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⬣//A SINGLE CRACK LETS THE LIGHT IN.
As they say, fortune favors the brave. Five lucky players took part in a Limited Quest: The Mysterious Sky Islands, in which they discovered a brand new Root Town. While the team was largely successful in their efforts to make the mysterious floating town in the sky habitable, not everyone embraced the spirit of teamwork on this journey.
When you gate in to this shiny new Root Town, you'll notice something curious: it has no name. Its name simply displays as "???" in every context menu and there is no signage around the Root Town itself that points to its true name— rather, the name it had before they came along.
Whispers on the wind tell of an evil wizard in flowing white robes who ruthlessly boiled the village elder alive. With him died all of this mysterious Root Town's lore and history, and in its place are tales of the monster who robbed this land of its identity. The elemental sprites that populate this village refuse to speak their name, simply wishing you "good luck, have fun!" as you turn to leave.
While on your journey to check out the island, you'll notice how unstable the bridges are. Unstable might be putting it lightly, because for some unlucky souls, crossing the wrong bridge means plummeting to your death. It seems that whoever was put in charge of constructing these bridges didn't give a damn about structural integrity.
The local sprites are pleading with adventurers to assist them in building better, more stable bridges, but bridging the gap between one island and the next is not a job for a single person. If you have enough of a heart to heed the pleas of the sprites, you'll want to work with your fellow players to get the job done. All the wood, nails, and rope you need to construct better bridges has been helpfully supplied to you by the sprites. You could always sabotage the project too, of course, but what kind of person would you be if you did that?
The professions system has been added to fragment. Rejoice, busybodies, for there is much furniture to be built and dubious potions brewed.
In celebration of the new crafting & gathering system, a crafts festival is being held in the Unnamed Root Town. Take care not to plummet to your death while traversing those rickety bridges.
Players are encouraged to set up a booth of their own and trade their unique handcrafted items with their fellow adventurers. In addition to being supplied with enough level 1 and level 2 crafting materials to give the crafting system a spin, the local NPCs are running a contest encouraging people to come up with their own for a chance to have their creations canonized as real crafting recipes.
To submit your own recipe ideas, you need only fill out this handy form:
Recipe name:
Recipe category: Alchemist, Carpenter, Chef, or Jeweler?
Which two items does your recipe call for? Choose two items to combine. Only gatherable items (refer to the professions page) can be used.
Effect: What does this item do, if anything?
Description: A brief description of your lovely new product.
Fragment's beta test has seen its fair share of unusual bugs and unintended features, and with the latest update bringing many new changes, it's inevitable that some things have broken behind the scenes.
If two players happen to log in at the same time, they might find their avatars swapped with one another's. Thankfully, this issue doesn't lead to the unpleasant exchange of deep-seated memories or anything of the sort, but getting used to a body that isn't yours takes time. Thankfully, this particular bug resolves itself when both players log out.
The windy town of Unnamed Root Town is generally quite scenic and pleasant, but there's just one issue. It's far, far windier than it should be. If the rickety bridges don't kill you, the gusts that intermittently blow across the sky islands might knock you off your feet if you don't watch your footing carefully. Thankfully, the crafts festival on the southernmost end of the island hasn't been impacted by the severe winds. Among them is one voice that you don't recognize: a voice that promises a death, gruesome and bloody, in the days to come.
To everyone's relief, the carnival and its notorious hall of mirrors has packed up and left Lumina Cloth, but your past hasn't finished haunting you. The foul winds carry whispers of the past along with them, uttering words and phrases uncomfortably familiar to you. They're the voices of your past, the voices of people you've known, loved, and lost. Covering your ears won't keep the voices out of your ears. Nothing will.
Finally, on the more mundane some of things, professions have a few kinks of their own that need to be worked out. Occasionally, a crafted item won't come out quite right, instead resulting in one of the following "items":
Alchemist: Truth Serum. Become unable to lie for 24 hours.
Blacksmith: Whatever you're enhancing transforms into a denim disaster. Introducing your new "body" armor, "leg" armor, "head" armor, and "arm" armor.
Carpenter: Mirror Mirror. Reflects the person you're most afraid of becoming.
Chef: Durian Delight. A succulent durian pudding that reeks so strongly that its stench can be smelled all across the Root Town or Area you're occupying.
Jeweler: Crystal Ball. Breaks after one use but allows you to read another player's thoughts for five minutes.
With crafting in full swing, a certain admin has been lured out of his hidey hole by the smell of delicious chef-prepared meals. Hien is hungry, and you will feed him.
Chefs are not limited by the recipes they know like some professions are, so players are encouraged to think outside of the box and combine unique ingredients to cook up something truly special.
Taste, however, isn't the only important part of a perfect meal. Chefs looking to impress the big man himself are expected to present their culinary delights to him with pomp and finesse. You need to impress Hien if you want to gain more from this venture than the participation prize of a chef skin.
Those who successfully woo Hien with their delectable dishes will be given an additional prize: a little black pomchi pet to accompany their avatar around Root Towns and Special Areas. Hien will be giving these out at his discretion, so you better suck up to the dogboss in charge if you want a pomchi of your very own. If you catch Hien in a good mood, he may even agree to give you a different breed of dog if you ask nicely.
Hello, everyone! Can you believe it's been an entire month since our beta test began? Even though we've already been through a lot together, we've still got three months left! I'm rooting for you all!
As of today, the level cap has increased from 25 to 50. That means new armor and weapons will be available to you! Get out there to different Areas and start leveling up! But don't forget to stop every once in a while and enjoy your surroundings, too. Which reminds me—don't forget to check out the new Recreational Areas! We have a beach and hotsprings for you to enjoy now. I hope everyone continues to have fun exploring!
We've also opened up the GP shop, where you can create your own special armor set for a certain price, along with a few other things. Please check it out!
Oh, and don't forget to use these three new greeting cards I've made! Here they are! Make sure you use them so you can connect with your fellow players! We're all friends here, after all.
@ levi
What's more concerning, though, is Levi. After she has her moment, she looks over at him when another breeze passes on by, watching for any reactions. She has a feeling she'll know if he hears something. It's why she's holding on to his hand as tightly as she can. ]
cw: verbal abuse
L-L-Let me go! [His shout borders on a sob.] I- I need...!!
[He needs to cover his ears.
"Skipping out on practice again?! You're not going to qualify for State if you keep this up!"
He doesn't want to hear this. Not again.
"It's not just me you're letting down! What would your mother think if she could see you now?!"
It's not Kara he's shouting at this time.]
Please, just stop! I know already!
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Instead of his hand, Kara moves to his front so she can face him, and she places her hands on his shoulders.
They really shouldn't have came here. ]
Hey – I got you. Whatever you're hearing is wrong.
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I'm sorry. I'm- I'm s-sorry, I just can't--!
[Is he talking to Kara or the whispers on the wind? Hard to say.]
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Her thumb brushes away some of his tears. ]
Don't be sorry. Not to me or to whoever you're hearing. [ ... ] I'm not going anywhere, okay?
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...
[He lets out a long, shuddering sigh and sniffles.]
S- [He starts to apologize, but stops himself.] ...Thank you.
This place sucks.
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Eventually, he speaks, and she pulls back a little so she can look at him. She sees the pain in his eyes and hears it in his voice. What she wouldn't do to take it all away. ]
I know. [ ... ] You can tell me about it, if you want. I'm so sorry.
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The most vocal part of him wants to just back out of this conversation again, like he always does when asked to talk about his issues. "Not now," he wants to say. But how many times can he say that before Kara gives up on him ever being open with her? How long will he continue to hide away in the darkness?
...
He breaks from the embrace, but only so he can take hold of Kara's hand once more.]
Can we go to one of our guild rooms? I'll talk. I just...don't wanna be here anymore.
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[ She squeezes his hand and intertwines their fingers. Her gaze is gentler, though it's also forced softness; she also hates being here. She wants to leave. She'd leave this MMO if she could.
But once they're there, situated in the guild, she gives his hand a squeeze. ]
Better, right?
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He squeezes her hand back as he curls up beside her on the bed of his private room.]
Yeah, way better.
[It takes the edge off of the conversation he's about to delve them into.]
...
I heard my dad. That's...what all of that was about.
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His dad, huh... ]
Not a great father, I take it?
[ Parents, man. ]
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Nope. Haven't seen him in years though, thank god. Lucas got us out of there as soon as he could.
[That's a story on its own, but not the one being told today.]
...He wasn't always like that, though. A lot happened. [...] We lost my mom when she had my only sister, and then we lost her just a couple years later. He...changed.
We all did.
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[ She can't say she relates to the feeling, but she can imagine the relationship he must have with his father. If he's this grateful for not having any contact with him... ]
He didn't take it well, I'm guessing. Still, none of that is an excuse for him to treat you guys poorly. That's not what parents are supposed to do.
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[He's allowing himself to be bitter. Kara said she wanted to know everything about him, so he's not holding back.
He lets out a sigh before delving into the specifics.]
Back in the root town...I heard him yelling at me for missing swim practice.
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Yeah? Was he making you feel like shit for doing that?
[ She feels her blood start to boil. ]
I'm so sorry either way, Levi. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with this game, but you really didn't need to hear any of that.
cw: talk of verbal/mental abuse, depression
[He closes his eyes, almost tightly. Reflecting on this time just makes him cringe for so many reasons.]
But after we lost my mom and sister, I started to lose the will to keep up with it. I wanted to get back out there and compete, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Just getting out of bed was hard back then.
[Grief hit him hard. He became depressed and anxious. He desperately wanted things to go back to the way they were.
They didn't. Couldn't.]
Dad...constantly berated me for it. Told me I was giving up, and that I was gonna be useless without my swimming career because I had nothing else going for me. Told me how disappointed he was in me and that Mom would be too if she were still alive.
[His breath hitches in his throat, recounting it. He wants to cry all over again. He hates this. Hates that his dad was probably right--]
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[ She'll reiterate what she said, back in the new Root Town. ]
You're not useless, you're not a disappointment, and you're not giving up. You've been through a lot, anyone would feel messed up after something so tragic – but you're none of those things.
[ Is this helpful? Is this even what she should be saying? She's not sure but she'll continue anyway. She understands this. She knows what it feels like to be torn apart by someone who's supposed to be your family. ]
You care a lot about your brothers. You care a lot about the stuff that makes you happy, so much that I'm getting into it, too. [ She laughs a little, but she'll carry on: ] Despite all the shit you've taken from people, you're still here and doing your best. No poor excuse of a parental figure's going to take that away from you.
You're Levi. [ A beat. ] The Levi...who I think I love, very, very much.
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[Levi's eyes open in surprise when Kara speaks up. They widen as she continues, gaze unfocused while he listens in complete shock.
He's had years to steep in the darkness of his thoughts. Years to wall himself off in the comfort of his room. But here Kara is, doing her best to open the door. Not to force him out, but because she cares about him. She's been nothing but patient and encouraging in spite of his hangups. She sees the good in him that he's never managed to notice.
She...]
You...love me?
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It's not a question of if she loves him, it's just...does he feel that way, too? Is she putting her heart out here for it to be ripped into shreds? That's what always happens, in the end, isn't it? Because she doesn't deserve him, and she knows that.
But...she won't lie, either. She won't take back what she's said. And despite how she tenses up, Levi deserves nothing but honesty, and she promised that's what she'll give him. She was hoping she could do this in-person, but with how far apart they are and with how messed up things are in this MMO, this may be the best chance they get for a while.
Kara nods. ]
Yeah. Yeah, I do.
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That's his kneejerk reaction, and it might still be for a while. But with Kara's reassurance, Levi slowly but surely pushes that intrusive thought away. It'll become easier to do over time. Maybe the deep scars left on him will finally be able to start fading too.
He cups her hand in his, meeting her gaze. His eyes are fresh with tears. This time, they're the happier kind of tears.]
I love you too.
[His reply is murmured, but no less sincere. He'd hoped this confession could be made during a happier time, but he can't deny that this is precisely what he needed right now.
He has his family. And now he has someone who came from beyond those boundaries who loves him.
He'll do his best to be better- the way they all see him.]
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Her breath hitches, and she leans in to wrap an arm around him and pull him close. She closes her eyes momentarily in a half-hearted attempt to try and will her tears away, but to no avail. Instead, she looks up at him, and takes in a deep breath. ]
I won't take this for granted. Whatever happens – I'm going to face it with you. I love you, Levi.
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Kara, his first love.
When she pulls back to look at him, he frees a hand so he can tend to her stray tears. His own mess of a face can wait.]
Yeah. Whenever you need me, I'll be there too. I'm gonna give it my all for you.
[A hiccup bubbles up from all the crying. He blushes in embarrassment for a second, but soon enough his lips curl into a wobbly smile and he lets out a little laugh.]
I love you too, Kara-chan.
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Honestly, Levi is the first person she's really loved, too. He's the first person that's made her want to be better. ]
Thanks...for trusting me so much, and for opening up. I guess we're more alike than I thought we were. But...if you hear those voices again, I hope you can lean on me a little more.
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You make me feel safe. As much as my mind wanted me to keep running, my heart wanted me to stop and talk for once. So I listened to my heart. I'm...really glad I did.
[Something tells him he's going to feel so much better for it.]
I will. I won't let them take hold of me like that again. I'll focus on you.
[Once Kara's done, he leans in for a kiss.]
I promise.
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I'll do the same.
[ She gently brushes her lips over his cheek. It's surreal, that she makes him feel safe...but she can't say she minds. She likes that he trusts her. ]
I'm glad you talked to me, too. I know it must have taken you a lot, but I'm here for you, through anything and everything.
(no subject)