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]

It's a skill. You just need practice.

[The motions are already slow, but Joy narrates as she does them because she assumes that if he has something to focus on maybe he'll be able to ground himself more.]

So you're gonna slowly make fists and bring them up to your chest like this. Then we extend our left arm, palm to the sky, and bring it back in.

[She keeps narrating through the remaining two exercises and then:]

And that's it! Well, the ones I had left, anyway. You can join me tomorrow morning to learn the rest, if you want.

[withagun]

[ The sort of boy who learns by doing, Hodaka definitely makes a few mistakes, but Joy's narration does help. He doesn't let out a single apology, instead keeping his mouth firmly shut as he listens and watches and does, focusing, concentrating. A few quiet noises of affirmation slip out, however, to confirm he's listening.

Joy's been nice to him, after all. Especially when she didn't have to...and it doesn't feel like she's patronizing him, or placating him. So, he's grateful. Hodaka wants to show that he's grateful.

Overall? He does fine. A step behind Joy until the final exercise, he almost bumps into her a few times, particularly whenever his arms extend toward her. But when they finish, he seems quite surprised. ]

Oh. Wow. You did say you were almost done, after all, I just didn't realize... [ Not important. Shh. ] Thank you, Joy-san. I...actually really liked that.

[allatonce]

No problem, dìdi.

[She feels like maybe she should ruffle his hair, tell him he did a good job, but that feels... weird. She doesn't have any actual siblings, just the kids her same age that also got forced to the community center all the time, but that's something people do, right? Still, maybe he's super traditional and weird about touching or something.]

There's about fifteen minutes before what we just did, but honestly even just doing what we just did is good. Sometimes I just do one or two exercises.

[withagun]

[ For a moment, Hodaka bristles, mostly because he doesn't understand what Joy just said, and something nagging in the back of his mind says that grown ups don't respect him, don't listen to him, and he's got to protect himself.

But...Joy doesn't feel like other grown ups. Some of the adults here have actually been...kind of nice? More like Natsumi, and... Mm. That's something he'll have to unpack later. ]

They were, uh...kinda calming? I've never done something like that, before. And- you do it every morning? For a whole...almost twenty minutes?

[allatonce]

I try to. I used to have this... calling it a problem is probably underselling it, but something happened to me and then all of a sudden it was like I couldn't ever focus. I was everywhere, all at once, trying to do seventy million things and fucking them all up.

[She breathes out looking up at the ceiling briefly.]

Something about the repetitive motions, though... It helps, I guess.

[withagun]

That...sounds so hard. Like...impossible.

[ Even though he longed for something, anything to feel passionate about. To do. To feel like he could wake up and breathe, despite the absences. Like he was barely bobbing at the surface of a crowded city street. ]

It's less...that now, though?

[allatonce]

Yeah. It wasn't all exercise and breathing, though. I had to work on myself, like, a lot to get to this point.

[It's a journey! Having brainworms is a journey.]

[withagun]

[ That sounds even more impossible. Beyond impossible. But, Hodaka doesn't say that. ]

I...see, then... Wow. That sounds...really amazing, Joy-san. That you could do...all that.

[allatonce]

[It was, uh, necessary? But she's not about to tell him that.]

Think about it this way: if I can do it, then anyone can if they're willing to put a little work in.

[withagun]

[ It sounds amazing to him!! Nothing to it!!! ]

I guess...so. [ He doesn't sound completely convinced, though. So many other people he's met are more capable than he is. Instead of dwelling on that, he asks: ] What, um- that...thing you called me earlier, what...does that mean?

[allatonce]

Dìdi? It means "little brother," but we also use it for friends. Kind of like "bro" in English, I guess?

[She doesn't really know how to turn "Hodaka" into a nickname that's, like, culturally sensitive? So she went for something she's much more familiar with instead.]

[withagun]

[ He hears little brother and immediately thinks of Nagi. He's like Nagi?

His cheeks color, just slightly. ]

O-oh! Oh, ah... Thank you.

[ did he seriously just say thank you- ]

No, wait, I mean—

[allatonce]

[She just laughs and pats him on the shoulder.]

I got you, don't worry. Sometimes brains just make you say stuff,

[withagun]

That's a really accurate description. I'm using it.