To infinity...and beyond? (Semi-open)

[astrogator]

Who: Ari Tayrey + willing CR + anyone else who wants in
What: Mini-plot: an expedition to determine what kind of infinite this store really is
When: 25-29??? November
Where: The Infinite Tommy Bahama
Warnings: None yet
Notes: First prompt is a text message sent to Ari's friendly-ish CR - replies are welcome even from people who don't want to take part! Other prompts are open but please note that participating characters will potentially be in the store for up to 4/5 days. Party post rules are fine, start your own toplevels and tag people other than Ari if you like. ((I checked with our lovely mod about what would happen if they tried this!))



1. Texting

I have a plan. I want to see just how infinite this Tommy Bahama is. Multi-day expedition for data collection? It could be informative. Maybe fun, too. Interested in coming along?

- Tayrey

2. Preparing

Even people who don't know Ari well may notice that something is up. It's not often that people walk into Tommy Bahama wearing backpacks full of supplies. There's some last-minute preparation going on here, as well as a last-minute opportunity to join the expedition. Expect Ari to want to check and make sure everyone has all the essentials with them. She's used to preparing for trips to uninhabited and potentially hostile planets, and it shows. Don't mind the fussing. She wouldn't do it if she didn't care.

3. Exploring

Despite all the promises, the expedition is - well, boring might be an accurate description, unless you're really invested in the outcome. There's a lot of walking past the same racks of clothes, over and over and over. Infinite length doesn't mean infinite variety.

Ari's fascinated, and she'll be chattering about loop programming to anyone who will listen, and attempting to measure the distance between one rack of garishly-patterned bikinis and the next iteration of that very same rack. She'll encourage tests, too - what happens if you completely destroy one of the displays? Is the destruction repeated? (Spoiler alert: no, it's not that kind of loop, but let's try it a few times anyway and make sure?)

Maybe you give up and head back after a few hours. Maybe you have a run-in with the Bahamanal. Maybe you join in with Ari's ridiculous spacer song singalong - she is in a good mood. It's Tommy Bahama, anything could happen.

4. Relaxing

Ari pushes the pace on the first day, because it comes naturally to do so, and possibly, subconsciously, to weed out anyone who isn't serious about this and is going to cause them problems once they're a long way in. Eventually, though, it's time to stop for the night. There's not a campfire, but it's a fine social occasion just the same. Ari's brought some Serena Eterna branded playing cards, and she's up for a little gambling. Maybe you have some other entertainment ideas. Don't stay up too long, though - see if you can't make a nice nest of clothes to bed down in. There's plenty of walking to do tomorrow.

5. Emerging

Plenty of data has been collected about the repeating displays, but there's no end in sight to this store. Is it really infinite? If there's a way to answer that question, this expedition won't do it. It's over two days in when the group realises that they're over halfway through the supplies they brought. Time to turn around, whether that leaves you disappointed or delighted.

Unfortunately, there are no tricks of perception or proportion here. It'll take just as long to walk out as it did to walk in. Look on the bright side, at least you're carrying less weight? Finally, on the fifth day, the intrepid explorers who stayed the distance catch sight of the store entrance up ahead. Who saw it first?

6. Wildcard

Anything else you want to do! (Just let me know if I need to add warnings to the header :) )

Comments

[crushed_pearls]

"Y'all have rubber?" Erin sounds more excited than surprised. "Yeah, it's very similar, I think maybe even made from most of the same material. You can also use elastic to describe an object or material that behaves this way, the way you'd say 'fluid' for things that pour."

[not_the_last]

"Yes? It's rare where we are, we don't use much of it because it has to be imported."

She nods at the second part of the explanation.

[crushed_pearls]

"God we use it for fucking everything back home. There's even some in my boots." Erin briefly stands on one foot so she can show Cass the sole of her work boot, with its non-slip rubber grips. "It's useful for so many tools and protections. It can be used to prevent electrical shocks and safely sheathe metal wires so they can carry electricity into homes and businesses, we make waterproof seals out of it, children's toys, toys for dogs to chew on, these fuckin' tiny balls that bounce super high, seeeee-"

That word drags out in the middle and graduates into an awkward silence.

"...Aaaanyway it's everywhere. Just don't ask me how it got there." A beat. "...Or about tea."

[not_the_last]

Cassandra blinks, but continues smoothly. "I won't, then. Those boot-soles do look useful."

[crushed_pearls]

"They are! Non-slip, helps keep you from tripping up on wet tile -" Erin gestures into the store, "or smooth stone so you can work or run if you need to. My people at home wear boots like these or other work boots all the time as like, a symbolic connection to their roots. They started out dwelling among the dock workers and heavy labor and they don't want to forget that the broke and beat-down have been their brothers since the start of their community. When I...joined up, Ramona got me these as a welcoming gift."

[not_the_last]

"That's a lovely symbol," says Cassandra, thoughtfully. "I don't think we have anything quite like that at home, although ... well, it isn't much like."

[crushed_pearls]

"You can't just leave it there," Erin teases. "C'mon, spill itttt."

[not_the_last]

"Well, you see ... the first people in Whitestone were sailors. An expedition from Wildemount, across the Lucidian Ocean, shipwrecked in the Shearing Channel and unable to return home. It's been hundreds of years since then, but," and here she lifts a finger, "in memory of the craft that brought us there, the oldest buildings of Whitestone -- and many of the new ones -- are constructed to resemble the hulls of sailing ships."

[crushed_pearls]

"Oh that's beautiful," Erin breathes. "...Hope y'all ditched the hammocks though. Oh! Wait, god -" Erin laughs. "Just imagined like pearl-studded hammocks as the most passive aggressive guest beds."

[not_the_last]

Cassandra bursts out laughing.

"Oh, what a way to discourage unwelcome guests --"

(It'll be another second or two before her laughter stumbles on something.)

[crushed_pearls]

"...Not many guests even after cleaning house?"

[not_the_last]

She shakes her head, summons back the smile. "Just thinking it would have been nice to be able to get rid of them that easily."

Them; not just any unwelcome guests.

[crushed_pearls]

"If only," Erin agrees with a sad smile. "...I hope it's not too childish to imagine Lord Briarwood trying to figure out how to put two handfuls of his native soil in a hammock, though."

Is Cass comforted by mocking her enemies? Guess we'll find out.

[not_the_last]

She muffles a snort of laughter.

"If it is, can we be childish together?"

[crushed_pearls]

"Well if we're being childish together..."

Erin takes a whole-ass pouch off her belt, the entire pouch, she just disconnects it from her belt, and offers it out to Cass.

"Half the candy I brought," Erin says with a grin. "Hard fruit candies, you suck on 'em and then when they get all thick and sharp you are faced with a choice between crunching down on 'em or letting the tiny delicious knife in your mouth cut your cheeks to ribbons as God intended."

and wrap here?

[not_the_last]

Cassandra takes the pouch of candy with almost the same enthusiasm as she did the rope.

"Oh, perfect. This is the other thing I should have packed."