And with the sweat of your brow...

[bathymetric]

Fun Fact: Did you know that if the multiverse is real, there could be an almost infinite square mileage of completely unexplored ocean out there?

No reason.

...

You wake in one of 25 rooms with a sense of unease that doesn't quite track with how nice the accommodations are. Maybe it has something to do with the giant window leading out to the sea. The temperature is low, which might make you wish you had woken up under the luxurious covers instead of atop them. The lights, too, are low. But next to your bed is a small personal radio, and it's playing a song for you. There's also a small note printed on folded cardstock next to it.

Dear Prospective Citizen,

Welcome to the Helios Suites at New Rapture. The time should currently be 12:00 PM. Please take a moment to get your bearings and become acquainted with your new environment, then meet in the hotel lobby at 1:30 PM sharp for an orientation with Mayor Fontaine.

With only that for guidance, there's only the one thing to do: get out there and start exploring... well, it's hardly a full city, but it's something! And in the halls (or on the wall of your suite or the lobby), you very well may find up to 24 other captives.

What you do until your meeting with Mayor Fontaine, well... that's up to you. Every room certainly gives you something to talk about.

Comments

[bootyhunter]

I call it bein' thrifty!

[No, she'd be right. In many respects, Dandy definitely comes off as delusional.]

Doesn't mean I wouldn't take an all expense-paid trip to a solar system that's nicer than mine, but the finer things in life don't gotta have a hefty price tag!

[allatonce]

Okay. I agree with that, at least: sometimes things that are expensive... are worse.

[Joy watched all of The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo and you can't change my mind.]

Still doesn't mean that going down to the liquor store is a vacation.

[bootyhunter]

Or just plain not worth it!

[The fact that Brian Jordan Alvarez doesn't have a Netflix deal (to my knowledge) is criminal.. But then again, they don't deserve his talent.]

Alright, alright! Well, what would ya consider as a "real" vacation?

It's kinda rough to go on any of those when you're down on your luck in the dough department.

[allatonce]

[Joy takes a moment to respond, because for a moment all she can think of is wanting so, so badly to go to a theme park like other kids—something unattainably American that her mother would never allow. It takes a moment to distill that ideal down into words.]

Just... at least four hours someplace that's not work or home where nobody has to think about any of the things that might be going wrong.

[bootyhunter]

[Silence, whether it persists for a second or what could feel like ann eternity, often communicates more than words. Dandy is dim-witted, certainly, but even he can register that perhaps there is something sensitive going on here...

However, that doesn't mean he's going to be appropriate sensitive about it.]

And you think a trip the cornerstore is sad? Geez!

Not work or home, huh? Who do you happen to be sharin' sinks with, a komodo dragon?

[allatonce]

I think the correct term is "tiger mom."

[Not that that's not it's own racist can of worms, but it's also fitting for her mom so... scale hands.]

Not that I live with her anymore, but she's the reason I've never been on a vacation.

[bootyhunter]

[When it comes to the topic of mothers and families, Dandy doesn't hold too much stake in the matter. He can't remember anything about his own, most likely because he never had one. Instead of growing up and developing from an embryo, it's possible that he's always been like this... Fully formed and giant-haired.

Either way, it doesn't really matter.

It's not like Dandy himself has any idea what the truth may be.]

I forget if tigers are the kinds of big cats that eat their own babies! Yes, no?

Maybe so?

[He maintains a joking lilt with his words, not self-conscious in the least.]

You wanna talk about it? It'd totally kill some time! And if we're killin' time, at least we're not killin' any people, right? Seriously! What's that all about...

[allatonce]

Pretty sure all cats eat their young.

[There's probably a metaphor in there somewhere.]

We don't know each other well enough for me to trauma dump about my mom, though. That is so much to unpack and we don't have time for that.

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy is often tasked with chasing after a variety of rare creatures, many of whom are the last living embodiments of their kind. In the vast nothingness of space, sometimes a stranger is all you've got, and those conversations can be oddly comforting in a way. Having been the "stranger" or the "newcomer" in those specific talks often, Dandy finds it refreshing that she isn't willing to dump her life story on him right away.

It makes things all the more interesting.]

Let's hope we don't!

[Look, it's still the first day. He's got time to be optimistic about things.]

As much I wouldn't mind snagging one of those prison-type girlfriends when shit starts going down, it'd be nice to get out of this place and get back to goin' on real dates.

You wanna snoop around with me? Maybe they've got some free food we can snag.

[allatonce]

[Joy makes a face at the prison girlfriend comment. This guy clearly spends too much time alone without people telling him to cut it out, but they're all stressed so she doesn't feel like it's fair to call him out more than she already has.

Everyone's got coping mechanisms.]

Sure. I love being gay and doing crime. Beats rehashing the myriad reasons why I hate my mom.

[bootyhunter]

[...That's so thoughtful, Joy. The likes of this scumbag doesn't deserve such consideration.

Unfortunately, QT is constantly telling Dandy to cut it out, it's just that the walking toupee ignores all rhyme or reason.]

Sounds good to me.

[If there is a way for this to happen, Dandy exits his own suite, awaiting the appearance of his new acquaintance in the lobby or in front of the door to Room E.]

Let's hope some old, dead rando left some majorly expensive shit behind!