personavelvetroomdr | (no subject)

[A message appears on the network one morning, not long after a certain Ren appears.

Not long after it goes up, some parts are edited out.]

Attention, "Crow" and "Joker." With the arrival of my Ren, we formally challenge you over your precious codenames. Let us prove to you that we are the ones worthy of the titles, while you are mere variations from a simpler, happier world. despite the power you wield. You may have seniority within this space, but we were forged in the fires of our hardships and have emerged on the other side of Maruki's reality. You two have likely grown soft from your domesticity. Perhaps you'll find us worthy opponents after all this stagnation. They say the spirit of competition can bring out one's best and their worst.

[Is it bold to proclaim the challenge over the network? Yes. But he'd have it no other way, really. Everyone deserves to know how serious they are.]

As for the rest of you, I'd like to start a little bonding exercise. Tell me something about yourself, and I'll tell you something about me in turn. Won't that be fun?

[It should be a simple way to start and prove that he's just as capable of "bonding" as Ren is.]

[ooc: Original parts of the message in strikethrough, with the edits after, if you want your character to have seen the original version.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, this ought to be entertaining.

Perhaps we ought to make a spectacle of it. I'm sure a live audience would keep things interesting.

Not to mention, it's relatively low-stakes, which I suspect would do a lot of us quite a bit of good.

True. I can tell it's been quite eventful of late, for better and for worse.

Indeed it has. Welcome to the madhouse, such as it is.

Well, it has been a few months. If anything, I can't say I've made any great personal discoveries since we first met. It's been annoyingly stagnant until recently.

It does come in waves, I suppose.

This wave simply lasted longer, I suppose. Not much time passed between the tapes and the holidays. Before that, we had Halloween.

The Halloween-New Year's stretch does tend to be rather crowded, it's true.

Last year there was a costume party that ended with Magpie and Drake being temporarily preteens.

Which is where Wagtail originated from, yes? I just spoke to him on the post. He seemed displeased with our challenge.

Yes. We gave him enough information to try forging a different path for himself.

[Precisely no one was willing to abandon him to his fate. Not when they could do otherwise.]

Crow essentially assumed parenting duties for everyone too young to care for themselves. They have good reason to be protective of him.

I simply can't fathom how he does it. I can barely take care of myself, yet here he is, effectively parenting nearly the entire child population here.

I wouldn't know. I certainly shouldn't be responsible for a child's well-being.

[She could maybe handle minding Wagtail or Raven for a while, but that's cheating. They're Goros.]

I'd say none of us should, but Raven seems quite fond of Magpie. There must be something I'm missing.

I believe Raven has an easier time seeing himself in Magpie than Crow. Raven and Crow benefited from the same rescue, but Raven only experienced about a month of that haven before coming here.

I suppose I can understand. Crow is so unfathomable. Frog isn't all that different in that respect. They're so... ideal.

I'd hardly call either of them 'ideal.' They may have improved circumstances in some respect, but they still have problems, and difficulty in handling them. We keep having to tell Crow that he doesn't need to take on every burden that comes up here.

[She doesn't know Frog well enough to comment, but she's sure he has his own neuroses as well.]

It astonishes me that he has the patience for it. I wonder what made him so desperate to be there for everyone.

I can bring popcorn!

I'm sure I could manage some other snacks as well.