⟪ an old man graces your sight with a kind smile, white-haired, white-bearded, and indigo-robed. behind him, multicolored garlands and wreaths deck the wall, and by his side stands a tall woman—some of you might recognize her as désirée. stoic and straight-backed, she casually observes their surroundings: glimpses of restless passing in front of the camera might indicate that they’re in a pub somewhere in mirth. with commoners.

doran seems entirely unbothered, content and at ease. when he speaks, his voice is clear and warm, matching the glint in his eyes. ⟫

My dear Restless… What dire times we all face, and what resilient people you are. I would not insult a brief reprieve with appeasement—your struggles and concerns are well-founded—and yet it is my hope that this announcement alleviates some of your torments.

⟪ slowly he brings his mug to his lips—it’s eggnog, because of course it is—taking his time to swallow and seemingly struggling not to cough. désirée's hand gently lands on his arm. ⟫

To those of you suffering from the curse, know that a cure is well on its way to be completed. I’ll personally ensure that there is enough to treat you all. Now… as difficult as it is, I fear I must still broach the subject… ⟪ he sighs, brows knit. ⟫ The people responsible for your unjust imprisonment were apprehended. They confessed, of their own volition, overwhelmed by Shadows they could no longer effectively control. Such a tragedy… Come what may, they were sentenced to dwell in the Hinterlands, and will not be welcomed back in Stygia.

As for your compensation, the sum of 400 coins will be sent directly to you, along with a piece of soulsteel. You will also be formally invited to a Masquerade hosted by the Hierarchy, in Radiance, as soon as the weather… unwinds, as it were. ⟪ ha! ha! ha! he laughs, briefly yet heartily, even though it’s not even a good pun. ⟫ Now, my dear Restless, rest easy and look out for each other. We are all we have. ⟪ head inclined in friendly salutations, the feed cuts. ⟫

Stop posting anonymously.

If you have a question you want answered, own it.

[that's it

that's the post

wouldn't it be funny if all the replies were anonymous]

ik this is going to sound like an episode of 60 Minutes that never got aired, but I have smelled worryingly like blood for the past week or so.

Please pre-emptively cool it on the wild guesses, though. God forbid any of this winds up vaguely sexual like Keith's thing (F, buddy). No, I haven't even been injured lately. No, it's not my time of the month. No, I'm not actually a murderer. I woke up one day, sniffed foul air, and have been increasingly ill since.

Does anyone have any idea what I can even do about this? bc I feel like I've tried literally everything but bathing in bleach.

Oh, actually, for ppl who don't want to interact with my TMI, what are your favourite movies? I work at the theatre in Mirth now and I'll get a 2% raise if I bring in more traffic, so I kinda have a vested interest in knowing what kinds of things you'd wanna see screened. Set can't pay for everything yk lol.

Thanks.

[ It's the kind of network message that pops up in the quietest, darkest part of the night — when it's just a guy and his thoughts and anxieties in an all-too-silent house. He's surrounded by dumpster-quality furniture and a cat-emblemed pillow that veers on possessing suspicious origins, not that anyone can see any of his living quarters through text. ]

i don't want to panic anyone but it's pretty late and it's been a few days and i don't know, maybe i just need to calm down but

does anyone have an explanation for what happens when your soulmate kinda ... goes missing?

[ Steve really wishes there was a proper instructions manual or something. Not that he'd read through it because who has the time for that, but. It'd be something.

The line goes quiet for a moment, or maybe Steve's said what he's needed to say, before another message pops up from the same username. ]

Honestly, shit's going exactly the way I thought it would. Thought maybe Munson would stick around, thought maybe we were, you know, starting to become friends, and you'd think the soulbond thing would count for something but noooo, he just split. Found a way to get out of here, left his phone, went back to Hawkins and didn't have the decency to leave a goddamned note.

Even he couldn't stand the pathetic loser that Steve Harrington's become.

[ And just like that, the message is sent for all to see before the line really does cut off. Embarrassing. ]




[ ooc: in case it isn't clear, the last bit of text is courtesy of steve's very unpleasant shadow who has adopted an edgelord personality circa livejournal 2001. ]

HUMANS
TELL ME HOW YOU CHEER EACH OTHER UP WHEN YOU'RE BEING PATHETIC AND SAD
I HAVE TRIED TO FEED MINE FOOD AND OFFER TO FIGHT HIM MULTIPLE TIMES BUT NEITHER OF THESE TACTICS HAVE WORKED
HIS SAD FEELINGS ARE ANNOYING AND MUST BE PUT TO AN END HOW DO I MAKE THEM STOP?

(≡ ｀ｗ´≡)/
hey everyone!
i'm Uzumaki Naruto
um in my world we give family name first
so you can just call me Naruto!

listen…
i have an important question that i'd like to hear your opinions on

some people doubt this place is really the afterlife
and if we’re actually dead

but let’s say there’s a chance we can all return to our own dimensions, alive
…would you want to?
or would you prefer to stay here instead, permanently?

it’s kinda personal, so i get it if you wanna use the
uh
anonymous
thingy
just don’t ask me how to switch it on
because idk (that means i don’t know)

oh also
if anyone needs help with anything
or wants to tackle some missions together
i'm your shinobi!

[Sorry, Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto forgot the “keep our profession/backgrounds a secret” rule. (And already broke the rule several times over.)]

We've all had some time to settle in. Hopefully everyone's holding up all right!

For those of you I haven't spoken with, my name's Sakura. I'm both a doctor and healer and I have a little ad hoc clinic down by the docks. （ a helpful location ping follows this. ） If you ever find yourself needing medical care, please reach out and let me know. There's at least one other person here with medical experience that I know of as well, but I'll let them speak up if they want to make themselves known — and I'm happy to collaborate with anyone else, none of us can be everywhere at once.

（ paging terraria, party of bird. ）

As for my reason for addressing you all... I'm looking to keep blood on hand for medical emergencies, transfusions and any surgeries that may be necessary. If anyone is willing to come down to the clinic and give a donation, it'd be very appreciated. I promise it only hurts a little! And you'll even get a candy afterwards! While supplies last.

Those with O-negative and O-positive types would be ideal. If you don't happen to know what your blood-type is, I can run a test for you.

Thanks everyone!

（ she's almost finished, and it seems like that might have been the last thing... but a few minutes later, she clicks the feed on again: ）

I'm still looking for information on anyone who's undergone the soulbond as well. Purely for research purposes. You can reply anonymously if you'd like, or privately if that's easier. I promise anything you say will be kept confidential.

[This message may be 100% anonymous, but perhaps you recognize the texting style? If you were bold enough to message her on Soulidarity perhaps you've figured it out at once. Otherwise, ~*~IT'S A MYSTERY~*~ Dare ye solve it?

At least one guy will recognize the culprit. Sucks to suck, Sylvain.]

HEEELLOOOOOO MY SWEET CHERRY PIE!! 🍒🥧🍒 Where are you right now? Are you dreaming about me?

( Read More if you hate yourself )

⟪ and bam. on your screen, a guy, white-haired and surprisingly jovial, which is a bit at odds with what he’s about to ask. is it genuine, or is it a façade?? who knows. you might recognize him as the fool who innocently swiped left on you—or the guy who told a really bad astronaut joke on the netherwork. either way, shiro’s gonna shiro, so he’ll introduce himself again—just in case—his mouth a polite curve. ⟫

Hello. I’m Shiro… How’re you all holding up?

⟪ don’t worry, there’s no pep talk this time. not unless you ask for it, anyway. ⟫

I’ve a… I’ve a favor to ask. For my arm… or lack thereof. ⟪ point in case; his gaze drifts a bit to his right side, where his sleeve hangs empty. ⟫ I had a prosthetic once, back home, but uhm… ⟪ and there it is. a chuckle. half-strangled, half-nervous as he cuts the camera another hesitant glance and clears his throat, stifling a wince. ⟫

If anyone with skills in finding alternatives to missing limbs is somehow looking for a great candidate, well… you’re looking right at him! No complaining, high pain tolerance… and I used to be a pilot, so I can sit for as long as you need me to. This is not an emergency. You can reach out when or if you ever have time to spare.

Thanks.

⟪ ooc | voice-to-text is 100% a thing and it’s probably what shiro will use to reply to you! ⟫

I found some curious things, when dealing with the dead who were left behind in the Oakwoods.

Firstly, they appear to have died while filled with horror. I have also collected samples of a blue substance found around and upon their bodies. I am certain that I am not the only one who took note of this.

You are welcome to what I gathered. I do not care what you decide to do with it.

Additionally, in comparing the bodies of the explorers to those who were slaughtered by the mounted warrior -- their deaths are notably different. Deaths within un-deaths, this is ridiculous. To my knowledge, the components of a soul are universal. Regarding the explorers: I found no sense of soul, nor any of the components. For them to lack is ominous, but may also amount to nothing more than an oddity of the realm.

They are empty, and that is all I know.

At this time, I am only beginning my considerations. I will continue to deliberate for your sakes.

( OOC | While Set is here to Report On It, any characters that went poking around the explorer's bodies would be able to find blue dust that causes their Shadows to go "YEAH LMAO NO"!! Set's personal responses will be delayed, as I'm still tagging the event!

Feel free to take this in whatever direction you'd like. Did your character uncover something? Are they interested in something that happened during the event? Are they considering anything based on Certain Experiences They Had In Canon? pepesilvia.gif )