Deer Country Network

Right, so, I've apparently come in the last few months when the creatures who everyone thinks are in charge are all getting sick and now there are suddenly children and teenagers everywhere.

How worried do I need to be? Is this "a day ending in y" sort of deal or a "make peace with your existence cause it's ending" sort of deal?

Oh, and I guess zombies are a thing here too.

So...ice zombies. Fun. For anyone who's managed to take any of them out, did you aim for the head? Colour me curious if the zombie movies I've seen are accurate.



[Filter 1: Johnny Lawrence & Daniel LaRusso]

I'm planning a semi-surprise birthday party for Robby. All I'm telling him is that I'm inviting you two and a few friends over for dinner. But it's his 18th birthday so it's got to be way more badass than that and I'm inviting all of his and my friends.

Your mission is to keep Robby busy during the day so I can set up and he won't see everyone arriving.



[Filter 2: Friendly CR of Robby & Tory]

It's Robby's 18th birthday next month and I'm throwing him a party. He's going to know that I invited a few friends over for dinner. What he doesn't know is how many people I'm actually inviting. Anyway, party's on the 4th and if you can see this, you're invited. If you want to bring a friend along who isn't on this filter, check with me first. I'll probably be fine with it, but I want to know who to expect.



(ooc: As long as your character has had a positive interaction with either Tory or Robby and isn't known to have issues with either of them, feel free to assume they're invited!)

[A certain someone had come in late to the game, with only a stack of notes and what looked to be a bulleted to-do list tacked to the wall. There were a multitude of unanswered questions-- and the few answers available only brought more to the foreground.
It was time to make some forward motion.]

Morning all.

Here's a questionnaire to answer at your leisure. Feel free to use the anonymous and privacy functions if they are more to your tastes, given the sensitive nature of the questions. Detail isn't necessary, unless you want to give them. This is just a surface level poll.

1) Who is your Patron?
2) How do you relate to them?
3) How is your Blessed Day significant to you?
All answers will be screened on request. I understand that people may want to keep certain details private.

[With that matter taken care of, 'Athena' set about their life in peace. They landed in Trench with a grand puzzle, and it was going to be fun to solve.]

I would like to pose several questions regarding bloodstone gems.

Robby has had some luck in gathering information from Nevermind when discussing blood pollution and attempts to balance it. The pthumerian stated isolating specific abilities from the bloodtypes into gems could be an avenue. Darkblood comes to mind, the reality bending abilities used to warp the pollution or corruption directly from the environment.

I've done some initial testing with little success, hence this post. Does anyone have experience with making bloodgems they can share?

Are there bloodgem jewelers in the Trench you can recommend? Any information found in the Archives that can be useful?

For that matter anyone interested in the research is welcome to help or get involved, I am hardly an expert in blood magic itself, in truth. Donations of blood are welcome as well as we continue to look into this.

[ooc; here is the ooc plotting post for this player plot!]

[Vira-Lorr had reached a point of being more active gradually, and one of her new years resolutions was to make herself useful. All of that came face to face, however, with an innocent and well-intentioned gift on her door front. The video shows an utterly innocuous sight. It's a box. There's a half dozen cans of chicken noodle soup, some tissues and a bottle of orange juice in it. There's an actual gas mask next to it, and Vira-Lorr's shaking hand clenches a hand-scrawled note that reads...

DRINK THE JUICE.]

IS THIS SOMEONE'S IDEA OF A SICK JOKE?!? [She's seething, breathing hard, through her teeth.]

I swear, I will tan your hide if one of you is pranking me!!! Do not joke about this! First I almost fall into a freaking sinkhole and have to kill a zombie, and now THIS?!?

[Huh? What?]

(OOC: Vira-Lorr's having a wee bit of a flashback because that package? Oh, she recognizes it. And it stems back to an old event in the previous game that was very traumatizing.]

Why hello there! [Snow White looks even cheerier than usual, which is impressive considering her general nature.]

What a lovely winter we're having! [Snow, having come from German winters of the Renaissance is honestly quite cozy with all the inventions Trench has to keep you warm. ]

Now, I've never gotten to celebrate my birthday before, and since it's today, I was hoping for some ideas on what I might do! I have been told, quite vehemently by my beloved, I'm not allowed to bake my own cake.

Though, I don't think there should be a party, I don't wish to waste food for something that doesn't matter all that much. Just something small should be alright. So, I would love to hear any recommendations you might have!

I hope you're all staying nice and warm and fed as well! If not, please let me know and I will be happy to help with food and clothing.

[Vira-Lorr was not doing well. On the surface, it wasn't going to be obvious. The omni showed her on the shoreline of Trench, bundled up and watching out to the iceflows of the winter. There were, in the background, greeters tending to the last steps of the arrivals. The beasts from the ocean weren't breaking out of the ice right now, and it was past the usual time for sleepers to wash up, so the winter festivities were being closed up. Everything was safe. She just looked like she was finishing up a vigil. Anyone who knew her knew that she did this every month. She was usually waiting for a few people in particular. She just ... didn't publicize it like this.

Her eyes were rimmed red. It was clear that she'd been crying, but she wasn't doing it currently. Instead, she was smiling, though it was a distant and pained thing. One hand reached up to rest on her shoulder, to feel where the mark had been placed.]

I... don't need to tell some of you this. You will know. You always do. This is for other people in town who might care.

[Usagi would know. She didn't name Serenity, but she knew that she would know that a Senshi had departed, and if she knew then Makoto and Hotaru would know very quickly afterwards. Either by connection, or being told. This message wasn't specifically to tell them that Venus had gone home, though she would appreciate hearing from her friends. It was for the ones who weren't connected like they had been, like she had been.]

My wife, Minako Aino, is fine. She has safely returned to the sea. I felt the distance as it progressed, and ... I know that nothing caught her amongst the monsters below. She's safe. She will be safe in her home. I ... I want all of you who care about her to be certain of that.

[Her lips quivered a little and she sighed. She'd dealt with this before. How many people had she lost since the nightmares? How many had she tried to love? To get close to? Only to lose them too. She'd lost Minako twice now this way. She could handle it. Yet, this time was different. In so many ways it was different because deep down, she knew there was a chance Minako did not remember her where she was going. Usagi, Makoto, Hotaru, they would be reunited one day, but they might all forget her. It hurt.]

I'm fin... no, I'm not. I'm not going to lie. I'm not fine. My wife is gone, and I will come back every month to see if she returns to me, to us. I'm a patient woman. People have come back to me before. I have centuries to wait. My race gives me that luxury. but today hurts. A lot.

[There was a momentary pause and she sighed.]

I could probably use some company over the next few days. I'll be running the shop to help get my mind off of it, so if you need a reading, I just won't be a hundred percent is all. I've been very moody lately. Not sure why, but this is not helping.

i: VIDEO PRIVATE to eden

[There's a saga before this that isn't broadcasted to the network at large, but only to Eden via drone: Mike's abduction on the way into Crenshaw, his bout of unconsciousness - the horror of waking, mouth stitched shut, in not quite unfamliar, bloody, hostile territory, clad only in a dull, red jumpsuit - the further horror of realizing he's chained to what amounts to nothing more than the headless upper half of what had once been a Sleeper. It's possible she's seen who and what their fate was. It's also possible she hasn't.

It's the standoff in the Sleeper Farm - floor after floor of dragging the remains of another Sleeper with him, up and up - even when his blood is functional enough he could be rid of the gory baggage he doesn't shed it - that would, in effect, be leaving a man behind, and what kind of thing is that to do? By the end of it, it's become a grudge. And by the time he's in front of that statue, all manner of organs in its hands, he gently unshackles his companion, and then himself, before stomping on the chains until they're no longer chains, but a mess of old wires that disintegrate into nothing but stains on the floor.

His endless rageful shouting - the stitches are long gone, left an aftertaste of ash that's as unwelcome as the rest of this, maybe even moreso.]

Del, to everyone!

ii: VIDEO PUBLIC: omen: username: TENSKULLS/MIKE ENSLIN

[His Omen is not instructed to contain the broadcast to the small circle Mike intends to ask, so she opens the line of communication to all of Trench instead. Mike may have meant "everyone" in the "Sword Wizards and Mike" way, but Delmira obeys in the literal sense.

Mike's blood and its monthly bonus of excitability is doing the Zealots no favors once he's up here. They're glitching as fast as they're moving, somehow they're not close enough to attack, they're never accurate enough, and then they're behind a bubble that's rendered them a slow motion haze, confused and barely audible through it, while he sits on a summoned chair, a growing pile of shirts at his feet that shows no signs of slowing. Every shirt is wrong. Wrong pattern, wrong color, wrong cut. That's a fucking video tape and:]

That is the wrong fucking thread count!! GOD DAMNIT!!!

[He is now screaming (nearly unintelligibly) I want!! MY SHIRT!! with the exact same vibe he'd once screamed as he attacked a mini fridge. If counted, it takes four hundred and ninety nine shirts to get the correct shirt back. And not that he's paying any mind at all to the Zealots besides hurling words:]

You circus freaks are either going to help me find it or you can fuck right off!!! I'm DONE!

[Wrong shirt.]

Why don't you close your eyes, imagine yourself being actually fucking scary, and then open them and weep, you ASSCLOWN!!!

[Two wrong shirts, but closer to anyone who knows the shirt.]

That was my lucky shirt! I was on my way to WORK, you fermented ball sack! My friends gave me that!! Like you know what friends are with that face! Clive Barker called, he wants his whole thing back!

I'm gonna kick you in the dick so hard your vertebrae pop out like a goddamn Pez Dispenser!!

[Not a shirt, but that's a rain of vertebrae shooting across the backdrop if one chooses to look. Mike doesn't - he's too busy yelling.

Shirts flicker out of existence as new ones appear in his hands, and when that last one comes, he goes quiet as he examines it, the flurry and whirl of bloodmad monstrosities outside his shield growing hazier still. He looks up at the statue with a cold calm, his hands clenching and then releasing the fabric, somehow angrier now that he's bunched it up. So he holds it gently now as the wall he'd conjured flickers, fades, and reveals a floor emptied of Zealots - just that statue and its organ offerings. Its blood.

Before he's able to make any further move, there's a pale, pulsing glow that replaces the fading bubble, a pearlescent shimmer as Moon Presence ends this scene just shy of sacrifice, and he's suddenly in his small, messy room at the Sanguine Station, (standing in front of a whole wall of photographs - daughter, wife, brother, various combinations - in most of which his own face is blurry) - holding a bloodied hawaiian shirt - the very same he'd donned for his first day at his new job - which he has now missed.

He looks down at his omen, the screen, blinking. Delmira blinks back, and shuts her eyes, so it's only Mike's voice that asks, after a pause:]

iii: VOICE PUBLIC: omen: username: TENSKULLS/MIKE ENSLIN

How the fuck do I get blood out of a good shirt?

[ Cue Gaia, seated in a comfortable looking room. Her living room which has gotten a enough furnishings to be called that these days. There's a cheery looking fire lit, the soft glow of electric (lunar powered) lights and a brindle furred dog curled up at the foot of her chair. Her omen, a black crowntail betta, swims flamboyantly in and out of the frame though never blocking vision of the girl. A blank page book is open in her lap and she's holding a pen. She looks enthusiastic. ]

So everyone, hello.

I've heard about Christmas and I've heard a few other festival names for this time of year. But we didn't have much like it back home, being that most of the world was swallowed by the Light.

[ But it's fine don't worry about that bit. Gaia continue to speak in an enthusiastic fashion. People that know her might wonder if she'd put a wee too much sugar in her tea. ]

A lot of traditions and so on were lost because of that and really I was never one for reading books even if there was one on the subject. So if we had Christmas or Hanukkah or some other winter season tradition, I wouldn't have a clue.

I've got the idea that people give presents to orphans from Allen's video. And decorate. But how does one decorate? What does one make or give? Though it seems highly questionable, I remember seeing mention of cookies. Do people really bake? What kind of things? If there's cookies, I would need recipes.

[ She takes a deep breath. But it doesn't seem to calm her down. If anything Gaia gets a little more enthusiastic as she continues. The writing utensil in her hand that was poised over an open journal in her lap is waved around. ]

Since I managed to prepare well enough for winter, I have a lot more spare time on my hands than I expected to have. I find myself reluctant to sit around when I can be doing something, but I don't want to look foolish either. So any information you have on these festivities or something like them you celebrate in your world would be appreciated. I'll do my best to bring those ideas to Sanctuary. And probably D's Outpost.

Respond however you like. Video, audio or text. Pictures would be helpful. But any information's fine as long as it's genuine. I'll be very cross if someone tries to pull a prank on me. So I will be checking just so you know.

[ She might be um... very energetic. But in many ways she's still Gaia at her core. ]

Looking for roommates

The Apartment: I don't have a place yet and don't know exactly how you get one, so I am sorry I cannot put a catchy tagline and information about that like the advertisement guide says.

The Roommate: My name is Kageyama Shigeo, I went to Salt Middle School but I haven't found any middles schools here yet either. Sometimes I played video games with my brother, that is a hobby. People have told me I am surprisingly reliable, so I will try to be a good roommate.

You: I don't really have a preference for what a roommate is like. A good person, I guess. My dad smokes sometimes so I don't really mind that, even if it smells bad.

When: Soon.

Contact: I don't know how to put a link for that yet, I'm sorry.

[The video turns on and it's Maul, using his omen Venge to broadcast it. He looks serious like he's about to talk to Trench about a topic of great importance.]

For those unaware, this is the time of year when the Pthumerian or half-Pthumerian known as Santa Claus comes to Trench towards the end of the month. He can shift into many forms to fit into your home but most often looks like this.

[Venge, his Omen, turns to look at the picture that has been sketched of a fairly traditional 21st century Santa Maul has set up next to him. Yes, this presentation comes with pictures, all made by Maul himself]

Santa is one of the more benevolent Pthumerians though he is possessed of much stealth and cunning, making it difficult for people to interact with him. He is associated with deer as Sodder was but his chosen favored deer are reindeer. He uses his powers to make them fly.

[Another picture, this time showing the team of flying reindeer that looks like it was copied from an illustration of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. This one is a little rougher, especially the reindeer, for drawing animals isn't Maul's forte.]

He loves the scent of pine and prefers if there are wreaths or full trees made of them left in the home when he visits. Those who leave him offerings of food and drink he will reward with presents. The offerings can be small such as this.

[Again, another picture showing a glass of milk and plate of cookies are shown with an equal sign followed by a small stack of presents underneath a Christmas tree that has been decorated rather....oddly with things like animal skulls and black ornaments on it.]

But he also accepts larger offerings if you wish for larger gifts. There appears to be no known way to prevent him from entering your homes but he doesn't appear to seem interested in causing harm to people, even those who fail to provide him hospitality. I have yet to run into him personally the past two years, but if anyone sees him, please let me know. I wish to test my fighting skills against him.

[.............Yes, Darth Maul just said he wants to fight Santa Claus. Will wonders never cease?]

[The feed opens up to Johnny Lawrence staring at the screen like he isn't aware that it's currently life. He's looking incredible thoughtful as his fingers type down a message. It's... very uncharacteristically thoughtful of him. It would almost be hard to peg him as the same person if not for the occasional pause to take a swig of beer.

After a moment he stops. His eyes scan over the screen again as he carefully reads back what he's written. Then there's a little flick of annoyance that shifts to frustration.]

No this is stupid.

[He whacks the screen before standing up putting and shoving it aside lightly.]

You don't apologize. That shows weakness-

And there's no wea-

[The feed shuts off.]

[And a moment later another message comes through via text.]

Dear Robby,

I just wanted to apologize for what happened at Miyagi-Do the other day. I didn't want things to break into a fight, especially not like the one that did. I wanted to come and support you and what you had chosen to do. But I thought if I showed up in any sort of Eagle Fang gear it would be taken as a challenge. It turns out it did anyways as well an insult to your training ground.

All I can say is I'm sorry. You have every right to be mad at me.

If you can find it in your heart, don't blame Paul for this. He's a good kid who just got roped into the mess I made.

Johnny.

-

Dear Daniel LaRusso,

I'm sorry for the scene I caused at your dojo. I didn't mean any disrespect to Miyagi-Do and, I wasn't looking to reopen any can of worms between us.

I've been trying my best to support Robby and respect his wishes to give him space since he got here. And even though he told me that he'd be helping you reopen your dojo. It still hurt that he chose to stick by you instead of give me a chance to prove that I can be there for him.

It's why I showed up to the dojo in the fucking plumbers get up. I panicked and thought if I showed up doing anything karate related it'd be seen as disrespecting your dojo or a direct challenge to what you were doing.

Turns out it was both either way. Go fucking figure I'd screw it up that bad.

I'll do my best to keep my distance from your dojo. But don't blame Paul for this. He's a good kid and he just got pulled into my bullshit.

Johnny.

-

Dear Paul,

I'm sorry for dragging you into that mess. My relationship with Robby and LaRusso is a shit show on the best of days. And instead of owning up to that like a sensei should, I threw you into the middle of it. I put you in a position where you had to face the consequences of every bad decision I've made in my life. You didn't deserve that.

I keep telling you that I'm not going to fail you again. And then I go and do it all over again.

The way you stood up after all of that and apologized for what had happened. I just

I wish I could be half the man you were in that moment.

Don't blame LaRusso or Robby for what happened there. They were just trying to get at my while I hid behind you.

You're the real badass here.

Johnny

I hate to ask this kind of question, but due to the nature of Trench I don't think anyone can really blame me.

What are our weapon options here? Where do I go or who do I need to speak with? Or is this more of a "figure it out for yourself" kind of situation?

Figure I'd check before I make any assumptions.

Can't rely on this bear forever that's been following me around.

[at first, the camera shows sansa on her couch as usual, with the direwolf tapestry behind her. only her eyes are white, there's a faintly-bird shaped red mark painted across one cheek, and a tangle of weirwood roots appears to be superimposed over her couch, and the tapestry is covered in...eyes. lady at her side has a similar red mark dripping down her neck where her fancy collars usually are.

the camera keeps glitching, staticky, and the eyes in the tapestry change every time. music is playing faintly in the background and it blares to full volume every time sansa opens her mouth.

her omen comes slowly into frame with a massive shadow following him like an eclipse. eventually it catches them both, staining him red. holes appear in the shadow like the face of a heart tree. sansa's bends towards her omen for a moment, then shuts off the feed.

when she reappears it is from an odd, cinematic angle, but her house, wolf, and person seem normal. it does reveal a box full of fabric shapes and a strange fabric...face mask on the table. she smiles faintly.]

Hallo, this is Sansa Stark. I'm sorry about the trouble with the omni crystal. I don't know if it has anything to do with what's been happening to the buildings in the city, but I have spoken to The Tower and Never Mind, and The Tower is ill. It isn't what the Zealots think, though. Even Never Mind doesn't know what the problem truly is, but he does believe there is a mushroom that can help with The Tower's symptoms.

It's too delicate to be harvested by Pthumerians, but it can be found using the compasses from this month. Of course Lady and I will do what we can to help. We've already found some useful mushrooms here in the city.

Unfortunately, the mushroom that will help The Tower is much further away. It's deep in the woods, and it isn't safe for us to go alone. And it's a few day's walking, we'll need supplies. I have a lot of mushrooms, and lady can catch us rabbits, but we'll need bread and cheese, water for drinking and cooking, and whatever else we can muster. And then we'll need carts to put it in, and something to pull the carts.

[she unhooks a chain from her chatelaine and holds it out to winter, who zooms in on it, and out again, somewhat suddenly.]

Never Mind gave me this. He says he'll give one to anybody that goes. It will help to keep the Beasts from noticing you. Even so, we'd better go in groups, with some people ready to fight. I can make sturdy armor and wool padding for everyone, and cloaks and blankets so nobody has to freeze.

[she hooks the necklace back onto her chatelaine.]

And there's the Zealots––I've been asking people if they know anything about them, and if there's anything at all we can do to protect ourselves. Some people were very rude, but someone left a box of these [she holds up the cloth face mask; winter zooms in and out on it again.] at the Sanctuary in Crenshaw. They go over your nose and mouth. The box said 'personal protective equipment'––[winter does a slightly nauseating whirl to show this] I've taken one apart for the pattern, and it's only cloth. They aren't dangerous. I think perhaps covering our faces is meant to help us with the Zealots––I suppose they could be turning their blood to mist and using it to do magic in our bodies so they can bring us to The Tower.

[thanks for that sansa]

Anyway, I can make enough for everyone. [she frowns, hesitating a moment.] The Zealots won't stop, and they won't accept willing sacrifices. All of us could give our bodies over to The Tower, and they would keep just keep doing it with the next group of Sleepers to come in. They may not be Beasts, but they can't be made to see reason. Unless we were able to treat the corruption in them...[she sighs.]

I suppose we'd better secure the city, first. If you're having trouble with your omni crystal and you wish to respond to this post, it should help to use your omen, but I think everybody who wants to help get the mushroom should discuss in person before we go.

[ideally a 'meeting' here would be several days of planning and fortification, but she'll make do.]

So I will make this quick so as to not waste anyone's time.

I'm new and I have a few questions which I would appreciate being answered by anyone NOT named Darth Maul or anyone dumb enough to call themselves one of his cult members.

Are there any actual schools in this place besides an endless amount of weirdo dojos and their even weirder belief systems? [He saw all of the bickering comments.]

How likely is the house I pick to live in going to get wrecked the first month in... mostly because I rather have a car NOT fly through my roof a second time... not that I've seen any cars around but that's beside the point.

Seems like winter is going to be an absolute pain so where can I get decently warm clothes?

Lastly, how often am I going to open a door and experience an Escher painting suddenly surrounding me?

Thank you in advance.

[ The broadcast seems to be coming from a Japanese-style garden, though with less greenery, given that it’s Trench. Some people might recognize the man standing in it as Daniel, though he’s not wearing his usual Trench getup, instead wearing a white karate gi, complete with headband. Next to him is a boy some people might recognize as Robby in a similar white gi.

It’s Daniel who speaks up first, his facial expression a relaxed smile. ]

Now, I know that there are a lot of people in this place who already offer help with fighting lessons. But this place can be so dangerous, and there are a lot of people here, so.. better to have too many opportunities to learn than too few, right? [ He shakes his head. ] That’s why I decided to open up the dojo I ran back home here as well, Miyagi-do Karate.

[ Yes, he’s gesturing an absolutely unnecessary amount as he speaks. It’s the Italian within him. ]

Miyagi-do isn’t about learning how to go around picking fights. It’s about learning how to defend yourself and how to protect others, while also focusing on your internal balance. All of which are invaluable skills in this place.

[ Daniel pauses, glancing at the boy standing besides him, before his smile widens a tad and he moves a hand to pat Robby’s shoulder. ]

I’m sure some of you might recognize my student Robby here. He’s been practicing Miyagi-do for a long time now [ never mind some stuff that’s being shoved under the rug here, sshhh ] and will be helping out around the dojo.

[ Robby has been quiet up to this point, letting Daniel speak without interruption, eyes cast in the man's direction without directly looking at him. But his lips roll when the hand falls on his shoulder, and his expression turns serious. ]

It's true we don't come from a world as dangerous as this one, or as many of you do, but the dojo will hold to its promise to help protect its students by passing on any knowledge and training that will give each one a better chance out there. I'll be helping to lead some beginner classes outside of weapons training, and I can give any advice to newcomers if you want to talk to someone closer to my age. [ Or theirs, perhaps, but same difference. ]

We welcome anyone from any of the other schools of fighting, just as we'd recommend that people go to others to find what works for them. Sensei Uchiha of the ninja school and Sensei Lawrence of Eagle Fang are good teachers with their own styles I can recommend, and if we can help alongside the other teachers here, that's our goal.

(ooc: daniel is the black text, robby the green text! ooc information can be found over here!)

[ It's in the early hours of the morning of the second that Luna opens the feed. At first nothing looks awry, there's simply the cosy low-light of her bedroom and from what can be seen around Luna's shoulders everything seems calm. Well, slightly eerie, considering the soft glow that comes from under her skin, even slightly visible through her pyjamas. That's a new thing for this month, as if she (and everyone else for that matter) might see the very pulse of her blood within her veins. It's like she's turned into a literal nightlight.

And then Luna's face comes into view as she brings the camera up: bedraggled and wide-eyed and expression strained. There's panic in her eyes, worry. Her breathing's shaky as she stares at the camera for a moment, not sure how to start. Something is clearly wrong. ]

I need— answers. [ Her gaze shifts off-camera, then back. She swallows thickly, relenting. ] We were fine, we went to bed. We had a nice day, and we were fine— he was fine, and now— now he's— I'll just— let me show—

[ With much fumbling, she shifts the camera round. It turns to her bed, where a strange, human-shaped mass of grey lies upon it. She moves closer, and it slowly becomes clearer that the mass is in fact Peter Graham — concealed in the grey mucus, covered in tiny eyes that all stare up at her. The young man doesn't seem to be in any obvious distress: he simply sleeps inside the gross-looking slime that covers him. Luna keeps the camera on him for a long moment before she turns it back to her. ]

What is this—? What does it mean—? [ The questions come quickly. It is rare for Luna Lovegood to get herself all in a fluster, but this is Peter she's talking about. She's worried, and the fact that even she's openly worried and scared for him speaks volumes. ]

I've heard about... something like this. It happens to Sleepers sometimes, but I've never seen it. Is this when they go home—? Is that what it means—? Where do they go? Where did he go? I need answers, someone must be awake—

[ It might be obscenely late, but surely someone will be up to provide her with information. Does it mean going home? Luna's... frightened of that. She doesn't know everything about how things were in Peter's world, but she knows more than most. And she knows that there's nothing good for Peter back home. ]

How long will he be like this? How long does it last? He'll come back, yes? He has to. [ She flops down to sit on the edge of her bed, Peter just behind her in the camera's view. She's fretful, bewildered. Silence falls for a long moment, Luna looks utterly exhausted. But then again, this is hardly the most pleasant way to wake up in the middle of the night. And she's woken up plenty times in the middle of the night due to horrible, terrible and sometimes disgusting things.

Her voice grows very small, barely a whisper. How did this happen? ]

... I don't understand, he just— it was his birthday—

[cw: forced body transformation]

gloves for skeletons

skeleton writing gloves

gloves for skeletons to write with

( skelesearch terms )

( This is not Peter Graham, though of course, posting anonymously takes away that possibility. The user didn't want to use the boy's network handle, to inevitably be seen through the filter of "Not Peter."

The user is trying to define his own identity. )

why did you choose your title here on this THING
what is the meaning
?
?

( ...Texting is still something he struggles with, though the demon has been watching and learning and forming his own conclusions on how to do it. Autocorrect is a life-saver. Two questions get two question marks. ....Even if they go in the wrong place. )

i will grant you a
GOLDEN COIN
if you
RESPOND

( ...For those who know Paimon fairly well, that particular offer of exchange might betray who he is. But the demon of Knowledge is curious to hear reasons, and within them: perhaps stories, memories, self-perceptions. There is a meaning to everything, whether simple or complex.

And perhaps by the end of it, he will know what title he would give himself, here on the network. )

[If you can believe it, Snow is even MORE CHIPPER than usual. She's all giggles and blushes and Faramund, her Omen, just shakes his head at the giddy teenager. Her animals are all very used to her giddiness by now.]

I wanted to thank everyone who helped me last time regarding modern courtship and I am happy to announce that Rose Dawson has graciously accepted my proposal for courtship and we are now together!

Oh, I'm truly so excited! And very fortunate to have someone so lovely love me.

Regarding my decision on all the advice I was given, I decided to go with the bouquet, I shall serenade her another time!

Again, thank you everyone for your kind advice!

Oh! And one other thing, that is of course, just as important. Winter will be upon us soon which means it's pickling, curing, canning, drying, and preserving time! If anyone needs a few lessons on how to properly do anything of those things please don't hesitate to ask!