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⬣//GROWING WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL.
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.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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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[ He smiles back at Hani, waiting whenever Hani is ready to speak to him on the things they wanted to say in person. In the meantime, the orange tabby looks content to be in Hani's hold. Purr, goes the purring machine. ]
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First! Oh, these aren’t the words, but it’s what I wanted to ask before I’m too distracted. [ they lean in with cat. ] May I kiss you?
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Sure...?
[ The cat meows. Kiss them, fool. ]
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they release the cat from the cradle of their arms and reach for oriade’s face. fingers leaving ultraviolet prints of want. did they mean right now? no. but they want one right now. they lean up on tiptoes and kiss him straight on the mouth, soft and happy and as emil had wondered - why hadn’t they yet? now seems like a good time anyway.
a kiss with a prince. ]
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they pull back with a satisfied hum. right as they do, a gray ragdoll joins the orange tabby, curling around their feet. that seems right, too. kiss a prince and something good happens. ]
And now the rest of my life to ask for more. [ they hope it’s a long one. ] And maybe the rest of my life for find the right words. But I have some right now for you.
Hmm. [ it’s always best to start at the beginning, right? ] I’ve realized recently that it’s very easy to love people in a real way. There’s… um… a chain reaction sometimes. Something happens and then another thing happens and suddenly! Wow! There’s love!
All that to say: I love you, Oriade-kun. And I love that you love Emil-kun. I love how you don’t hold back your words, that you answer me honestly.
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Glad you like it.
[ He thinks it's what Hani deserves for trying so hard—the pure, unfiltered truth. ]
Do you want to tell me an example of the chain reaction you described?
[ He'd like to hear it, honestly, since that would mean getting a peek of Hani's mindset. ]
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but oriade always listens and responds. ]
Do you mean about you? Or about Emil-kun?
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[ He wants to understand Hani more... please feed him knowledge. ]
I want to hear about both.
SCREAMS i lost this tag
[ eyes closed deep in thought. that night comes to their mind, clear as moonlight. ]
It was cold that night, a little chilly for a summer night. There was a flash, a selfie. Then I saw his face for the first time in real life. He looked so worn, but he was very beautiful and real. He said… a friend had helped him come. That was the catalyst, but I didn’t know it then. A friend, unnamed, almost a throwaway comment.
Later, I realized it had to be you. Because you loved him and he loved you. You always had a lot to say, but you were the first to act when I jumped in the water, I remembered. You made me promise then to be safe. And you must have been the first to help Emil-kun, too.
When I thought that, I knew I loved you. There!
revives and slams into this thread
Do you think that caring for others... loving people like that, is optional? Or something that will eventually come?
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[ it’s clear they haven’t put it into words yet like that, so there’s a brief mental stumble when they hear his questions. ]
Maybe… maybe a little bit of both. I think, for me, I make the choice to open myself to caring when the option is there. My list is still very small - and I don’t think that is something that will change much should we leave this world. There’s how I feel about everyone in general, and then how I feel about you and Emil-kun. Justy-kun. Gani-kun.
[ a couple others. they make up a good portion of the beta testers, but compared to the billions of people other there, it really is such a small number. ]
Um… I like my small list.
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It's okay for that list to be small. I feel honored to be in it~
[ He grins. ]
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[ they stop him with a hand on his cheek and say very, very seriously: ]
I am the one who should be honored. To be allowed to feel this way about you - and for you to accept it. [ the way they had loved before… they’ve realized it was tinged with condescension, as if they were above every other human. set apart in a way that made them unique. they’ve hurt and bled, needed to breathe and cry. just as human, maybe a little less. definitely not more. ] You have all changed my life.
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[ He gently puts his own hand over Hani's hand that's on his cheek. ]
i had to lay down for 5 mins just staring at oria’s icon ILL HAVE YOU KNOW
Like that! My Oriade-kun love just went up by double I’m sure! [ oh but ] And I have to let you know that, you can leave me, but I will not be letting you go. All of you are staying in my heart - forever.
[ please keep that promise (threat) in mind. ]
he's nuzzling!!!
I don't know if you mean physically leaving, but when we make it out of the game, I'll come visit you.
[ He thinks Sinclair should know where Hani lives. It's fine. He'd point out how posessive that sounds, but he thinks people should be allowed to keep loved ones in their hearts, as long as it isn't a physical cage. ]