

Three years in Deerington, the dream world. Coming up on a year here.

Sure, yeah. I wouldn't mind. Especially in between one crisis and another.

I... guess that does sort of track with the squid thing.

[Which is still weird and kind of gross.]

I don't think we met, back there. Then again, things were getting pretty chaotic around that time. Can't really speak for Julia, but I know she stopped being able to communicate with us toward the end.

Sure. We need all the backups we can get.

I have to.

It's part of what happened. It's a disservice to her to do anything less.

I'll answer what I can, as much as I can.

[He's quiet for a minute, while turning that over in his head. And... trying to coax the frozen cylinder of coffee back into the mug.]

I think it's worth a shot. In Deerington, we kept as many copies of the records as possible. Just in case someone who had a copy disappeared. Or got corrupted. Having a central place for our findings is a good plan - as long as we also keep other copies out there.

Maybe I'm just paranoid about it, but old habits and all.

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