⬣//JUST AS A SEED TAKES ROOT.

[cccorp]

>>Secrets // >>Guilds // >>Grunties // >>Carnival // >>Zelkova Corner

⬣//THIS WORLD IS MORE THAN 0S AND 1S.

A team of four courageous adventurers managed to unearth a secret Area unique from the others: the Hulle Granz Cathedral. Unlike other Areas, this one is lacking all the usual monsters, dungeons, and treasure. What might the purpose of this Area be, then...?

Well, if you’re feeling penitent or perhaps wish to hold a sermon of your own, head to Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground and knock yourself out. What? Too soon?

Anyway, be not afraid! The cathedral is perfectly safe. Following Ganymede’s little incident in the cathedral, a timely email has been sent out to beta testers regarding health and safety that reads as follows:

To our beta team,

Please exercise caution when playing video games for extended periods of time. Take breaks every thirty minutes and do not sit in the same position for more than two hours at a time. Remember to stay hydrated and play in a well-lit environment.

Failing to take care of your health while gaming can result in a litany of health complications, including but not limited to eye strain, muscle fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and involuntary loss of consciousness and motor functions.

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.

⬣//ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL.

Guilds have been patched into the current version of Fragment and are now available for players to create their own and join others. While some guilds have opted to go the private route, others are in need of players to fill their ranks!

The admins have kindly supplied those recruiting for their shiny new guilds with a number of goodies to aid in their player gathering efforts:

⬣ A bundle of personalized flyers proudly displaying their guild logo and a description of the guild’s @ home and available amenities.

⬣ Party poppers and streamers. Nothing screams “join my guild!” like a face full of glitter, confetti, and colorful strips of ribbon.

⬣ A megaphone that lets your voice echo far and wide, even across Root Towns and Areas, but with great potential for abuse comes restrictions! The megaphone can only be used five times before it breaks. Use it wisely!

⬣ A unique recipe for a cocktail, latte, tea, or other type of beverage that can be blended up and served in little sample cups to court potential members. These drinks are unique to their guilds and, when consumed, have a special effect that reflects the leader of that guild. Is your guild leader a pretty cheerful guy? Drinking their special brew will make you feel happy too!

Whatever effect your guild’s drink has is up to the leader’s discretion, but if you so desire, drop a comment under the questions top level and we’ll brew one up for you.

Additionally, you may host a guild open house and invite potential guildies into your @ home to let them take a look around! Guild @ homes are typically locked to guild members & their guests only, so use this as your opportunity to put your best foot forward and impress the world with everything your guild has to offer.

⬣//FATHER, I HUNGER…

Also arriving with the newest update are mountable Grunties! Aren’t they cute? ...Well, they’re someone’s definition of cute.

While the ability to ride around town and in Areas at 2x speed is certainly alluring, you can’t just walk up to the Grunty Ranch located in each Root Town and take one out for a stroll. If you want a mount of your very own, you’ve got to commit! Becoming a proud Grunty owner means you must first become a proud Grunty parent, and to do that, you’ll need to raise your Grunty from infancy into adulthood.

Just what kind of adult might your Grunty become? That depends on how you raise them and what you feed them. Those strange "foods" popping up all over Areas might not taste good to you, but they sure do to Grunties!

For more information on how to acquire a baby Grunty of your very own and raise it into a proper — or not so proper — member of Grunty society, head on over to the Grunty Ranch.

⬣//PROPER CARNIVAL WEATHER.

Mac Anu, the City of Twilight known for its gentle ocean breezes, has been uncharacteristically warm lately. Very, very warm. Its usual orange skies have been swapped out for vivid blues, the sun dwelling high in the sky and threatening to burn everything in its wake.

It won’t take much wandering to feel the effects of heat exhaustion sink in, and even after you log out for the day, those symptoms seem to linger. Do Hien and Zelkova know what the hell is going on? Of course not. Unusual occurrences are slowly becoming the norm in Fragment, it seems, but the point of a beta test is to work out any kinks. Report it and move on.

Lumina Cloth is similarly affected by unusual weather phenomena, but it’s much more pleasant and hospitable than poor Mac Anu. The sun hangs just above the horizon, bathing the strip in early evening light. It’s much cooler here too, and what’s more, it appears that a carnival has rolled into town. What fun!

All the usual carnival fare is here: greasy fried foods, drinks served in foot long glasses, and a litany of carnival games that are totally not rigged. Entry is free and so are the prizes, but some of them take a bit of legwork to win.

⬣ Successfully PK another player to win the carnival exclusive Thursday The 12th™ skin. PK’d players will receive an appropriately spooky ghost skin of their own!

⬣ Step on up to the dunk tank and get dunked on to win a sexy swimsuit skin! Both the dunkers and the dunkees will win this skin, but only those who successfully dunk the player in the tank will be rewarded with the chance to show off some skin. The appearance this skin takes is dependent on the player wearing it, so have fun and get creative with it!

⬣ Take a trip through the hall of mirrors with a friend and do some reflecting! Stare too long into the mirrors and you might recall a memory that doesn’t belong to you, but to the person venturing through the hall of mirrors with you. Did that really happen? Surely it’s all in your head. Memories available for memshare are limited to the ones listed on your application.

Additional rewards include giant plush monsters that can be used to decorate guild @ homes and private rooms (limit one per player!) and a pet goldfish that, unfortunately, will die a hero’s tragic death within a week. Womp womp.

⬣//ZELKOVA’S META ROUNDUP.

We’ve had a busy week! It seems like there was a glitch that allowed players to equip other players as weapons, which resulted in a ten player chain, wielded by none other than our hardworking head administrator, Hien! I’ll have a talk with him about not doing this kind of thing in the future, I promise!

That wasn’t all, though. An unknown entity reached out to the players participating in the ten-player chain and issued them a special title: Good Friends Stick Together. Fragment’s not supposed to have titles. Well, at least not in the beta. But you can go ahead and add it to your name if you want to anyway, and it shouldn’t cause any problems! We still can’t pinpoint who sent those messages and how they overrode the permissions to create those titles in the first place, but... Hmm. I don’t want to start any rumors, so I’ll keep looking into it.

There are those armor sets too, which I didn’t know had been handed out to those of you that reached level 25. Oria brought it to our attention, thankfully! There’s not a whole lot we can do about it now, but we know that some of them are pretty invasive. But knowing is half the battle, right?

Our friend Ganymede suffered an accident recently that had him lying unconscious in the hospital for about a day. He seems to be feeling better now, thankfully. Ḩ̵̲̼͆̃͐̆ò̸̧̰͕̥̈́͒̕͜p̷̫͙̯͇̾̄͜ę̸̹̒f̷̠̭͉̱̅͘ǘ̴͎̙̥̭̈́̈́l̵͇̙͍̳̜̇̓̒l̷̬̲̀̆̈̅̂ͅỳ̵̧̻̖ ̷̠̫̭̰̦̋͗h̴̰͕̑͗e̸̦̼͇̾͘ ̴̡̢̝̺̳̊̎̎̔p̴̳̠̼̜͔̂̅̐à̵͕̹̟ͅỹ̴̡̛͝s̶͉̕ ̴̢͕̬̑̆̕͝b̸̹̲͗͒̊͑͠ē̶̛͖͠ṯ̸̻̺́͒͐t̶̻͕͎̑ĕ̶̖̀͗͛͋r̷͙̗̙̲͙̓̚͝ ̷̻̠͉̈́̚a̷̡̙̳̽́̀̋̔ẗ̴̢̨̛̬̺t̴͖̳͝ē̷͇̆͆̍̚ͅn̵̪̜͉͊̉̔̄͐t̵͕̼͈̓͋̈́̕î̷̬o̸͇̐͋͑͌n̶̟̫̟̽̑͒͐͘ ̷̜̈́̈̀̂̎t̶͙̂͛ô̸̠̜ ̶̫͎̎h̶͖̳͛i̸̗͖̖̅̂͆̄͛s̸͔̈́̇̍ ̸̩̗̻̕s̵̬̼̳̲̞͝ù̸̞̺̣͙̾͒͛ŗ̴̻̟̻̭̂̈́r̶̡͈̲̣̣͋̊͗̕o̶̥̝̮̓ų̴̻̯̬̊̑̑͌̉ͅn̶̢̙̦͔͖̈̒͝d̷̰̼̤̥̃̿͒̌̎i̸̯͑̾͊̑͝n̵̦͐g̸̪̾͝͝s̷̛̝͙̣̹̍͛͝ ̸͔̲̠̩͗̓̀͘a̷̛̼̓̈́͊ṅ̵̥͆̎ḑ̶̨̯̱͍̇ ̷̛̗̮̀̆ḧ̴̼̪́͗͝i̵͓̬̤͂͐͒s̶̮̎̿̃ ̴̛͔̋͗̽h̷̝͑ͅē̴̱ȃ̵̝͎ͅļ̷͍̀͐͊̊̽ẗ̸̼̺̟̥̼́̄͛h̶̥̹̬̮̽̅ ̷̟̖̮͛́̿t̸̢̤̤̂͒͋̍o̶̼̟̓ ̵̥̳͙̖̆̈́ả̶̛̳̱͙̖̩̿̽͘v̴͈͉͖͊͘ỏ̶̤͚̅͑͝i̴̱͈̩̳̳̿̇̕͠ḏ̵͙̮͗͆ ̶̯̭̝̹̯͊s̸͍̰͔̔̀͋͋̐u̷̟̠͑̔̏̚c̵̨͖͉͇̀͆͘ͅh̴̨̓͌̄̈ ̶̧̱̻̼̏̃̃i̷̱͉͈̿̎̋͒͜͝n̴̢͓͍̂͝͠c̷̢̢̛̹͚̑̓̅ͅi̶͕̟̻̘̫̾͌d̶͉͉̏̇e̵͉̱̩̯̤͐̎̉̾n̸̡̠̈͜ţ̴̇͑̈́͘s̵̩̼͔̙̙̉͘ ̵̮̯̞̮̾̈́͋̔̈h̵̡̗͉͉͈̉̐̅̚ȁ̵͖͚̖̾p̸̰̬͖̩̀̈́̆̓p̶̢̛̼̈́͆̒͘ͅe̷̟̘̩̲̻̾̊n̵̨̩̜̟͆͘i̵̙͉̺̮͠ͅṋ̷̆ġ̶͙͚ ̴̩̋à̷̄̑̂͝ͅǧ̵͖̜͍͕̒̑͒a̷̧̛̞͐̃̈́͘i̷̯͉̬̯̽̍n̷̘̝͓̽̅̕!̵̩͑

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[curvaceous]

guild marketing

[ Glamour is officially open for business, and Kara is hard at work, handing out flyers of her newly formed guild based around in-game (and real life) fashion questing and socializing. She's grinning as she approaches people with her flyers, which resemble the guild's banner and overall essence. Her Grunty is with her, and it will gently nudge people passing by to try and draw their attention to Kara. ]

Hey there! Please consider joining my guild! Thank you!

Please consider joining her guild, friend!

[ Here. Have a flyer from either Kara or Cute Grunty. ]

guild @ home

[ For those who decide to check out Glamour’s open house, the interior is certainly quite fancy, with an almost luxurious feel to it. This may give off the feeling of being elitist at first, but Kara and Cute Grunty are both eager to let any interested parties check out the place. Feel free to hang around on any of the lounge couches, or help yourself to a cocktail (or cocktail!).

For those who try the cocktail, however…something interesting might happen. You will start to feel a sense of resentment towards…people. It can be another guild member, the guild leader herself, people as a whole, or even someone in your personal life outside of the game. Though interestingly enough, despite this, you also feel like you need to keep smiling, anyway.

What an odd feeling. If it seems like you might be feeling something strange, Kara will approach: ]

Hi! Is everything alright? I can get you some water?

hall of mirrors

[ Kara fully intends on walking through the Hall of Mirrors alone to clear her head, but should someone else be entering, she’ll decide to be friendly and ask if they want to accompany her. Little does she know what’s going to be in store for the both of them.

For anyone tagging along with Kara, they will be hit with something…interesting. A memory will come in one of the following flavors: Family issues, friend issues, or something silly. It can be any of the following. Who knows, in this strange place.

Kara will receive one of their memories afterwards, so for the time being, she’ll glance over at her companion. ]

…You okay? You look pretty out of it.

[ OOC: Please let me know in the subject line if you have a preference on which memory you’d like, or if you want me to RNG it! Content Warnings: Family emotional abuse and neglect. ]

wildcard

[ Let me know if you want to do anything specific, or throw anything at me and I'll probably roll with it. My plotting post is over here! ]

guild @ home

[worldbent]

[What a ...strange drink.]

[0koto stares down at his cup for a long moment, feeling something familiar but usually far-repressed bubbling in his stomach. Ah, how interesting.........]

[He doesn't really feel that different at all.]

--Hm? [He looks up again as Kara offers water out to him, and after a pause, his usual, thin smile replaces his confusion. He takes it, and sips.] Oh yes, I'm fine. Just a ... funny feeling, all of a sudden.

Did you come up with this drink yourself?

[curvaceous]

Funny? In what way? I made it myself, yes.

[ Maybe he has a stomach ache, or an alcohol allergy...? She frowns, looks at the drink pensively. ]

Well, I followed a recipe, anyway. Geez, did it bait me into chasing people away? Haha.

[worldbent]

[Matoba looks at the empty drink cup for a long moment, tilting the water in his hand, until eventually a dry chuckle comes bubbling out.]

Do you need help with that? [He asks, bringing the water to his lips.] ..Oya, pardon me. What I meant to say was: do you really want all these people joining your guild?

mirrors, RNG it!

[696_9]

[The vision Kara sees is in a high school, with a girl coming up to her, all smiles. Kara(? No, it's not Kara, it's whoever's eyes she's seeing through) sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Have you not bothered me enough? I said I don't care."

The other girl pouts and shakes her head. "Then why were you looking at the ad so much?"

"I was just bored, that's all! I told you! I don't care about video games, and I especially don't care what the Radio Research Society has to say. Can't you just go back to your clunky old junk?"

"Hey! You could at least enter the lottery! Even you must think Fragment looks amazing --"

"I do not care. Okay? Beat it."

She walks away, and the same thing happens the next day. And the next. It all blurs together, two months of this irrepressible classmate pestering until she gives in and clicks onto the CyberConnect website.]

...What was that? Did you see that? Because I saw that.

[Of course, what cuteangel77 saw wasn't quite the same thing.]

[curvaceous]

[ What Nana sees is something completely different. An older woman resembling Kara is looking down at her, with a piece of paper in her hand. The hand has a lot of paints on it – it looks like it's a depiction of a bowl of fruits, made with paint. It has a kid-like essence to it, and the woman has a crooked smile on her face.

"Dear, this is...nice. You certainly put a lot of effort into this, haven't you?"

Nana – Kara, rather – nods.

"Well, if you'd like to continue pursuing the arts, let's get you some lessons, hm? I am sure this will earn you an A in school, but my dear Kara, you mustn't settle for anything. You must keep working harder and harder, until you cannot get any better."

The memory is short and not-so-sweet.

As for KaraBear's answer – ]

...I saw something peculiar. You're right. [ ... ] I don't know what it was.

[696_9]

It's creepy is what it is. It's like they want us to think this place is haunted or something.

Hall of Mirrors

[threatmewted]

[Give me a tragic memory let's go.]

A hall of mirrors, huh? Think there's anything interesting in there?

[curvaceous]

Not really.

[ She shrugs, looks over at Swallow. ]

Maybe something creepy? Who knows! Maybe there's a reward waiting for us at the end. Haha, wouldn't that be something?

[threatmewted]

Would be nice...

[...

She's not going in first, go ahead Kara.]

guild marketing

[gluttoning]

[He's not always the most observant young man under the sun, and Fragment is no exception. Something about the voice amidst the bustle of the newly released content and commotion scratches somewhere familiar in the back of his mind, getting him to pause long enough to have a flyer stuffed into his hands.]

...Oh. Uh.

[He looks down at it. Glamour, huh. Sounds like something up the Los Angeles refugee's alley, not his. But...]

Not sure this is for me. I don't think.

...

[His eyes narrow a little towards Kara, as though he's trying to jog his memory.]

Hey... sorry, but have we met?

[curvaceous]

[ That's fine. She can handle rejection, so she takes the flyer back if he doesn't need it – and her eyes linger on him for a little longer than intended. That face...

...

He asks the question she'd been thinking about, and Kara hums thoughtfully. ]

You look pretty familiar. I have a feeling that we've met, yeah.

[ HMMM. ]

College, maybe? Those classes are pretty big!

[gluttoning]

[He shakes his head slowly.]

No... no, I know most of my classmates kind of well.

...

[Wait.]

Did you do presentations at groups for First Episcopalian? Sacramento?

guild @ home;

[ganymed]

[ Resentment towards people? ...Yeah, sure. He's capable of that.

The difference is that it seems directed towards a different slew of individuals this time. People walking by and enjoying themselves haven't wronged him any.

For what its worth, the compulsion to smile hits him wrong. So, while she presents those questions, he shakes his head. ]

Who made this?

[curvaceous]

Hmm? I did.

[ She says this like she doesn't know why he's asking -- and, yeah, she really doesn't. She blinks, looks at him with a little bit of curiosity. ]

Is there something wrong with it?

[ganymed]

I don't know yet.

[ He says as he's pointedly swirling the container of the drink in-hand, though he doesn't seem like a pleased customer. Ganymede certainly does have high standards, but the effects are placing him in quite a foul mood. ]

How did you make this, anyway? What did you put into it?

guild @ home

[rebelles]

[ Haru sits on one of the fancy lounge chairs in Glamour, legs crossed at the ankles and fingers curled around a cocktail she's currently sipping. Perhaps it's the sweltering heat or the luxurious furnishing bringing up sour memories, but she finds herself thinking of her fiancé and their impending engagement that is little more than a business arrangement. The furrow in her eyebrows must betray the tension she's feeling. When she's approached, she tries to relax her shoulders. It almost feels too easy to put on her practiced, polite smile. ]

Oh. Yes, please. I wonder if the heat is getting to me.

[curvaceous]

It's no problem. Let me get you something real quick!

[ She runs off into the kitchen area, makes Haru a quick glass of water -- with ice! -- and returns promptly with the cup. She's blissfully (?) unaware of the cocktail's effects, and she also gives Haru a practiced smile of her own. ]

There we go. Sorry about that, I might have to make sure the cooling in here's a little better.

[rebelles]

Thank you very much.

[ Haru accepts the glass gratefully, taking a drink of the cool liquid. It's refreshing but doesn't melt the fire in the pit of her stomach. She sighs, but only lightly, compelled to keep up appearances. ]

Not at all, it's the weather that's been unusual. You've put together an elegant place.

GUILD @ HOME

[tylorific]

[ Of course Tylor has to stop by the pretty guild. It's so nice that he can't stop smiling and staring even before he finishes his first cocktail. He looks even happier to see Kara. ]

Oh, I'm fine! Thank you for caring for your guests so well.

[ Tylor responds with predictable cheer, before asking just as cheerfully-- ]

Bosses have way too many rules, don't they?

[curvaceous]

Oh, it's no problem! I'm just happy people are checking it out. Hoping you'll come along for the ride!

[ Join them, Justy! Live your best, fashionable life.

At his question, she tilts her head. ]

Hmm? What do you mean?

[tylorific]

If you're inviting me, I'd love to. You look even lovelier in a nice place like this.

[ Said casually, but her question gives him a pause to hum.

Before cheerfully concluding: ] Actually, I don't know why I said that at all!

... But just following rules doesn't make a business successful, especially ones that are just unfair.

[ Another sip of his cocktail. Wow, it's been a while since he's felt like this. Since he lost his last job. ]

wildcard

[trashtier]

[The heat might not be as oppressive here at the carnival, but it's still hot enough to make Levi miserable in his usual attire. He's only found mild relief by standing near the dunk tank, but it's nowhere near enough. The idea of letting himself get dunked is becoming more and more enticing, but he'd have to wear something so revealing and he'd have to ask someone to help him out...ugghghhh.

He spots a familiar face nearby and finally caves to his desperation.

Tail dragging uselessly behind him, he approaches.]

U-Um... [He holds out a hand to flag her down...and nearly backs out of it. Fortunately, he powers through.] KaraBear? Can I, um... Can I ask for your help with something?

[curvaceous]

[ Kara can be found looking at the dunk tank contemplatively, like she's trying to figure out whether she wants to give it a shot or not. Swimsuit skin sounds nice, especially with all the heat, but she doesn't seem particularly quick to ask anyone to help her out with it.

Then, a shy Leviathan approaches her, and she looks at him with a little grin. ]

Hey, nice seeing you again! What's up?

[ Wonder if this is about the skin...? ]

[trashtier]

[Well, that's a promising reaction... At least Kara seems fine with being approached.]

Oh! Y-Yeah! [And yet Levi's response is startled, like he didn't expect Kara to actually give him the time of day.] Same to you.

I, um...um. I wanted to ask...

[He trails off mid-sentence like he forgot what he was actually going to ask, but in reality, he's quickly become distracted by the sudden appearance of a thought bubble above Kara's head.

He blinks a few times, and then awkwardly responds as if Kara had asked that question aloud.]

Uh, I'm...more interested in just getting to soak in the water. B-But obviously I'm gonna need the skin for that too, so... Yeah. Would you...be up for a game?