Open | The Epicurians Present: The 1st of September Beach Bash!

[bleatingedge]

Who ► Leo & Anyone that wishes to join!
What ► BEACH PARTY!!
When ► September 1st
Where ► Δ Haggard Traveler's Reprieve
Content Warnings ► People will be drunk. Will add to if needed

[The time has come... for fun! Δ Haggard Traveler's Reprieve has been decorated with all the niceties that a beach party requires - docks for fishing, large umbrellas to hide from the sun, several tables with sets of chairs for sitting and conversing, and the most obvious addition: a massive roaring bonfire with a big cooking mesh over the top of it for barbecue cookin'!

Leo's wearing a fishing hat and aviators alongside his trademark loincloth-and-nothing-else getup for maximum dissonance. From his position on the other side of the bonfire, he waves a hand at those arriving.]

Welcome to the Beach Bash! Snacks and drinks are on the tables, bottles of sunscreen and crafting tables are under the umbrellas, and complementary fishing gear are at the docks for your convenience. Have fun, friends~

[Emperor Grunty is also here, should you wish to annoy him! He's currently laying in the sand with a reflector. What? Grunties need their sun too!]

Comments

[insinning]

Never?

[Guess what he has in his inventory. A plate of fresh hot kartoffelklösse, covered in melted butter and croutons.]

I do. I used to eat them with my family a lot. It's not quite the same but...

[Eat]

[tablescraps]

( Ah, family. That would do it.

He !'s when Sinclair offers it, but he accepts this too, setting the plate of BBQ on a flattish rock, now an impromptu table, to take this dish.

He glances at the look in Sinclair's eyes, then back at the dish... Eat. Okay, he gets it. Grandpa will dig in.

! )

... It's good.

( num num num num num )

[insinning]

[ Ah. Sinclair's smiling, warm and soft. Things have been easier than they have been in a long time and he thinks it'd be nice if they could stay this way.]

Next time you visit, I can make them again.

[ He understands a little now, why people like cooking so much.]

[tablescraps]

( They will, of course. What could possibly go wrong? )

All right.

( And next time he visits, maybe they can start moving toward some concrete plans in regards to what baiting out Kromer will look like... a lovely topic for any normal family gathering, in Mithrun's mind.

Nomf... )

... Are the cooking techniques transferable between Fragment and reality, or do amendments need to made? I can attempt to make my competition dish, too.

( He's been having Sinclair taste test his biscuit turkey pot pie he wants to feed to Hien over and over and over... But he seems oblivious to the fact that Sinclair may not want it IRL, as well. )

[insinning]

[Sinclair helps himself to some BBQ to hide the look on his face. Please no]

Um. I think so. It felt the same at least, for recipes that required actual cooking.

[Perfectly oblivious to family reunion topics that he may not enjoy now that he has a boyfriend who is willing to smack sense into him]

[tablescraps]

The science gone into this simulation is impressively extensive, considering there's many things about the real world we don't understand ourselves.

( There are, of course, limitations and gaps - but overall, the game is pretty good at bluffing hard enough it feels almost more vivid than reality, sometimes. )

[insinning]

It is strange, isn't it? Everything we do or feel here feels like reality, even if we don't always feel it in our actual bodies.

[Like...eating. Once they leave, if he hasn't eaten, he's tired and hungry. But some of the cursed areas are...]

[tablescraps]

Mm. I keep fainting these days because I forget I haven't eaten in real life. And I can't really sleep anyway...

( His carers' routines for him sorta keep him on schedule given they've been trying extra hard after the game destroyed them, in that he sometimes recalls he should be eating at a certain time... but with a lack of desire to log off, he just eats in the game. Close, but no cigar. )

[insinning]

You can't sleep?

[...but also, more importantly]

...Mithrun, you really should be eating regularly. Three meals a day outside of the game.

[tablescraps]

... I do one, closer to evening.

( No haggling. )

I can't really sleep without medication, because of my injury. Though I can still fall unconscious involuntarily...

( ... and if someone gives him a foot massage, apparently. But he doesn't always have someone around who will, so, not a consistent bet. )

[insinning]

[Maybe he needs to visit sooner rather than later himself???]

...maybe you can put a timer on to eat real food, so you feel stronger while playing.

[The latter makes Sinclair frown a little]

What about your injury makes it so you can't sleep?

[tablescraps]

( Stronger while playing... Hmmm... He may consider it. )

I lack the desire to sleep. If I lay down and close my eyes, my brain just doesn't slow down. But my body needs it, so if I play for a day or two straight, I'll eventually pass out without needing to try.

That's always a little more convenient than the medication - it sometimes makes me feel unsteady a few hours after I wake up, which makes testing difficult.

[insinning]

But...falling asleep isn't always about just wanting to sleep, is it? It's your body telling you to rest.

[God knows how many all-nighters Sinclair failed because he couldn't fight against exhaustion]

Doesn't collapsing put off your testing for longer too?

[tablescraps]

... It does. The medication is the least inconvenient, but not perfect.

Even if my body needs it, my perception of it is weak. ( Like hunger, pain, etc.... ) I just play longer to compensate.

[insinning]

[That sounds like a case of crippling depression sir][:T]

It's not like everyone is on at night after all. And we're only allowed to go into the dungeons so many times a week.

[tablescraps]

( shhh why would he be sad about anything )

There's a lot of content to cycle through solo. For example, I caught these fish, even though they're not named in any patch notes - probably placeholder fish. I've also found a way to clip through walls on occasion. Every update introduces more to dig up.

[insinning]

...I know those.

[Absolutely terrifying. Sinclair pulls a face at it, and then looks at Mithrun in alarm]

You've been clipping through walls?

[tablescraps]

Not constantly. But there's some corners where you can step through - if only partially. I report them as I encounter them, though, like other issues.

There's a through line here behind some glitches, and the rest seem to be genuine errors. I try to figure out which are which.

[insinning]

[Hmmm]

Like the time we all equipped each other and then the mirrors?

[tablescraps]

Yes. Hien mentioned the individual behind the level cap armor and the mirrors is the same... If he's being honest, then I wonder if this person is also behind the voices on the wind, too. They're probably not causing normal graphical glitches.

( Probably. It's the researcher in him that makes him qualify his statements - nothing can ever really be certain, and that's all the more reason to dig until your fingers bleed. )

[insinning]

...he did say the mirrors weren't intentional. And that it was something that couldn't be recorded or streamed, so we wouldn't have to worry.

[He doubts he's the only one who doesn't want his ugly memories shared with the world.

And ugh, the wind]

But is it someone in the company or outside the company? And why do that to us?