Scene #6672: A Cruise Around Mac Anu

Owner	Pose
Atoli	/_\ Eternal City Mac Anu These are the keywords used to reach the Root Town of the Delta (triangle) server, though by default, it's where you get dumped if you try to come to The World from the outside. Mac Anu gives the impression of a busy city near its center; built from various shades of grey marble that veer slightly into browns and yellows, bathed in an eternally orange sky caused by a perpetual sunset (or sunrise, it'd be hard to tell), Mac Anu gives an impression not unlike Venice, with waterways going through the city and gondola travel - though frankly, most players use the large green and gold teleporters to go from one corner of the city to another. At any rate, rendez-vous has been fixed at the docks of the great city. The only way anyone knows of right now to get something like a boat into The World would be to use the Chaos Gate (Warp Gate) at the docks and then pray nothing goes wrong. Luckily, in this case, nothing does. Atoli is waiting at the docks, naturally, looking forward to this. Even if nothing happens, get-togethers are always a blast. Being at the docks lets people easily notice two things, though: the water is still and motionless. There isn't the slightest wave to disturb the endless sea. The air, likewise, is stale, as if devoid of energy. Not at all unbreathable, and not even remotely uncomfortable, but if you expected a sea breeze, it's eerily missing.
Sumiko	Mikoto arrives at the Docks, having walked from the Chaos gate and following the path around the city until it eventually looped to the Docks themselves. It was easy to spot Atoli (ok no it wasn't, there were like fifty harvest clerics all running around,) to which she walked up towards and looked down at the water. She sat down at the edge of the water, looking down into it without doing much of anything else. She had more energy, than she had this morning and really up till about a few hours ago. Sucking in a bit of air she kept her head down to watch... Nothing. No waves no breeze...she looked up finally, noticing the sun just...stayed in the same place, having now been in Mac Anu for more than ten seconds. There was a frown, as she looked back down at the still water. "Hi," She manages to say finally, removed of much of the energy and eagerness in her voice that is normally there.
Staren	Staren's not trying to 'fit in' this time -- instead of pretending to be a Twin Blade or a crossbow-user or whatever, he's just wearing his futuristic armor, armor that is shaped for someone with a cat's tail and ears. He didn't know he was supposed to /bring/ a boat, so he didn't -- he just walks up to the docks which, logically, should have boats at them. "Hey!" He greets Atoli with a smile and a wave, and then catches sight of Mikoto and looks more somber.
Sarracenia	There is one peculiar ship at the docks today. Overall it looks much like a typical sea-going ship of the Spanish galeon variety. Some 100 feet long, with a tall hull and dozens of cannon doors all along its sides. What makes it peculiar though is that instead of sails it has large wooden propellers up and down its masts, and has the golden figure of a princess on the bow. Walking the deck are a number of plant creatures that have heads much like a pitcher plant with shark-like teeth lining their mouths, giant leaves for their entire arms, and root-like legs/feet. And each one is wearing a cute sailor's outfit. Standing on the bow of the ship is the very princess who the figure on the front of the ship is modeled after. She looks somewhat confused by the lack of wind and the stationary sun. "Are you sure this is where the request for a boat came from?" she can be heard saying to a slightly larger plant creature wearing a man-o-war helmet. It nods to her, and she sighs softly before looking toward the dock. "Hello the dock! Which of you was looking to hire a ship?" Her slight frown becomes a bit more pronounced when she sees Mikoto, but returns to only slight when she sees Staren. "What are you guys doing here? Are we in the right place? Why is there no wind?"
Tomoe	Tomoe has no issue arriving at Mac Anu, she does look not quite out of place with her gear as she walks from the gate taking in the place for a moment wondering at this strange environment really no day-night cycle? That was worth noting, and she would save that for later as she made to the meeting point at the docks she would catch sight of Atoli and the towering woman waves to her with a big grin on her face. "Hey Atoli good to see you!" She's looking rather chipper as Mikoto arrives and then she looks a bit concerned. "Are you all right you seem drained..." Like Staren she's not trying to hide thing but then again she kinda fits in through those ears would get questions asked.
Rean Schwarzer	Rean arrives not long after Mikoto does, sitting down on the edge of the dock on the opposite side to her. She probably wasn't up to talking to him after last night. He sighs. Was it bad that he actually preferred her endless teasing over this? He lookes down into the still ocean, noting how weird it looked. This place feels...artificial, to say the least. Then again, it was originally a video game, so maybe some of that carried over when it got implanted into reality. He gives everyone present a small wave, and then stands back up. "Hey, guys."
Haseo	Haseo's here. He's not exactly sure why he's here, but he is. Well, he knows why he's here. Keeping up pretenses at all, but he's pretty sure after everything he's been roped into doing he could just pretend he was busy and the only repercussion he'd get is a glum reply from Atoli. There's a part of him that wonders how many more times he can mentally use that excuse before even he stops believing it, but now's not the time. Rather than greet anyone or even pay attention to Atoli, Haseo's currently busy just messing with his flip phone off within earshot distance as he waits for everyone to get ready.
Atoli	"Hiii!" Atoli beams to Mikoto, absolutely oblivious to what's transpired and remembering only that Mikoto wanted to go on the cruise. The Harvest Cleric jumps up and down, excited that people are finally starting to funnel in. "Oh I'm so glad people are showing up! I was worried no one would want to do this after all." Sometimes she gets the feeling she annoys people. "Hello mister Staren!" She turns to look at the catman, without noticing the sudden shift in tone. "Thank you for coming! Maybe a scientist will be useful!" Who knows? Ah, and their ship! They didn't just get some boring old ship, it's a a big, nice boat! Courtesy of a /princess/ no less. Sarracenia's appearance makes Atoli bow exaggeratedly, obviously trying to figure out the proper level of politeness to adopt. "Hi, your highness! It was me!" And now Haseo's here, too! Now the party can really start! "I brought drinks for everyone!" Atoli materializes a cooler from her inventory, which contains a lot of... juice. It's just juice. A lot of kinds of juice, but all fruity and sugary. "Alright everyone! Let's get onboard, let's get going!"
Sumiko	Slowly, Mikoto rises to her feet...she felt so heavy. She looked like she was carrying a weight that did not exist, as her motions looked like she was moving through the water instead of air. She looks towards the boat, and without much to say walks up the plank to board it. She leans over one side of the boat and does not really move. She's aware of the looks, but she isn't engaging in them. After a few moments, she managed to pull herself up to sit on the rail, though her eyes still looked downcast instead of up. "There is no breeze, no waves...can you even move in the water? It all seems fake."
Tomoe	Tomoe looks to Sarracenia for a moment. "This world's kind of like mine, Princess. It's not quite the same as mine I admit only the game came with everyone who was playing along for the ride. Where the games are coming to my earth, warping it and even people like myself." She also takes a look to Rean for a moment grinning a bit "Hey there." Reans feeling are not his alone she has kind of the same feel, VR game on her world often tried to mimic reality a lot and she now gets just how much work some of the art department. "You know you can put the phone away and be social Haseo." She doesn't know how the Terror of Death Might respond, but she doesn't seem to be bothered he might go off over it. Tomoe gives a funny look as she gets down on herself. "Dinks? Thank you!" She'll go to get the coolers its juice it works for her this is a far cry from the nights in SAO with the other clearers getting hammered on their days off from clearing. Given the situation back then? She thinks it was how they coped with that nightmare. The juice would be good and she happily takes some as she gets aboard the boat. "Onward to adventure." She pause at Mikoto's comments. "It does feel a bit strange and off I admit, it's still pretty though. Feels like we're in a painting..."
Staren	Maybe a scientist will be useful. Wasn't Eggman useful last time? At least drinks are alright. Would've been a minor annoyance if she'd only brought alchohol, but one he's come to expect at some social gatherings. He heads on to the boat. At Mikoto's morose words, Staren points out, "This is an airship, not a sailing ship. It can move itself."
Sumiko	Mikoto looks around slowly, before speaking again, "Airships are called planes, and this doesn't look like a plane."
Atoli	"As long as the boat isn't relying on nature to move, it should be fine!" Atoli says, still self-absorbed in her own beaming smile. "Oh, it's not fake! Everything here is real! Even if it's just computer code, it's important to consider the feelings of the people who made this world, and the people who play in it every day. It's very real!" She insists, shooting a glare at Haseo while at it. "It's just... a long time ago in the game lore, humans killed the gods. So the gods who were in charge of the wind and the sea, they're not there to do their job anymore. Even the solar cycles stopped." It's clearly not an excuse to cut corners in game development. Perish the thought.
Sarracenia	The airship lowers a boarding ramp when Atoli calls out, and the princess smiles brightly at Atoli's politeness. "Excellent! Everyone get on board then. We shall discover the borders of this world while enjoying the luxury of Princess Sarracenia's personal flagship!" She then hops off the railing of the ship and does one graceful somersault before landing on the dock. "That's me!" she says proudly, then heads back up the ramp. She apparently jumped down just to show off. Well, and perhaps to join the others more quickly and escort them aboard. "Well, it -could- move in the water, but it will be much more expedient to move through the air." she says, eyeing Mikoto. "I do hope you will not be this much of a dark cloud the entire trip." she adds, then motions to a few of her piranha plant minions move to bring Atoli's drinks aboard. Once everone is aboard, Princess Sarracenia smirks at Mikoto. "You think you know so much? Watch this." she says, then waves to the piranha plant wearing the man-o-war helm. A rumbling starts up deep in the bowels of the ship, and the large propellers on the equally large masts start to spin. They steadily rev up, and the airship creaks a bit as the weight is born by the masts. And slowly the wooden airship rises above the water, leaving a mist of sea spray beneath it as the water slides off the hull. The ship rotates in place, then at a speed defying its size it accelerates away from the town! "Hahaha! What do you think of that, Miss Grumpy?" the princess says proudly, hands on her hips and standing tall as the wind makes her long hair and her dress flutter.
Haseo	Tomoe calls out to Haseo to not be an anti-social piece of trash for a moment. They don't really get a reply other than a sigh. The sigh isn't really directed at them though more than it is his phone, which makes a bunch of foreboding beeps and boops. Was that a Game Over theme? Was this kid seriously just playing a phone game off in a corner rather than socializing with people? The world (And The World) may never know, as Haseo closes his flip phone. It seems like things are finally starting to get moving now. GOOD. Taking a juice box from Atoli's cooler, Haseo just loads himself onto the boat with everyone else. He's careful not to fall into the water as he boards, even as he's also busy punching a plastic straw into his drink. "They didn't kill all of them. There's that asshole Folset who's still guarding the gate or something like that. So anyway how long are we heading out for anyway?" Haseo takes a moment to drink from his juice box, making a loud sucking noise. Somehow, the way he does this exudes a very rude aura, but that might also just be attributed to his rather sinister appearance.
Sumiko	"It's an inferior and slower airplane. I guess more like a helicopter or a blimp," She says, with the same tone, the lack of life in her words and her emotions as she turns back to look over the rain again. Maybe it was a mistake to even bother coming out like this, she just wants to go back to bed and pretend. She looks towards Atoli and stares at her for a long time, "So a lore reason why the programmers were lazy. Anything to save them some work, huh? Sounds about right..." she says, with a dismissive shrug. "Can you even eat the food here? Is there even food here? Water? Can I dive off the side of this boat and get into the water?" "If I hit something hard enough, will it cut in half? Will it be just bits of code when I do that? What even makes this world real?"
Staren	Staren is just thinking about how people hardly ever go anywhere on his spaceship. Is it because most places need to get to in space have their own gates? "Hey, it's got more /room/ than an airplane." He turns to Mikoto. "If all you do is focus on the negative, then the negative is how your life will go." "It's actually pretty clever, I suppose, if their resources were limited But now you're asking the interesting questions! I think you should try it on I dunno, a tree or something."
Haseo	"You sure are morbid, huh?" Haseo takes another sip from his juice box, crushed the container slightly as he's already almost finished it. "Player models normally weren't allowed to enter the waterways of Mac Anu without hacking. But it's different. We also have food items, though it's mostly boring stuff. One last sip and Haseo throws the empty juice box overboard. He gives Mikoto a somewhat devilish grin as he prepares to give them the last answer, giving them a flash of razor sharp teeth. Strangely enough it's just for an instance though, because his teeth are back to normal once he closes his mouth again. Must be a bug or something. "As for dismemberment, you can cut someone's head off when you kill them."
Sarracenia	Two people even more rude than herself are on the princess's ship! Haseo she doesn't know much about but he gets a bit of a peering when he noisily sips like that. "What happened to you?" she asks Mikoto. "I admit I do not know you well, but you seemed to have much more spirit the other times we have spoken. This is a cruise in peace time for a dubious mission of exploration! And if you do not want to partake of the local food, my ship is always well stocked with food and drink." The princess pauses a moment, then seems to have one of those lightbulb moments. "I know!" She reaches into a satchel hanging from her shoulder and pulls out...a little red fox plushie! But for some reason it seems to lack a face beyond a black area and some big black cutesy eyes. "Here!" She throws it at Mikoto, and if Mikoto were to be hit or otherwise touch it...she'd be in a big fluffy fox suit. Apparently Sarra thinks being a fluffy fox for a while will make the dark cloud hanging over someone disappear! She looks to Tomoe after that. "...were you not one of my temporary ladies-in-waiting at the dinner held by Lady Lillian Rook?" she asks, then hmms. "Where is your dress?"
Atoli	"H-Huh, well, that's..." Atoli has no answers for Mikoto, really. She's never TRIED any of those things. Clearly, Haseo has, and he comes to the rescue aaaaand makes everything worse thanks Haseo. "P-Please do not dismember fellow people just to see if you can! I know... it's a bit difficult to see The World was anything but a video game, but it's a very important place for a lot of players. If that doesn't make it real, what does?" Is Mikoto starting to sap her optimism? Actually, yes, because Atoli fidgets with her fingers to try and keep focus. Of course, the airship taking off and offering the party a breathtaking view of BASICALLY AN ENDLESS SEA kicks the mood back up a bit. So far so good. Nothing's stopping the ship. Though, the futher it goes, the more common glitches are becoming. A missing cloud here and there, a patch of the sky that's discolored, a chunk of water polygons just outright missing but not causing the water to collapse and fill the hole.
Sumiko	The suit flies out at Mikoto, she doesn't bother to try and move...and now she's in a fox suit. Looking down at herself, she doesn't really...care? There is a heavy sigh, she's going to have to explain this one to her guardian, or worse, walk home with it on. Does it ware off? Does it even matter? "What happened? It's not important, and it's not why we're here. Sorry for being such a lead weight to this..." She had once wanted to go really bad to see this all. She considers jumping off the ship. The water should break her fall, she could...probably get an animal to take her back. Her head turns towards...the water and the clouds as they go farther out. It was actually glitching out... The mention of food causes her stomach to rumble, but she doesn't make any effort to bother to fill it, instead just goes back to leaning on the rail to watch the glitches...she felt they had so much in common.
Rean Schwarzer	Rean grabs a bottle of juice, and then walks up the gangplank to the ship. He takes a sip from the bottle as Atoli explains why everything seemed 'stopped.' "...Huh, interesting." Rean says. "Didn't realize there was a story behind this game." Excuse to be lazy or no, it was interesting. And then things got /weird./ "So is there a reason why things are starting to disappear, or...?"
Tomoe	Tomoe looks at Sarracenia for a moment as she has her attention turned on her for a moment. % "I was at Lilian's dinner and I do have it in my inventory why? It was the safest place to store it." Also if she ever had need of something far more formal she now had something on hand in easy reach. She's kept good care of it at the very least. She seems to be in good spirits still and Haseo doesn't explode? Progress clearly and she'll drink some more juice. "Any big game like this generally has lore and a story. It just depends on son the quality of the writers and how much of a microtransaction hell it is." Haseo mentions food is not good here? She has an idea she will have to talk to the GU later there could be some coin to be made here in the World. She also needs to call a certain Warrior of light about this as well. "A friend of mine put it best digital or material so long as the people are real? It's real enough." Then comes the view which distracts Tomoe a bit and she also looks with some concern at Mikoto. She hears her stomach growl for a moment and pauses checks her inventory. "A moment Princess." With that in mind she'll go to grab some of the snacks that Atoli had also had out for them and heads over to Mikoto. "Hey want some?"
Sarracenia	"Hahaha! No one can be grumpy while..." Sarracenia starts to declare, but Mikoto seems to just...ignore the suit. Sarracenia is truly baffled by this. She should have had -some- kind of reaction. Now vexxed, the princess just huffs softly and takes a juice box before huffily popping the straw into place and poking the straw into her mouth before mumbling something. She then turns to Atoli. "So! What do you think? It may not be a supersonic passenger liner, but it is still quite impressive isn't it?" she asks, motioning to the airship. "Do they have such things in this world?" The glitches start to catch Sarracenia's attention and she ends up looking over the rails beside Mikoto. "Hmm...perhaps the game designers did not intend on anyone coming out this far, and so only did the minimum work needed to make it look good from afar." Sarracenia seems satisfied that Tomoe still has her dress. Apparently she just wanted to be sure that the dress was in good hands.
Staren	"Eat something. It means less magic you have to use. Try to enjoy the taste." Staren suggests. "At some point, though, things can't just follow the programming. They have to interact with things from the Multiverse. They have to interact with us."
Atoli	"I guess... because we're not supposed to come here this way?" Atoli guesses out loud, as to why things are looking weird. She still takes a moment to nodnod at Sarracenia. "It's really cool! We don't really have this kind of transportation here. I heard some people are allowed to use the ships, but only for very special events." Speaking of... reality seems to skip a beat. It's like zoning into a new area in an MMO. The glitches are gone as the ships stutters over an island. There's a nice, white mansion on it, and docks, and spotlights. There's no one there, though. It looks like the kind of place you'd throw at rich party at. Then the ship stutters again, and returns to the glitchy sea. Only, there are some things in view. Six massive tilted mountains, so high that they pierce through the clouds and further above still. From afar, they look like towers. If Sarracenia steers closer, they're really more like mountains. The sea underneath can't be seen anymore. It's clouds, and only clouds. Trying to fly lower won't break the cover.
Staren	A mansion? "What?! Why is this here?!" But then it glitches away and now the water's gone with nothing but skybox below. "Honestly... I expected normal world rules to take over sooner. Not this... glitchiness. I wonder if that means that The World's rules spread far into the Cyber Core... or if it means that all this is unused game area that's in the code?"
Rean Schwarzer	Rean nods. "My world has airships, too. This is more like a sailboat though. Made of wood instead of metal, and it has masts."
Haseo	"Pffft. Figures." Haseo also makes note of the fact that the area seems to not be fully modeled. It's really the expected outcome though. Even if The World is 'real' now, doesn't mean it completely functions like the real one. There's an almost jeering expression on the Adept Rogue's face as he holds back the urge to say 'I told you so' to Atoli. They crash into the palace area. And Haseo pretty much instantly recognizes it. Even if he's never been here before. I mean, people make a big fuss out of it pm the forums, it's an event area for special occasions. "The Isle of Kings. Hy Brasail." It doesn't seem like they'll being getting to check the place out though, as the boat basically rubber bands back. And things seemingly begin to break even more because of it. "You know I totally didn't want to say it Atoli, but this idea is turning out to be more and more stupid." He's definitely lying. He totally wanted to say this. But now he's got a pretty good excuse to.
Sumiko	Mikoto looks at the offered snacks, she just stares. It isn't glare or anything, it's just...is. Even with Staren mentions, she should eat to save her magical reserves, that is the only reason she reaches out to grab them. Slowly she starts to eat as if she were full, but she does slowly eat. The zoning feeling and the glitches stop. This part, anyway, was supposed to be a zone. However, when that disappears for mountains, she looks up. She does FEEL better after some food, and while her mood is dour, she seems to be...slightly more active. When Haseo is mean to Atoli, she turns towards him. "You know, she obviously is trying her best for you to be your friend. I have no idea why, because there isn't anything remotely redeemable about you. At least I have an excuse, what is yours? Mother never hugged you enough?" "Instead of taking out your shit on her, maybe you should try and enjoy it. After all her 'stupid' idea found something you knew about, and something you didn't." It was...still rather dull, but there was something of a spark. "If there is something bothering you, then taking it out on her is something only a self-centered piece of trash would do."
Sarracenia	The airship shudders as if in turbulence when they pass through that stutter, causing the sailors and Sarracenia to stumble. The princess blinks in surprise at the sight of the sudden shift in location and the mansion on the island. She tries to direct the airship toward it, but all too quickly they are through another unseen barrier and in a sea of clouds! "Wait, what was-" she starts to say, then blinks at the clouds. "...what is going on?" She has never played video games at all, much less anything with chunk loading. The ship continues on its course, taking them toward those cloud-bound mountains and apparently from sailing over water to sailing both over and under clouds! "What's next? Some sort of cloud dragon emerges and tries to destroy our ship?" She pauses a moment, then looks at Atoli and Haseo. "...would that happen? That might be kind of cool actually." she says before looking out over the cloud sea. She calls for the ship to reverse course. "Let us see if we can return to that mansion..." she says softly, an explorer's smile of excitement on her face. She turns as she hears Mikoto actually speak up, and smirks just a bit. That is better. "She is right you know. You are starting to sound like Archer." she says, obviously believing that to be a bad thing. "Take it from someone who has never had more than a few friends. You should cherish the one's you have. Not abuse them."
Atoli	Haseo is, in fact, mean to Atoli. "I-It's not stupid! We can't know how these things work unless we try them. And look at this view! We're on a real airship, Haseo!" A REAL AIRSHIP! Why don't you appreciate her proactivity? :< She almost seems to shrink, losing her will to argue. Then Mikoto chews Haseo out. Atoli meekly tries to get between the two of them. "P-Please, stop! It's... it's fine. It's fine!" It's fine, she says. She puts on her biggest smile. It's. Fine. Sarracenia has the ship turn around. This causes Atoli to snap back to attention and head back to her. "I-I don't know about secret boss dragons, but yeah, let's go back to that mansion!" It's easy enough. Sarracenia and her crew have a feel for sailing the glitchy non-zones now. Going in a straight line gets them back to the ISLE OF KINGS, and stopping in time prevents them from zoning right back out of it. This place isn't accessible outside events, so there's no one present. It's like having a private island all for yourselves. There is a Chaos Gate, which would allow anyone to return to Mac Anu directly... but not back to the island.
Staren	Staren's eyes widen a little in surprise when Mikoto is moved to chew Haseo out. Then the princess calls for the ship to turn around -- Staren heads up to the navigator -- if the plant-people can communicate in English, Staren uses his armor's inertial tracker to try and make sure they don't end up lost.
Sarracenia	The airship turns out to have pretty good breaks, and turning also helps to keep from going right through the invisible area boundry on the other side. The navigator doesn't speak English really, but translation effect takes care of that. The navigator actually does seem worried about getting lost in an unpredictable area, but there have been quite a few landmarks thanks to the glitching water, and of course a stationary sun makes it very easy to navigate. Presumably none of those things are here on this island, but once they go back through to Mac Anu's area it should be easy enough. And if not, well there's a Chaos Gate there. Sarracenia directs the ship toward the island, and the captain lands at the outermost part of the dock. The ship causes a decent wave to flow across the water's surface and across the dock. Once the water and the ship have settled, the princess moves to lower the entry ramp. "Well well well~ Our own private island! I believe this calls for a beach party!" she says, seeming quite happy to have found a secret place. Haseo seems to recognize it, and so Sarracenia looks toward him and Atoli. "Oh, that is disappointing I was going to name it Sarracenia Island." she says with a bit of a pout. When Atoli says that Haseo's abuse is fine, she frowns. "It is not fine! As a beautiful woman and a friend you should demand higher standards from your friends! What does it say about you if you tolerate such behavior? You may not be a princess, but that does not mean you do not deserve to be treated well." With that, she starts toward the beach, followed by a small entourage of piranha plants carrying things like beach umbrellas and loungers.
Haseo	"You have an excuse? You don't even know the first about me and you're already trying to compare suffering? Ha... Haha... HahahahAHAHAHA!" Haseo laughs. It's a rather genuine laugh, even if it does sound rather condescending and vile. "Puuuuh-lease! An excuse!? It doesn't matter what your reasons1 are, you're just as much of an asshole as me even if you're 'justified'. So if you're trying to be high and mighty, quit while you're ahead or I'm just going to laugh harder, and if you're looking for pity you're not getting it from me. The only thing I hate more than my time being wasted is looking down on other people." Anyway. Fine. I'm /SORRY/ that this cruise didn't turn out so well, Atoli. That better? You guys happy?" Haseo scoffs and rubs his nose. Other people chime in on him being an asshole, but at this point he's got nothing left to say. He know better than to try to say anything when there's multiple people grilling his ass. Better to just nod and pretend.
Staren	"There are loads of islands in the Great Ocean. I'm sure you can find one to name Sarracenia Island." Staren observes. Ignoring the ongoing argument over who is a jerk, Staren looks to Haseo. "You recognized this place. What do you know about it?"
Tomoe	Tomoe does not comment on the look but she does take note of that Mikoto is eating, which is good, right? She does seem confused but she doesn't say a thing she'll let Mikoto have her say here there's not much of a way she can top the harshing she has dropped on Haseo. She does glare daggers at him for a moment though. She was going to leave it at that, was the optimal word until Atoli starts to say it's okay. "No, that is not okay at all." She looks at Haseo again. "You are looking down on Atoli, Haseo. With how you treat her." She doesn't really have time to enjoy the mountains due to this. As the boat just turns about she's said her peace with this issue and now is looking at the Island.
Sumiko	"Then laugh," Mikoto says, her tone just as dead as before. This was a lot of effort to do, especially now. She looks Haseo right in the eye, "Laugh long and hard at me. Come on, does it make you feel better? Fill the void in your soul? Your heart? The suffering of others feels great, doesn't it?" She looks at Atoli, who asks them to stop. "You're right, I am just like you. I am probably worse. The difference is that I try and be better. All you do is hurt others as you are hurt," She says, and sits back down, not bothering to get off the ship as they land. "I'm sorry, Atoli. It wasn't my place to say anything," She finally says towards the harvest cleric.
Atoli	"I-It's fine! I said it's fine!" No one cares. No one is listening. For that matter they aren't even looking at her. As ever. They're all too busy attacking or defending. Except for Mikoto, who finally decides to snap out of it after another bite. She backs away. Since there's a Chaos Gate here, then... it's the next best thing after logging out. And since that particular feature is locked away right now, well... Atoli decides to just make for the Chaos Gate and warp back to... wherever. Probably Mac Anu, but assuredly not for long, because she's not there by the time anyone follows. Short-Mail to Sakaki: A-Are you busy? Um... I'm coming to Moon Tree HQ if you're around. :(
Rean Schwarzer	Rean's kinda just glaring at Haseo as people call him out for being a dick. He didn't have much else to say that wasn't already being said, so he just...joined in by having the look of a dad being disappointed in his son, but he was neither Haseo's dad or old enough to be such. And then he spots a green and white blur fleeing for the portal out of the corner of his eye. "Wait, Atoli-" Rean says, turning to stop her, but nope she's already gone. He sighs. "Well, since the person who invited us to this is /gone/ now, maybe we should head back?"
Haseo	"Uhuh. So you really do just want to claim the moral high ground? Goodie. Well don't worry, there's a local cult for you to join if you ever feel the need to flex that superiority of yours on everyone else that upsets you. I'm sure that Sakaki guy will let you lick his boots if you do a really good job too." "Also I'm not looking down on her, it's just... Tch, nevermind. Anyway I'm done here." The moment Haseo is capable of leaving the ship, he does. He doesn't wave or say goodbye or anything. Because he's an asshole.
Staren	"This wasn't stupid. We're already finding things out we didn't know before." Staren points out, while Atoli runs off. He looks to Haseo. "If you ever want out of this death game, we're going to need to lean how The World works. And if you don't want out, then whatever you do want -- to gain power, to conquer it, or whatever -- will also require knowledge." He looks out over the railing. "I wonder what would've happened if we'd been in a water boat when there wasn't water anymore? Are the water physics there but the graphics not? Or do you fall forever? Or do you just die when you hit a low enough zlevel? ...No reason for an MMO to code that in, though. I imagine you'd fall out into the Cyber Core. But who knows? Maybe we should send a drone to check." So he does!
Sarracenia	Sarracenia blinks as she hears Atoli getting upset of all people. "Hey wait! Why are YOU leaving?!" she exclaims in surprise and confusion. Haseo soon follows, and Rean suggests that they all leave. Sarracenia lets out a heavy sigh, then gains a pouting expression. "Such a nice, secluded beach and the drama crew has to be the one to lead the exploration..." she mutters to herself. "Well, -I- am not leaving!" she declares a bit more loudly than necessary. "In fact! I will be changing to my sunbathing dress and enjoying some nice sunrays without the danger of lecherous eyes or hungry jungle life! Anyone who wishes to join me may do so!! I have enough bathing suits for all!" Stomping a bit in anger at the situation, Sarracenia continues on with her piranha plants, who set up the umbrella and the loungers while Sarracenia pulls a changing blind out of her purse and sets it up, then hops behind it and emerges a few moments later in a two piece swimsuit with translucent sheer cloth hanging like a dress. The suit is red, of course. Then she flops into a lounger and slides on some sunshades.
Sumiko	"Are you done? I'm already tired of listening to your bark. Go home doggie," Mikoto says, looking up as Atoli runs off. She sinks down a little more, that was probably her fault...maybe she shouldn't have said anything. What a mess up she was. Haseo gets another few words in, but Mikoto was already done listening, she doesn't have anything else to say to him, or the energy to even care. Though Sarracenia deciding to make the best of it despite everything causes something in her to move again. After Sarra sets up, a grumpy woman in a raccoon suit sits down next to her. She doesn't speak up or anything, she just sits there staring out at the water, which doesn't wave, and the lack of breeze.
Tomoe	Tomoe watches as Atoli and Haseo both leave and she is concerned something is going on here but maybe she overstepped it's too late now as both depart via the chaos gate. She sigh there's not much more she can do about that but she's not going t leave she looks over to Sarraqceni for a moment and will til her head a bit she'll equip some swimwear of her own and will try to go for a swim in the water with possibly hilarious result or she just actually swims whatever the result she will remain with Sarracenia and Mikoto along with anyone else who says here.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia lifts her shades in surprise as she is joined by...Mikoto. While she wasn't expecting anyone in particular to join her, she -really- wasn't expecting Mikoto. She offers a small, cautious smile to the very down girl. "Hey, try not to worry about it. She is either not a strong girl, or a very strong girl who has made up her mind. Either way there is not much we can do." she says, then reaches into her purse and pulls out some sunshades before handing them to Mikoto. "It must be warm in that outfit. Since it did not cheer you up...well, it is easy to remove. Just pull on the front with the intent of removing it, and it will disappear." She pauses. "And if that does not work, just hit yourself on the head enough to feel some pain." The lack of breeze soon gets to Sarra, as does the lack of waves. She reaches into her purse and pulls out her smartphone, then dials. "Captain, activate the propellers but do not take off." she instructs, and the airship's propellers start to turn. It creates at least a noticable breeze, though doesn't help much with the waves. Tomoe stays as well and Sarra waves to her as she swims. Hopefully there are no digital sharks!
Rean Schwarzer	Rean's not really up for swimming today, so he starts to head for the Chaos Gate to (hopefully) wind up on the right path home. He gives everyone a quick "goodbye" as he leaves, and then stops as he passes by Mikoto and Sarra. "Feel better soon, Mikoto." Rean says with a smile. And with that he leaves.
Sumiko	Mikoto takes the shades and then does as inquired. Slowly pulling the thing off of her before there is a POOF and it returns to an item. She looks at the thing strangely and then offers it back to Sarracenia. Her face puts the sunshades on because it was kinda bright looking directly at the sun. The propellers spinning cause her hair to move a bit, and there was finally a breeze. It felt...good, she closed her eyes and just let herself be here for a moment. "Maybe...I fear that she is not. I also fear that he'll just use her to cover his own pain. I know what it is like, I do whatever I can to make sure not to hurt, but it always comes back to being like this eventually. Last night was...just the trigger."
Tomoe	Tomoe does not glitch out and doesn't have anything horrible happen as she goes out there Sarracenia is someone she considers a friend. She will hang out with those who remain and attempt to make something of it, but she wonders to the depths of the drama they fell into. "You know this world feels like it's only ... half finished." The wind does feel nice in the end too, but she'll be close enough to shore to comment to Mikoto. "That is some serious insight and they will have to want to try and change things too sadly or no force under heaven could get someone to do otherwise." She will remain, and even do some cooking of her own as she has some stuff in her inventory she'll share with those who have remained here.
Staren	Staren's remotely communicating with his ship, having mapping missiles fabricated. Since this mission... didn't really work out, it may be time to pursue other methods. Just pull on the front with the intent of removing it, and it will disappear. He turns. "You mean I could've gotten rid of it the WHOLE TIME?" Staren sighs. It's good to see Mikoto focused on something other than her own despair, though. That's good.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia blinks as there is an item to actually hand back to her, but just as she is reaching for it the little fox plush disappears in a puff of white smoke, disintegrating. She waves a hand dismissively. "They are one-time use items." she says, obviously not concerned about losing it. "She may not be able to change, but he might be able to. He did seem at least aware of the harm when you pointed it. That is something...isn't it?" She seems unsure. The princess is certainly no expert on friendship or relationships. She shrugs lightly and is about to relax in her lounger again when Staren calls out. Sarracenia...laughs! Quite a lot, and in a rather teasing tone. "Of course! That is part of what made it such a wonderful prank!" she calls back. "You could have literally removed it...at any time!" And she laughs some more.
Staren	Staren rolls his eyes and turns back around to continue leaningh with his arms folded on the railing. While he's queueing up construction orders he can at least hang around a bit to monitor his drone and also see if anything happens in this place if you wait a bit. Eventually he adds, "Thank you for the transport."
Sumiko	After a moment, she...giggles. The thought of Staren in a raccoon suit and unable to get it off because he wasn't able to figure it out was absolute/hilarious/ to her. Well, more likely she needed a good laugh, she needed to feel something other than what she was. After some time she nods, about the girl. "Yeah, I suppose so," she says. "I found out some...very awful news last night. Combined with...well you saw it. I don't like going out or exposing others to it when it happens, but I also said I'd come."
Tomoe	Tomoe laughs a bit her self as thing seem to be improving in terms of mood as she exits the water and she'll flop on the beach for the moment. "Wait you mean Staren didn't." She belly laughs for a moment but thing get more serious. "Well with all that said we should enjoy the beach a bit longer I think."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia is still giggling when Mikoto starts to speak. Sarra looks over, lifting her shades once more and this time resting them above her forehead. "I see. I am sorry for whatever happened. But, if the news is this terrible, then you should endeavor to have as much fun and do as much good as you can while you can." she says, then smiles lightly. "Wouldn't you agree? You do not want to be like that...what was his name? The one with Atoli." When it gets a bit later Sarracenia finally tires of her sunbathing and has her crew gather her things and reboard the ship. "Come along everyone, we should get going. I think despite the unpleasantness this turned out to be a pleasant evening! What do you all think?" Of course, the others don't have to come along since there is a gate right there and Sarra is going to have to use it anyway to get her ship out of here. Of course, she changes back into her normal dress before boarding the ship. And one last thing she does is pull a large Sundew Kingdom flag from her ship and walk a good ways up the landing until she finds some ground. Then, she plants the flag and pulls out her DK Hammer. With a short hop she gives the flag a firm tap to get it solidly planted. Then, she departs, saying goodbye to everyone who is still here and letting them know that they are welcome to visit her at her castle. Even Staren.
Staren	Staren rolls his eyes at the others' mirth but he doesn't complain. Mikoto needed her spirits lifted. And then Sarracenia says to have fun /while you can/. It almost sounds ominous. Well, the trip back to Mac Anu should be safe. Staren takes off his helmet and lets the wind blow through his hair as the airship flies.