there's always a lighthouse. there's always a beach party.

[wheremst]

[ 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. ]

Comments

[inaclearing]

[This is sort of nice, actually? Brett spends a while just sitting on the sand, closer to the ocean than the bonfire, but not near enough to get his feet wet. He's staring out at the sea, but doesn't mind being approached; to anyone from R3, who he expects to see, he just comments idly:]

It's been years since I last saw the ocean. From the top, at least. I always forget how big it is.

[Any canonmates will probably receive a bit more alarm! Carmen did mention it and all, but he probably made some kind of vague noises about how they shouldn't go to the trouble earlier and now he's not really expecting anyone. Mostly he just didn't want them to get sucked through dimensions for no reason. Like, his world doesn't have that, that's freaky.

Later on, he gets up and starts walking down the shore. This time, he leaves his shoes and socks behind to get his feet wet a little. If you catch him before he gets too far away, he'll probably invite you along - and anyway, he'll be back before too long.]

[pairtner]

Looking at it from the top, it's hard to imagine we once were down at the bottom.

[The last two months will feel like they happened an eternity ago, and that's how it should be]

[inaclearing]

Yeah, it is.

[A momentary pause, as he looks sidelong down at her.]

...so you really don't remember any of that?

[pairtner]

For a while, I didn't. Only once it was over, Rossiu brought me the backup of my memories I had created, and...

[......]

...and now I remember everything. The good and the bad. I'm sorry about my actions, Brett. What I did can only be qualified as a betrayal, regarding of the reason.

[Truthfully in the graveyard once she was informed of the situation she spent all the time thinking someone had killed her, not that she had been a culprit. Now that she knows the truth, she's so filled with guilt she's not sure how to handle it]

[inaclearing]

[Brett winces a little.]

Yeah, well, I didn't help. I'm sorry for what I said to you about the other dimensions and all that. I - I guess I thought it was helping.

[He hadn't really realized she would take it so badly even if it was another universe.]

[pairtner]

Place all blame on me. Your words...I should have taken them better. I should have listened and truly taken them to heart. Perhaps if I had been in a better state, I...

[...she wouldn't have gone and killed someone. Maybe in a different dimension, Brett's words calmed Aiba down. She wants to believe there's one or more than one like that out there]

Despite everything, I do am glad you did not perish. Well done for hanging there all the way to the end.

[touchofthesun]

[Brett doesn't get the luxury of moodily sitting and staring off into the ocean alone for long.

Illuminated in shadow by one of the bonfires is a man who's dressed more like he should be on a mountain nature trail than on a beach. Khaki shorts, heavy hiking boots, a backpack he's already dropped into the sand...and an olive green camera bag slung over his shoulder. The camera bag bounces against his hip as he books it in Brett's direction.

It's probably the fastest Brett has ever seen his husband run.]

[inaclearing]

[It's the motion in the corner of his eye that catches his attention: there's not a ton of running happening otherwise, after all. Then there's a moment where he doesn't really react at all, just sits there in shock. He hadn't expected this. For most of the past two months, he never really expected to see him again at all.]

Holy shit - Luca?

[Now he starts trying to scramble to his feet.]

[touchofthesun]

Brett, oh my god!

[It's not easy running across soft sand in hiking boots but that's not going to stop Luca from reaching Brett. At this point nothing short of a second kidnapping to the bottom of the ocean even had the potential to.

He can't even wait for Brett to fully climb to his feet before he's throwing his arms around him and pressing his face into his neck with a shaky exhale. A million questions are rushing through his mind and have been from the first unanswered phone call to the moment before spotting his missing husband on a lighthouse beach...but all of them can wait, just a minute.]

You're safe, holy shit, you're safe.

[inaclearing]

[Brett, especially when being held close like this, has fairly obviously lost some weight. He's also trembling almost immediately; he clings to Luca, fingers curling into the back of his coat to keep his hands steady.]

Oh - oh my god, you're actually here.

[He's safe.

Brett sucks in one shaky breath, and another too quickly on its heels - and fuck, shit, now he's crying in front of everyone, he made it two months without doing this shit - he presses his face down into Luca's hair and squeezes him tighter.]

[touchofthesun]

[The knot of fear and anxiety that had already been sitting in the pit of Luca's stomach for weeks tightens another notch as soon as he feels even the slightest difference in how his husband feels in his arms. He wants to know what happened, where he's been, who hurt him-

But Brett doesn't need to get worked up over all that right now and neither does Luca. Answers will come when they come but in the moment all Luca wants to do is make the man he loves know he's safe.]

Oh, baby- [He pulls back just enough to cup Brett's face in his hands and look at him, the purple shadows under his eyes clear as day behind his glasses even in the dim lighting.] We didn't stop looking for you. [He presses an urgent kiss to his forehead, to his brow, his cheek- like if he stops touching him for even a second he's going to disappear all over again.]

Not for a second.

walking

[visiblepattern]

[Forrest will catch up to Brett fairly easily; he's been meaning to say a couple of things to him, things have just been busy, and...well.]

Brett, do you have a moment?

[inaclearing]

Oh - yeah, of course. I'm not leaving. Just thought it'd be nice to walk a little. I don't get to visit the coast too often.

[The beach is only so long anyway, in this little cove.]

[visiblepattern]

I don't either, really... It's a nice place.

[Now that they're not looking at it from underneath, anyway.]

I wanted to tell you that I thought about what you said. About being happy, and not just being useful to people.

[inaclearing]

Nicest one I've ever been to.

[Ah, but that's just small talk. Brett keeps his hands in his pockets, turning to look at Forrest as he talks. His tone's careful, when he responds: of course he knows that Forrest's family is back now, or at least will be, which is great! And they may be able to win the war now? Despite all that...he can't help but worry.]

Yeah?

[visiblepattern]

I don't think I can...handle. Going immediately back to war. Not after all of this.

[He's quiet for a moment. Breathe.]

I do want to go back eventually. But I can't right now. So I'm going to talk to my parents about it, and then I'm going back with Adaman for a while. With Midori, if she's willing to come.

Just until I can get my head back on straight.

sand

[myceelium]

How interesting. There's no denying that the ocean is quite vast, but it is the same on land as well. At least for me.

[ After all, Jade's only been on land for little over a year or two. There are still so many places to explore above sea level for him. ]

Perhaps the world isn't as small as some songs seem to think.

[ Especially if you count the multiverse. ]

[inaclearing]

Definitely doesn't seem to be now.

[yeah.....the multiverse......]

Hey, you're Floyd's brother, right?

[myceelium]

That I am. I'm Jade- it's a pleasure to meet you.

[ Jade does a polite bow in greeting. He's definitely more... put together than Floyd in some aspects. Absolutely pristine clothes, no hair out of place, and his smiles are careful to hide his sharp teeth, as opposed to his twin who shows them off. ]

I'm assuming you were in the same group as him, then?

[inaclearing]

I'm Brett.

[He shifts as if to offer a hand, but then Jade's bowing...he just nods, he guesses? He's still in his nice embroidered jacket from Forrest, but he feels kinda underdressed in front of this dude.]

Yeah, I was. Floyd's great. I mean - not to say I'm glad he was kidnapped too, but I think he was the only person keeping us going towards the end there.

[myceelium]

[ Don't worry Brett- you haven't seen how dressed-up Riddle is yet.

He does let out a chuckle at that. ]

I understand what you mean. He's certainly unpredictable at times- it keeps things light and entertaining.

Sand

[kninja]

Brett! Breeeetttttt!

[Obi's familiar dark shape and a newer, smaller one detach from the crowd nearer the fire and scamper in his direction. Once they draw close enough, the figure with Obi resolves into an honest-looking young woman about his age, and his expression proves gleeful in a way he never quite managed while they were captive.

He reaches Brett not even a little out of breath, while the woman seems to need a moment.]

Brett, remember when I was telling you about My Lady? [Obi beams.] I gotta introduce you!

[inaclearing]

Oh, wow, yeah!

[Brett rises to his feet as he sees them coming, and grins once he realizes who this is. He automatically starts to offer his hand, wavers as he realizes he does not know the protocol here, and ends up just sort of standing there.]

Uh - I'm Brett Riebach, it's great to meet you!

[redmedies]

[Having regained her wind, the woman lifts her head, smiles brightly at Brett, and sticks her own hand out to shake.]

I'm Shirayuki, a court herbalist. It's great to meet you, too, Mr. Riebach. Obi didn't cause you too much trouble, did he?

[From the way Obi just grins at her, it's clear he understands she's kidding. It's also clear he thinks she hung the moon.]

[inaclearing]

Oh, no, he was great! Taught me a little self-defense, even.

[Not all that much bc he died three weeks in but hahaha don't worry about it]