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⬣//BLOSSOMING FROM A GAP IN THE ASPHALT.
A new Root Town has been revealed: Naval Monte, a tiered city built upon a mountain jutting up from an endless expanse of ocean. These fortified walls house an innumerable number of NPCs who, unlike those which occupy other Root Towns, are quite a bit more advanced.
Those of you who spend entirely too much time logged in have no doubt noticed the set patterns the NPCs of Mac Anu and Lumina Cloth take to move from area to area. Their paths never change. Their dialog rarely diverges. Talking to a freshly painted wall would be more stimulating than conversing with your run of the mill NPC, but Naval Monte's are different.
They move in accordance with their own whims, seldom found in the same place twice. Some NPCs have entire families while others boast elaborate backstories and speak at length of their tales of bravery and triumphs over evil. While they won't accept your party invites, they may instead invite you to share a meal with their family and regale you with stories until you've had your fill.
Travel far enough into the depths of the city and you'll hear tales of a graveyard that sits within the core of the mountain, but the NPCs who guard this elusive site are defensive at best. Don't expect them to let you in, but given their advanced nature, you may be able to wheedle some valuable information out of them.
Be aware that there is a price to enter Naval Monte. After crossing the vast bridge leading right up to the mountain city, you'll be accosted by no less than a dozen eager vendors fighting to peddle their wares to you. Some are so desperate that they ask only for a single GP, and in exchange, they grant you passage to the city.
Ask them why they're so desperate to make a sale and they'll answer plainly: if you don't, the curse will persist.
Come Saturday morning, an email flagged as urgent pops up in your inbox.
To our beta team,
It has come to our attention that a number of our beta testers have failed to report previous underlying health conditions that may negatively impact their ability to perform their duties as intended.
In our ongoing efforts to monitor the health and safety of our beta testing team, all participants in Fragment's closed beta test will be required to complete a health screening before the date of September 16th in order to continue participating in the beta.
Beta participants will be matched with a health professional in their area and the fees for their screening and assessment waived. As such, it is necessary that you make an appointment with the medical professional assigned to you or select another from within our network.
No exceptions will be made for those who fail to submit their health assessments to CyberConnect's Health and Human Resources department. Termination from Fragment's beta testing program and applicable legal action will be taken in the event that you fail to participate in these necessary steps.
We take the health and safety of our beta testers very seriously. If you have any concerns, please contact us at cccorp.ccmail.com.
Thank you for your continued efforts,
CyberConnect Corporation of Japan.
Murmurs of an unusual NPC have begun to circulate within Naval Monte.
According to eye witnesses, one of the local residents has "gone rogue". According to them, a woman with dishwater eyes and hair messily pulled into a loose bun has been spotted going door to door begging to be let in.
"We need to go," she shouts, her eyes glossy with tears, her every word slurred. "We'll be safe there! We'll be free! We can't live like this anymore!"
From what you've heard, that woman has managed to break free from the confines of her native Root Town and has been seen running through the streets in Mac Anu, Lumina Cloth, and the nameless Root Town in the sky. You may have even come across her, accosted in the street and urged to listen to her increasingly erratic ramblings.
"I need you to take me there! Take me to him! His father left the key within him!"
Ultimately, nothing you say or do will influence the woman's behavior or calm her down. All you'll get for your troubles is an ill feeling in the pit of your gut, something that blooms from within you and spreads infinitely outwards. An infection you can't cure.
You won't realize that the infection has begun to spread and mutate until you see it blossoming all around you, your fellow testers complaining of an unidentifiable malaise. You'll know what afflicts you and everyone you've infected when it's far too late to do anything about it. Until this unfortunate "bug" is patched, you'll continue to get sicker and sicker. The progression of the illness is as follows:
Stage one: The complete inability to lie, but is that really a bad thing? We could all stand to be more honest and communicative.
Stage two: The loss of one of your key senses, but only one. Maybe it's your sense of smell. Your keen tongue. Your vision. Whatever it is, it's a vital part of you that won't return to you until you log off, but when you next log in, you may find that a different sense has gone missing instead.
Stage three: Disconnect from your real world body. You'll realize after several days have passed that you can no longer feel your real self as keenly as before. You may not realize you've slapped yourself in the face or knocked a tooth out on the edge of your desk until you log out for the day and witness the extent of the damage.
Final stage: Memory loss. Your head feels foggy. Concentrating becomes a struggle, your thoughts sluggishly crawling through your mind and and ultimately losing their way. In the final stages of the illness, you may forget to log out for days at a time and wake to find yourself passed out on the floor with your headset jostled loose, inadvertently freeing you from the game.
The "cure," aside from a timely patch, may hide somewhere within the game. Before your senses leave you, you'd better start asking around.
As many of you know, it isn't easy to get ahold of CyberConnect when you need them. Hien is, at best, completely useless. Pete isn't much better. It's for these reasons and more that players have been invited to a digital conference and encouraged to give a voice to the rising concerns within the beta testing community.
The conference is to be held, both ICly and OOCly, on September 23rd at 12PM EST. If you have any burning questions to ask the people who hold power and influence over the state of the game and what happens within it, you can't afford to complain about timezones. This is your opportunity to speak your mind and have those questions answered.
OOCly, the conference will begin on September 23rd at 12PM EST and end on October 7th at 12PM EST. During this time, your characters can ask whatever questions they'd like of CyberConnect corporate staff, bring up concerns, and provide insights on their beta testing experiences.
Participation is mandatory (ICly), so set your alarms and don't be late!
Hello, everyone! Sorry I was away for a while. I got stuck in an outer level of the game and it took me a week to get back, but I should be just fine now! I hope I didn't miss anything too serious...
I did see that all of you have worked hard on those recipes, though! I liked all of them so much that I've added each of them into the game so that everyone can make their own. Congratulations!
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[ ...Okay, no. That's more than simple tiredness. It's clear all over Michel's face that he can't believe he just said that. ]
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If you're that worried, you can always ask for my contact information.
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[ Wait. Michel is going to speak very carefully now, all but weighing each word before saying anything. ]
Then, I am. If you would.
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[ Normally he wouldn't do this, nor would he usually suggest such a thing at all, but Honesty Hour has it out for him it seems.
He sends Winter an email with a phone number and his real name—Yuui. ]
There have been enough dangerous glitches that I think it's for the best if we each have multiple contacts in the real world so we can check in on one another.
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[ Time to go into the AFK pose to check that email and send Fai back a brisk response.
And then recheck that email, and return with a question: ]
...Yuui?
[ Well, most people likely hadn't used their real name for their handle. ]
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[ Any additional information can be meaningful, even if they're far apart.
With a little smile, Fai nods at the name. ]
Michel?
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[ Dammit Yael... please ignore Michel's tiny smile. Fai — Yuui — isn't a heathen and theoretically pronounces it normally. ]
Why did you pick "Fai"? Does it have a meaning?
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But, ah... he kind of wishes Michel didn't ask that question, because now he has no choice but to answer. In fact, the answer comes spilling out before he can even stop it. ]
It was my brother's name.
[ He wants to run. He doesn't want to deal with Michel's reaction, because Michel knows exactly how weird this is. ]
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Perhaps I shouldn't have asked that. Something is... clearly strange today.
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[ He smiles, slightly forced, as he lets out an even more forced sounding laugh. Haha. How does he brush this off...?
The reality is that he can't, isn't it? ]
Things have just been slipping out, even if I don't mean for them to.
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[ As Fai knows very well. Michel's expression goes slightly more shuttered at the sound of that laugh and his jaw tightens. Unfortunately, now of all times, it's difficult to shut his mouth on just how disconcerting that is. ]
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[ With a tilt of his head, he takes in the way Michel's jaw tightens, as if he's holding back. ]
What else is it you'd like to say?
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[ Especially in these circumstances... but all the moreso because of these circumstances, once he's speaking, it's hard to rein it back in. ]
...It's more uncomfortable when you put a false face on things. We're both well aware that it isn't something you can brush aside with a laugh.
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[ Though it isn't a bad thing, and if anything, he says that with affection. They're shockingly alike, after all. ]
I know I can't brush things aside with a laugh, but it's what I've learned to do. Have you ever done anything unhealthy because you had no other choice?
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[ The last is bitten out, just barely in time. Michel's gaze flickers away again while he tries to find his composure. ]
Don't mistake me. It is still a choice. [ For Fai, too. ] This... would be an inadvisable time to ask you why.
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[ They're answers that neither of them would want to give or hear, he's sure. But even so, Fai can't help but feel some sense of camaraderie in it too. At least neither of them are alone in having skeletons in their closet. ]
You know... I'm sure you have a good reason for pretending. I would never judge you for that.
[ It would make him quite the hypocrite. ]
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I believed it was the best decision I could make. And I'm sure you thought the same. I don't judge you.
[ He was half-hoping the unwilling outpouring of words would trigger again and clarify for him what he is feeling. Naturally, no such convenience now. ]
...I do want to hear your reasons. But I'd rather hear them at a time when you chose to tell me of your own volition.
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Maybe they could have a drink or two before needing to do that. ]
I'm curious, I won't lie to you. But I think we're on the same page... it'd be best to clear out our closets when we actually want to do that.
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[ Heavy emphasis on the "if." Although, in a strange way, he does have the game's invasive tendencies to thank for the tentative connections he's built here despite himself. ]
...We may be enough alike that neither of us will ever have that talk unless we're forced.
[ Fai evades and he stonewalls. But... maybe it wouldn't be so terrible to actually try. ]
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I think you might be right. Should we go ahead and get it over with, then?
[ Though the thought of trying for real is very, very nice. ]
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[ And that even regretting it wouldn't be enough to force his hand. He grimaces a tiny bit and folds his arms over his chest. There must be a better place for this; or maybe, this is the appeal some people see in drinking. But if he wavers he'll probably lose all resolve now.
...For all the bravado in his thoughts, he clears his throat and looks at Fai just a tiny bit plaintively. ]
Will you go first?
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At least he feels slightly more at ease. ]
Sure. I may as well, right?
[ But the nerves set in, and he has to take a deep breath. ]
My brother originally signed up for the beta a long time ago, back when it was first announced. I only found out he got in when I was going through his email. So... I used his invite. I figured I might as well let his name live on in the game, so I used his name for my avatar.
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The circumstances right now just mean he has to listen all the more carefully, and think before he speaks. He doesn't want to word any offhand questions that Fai would feel tricked into answering. ]
As a tribute and a memorial. It might... even be the most natural reaction. But I doubt it can be doing you much good to spend every day being called by his name.
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...I think you might be right. It's taking a bigger toll on me than I anticipated.
[ What was meant to be a memorial to help him through grief has instead been a constant reminder. ]
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[ Names mean a great deal. That part, he understands resonantly. What it feels like to be called day after day by a name that pierces you with each utterance. ]
But if there's something you'd prefer I call you, tell me.
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wrap here for new things maybe? :3c
yes :tippytap:
:catwow:!!!