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

[hotpaprika]

[The moment Carmen mentioned friends coming, he kept a close eye on every single person coming in. There was one person he desperately wanted to see after so long. The woman who has been on his mind every day since he left England.

And then he catches a glimpse of her and he is frozenby her beauty. He could never forget how Mina looks, but seeing her in person again after so long was simply stunning.]

Mina?

[And then he breaks into a run, going straight at her, crying tears of pure joy.]

Mina, my beloved!

[mansbrain]

[She knows that voice. She knows it before she even begins to turn, the expression of awe already there.]

Jonathan?

[She forgets herself. It hasn’t been terribly long, but it has been a while—- and last week had been so stressful, being kidnapped and held hostage—- and it’s Jonathan. She can’t help but forget herself, running to meet him—- to reach and touch his tears.]

Why are you—- what is the matter? Are you hurt?

[hotpaprika]

[He pulls Mina into an embrace, tender yet desperate. He feels her hair, smells her perfume, taking in every part of Mina that he feared that he would never see again.]

I... I will be fine now, now that I'm with you. Dear God it's been so long...!

[mansbrain]

Jonathan—- [He pulls her in, and she does not resist, even though she can feel her cheeks burning at such a simple embrace. She embraces him in return, squeezing him tightly, hoping to help ease the frenzy he’s experiencing.]

Yes. It’s alright, I’m here.

[hotpaprika]

You are! Oh thank God you're here.

[He stays like this for a long while, savoring the embrace. But eventually, gingerly, he parts the hug slightly, so he can look Mina in the eye, his expression turning serious.]

My beloved, I do not wish to to frighten you, but I have been through the most harrowing journey. I had been held captive by a horrible woman who made us do unspeakable things. Every day I feared that I would never see you again.

[mansbrain]

[When they part, she lowers her arms, but keeps one hand on his wrist, tethering then together. Even this much contact is scandal—- but he’s worth it. Worth the glow in her cheeks, worth the way her heart races.]

That awful woman—- she took me, too. It’s been… a very long few days.

But I’m here now. You don’t need to fear her, or worry about never seeing me again. Or—- Oh!

Oh, no, Jonathan! Your trip—-

[hotpaprika]

Oh, Mina! I saw when you were abducted by that witch! She was using you all as ransom, saying that you would duffer the fate I've been through in exchange for-

[He stops himself short. No... he can't let her know the nature of the murdergames yet, it would be too much for her.

And anyway the mention of his trip makes him frown in deep concern, his voice going low.]

My dear Mina, I'm afraid I have dreadful news about my trip. My client... Count Dracula... Oh dear God Mina he is a pure monster! He held me captive inside his castle at his mercy. He... he made me write you and Mr. Hawkins false letters pretending that I was alright and that I would be heading home safely. Mina, I think he wanted to...

[He can't finish that statement. Would Mina even believe him if he said that he was kidnapped by a vampire? Would he think he was crazy? Lying? Pathetic? He couldn't bear to say anything.]

[mansbrain]

Oh—- Jonathan—- [She doesn’t press him to say anything more. Instead, she draws him close again, so that he might rest his head against her.]

But you’re safe now. You’re here, with me. You don’t need to suffer any terrible fate.

[hotpaprika]

I know Mina... I'm so happy...

[Jonathan rests his head on Mina's for a long while, momentarily blissful. He could stay like this forever if he could and be perfectly happy.

But, eventually, a pang of guilt and dread seeps into his heart, growing more and more. He parts the hug once more, this time moving to hold her hands.]

Mina I... I have a few things I need to tell you. The news is... not ones you want to hear, I am afraid, and I will not blame you if you scorn me for it.

[mansbrain]

[His expression makes her worry, and her brows furrow slightly as she grips his hands tighter.]

You know I could never. You can tell me anything. Please.

[hotpaprika]

[Jonathan exhales. This is going to be painful but he had to tell this for her sake.]

Mina while... while I was held captive, I met this man. This wonderful, kind man who I felt completely safe around despite all the horrors I have witnessed.

I... I fell in love with him, Mina. I have held hands with him, we have gone on outings together, and we've even slept in the same bed.

[He admits this as if this was the most horrible secret. He's practically shaking now.]

I understand if you think of me as a pervert, and that you cannot bear to look at me, but I promise you that I never once stopped thinking about you. I love you with my whole heart despite this terrible secret. You were the reason why I kept pushing on.

[mansbrain]

[Mina’s heart twists as Jonathan tells her all of this— but not in the ways he thinks it might. Her frown doesn’t budge, nor her hands, which are gripping his with what must now be almost painful force.

She feels terrible that he’s been through so many horrors. And… while she does feel some anxiety as he tells her that he’s fallen in love, she also feels relief.

She’s relieved. That he didn’t have to face it alone. That he had someone to ease his suffering, even if it aches that it wasn’t her that could do so.]

It sounds like I owe this man a great debt.

[hotpaprika]

[His eyes widen at the response. His Mina was always so understanding, but he was worried that this would have broken a boundary, having done all of this while she was blissfully unaware.]

You... you do not despise me for what I have done?

[mansbrain]

[Her answer comes quick , with another squeeze of his hands.]

I could never despise you. I’m only sorry, that I could not be by your side, to offer you the support that you needed. I’m so grateful you had someone who could.

[hotpaprika]

[At that, Jonathan's eyes brighten, and for the first time in months, looks absolutely giddy.]

Oh, Mina, you're so wonderful and understanding! And please, I missed you every day I was there, but I would never ask you to endure the trials of that place, I'm plenty happy now that we're together now.

[His smile faulters quickly as the other thing that he needed to tell Mina pop into his mind. It was less... Scandalous, he supposed, but how do you break to your fiancée...?]

Ah... yes, I suppose there is one other thing I should tell you...

[He gently looks away.]

[mansbrain]

[And she smiles back at him—- a beautiful, bright natural smile that is reserved for just him okay, and lucy. She realizes how long they’ve been holding hands, and releases them—— but moves one hand to boldly touch his arm.]

Tell me. Let there be no secrets between us.

[hotpaprika]

[He exhales, nodding. She's right, there needs to be no secrets between the two, even if...

He exhales, voice going low again, more somber than scared.]

My dearest, something tragic happened to me during my kidnapping. There was someone I trusted dearly who betrayed my trust and... she poisoned me. I perished during that experience.

[He grips her hands tightly, partially for himself and partially to remind Mina that he is still standing in front of her.]

I am here now, I promise that I am not a mere spectre. I am here and alive. I was able to be ressurected almost immediately after my death, but the way they had to do this they had to alter me and...

MIna, I'm afraid I am part slug now.

[mansbrain]

[Okay, that is—- absurd, and quite frankly, a lot to take in. She takes a deep breath.]

But you’re here, and alive. That’s—- the important.

Who—— how?

No, no, I’m sorry. You don’t need to tell me now. You can tell me later, in private.

[hotpaprika]

It is quite a long story, once that I will have plenty of time you in the future.

[He smiles again, warmly.]

But for now? We must savor each other. It has been so many months since I've last been able to hold you.

[mansbrain]

[She smiles finally, her posture relaxing just so, though she does drop their held hands.]

And even though it wasn’t nearly as many for me, I still—- but Jonathan. Remember, we mustn’t be too familiar, we still aren’t married—- [evesdroppers probably think she’s insinuating way more than she is but she’s just victorian]