Week 2

[bathymetric]

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

It's now been a week since you were all captured. Perhaps you've already settled in. Perhaps you're already confident that you'll make it out of New Rapture alive. How serious about this could Mayor Fontaine possibly be, really?

While there still may not be much to do in your little hotel bubble, you've at least been granted a little more now - some kind of mysterious room and a sizeable library of all things. And in all the places you've looked so far, you've found valuable information, and even learned some of the story of New Rapture along the way.

Make sure to keep talking to the others! You want to keep those regain coins flowing, don't you?




SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

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

Comments

[fuckingguy]

[ Well, there's one guy who's absolutely not going to be staying in the meeting room later today, and that one guy is Nandor the Relentless! After the motive has been made clear and he's run off to the sound of the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme, he disappears into his room in Suite 1 for the rest of the day. Inside that room, it's unclear whether or not he slumbers at all. But late at night he emerges back into the halls, and he starts what's kind of, sort of, a patrol. This mostly consists of him stomping from room to room with a dour expression and making sure nobody's asleep in the restaurant or something, and occasionally checking in on any fringe cases with an out-loud "are you slumbering?" But as excited as Nandor usually is to assert his authority obnoxiously onto others, his heart simply isn't in it tonight. He, too, is tired. He's tired, and he's hungry, and the fate of all vampirekind is on his shoulders again.

While he mostly avoids the second floor, including the library, he does briefly visit to peek into the meeting room. Given the state of all our collective toplevels, he sees at least one person inside, frowns, and quietly closes the door again. Under his breath: ]

Eesh.

[ He does rounds of the pool and the garden repeatedly, then lingers in the hall of the founders, staring down the blocked-off areas like he's thinking about trying the doors, before returning to the garden in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Once he's certain he's alone there, he settles down on a patch of grass and stares up at the nonexistent sky — and there he stays, still and silent, until well after "sunrise." ]

garden morning

[specialyellthing]

... You alive? [She'd normally nudge a body with her boot, but after he "left the oven on", she's erring on the side of caution.]

[fuckingguy]

For now.

[ He says, like the petulant fuck he is! Nandor stays motionless a few more seconds, then tilts his head up to look in the direction of Zinda's voice. ]

Hi. [ He looks as tired as he feels. From the "hi" on, his voice has gone both awkward and weak. ] Zinda... I must apologize for hissing directly in your face like that. It was very rude, and also probably a bit gross. The thing is, I was just...

[ You would think... he would have come up with literally any excuse for his behavior in the last 20-odd hours... okay, that's a lie, this is Nandor and nobody expects anything from him! The point being: ]

... no, I've got nothing.

[specialyellthing]

It was pretty rude. And a lil gross.

[… He seems pretty tame now, so she approaches closer, and nudges his side with her boot.]

Not too bad. I’ve seen grosser. I shouldn’t said that about your—— he does look pretty rough!

You get the oven off?

[fuckingguy]

Yes. The swamp gas will not kill us all today.

[ Very unclear what Nandor thinks powers an oven!! He passively accepts the nudge like the dead body he technically is, his face still grim and humorless. ]

Unfortunately, there are now much worse dangers looming on the horizon. Gonna be a rough week coming up. And... I must admit, I have not been completely honest with you all either. If we survive this, I think I am gonna have to 'fess up to some real dark shit.

[ Like, technically he hasn't lied to Zinda except by omission? Exclusively because he thought she was hot and not a bog standard human being? But in general! ]

... Oh, but do not trouble yourself about the Sire. He has a pretty good sense of humor about looking the way he does.

[specialyellthing]

[Zinda isn’t sure what to think about the whole swamp gas comment, but it makes her laugh, so it doesn’t hurt.

She nudges his sad Nandor corpse with her boot one more time, then sits down on the ground by him, allowing him a polite amount of distance as she follows his gaze upward.]

That’s good at least. I wouldn’ wanna insult your pops, even if he looks like that.

It might be easier if you start fessin’ up now. I don’t intend on dying. And I’ve seen some pretty dark shit myself.

[visiblepattern]

[Forrest slips out of the meeting room shortly after Nandor looks in; it's been a mess in there today.]

Nandor. Do you mind if I accompany you for a short while?

[He seems a bit more put-together now, a bit less...generally hating everything. Much calmer.]

[fuckingguy]

Do as you like. [ That's the automatic, more rude response. He tempers it a little on the followup. ] All things considered... you should not be out there alone.

[ Oh, that's a hilarious joke. Nandor continues walking in silence, headed for the library; yes, Gaius said he'd take it, but he can't just let it lie without checking at least once. ]

Especially now that you seem less inclined to murder. [ He just says it?? ] No offense.

[visiblepattern]

I'm aware that I'm an easy target, it's all right. I've been aware of that since we got here.

[It isn't angry or anything; it just is what it is.]

...I just wanted to see how you were faring. After all of that.

[fuckingguy]

......... That's not necessary.

[ And yet, he simply keeps talking! ]

Forrest. What does it entail, being the prince of Norm?

[visiblepattern]

My father would prefer that I'm kept a secret; he seems to hate me. So if I have any official duties, I certainly don't know what they are. Participate in the war against Hoshido, I suppose. Take the throne if everyone else dies. I was fourth in line before the war.

(outside the) meeting room

[giddyundertaker]

[ Ah. He was sure no one was in the meeting room at this hour. He would have gone in and tried to listen in on the hostages.

But if Nandor poked his head in for a second and reacted like that... ]

Someone else already in there, I presume?

[fuckingguy]

[ Still lowtalking: ]

It's like, ten fucking guys in there.

[giddyundertaker]

[ Shakes his head. Also low talking now. ]

Tsk, tsk, tsk... Poor things. That Fontaine bloke certainly has people worked up now.

[fuckingguy]

Obviously.

[ His voice is tight in a way it wasn't before, if not overtly emotional. ]

Are you saying you are not? Because really, that is just saying you have no friends, which is quite sad for you.

[giddyundertaker]

[ Wow, thanks for being blunt. But he can see what made you think that. ]

Oh, about that... [ How does he explain. ] I didn't see anyone I was too worried about in there. Either he kidnapped the wrong bloke to unsettle me or he couldn't find the person I would kill to protect...

[ He doesn't wanna explain his hostage, but that does sound bad doesn't it? He quickly tacks on further explanation. ] Young Earl Phantomhive surrounds himself with dangerous people, you see. Staff and friends. If Fontaine wanted to get at him, he'd have to go through them.

[ Also, Ciel is like... 13. This isn't the murdergame for 13 year olds. ]

garden night

[inaclearing]

I'm awake.

[It was a fair question, though. Brett's lying stretched out on his back in the grass, staring up at the motion of the water above. Eyes still open, but it's dark enough that it's probably hard to tell.]

Don't worry, I won't fall asleep here. [He doesn't really want to sit up; he just cranes his neck back a little.] You're keeping an eye out?

[fuckingguy]

You could say that. [ Yeah, you could say that! Because that is exactly what he's doing! ] It is in all of our interest that nobody commences a slumber outside of the designated areas, and Gaius has stated that he will take the library, so.

... We have not actually spoken before this, have we. It is... Brett? Brent?

[inaclearing]

Brett. Unless you ask Misfire.

[You're not the first person around here to "Brent" him! But that's pretty minor, on the list of Brett's current concerns.]

I guess we haven't. Sorry about that. [Not that it's all on him, but it is a little odd.]

[fuckingguy]

Eh, these things happen. [ And they especially happen when you're as self-absorbed as Nandor, who has yet to speak to... god, five whole people even with Brett crossed off the list! It's debatable whether or not he knows Vholran exists! ] So... how are you holding up?

[inaclearing]

I'm okay.

[A rote answer. It comes too quickly to be much else.]

I mean...Peregrine's very capable. She'll be okay.

[In that room? If they do all get sent off to their own murder hotel? Unclear!]

hall of founders

[sixthnonsense]

[Hagakure's in here when Nandor enters, staring at the warped silhouette of the city beyond their little sphere.

He nearly jumps out of his skin when he realizes he's not alone and that it's Nandor's imposing figure.]

Oh fu--!

[He didn't think someone would act this quickly! And Nandor didn't seem like such a bad guy, but incentives will bring out other sides of people--!

He uh. He might need some talking down here.]

[fuckingguy]

Shit—

[ Turns out he's not the only one who's taken a hot second to realize he's not alone here! How did Nandor miss a man who's conservatively, like, 6'6 if you consider the hair? The answer will reveal itself to the reader who thinks about his personality for any longer than three seconds.

He rears back a bit, then rounds on Hagakure angrily for the crime of making him scared for five seconds. ]

Hey! You trying to scare the shit out of people, waiting around in the dark like that? I thought you were just a really big spider!

[sixthnonsense]

[Ah. They both need some talking down, it seems.

Hagakure throws his hands up defensively as he presses himself back up against the window.]

Like you can talk! I thought you were sneaking up on me!!

[But that doesn't seem to be the case if he also took Nandor by surprise, so he takes a deep breath.]

Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was just lookin' out the window and tryin' to chill, that's all.

[fuckingguy]

Eh, sneaking up, [ he scoffs, like an unreasonable asshole. ] You cannot do that to someone you don't know is there!

[ But they are, at least, not having a stress-induced accidental-on-purpose murder right now, so he must be calming down! Nandor's glower dies down, though he continues to look stormy, and he casts a glance at the window before asking, in a much more normal voice: ]

... Was it working?