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[ Welcome to... a very nice beach, actually! It's very pleasant here. Carmen has set up a couple bonfires, there's some barbecues with meat to cook... and a lot of beach to hang out on! ]

Welcome to California's Pigeon Point Light Station State Park! Between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, just south of Pescadero, this lighthouse gets it's name from the Carrier Pigeon, a ship that wrecked here in 1853! ... Sorry, old habit. Go party. We have the whole place to ourselves. Most everyone here's been through something like this, or knows someone who has. And... the vending machine's bringing in some friends of yours, too.

[ It's a warm late summer night - not too hot for bonfires, but not too chilly that you need to stick by them to survive.

You've made it to the end. There are fellow survivors to meet and commiserate with, friends to meet or catch up with, and... it's over. For those of you returning, it's been about a year since the end of Round 2, and Carmen's gotten the word out to as many people as she can between trying to help this round and tracking down Round 0. If you'd like to play a hostage from the first motive, just know that they will remember it, but it's up to the player in the main round if time has passed since then or not so... it may have been a day or two ago or it may have been months! And hell with it, if you want to play a Round 0 character you suggested back in r1, come talk to us. Why not?

EDIT: Asher has gone to the trouble of making a toplevel directory for anyone intimidated by the number of pages!

Enjoy the last log of Unknown Seas! You've earned it. Love meme will come later tonight in the ooc comm. ]

[ The figure inside the frosted glass snaps her fingers, and the glass falls away, sliding into grooves in the ground below. Inside, behind additional bulletproof glass, sits a woman, legs up on a transparent glass desk, absentmindedly petting a... whatever this thing is.

Say hello to your mastermind, everyone! ]

Hey there, everyone. Nice to talk to you in person - my name is Cipher, welcome to my city. Sorry I took so long to show up in person. No need to get up on my account - how about we talk business?

[ Let's drive. ]

[ After a long while of investigation in areas that she definitely did not authorize you being in, the Mayor speaks up over the loudspeakers throughout the entire city. She's not using distortion at all, for what it's worth. ]

If you're all done rifling through my past and looting my things, there's a show that we really ought to get on the road, don't you think? Don't worry, I'm not going to come to you. You'll come to me.

[ And, one by one (along with your evidence), every single one of you is teleported into, rather than the underwater dome, a sectioned-off area of the Hall of the Founders. The walls around you are thick glass, and you can see beyond them that the Sparrows have begun restoring the statues. Massive stone renditions of the original Founders of New Rapture surround you, though some are still covered in cloth. A series of podiums have been set for you.

And within your final trial box is another box of frosted glass, ominous before you, just transparent enough to see a figure inside, sitting at a desk, her feet up as she lounges in a rolling office chair. ]

I love the dome, but there's nowhere for me to sit, you know? I was going to reveal this to all of you, it was going to be a whole big thing, but then you woke up early and ran off to do God-knows-what in a bunch of places I didn't need you in! Almost as if someone tipped you off to my plan.

[ Inside the glass case, the figure leans back in the chair further. ]

So you know what? Go ahead and talk amongst yourselves. Air my dirty laundry. Maybe I'll even join in in person. See if you can figure out what happened here, for starters.

[ Welcome to the final trial. ]

Good morning, New Rapture. You may yet see the sun today.

But before that, there's work to be done. The Mayor has sent you some sort of ultimatum, though as usual was reluctant to explain herself. You're going to meet her, to some end? It's unclear. But one way or another, you're aware that things are ending today. Spirits may be low, but at least there's that. After a night of bowling, you're probably ready for this.

As you wake in the morning, though, each suite will find something unexpected in the common area, something that absolutely wasn't there last night: an envelope, addressed to the surviving members. An attached note on the outside reads as follows:

Good morning, citizens of New Rapture. In accordance with new directives from Designations: Misfire, Space Dandy, et al. I have been asked to deliver this. Please use the included to lift your spirits, and feel free to use your new bathysphere access to gain what information you can before you face the Mayor. You know what the key does, I gather, and the card will grant you access to Fontaine Futuristics Headquarters, where the Mayor currently resides. If you do not gather information properly, you will be unable to do what she is about to ask of you. Your friends will be watching.

Included in each envelope is a silver key, a limited Hall of the Founders bathysphere access card, and a copy of this letter. Your friends are counting on you. Go rally in the Hall of the Founders and get ready.

It's time for one last investigation.

BOWLING PARTY 6PM
TIME TO PARTY BEFORE WE GET RAPTURED OR WHATEVER
BE THERE OR I SQUEEZE YOU AND DRAG YOU THERE ANYWAYS
BRING SNACKS IF YOU WANT
COOL THANKS

- FLOYD

[ That's as good as a note as you're getting as Floyd runs around like a madman today, seemingly determined to have a good time before their abrupt end to this little... experiment? comes to an end, either with them at the top, or being potentially trapped in this watery grave at the whims of the Mayor. And wouldn't it be kind of ironic for the eel of all people to drown here? Wild. But enough about that!

Floyd is hauling snacks to the bowling alley, even though nachos are supplied, but why not! He makes some really good food when properly motivated, it seems. There's shrimp scampi, crab cakes, some nice looking desserts here and there, and also nachos because they looked pretty good. There's also arts and crafts here if you want to chill for a bit instead of bowl!

Honestly, the party was still a pretty good cover too, all things considered. As fun as he wanted this to be, they definitely had things to talk about. When enough people show up, Floyd smiles. ]

Yay, you made it~! Now let's bowl and talk about how we're gonna kick Water Fountain lady's butt! At this point it doesn't really seem like we need to hide like normal meetings. She's probably preparing for whatever happens tomorrow, so you know.

[ He shrugs. ]

Anyways- we've all been too sad and serious lately. It's party time~!

Good morning, New Rapture. The long night is ending.

Your number is as low as it's going to go. You may not know it for sure yet, but there's something in the cold New Rapture recycled air that suggests maybe things are about to change. An act of defiance against the Mayor actually panned out, and now... the mysteries of the underwater city are beginning to finally reveal themselves to you. How much has been just smoke and mirrors, like the execution room? How much has been real? And how much longer can your captor continue to avoid granting you answers?

No new wing of the city, this week. There are still offices to explore in city hall, if you'd like, but in general you get the feeling that it's going to take a change to make the next new information available. And make no mistake: change is coming, my friends. Stay strong. Stay together. Get any last coins in before the end.

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to the final week of Unknown Seas Round 3! Please make sure to mark any investigation toplevels accordingly, reply to the endgame planning post, and you can reach either the Mayor or Eleanor for conversations! ]

[Well! That happened, and for once, no one seems to be holding any kind of Group Sorrow Activity afterwards! Have fun doing whatever it is y'all wanna do! There's not many people left, and an awful lot of open space; we're probably all perfectly capable of being alone, if that's what we want.]

[ After a time, as always, your investigation is interrupted by the Mayor's now-familiar voice, calling out to you over the loudspeakers. ]

And that's gonna be time. Pack it in, everyone, bring what you're gonna bring because it's trial time.

[ There are so many bathyspheres missing, you cannot help but notice, as you all pile into the station for your standard trip down to the trial room. Your number has dipped to about a third of its original size - a fact that becomes even more evident when you reach the circle of podiums at the bottom of New Rapture's ocean trench. ]

You all know why you're here. Someone killed Pillage Idiot, and it's your job to figure out who. This is your sixth one, I sure hope you have the procedure down by now.

[ Welcome to your sixth trial. ]

Another Friday. The air is strangely cold as you wake, potentially wondering if this week will follow the trend of the last two. How can you afford to keep bleeding people like this? Surely this isn't sustainable. One way or another, some kind of reckoning has to be coming.

But before that reckoning, there's one more time you need to go back into the breach. You hope not, but... it was one hell of a motive this week, after all. Up and at 'em, gang. Helios Suites is body-free, so you can grab a breakfast or something before heading out, but... for one last time, there's something out there for you to find.

[okay. that was a horror show and a half. but at the same time, Gaius is... thinking about it pretty hard, particularly the Hodaka thing. the gears are turning in his head. It is... not particularly hard to track down everyone personally. because there's. not very many people left. If he can find you in person, he will speak to you individually!]

Meeting in the usual location. One hour. We have much to discuss.

[...

if he can't find people in person he'll like, slip notes under their doors. he... is not sure if the idea he's having is encouraging or discouraging. but there's other stuff to talk about too, besides just Theory Chat. ...he did surreptitiously bring in some chairs so we don't all have to be sitting on the bathroom floor at least. but he's not the kind of person for decoration, he's the kind of person for getting things done!

so, when Meeting Time rolls around and everyone's present, he will be sitting in one of the chairs with his notes!]

We all understand why we are here. Let us begin.

Good morning, New Rapture. A new day is dawning.

Less than ten of you left, now. The halls of your little slice of Rapture sure must feel empty now, hm? Even compared to their general size, you're going to naturally find yourself more and more alone more and more often. That's just statistics.

You may find yourself flagging. You may find it difficult to move on. Your captor has offered you so little respite, so little in the way of answers. The ocean is dark and foreboding. But remember this: in the darkest times, the brightest lights can shine.

As you wake once again on Sunday, there's another wing of New Rapture open to you, smaller than the ones before it. More to see, more to find, as your ally the vending machine might say.

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to the seventh week of Unknown Seas Round 3! Please make sure to mark any investigation toplevels accordingly, post your ac, and you can reach either Mayor Fontaine or Eleanor for conversations! ]

[The notes passed under doors and left in the suites are simple ones; just a basic idea of where people will be. Not that one would have to go far to find them.]

We're downstairs in the lobby if you want to join us. You don't have to be alone, but if you would prefer to be it's understandable.

[It doesn't come without any preparations, though; the couches are draped with blankets and pillows and soft things from the department store, there's tea and milk and sugar and honey laid out on trays courtesy of the restaurant. If anyone wants food, Forrest is kind of flitting around the lobby anxiously and obviously wanting something to do; he'll get you something if you ask.

Come if you want to; it's understandable if you don't.]

[ There's a long while of examination before the Mayor speaks up. There's plenty of evidence to pick up yet again this week, after all. ]

Annnd that's going to do it. Wrap it up and head to the bathyspheres, kids, you've got some business to attend to.

[ The bathyspheres take you all down, down, into the now-familiar dome below the city. The similarly familiar red glow persists until the lights properly turn on - the projection of Fontaine's silhouette is gone, of course, replaced by that same flickering "please stand by" message. But your mayor's voice is still the one that speaks over the increasingly empty circle of podiums. ]

If you somehow need a reminder of why you're here, three of you are dead. Get away with it, killer or killers, and the execution room gets to really work overtime today. But I guess if you wanna live, you should find who murdered three people. Could be important for you guys.

[ Welcome to your fifth trial. ]

Friday morning dawns once more as crisp and clear as a morning can be at the bottom of the ocean. There's something hanging in the air, but it's unclear exactly what. Excitement? Dread? There are plenty among you who stand to gain from someone getting away with a murder this week. The "hostages" are all still in their cages, of course, but that was bound to happen until someone gets away with the whole murder thing.

There's nothing wrong in Helios Suites or on the grounds thereof, and there's no literal explosions in the distance, but... there's something off in the air, today. Better go do your civic duty, citizens.

[If you're about anywhere Wednesday afternoon, you'll be greeted by Misfire clapping you on the shoulder and drawing you in for a whispered bunch of words:]

Emergency Huddle. Usual spot. See you in ten whilst I round up everyone else.

[And, half-delivering on his promise, Misfire arrives at the bowling alley bathrooms (where else could he have meant?), albeit later than everyone else, to get the meeting going.

There's not much prep work you can do for a meeting in a set of bathroom stalls, but there's a shoddily painted banner across them that reads: 'We survived this far!' It's in the slow process of falling down. Symbolism.]

Alright, cool, that everyone? Whatever - we can start. [He claps his hands.] Soooo... yeah. Let's do the meeting thing.

Good morning, New Rapture. A new day is dawning.

Another week at the bottom of the sea. You may start to mark the passage of time by the increasing number of people you seem to be bleeding each week - look how few of you there are now. Nearly half your number gone, and for what? The shadowy machinations of some madman? You've met some others, but they seem unable or unwilling to solve this problem for you. Time marches onwards.

In the abyss, New Rapture starts to wake. It's small things, for now - the lights of a building here and there, the flicker of a neon sign for some small business. The restoration of this city continues.

Speaking of this city, there's a new branch of your little slice of it to explore. It's certainly the most picturesque of the branches you've seen.

There's more to see and do, citizens of New Rapture. And hey, there's coins to get, too.

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to the sixth week of Unknown Seas Round 3! Please make sure to mark any investigation toplevels accordingly, post your ac, and you can reach either Mayor Fontaine or Eleanor for conversations! ]

[Well. All that sure happened!

Brett hasn't done much for one of these post-trial gatherings thus far, but he's been trying very hard to be functional lately, and...well, the fact that so many other people aren't okay right now just makes that all the more important. So he'll go around telling people, or slipping notes under doors if need be:]

We're going to have some food at the bar, if anyone wants it.

- Brett & Joy

[It feels a little weird to have it there, but...let's be honest. He expects quite a few people will be passing through the bar of the own accord tonight. They may as well not drink on empty stomachs.

There's not a ton going on. Brett's figured out how to turn the light-up dance floor off - it seemed a little inappropriate. Despite being hosted at the bar, Brett hasn't actually set out any alcohol; there's tamagoyaki and a big vat of chicken noodle soup sitting on some tables in the middle of the room, as well as tea for anyone who wants a drink that isn't alcoholic. Everyone who does want to drink can serve themselves. Also, someone has draped a rainbow pride flag over the bar? It seems appropriate given who's throwing the party, at least, and he didn't really have it in his to stop Joy, so.

You're free to turn on some music, if you want. Brett couldn't pick anything out on the jukebox, it seems.]

[ After the evidence (and what a large batch of evidence it is, this time) has been gathered up, after actually patiently waiting a longer time than usual to make sure everything's been grabbed, the speakers over New Rapture crackle to life. ]

Time's up, everyone. You know where to go.

[ The lower number of bathyspheres, as you descend, is starting to become really notable, isn't it? The descent is the same as ever, lower and lower into the sea. The bioluminescence of those slugs on the ocean floor is almost brighter today, somehow, and some of them have even crawled up the cliff face around you as you pass them.

The dome approaches, slowly as ever, gleaming red in the darkness. The bathyspheres land in a row, doors opening one by one to reveal the familiar sight of the trial room, three more podiums now darkened. ]

Take your places, ladies and gentlemen. You've got a doozy of a situation to discuss. Ass Man and Silver Fox are dead. You know what happens if you can't figure out whodunnit.

[ Welcome to your fourth trial. ]

It's hard to tell that - of if - the motive has passed. The radios are the same, there are no missing powers, the day begins like any other. But there's something heavy hanging over you, the knowledge that, well... it's Friday. And unpleasant things happen in New Rapture on Fridays.

While we would love to say it's remotely quiet and peaceful, we can't. Helios Suites and the grounds around them are body-free, at least, but... there's a series of booming noises coming from somewhere else in New Rapture, echoing through the empty halls.

Looks like the game is afoot, citizens.

[ So, it's Wednesday, and we're having a meeting in the bathroom of the bowling alley.

Jonathan is the one who initially attempts to set said meeting up, and perhaps that's how you found out about this! But while he's putting the gathering together, his efforts come up against (read: are viciously hijacked by) several other people's similar ideas, and, somehow, this ends up organically manifesting itself. No invitations are sent; word of mouth serves instead. If you aren't given warning ahead of time, by Wednesday afternoon, it's kind of a gimme; many of the people still alive are suddenly absent, and of those who remain, at least two are actively suggesting everyone else head over to the bowling alley bathroom. Zinda's methods are probably less Like This, but Nandor's... ]

Bathroom safety meeting! Bathroom safety meeting, everyone! Follow me, please, we are having it in a more amenable space.

[ And he will absolutely not take no for an answer and keep following people around until they comply, so unless you slam the suite door in his face (valid), the path of least resistance is probably just going! The bathroom, once you show up, is a far cry from the garden party or even the changing room get-together on week 3. Dandy and Misfire (?) have instruments, which they are playing annoyingly, but that seems to be about it as far as outside preparations go. ]

Good; that is all of us, and now we can begin. [ Whether this is actually all of them or not is irrelevant! He clears his throat. ] As you may have realized... there is no bathroom safety meeting. That was but a ruse, crafted to conceal our secret meeting, and now we are going to discuss what we have discovered over the past two weeks and how we will go about unleashing utter destruction on Fontaine.

[ You also might simply be in the bowling alley already and need to use the restroom. That is entirely possible, and if so, tough luck. ]

So, uh, what have we got?