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⬣//JUST AS A SEED TAKES ROOT.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Uta, come on. Let's go.
[ They're so deep within the hall of mirrors that it'll take time to leave, but he doesn't want Uta to see a potentially painful memory. ]
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[ it's a bit too late for that, tragically. however, she'll manage to pull her eyes away from the mirrors and look towards oria and give him a weak smile. the last thing she needs is for one of her fans to worry about her even more so than they already have been. she doesn't want to trouble him anymore than this. ]
I'm sorry about this.
[ and with that, uta will let them move forward (or backwards) through the mirror house as she forcibly ignores the rest of what gets shown in the mirrors. it all seems nothing worthy of causing the kind of anxiety that surrounds uta. quite honestly, it would look nothing short but a happy memory, and they can continue like this for a while.
well, up until the mirrors reflect an image of an older man with deep red hair and a scratch-like scar over his left eye. the man appears to be smiling proudly but it's hard to take him seriously as he has a two very small party hats attached to his head and covering his ears. the image of him causes uta to stop dead in her tracks. ]
...Shanks.
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... Uta?
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he's not entirely wrong with how the man is someone she has been looking for, but how can you look for someone who you can never find again? of course all of it isn't information that she shares with him. the only thing she does is slightly become more distressed with one of her hands forming a fist as he takes a step back and begins to sing "happy birthday" to her while hooking his arms with the other people. ]
Stop; this is enough. [ her voice starts off small. ] There's no need to go any further.
[ and as they seem to be wrapping up the song, uta will respond by slamming her fist against the mirror as though there was an invisible "stop" button somewhere. the force becoming harder as the scene continues to play out. honestly the best thing for her is to keep moving or look away but given that shanks is still front and center of this, she can't. ]
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[ Oria doesn't want Uta to suffer by looking at something she shouldn't and he tries to pull her away from the mirror. Even if Uta wasn't a singer that pulled him out of the depths of terrible thoughts that plagued him a year ago, he would still do the same. No person needs to go through this.
So he tries to pull Uta by the hand so that he can tug her away from the mirror once again, and hopefully make her face a direction where she can't see it anymore. ]
cw: blood & gore
that said, perhaps it can be a good thing that the very next scene that plays out is what appears to be a large explosion coming from somewhere behind the circle of people around the viewer that "ends" abruptly. or ""good"" given that the implication of such an explosion that acts an "end" to the scene might be all too obvious.
oria will now be able to drag her away from the mirrors as uta's pounding comes to an end; however, she will not be too responsive. especially when it comes clear as to why as tragically this is not where this memory fully ends. the mirrors will reflect dust from the explosion settling and the face of shanks comes back into view except it's extremely obvious that he has been heavily injured. even if oria wishes to be polite and not want to do more than risk a quick peak, a quick glance will show how the man is now missing an entire arm...if not some of his face.
(and if oria dares to look any longer he'll be able to see rubble, large pools of blood, and splatters of bits that wordlessly explain just how purposeful shanks was in covering her entire field of vision.)
something he considered a minor inconvenience as he keeps smiling (at uta). with the obvious last of his strength, shanks will try to say something but that message will be a mystery to oria as the memory finally ends right then and there. as for uta? it's very likely she does but she's not in the mood for discussion as she'll start crying. her tears quickly turning into a full body silent sob as she just goes wherever oria leads her...or doesn't lead her. ]
cw gore description
cw: gore description
Oria won't pry. Just seeing something like that--an assumed loved be destroyed in front of your own eyes to protect you is something that Oria knows of what people would be wracked by: survival's guilt, most likely. Oria, who has stopped trying to pretend to be surprised by anything and everything, found himself shocked by seeing the bits of gore. And it's a shame, because he thinks that adult, Shanks, would have liked it if Uta never had to see some parts of his face missing so that if she ever had to remember him, she could remember his face being whole, smiling at her.Oria isn't really someone that would give people hugs, but Uta really looks like she needs one right now, so he pulls her into one, hugging her tightly despite his own discomfort. He won't tell her to stop crying--he'd never. He thinks Uta can't really go on walking like this, so he just lets her bury her face into his shoulder so that she doesn't have to see anything else while she cries. ]
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nevertheless, the touch catches her off-guard and causes her to flinch at the contact but she doesn't push oria away. she doesn't reach out to grab a hold of him either as she stands as she silently tries to calm herself down. or, at least, try to redirect her feelings to something else. as horrible and raw as the memory was for her, it's not as though this memory was buried too deep for better or for worse.
after enough time but not too long uta will be able to calm herself down enough where she can at least fully acknowledge what oria is doing for her. unfortunately it also means that she feels incredibly guilty for what she's putting oria through.
she'll still be sniffling and her voice will be small as she squeezes one of oria's arms. ]
I'm sorry...and thank you.
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[ Oria says that very sternly, but not in a tone to lecture. ]
I'll accept being thanked, but you shouldn't be sorry for needing support, especially for something like that. It's fine to accept help, and I'll help you. There's no way I'd leave you alone after seeing that.
[ Even though Uta's memory has run its course in the mirror, will she take a look again...? ]
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Thank you again.
[ uta's voice is more confident when she speaks again and she pulls back to face him. unfortunately her smile is short-lived. ] I...
I trust that I don't need to ask you to keep that a secret, right? It's not something that I'd want people to know.
[ for obvious reasons that she hopes oria can understand without needing any kind of explanation. and as she waits for his response, she'll take a brief glance over at the mirrors to see what—if anything—is being reflected in them. ]
1/2
[ Fragment can pry this secret from him when he dies, thanks. ]
I know what it's like to be on the end of rumormongers. There's no way I'd let you go through that kind of situation too.
[ At first, the mirrors don't seem to be reflecting anything abnormal, but there's a white smudge in the corner that Uta might be able to see.
Then she'll remember something that isn't hers-- ]
cw: transphobia, gender dysphoria, mention of miscarriage
cw: transphobia, gender dysphoria, mention of miscarriage
[ --a scene in a cheerfully colored room is where you wake up. You've just turned ten a weeks ago, you're in bed, and you can't feel anything: physically and emotionally. The hollowness in knowing that you changed somehow, but not completely, weighs on you so heavily that it shouldn't be a child's concern. Yet, here you are.The scene before you is blurry. Your glasses aren't on, but maybe that's just fine with how you don't want to see anything in the moment. However, you see a person in white and hear their footsteps rapidly leaving. They must be going to alert the doctors and his mother. A short time later, more blobs of color filter their way into his room. You know the white blob is your mother, for her beautiful white hair that somehow made her seem younger than older for her age. You feel a hand stroke your forehead.
As they discuss, many words just go in one ear and out the other, but you can hear your mother, ever so elegant, who always stands with dignity and poise... break down. You can hear her quietly crying.
"If only you were a boy... I'm sorry, Satria."
Your name is Oria Severine.
And your mother wanted a son.
You hear some more things as you blankly stare at the ceiling that's a blur of bright colors as if they're trying to cheer up. The reassignment surgery was half a failure. You vaguely remember the name "Satria", an existence that was paired with you. There were supposed to be two babies born that day. Only one came out alive.
So Kaleria Ostrovsky-Severine, your mother, was determined to raise you as a son.
From this day on, you quietly vow inside your head that you will strive to be what you're supposed to be.
Even if you're not enough, and never will be. ]
i guess we cannot be nice to uta in this thread...............
[ a lot more than she'll care to explain even though it sounds like oria might have had an experience like her's? however, given how much she had to do to make sure that she didn't make more news than was necessary who knows. maybe one day she'll mention it to someone.
maybe.
...though maybe that day might come sooner than she would care to think given what she sees the mirror this time around. honestly, even though there are plenty of memories that uta would not want to experience again, the new memory that fills her senses is not one that she wants to experience either. it's confusing and disorientating, but she knows sorrow and pain even if there isn't any being felt.
and the one here is the sort that hurts her the most and brings a new set of tears to her eyes as it keeps playing out and she refuses to pull away from it. this is only a snapshot but uta can only imagine what kind of life that oria has lived with a parent that wants to change who you are. as deep of a scar it left on her heart when her family was ripped away from her, uta knows it's because her fathers filled her every moment with them with love and understanding.
how about oria? what kind of heart does he have where it can harbor such a hollowed feeling that she felt at the start and endures this sorrowful promise that he made to himself... she remembers how he mentioned an unhappy time in his life. her songs had helped him then—motherland and the world's continuation—it made so much sense now.
so, once the scene finishes and there were fresh tears in her eyes, she'll look over to oria and reach to hold his hand tightly. for all of the pain that she's just had to deal with, uta's expression isn't fragile this time as it is emboldened with its understanding. ]
apparently not..................
Though he's not sure what he sees regarding understanding. ]
We're almost out.
she suffers and for what?
oria is moving forward with his life and so there's no room for her to feel bad for him. ]
Yeah, we are.
[ and when they finally make it out of the mirror, uta will let out a deep sigh and finish wiping her face free from tears. ...which might look funny for a moment because of how she'll have to remove her headset as well. a small smile on her face once she has decided that she has recovered enough. ]
I think in the future I might be a bit more wary of "fun houses".
our enjoyment
But when they finally make it out, Oria sees Uta take off her headphones. Wow. Headphone-less Uta? It's like seeing someone for the first time. ]
Haha, same here.
[ He pauses. ]
How are you feeling now?
oh i guess that's true
I'd be lying if I said I was completely fine. [ between having to revisit her awful birthday and sneaking a peek into a snapshot of oria's past. yeah, uta will be able to recover from this as she normally would but right now things are certainly just extremely tender for her. ] ...but I'll be okay.
[ though—since she doesn't want to bring up what she saw with oria. maybe there's something else she can do that will also work as a thanks. ]
If I could sing you a song right now, what would you want to hear? This isn't a trick question.
our love is measured by their suffering
A song? Right now?
[ He tries to think, but honestly, it doesn't take too long. The lyrics to this song always meant a lot to him. ]
... The World's Continuation.
this is not a lie...
Okay, if that's what you want.
[ and well there's not much left to say other than that she'll start singing for him once they're some distance from the hall of mirrors but not too far. nothing fancy with her movements as it's more of a ballad than anything to dance to.
so, enjoy the next 5 mins of non awful things for the both of them. ]
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He also remembers when his ex used to sing it to him by the ocean's shore, telling him that he'll die soon.
...
It brings back a memory of his own, uncontained by the mirrors. For those five minutes of non awful things for the both of them, Oria smiles at the end at Uta. ]
... Yeah. I knew it's what I wanted. Thank you, Uta.
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You're welcome, Oriade.
[ her smile soft and earnest as she decides that now is a good time to keep walking away from the mirror hall. ]
I'm still really glad that song has helped you so much. It's a song that holds a special place in my heart.
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How so?
[ It's one of his favorite songs, so Uta wants to know how she came up with it. ]
... Ah, but only if you feel like sharing.
[ Uta has "shared" enough personal things today. ]
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I wrote the song while thinking of my family and the things we did together when I was younger.
[ she skips out on the part where she was thinking about them as a means to comfort herself from an awful nightmare but those are details we can leave unmentioned. ]
...even if I never got the chance to sing it for them I'm sure that they would have loved it.
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I know they would have.
[ He doesn't like putting words into the deceased mouths, but he's so sure of it from how much Uta loved Shanks and the other way around too. His voice sounds so firm on this belief. ]
I don't have any doubts that you were their world too.
[ That her family would want Uta to continue and live happily. ]
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but she'll smile softly at oria. obviously there were people who would have said the same if they knew the full context just because it would be the "right thing to say", but uta knows that this comes from a far more sincere place. ]
They'd always say that they were my biggest fans. [ she'll laugh softly as they leave that horrible mirror hall in the dust. ] I also wrote 'Where the Wind Blows' while thinking of them.
[ freely shared with him given how they were already talking about her family, especially if uta was going to relive memories of her family, then she wanted to fill her head with happy ones. ]
I used to cry a lot when I was a baby, so they'd sing and dance for me to get me to laugh. I can't remember any of that but I don't think they lied to me.
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