Deer Country Network

[Maul's posts as of late had been a bit more lighthearted as he tried to set up his brother on a date and spoke of a memetastic grumpy batcat. But he'd been waiting for this day to come and so his face was as grim as if he was at a funeral during this post. His followers had been on the alert, watching for the signs, and had come to tell him that what he'd feared most had come to pass: Sidious was back at full strength and starting to possess people again in Trench. He couldn't put it off any longer. He had to warn people of what was coming.]

I come to you with the gravest of news. My former master, Darth Sidious, also known as Emperor Sheev Palpatine to some, has arrived in Trench. Many of you already know what that means, either through viewing my memories or listening to me talk about him. For those who do not, he was the man who raised me and turned me into....this. [The one word encompasses all of Maul, his psychopathic personality, the anger and pain he'd held onto for so long, his life being completely ruined by his master, getting turned from a person into a weapon and now spending the rest of his life trying to heal from that.] If you think I am dangerous, he is ten times as worse. He is pure evil. There is no reasoning with him, no way to appeal to any goodness that might reside within him, for he has none. All he has ever wanted in life is to gain power and he doesn't care how many people he must hurt or kill in order to do that. He's destroyed entire planets and every living thing that resided on them in order to do so. A city full of people is nothing to him if he wants to ascend to ultimate power.

Only his spirit has arrived rather than his physical body, so he is currently traveling from one body to the next as he tries to find a form he can take over for good. I have yet to discover a permanent way to banish him but I am open to suggestions. In the meantime, take whatever precautions you must in order to protect yourself and others. Trust me when I say if death is the only option, we must take it. You cannot afford to give him a chance, for he will brutally kill you if you give him one. Better to kill someone then allow him to remain and tear Trench apart at his whim.

His eyes look like this. [Maul closed his for a moment and channeled all the old anger he felt towards his master. When he reopened them, they had changed from the grey-brown color they had been holding steady as for the past three months and were back to the Sith yellow color they had remained for so many years.] They remain that color no matter who or what he is possessing, so it is a way to track whose form he is in. Please let me know if you spot a person or monster that has those eyes and I will deal with it.

[That euphemism of course meant that he would kill Sidious if he had to. Maul had gone over a year without killing anyone in Trench but he knew he couldn't afford to use kid gloves on his master. He'd need to be brutal and swift. He went to turn off the Omni and then paused, remembering one last thing he wanted to say.]

Oh, and Anakin? --The annoying whiny older one that is, not the annoying weird younger one-- if you try to interfere with this? I will stop you. That's not up for negotiation or debate. I'll kill you if I have to and keep you as a squid in the ocean to keep your idiotic devotion to this man from causing this situation to get worse. That is all.

[Then he does go and turn off the Omni for good this time.]

[OOC: This is the kickoff post for the Palpatine in Trench player plot! Feel free to interact with Maul, threadjack others to talk with them, or just head straight over to the log post to get started. As a reminder, Maul doesn't necessarily need to be involved in exorcising an NPC or character if you just want to do to something among two of you.]

Is the date correct
Because i think i just lost like half a month
In something
What did i miss

( The feed opens up to a young man sitting on a bed in a dimly-lit bedroom. Dark circles blossom beneath his eyes like bruises. To say he seems nervous is an understatement. His general body language is tense and a bit withdrawn, and it isn't difficult to spot the way his hands literally tremble as he places them in his lap, or the way his voice shakes here and there at the edges. )

Hey there. I'm uh— not sure how many people might already know me, but I'm Peter. Peter Graham. I don't think I've ever like.... really introduced myself on this thing, but I've been here for a while. I was in Deerington, too.

( He gives a shy little smile that looks more like a wince, something almost apologetic. )

I'm not— I'm not too good at this kind of thing. But I wanted to ask something, something I've been thinking about for.... awhile. I guess this is going to sound kind of weird. ( An awkward pause, and then Peter's leaning to reach for a little sheet of paper, holding it in his hands. Yes, it seems that he's written down what beats to hit.... )

Got my notes. ( Another pained little smile, before the expression slowly sobers into a frown, and his eyes are dropping down to look at his paper. )

Does anyone have any experience with...... séances? Or any information about them in general? Um.... I know what they basically are, what they're meant to.... do. To open a door— a veil? To communicate with someone who's died.

( There's the softest flutter of Peter's eyelids, and a gentle exhale, before he continues. )

But is it possible that they can do... more than that? Maybe something else could get through the veil? Something that isn't.... the ghost that a person was trying to talk to. Something that maybe even isn't a ghost at all?

Is it possible that someone could make that happen.... intentionally?

( Peter has to take a few moments to breathe, heart pattering away anxiously in its ribcage. All of this is exceptionally difficult for him to address. )

....Whatever you might know, or could tell me. There are things that... happened, back in my own world, and I'm still.... trying to understand. I've been learning more about the uh... supernatural, from people here. But I figured I would open this up to the public, get as much information as I can.

It's okay if you don't wanna tell who you are though, if you'd rather go anonymous. I know this kind of stuff can be.... weird. Um, personal. ( The lump in his throat tightens, as he slowly reaches to end the message. )

Thanks for listening. I— I appreciate it.

( CW: Johnny Lawrence under the cut. )

[this, like most of the posts that anna makes, comes in the middle of a sleepless night. she's gone as anonymous as she possibly can, at least. maybe that will stop people from calling her out. maybe one day she'll learn how to talk about her emotions without sounding like a theater kid turned supervillain.]

How are we all feeling in the wake of January?
Are we feeling whole? Normal? Like ourselves?
Suppose you aren't. Suppose you walked, or flapped, or slithered away from the shedding ceremony feeling extremely different.
Could any of you pinpoint that change, do you think?
Would any of you even still be aware that you used to be someone different?

And on the other side of the coin, for people who returned to "normal".
Do you remember what happened? Do you remember who you were?
Or is it all turning into some kind of soup within your own brain?
Do you have any way to stay that gnawing feeling of dread inside you when you think of the way you're losing touch with your own identity?

And if you have no idea what I'm talking about... call it a thought experiment.

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. ]

[ 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. ]

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!)

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!]

[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.

Alright, bitches. It's apparently been a hella long time since I've graced anyone in this timeline with my presence. I tried the whole reaching out one by one thing so as not to shock the system, but that shit got time consuming and my attention span is only so strong.

So, if you remember me, tell me, and maybe fill me in on important life developments. Or like. Just leave me a meme that sums up this shit hole the best.

...

Actually, everyone should leave me one of those. Chop, chop, get to it. Whenever Santa's elves aren't busy trying to eat your fucking face off or whatever.

[ She goes to shut off the feed but flicks it on literally two seconds later. ]

Is there weed in this place, by the way? Asking for a friend.

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 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

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.

[ it's november and something is in the air. or light, because alucard seems to be glittering. glowing. pick your adjective of choice. and he seems most disgruntled about it. even when he moves, his skin seems to glow.]

I do not suppose anyone knows how to stop this?

Or at the very least, disguise this?

[ 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—

[The video opens to Lance with cat ears (again), a tail swishes behind him. There's the sound of painful squelching as Keith off screen goes through some more gruesome transforming and he winces, looking over at him. It seems to have been mild this time at least, and Lance goes for the rambling jokes because that's how you deal with someone you care about going through that, right?]

Okay, soooo who here's never done the horizontal tango? Made the beast with two backs, knocked some boots, jumped some bones- [there is the sound of shifting of bone and he hums, rethinking] Forget that last one, but by now if you don't know what I mean, here's a few more for you: a little afternoon delight-

[Keith groaned a bit, his teeth audibly clenched as he scolded a, "LANCE!" from the background, though that didn't seem to deter the Blue Paladin from continuing.]

-pounded the punani pavement, shook the sheets, the old in-out, shot the meat rocket into the sausage hole, bam-bam in the ham, rolled in the hay, boppin' squiddles, cattle-prodding the oyster ditch with the lap rocket. Fucking hell, made whoopee!

Seriously, I could keep going, but if your answer is 'never done that, what are you even talking about', some guy in Gaze told me your blood cures this whole- [he gestures at himself and then glances off camera at the sound of a grunt from Keith.] mess. Noooot that I wanna cure myself, I can take it, but some people I know need it and aren't gonna ask because their heads are nothing but dumb hair and no brains.

[A bit of an unhinged laugh to himself/some internal conversation as he looks down and to the side. There's a growl from the background, possibly from Keith? (Definitely from Keith.) Then he jerks himself back.] Yeah, anyway, if you fit the bill call me before my idiot b-teammate turns into something that eats my face. I'm too pretty for that.

[There may have been a time when Lance knew virgin blood was blood that hadn't been used in a ritual, but the draugr's fucked with his already recently fucked memory. So enjoy.]

hey.
friend is looking for references for japanese womens clothing she can wear
shes from the fourth year of keio but shes happy for anything that matches what women wear
like furisode or whatever kimonos would work here

she never got to own any and she wouldnt know how to draw an example to get one made
if anyone has one we could have a pic of would help

she's yukimura chizuru and her username is lookingforshinsengumi if you want to message her privately. shes going to be reading this

thanks.

(she can do with a girl to talk clothes with)

[ The world around Tuck and Billie is dark, gloomy, and full of dust. The bar they are in, Colonel Dan's, has seen better days. Tables have been overturned, something's been in here making a mess despite the magic that was imbued into the door. Guess it didn't hold. ]

So, who wants to help Billie n' me clean out our bar? That we, ah, never used.

[ Tuck does his best to make it sound like the most riveting fucking thing a person could volunteer for. ]

We'll pay you in... uh...

[ He looks down at Billie who is currently out of camera view. Hard to put both a two foot child in the same frame with a seven foot man. ]

Friendship? Oh, booze!

Either, or. Whichever turns out to be of equal or lesser value.

[ From the dark, something falls off the bar counter and breaks. Then skittering claws scuttle across the floor. ]

There's someone else in here.

... ..... So, who wants to help Billie n' me chase a mystery creature out of our bar? Ehhh? Could be fun—Oh fuuuck! It touched my leg!