⬣//GROWING WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL.

[cccorp]

>>Gathering // >>Waiting // >>Can't Return // >>It's Real

⬣//STERILE WHITE WALLS

September 23rd—conference day. In the hours preceding the meeting, beta testers are supplied with information on how to access the virtual conference room and offered a set of conduct guidelines. Testers are urged to read them thoroughly and instructed to sign their name on the bottom of the page to confirm that they’ve read and understand the following guidelines:

1. All questions will be addressed. Do not interrupt speakers or other beta testers when they are asking questions or having their questions answered.

2. Conduct yourself professionally and appropriately. Do not curse, shout, or otherwise engage in disruptive behavior. Violators will be muted and their speaking privileges revoked.

3. No eating or drinking. Keep your virtual space clean and free of debris.

4. Remain seated. Excessive movement or inappropriate behavior will result in restriction of your avatar’s movements.

5. PvP is disabled in the conference room. Weapons cannot be drawn and your Fragment inventory is unavailable during the duration of the conference.

Players are generously allowed one hour to filter in and find their seats, review the guidelines, and discuss the questions they’ve prepared with their fellow beta testers.

⬣//THE LOW RUMBLE OF DISTANT THUNDER

One hour comes and goes. The room remains occupied only by the beta participants, CyberConnect Corporation’s flashy logo spinning idly on the conference room’s 80 inch display. Restlessness begins to settle in, idle chatter turning to frustration as one hour becomes two. Still, no one from the Corporation shows.

The conference room remains devoid of purpose, some forty-odd people sitting alone in a sterile conference room, a locked room, should anyone grow so restless they try to leave. Any attempts made to break doors and windows will fail.

The door is locked, as are the windows, the world beyond their stark white blinds a slurry of purple and black. Thunder crackles in that dark, endless void. Even if you could leave, where would you go?

⬣//TORRENTIAL RAINS

It’s painfully evident after three hours of silence that no one from CyberConnect is showing up to the conference, but you knew that already, didn’t you? This mandatory meeting was fishy from the start, some would argue, while others may yet hold out hope.

That ends the instant anyone tries to log out and leave. Everyone who attempts to leave will be met with the same error Shoka was some weeks ago, but this time, the error is permanent. This time, there is no connection between mind and body anymore, and any attempt to “reach” your real self will fail.

You feel no one on the other end. You no longer feel the weight of your headset on your head or the keyboard beneath your fingertips. All your worldly aches and pains have drifted away only to find you here in your new reality, every sensation so real that Fragment no longer feels like just a game. Fragment is reality.

Three hours pass from the start of the conference. The boring white walls and rickety office chairs shudder and shake and give way to the Mac Anu everyone knows. You’re back where you started, more or less. What you do from here is up to you.

⬣//LOST TO THE TUMULT AND BEDLAM

Some menus remain online. Players retain the ability to send and receive friend and party requests, access their inventories, spells, and weapons, and so on, but a few notable items are missing.

Players can no longer toggle their pain sensors on and off. Every blow you take is one you’re forced to suffer through, and what’s more, your health no longer automatically regenerates when idle. You’d better keep a stash of potions or a pocket healer handy.

While you’re at it, try not to die. The sharp-eyed among the group may notice that the respawn information nestled in the menus is no longer accessible to them. The respawn counter now reads as a series of zeros instead of the typical 20 minutes. Now is probably not the best time to continue testing Fragment’s death mechanics, but nothing’s stopping you from trying. No one’s going to save you, either.

Good luck, players. The real test has begun.

>>Navigation

Comments

[veardant]

[ cyno is ON it!! ]

Honestly? That sounds like exactly what we need right now.

[ relaxation, unwinding. it might seem foolish to enjoy a hotspring when the situation is so dire, but handwringing will get them nowhere; a rested mind is a sharp mind. tighnari lifts his head and nudges his nose against cyno's jaw, then presses a kiss there, before he stands. ]

Let's go.

[notfunny]

[ he's very on it.

his cheeks practically bloom when tighnari kisses him, and he's slow to stand as the heat rises up into his ears. ]

Okay. Uh... I can't remember the keywords for the place, but I think it's somewhere on the boards or something...

[ sorry but he's like. fumbling. a little fidgety. this is really happening. ]

[veardant]

[ very on it.. and also totally fumbling it. he's so cute. squeezing cyno's hand, tighnari chuckles softly, and pulls up the window to check the forums. ]

That's okay. We'll find it. Hmm..

[ time to search for hot spring. ]

[notfunny]

[ he'll also spend some time looking through the forums, until he gasps in surprise. ]

... I think I found them. Hopefully they're the right ones?

[ but just to confirm, he'll send/show them to tighnari: ΔConfused Fool’s Hideout ]

[veardant]

Oh, great! You're on it.

[ good job, cyno!! tighnari can already feel himself beginning to relax at the mere idea of hot springs.. ]

Shall we, then?

[notfunny]

Yeah. Let's go.

[ it'll be a distraction that they sorely need. ]

Hopefully they've got some good food, too. I'm starving.

[veardant]

Time to find out.

[ off they go to the chaos gate, then!! once there, tighnari plugs in the keywords, and they're swept away to the hot springs.

the heat immediately blasts his face, but it's not so bad as the oppressive dry heat of the deserts. ]

[notfunny]

[ through the gate and into the hot springs area, and being greeted with a more humid heat is somewhat better... still annoying and clings to his face and hair but that's okay! it'd be worse if they were in danger.

not like they aren't but theirs is a passive one. ]

Ooh. It's nicer than I thought...

[ it's. like. au natural and stuff. ]

[veardant]

Mm, it is.

[ and the humidity isn't so bad, either. it'll feel better once they're in the water. squeezing cyno's hand, he tugs him off toward the changing rooms. ]

Come on, then, let's go enjoy it.

[notfunny]

[ hand in hand, it's a reminder that despite everything... they're still themselves. stuck in a game or not. ]

Yeah. Let's...

[ into the changing rooms they go. there are some appropriate bathing suits for the taking, and it's easy for him to slip into one while also shedding his equipment... ]

... it's funny, I'm still not used to having abs.

[veardant]

[ tighnari, too, gets himself into a pair of comfortable shorts for enjoying the hot springs in, popping his equipment easily into his inventory. at cyno's comment, he turns, then laughs lightly, reaching to run one fingertip over that six pack. ]

No? It's a nice view.

[ a kiss to cyno's cheek. ]

But I like you in any shape.

[notfunny]

[ ooh, tickles. he shivers and chuckles lightly, color filling his cheeks almost immediately. ]

Yeah? I dunno, I could probably stand to lose a few pounds. Gain a little muscle.

[ it's his exercise arc??? even if it's short lived?????????? ]

Just nothing like... like this.

[ though the more he looks at them, the more he could probably get used to it. ]

Um. Yeah, we should... should go chill now, huh?

[ chill in the hot water ]

[veardant]

[ you can do it cyno!! get that six pack!! or don't, tighnari would still love you even with a dad bod, he's not the type to be caught up in looks. cyno is lovely the way he is, pixel six-pack or no pixel six-pack. ]

Yes, please.

[ chill in the hot water..

tighnari tugs cyno by the hand, and together they step into the warm springs. finding a comfy little secluded corner, tighnari sinks down to his shoulders with a slow, soft sigh. ]

This was a good idea..

[notfunny]

[ dadbod cyno...

he watches tighnari go in first, eyes watching that tail as he descends into the water. it doesn't seem like it's that hot if his partner is able to go in without a noise. it must be comfortable--- and it is

which is why he just. kinda plops down a little too quickly. ow. his butt. ]

... you ever been to one before? Like, for real real.

[veardant]

[ dadbod cyno!! would the belt go above or below the belly.. ]

Cyno, be careful -

[ tighnari sighs, shakes his head, and leans back against the smooth stone. ]

No, I haven't. I visited Japan with my father when I was very young, but never went to a real hotsprings. A hottub is the closest I've come.

[notfunny]

I think filling my bathtub with hot water is the only thing I can compare this to...

[ which is to say, just taking a bath. ]

... so this is nice. It's better because it's really just us. I can't imagine doing this around a bunch of strangers, you know?

[ leans over, bumps shoulders. places a hand on tighnari's knee ]

[veardant]

[ yeah, i mean. this is basically just a big bath. but it's nice! no bubbles, unfortunately, but tighnari still enjoys the scent of humid air and minerals.

cyno's hand on his knee, though - tighnari chuckles and leans into him, placing one of his hands over cyno's on his knee. their fingers thread together, and he squeezes gently. ]

Mm. Other people would certainly kill the mood. [ even though he knows that cyno is more than capable of killing the mood all on his own, if he wants to!! ] I feel selfish, being glad that you're here with me. I shouldn't be, but.. I am.

[ turning his head, tighnari nuzzles his nose gently to cyno's jaw and ear. ]