cccorp: (Default)
CyberConnect Corporation ([personal profile] cccorp) wrote in [community profile] altimit2023-10-06 12:54 pm
Entry tags:

⬣//SPREAD, CONTAMINATE, ERADICATE

//AN ILL OMEN

You've had a chance to adapt to your new circumstances and make peace with what your life has become… hopefully. If you haven't, don't expect life to get any easier.

A few things have changed in recent days. Healing no longer works as effectively as it did in the past. If you're in the habit of behaving recklessly, don't expect one of Fragment's few healers to pick up the slack. Broken bones will now remain broken no matter how many healing spells are cast on your shattered limbs. Damage to organs can't be repaired with the wave of a wand.

What's more, HP and SP restoring items have gotten harder and harder to come by. Potions are no longer available for purchase at generic NPC shops and gatherable items needed for crafting have become fewer and fewer in number, limiting your item making options. If you've gotten into the bad habit of injuring yourself heedless of the consequences, it's time to rethink your lifestyle. Playtime is over.

//PAY IT NO MIND

Think of the three core memories that have formed and shaped the person you are today. Some will think back fondly on family and friends while others have been jaded by the ill treatment they've received from important figures in their lives. In any case, it's of little concern to you now. One of those three precious memories has vacated your mind, taking with it a vital piece of you that you can no longer get back.

You may choose one of the three key memories listed on your application to be taken away from your character. Choices are limited to the memories supplied in your application and additional memories submitted for the previous memshare event or not eligible for convenient plot-induced memory loss. Choose wisely, because you aren't getting it back.

//GHOSTS AND GOBLINS

And Sky Fish, and Disco Knives, and Evil Armors…

Has anyone noticed the monsters around town lately? Which town, you may ask? The answer is all of them.

Monsters have invaded Root Towns in large waves, attacking anything and everything in sight. Any lovingly crafted signs or other furnishings you've erected around town are easily torn to shreds and destroyed by the monsters who have come to roost in your once safe Root Towns. On the plus side, PvE and PvP has now been enabled in all Root Towns, which is excellent news for those who wish to combat the monster invasion and those who can't seem to help hurting themselves and others.

These monsters range in level from 50 to 75, and while many of them can be defeated with a bit of ingenuity and teamwork, some of them boast impenetrable shields that no regular attacks or spells can break through. They are also immune to status/potion/armor effects.

When in doubt, turn to your fellow players for support. There may be some among you who know how to deal with these impossibly strong monsters, but there's no guarantee that they'll want to help you.

//WHISPERS ON THE WIND

A lilting, boyish voice sings to you in your sleep. His voice sounds familiar to you, tickling your heart like a call from an old friend, but this is no friend of yours.

"You had every chance to abandon this world and return to your own. What stopped you? Was it ego? Hubris? In any case, it's too late for regrets now.

They say the world is what you make of it. Doesn't the same hold true for reality?"

The voice will periodically visit you and your sleep, but the moral of his message never changes: you did this to yourself. You were trapped here because you chose to look the other way. If anyone is to blame for the current situation, it's you and you alone, but there is a̸̬̲͔̘͈͚̠̫̘̬̗̖̋͑̉̓̿͛̈́̋͐̃̾̈̕̕ͅń̵̩̱̠̫̖̬̲̻͉̝̈́̀̀̚͜͜o̴͍͎̣͔̤̝̲͍̺̿̒t̴̨͚͓͍̜̮̥͊͑̿̈́̉̂̐͜͠͝h̷̨̨̦͕͖̙̞͙̗̗͎̬͛̂̾̋̅͜͜͝ȩ̸͎̭̙̜̯͎̯̳̮̘̲͒ȑ̸̡̧̢͓̠̦͙͇͍͎̭͑̈́̓̿̓̅̑̅̌͑̈́̕͝͝ ̴̧̼͕̟̬̰̞̮̗͔͈̬̙͍̈́̀w̵̗̖̩̘͇͖̲̩̫̣̗̙̲̌͜a̷̛͎͋͑̃͛̆̈̋̑̋͠y̴̡̬͕͈̗̫̯̟̯͊͐̌̀̐͑͘͝͝.

Another h̶̦̘̤̘͐͑̿̂̏̎͋͝o̴̧͖͚̖̜͓͂̏́͒̑̈́͝͝p̶̡͙̏̉̿̎̀̑́̈̆͌̉e̷̡̡̦̣̯̘̺͍̟̰͍̤͛̀́̚͝͠. Will you heed that voice and call to it?

dissimulative: (pic#16763785)

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, he looked like he just went through the roughest breakup of his life.

[ So, yeah. Unmotivated? That's what Oria thinks Sinclair is talking about. ]

I found it weird, but I didn't really have a place to ask about it when everyone else was talking about everything else. But he was only like that in the beginning. After some time, he was hounding people for info like his usual researcher self. Oh, and that faceoff against Koto, but I just think Mithrun got screwed over on his end of a business arrangement that he overlooked.

[ Oria's used to seeing the latter from others, unfortunately. ]
insinning: (smile; and now the burden is lifted)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm, I was thinking back when Mithrun's body was found, you were one of the few people to keep their heads. But you didn't flinch away from anything either. It was reassuring.

[ Sinclair isn't blind to the way Miharu kept herself at arm's length from everyone. He didn't know why but he thinks he understands, even if he doesn't know the reasons]
deto: (008)

[personal profile] deto 2023-10-14 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ good news for oriade ]

I think he’s shocked every time he makes a friend. But he thinks of it more like… he’s still nothing, but I have extra value for being his friend. But I can tell friends are really important to him.
insinning: (thinking; a look away)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oria your analogies... not wrong because half of Sinclair's conversations with Mithrun basically read like Mithrun had been Sinclair's spurned lover]

Mm, no it was worse than that. He didn't want to even move on his own. He said... he had no reason to return home.

[Sinclair lets out a little huff here]

...I got a little angry at him for it, since he was the one who had gotten so angry at me before about not wanting revenge. [ But lets not focus on that]

...he doesn't remember any of it. Kromer. Him visiting me. His brother...it was like someone ripped out all his memories that existed only outside the game.
ophidie: (⛎ 11)

[personal profile] ophidie 2023-10-14 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
...So. That I didn't freak out around a dead body is something you found soothing?

[There's not judgement there, but there is a little bit of a wry smile. Miharu compares herself to others constantly: In her estimations, she never matters up, no matter what she's looking at.

In this singular thing, she thinks she can see them as being on even ground... even if it's just that they both might be messed up.
]

Compared to everything that's happened now, that doesn't even feel real.
userunfriendly: (101)

[personal profile] userunfriendly 2023-10-14 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ :nyan: ]

Not quite what I meant...

[ But he's completely derailed by that suggestion. Picturing their group... picturing morale speeches... ]

...If that's the metric, I would walk out if it were anyone but you. Possibly Sinclair.

[ Not that he would walk out on Sinclair. But he thinks if Sinclair were forced to give a speech, the kinder thing to do would be simply to sling Sinclair over his shoulder and leave. ]
rebelles: (pic#16623428)

[personal profile] rebelles 2023-10-14 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
Right.

[ Seeing Swallow pull ahead of the swarm, leading the monsters into her line of fire, Noir takes the opportunity to unleash two rounds of Rue Wipe and rain bullets that hit multiple targets at once. That should make them flinch for a few seconds for Swallow to get her hits in. ]
insinning: (smile; too much empathy)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
Mm. [Sinclair's smile turns a little wry too] It was at the back of my head, but I was thinking...'oh, she's a little like me then.' It made it easier to pull myself together and investigate.

[There are many broken, messed up people in this world. But is that really a problem? Sinclair's only recently put himself back together. Those pieces are still very fragile. One wrong move could send them scattering again]

...you know, if we think about it, it wasn't even that long ago when it happened. Yet it feels like a lifetime.
userunfriendly: (29)

[personal profile] userunfriendly 2023-10-14 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ Not a smile, hm. Michel tilts his head a little. ]

It's true that we're short on healers...
dissimulative: (pic#15273333)

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oria looks genuinely surprised. ]

Everything outside the game?

[ Oria still remembers his life outside the game, which... eases his mind a little, but he can't tell he forgot something if he, well, never knew he had it in the first place. ]
insinning: (thinking; a look away)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
He seemed to know places like 'Miami'. Facts. But I told him how we all visited him and Cael and his mind went blank. He remembered nothing about wanting to do research, nothing about the professor...then when he was trying to tell me about Lily being Zelkova's brother, that man's son, he started to get sick.

[He exhales slowly. He wont know if this was a mistake until later but:]

...even if he had written things on the forums or his inbox, he didn't know what they were. He asked me what the professor and Kromer meant. I told him.
dissimulative: (pic#15281022)

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
... I thought his brain injury started severely worsening all at once, but then I remember Nanashi saying something similar too, about how he had all those things on the forums but doesn't remember sending them.

[ ... ]

It wasn't a cover up either, because when I met Nanashi in the game before, he acknowledged things he said on the forums. Then he just... forgot all about it...?
Edited 2023-10-14 03:24 (UTC)
deto: (090)

[personal profile] deto 2023-10-14 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ it’s also deto’s first kiss. he’s going off nothing but instinct and imagination - a couple of daydreams, distinctly remembering the face nanashi had made when he’d tried s’mores for the first time. then the salad. somehow, deto had found himself thinking of that moment again and again

with nanashi - with yoshi holding his hands, deto can’t use them to tilt the other boy’s head for a deeper kiss. maybe that’s for the best, for both their first times. but deto does press harder, closer for a sweeter kiss, catching some of his breath

nanashi, nanase, nacchin, yoshi. deto wants to take all these names and wear them around, stamped proudly - possessively - on his jacket, as keychains for his backpack, stickers for his notebooks. show them to anyone who might have dismissed this soft and tender boy

show them how just one kiss from yoshi has made his heart race like crazy; show them why it means everything to have been picked by him ]
insinning: (upset; overwhelmingly lost)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. I was thinking Nanashi's personality had really changed somehow, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Until he said what might have happened to him.

[ Frowning]

Mithrun scared me more though. Even after he had come out of his coma, I had never seen him so...empty. But there were signs of desperation in him too. I tried to get him to hug Ki, but it didn't help. So there must have been something else that happened to him.
threatmewted: ([Ugh] wonderful uproar)

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-14 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
If it's CC Corp, forget suing them, I'm going to their offices to kick their asses myself!

[Someone's still heated.]
threatmewted: ([Explain] Keep runnin' runnin')

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-14 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
If I'm crafting food, I might as well try to get the most bang for my buck.
dissimulative: (pic#15269654)

1/2

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
But what could it be? The revenge plan was his primary motivator for literally everything in his life. How can he just forget that—
dissimulative: (pic#15273309)

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ A...h... Oria thinks he gets it now. It feels like it's falling into place when Sinclair mentioned Ki. There's no obvious plague going around either... ]

Did the game... somehow extract his memories?
insinning: (thinking; hmmm idk)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
...yeah. [Sinclair hugs Oria a little more tightly] A memory plague, I think. One that keeps him from remembering anything outside the game. And one that keeps him from actively talking about anything to do with the voice and CCCorp's founder.

[Dehya had put it in his head that saying Harald Hoerwick's name could be taboo. And after seeing three different people become ill after saying it, he's a little worried what would happen if they all push it]

...it did make me think though, if there's anything I've forgotten.
Edited 2023-10-14 03:45 (UTC)
dissimulative: (pic#16653666)

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ Honestly though? Oria gets it. He's not even gonna be humble about being picked for giving speeches because that's what he does. It's what he's been doing. But for some reason, he really doesn't want to (do Not, child) ]

Thanks for your vote of confidence~

[ He's ready confident in his skills. It's fine. ]

But like, can you imagine? Other people doing speeches!

[ Oria laughs while still tugging Michel along because they need to avoid green shield monsters... ]
dissimulative: (pic#16763785)

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
It would have to be big, right? We already talked about your family and Kromer...

[ Oria tries to think. ]

Hm... The school meet? The fancy business parties? That guy you had a big crush on?
insinning: (surprise; a sign gathers)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
No, I definitely remember the food...and how boring those parties were until you were around.

[Wait, hold up]

...what guy? I didn't have any crushes until, well.

[Oria :T]
dissimulative: (pic#15281005)

[personal profile] dissimulative 2023-10-14 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oria would retort by telling Sinclair not to lie out of shyness, except... he knows he's not lying. Sinclair is a terrible liar. Oria would know immediately. ]

There was this really pale guy. Black hair! Blue eyes... I think? He defended you from Kromer when she was being creepy to you at school! And you were like a maiden in love!
insinning: (upset; unnerved by what has been seen)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-14 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
[maiden in love? Oria, please. But Sinclair can't focus on that now because his chest aches.]

...no one defended me from Kromer. I was alone. I was alone that whole time.

[But...was he? Sinclair goes very still, as he tries to reach back through those memories. Yeah. That's right. Kromer had hassled him, forced him to join her team and...

Something happened.

Something strange.

What?]
rebelles: (Default)

[personal profile] rebelles 2023-10-14 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
One drink coming up.

[ Assuming Haru has seen Sinclair drinking cafe au laits lately, she'll begin preparing him a cup, and there's the clinking sound of mugs from behind the counter. ]