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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?

insinning: (concern; this isn't good)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
Really? Even with everything that's been happening?

[He'll offer a clean handkerchief, placing it down near her and then looking up at the sky. He wont look at her crying if she doesn't want him to see that]

I think not worrying at a time like this makes someone kind of sociopathic.
threatmewted: ([Um] If this episode drives)

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[.........Dude.]

...I don't mean like, literally everyone. Just, if you see someone about to go off on their own, tell 'em to party with someone else first.
insinning: (upset; overwhelmingly lost)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
[Sinclair holds Hani as firmly as he dares - it's only been a week and that shoulder fracture is far from healing. It would take some more weeks yet, assuming nothing happened to worsen it]

...Cubia's heart, wasn't it? Not yours. Never yours. [He swallows, shaking]

And that's why you let me walk away, didn't you? Because even if it was his joy, you still loved me enough to let me go.
rebelles: (pic#16611693)

[personal profile] rebelles 2023-10-21 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
Good thinking, Swallow.

[ It's too bad she can't stop to enjoy the view. She's glancing around, too. Picking a direction that seems safest. ]

This way to the guilds!
threatmewted: ([Down] Get rid of your)

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Scrubbing at her face. If he's sticking around, she does not want to be seen with tears in her eyes.]

Why not.

[There's so many rooftops he could choose from!!]
insinning: (smile; this can be good)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
Mm, anything simple to make is fine. Sandwiches? Pancakes?

[He does have a sweet tooth, though not as bad as some people in this game]
threatmewted: ([Ugh] just bound to happen)

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
See if I still have a job. ...And figure out what's going on with my class schedule.

[>Ugh.]

You?
insinning: (upset; overwhelmingly lost)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Small little details, too vague for falsehoods, too accurate for truthspinning. His heart aches. A family that loved him - that was true. But for them to love him that much? To have known what he wanted deep down?]

They didn't. Maybe when I was too young to remember. But not when I was old enough. There's no way. It's not [possible. Tears roll down his face and he scrubs at them roughly with his free hand]
insinning: (thinking; not the worst thing)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
[Doubt]

Really? All the time?
tinged: (040)

[personal profile] tinged 2023-10-21 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ their body language is clear in that they don’t care about the pain, holding him tight. it’s not because this throbbing ache makes them happy - they are just so desperate to be close to him; to have him meet them where they are. it still chafes them something raw that hani mixed with cubia had been so insidious that it stopped emil from holding their hand in the way they believed he would, always. always. ]

I’ll love you forever. [ they nod into his shoulder. then a vulnerable note as they ask: ] … Why… do you think his heart is like that? I could tell that he truly wanted to give us happiness. But that happiness…
userunfriendly: (52)

[personal profile] userunfriendly 2023-10-21 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ah... he's doing it again. The thing where he says things that are true, but not helpful. ]

...I don't know that any answer will be satisfying, at this point. But if we're going to find our way through this... I believe we'll need to know eventually.

[ He's running low on positive spins to put on things, but. ]

But for now, it's enough to focus on staying safe.
userunfriendly: (13)

[personal profile] userunfriendly 2023-10-21 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ Don't you "dude" him in your thoughts... this is exactly what gives you teenager energy, Shoka. ]

...Sound advice. [ Taking it immediately to heart! ] Quit going off on your own simply because you have the ability to break those shields.
insinning: (thinking; a look away)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
...it's happiness born from despair. A happiness that corrupts and thrives only from hurting people. [Giving pain, inflicting it, receiving it] Zelkova said Cubia was abandoned by their father, and that he tried to find Cubia in the place where all AIs go to...but Cubia wasn't there. If Cubia was alone, all this time...

[There is no sympathy in Sinclair's heart for Cubia. But he too, wants to understand. And he's willing to help Hani understand too]

Cubia fell, to the bottom of despair. If an AI has no use to people, then...that would render their existence meaningless to their purpose and drive, wouldn't it?
threatmewted: ([Um] If this episode drives)

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
Did you learn for self-protection or something?
threatmewted: ([Down] in an emotional)

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Ugh, this sucksssssssss.

...

She'll take the handkerchief, though.
]

...What, didn't give off that vibe already?
threatmewted: ([Fight] Don't you mind the funk)

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
I'll watch our backs, so just keep heading towards 'em!

[And keeping a lookout for those damned shielded ones in particular, too.]
threatmewted: ([Explain] Keep runnin' runnin')

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
I've joined parties every so often, but that doesn't make them my friends.
userunfriendly: (37)

[personal profile] userunfriendly 2023-10-21 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
You said, eighteen years was too short. That they always made time to be sure you had breakfast together.

[ They're such little things. He should have asked Sinclair for something more grandiose, absolute proof. But the urgency of the feeling bleeds into Michel's voice, and he reaches out with his free hand to shake Sinclair's shoulder gently. ]

The armor feels comfortable because your heart remembers what your mind cannot. ...I don't know how to make you believe me.

[ And he understands, truly. If someone told him his family cherished him, that they had warm days and gentle outings together... there's no way he could accept it. But even so. He can't allow Sinclair to lose this. ]
threatmewted: ([Smug] Keep runnin' runnin')

[personal profile] threatmewted 2023-10-21 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
...

Cute. Real cute.
ophidie: (⛎ 15)

[personal profile] ophidie 2023-10-21 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
[She gives her own elbow a brief, grounding squeeze, gloved fingers offering brief tactile reassurance. For the longest time, she hadn't liked wearing them in game, but for now it's almost working as a reminder that this is the real her, for now.]

I'll be sure to stop in to see how you're doing from time to time. [Because the recreational areas are safe for now, she's been spending a lot of her time there, even the ones she doesn't particularly care to visit.] At this rate, you really will become a coffee expert... heh, I'm looking forward to tasting your next creation. That's why we should be determined to make it back here to meet again, isn't it?
insinning: (upset; through the tears)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Sinclair is torn between hope and disbelief. He's quiet for a moment and he shakes his head, wiping his eyes. always had breakfast together? Then why, when he thinks back to those times, he's just surrounded by shadows? Echoes of voices he couldn't place anymore.]

...I wondered why reading made me happy. Why eating Kartoffelklösse felt good...that's not fair. That's not fair at all.
insinning: (smile; and now the burden is lifted)

[personal profile] insinning 2023-10-21 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. It was part of my job too, in case we ran into bears or something in the wild.

[Don't Ask]

Single stick fighting was more useful though.
rebelles: (pic#16611687)

[personal profile] rebelles 2023-10-21 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ Haru takes a running jump to cross from one building to the next, which is not as harrowing as it sounds because the structures are close enough to one another. She checks that Swallow's on her tail and keeps going, because there's no time to waste. ]

I feel like I'm in some sort of action movie.
userunfriendly: (68)

[personal profile] userunfriendly 2023-10-21 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ He knows. That gets a little smirk. ]

And, nonetheless, true.
userunfriendly: (93)

[personal profile] userunfriendly 2023-10-21 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ The sight of those tears is... his mind feels like it's underwater. So all he can do is tug Sinclair closer, tuck him into a secure hug. This way, he can't see. ]

Le Petit Prince. You read that with her. I don't remember what else. But I believe all of that is still within you, somewhere. Even if not here... when you return to the real world.