⬣//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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[secondthoughts]

(( Closed memshare starters go here!! ))

ganymede.

[secondthoughts]

[ Hector stands in front of the fun mirror house, looking up at the sign and its entrance, not exactly moving to go inside. His mind is whirring with questions he has about this game as he reconsiders his enthusiasm for it. The heat, for one, sticks to his brain like the strands of his hair do to his sweaty forehead. This isn't right. Something isn't—

Movement catches his attention, and his gaze slowly drifts to the side to see... Oh. Just the guy he was thinking about. ]

Hey. [ He calls to Ganymede, nodding in greeting. Strangely, the usual smile on his face is absent. ] You going in?

[ganymed]

[ Ganymede catches the expression the other man holds—hardly a smile or brightness to it within sight. Though, it isn't like he manages anything like that himself right about now. Even if that's just how he usually is.

Recent events? Are also not exactly relegated to the recesses of his mind. Things seem to be piling up, and a sane person would have started to abandon ship at these particular omens. However, maybe it isn't a question of just sanity or common sense, when one considers other...motivations to linger. ]

I am. What about you?

[ He asks, but the blond will step forward, steps not halting—like an intrepid explorer of some sort. ]

[secondthoughts]

I am, now that you are.

[ Hector quickly falls in step beside Ganymede as they make their way inside. ]

I gotta get out of this heat. It's killing me.

[ And check up on Ganymede, of course. But they'll get to that. ]

[ganymed]

[ Ganymede doesn't exactly smile, but finding a familiar face to go through places is always something comforting. Not that he has anything to fear. ]

...That makes for the two of us, on holding the same opinion.

Whoever thought this was a good idea needs a nice kick in the ass.

[ He states with a huff, walking through the halls confidently, and though he stops to look at one reflection that stretches him so thin he might as well be a beanpole. ]

[secondthoughts]

[ Hector barks a laugh at that. Violence isn't his first option, but. You know what? He's not arguing. ]

You can say that again. I really hope they fix it soon.

[ He comes to stand beside Ganymede, looking at how skinny they both look. Hmm. He prefers himself with a little meat, actually. ]

I actually wanted to talk to you.

[ganymed]

[ Thankfully, in this case, Ganymede doesn't hope for any real sort of violence. But, a verbal lashing should be a sufficient enough kick in the pants, so to speak. ]

Me too.

[ He looks away from the mirror for a second, when Hector makes that other statement, to peer at him curiously. ]

...Talk to me? About what?

[secondthoughts]

[ When Ganymede looks away from the mirror, Hector steps away from it and begins walking down another corridor. Slowly, though. He's not in a rush. ]

I heard about what happened to you. In the hidden area.

[ He casts a glance over his shoulder at Ganymede, just to make sure he has his attention. ]

You do realize that's serious, right? That's grounds enough for legal action.

[ A mirror beside Hector as he passes it shimmers oddly, but he doesn't seem to notice. ]

[ganymed]

[ A soft scoff leaves him, but his expression isn't full of ridicule. Hector is the first person to have raised the possibility of legal action to him—of people playing the game, that is. Maybe that is why he can't treat him with derision.

And because the idea has merit. Enough for him to say: ]

The burden of proof is still an adhered to standard, even in my country.

My loved ones back home do want to bring a legal case...

[ There is a 'but' in there, and Ganymede doesn't quite address it, distracted by the shimmering on the mirror, blue eyes flickering from the other man to land on that speckle of odd light, to see more. ]

shoka.

[secondthoughts]

[ The heat is unbearable. Even though Lumina Cloth is better than in Mac Anu—he almost uninstalled on the spot—it's still not pleasant. Hector stands in the shade of the funhouse, not particularly interested in going inside, but hoping to cool off enough to check out the rest of the carnival.

Something about this game is starting to rub him the wrong way.

And what do you know—just as he lifts his gaze, he spots Hana. Isn't that the one who couldn't log out? "I can't feel my real life body" has haunted him for days now.

So he lifts his hand to wave and get her attention. Maybe he can ask her some things. ]

Hey. Do you have a sec?

[ He jogs up to her, friendly smile on his face. ]

[threatmewted]

[She's staring rather dourly at the carnival as a whole, though she does look over as she's approached.]

Oh- it's the birthday boy.

What do you want?

[secondthoughts]

[ She remembered! He flashes a smile at that, a little flattered. ]

To chat with you for a bit. I wanted to ask you something. But uh—

[ He gestures to the funhouse—the cool, dark inside of the building inviting in this heat. ]

Out of the sun?

[threatmewted]

[She raises an eyebrow when he mentions wanting to talk to her, specifically, only for her expression to become a deriding one at his suggestion.]

It's not that much cooler in there, ya know. So don't get your hopes up.

[But she will in fact head inside.]

[secondthoughts]

[ But at least the fake-virtual-sun won't be beaming down on them in there! If this heat is, in fact, coming from the sun, that is.

It likely isn't, but, eh.

Hector trots in after her, eyes boring into the back of her head as though trying to get a read on her.

As the pass into the dark inside, he says: ]

You were the one with login issues the other day, right?

[threatmewted]

[Oh, ew. She makes a face.]

...Yeah. So?

[secondthoughts]

You realize how serious that is, right?

[ "I can't feel my real life body" still haunts him, all these days later.

He glances at the mirrors around him. It's not really that funny. ]

Have you told anyone outside of the game?

[threatmewted]

[Frowning at the first part, frowning even harder at the second.]

What's it to you? Are you a cop or something?

yjh.

[secondthoughts]

[ Hector has brought his baby grunty to the mirror house.

He cradles the cute, precious thing in his arms. And he's definitely the sort of pet dad to pause at (almost) every reflection, point at her in it and coo, "Look, that's you!"

So needless to say, he's pretty lost.

Not that he realizes this, though. He's pretty content spending one-on-one time with his new virtual pet. And so he almost physically runs into Joonghyuk down when he rounds the corner and his mind is elsewhere. ]

Whoa! [ He catches himself and keeps his balance, but that was close. He looks down to check on his grunty first before he looks up at Joonghyuk. ] Sorry. Wasn't paying attention.

[regressive]

[ Is this Hector in the mirror house and why yes. ]

Too distracted by your own reflection? [ Stay tuned for another joke from Yoo Joonghyuk in another hundred years. ] Is that... a grunty?

[ Coincidentally, he's also cradling a grunty in his arms. It's not like he's going to trust anyone with this baby boy in the first place. Trauma can wait, they gotta have a grunty showdown. ]

LMFAO THATS HIM

[secondthoughts]

[ Oh! It's Yaoi Guy!

Hector grins when he sees him and takes the jab. ]

Her reflection, actually. [ He tickles the spot under her chin and she squeals! She's so cute.

When he actually bothers to look up at Joonghyuk, he spots the other man's own grunty. ]

I see we had the same idea.

[ Grunties are so much more important right now. ]

[regressive]

[ The squeal is cute, but he won't comment on that because that would imply that his grunty might be less cute and that's simply no true. Hoo boy. ]

I'm logging in every day, so I thought it'd be reasonable to get one.

[ The game, despite the chaotic playerbase, isn't so bad... but he's going to tell everyone that he's logging in for the grunty now just like a kid who wakes up at 2AM to feed their tamagotchi. ]

What's her name?

[secondthoughts]

[ Hector isn't THAT into it, but he's pretty into it. More power to Punisher, that is.

He looks down at his grunty with a smile. ]

Aurene.

[ The name just came to him when he looked at her, and that was when he decided this was the grunty for him.

Back to Joonghyuk— ]

What about yours?

[regressive]

Gru.

[ The most cursed name he could come up with... literally. Don't let this man name anything or anyone, please. ]

Maybe they could play together? Probably not here, though.

[ They're babies still, but if they accidentally slam into one of the mirrors, things might get bad fast. ]

What's up with this place anyway?

[secondthoughts]

Cute name.

[ He means this earnestly. Hector isn't very good at naming creatures. Gru is a very good name for a grunty.

He does brighten at the suggestion, eyes snapping up from the grunties to actually look at Joonghyuk. A grunty playdate! His little Aurene needs friends, he's sure of it. Who cares if she's just code. She needs to be—

He's about to respond when the other changes the topic, and he tilts his head curiously. ]

What do you mean? The mirrors?

[ He looks at his distorted face beside him. ]

You've never been in a funhouse before?

[regressive]

Thanks. I knew that you had great taste.

[ He didn't even have to explain why the name is so great nad cute... Hector truly is a man of culture. ]

No. [ No fun allowed in his life!! ] Is this what people do offline too? Walk around a labyrinth of mirrors?

[ What a past time... ]