thoughtformed

Entry tags:

one.

Wow, okay, lets start with how there are a lot of you on here. I mean, okay, this whole stuck-in-an-alternate-reality-where-we-are-all-allegedly-fictional thing is apparently pretty popular, or, you know, whatever it was that dragged all of us here is pretty powerful. Short of being able to go home I guess all the indications are getting settled is the way to go so, hi, I'm Billy. We can just pretend I gave the obligatory paragraph and a half about how I really need to go home as if that'll make that happen.

Is there anything they didn't tell me that I need to know? I am all ears. Or just saying hi, that works too! No better way to get into a new universe you're stuck in without getting to know the other kidnapees, right?

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[It takes Billy a bit to get to this coffee place - though its no fault of the map's, more just taking his time to get used to whatever this place is.

But arrive eventually he does! So go team.]

Hello!

[The New Brew was clean and modern inside, with a lot of open space, checkered floors and mirrored tables and baristas wearing tailored suits making it a little surreal, given that from the outside it was just a small annex on the side of a warehouse with a small sign and imposing tinted windows.

Tim's standing behind the counter, where there's a row of barstools to one side of the cash register, and he looks up with a smile as Billy comes in. It's a little forced - Billy never got along with him, at least, not the last version of him. But that was a while ago, and he's changed since then.]

Hey. Welcome to the New Brew. Come and have a seat, you can take your time ordering. We're open late this evening.

[He takes a moment to look around - it definitely is surreal, but in a really good way, he decides.

Billy walks up to the counter and takes one of the barstools and stares at the menu for a moment.]

The offer was just on coffee, right?

'Coffee, tea, chai, or rooibos' is too long to make a good sales pitch. No lattes or mixed beverages, but everything else is fair game.

Oh, okay. Chai sounds good -- decision made.

Coming right up!

[It's a simple enough order that he can make it on autopilot.]

So. I've been here longer than almost anyone else. If you've got any questions, I can answer them - but by now you probably know you can just ask Kate, too, so I'm probably a little superfluous.

Do people come and go a lot?

[He pauses, making eye contact, serious.]

... Yeah. An average of about one every five days, clustered at the beginning or end of the month. At any given time there are between eighty and a hundred and fifty of us on the island, compared to about fifteen thousand so-called nonfictionals.

[He looks duly impressed by the averages there and having such a straightforward answer.]

And no one has any idea what causes it?

... All kinds of ideas. But no proof. The kind of equipment we'd need for anything definitive would take resources nobody here's got.

I'm guessing magic doesn't cut it.

Probably not. But I'm not familiar with what you did and didn't try last time you were here.

It's worth a shot, I guess, but I'm sure there are plenty of other magic users here too.

Magic's always a factor it's hard to rule out, because the laws of metaphysics seem to change from day to day and place to place.

Yeah, definitely. Even back home it can get really weird like that -- put a whole bunch of different realities together in one place and you get one really bizarre jam jar of possibilities.

If you want to run a few experiments, I'm game. Although we should check with Kate and make sure we're not covering old ground.

Sounds like a good plan. Kate is always a good person to keep around.

Believe me, I know.

She's been keeping plenty busy while she's been here, huh?

That's one way to put it.

We, uh... she and I dated on and off for six months or so.

Oh, wow, good for you guys. Unless it ended badly in which case I'm really sorry to hear that.

Well, uh, I got dumped, but it was a no-hard-feelings thing, it was almost a year ago, and we're still friends. And it was a pretty cool six months.

Well she's a pretty cool girl. I'm glad it worked out alright.

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