Week 1

[bathymetric]

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

There may not be much light to differentiate the days here, but the lights of the part of the city you're in change enough by the clock that you can almost believe there's a sun somewhere. It looks like Mayor Fontaine has no intention of going back on his deal, and for the time being? You're all stuck here. But there's plenty to do, and... maybe not plenty to see, but there's enough. There's something, at any rate.

Especially if you're willing to look beyond the surface.

And if you spend enough time around others, you might find something neat!

No matter what, it's time to start getting to know your fellow captives. You might be here a while.




MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
FRIDAY | SATURDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to the first week of Unknown Seas Round 3! We're very excited to have you. Please make sure to mark any investigation toplevels accordingly, and you can reach either Mayor Fontaine or Eleanor for conversations! ]

Comments

[allatonce]

If you're used to having extranormal abilities, Fontaine says he nullified all our powers.

[If that's not what he's talking about: oops? It's not like someone wasn't going to find out that her dimension hopping was a little more of the magic end than the technology end.]

[bootyhunter]

Extranormal activities?

[Here come two slow-blinks for good measure. Dandy is nowhere as near as cute as a cat, unfortunately. His come off as more... Reptilian, quite frankly.]

Oh, you mean like super powers! Whoa, so it's just like those girls in Mangy Maids of Mars who shoot lasers from their amptly-sized chest compartments, but real?!

[He's referencing a tacky movie along the lines of some of the campy, erotic B-films of the 1970's. The man can't remember what he consumed for his own breakfast, and yet he chooses to retain that particular piece of information.

But that's actually the problem he's referring to- Remembering. And remembering all too well.]

No, no, it's nothin' like that! It's more of just...

A headache.

[That's not entirely true.]

And, I'm usually fit as a fiddle, so...

[allatonce]

[Once again: idiot status. She doesn't know what, exactly, Mangy Maids of Mars is but that title really tells her everything she needs to know, huh? Joy's not gonna ask.]

No, if anything my head hurts less than it usually does. Maybe we can ask Eleanor for some aspirin or something, though, if it's bothering you.

[bootyhunter]

Hhhhh--!

[Dandy lights up immediately at the notion of getting in touch with Eleanor, and lets out a gasp of excitement.]

That's a great idea! Maybe we can tag team her in her office and find out more about what she likes!

[And who she likes... Although anyone can be certain that it won't be Dandy.]

[allatonce]

I am not having a threesome with you.

[Even if that's not what he's talking about, she feels like it's probably important to throw that one out there.]

But yeah. You catch more flies with honey and all.

bleak foghorn noises

[bootyhunter]

Oh.

[Dandy, who is an entire foot taller than Joy, takes this moment to look her up and down. She's pretty petite for an adult woman, and coupled with that voice of hers and the previous mention of her mother, he had wondered if she was one of those world-weary teenagers who had just grown up too damn fast.]

So you're old enough for that kinda thing?

[What a jackass!]

Good to know.

1/2

[allatonce]

[Don't kill this man. Don't kill this man. Don't kill this man.]

2/2

[allatonce]

[Extremely deadpan:]

I know that for some reason people think that if you're shorter than 5'6" you're a child? But I'm twenty-seven. Like it says on my profile.

[bootyhunter]

Really?

[His brows quirk upwards, the surprise on his face genuine.

Joy is reaching saintly levels of patience here.]

That's the number it says on mine, too.

[allatonce]

[Just completely deadpan:]

Congratulations on living for longer than a dog. Most dogs, anyway.

[bootyhunter]

Actually I think the canines on ASTEROID-BARK407 live a lot longer than we do.

[At this, Dandy slow-blinks twice.]

Whoaaaa.

I've never been able to remember teensy-weensy deets like that. Wild, baby!

[He should congratulate her too. The two of them have survived at least twenty-seven trips around the sun, and in Dandy's case, perhaps a million more, despite his lack of personal awareness of it.]

What do you think Eleanor's deal is, anyway?

D'you think she's a prisoner, just like us? But! Like one of those hall-monitor types, 'cept... Y'now! For murder.

[allatonce]

[Her brow furrows for a moment. She might not have her powers here, but she doesn't need them to tell that something is up with Dandy. It doesn't seem like he knows that, though, so she doesn't mention it. Not yet, anyway.]

I think she's a prisoner like us, but she doesn't know it. You know, classic Stockholm Syndrome.

[bootyhunter]

You really think she really doesn't know it?

[His nose crinkles at the thought. Joy makes the right assumption- A lot is going on with Dandy, and a lot has always been going on with him, but in the past it was all much easier to ignore.]

Or is she just playin' a part?

So she can have her own desk in her own office. A nicer cell.

Tch.

[allatonce]

I think... there's a lot of ways of being a prisoner that look great from the outside in.

[Like, for a totally random example, being trapped in your mother's extremely rigid, traditional expectations of you! For a brief moment, Joy stares blankly into the distance. Then she blinks and shrugs.]

If you're deep enough in it, sometimes you don't realize it was a prison until someone breaks you out of it.

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy cranes his own head, following Joy's eyes. When he notices that she's just staring into space, his brows furrow.]

Sounds like you're speakin' from experience.

[He is, much to his own chagrin, curious about some of the vague details that seem to be missing from this story.]

Every single person I've met in this dump has got a sob story that's such a bummer, man!

[Seriously- Everyone who's shared, at least.]

Am I the only one in this bunch who actually likes his goddamn life?

[allatonce]

[She rolls her eyes.]

I like my life now. I just didn't like it always, which is perfectly normal. Nobody's happy all the time.

[She got out! It's fine. Everything is fine. Joy Wang is totally fine.]

[bootyhunter]

Guess I gotta give ya that one.

Without sadness, there ain't no such thing as happiness, baby! 'S not like they're one and the same, but you can't have one without the other.

[He runs a hand through his hair, unsure if it's because he just felt a temple throb, or if it's like-]

You said the Mayor nuked any... Extraordinary body-ody-ody bullshit, right?

[Like he's said it before.]

Did you have anything like that goin' on? You look pretty regular to me.

[allatonce]

[That brow furrow is back. Maybe they'd better actually go get that aspirin. She grabs his arm and starts dragging him in the direction of Eleanor's office.]

Yeah. I can travel between universes. It sucks, but I thought maybe I could get out of here with it. I couldn't, so I asked him what he did.

[That's still leaving out, uh. A few things! But it's the explanation that invites the least questions, she thinks.]

He said the process of getting us here "scoops you up real well and seals powers up real tight."

[bootyhunter]

GEH-hAGH....!!!

[Joy will probably find that Dandy is easily tugged along, despite their extreme difference in height. He doesn't have the opportunity to feed himself properly much of the time, and here... Ah.

He might be getting heavier soon- He's been stuffing his face with as many orders of those (free) fancy meals as he can get!]

Scooped up? This power-smushin' thing doesn't feel at all like a full-body hug. If anything, it's a lot more like somebody put his foot on my neck and stomped on it, baby!

[In the midst of all his unnecessary complaining, he huffs, outwardly agreeing with her sentiment-]

Yeah! It does suck. It sucks major man-boobies.

[allatonce]

[......... He says so many words and Joy wishes she didn't have to hear half of them.]

Uh-huh. That's why we're getting you aspirin. [A beat.] Also don't be a homophobe.

[There's nothing wrong with man boobs if you're into that!! She's not but.]

pls just let me make this Extremely Stupid joke and then back to regular programming it is

[bootyhunter]

A what?

[He really should be acknowledging how kind she is being towards him... He might at the end of all of this.]

I ain't afraid of houses! I just prefer my crib to be strapped with your standard issue rocket boosters, thank you very much!

[allatonce]

[.........................]

That is absolutely not what that means, dude. [Men are so stupid??] I was saying don't be a dick about gay people.

[bootyhunter]

Gay people?

[THEY REALLY ARE DUMB, AND HE IS... ONE OF THE DUMBEST OF THEM ALL!]

You mean dudes who dig dudes and chicks who wanna grab other chicks and start face smushin'?

[Processing, processing...]

Oh! I don't hate those people.

[then maybe... stop acting like a Fooly Fool]

True love's hard enough to find as it is! Good for them.

[allatonce]

Good, because I'm one of them, but also like. Maybe don't equate stuff like "man-boobs" with sucking? Plenty of gay dudes are into that shit.

[She likes him enough to do a little teaching moment, at least, but not enough to like. Comment on 90% of what he says, on account of he's so stupid.]

Actually, I vote we all start using Fontaine's name as a swear.

[bootyhunter]

But if they're into it, wouldn't that just mean that they wanna suck on those-

[!!!!!]

Nevermind.

[He should tell her the truth.

Aspirin won't fix his problems. But Dandy isn't one to turn away attention from a woman! Even if it's platonic, on account of the fact that he is just that lonely.]

Look, I hate the Mayor just as much as the next guy, baby! But I don't wanna mutter his name if there isn't a good reason for it. The guy's voice gives me the heeby-jeebies.