[The video clicks on, showing a clearly worn out Jade Strider, with a small handful of bleeding scratches and some burn marks on her face, and for once completely lacking her "cool kid" composure. She's breathing heavily and obviously panicked, but compared to John Lalonde it looks like she got off easy-- in the background he can be seen leaning over some pile of debris near two chairs, his face reduced to a bloody and battered mess from an explosion. Both of them seem to have an extra collar on under their colored collars, linked by chains to a strange box on the ceiling of the Library.
When she started talking, it was hurried and rushed, and she sounded like she was about to cry.]

H-Hey-- the fucking bomb just-- blew the fuck up in John's f-face and there's metal and shit in his face and it's all fucked up and we ne--!

[Her sentence was cut short with the sound of a "snap," the chain suddenly retracting on both ends, violently pulling John away from the bomb's remains and Jade away from the computer terminal.

Given the way both of their bodies were now hanging limply from the ceiling, that "snap" wasn't just the sound of the mechanisms.

After a minute or so of that image, someone enters the screen. She looks similar to a popular movie icon, if anyone into horror movies are watching, but just a little more terrifying. She smiles, waving a wooden hand at the camera, before switching the feed off.]

i see the network is working properly again!
good, good. that makes this easier.
i want to play a game, my fellow tower mates.
do you think you can survive any better than these two?
it's a shame they couldn't follow the rules, isn't it?
hee hee hee.
i hope you all are ready.
oh, before i go, if anyone needs candy there's plenty to be found in the library!
i'm sure they won't be needing it.
:)

[So Rose Strider was kind enough to point out that shadow John Lalonde's methods of getting his worst secret out was incredibly flawed. Why waste time walking up to people individually when you have the network at your disposal?!]

[Judging by the background, he's broadcasting from the third floor library.]

Hello! I promise I won't take up much of your time, there's just something that I thought everybody should know. Sort of a public service announcement.

My name is John Lalonde and I killed my three best friends in cold blood with my own two hands.

[He pauses, smiling widely.]

The reason really isn't all that important, just the fact that I did it in the first place. But if you really must know...I enjoyed it!

[That right there is a lie and he knows it. But he's faced difficulty in getting people to hate him blindly. Everyone always wants to know the reason so that they can try and justify it so he's not quite so hateable.]

That's all! [He laughs, waves, and ends the feed.]

((ooc: Because apparently I want to make this as confusing as possible, this post WILL lead to a boss fight but it's over here in the massive shadow log of doom. If your character wants to get in on that, that's fine. Responses on this post will initially come from Shadow John, though since the real John will be on his way down to the library after seeing this, they may not last very long. Depending on how the fight goes down, John himself may pick up the messages later to try and do damage control. I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE I'M SORRY FOR MAKING IT SO STUPIDLY COMPLICATED. orz))

[Feferi's been careful to look nice for the camera this time, or as nice as she can look here. Her hair's brushed out, so it's not unruly, she's set her goggles off her head and is wearing them like a headband, her jewelry is on straight and looks shiny, and she's found lipstick so her lips are just the right shade.

But despite all that, she looks pretty upset and pretty nervous. Something's got her shaken up.]

Um, hi. It's Feferi. I have a question, after this...rude...conchversation...

...I know I look...different. But I don't look like a monster, do I? I never thought I did. I always thought I looked, whale, pretty. Not like I was full of myself or anyfin! But everyone should feel pretty, you know?

I mean, I know I don't look the same as a human gill looks, but I didn't think I looked like a monster. Not till now. If I look like that to anemoneone, I apologize. I'm reely not a monster.

...I also think that stuff that he's talking about is absolutely disgusting. I don't know where anyone would get such a sick idea. It kind of makes me want to throw up...

[April looks a lot more happier than she did the last time she made a post on the network, though instead she just seems very hesitant about something. And people may notice that she has a Bullfairy being held in her arms for some reason...]

Ah, um... I-I'm just wondering if anyone would be willing to give me combat lessons, m-mainly with sword fighting or just hand-to-hand combat. I promise I will pay you back in some way and... I, um, a-appreciate any help...

[She glances away for a moment, awkwardly clearing her throat, before she remembers something.]

O-oh, and Amalia, I'm still up for giving you those tech lessons if you still want them. And if anyone else would want tech lessons, I would be glad to help. Or, um, if you want any tech made, I can help with that too... Well, when the workshop is repaired.

[There's a slightly pause after that, almost as if she was gonna say something else, but she seems to change her mind.]

I'm sorry. I know this is a bad time, and everyone's minds are on their friends, and how to fix things, and so is mine, but I need to ask. If you want to answer, great. If not, I definitely understand. No hard feelings.

I keep trying to sort out how to ask this, but I can't, so I'm just going to write down a list here. But, mostly?

I need to ask about death.

I know this might be a touchy subject for a lot of people, so just answer whatever you want. However many or however few or none. Filter it, if that helps, or make it anonymous. I've seen people do that, and that's all okay with me. But anything you can tell me, I'd really appreciate it.

[She's got a theory, and it's a doozy.]

( Ten questions, in no particular order )


I'm sorry. I know that's a lot of questions. But I have a lot of questions. Like I said, though, you don't have to answer all of them. Or any. I know everyone has a lot on their minds right now, and this probably doesn't help.

But, if you can, thank you. [She hopes you prove her wrong, fellow prisoners.] Really, thank you.

[Painwheel is not amused, to say the least. She guesses she's supposed to be grateful she was (apparently) rescued from the apocalypse, but she's really not. Her world being gone means she'll never have her chance at revenge, so really, right now she's more angry than anything.

Still, she knows she needs to learn more about this place. She might be here for a while, after all. With that in mind, she makes her way to one of the communication rooms after she's managed to calm down. It takes a while to get there, partly because she doesn't want to be seen if she can help it. She doesn't expect people's reactions to her appearance to be any different here than they were in her world, and that's something she really doesn't want to deal with right now.

Not wanting to deal with typing, she opts for voice instead. Once she's fairly sure she's got it working properly, she speaks. Her voice sounds really rough, like she's been screaming for a long time... which isn't entirely inaccurate.]

If anyone's actually out there listening to this... I want to know more about this place. I've read the letters, but that's not enough. Tell me everything you know.

[And that's the entirety of her message. She's not exactly the most talkative person ever.]

((Anyone who wants to have their character run into Painwheel while she's on her way to her destination, please feel free! Just because she tried her best to avoid being seen doesn't mean she went completely unnoticed.))

Text A;

( cut for courier )

Action B;
[A short boy in a rather dark outfit can be found wandering around the dormitory levels. It seems that he doesn't want to stray too far and chance getting lost or losing terminal access in case somebody answers his questions. He's clearly looking for something, pausing at every nook and cranny and looking behind every terminal he passes. Fortunately, he refrains from trying to barge into anybody's room. The search for his loving daughter salamander hasn't gotten quite that desperate yet.]

[Won't it be sad when he finally realizes she isn't here?]

[Feel free to bother him, it's not like he has anything that's actually important to do right now.]