COMMENCE VOYAGE

[bathymetric]

Fun Fact: Did you know the Atlantic Ocean has a surface area of 41.1 million square miles? No reason.

...

There's something uneasy in the air as you come to.

Well, "come to" is an interesting word in this case. It implies waking up, which is not exactly what happens. None of you are in beds, nor are you really asleep in the traditional sense. One moment you're somewhere else, doing something else with your time, and the next? You're somewhere on board a massive cruise ship - maybe lounging on a deck chair by the pool, maybe getting some Gains in the exercise room, maybe enjoying the tasteful décor in the buffet - and you have no idea how you got here or how you might get back. This is not your beautiful house. If you have a beautiful wife, she isn't here.

What you do have, apart from 25 other unlucky souls, is a small smartphone-like device in your pocket with only a handful of things on it: a clock reading 11PM, a pdf of a ticket in your name on a special Atlantic Liners New Year's Eve Cruise, an app labeled Passenger Profiles with some basic information on your traveling companions, and a message:

Welcome aboard, passenger! Please feel free to partake of any of the facilities while you wait for the big event! Remember: when midnight comes, you better make your way to the theatre at the back of Level 1 for the main event! The Captain and the First Mate will be there to take care of you all personally, and to help you ring in the new year in style!

Well, that's a start. But what you do until then, it seems, is up to you!

Comments

[calx]

[ Kinda. He's not going to keep quoting numbers like L, but if spread sheets existed in Mondstadt he would have def divied up his time in one just to look at where he's allocating his time! ]

Yes it often does help. [ ... ] Would you consider yourself a thoughtful person, then?

[scythegun]

[oh my god albedo...]

Ja, certainly. There's no sense in acting rashly in a situation with so many unknowns, right?

[calx]

Hm, I see. [ Here is where someone would usually say: good because you seem to be one! Albedo tho not so much. ]

Indeed. Though I have seen it lead to unexpected discoveries in the past.

[scythegun]

[No worries, we're all a little weird here...]

Oh, of course! It doesn't seem like it will work well in this specific situation, but maybe I'm just being too cautious.

[calx]

Oh? Is there a particular reason why?

[scythegun]

Well, we did just end up here with no explanation and much of what is present here is absolutely baffling. Like this!

[Tah-dah!! It's the phone. He's figured out how it works, but damn if he doesn't understand why this is a thing.]

A little concern is fairly normal, I think.

[calx]

I would call it infinitely curious rather than absolutely baffling. Speaking in hyperbolic absolutes, of course. [ He pulls out his own phone, holding it gingerly. ]

Well, yes. Breaking something so soon is often a waste in many ways. [ His tone hasn't really changed but there's something more clinical in his last words, slight, but noticeable considering his cadence so far. ]

[scythegun]

[That gets a laugh out of him, and he pockets the phone again. He's noticed the sudden shift, but he'll leave it alone for now.]

A difference in wording, but perhaps not in sentiment! Don't get me wrong, I do find all of this very interesting - "baffling" isn't a bad thing at all, as far as I'm concerned!

[calx]

Oh, then we agree. My only regret is that this experience has come at an inopportune time. [ He flips the phone over a few times then pockets it too. Cautious when needed, but he apparently trusts his own hands too. ]

[scythegun]

In the middle of something important, hmm? I imagine most of us have some things to get back to...

[calx]

Of course, I apologize if I implied otherwise. [ A small dip of his head. ]

For better or worse, chance events are well, random. It is how well you utilize them that determines your fate.