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

[pairtner]

[Rossiu was very kind and brought back all the memories to her. When she remembered, she was so full of guilt and knew she had to apologize around.

And Forrest was...kind of procrastinated on that regard, mostly because, although she doesn't remember the trial, she does remember everything else, every conversation and how Forrest felt every time. She knows if there's someone who would take her actions badly, it was him.

But can't just not do this, and she knows it, so in the end...]

...Forrest.

[There she is, with him at the bonfire. For a moment she's quiet, until...]

Rossiu brought my memories back. I had made a backup containing everything, and now I have parsed everything...including my last week 'alive'.

I wanted to officially apologize for what I did. I assume I attempted to say something like that once I was caught, but that would never be enough. Which is why I wanted to apologize now. I'm sorry for having placed you all in any danger, and for...going against a lot of what we talked, and for any heartache I may have caused.

[Perhaps it was for the better she didn't remember right away in the graveyard. She'd have felt so guilty about committing murder she'd have isolated herself for a long while. Now she can recall it all, and is going to carry that guilt for the rest of her existence because she sure will refuse to let go of her own sins, yeah.

So part of atoning for them is apologizing to everyone, especially those she's sure would have felt the most wronged by them. That's what logically must happen, but that sure doesn't make it any easier]

[visiblepattern]

[Oh no, Aiba...]

I... I really appreciate that you've said all of this, Aiba. It did cause a lot of heartbreak; I was really mad at you for a long time.

But after a while, I just wanted you back. I missed you a lot; you were really important to me.

I meant what I said back in there; I still want to be friends with you. You still mean a lot. So I don't want that to end anytime soon.

[pairtner]

...when I met Misfire in the graveyard, he said I was missed. At the time I had found that hard to believe -- that I had mingled with people enough for them to not only know so much about me, but also enough to be missed.

Even now, I'm finding hard to believe I'm...someone who's going to be remembered, and not only because of the novelty of a fake eyeball moving and talking.

[It made her happy to know she was missed, in a bittersweet way]

I would have been surprised if you hadn't been mad. I know war is going to be difficult at home, which is why I wanted to offer that, if at any point you or anyone you know wish for a safe refuge, my doors are open. The world would be more advanced than you're used to, but it's generally safe.

[Aiba sure would pull as many strings as possible to give some pretty good accomodations to anyone in Round 3 if they ever visited her world, that's for sure.

Still, it's pretty obvious Aiba offers that as part of reparations. While she absolutely means it, it's as if she feels a mere apology isn't enough, and therefore something else needs to be done]

[visiblepattern]

I would like to visit you sometime, of course, but it would mainly be to see you. I would like to see what sort of world you come from - it must be incredible, if it can make people like you. And I'd like to meet your, ah...friend? Date. If possible.

[...]

Oh - did your memory files still have that dress on it? I know you used it on your projections before.

[pairtner]

I would like that. Once I inform him of everything that happened, he'll wonder what kind of people knew about me. He probably will invite you to his favorite bar to talk while he gets so drunk I have to call someone to get him home.

[Because of course, she's usually the one taking care of him, like a beleaguered assistant. Hah, but nah, Date instead probably would take Forrest to his favorite restaurant, given his age.

At the mention of the dress, Aiba looks down at the sand. She liked that dress so much...and it probably got crushed and discarded during her execution. Damn it...]

...I do. I still have it. I didn't think it'd be right to use it until I had talked to you, though...

[Because part of her felt like it was undeserved to wear something Forrest had made for her before making amends with him]

[visiblepattern]

Well, you can wear it whenever you want. And between this time and the next time that I see you, I'll make you another one. Like I said, I like making things like that for my friends.

[pairtner]

...you're so kind, Forrest. That even after what I did and everything you went through you're still willing to do this...

[Aiba tilts her head]

Rossiu, too. There was no need for him to keep my memories. Until today I hadn't truly grasped the capacity for forgiveness and acceptance humans truly have...

...I'm...I am glad to have met you all.

[Aiba sure learned a lot about humanity and about herself. In the end AIs are constantly evolving, and although she always had her heart in the right place, everything she went through strengthened her desire to be a good companion and a good assistant]

[visiblepattern]

I'm truly glad to have met you too. And I'm glad that you remember us now, even if the memories are hard. That's what it's like to be human too, you know? You can't just forget the hard times. Sometimes it's difficult, sometimes things hurt.

But you've got to decide what's worth it, and what's important to you. And you're important to me, and so are all the people here who made it through with us, and so are the ones that didn't. I just... I want everyone to be happy, or at least as happy as they can be, even if some things were hard to get through.

You're a good person, Aiba. Don't be too hard on yourself.

[pairtner]

[Aiba really is so close to being human, and only at times like these she realizes so. Forrest's words bring strange emotions to the forefront.

In the end, it all settles down, and leaves her with peace and calm. With a smirk, her leotard changes to the dress Forrest made for her]

...thank you.

[It's hard to put into words how grateful she is, really]

You will help lead everything to a good conclusion. I said it once before: I believe you know what you're doing, and now, I'm certain you'll succeed at anything you put your mind to.

I will be looking forward to hearing good news from you next time we meet.