Deer Country Network

[Ladies, Gentlemen, and Others, it's that time again!

Bolin starts the feed, sitting in The Raccoon Room as per his last grand announcement. It's luxurious emerald decor makes a fine backdrop, and for this special occasion he is wearing his sequinned tail coat from the last production.]

Hey all, Bolin here. I know there's a lot going on right now.. adventuring... general tomfoolery... baking competitions! just wanted to take this moment to announce The Raccoon Room's new musical!

After all the success we had doing Rocky Horror I've sat down and read through a mountain of scripts. Literally a mountain. You would be amazed how many scripts there are in this place.

Aaanywho, introducing our latest and greatest, the one and ooooonly CHICAGO!

[Jazz hands! He throws glitter! Where did he get the glitter from! He dusts his hands and goes right back into story telling mode. There are lots of gestures. You're enthralled, surely.]

It takes place in the far off faaaaanasy land of Chicago. It's the golden age of Jazz, and a young woman, our lady heroine, Roxie Hart is desperate to become a successful performer in a place not unlike our Cellar Door. Only our heroine has a dark, terrible secret. SHE KILLS A MAN! And goes to PRISON! Where she meets the infamous Velma Kelly and the other merry murderesses of... murder rooooowwww.

It's got everything, catchy tunes, swell courtroom dramas, slang I actually understand! And now, I know what you're thinking, oh Bolin~ There are so many women in this production and most of us Sleepers are men! Well it DOESN'T MATTER because we don't care about the limits of gender roles and it'll be fine. Just trust me!

So c'mon now! Auditions are now OPEN and will be held this weekend right here at The Raccoon Room. Scenes are attached! Any questions you come right on in here and give me the ol' honk.

[And now, for one grand, final gesture.]

THEEEESPIANS ASSEMBLEEEE!

[ The woman that appears is a - level expression, a little happy or sad that plays on her features. Level, most especially, as she clears her throat. Her veil tied around her head to tame her curls back, her shift and vest tying herself up neatly.

Peeking out from her veil is her lamp friend, and drifting around her in a circle is a soft finned creature, her Omen. Delicately colored in reds and blues as it swims in the air. ]

I find myself remiss, in how to make an introduction...

... I am Second-Child, Gilia St. Loe, Daughter-Sea, She Who Sings the Ocean to Prosperity, Who Echoes With the Ceaseless Voice.

[ That out of the way. ]

I am new to this place, this... city. I do not have much in the way of the coin, but I am skilled in other forms. I can sew, weave, till a field, clean, cast a line, or a net, gut a fish, help tend animals, both with birthing and killing, cook many types of meals...

But if you have need of anything repaired or cooked... please, if there is something I can do for resources in return, only let me know, and I shall be your glad servant.

[The video starts off dark. There's some shuffling sounds, like someone dragging clothing on hangers across a metal rack. Then, a pair of eyes, one bright gold and the other white look into the feed, wide and startled. The camera blurs out, but the tiniest, panicked voice can be made out.]

Alcaid! I said textIsaidtext!

[It cuts and then a moment later a text post is attached.]

Ignore that, thanks.


I just want to give a quick heads up, especially to anyone who saw my uncle's post about my other uncle leaving: He's back.

Sort of.

He's thirty years younger and doesn't have any memories of this place so, try not to be too alarmed if you see him. If you could also avoid bringing up Bill (If you know who I mean) to him, that would be great.



It makes me wonder... how many of us from the Dream are still here? It seems like a lot of us have gone back to the ocean. I went through the doors because I didn't have a place in my own story anymore, hoping this would be the place where I fit. Maybe that was just wishful thinking and we don't fit anywhere anymore.

Anyway, that's all.

PIZZA MARKET RESEARCH SURVEY #1

1. What are the best pizza toppings (and nothing weird like anchovies)?

2. Thin crust or thick crust?

3. Do you like orange soda?

4. Do you know how replicate orange soda here?

5. What are your preferred pizza eating hours?

6. How often would you use a horse-based delivery service? Would it depend on what kind of horse showed up at your house with the pizza? Would it matter if the horse was fucking terrifying?

Thank you all for your input.

[Hey all, been a few months. You remember this guy. The shirtless guy with the giant mech. Well he's back. Clothed, this time. Though he might get more help if he were shirtless again, huh. Alas.

Raleigh is outside, sitting next to a planting bed, lush with vegetation. Like so much. It's a suspicious amount of plant life for Trench.

He smiles and waves. It's dark, but there are little torches all over so it's got a luau kind of vibe.

The camera pans so you can see the garden properly. It's two huge raised beds full to the brim on either side of the walkway to a huge, newly finished greenhouse . Lit from the inside, she looks something of a crystal palace.]

Do you all see this? This is the future.

I dunno about all of you but I'm sick to death of mushrooms.

[He pans through the veggies, all growing happily under warded netting. Lettuce, tomatoes, squash, beans, corn. Familiar for a lot of people. Very rarely seen in this world.]

Last month all my powers turned into plant stuff so I've been making and growing as much as I can. Things are hard here and the soil is awful, but it can be done.

[Raleigh moves towards the green house. Free range chickens dart around his feet as he goes, looking for food. He's the mama. Some of them are wearing little crochet hats. Inside the greenhouse is table after table after table of seedlings. The other side is all planting beds full of soil ready to go.]

I've been thinking about how important food is to all of us. Not.. well, obviously it's important, but I mean culturally, too. Making food from home.. having ingredients from home.. that's kind of our last connection.

[He sets his Omni down and reappears in frame. He looks tired, but when doesn't he.]

So.. Is there anyone out there who cares about this stuff? Because honestly I have the land but I'm learning as I go along and I could use the help. I'm not a gardener but I think we can scale this in a way that means we all get access to fresh produce. Like a co-op thing? I dunno. The land needs purifying, water, there's no sun.

I was part of a seed bank back in Deerington. Has anyone saved seeds from last month's growth? Would you donate them towards the cause?

Oh- also dairy. That's something I want to work on. This is a stretch but if you have goats or cattle let me know.

Yeah.. okay. Okay, thanks.

[In the wake of Paul's warning, Raleigh hasn't been able to rest. If the beast doesn't come then at least they're all prepared to scramble, but if it does come and they ignored the klaxons? He'd never be able to forgive himself. 

If you've been down to the waterfront you will have seen the hive of activity. The tents full of strategists and logistic stewards. The fighters training. The engineers building away. You might have seen Raleigh, himself, trying to help where he can. 

You all know Raleigh, don't you? The bean guy. That nice guy who lives all the way out in Ache on a chicken farm? He comes into town once a week and sells eggs and fresh chicken in Willful Machine, accompanied by his omen Spaghetti the raccoon (Fritter's mother, if you want to know) and occasionally his long time partner Chuck Hansen. But that isn't the Raleigh you get today. Today you get a man who is willing to humiliate himself for the war effort, filmed by the unseen, snickering Australian, who talked him into it.

Today you get him shirtless with his hands on his hips, standing on the foot of a mech the size of a skyscraper. He is in peak physical condition with abs you could wash your clothes against. His hair is done for once, his face is shaved, and there is strategically placed mechanic's grease for added intrigue. 

Welcome to Propaganda Raleigh.]

Citizens of Trench. My name is Raleigh Becket, I'm a Jaeger Pilot here as part of the levithan defense corps. 

[A small sigh. They have done this so many times and he was dead inside by the third take. Chuck giggles off camera and Raleigh gives him a very pointed look.]

This, is a Jaeger.



[He gestures and the camera pans up and up and up. Two hundred and fifty feet tall and nearly two thousand tons of mechanical whoop-ass. The kind of machine that could level Trench in a heartbeat. Or save it. The camera pans back and he itches his eyebrow. There's grease on his finger and it leaves a black smudge. To those with very keen eyes, the sheen across his chest highlights a series of intricate burn scars that spider across his right side like computer circuitry. It is what it is.

Listen, we need your help. The engineers here, Hunk and Asami Sato lead by Chuck Hansen, have figured out a way to keep Striker's size and power but we need darkblood to sustain it. A lot of it. Together we can use the energy to steady not only Striker Eureka here, but the Paladins of Voltron's lions too. And a second Jaeger, if we had the pilots...

If this monster really does come, then we're running out of time. Look around you. All of this, your closest loved ones, the lives you've worked so hard to build. If this monster is as bad as we think it is, then we could lose everything. Speaking as someone who has? You don't want to.

Together, we can end this without the monster ever making landfall. We can protect our city and we can win.

So, please. If you're a darkblood or you know a darkblood that would be willing to contribute power or blood, come see me or Chuck or anyone down here at the camp who can direct you to the Jaeger Bay.

[Replies will come from both Raleigh Becket and Chuck Hansen]

annual squid weather report: its shit. don't come out.

ps - can we all agree that the twat with the red pinecone for a head is a melodramatic bellend? or is that just me?

take it to the PMs bruv.

[alright, good chat. glad we got that out in the air.]

[content warnings: thalassophobia, prophecies of doom, not safe for work discussion, blood collection]

( collective discussion )

[content warnings: thalassophobia, prophecies of doom]

Citizen-Sleepers of Trench

My name is Paul Atreides. Some of you know me. I am a paleblood disciple of the Pthumerian mysteries, a fellow Sleeper, and I have been granted a warning.

( a briefing )

Hey, guys!

[Richie looks much, much better than he did last month, now: he had mostly been a depressed mess through the past couple of months since Eddie left, but now he looks healthier. He's outside the Turtle Cove clinic right now, and if you look carefully in the background you'll see Venkman the Mimikyu riding atop S'mores the direwolf, the two of them patrolling around the clinic.]

First: welcome to Trench, newbies. If this is your first time hopping universes, the first thing you should know is that places like this tend to get very bloody and messy every month or so. Kind of like me fucking your mom while she's on her period, but with way more death and people getting fucked up. [This from the fifteen-year-old.] Anyway, if things go to shit and you need help, or a place to stay safe for a while, come to Turtle Cove. Just follow the turtles painted around town.

Second: Eddie [and Richie's breath still briefly hitches, his smile slipping before he steels himself and pushes his glasses back up his nose,] Eddie had a thing going where he was collecting people's blood samples for research. He wanted to see what kinda shit our blood could do here—if you haven't noticed, our blood is weird now, and from what I've learned, [thanks to Eddie and now Nehan,] different blood types have different effects and can be used to craft different things.

Since Eddie's—gone, that means I'm the one who needs to keep that going too. So—come over with a sample of your blood. I solemnly swear I'm not gonna do anything fucked-up with it.

Oh, and the last time I posted, I was asking for healers. I also want Blood Ministers now too, or just anybody who's pretty good at blood magic. Again, not for anything fucked-up, I just wanna make sure that I don't fuck up this project.

Afternoon!

[It's a rather boisterous greeting, from a man standing on a very icy dock down in Darcmouth. Long coat buttoned up to his chin, hat securely in place on his head. His... face is just plain covered in tattoos.]

[Seemingly ignoring the cold, he gestures to a hunk of ice behind him. Wait, no. Is that - that's a boat. Despite the fact the ship is entirely encrusted in ice, he seems rather upbeat, pleased, even.]

I've been told - [There's a slow drawl to the words. And a hint of an accent. Like he'd belong in the Caribbean.] - the locals've no use for this particular ship.

Unfortunately...! The mechanisms of her are a mystery to me. She's not a sail in sight. So I'm looking for capable hands - clear the ice, put up sails, and the like.

If you've any experience at sea, I won't say no to that, either. What's a captain without crew? [He shakes his head, ruefully.] Though I doubt there's many sights to be seen on this particular sea.

It is odd - coming up to my first month here, it has been the longest I have ever stayed in a single place for quite some time. As the colder season approaches, one must rapidly come to terms with the fact an itinerant lifestyle is no longer sustainable. After all, the jaws of winter claim far more than the jaws of beasts.

Fortunately, I have found a suitable residence in Ache - according to the locals, the former owner was taken about five years ago by something dreadful and it has remained empty ever since.

The farmhouse does cut a rather peculiar sight - a newer building conjoined onto a significantly older one and though both are in dire need of repairs, the older structure has weathered its neglect far better than the newer one. For now, I am staying in the old building, but I would much prefer to repurpose it into a proper apothecary, and use the newer structure as living quarters.

If there is anyone with tools or the skills to help with the needed repairs, I have several means of compensation, including incense, medicine, omamori, blood jewels, and food from the cherry, chestnut and persimmon trees, and various gourds growing around the farmhouse.

( Cut for sanity's sake, mild CW for the hidden spook. )

[ Oh hello, it's your friendly neighborhood egyptologist slash mummy hunter tuning in. Evelyn's hair is windswept and framing her face, cheeks pink from what is prooobably either whiskey or wine. She's tired of visions and migraines and soul crushing loneliness and has thrown herself into re-establishing her shop.

She's sat at one of the little tables in the back by the fireplace, the culprit of her pink cheeked, rosy glow sat on the table next to her. She's got her little device propped up against a book to properly frame her. ]

Hello, fellow residents. I just wanted to let you know that my bookshop, Spellbound Book Co., is open once more. By all means, please come in any time, have a look around.

[ She leans back in her chair, a little roughly, picks up her tumbler - the question is answered, it's whatever passes for whiskey - and smiles. ]

Who else has a business here? Let's all discuss our business endeavors, feel free to chat amongst yourselves.

[ Is she drunk? Maybe a little. ]

Hey there!

Ruby Rose here. If it's your first time seeing me around then it's nice to meet you and if it's not it's probably great to see you again!

So it turns out that this place is about as dangerous as the dream was. That kind of sucks, doesn't it? I mean- I'm used to all kinds of monsters in my original world but I totally get that it's not everyone's jam. which is kind of why I'm here today.

Back in the dream Mako and Wu had set up a safe house and supply cache system. I think it worked out really well and I've been speaking with Mako and we've agreed it might be a good idea to get that going again. I tried to convince him to get up on video with me but he got all grumbly and walked away. Introverts, am I right?

Ideally it would be super great to get one of these set up in each district but I figure that's going to take a lot of work. So I propose we set up the first one in either the Willful Machine or Cellar Door districts so it's in a central location and we can branch out from there.

Next we're going to need ways to defend and protect the area whether it's people actually actively hanging around, magical protection or whatever cool skills people might have. I'm open to any ideas here. Medical care and any sort of food or other supplies are also going to be necessary too.

Okay I think that's about everything-

[There's a buzz that comes from Ruby's Omni and she glances down at it.]

Oh-Oh! One second- It's Mako.

He's saying "We need to tie this into the network. Ask about extra lamp skeletons." Okay! First off! Rude. They're Cute Little Lamp Friends, don't call them skeletons.

But he's got a point! If anyone has any extra C.L.L.F's to lend that would be a huge help too. Being able to quickly access the locations would be a huge help.

Anyways that's all I can think of at the moment. If anyone has any questions or suggestions I'd be happy to answer them.

Since you're listening to this Mako, you can too!

[She points to her eyes, then back to the camera.]

Watching you.

[OOC: Ruby and Mako will be responding to this post. I've made a handy dandy page for the safe houses here. If you want you can post with how you're character is contributing there.]

[ John is in what looks to be a shop that's been abandoned for quite a while. There's a few bits of furniture with sheets over it. There's dust and cobwebs and the feed shakes as he accidentally bumps the table as he's trying to set it down. Once it is set up, he scrubs a hand over his face, through the bit of scruff at his jaw, and then around to rub at the back of his neck. He looks tired.

He istired but oddly energetic at the same time. ]

Right, not sure if any of you have been having trouble sleeping as well but I figured I may as well do this since I found the space for it. It's in Willful Machine, warding on the door glows amber. Easy to spot. I can still drop a location here in case.

I might be able to help with easing some of the bloodlust that seems to be cropping up. I've got incense and I'm working on some tinctures from those roses left behind for us. Smoke wands, too. Meditation seems to help. Yoga as well. I'm decent at both, don't mind showing anyone if they need it.

[ He reaches out for an old book covered with a dust cover and blows off the lingering film clinging before peeling that off. Any well-versed in the occult or magic might recognize the original grimoire of King Solomon. He's about to reach out with his free hand and turn off the feed when a thought suddenly occurs to him. ]

Oh, and I'd hate to go making such a terribly broad offer like I did back in the old town so to clarify: don't bother stopping in Maul. I wouldn't want the riff-raff to go showing up.

[ This is the smile on his face as he shuts the feed off. There's a location for the shop embedded in the message. ]

Surprise, bitch. I lived.

(Have Eddie, flipping the camera off with his right hand aka his prosthetic.

Eddie looks different than the last time most people had seen him. For starters, he has a green undertone to his skin. For another, his tongue is completely black. Behind him is an empty room with gray floorboards and peeling green walls. It at least looks clean. There's a Gucci suitcase on its side, opened up, with clothes spilling over and across the floor. Another Gucci suitcase sits next to it, but it has been partially charred.

A dog is passed out and snoring rather loudly in the opened suitcase.

Despite his on-point meme drop, Eddie's delivery is completely and suspiciously blank. His gray eyes are flat, and his expression remains completely empty.)

Richie's here too. (As if on-demand, a massive fireball blast out from the doorway of a nearby room followed by some crashing and yelling. Eddie doesn't even bother to glance over his shoulder.)

We're settling in okay. We're in Lumenwood. I've got some of my supplies from Deerington but I've got a shitton of stuff I need to restock.

(Which was going to be such a drag.)

But for those on a need-to-know basis, I've already made some important notes on this place. Not that any of you give a shit, but if you do...I guess we were given journals for a reason. I suck at journaling though. Here's a uh --- transcipt? Is that what it's called? Whatever, I typed it up.

(He shrugs. The screen goes blank only to be followed up by some text that Eddie clearly wrote up ahead of time:)

( Read more... )

Uh, hey. Mako here.

[ Nailing it so far, right? Mako's standing in front of a half-blue, half-green wall, dotted with small lunar sconces. Everything looks kind of dusty and half-finished, and the watery afternoon light illuminates yet more dust drifting around him.

Notably, a small dragon, red-scaled and content, is draped over his shoulders like a scarf, watching the Omni with bright eyes.

Mako glances momentarily off the screen, mouths something, and then looks back, clearing his throat. ]

It's come to my attention that a lot of you have been setting things on fire left and right since we washed up here. Obviously, this is dangerous to you and the people around you. If that's you, you need to make an effort to control it immediately before something worse than singeing your clothes happens.

For those of you who just washed up, I'm a firebender. That means I can do—

[ He holds up his left hand (scarred with strange marks) in front of himself and splays his fingers, making a small puff of fire appear and hold over his palm. It flickers there like a candle flame, dancing between Mako's fingers, before he drags it in a small arc and lets it go out. ]

—that, and—

[ Another flick of his fingers, this time producing little purple-bright sparks that zap between the tips and then dissipate. ]

—that. And a lot more.

So. If you need help learning to control your powers, and you do, come to the Raccoon Room in Cellar Door on Wednesdays. You'll see the sign. I've been doing this since I was a kid. Anyone else who wants to help, feel free to drop by too.

[ Finally, he looks up, his serious expression dropping just slightly. ]

Trust me. If a bunch of snotty six-year-olds back home can learn how to do it, you can.

[ The little dragon huffs in agreement, fire puffing out of its nose, and Mako reaches forward to cut the feed. ]