Complete Megathread Lake Horatio Star Charting [ TS Filler Episode ]

[Toko]

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There was a tilt of the hare's head at the sudden animosity @Kyra Vahtana displayed to the mention of the slimodile meat, the produced cooler set down around the spot that @Hanno Futaba had been setting up everything else to be used whenever the time came for food prepping. "That'd be wasteful though, Kyra... besides, they're actually very delicious—a surprising find given their outwards appearance." Still the Lepus wasn't about to force the fox to eat something she didn't want any time soon, and given the amount of people present—not to mention the floating lake lodge—Toko felt confident they'd be able to have enough variety of edible things for everyone to be happy.

When @Moonsong mentioned fishing, pointing at a familiar figure that had been missed until then, the hare couldn't help but light up as she noticed @Askera Question. It wasn't often that the researcher was found outside his lab in the Tower of Tests, or out of Finweald in general. A quick thumbs up was given to @Yugam in response, before the man was quickly dragged away and towards the lake by the purple fox.

"Sooo... are the fish biting today, Askera-san?"

Curiosity had brought the hare over to the recurring employer, the hare squatting down into a comfortable position as she looked out towards the vast expanse of Lake Horatio. Two Faerins were already splashing in the water, having returned to their antics after almost being swallowed up by the lodge house when it had anchored itself to the docks, and not far Toko could see Kyra giving the water a try too... before the small fox simply decided it'd be faster to jump straight into the lake instead of slowly acclimating to the water's temperature.

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

"Yeah...fine. Just...don't like the slimeodile thing. Had some bad encounters with it. Very, very bad..." Kyra said to the man, her voice quieter than usual. "I guess it's just...I don't know, for a moment I remembered the pain of being caught in its jaws. Bad memories, and such."

"Yeah, I remember those things," Yu replied, his hands drifting to the pockets of his trunks. "Not an easy fight. They're some tough motherfuckers."

"Oh...sorry, I completely forget that...err...sorry..." the woman suddenly apologized, earning herself a questioning look from the raven haired man.

"Hmm? For what?" he asked, not understanding why she was apologizing. There was no reason to. Unless she'd done something behind his back, but even then, Yugam couldn't fathom what that could possibly be.

The woman then offered for Yu to swim with her, if he didn't feel like going back to the others quite yet. "Sure, I don't mind," the man said shortly, before starting to wade into the water.

The cold water sent a shiver up Yu's spine, causing him to suck air in through his teeth sharply. "Fuck, that's cold," the man murmured, before willing himself deeper, up to his waist.

"Fuckthat'scoldholyfuckcoldcoldcoldfuckmecold."

The string of expletives that came out of the beastfolk surprised Yu for a moment. For a woman who got embarrassed talking about anything remotely sexual, her colorful language was completely knew. The man couldn't help but snicker at her. "You good there?"

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Askera Question]

A start overtook the man beneath her gaze. Had his thoughts drifted so strongly that Toko's voice had been hallucinated in his ears?! No, she was actually here-with Yugam, to boot.
No, he was in the lake. Right. Was he actually hallucinating? Best not to bring that up...

"...Hmm. Hai, I've been making progress with this log. Unfortunately, quantity does not diversity make. I keep catching..." His words were momentarily interrupted with a tug on the line. With his newly tricked-out magitech rod, Askera effortlessly pulled out the new catch. It caught alongside the breath in his throat. The breath was forced out as a sigh.

"...Walleyes." As if to punctuate his statement, there was another fish on the line that Toko's UI labeled [[ASTOREAN WALLEYE]].

He wondered if the hallucinations came from his lagging disappointment that had been clawing at his mind. Or maybe the fish themselves had hallucinogenic properties, themselves. This thought was enough for the researcher to put his rod down, thinking that a break would be good for his luck. Instead, it was time to look over a dead wall-eye in order to glean the properties of the fish.

"Ah, Toko-san, please hold this for a moment. I have quite a few tools to be working with here..."

@Toko

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra Vashtana

220 / 220

Her head exploded from the water as she shot to her feet - barely coming more than shoulders out of the depths. Turning, she spotted Yugam nearby, flashing him a grin before leaping into the water with another big splash. The water was cold, but after a time she'd become used to it, almost enjoying the freshness of it.

As she surfaced again, Kyra let herself fall back, staring up into the sky as she floated on the water. Everything felt so serene, almost like some sort of weird paradise. If one took out the numerous dangers, the constant violence and sometimes less than appealing

"Hey Yugam...isn't it so beautiful here? I mean, there's some less than nice things, sure...but this...this is wonderful, right?"

She lazed in the water for a few more moments, listening to the world around her. She could hear the voices of the others, still up near the fire that had been raised. Drifting closer to the bank, she stood, the water lapping at her waist as she raised her hands to her mouth, cupping them before yelling up the bank.

"Hey! Are you guys coming down to enjoy the waters, or are you going to be anti-social slums?"

@Yugam | @Toko | @Brutus Dahlgren | @Moonsong | @Hanno Futaba

 

[Lune]

"Ooh, that's very refreshing," Moonsong exclaimed as she gulped down the cold drink in a glass bottle. It's probably a buff potion mixed with some fruit, but as long as it's tasty and energetic. These people in the lakelodge really knew what they were doing.

Moments later, she heard @Kyra Vashtana yelling at the group for not getting into the water. Well, they're already in their summer outfit by the lake, so why not? The girl, now fully energized by the questionable drink, stretched her legs and arms before suddenly dashing towards the water in a full sprint.

"Last one to swim is a rotten egg!" She shouted before jumping high up the air, doing some gravity-magic-enabled backflips before diving straight into the water.

The problem is that the diving doesn't look as smooth as the air trick as she made a loud slapping sound upon contact with the water. Yeah, that gotta hurt.

The brunette did not appear for a few seconds, before slowly floating to the surface face-up like a Yu-Gi-Oh card. "Ow." She exclaimed. The adrenaline might have been too much. "I don't think anything broke. Let me float for a while." Moonsong muttered to Kyra while floating like a leaf in a lake.

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"A rotten egg?" With a raised eyebrow, the giant would stop what he was doing and crack his neck. He would shoot the fire a look, making sure any flagrant safety issues were absent (he was not in the mood for a Smokey the bear raid boss today) before taking a running start towards the water. "Couldn't be me." He would scoop his board up from the sand in one fluid motion, banishing it to his UI just to have it on hand, before pulling off his shirt and leaping into the air...

FWOOSH.

The Lion had liftoff as flames jetted from his feet propelling him upwards. After rising about ten or so feet, he would cut the flames and pull his knees to his chest as he spun backwards. "Watch out below!" They were on the beach, sure, but that didn't mean they were free from a Dahlgren style canonball of a different type. With perfect precision the giant dropped down from above, smashing into the water in optimal splash inducing formation. He wasn't too close that he was at risk of landing on someone, but he was just close enough to ensure maximum water splashage over @Yugam , @Moonsong , and @Kyra Vashtana .

As he rose from the depths, he would shake his head to get the water out of his hair and steal a glance over to @Toko and @Askera Question to make sure his waves weren't going to disturb the fishing. Steam would gently waft off his perfectly sculpted body as he waded closer to Yugam and Kyra, his body glowing slightly. The would notice a light shimmer of heat wafting off him as he approached, and a shift in the local water temperature from chilly to something more...pleasant.

"Guess it's a race between Toko and Hanno..." he would declare boldly, crossing his arms across his chest before peering to Kyra. "Are you doing better? You seemed pretty upset when you hit the water."

 

[Yugam]

Although Kyra didn't answer the man directly, she briefly dunked herself beneath the water, before bursting out with a great splash, grinning at him. Well, all quiet on the western front, the man supposed, before dunking himself as well, forcing himself to acclimate to the water, before allowing his body to start floating on it's own.

"Hey Yugam..." the man heard the woman address him. "Isn't it so beautiful here? I mean, there's some less than nice things, sure...but this...this is wonderful, right?"

There was moment of silence that passed between them, as Yu thought over the question. He knew his answer, on instinct. That was easy, but for a moment, the man wondered if the woman was testing him for some reason. Eventually deciding that there was no reason for her to, and that even if she was, he didn't care, he replied, "Yeah. Sure beats the hell out of the real world, at least."

Before long, Kyra began to call for the others to join them in the water, and mere moments later, the woman who had handed him the peculiar bottle from before landed in the water with a loud smack, sending water high into the air, splashing Yu full force, shortly followed by an even bigger splash created by Brutus, making the hemomancer sputter. "Hey!"

@Kyra Vashtana | @Moonsong | @Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra Vashtana

220 / 220

A quick glance at the floating man was all she managed before being covered in a tidal wave of water as the larger man hit the water. She'd just been about to turn her attention towards Moonsong, when the wave had struck - forcing Kyra underwater to avoid the brunt of it all.

"Hey! Watch where you're...ah, shit. Whatever. Here!"

She began laughing as she pushed a force of water at the others, summoning up a quick sliver of spirit magic to help her push a mid-sized wall of water - barely up to her own shoulders - at the others, before giggling. Realising the threat she'd just made herself, she dove under the water, swimming further out towards the centre of the lake in an attempt to avoid any wrath.

Surfacing once more, this time far enough out that her feet couldn't reach bottom, she let herself coast a little, eyeing the lake and the surrounding area. There was so much to take in here, and Yugam had confired her theory, just moments ago.

"So wonderful..."

Remembering that she had wanted to check on Moonsong, Kyra made her way back towards the floating woman, splashing her with water as she swam up beside her, grinning as she did so.

"How's the pain? Anything broken? By the way, as a piece of advice - hitting water hurts."

@Brutus Dahlgren | @Yugam | @Moonsong

 

[Askera Question]

Askera spent time looking over the fish that he had lie out at the table. Unfortunately, all the Walleye was good for was as a material for a particular kind of enhancement potion-not bad, but exactly what he had expected. He looked up from his work to observe his surroundings, seeing what had changed since he had lost himself in investigation.

As expected, Toko had caught nothing-it was the perfect job for her to hold the fishing rod for him, as it was the lowest-maintenance person to hold such a duty that he could ask for. He was grateful for someone like Toko to be around to hold the line.

Brutus had arrived, it seemed, erupting from the water in a glorious display. The man looked fantastic as ever, and would likely make other men in swimsuits jealous.

...Was it okay to think that? Askera's mind screeched to a crashing halt. That wasn't some kind of awakening inside of his mind, was it? Surely not, he concluded. As the decades-old western anime titled 'Johnny Bravo' once said: "This is a men's fitness magazine. I want to look LIKE this, not AT this."

Secure in the fact that he was a normal member of society once more, Askera's careful eye watcvhed over the other factors around the lake. The strange floating restaraunt seemed to have drifted around a little bit. There was no way that such a thing was safe...

Not wishing to think about the dangers of floating restraunts, Askera turned his attention back to Toko as he requested, "Onegai, may I have my rod back?"

@Toko @Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Toko]

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"Eeeh... that's a pretty cool feature." She watched as the rod effortlessly pulled out the new catch, before a soft chuckle escaped the hare upon catching the audible sigh that Askera released. "Ah, I see... how many of those have you caught already?"

The rabbit knelt down besides the man into a comfortable position, aware of the splashing sounds coming from not far away as more of the group decided to test the lake's waters for the first time before she waved softly in the direction of the forming group.

"Mmm Ah, hai!"

As the man besides her called for her assistance the Lepus didn't even think twice about the request, her hands immediately reaching out to hold the offered fishing rod before glancing over to see what Askera was up to. "So... what are you trying to learn from them?" She was curious to see how this would tie into the man's usual research, the rabbit not having thought much about fish in general unless it was to decide which one was the tastiest when it came to sashimi.

The time with the fishing rod had felt rather short, a faint pout on the hare's features as she realized not even the slightest nibble had tried to trigger the bait, before she sighed as the rod was offered back to Askera as he requested.

@Askera Question

 

[Lune]

The explosion of @Brutus Dahlgren's cannonball was so massive, that he created mini tsunami waves that pushed Moonsong further away from the group. With effort, she grunted and moved her legs to slowly float back to where she was resting.

"If I wasn't in pain right now, I would have splashed all over you with water." She deadpanned to the red-haired man.

@Kyra Vashtana appeared, splashing some water on the floating girl. "No, nothing was broken, according to the UI, at least," Moonsong said in a completely flat tone like she was dead inside. The damage was mostly emotional rather than physical. "Uh, yeah. Found out the hard way. Good thing the cold water is numbing all the pain." The more reason for her to stay in the Lakelodge tonight, so that she can enjoy a fluffy bed after almost death by water contact.

"So, is this lake completely safe? There wouldn't be gigantic fishes around here, would there?" Moonsong asked the group while floating motionless, before noticing that @Toko is fishing along with the man. "Hey, you guys not going to jump in? It's so refreshing here!"

Maybe not moving for a while is the best choice after all. She gets to enjoy looking at the sky while floating on a lake. "... The clouds are pretty." She muttered. It's been a long time since she sat back in silence and enjoyed the scenery. Well, maybe not completely in silence, because the lake is filled with laughter and water-splashing.

Still, it is nice.

 

[Askera Question]

It was a terrible thing, to have the impression that you were doing something wrong. Ever since he'd gotten here, the researcher had found nothing but Walleyes. RNG could only go so far, and doubts began to creep into his skull. What was he missing? How could he proceed?

Askera was at a loss, and so he glanced around at the people around himself. "...Ano... Excuse me, is there anybody that could help me with this?" He asked, and if even one look of interest was given he would continue, "I feel as if there's some way to fish something up here that isn't an Astorean Walleye. However, I admit that I am at a total loss. Please, would anyone be willing to give me suggestions?"

His fate, once entwined in battle with the fish, was now handed to the power of his friends. Surely someone would have a creative idea in mind!

 

[Toko]

Time certainly flew when people were enjoying themselves, having fun among friends and making new connections—and today had certainly not been an exception to the rule. Throughout the day Lake Horatio had been filled with boisterous laughter, excited cries, the occasionally surprised shriek and over all the bustling sound of voices as people carried on their conversations. Lala’s Lakelodge had also seen its fair share of foot traffic and business as the day had progressed, with many of the players having rented available rooms in order to enjoy the planned fireworks and merry eating and dancing into the night.

As the sun began to set over the horizon the group had finally left the chilly water of the lake in favor of the warmth the recently lit bonfire now provided, the grill never running empty thanks to the combined efforts of those around them—and Mary’s good timing when it came to providing the group with whatever ingredients they might’ve been missing or had recently ran out of.

Food and drink was plentiful, so much so that it was shared with anyone that had shown at the lake throughout the day—other players and landers treated alike—as they relished and savored the achieved victory from a few weeks back. Eventually things would come to an end and, after ensuring the bonfire was properly put out and no waste was left scattered about the lake and its surroundings, each player had retired to their chosen locations before logging out for the night.

OOC Note:

Thanks to everyone that showed up and made this thread a blast! Apologies this closing post came a bit late from me, but it was truly a wonderful experience and I hope we have similar moments in the future!!!

Feel free to mark this as completed in your trackers now~ uwu