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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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[ He gives chase to Yael for a minute, but once he realizes he's going in circles, he sticks out a leg to try to trip him. ]
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But he does tug on Yael's clothing to bring him down with him. ]
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Thanks for breaking my fall. You're a real pal.
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A real pal? Am I a bro too? Men like you call their friends that, right? We're bros, aren't we?
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[Does he really give you dudebro vibes, Fai? Just for that, Yael rocks from side to side, smooshing Fai into the pavement beneath.]
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Well. He's pretending to be, more like. ]
I think you know exactly what I'm accusing you of.
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[Smoosh smoosh! Suffer!]
Do you really get dudebro energy from me?
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Of course I do. I bet you turn into one whenever you go out drinking with your bros.
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And what are you like with your guy friends? Supposing you have any.
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I have plenty, just so you know. And I would say that I'm completely normal with them.
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[Yael snorts a laugh. He can't even imagine what "completely normal" means coming from a guy like Fai, but he's oh so curious.]
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[ He's not going to tell Yael, though. The fact that it's nothing scandalous in any sense makes this a lot more fun for him. ]
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We study together and go to the movies sometimes like regular friends. So, normal. Satisfied?
[ If not, he’ll pinch Yael too. ]
Help me up so we can look around more.
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[What kind of movies, Fai? The kind you need to present your ID to see?
Yael spares him from his teasing... for now, offering Fai a hand up and looking to him for their next steps. Lead on, you very normal man.]
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He uses Yael's hand to help him up, thankful that his not-boyfriend is so strong that he can easily handle Fai's weight as he stands. He loops an arm with Yael's as he all but pulls him around. Fai considers getting some fried food, but he eventually leads them over to the hall of mirrors instead. ]
Have you ever been in one of these before? I've only ever seen them in movies.
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Yael allows himself to be tugged this way and that with only the most minor of complaints— a sigh here, a grumble there, but it's all very performative. When they end up in front of the hall of mirrors, however...]
...Nah. I think I'm good.
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You're an attractive man. You'll look good, even in a funny mirror.
[ Fai gives his arm a little tug to see if Yael will give in. ]
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[That's not the problem!! But whatever. He's let Fai drag him along thus far, so what's the harm in letting him continue? Yael tips his head towards the entrance.]
Well, if you insist. Lead the way.
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Oh, this is cute~ Look at you!
[ He points to one that's made Yael look about half his size. ]
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Oh yeah?
[Yael points to one of Fai's myriad reflections. He looks... thick, to put it lightly.]
Imagine if you were that stacked. You'd look good with some curves.
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Maybe I'll put on a bit of weight, just for you.
[ Maybe. His metabolism is really high, so it's a little difficult for him. He lets go of Yael's hand so he can walk further down the mirror maze.
As he does so, there's a strange... something... in the mirror Yael just pointed out. The reflection shifts into that of a door, and a small hand reaching out to turn the knob after unlocking it with a key. ]
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[Celery sticks can be sexy too, citation needed.
He lets Fai wander on ahead, but... ah. There's that strange feeling again. There's the hairs on his nape standing on end. Yael's eyes betray him, but he's transfixed by the sight of that hand, much smaller and paler than his own, reaching out to turn a knob...]
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But when that door opens... (cw gore, violence, family death)
A deep dark red stains your shoes as you swing open the door and step right into a puddle, giggling about something with your brother as the two of you have just been dropped off from a birthday party. Your spirits are high, uplifted by pizza and cake and songs. However, your feet almost stick to the ground as the congealed blood now on your shoe makes you feel almost sick.
An acrid, metallic smell hits the both of you almost immediately, and the two of you look at one another, identical expressions of fear and uncertainty on your faces. It smells of blood, and even if it's a scent you're not really familiar with, it's undeniable. The house is also quiet, too quiet, as the echoes of your laughter from mere seconds ago practically bounce off of the walls. Your twin steels himself as he takes a step forward and past you and that terrifying puddle to call out for your parents, and it nudges you into action too as you shut the door behind the both of you and come face to face with your mom on the ground, surrounded by a pool of congealed blood.
...You only recognize her by the clothes she's wearing, and it takes your brother's hand on your shoulder to keep you from passing out. Bits of brain and skull are scattered across the area right next to the front door, and her face is broken, so incredibly shattered that you don't know how to process what's in front of you.
Choking back a sob, the two of you call out for your dad as you move further into the house, but it doesn't take long to come across him behind the couch, face down in a pool of his own blood. You can tell even without touching him that he's dead, his head practically ruined much like your mother's, blood and bone and bits of what you're positive is his brain too scattered around him and on the couch. His clothes, too, are the only real way you can be sure it's him.
"911, right? That's who we call?"
You nod as your vision starts to go blurry with tears, and your brother runs to the phone. It's impossible not to feel like the entire room is closing in on you, especially as you finally notice the evidence of a struggle that occured—a discarded fireplace poker near your mom, a chair or two upturned, droplets of blood and what might be even more brain matter on the carpet...
Deciding you can't take it anymore, you go to your brother to listen to him make the call.
And just like that, it fades away just as Fai comes back around the corner. ]
Did you get lost?
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cw violent description
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cw suicidal ideation mention
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