Deer Country Network

[ When the feed starts, it’s at a bit of an awkward angle, a teenage boy half-staring at the camera, but still clearly fiddling with the Omni itself. At least he does seem kind of aware he turned it on, since he mumbles: ]

So you send a message this way..?

[ In fact, if you look, the teenage boy may look faintly familiar - just a few decades younger than people who know Daniel may be used to. But that sure is Daniel LaRusso as a teenager, seemingly trying to figure out the Omni– though he doesn’t get too far with it before he is suddenly lifted up by a dashing, handsome young lad in a red leather jacket with a distinct cobra design on the back of it, making Daniel drop the Omni as he’s startled by it. But just as quickly as he is lifted up, the boy turns and dumps the other kid in a steel trash bin. There’s a lot of banging, clattering and shouting that gets cut off as the blonde boy puts the lid on it and holds it down with one arm.]

What the hell was that loser doing anyways?

[Teen Johnny then steps away from the trash bin before suddenly pushing forward and shoving it down. There’s a crash and off camera it sounds like the can is rolling down a hill. Johnny steps back and notices the camera rolling. He smiles an 80’s heartthrob smile and fires finger guns at the camera.]

Hey babes.

Johnny Lawrence here, Ace Degenerate.

Me and LaRusso here are throwing a badass party once we find a place to host it. He’s a dweeb, I know, but trust me. I’ll make sure it’s awesome. It’s going to blow that other big party out of the water.

[ There’s a suspicious sound in the background, if you can hear it over Johnny Lawrence chewing up the scenery over here. Something akin to more clattering, and then a rush of footsteps. ]

Be there or be squa–

[ Unfortunately Johnny doesn’t get to finish that sentence, because Daniel suddenly runs back into the frame, tackling the blonde straight to the ground– and onto the Omni, meaning the feed cuts out. ]

[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.

[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

( major spoilers for Nona the Ninth )

content warnings: identity theft, salacious libel

[ Someone logs onto their very own Omni, in a normal and regular fashion. ]

How do you do, fellow squids. This is Gideon Nav, cavalier of the Ninth House, here to clear up some critical misinformation I have seen circulating around our gutterswill nightmare local network.

( truth and revelation this way lie )

CONTENT WARNING: psychological changes, hoarding, and obsessive behavior related to lavish desires

[ this video opens up with the blink of two eyes and a disgruntled chitter. perle is filming falco and focusing on . . . quite a mess of books in various assortments, stacked upon each other until they were in danger of tilting. among the open spines on the floors pinned with bookmarks were scrolls of paintings, sketches, statues, sepia photography— anything resembling a loving relationship, falco has seemed to have snatched it and keeps it all hostage in his little cabin home's attic like a greedy little dragon buried in precious, hoarded gold. he's pacing left, right, and has been caught mid-explanation as he works a red thread between his fingers. ]

( he rambles and an omen goes ham )

So for those not in the know, our house burned down last month.

[ What a way to open a post, right. And yet Ange manages to say it with something very close to a pokerface. Those who know her well may see something at its edges though. An annoyance that starts to bleed more and more into the girl's tone as she speaks on. ]

And not in the 'dumb accident' sense. No, it's because apparently it's socially acceptable in this place to come to someone's house and set it on fire, before bringing your friends inside to start murdering its inhabitants. [ Okay, yes. At this point it's not thiny veiled annoyance anymore. This is obvious annoyance that she doesn't bother to hide. ] And before anyone asks me if I'm alright— I'm fine. Totally fine. I mean, I half-turned into a beast back there, but it's clearly cool. It's fine.

[ It's clearly not fine. The sarcasm is thick.

Though Ange seems to realise that's not why she was supposed to make this message, and manages to snap herself out of passive-aggressive-ville for just long enough to sigh and sound a little bit more neutral as she speaks on. ]

Anyway, we want to rebuild the house, but that's obviously something we need help with. None of us are exactly architects.. I think. I've learned to not question weird Remnant hobbies. [ You never know what those Remnant people are capable of. ] Not to mention we'd need help with the actual physical rebuilding itself too.

We could use help from a lot of people, so if anyone would be willing to help, that'd be great.

[The feed opens up to the front of a brick building with a sign hanging out the front that might look familiar to anyone that had been around in the dream.

A beat passes before Ruby Rose steps out in an old checkered suit looking very much like a used car salesman.]

Are you fed up with feeling defenseless during crazy judgement fueled rampages?
Tired of weird guys claiming to be god pissing off the local deities?
Sick of toddlers coming around and burning down your house?
Absolutely annoyed with the fact that your sword isn't also a gun!?
...Miffed about the usual monster related problems plaguing our world?

Well have I got a solution for you!

[Ruby whips out her massive scythe which she swings once before it folds up into it's rifle form. She cocks it and aims at the camera.]

Come on down to The Roses Thorns and solve your problems the good old fashioned way! With high powered weaponry!

I've been making weapons ever since I was baby- Or well maybe like eleven to thirteen to be more accurate. But that's pretty much baby. And I have a proven track record of making awesome weapons back in the dream just take a look for yourself!

[She steps inside the building revealing a very classy forge decorated with various weapons, and large cold blood gems of roses, butterflies and little dogs.

She approaches the table and picks up a guitar.]

Like this! Just a normal guitar, right? WRONG!

[She flips a switch on it and strums a note only for a burst of flame to shoot out from the guitar head.]

And just incase the fire doesn't do the trick, it also doubles as a spear!

[Don't mind her as she demonstrates the guitar turning into a spear. She twirls it around and accidentally knocks over a pile of other weapons. There's a light yelp as everything clatters but she's quick to go back into character.]

We've got tons of options and can make you the perfect weapon for you!

[She holds up a few examples including a circular shield that sprouts out into a Buzzsaw blade. A prosthetic arm with a gun in it's forearm. She stops briefly on a a cane and looks confused for quick second. ]

Huh, How did that get in there? That's Ozpin's- It's kind of lame and boring- but-

[And she gives it a twirl before pointing to the camera.]

Come on down to The Roses Thorns and check out our inventory or get prices on custom weapons!

Because if you aren't armed you're doing it wrong!

[ A familiar song starts up, and the video opens to reveal a lone young woman, dancing in an abandoned warehouse. The cots on the floor only add to the ambiance. ]

Hey, what’s up, Trench? [ The dancing continues. ] This is a callout post for John Gaius. You might know him? Shit sense of humor, black eyes, calls himself Teacher. He fucked over the ocean, recently. Hard to miss.

( cw: mentions of child death, extinction events, gaslighting, abuse, locked tomb spoilers )

[ The video opens on a close-up shot of a lizard’s face. Its eyes are unfocused and unblinking. Its jaw is slack. Sometimes, a tongue flops out, and a hand reaches out to shove it back in.

Without warning, the camera DRAMATICALLY zooms out to reveal Kaworu, holding up a large, floppy lizard. This lizard is literally the size of him. Bigger even, if you include the length of its tail]

Okay, Kaworu! [ A very loud, very enthusiastic woman’s voice. ] You’re up! Time to tell everyone about this extremely important mission! Don’t – Kaworu, come on, you have to hold him up, like we practiced.

[ This is interrupted by some unfortunately shaky camera work. ]

Shinji-kun. His name is Shinji-kun and he’s heavy. You should give me the camera instead.

We don’t know what to feed Shinji-kun. He has little interest in eating even though we’ve had him for months now. It’s odd, most creatures, especially basic ones like him, are driven by the need to eat to survive, yet we can’t find anything that he desires. So far we’ve tried… buttered noodles, rice, cereal, marshmallows, grass, leaves…

What else Gideon?

Dried fruit, protein shakes, nice words written on paper notes, my blood, Kaworu’s blood, a rat we found in the backyard one time, bones. You know, regular animal foods.

[ Gideon shrugs, and the camera moves up and down with it. Professionalism!! ]

We know there was this whole baking competition or whatever going down, so, you know, if any of you want to bake a lizard treat we’d buy you lunch or whatever in exchange. Or just tell us how to feed this lizard.

[ Please!! Help! ]

( ooc: Gideon is in red and Kaworu is in blue. Shinji the lizard is undead, but the two of them have no idea. They just love their re-animated lizard a lot and want the best for him.)

( The feed opens to a woman sitting in a bright cottage kitchen, with a cup of something warm and a soft smile. )

Hello. Some of you may know me already, but to those who don't — I'm Rose Da Silva. Sharon's mom.

( Her smile warms, and she gently sets her mug down so she can turn her full focus on the video she's making. )

I've been here for... a while. Half a year now. I have to admit, this place isn't like where I come from at all, and I'm still... trying to adjust.

I know a lot of you are from worlds that may be similar to this one. You've probably been able to settle in a lot easier than me. But... I wanted to offer something. Because I know there are a lot of young people here, people... on their own.

( Her smile wavers, brow knitting slightly. A lot of people without parents, without help. And maybe they've been doing quite well on their own; Rose has certainly witnessed almost disconcerting levels of independence from the Sleeper youth. Often, it suggests that... many of them might not have had a strong parental presence back home, either. Several of them have directly told her as much, or she's seen... memories, shared by accident. )

I can't make things, but I can show you how to buy and use them, if you like. Like... well, if anyone might need some more clothes and could use a hand, I'd be very happy to show you the shops I've discovered around here.

( She's.... offering to help take you shopping, yes. This month, there's a growing compulsion to teach, and maybe Rose is....... filled with the need to do some Mom Teaching Things for others! )

There are some really nice shops in certain parts of the city. I'm sure we could find something to fit your personal style.

( Her smile brightens again; she seems excited. Back home, before she was venturing into the depths of Silent Hill to rescue her daughter, she was one fancy suburban mom. Shopping was her thing. And maybe it seems a little silly, considering so many young people around here are... warriors, fighters, have some sort of strong power.... do they really need something as simple as a shopping trip while she's Mom For A Day?

....The offer is there. She wants it to be there, just in case someone does need it. Because maybe she doesn't have a lot of Trench-appropriate skills to put out here, in comparison to others. But being a mother... that's what she wanted to be for her whole life. She's not explicitly framing it that way, but that's what she feels the most comfortable offering, guidance that might fall under the "maternal" or "guardian" category of teaching. )

I'd be happy to treat you to lunch or dinner too, or show you around other places in the city, if you like. The weather's so nice lately.

So. Little Trenchlets. I've been here for awhile- [She has been here four days]- and it's hard to keep track of all these people I keep hearing about. So many rumors flying about and it's all so fucking juicy.

So, I'm alone, horny for context, and ready to show mine if you show me yours.

I heard there was a huge party thrown at a house in gaze. A bunch of teens drinking, doing drugs, and kissing with tongues that they just don't know how to use, and providing uninteresting details about alien worms. Completely trashed the place.

Even worse, I heard they robbed the man who let them into his house. Thankfully, he'd warded the objects so if you see a shifty-looking kid or two with their hand blown off, now you know why! There's a moral lesson in there... probably.

Now it's your turn. You don't even have to sign your name. I'm that thirsty for the D(eets).

((Feel free to have your character post "anonymously" about rumors they may have heard about events or themselves in the trench or rumors they want to make up! I highly encourage threadjacking and silliness. Of course, keep it IC, civil, and consider asking permission from others if you think you should.))