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

[fuckingguy]

[ The throughline for Nandor, tonight, is that he's going to be completely and insistently insufferable. Like, yes, of course he felt a bit grumpy about not beheading Charlize Theron, but now he has a fiancée and a small horse on fire! And he has his powers again, after having gone through enough of a personal crisis to really appreciate them! The man is on cloud nine and experiencing an ecstatic state of happiness he objectively does not deserve. But when they all arrive at the beach... hey, where is Nandor? Did he get left behind? Bartholomew is still here (and carrying like half of his shit, rip), so he can't be too far away. There's a quiet chittering from above and maybe the sound of wings beating against the night air—

—yeah okay, he's materializing from bat form, because clearly he just wanted to show off. Practically speaking, this looks like Nandor just poofs into existence further away from the group and closer to the surf. ]

Yes, yes, yes! [ He pumps his arms in the air, grinning out at the ocean. ] We are back, baby!

[ When he's not grinning like a big dumb idiot or showing off just because he can, he'll politely, if awkwardly, mingle with non-R3s. ]

Oh, good evening. [ the fangs are just out there, it could not be more obvious what he is if he were actively trying ] You are from one of the other death games, I assume?

[ This applies even if you are a loved one and had no idea this was a murdergame to begin with! He hangs around with the R3s, of course, with much more ease, and he's never too far away from either Zinda or Bartholomew. Once Nadja finds him, he gets visibly less relaxed and follows her around to the best of his ability, giving constant cliffnotes she did not ask for on all his fellow survivors and repeatedly insisting, in a tone he thinks is low enough to go unnoticed and is absolutely not, that she not eat any of these guys! Also, some of them do not even taste good!

The sunrise will come eventually, and he will get out of here well before then and immediately get started on hacking away at his own character development due to the magic of sitcoms, but in the moment, he's just happy to be here — to sit by a fire and trade old battle stories, literal or figurative, after winning this war. He's wearing the coat Forrest made him and all of his rings, and there is a gigantic pile of vending machine shit beside him, including both Scoots, and he cannot remember feeling this victorious in centuries. Unlife is good. ]

[capreelcious]

You got your powers back too, Vampire Squid?

[ Says a voice not too far away! It's Floyd, vibing nearby in the water! And he looks like an eel! Wiggly boy mode activated! ]

So cool~!

[fuckingguy]

[ Fuck it, he's just going to fly over there and check him out from an aerial perspective! Because he can! ]

Oh, wow, look at you. It is not exactly what I was picturing — but very cool nonetheless.

[capreelcious]

Aha, now I'm curious of what you were actually picturing.

[fuckingguy]

It was, uh, mostly to do with you not having a human face, or arms.

[ HE JUST THOUGHT HE WAS A BIG EEL...... ]

[capreelcious]

[ Oh, that makes him crack up. He really WASN'T as descriptive as he could be, so it makes sense. ]

Ahaha~! Fair, fair! That woulda been funny.

[prompocalypse]

[She finds him when there's few people around him and the conversation's died down, when she doesn't have to worry about talking to people she doesn't know or pretending to care about their opinions, or worse, talking to people she does know.

She quirks a smile at him, side-eyeing him with a slightly teasing hint.]

So, I saw Zinda proposed to you.

[Embarrassing, truly, to propose to a guy you knew for all of a month. Still, Zinda apparently isn't like Penelope. As in, she's not a lesbian, so. She probably didn't even see Nandor as a means to an end.

But it'll make her happy, for now. Unfortunately, Mielle and Mafuyu probably aren't going to shovel talk him, so that just leaves the literal demon.]

[fuckingguy]

Yesss.

[ Speaking of embarrassing! Nandor is taking this overture as fully genuine, despite all evidence to the contrary and a full (he thinks, incorrectly) awareness of what kind of person Penelope actually is. Because he's an undead demon who never feels bad about any of the gory shit he does, and he loves Zinda and wants the best for her, so clearly she is the same and this is a sincere congratulations with nothing else to come!!

He smiles back at her, all fangs and no guile. ]

We have not set a date yet, if that is what you are wondering...?

[prompocalypse]

Well, I assumed so. [She only proposed a few hours ago, if they'd already started ironing out dates and who's the maid of honor/flowergirl (naturally it should be her for both things, just because she's flower themed and also the most important person in the room always) she'd be even more concerned that they're going too fast and that they're going to crash and burn.

She smiles.]

She seems happy. She must really love you. [She's not even jealous of Zinda in this case, not in the way that she was jealous and bitter at Mielle and Mafuyu, pining away and being all cute and not trying to kill eachother or secretly hating one another...]

[fuckingguy]

[ Penelope is going to have to fight a possessed doll for this honor, and you know what? Good for both of them.

Nandor only seems to question anything that's been said after another five or so seconds of smiling into space with a radiant, undeserved happiness. The basic set of his lips doesn't change, but it definitely weakens a little! ]

... I suppose you would have missed pretty much the whole relationship, [ he finally says. ]

[consfound]

[Why is this weird man talking to him? Krok was just minding his own business watching the horizon and clicking the small communicator he's been clenching in his hand the past half-hour. He already knows about the death-to-become-Cipher's-soldiers thing from Misfire (even if he's pretty sure the details weren't accurately relayed) - so the question doesn't surprise him as much as Nandor approaching him.]

No?

I'm here to pick someone up.

[fuckingguy]

Well... my mistake.

[ And he simply floats on up to the giant robot's face level to scrutinize his features, like it requires real study to figure out who the giant robot is here to pick up. ]

Oh, you must be one of Misfire's friends! [ And maybe it did require that?? He seems to treat this like a sincere revelation, and continues, apologetically: ] I feel like he told me all of your names at some point... but we all had a lot going on back then, and also it is not like I know what the hell any of you looked like.

[consfound]

It's no insult to me. His introductions tend to be incredibly dense and confusing.

[Why is he floating? Some kind of telepathic species?]

I'm Krok, in case he ever mentioned that name.

[fuckingguy]

Oh, Krok! Yes, I specifically remember that name, as it was the last one he mentioned. You were into strategy or something...?

[consfound]

Military historian, experienced strategist, squad leader, the like. [Krok no need to list out your CV in front of just some fucking guy.]

Really, last? Hm. [He sounds pleased.] Nice way to wrap up the list. You were imprisoned with him, I take it.

[fuckingguy]

Yesss. [ Oh, right, he needs to do the same shit! ] Oh — Nandor the Relentless, also most of the shit you just said, but that was many centuries ago. Recently, I have been doing less warring and pillaging and more... working on myself, I think is what it is called?

[ He shrugs, and makes a vague gesture with one hand. ]

I do not know if I would call us friends... but also, I am not certain he would call you friends, which you clearly are. We have had some good times.

[consfound]

...

It takes centuries to recover from a war? Not exactly the most encouraging news for us. [He's quiet for a moment. Krok might be projecting a bit on the former soldier seeking a new life in peacetime, but...] On a scale of "aimless drifter" to "successful entertainer", how well would you say you've done for yourself?

Misfire's not the type to categorize what you are. You're either one of us, or you're not. [Nandor looks like Misfire's brand of bullshit, Krok can see a friendship.]

[fuckingguy]

Yes, I get the deal. You often see a similar thing with vampires.

[ Which is all fun and games until someone has an existential crisis! ]

As for your scale... before this, I would have said not so good.

[consfound]

Before the kidnapping? [He crosses his arms.] If it were a friendly kidnapping, I'd see it, but I'd expect this kind of trauma to undo progress, not pull you away from your old mindset.

[fuckingguy]

Eeeeeh... the drama was mostly Jonathan.

[ Despite him having completely misheard what Krok just said, this technically does fit the reality of the trauma situation as well! There wasn't any time to feel fucked up about most of what he saw. Four out of the five trials he was alive for, everyone else just had to focus on staying on task while a Victorian guy spiraled out of control. ]

And if I am to be honest, some of the murders were grisly and elaborate, [ MISFIRE'S HEAD SHOWING UP AT A TRIAL, FOR EXAMPLE ] but, in general, nothing I hadn't seen done before. Especially when even ghosts and grim reapers and shit are getting killed... being close to death like that, it really nails in how precious life is.

[consfound]

[Whomst the fuck is Jonathan? How many more people must Krok seek out?]

It helps when you’re seen hundreds die before your eyes, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting better at handling it. You’re just moving on without anything showing up on the outside. [Throw enough murders at a Victorian guy, and eventually he’ll get numb, too.] But you - you said you’re a vampire, right? That’s something that can still be killed. Even we Cybertronians forget that just because we can walk off most injuries, we can still die horrifically.

…Can I ask you something? [Even if it ultimately will be a bad idea.] What happened to Misfire?

[bogwife]

I was! [Zerinda is all vibes by one of the roaring bonfires, a plastic glass of wine in her hand and in her best Unexpected Beach Night For The Goth attire- so only two layers of skirts instead of four, only a few gold bangles on each wrist and her boots and shawl a few feet away in the sand.]

We were the...second, I think? [She takes thoughtful sip of her wine.] But we were the ones who pushed Gunnar Maelstrom's shit in. [Modern slang is so fun!]

[fuckingguy]

[ There's like a good two seconds where he drastically misunderstands this semi-bungled expression and is deeply perturbed, but then he gets it! ]

Maelstrom. I have heard that name before...

[ IT WAS FIVE HOURS AGO AT MOST ]

... Yes, now it's coming back to me! He was the not-handsome one with jellyfish, or some shit.