Deer Country Network

[To begin with Maul and everyone Anakin is related to has been blocked from this post.]

When I was a child I met a man who promised to take me in. Shortly after that he was murdered. By Maul.

He only gets worse from there and he continues not just in my galaxy, but in the dream and then here. And when things start to reach a tipping point he makes some grand announcement about how things will be different now and all is forgiven. Until the next time.

I can't stop anyone from choosing to give him another chance, just like no one can make me forgive him no matter how much he screams that I owe it to him.

But I want to ask what makes someone worthy of a second, third, or however many chances? What makes him or even me any different from someone people are now clambering to kill? One day I'll do even worse and yet we're held to a different standard.

Here's a different perspective. Perhaps he was cruel to Maul in the past, but in the years since then he saw a boy placed in an unfamiliar environment and offered his hand in friendship. Isn't that the change you were looking for in Maul? In the entire time I've known him he's also never had the eyes Maul accused him of. In fact the only people I've seen with those eyes is him and his brother.

Is this really about doing what's right? Or simply revenge for someone you like? Be honest about your motivations because there's a good chance you'll die for them.

[And yes, this is the annoying, whiny, older one.]

[ Following this broadcast on the network.] ]

Hello, everyone. This is Luna Lovegood.

I've left this open to all, but I'm reaching out those who knew Deerington. I thought this may be the best way to reach out, it's hard to know how many of us are left who came directly from the Dream. Another Sleeper has mentioned that they've been able to contact Ramona in Sleepy Town, something I didn't even know possible. But it has made me wonder about something.

How many of us died in the Dream? And of those, how many of us went through the door and received her gift? The one to transform into a deer?

Ramona's magic that helped us with death and coming back is gone. We don't have our antler tattoos anymore. But maybe we can still become deer, maybe that power is still there in all of us.

I know we all have our own thoughts and opinions on the ones we voted over on their fates. What happened to Ramona Derwin has never sat right with me. I think were wrong to Awaken her. I know it turned out to be what a lot of people chose for her, but... to condemn her to Beasthood? I suppose I could hardly blame her fear of returning to being nothing more than a fictional character, to the uncertainty of existing if she went back. Julia made her real. I wished she'd been Sacrificed.

I wish things could be different. I want to tell her I'm sorry.

Maybe the only way I can tell her is if I'm a deer, but I don't know if it's possible to become it again. My Death Statue is in Sleepy Town, but the danger is too great to go there again. I have to find another way, if I can.

Good morning, everyone. I hope your February was relatively pleasant and uneventful!

The purpose of this post is to share information about the climate and odd events that happened last March, in order to help newcomers better prepare for the coming month. If you believe the information contained herein is inaccurate or incomplete in any way, please let us know in the comments below. Thank you!

March is the first month in the Season of Tears, or the Trenchian Spring. Because of this we can expect a sudden and calamitous thaw in the first week of the month, where all or nearly all of the snow will disappear and be replaced by explosive plant growth. I was unable to find any references to a flood in network posts published during this period last year, but it seems prudent to be on our guard nonetheless. Outreach still has a few sandbags left over from managing the snow, so if you are concerned with keeping your home or place of business safe please contact us! Additionally the Pthumerian called Moon Presence is known to be active during this month, and it may be possible to hear her weeping or singing over the sound of water. As she is not known to be hostile to Sleepers, it's probably safe to ignore her, so long as you do so respectfully.

The same unfortunately cannot be said of the Moss King! This Patron Pthumerian is associated with the month of March, and his portfolio includes unconquered nature, prophecy, precognition, and games of chance. Because of this the people local to Trench honor him by holding carnival games on the boardwalk during March, but with a sadistic twist: last year new Sleepers were required to play these games in order to obtain their welcoming bags and other objects from home. It's also mentioned in A Survivor's Guide to the Unknowns of Trench (multiple authors, can be checked out from the Archive for further perusal) that these games are haunted by a female-presenting Pthumerian, dubbed "the Lady of Luck" by the authors, who is able to pull Sleepers into more difficult and frequently bloody challenges through the issuance of tarot cards. These challenges vary from to year to year, but as the Lady is most frequently encountered on the board week it seems possible that she might be avoided by likewise refusing to take part in these games. If anyone has more information on this topic I once again entreat them to leave a comment below.

The Moss King himself also took part in the "fun" last year: it seems that he either built or obtained a "summer home," and took it upon himself to invite Sleepers to visit him therein. These invitations took the form of enchanted letter bombs with caused instantaneous and complete immolation upon opening; networks posts written at the time are clear that this process was very painful, although it did end in teleportation to the grounds of the house instead of death. Sleepers who braved the house were able to obtain powerful items from their homeworlds; I leave it up to the individual to determine whether this process was worth the pain involved or not.

Finally, a number of Sleepers have reported violent and disturbing encounters with a boardgame called Jumanji; this game possesses reality-warping powers, and pulled Sleepers into a sort of "pocket dimension" where they were forced to pass various challenges in order to escape. The game is clearly labeled as such, and I must suggest in the strongest possible terms that any Sleepers who encounter it both avoid it carefully and report its location to the network. To those who are familiar with the movies: I know it sounds fake, but just because it's a piece of fiction in other worlds doesn't mean it's not dangerous here. If you have trouble believing that, then I suggest you take it up with the Pthumerians, or possibly the Jedi and Sith. I'd be very interested to learn how that goes for you.

[ After much consideration, she's decided to put herself out there and do a little research. Of course the matter is a personal one and she's a little embarrassed, so she'll hide behind text and her role as a doctor. ]

Has anyone here ever thought about having children? It's not as if there aren't children here, it's just seems that they all belong to native families.

From a medical standpoint, I've been wondering if it's possible, but if not I want to figure out what's making it impossible. Or is everyone just on really good birth control?

Thoughts? Has anyone looked into this before? Did you find anything useful?

Since everyone else is asking questions:

Bonding Pacts: How revealing are the connections? Can you feel everything the other is feeling? Can you keep anything private?

Has anyone had a bad experience with a bond?

Did your bond help with corruption or beasthood?

Did you regret getting one?

[ ...and then another, since he might as well: ]

And unrelated: How many times have you died here? Does it have side effects?

[ By the 15th, this post will have disappeared off the network. ]

Okay

This isn't the most desperate, earth-shattering request out there. I know we have so many better, more important, things to be thinking about right now.

But I need help.




I've never had a marriage anniversary before - I mean technically but that was in Deerington I don't know if that counts?? I don't know how to plan this ...

[And, also, someone is under the monthly warmblood effect of wanting to spoil his significant other beyond measure. Or price, or reason. You'd think he'd have realized this by now, but here we are. He's also rambling. Have you ever seen Shiro flustered? Now you have.]


It has to be a good time. Seriously, I have to knock this out of the park.

What do you DO for this??

[ The feed opens on a young man seated cross-legged on an expanse of black scales, framed between two spiralling white horns against a backdrop of more black scales interspersed with charcoal dark feathers. His Hunter's armour is nearly of a shade to match, covering all of him but his vaguely familiar face.

He smiles warmly as he runs a soft cloth over a plain knife to clean it of the black blood all over its flat metal grey. ]

Good evening, fellow Sleepers.

( throne-speech )

[The video started with an opening shot of what looked like a bag of coal. It zoomed in on the tag attached with its blocky lettering and signature...

MERRY CHRISTMAS
-DARTH MAUL

The camera shifted a little as Keith crouched down next to it, and then turned it so that both he and the bag of coal were in the picture.

He smirked.]

Thanks, man. It'll help keep the house warm during the cold weather. Best gift ever.

[And click - he was gone.]

[She’s been here for over a week now. Time to get the lay of the land. The video opens up to a particularly tall blonde woman with a golden skeletal arm and a smirk. She's here to cause problems on purpose.]

Greetings, hello, salutations. My name is Ianthe Naberius. I’m new in town, twenty two, a princess of Ida, unfortunately single and dreadfully bored!

Now, I come to you today, not only to introduce myself, but to ask something of all of you.

Who do you hate most in Trench and why? I’m trying to meet people, network, but it’s so hard and overwhelmingly positive! So consider this an open invitation. Warn me about that dangerous scoundrel who kicked your puppy, seethe about how much you despise me for whatever reason, tell me about your parasocial hateful fixation on one of the local divinity. It can be a minor slight you want to complain about, a friend of yours who owes you two perfectly intact human skulls, or it can be an actual danger to this lovely little community of ours.

Now, before you try to say “this is childish and stupid!” You’re absolutely right, but it is a necessary part of self care to allow oneself to be an absolute cunt once in a while. [Or all the time, if your name is Ianthe.] So let’s not make any grand claims to being above something like this, mm?

Feel free to use the anonymity feature. Or the privacy feature, I guess, if you’re shy or worried about being fileted like a fish.

 ( cut for male presenting nipples  )

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.

[cw: forced body transformation]

gloves for skeletons

skeleton writing gloves

gloves for skeletons to write with

( skelesearch terms )

I have a request.

Well, a lot of requests. Tiny requests, for lots of people. Not necessarily just tiny people, though — tiny, tall, whatever. That is to say...any people can help. If you're a people? And you're a help? I would greatly appreciate that.

[From off screen, a voice that sounds like Tuck can be heard stage-whispering: "Tell them WHY..." ]

—Oh, right.

[Vyng clears his throat and puts on a pair of tiny-rimmed glasses to make himself at least a little dignified, and he continues.]



. . . You see, Sleepers. There is an artifact of...uh, great personal importance to myself. A relic, if you will, that bears the name of my Druidic family.

But a local has taken stewardship over this relic o' mine. They have offered to relinquish this relic into my custody — but! For a price. Namely, this list of assorted items that I'm attaching at the end of my message.

[With a quiet "this one, right here", he literally places a piece of paper over the camera. "Too close?" Vyng pulls the paper back. He holds it there for awhile. If anybody looks, they can make out the following list:]

( DONATIONS NEEDED, PLEASE & THANK YOU )

[From behind the paper, Vyng asks:]

How long do I have to keep holding this?

[. . . ]

Is this good? I think it's good.

[Eventually, though, a digital copy is included at the tail of this message, with a tiny handwritten note at the bottom:]

⅁N⅄Λ - oxox ¡¡ǝɔuɐʌpɐ uı ⅄⊥
ＴＹ 𝒾𝓃 𝒶𝒹𝓋𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 ♥
x0xo - 𝓥𝔂𝓷𝓰

[ The feed opens to show two men in the Archives. Martin is tall, and stout, with a friendly if not slightly nervous expression as though he might be a little camera shy. Beside him, Jon Sims looks like an underfed wraith of a man: he's gaunt and exhausted, but at least he holds himself at ease for the first time in months. Those who spend time in the Archives have likely seen him in passing, and it's a shock to see him smiling.

He clears his throat and leans forward to address the camera. The feed speckles into static with the movement, distorting briefly around his eyes. ]

Hello. My name is Jonathan Sims, and I am joined by Martin Blackwood.

Hello! [ Martin lifts a hand to give a small wave to the camera. ]

We were both residents of Deerington, though our memories of the experience are... incomplete.

So we're asking people to come forward with their memories - either Deerington, or Trench, or even at home. Anything weird or supernatural that might help us get a better understanding of what’s happening here - or what might happen, I guess. And how to deal with it? There's a lot to be learned from our own experiences. And - and sometimes it just helps to talk about it?

[ This all sounds well and good, but Jon looks uneasy, frowning down at the sheaf of papers in his hands. He clears his throat and continues, more steadily: ]

Additionally, I have a warning to issue. There have been instances of... unusual books and artifacts being found throughout Trench.

They will probably have a weird effect on you, or the people around you, if you read them, or mess with them or anything. You might even know as soon as you see one that there’s something kind of... off about them?

If you encounter anything which strikes you as [ there's a twist of exasperation at this gross oversimplification: ] cursed, please alert myself or Martin immediately.

We've seen these kinds of things at home before, so we have loads of experience dealing with them. We can help. Just let us know and we'll be right there.

[ Jon looks directly at the camera again, and for a moment visual distortion swallows the feed: there is a shivering bloom of static and an uncanny intensity to his eyes, as though he is truly seeing you, the viewer, from the other side of town. You can make out Martin's nervous smile, and then it clicks off. ]

(( Permissions and info if you'd like to provide a spooky memory! Statements given via the network will not invoke the consequences described. It's safe... for now. ))

[ There may be five, ten, fifteen- more... little ice saucers around Bail, all in various levels of melting. He has had the wherewithal to at least attempt this outside, whatever this may be. Some do look a little more wonky in design than others. Perhaps it is the melting or perhaps he is just getting a little better as he progresses...

The current one is still in his hand, slightly thicker and a bit more circular in its shape. About plate sized, and thicker. One may still be hard pressed to figure out what he is doing. In all honesty, Bail hasn't the foggiest either. Melting cup holders? Ice pucks? ]

I am to assume that this is one of those things were practice does eventually makes perfect.

[Oh hey, it's anonymous sender time again. Jun's been doing some thinking in the last few days.]

What does family mean to you? Like... what counts? Is it your blood family? What if you're adopted?

What if you don't know you're adopted? Does family become something like a lie in that case?

Do dead people stop being family?

I don't really know what family means anymore. It's confusing and there's too many emotions tied up in it.

Is this thing on?

[ The camera opens on a man, but there is something horribly inhuman about his eyes: they are black from edge to edge, the iris burning with a ring of white light. He is flanked by two skeletons which stand at attention, each with a speck of glowing red in their shadowed eye sockets. ]

Been a while since I had to do this. Hey, hello, kia ora. You face the King Undying, the Necrolord Prime.

( cw: mild body horror (corruption); religious themes; topics of mass death, violent imperialism, human sacrifice likely )

Hello, my name is Erwin Smith.

I have some questions about prosthetics in this place.

For people that had/have gotten prosthetics while here, how steep was the learning curve of use compared to one's natural body part, when applicable? Of the choices of materials, why did you choose what you did and what do you feel are the biggest benefits or drawbacks?

I'm in need of an arm, but I'd like to go into the undertaking with as much knowledge under my belt as possible. I've gotten used to using only one arm, so if the drawbacks outweigh the benefits I'd be more likely to leave things as they are.

Thank you for your time, should you choose to engage.

Hi, everyone! In case we haven't met, this is Manabu Yuuki. [brief, little wave.]

I've been doing a lot of research about the world outside of this city, and me and a few others went out to check out the perimeter...you know, past the Waystation and that nasty salt lake. There's a west-facing road out there that just...gets swallowed up by the forest.

But it is a road.

[...]

I want to go out there. See if there's not another town somewhere. This isn't the nightmare, after all...we're on a whole planet. And we can't be the only ones.

I'm not going out there alone, though: It's crawling with monsters, day and night. So I need backup. A lot of backup. Basically... I need some combat-veteran explorers willing to go out there and see if we can't find where that road leads...or used to lead.

We'll need a lantern, too. And lots of incense. That way, if it's too crazy, we can at least put a new waypoint down for future efforts, you know?

So... So that's it. If you're interested, let me know. I can send you the details if you're serious about it, and we can set out later in the week. Before any...monthly weirdness can kick up, hopefully.


[ooc sign-ups/questions here]

( A fond reunion not even remembered. )