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⬣//SPREAD, CONTAMINATE, ERADICATE
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.
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.
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.
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?
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a quiet moan when their tongues meet. he hasn’t yet, however, figured out how to say yoshi’s name like this. which touch, which way should he curl around the other boy to say it. say yoshi, come here, come in to me, too
but he knows, now, what the other boy tastes like. doesn’t think he’ll ever forget. and knows this is the way he feels in deto’s arms: his firm waist, slim but definitely a boy’s; where the small of his back starts and ends; how their chests meet and the specific warmth of that touch. which should signal to him too close, back off - but with yoshi, there’s the constant thought of not close enough, a need to be closer still, so that their heartbeats can blend
(and they could, couldn’t they? later, his mind chants. later, it promises. later, deto will ask)
even if his memories get scrambled like yoshi’s, one kiss and deto would know, he’s sure. for sure. this is the boy his heart wants to beat for ]
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He's made many friends and drifted away from the exact same number over time, but there's a special warmth in his chest now that's just as new as the rest, not full exactly but growing with each moment longer spent in Akira's embrace. A part of him, selfishly, wishes they could stay this way, locked together in this world, unbothered by the what-ifs that surround reality (and what-if, indeed, this is just a sweet dream compared to the real world...?)
But it's selfish. And though his memories are by all accounts scrambled, he isn't so far gone that he could put himself before everyone else in Akira's life. And if that means they have to stay in different worlds...
...
He decides to shove the thought from his mind for now, though Akira may notice an uptick in intensity just then. Best to enjoy the now while he can, regardless of the future and who he may be.]
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and his brain might not be working, but this avatar is…. equally and unfortunately as slotted in the “healthy teenager” category as his real one
deto has to pull away eventually, panting ]
Remember when I said you should reject me? Don’t. [ against his lips, allowing himself a couple more lingering kisses between each word. ] I was being stupid. If you kiss someone else like this, I won’t be able to take it. Don’t like any other guy, or girl, or - [ in-between, undefined ] No one else, just me.
Okay?
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Good. Looks like the message was received.
He's laughing into the kisses that accompany Akira's words - chases those kisses with a couple more, himself, before he responds.]
I won't.
It'll always be you.
[Simple as that.
...No matter where their separate paths lead, his heart has been well and truly captured.]
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Just you.
[ echoing his words from earlier, somehow more certain now ]
Once I decide on something - important, that’s it. I’m all in. I’ve been… all in.
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...]
Even though I haven't decided what world I want to live in...?
[He thinks... he can probably handle heartbreak if that means he gets to have this right now. The present matters more to him than a future obscured by too many questions to count.
But that isn't the case for Akira, is it?]
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It’s a couple of days too late to ask me if I’m sure.
[ deto’s a pretty simple guy. he likes what he likes, does what he does, says what he says. maybe he was done in at first meeting, he can’t even rule out that possibility ]
It’ll work out, somehow.
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The words stop him in his tracks, less a case of inability to compute and more...
Oh. Maybe he was worrying for nothing after all?
It's not quite nothing, he knows, reasonably speaking. But rather than a war to be waged, it's just another bump in the road, to be dealt with when they get there.
His gratitude doesn't take the form of words, but rather another kiss, warm and lingering.
It'll work out.
They'll work it out.]
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after that, it’s just about cooling their feet in the waves as they walk along the shore, talking about baseball and video games, everything and nothing ]