Week 3

[bathymetric]

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

It's a strange sort of feeling, waking up on Sunday. Not the least because, well... you fell asleep on Friday, didn't you? Whether you sleep or not, none of you remember Saturday. Everything, by all accounts, seems to be Sunday. Weird.

It's not all bizarre feelings of lost time that you have to show for your efforts, though - it seems that another wing of New Rapture is ready for you. Perhaps there's more information to be found about your situation there... and maybe more about the history of this place, if that interests you.

There are still 23 of you left... Keep getting to know them. There's regains to get, after all!




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, post your ac, and you can reach either Mayor Fontaine or Eleanor for conversations! ]

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TUESDAY

[bathymetric]

MOTIVE: Our choices make us.

[bathymetric]

[ Another Tuesday in New Rapture. You can hope it isn’t like the last, but… we know better than that, don’t we, players?

The same female voice that typically predates announcements from Mayor Fontaine speaks up, bright and early: ]

Good morning, New Rapture! All citizens please gather in the Meeting Room in thirty minutes for your weekly announcement!

[ When you reach the Meeting Room, the glass wall that separates you from the spare room has returned to acting as a mirror, which might be a blessing! But when the last of you files in, the screens click on to the familiar silhouette of Mayor Fontaine seated at his desk. ]

So. It seems like last week I came on a little strong. So this week, let’s not bring anyone else into the equation. Let’s talk about you.

[ Images flash across the screens - each of you, citizens of New Rapture, back home. The progression is too quick to catch much beyond the fact that it’s definitely you, and definitely accurate. ]

You all have… mistakes you’ve made. Everyone wishes they could do something over again. Most schmucks don’t get to. You know, because they ain’t got a machine that can access any point in time or space around. Fortunately, I do.

This week, you get a carrot instead of the stick: end this exercise and I’ll send you back before I brought you in so you can get a redo on something. No limitations. And don’t worry, I’ll help you remember.

[ And, as the screens click off, that seems to be that! What a welcome change from last week! Or… it would be. For the rest of the week, at random intervals, characters’ personal radios will broadcast an audio recording of the exact moment the character wishes they could do again. And, if they tune it, while trying to fix it? They’ll find a channel playing a tinny recording of an alternate version that goes better. ]

[hotpaprika]

[Unlike last week, Jonathan doesn't get angry at this motive reveal. But the words ring in his head as he thinks hard about the motive presented towards them.

It is quite obvious what Jonathan would use his motive for, even without the radio.]

[inaclearing]

[Brett was pale and sort of visibly terrified when we all filed in here, but after that announcement, he seems...almost a little more steady.]

You can't always know what the right choice would be. I don't...really know how I could have changed anything.

[There's times he could have acted differently. What if - like - but what could he have done?]

[fuckingguy]

Okay...?

[ Without the progenitor of all vampires directly in front of him, he's not really inclined to look for the bigger picture here! ]

Toning it down a bit this week.

[dullshooter]

Started with a bang and now we've got this? You're letting us down, Fontie.

['Fontie'.]

[honeyedtea]

. . . A redo?

[ Mielle's oddly quiet. She'd been riled up at tense as they'd marched in here, but now she's unsettlingly... blank. It's not an option, of course. She can't let herself consider it.

But–

Could she really do it over? Could she really go back... and do it all over again? ]

[buriedstar]

[ Seo Dawon actually laughs at this, folding his arms over his chest. ]

Time's one thing, authority's another. Thanks for reminding me of him though, I was starting to worry I might forget without seeing his face plastered on TV 24/7~.

[bootyhunter]

[As tempting as it is, especially considering the point he had been pulled from, Dandy simply frowns in response to Fontaine's little announcement.]

I'm good.

[His voice is low, and the statement isn't uttered to anyone in particular.]

[onemillion]

[A chance to redo something... Of course he knows exactly what Fontaine is referring to. But it isn't worth considering, and Rossiu shakes his head as he leaves. He says nothing, and returns to his room.]

[specialyellthing]

[Zinda looks dismayed—- she’s not tempted, but it’s a pretty good offer.]

Don’t go playin with the multiverse. Ain’t a good idea at all.

[capreelcious]

I'm good, but thanks, Water Fountain guy.

[ Floyd Leech simply smiles, looks around the room at everyone's reactions, and starts to get up. ]

Well, if that's it, I'm gonna go get food. Anyone want breakfast~?

[sastruga]

Mistakes...?

[Mafuyu's quiet, but more thoughtful than affected, it seems. She's considering, really, what mistake she would even correct. Is there something she regrets so much that she would change it?

Would that really even make any difference? She's having trouble imagining the result, right now.]

...I'm alright.

[There's no way this would do anything for her.]

[kninja]

Ugggghhhh.

[He got up for this?]

I’m going back to bed.

[allatonce]

[Joy laughs. Like she's just heard something really, really funny.]

Do you really think I didn't already try that, Fontaine? All that happened is I made a new timeline where things were slightly better. It didn't fix anything.

[Surprise! You still have all the trauma of the first time when you fuck around with stuff like that.]

[vholran]

[ ...dear lord, the recording would sure be something unpleasant. But music to his ears. Just like last week there is undeniably an appearance of amusement, though a lack of something manic. ]

Entertaining. But that is all it is.

[ He wonders if it is really so believable with the recording. If he can obtain this, what other powers does this coward hold? ]

[giddyundertaker]

[ . . . The Undertaker scoffs at this. ]

And how, pray tell, are you planning to do this? The last threat was more believable.

[howveryglib]

[…There’s a lot he can think about that counts here. He has. Quite a few.

…]

What has happened has happened.

[…he mutters it like he’s trying to convince himself as he leaves the room.]

[prompocalypse]

[Penelope stares ahead, her face carefully blank. Her lips curl into a bitter smile.]

Oh please, like how those were totally our loved ones. This is just another hoax.

[It has to be, really.

Although, seemingly in response, her radio chimes to life, and her voice can be heard, just faintly...

"...fucking know that, Sam. Now, we ... to talk about what happens next."

And then another, smaller voice. Not hers. Someone else. A girl, and Penelope's expression notably hardens at the sound.

"This ... to do with ... trying to control me! ...fucking belong to you, Penelope."

She grimaces slightly and rolls her eyes in irritation, but otherwise just turns on her heel and leaves.]

[specialyellthing]

[After the motive, Zinda spends most of the day in the ice cream parlor, drowning her worries in root beer floats.

She has a bad feeling about this one. Last week, she felt confident they could work their way out of this easily. But this week? She has the unfortunate feeling of the inevitability of their circumstances.

She’s busy doodling some diagram on a napkin, here, but she’ll look up for anyone that enters and flash them a bright smile.]

You want some scoops, take your mind off things?

[kninja]

"Scoops?"

[On the one hand, Obi doesn't look overly stressed about the motive. On the other hand, he also very clearly has no idea what she's talking about, and that's a tragedy.]

[sastruga]

[Mafuyu goes about her usual daily routine, after they get their newest motive. A stop by the gym for some exercise, studying in the library, stopping to eat a couple times... Nothing really worth mentioning, for most of the day.

Most of the day.

At night? Well, it's very late, for one. Mafuyu's out from 1 AM to... well, when there should be dawn, not that one can see the sun rising underwater. And anyone out in the library at these hours, might hear some... voices. Is that... Mafuyu?]

"I want to become a nurse so I can help people who are sick."

[...it sounds like her, but not quite. The sound is a little fuzzier. It's coming from a radio, after all. There's other voices speaking up, too, sounding older.]

"Is that so... But if you really want to help those who are sick, there are even better jobs than that, you know."

"Huh?"

"Being a nurse is wonderful, but if you're going to get into medicine, why not become a doctor instead?"

"But I--"

"That's right. You'd make a great do͉̮̣̳̗̣͟͞c̵̷͖͕̰̙̬͎͘t҉͓̪o▒▒▒▓⎯⎯⎯"

[There's static, as Mafuyu tunes her radio, though the sound comes back just enough to hear the end of whatever conversation this is.]

"Thank you for always thinking about me, mom, dad. I'll do my best..."

[...Even with the sound guiding you, it might be hard finding Mafuyu right away. She's actually underneath a table, holding the radio close to her, listening carefully. You might catch this part of what she's listening to. Or, if you're coming in later, you may hear the conversation going differently.]

"Being a nurse is wonderful, but if you're going to get into medicine, why not become a doctor instead?"

"I'm sorry... But I've already decided. I know what I want to be--"

[Static. She tunes the radio.]

"I'm sorry... But I've already decided. I know what I want to be--"

[Static again.]

"I'm sorry... But I've already decided--"

[Once more--]

"Just leave me alone."

[...She tunes it again. It doesn't seem she's noticed she isn't alone. Has she just been listening this whole time?]

[inaclearing]

[As on a lot of mornings nowadays, Brett can be found in the gym first thing in the morning. He's never been much of a gym rat, but it's Tuesday - he's nervous, and looking to burn off some of that energy. If anyone comes in, he'll pause to ask:]

Do you think anything's going to happen today?

[And, of course, it does.

It doesn't seem so bad, this time. Brett's got his regrets. Who doesn't? But he can't quite point to any singular point in time - anything he wishes he'd done and didn't. If anything, there's too many moments where he didn't act at all, because he didn't know what he ought to do then and doesn't know what he ought to have done now. Hard to say if he'd make things better or worse.

In the afternoon, Brett's sitting out on the patio, writing again. He's often writing one thing or another - but he stops abruptly as his personal radio kicks on. There's several moments he might have expected this to be. It's none of them. It's playing what sounds like a mundane conversation between two people, a man and a woman. There's a rushing sound, and something like the patter of raindrops. It sounds like nothing: an ordinary moment.

But Brett's face has gone sheet-white. After a moment of clear shock, he picks up the radio and flings it with an uncharacteristic force. It bounces off the wall of the ice cream parlor, clicking off again. Before it does, it makes a sound like the screeching of metal, and someone screams.

Brett stays in his seat. He's dropped his pen, both hands covering his mouth now. He's trembling.

At some point after all of that, he retreats into the ice cream parlor and makes himself a sundae. It's large and elaborate, and frankly seems like something a child would eat: something an adult couldn't stomach. Indeed, Brett's only poking at it with a spoon, humming along to the song playing on the jukebox.]

Mid finger injury squick in the evening prompt

[honeyedtea]

[ After the motive announcement, Mielle spends most of the day in a daze. She was already running on fumes as it is, but now she's just floating around the place listlessly like a ghost.

She stops off in the library to begin with, in hopes of finding a book to occupy her time with. She's got a pretty chunky stack of them piled up beside her - she'd been pecking at fiction the last few weeks but now she seems to have gone back to the comfort of history books from her own world. Not that it's doing much to comfort her - though she seems deep in her book, she immediately jumps out of her skin (and halfway out of her chair) once she hears someone approach. ]

I-I was just-! [ And then upon realising she's not about to be murderized, she slumps a little, her face flushing. ]... My apologies. I shouldn't be causing a scene in the library of all places...

[ Looks like books are a little too passive to really distract her, so in the afternoon, she sets out for the craft store and sets herself down with a project. She'd been running out of the supplies they'd gotten for the party but with a shop this big, she can start on a real project. She can be found here all afternoon, carefully pulling colourful stitches through a square of cloth and embroidering a simple but elegant sort of design. If her stitches aren't quite as smooth as last week and her hands are a little shaky... that's probably understandable. But the embroidery seems to going a ways to calming her down.

... At least until evening comes around. She'd brought her radio along to have some music quietly play as she worked but suddenly, cutting across another song, a young voice comes out of the speaker instead. ]

"M-my name is Aria... it's nice to meet you!"

[ Mielle jumps so violently that the needle slips out of her grasp and stabs into her finger. She barely even notices - she's staring at the radio like she's just heard the devil speaking out of it. Before she can jump to change it, she hears another voice coming out that makes her heart seize up in her chest. ]

"... I'm sorry. It is time for Miss Mielle's meal."

[ Emma. It's been so long since Mielle heard her voice, she'd almost forgotten what it sounded like. But hearing her like this, from this moment - it's more bitter than sweet, too much for her to bear. She furiously twists the radio dial to turn it to something, anything else but then a burst of static comes out that makes her snatch her hand away - no, it's a voice.

Her own voice. ]

"Please wait, Emma! ... It's nice to meet you too, Aria. Could the two of us... be friends?"

[ Even in the buzz of the radio static, Aria's delighted gasp is audible. ]

"Yes! Let's be friends, Mielle!"

[ Mielle stands there, frozen in place. She waits for the voices to continue but after a moment the radio returns to the gentle music from before. Mielle's face crumples and a hot sting of tears rises to her eyes, then streaks down her cheeks. She slumps against the table. ]

I already know what my mistake was, so why... Why show me this again?!

[prompocalypse]

[The radio cycles between a few options, and Penelope's hand wobbles from the emotional over-use that comes with this. It's late at night on tuesday and she's sat at the pool, her feet dangling in the water]

"Ooookay, I don't know what kind of werid shit you're into, sir, but can you please just like, leave me the fuck out of it?"

"Oh please, Ms Everpetal... you can drop the act any day now. I'm offering you a once in a lifetime opp-"

[Click. She tunes it again and it fades to static.]

"Have fun with your boyfriend, Sam. I hope you're really happy together."

"Like you'd know anything about love. Just leave me alone."

[Click.]

"Aelwyn Abernant... huh... I think I recognize that name. Hudol, right? Everyone knows you."

"Oh please, flattery will get you everywhere, my dear. Shall we move on to business? I believe I can provide a service you find yourself desperately need..."

[Click.]

"...YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE THIS FROM ME?! MY-"

[CLICK. She changes that one particularly quickly. And then she changes it to another... a different one. A memory that isn't real.]

"I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, you know that, don't you? We can fix this, right?"

"Penny... Please just come home. You know I'll always love you. I promise."

[And it's then and only then that her expression shifts into a snarl. There's no melancholy to this moment. Only bitter and harsh reality staring her in the face.]

Do they think I'll fall for that saccharine bullshit? I'm not Sam.