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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.
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But Hector went through the trouble of covering for Yael, so maybe he should know what Fai thinks. ]
These are just my thoughts, just so you know.
[ He stretches his legs out, buying himself a second or two of time. ]
I think he believes he doesn’t deserve kindness extended to him.
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Of course he does. Idiot.
[ Said in the same cadence, breath as an insult. But there's a lot of care behind it.
His eyes glint sharply as he stares at Fai. ]
I hope for whatever tantrum he throws for receiving kindness, you show it to him tenfold.
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Of course I will. I'll cradle his silly little head to my chest and stroke his hair.
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Good.
[ For a moment, he opens his mouth, as though about to say more, but he remains silent. As his lips close, whatever thought was behind it dies. Never mind.
He hops up from the stool to round the back of the bar and begins to put the new bottles on their places on the shelf. It isn't going to be the same setup as last time—he doesn't know where the bottles were before—but at least the spaces will be filled. ]
I'm sorry, Fai.
[ For. Well. Everything. ]
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That apology pulls him out of those thoughts, however, and he simply fixes Hector with a blank look before his lips turn down slightly in a frown. ]
For what? You'll need to be more specific, Hector.
[ His tone is gently chiding. Hector being nearly a decade older than Fai won't keep him from a scolding. ]
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For lying. [ For the way he feels. ] For... I don't know. I feel like I'm going to set him off one day and it's going to come around and hurt you somehow. I don't want that.
[ Maybe he should just stop talking to him. That feels like the only reasonable outcome here. ]
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[ He sits back, crossing his legs in his chair as he affixes Hector with a serious look. No more gentle chiding, he's scolding for real now. ]
Don't worry about what may or may not happen. I can handle Yael just fine. If he hurts me in some way, then I'll be the one to deal with it. His actions are in no way your responsibility, so stop making it your fault.
no subject
They are in a relationship, aren't they. Hearing the way Fai talks just reminds him of that—no being coy about it.
There are a lot of things that are his fault, and despite what the other man says, Hector feels like he's going to be shouldering this blame for a little while. ]
Fine.
[ He whirls around, cupping his chin on arms propped on the bar. It pushes his cheeks up, hides his eyes, he grins. ]
I absolve myself of all future guilt, then.
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So, all he can do is laugh humorlessly. ]
No you don't. I know men like you. You'll never let it go, even if someone else gives you permission.
no subject
He hates being seen, like this. No matter what he says, or how much he laughs it off, he's always going to find himself trying to take responsibility for everything. He'll always find ways to shoulder himself with blame.
But it sparks much the same irritation Yael does in him, and that smile doesn't remain there for long. It drops, and he stands up straight, folding his arms across his chest as though to protect himself. ]
If you know me so well, then what do you expect me to do?
[ He doesn't mean for his tone to come out like a snap, but it does. ]
no subject
You'll continue to internalize it. Something will happen and Yael will get angry and you'll feel as if it's all your fault all over again.
[ Fai shrugs, leaning back in his chair. ]
Like I said, I'm familiar with men like you.
[ Because Fai himself is the exact same. ]
no subject
Hector stands there, staring at Fai for a good few moments. He likes to think himself a man of his word, but he'll always find ways to make himself responsible, won't he? He searches Fai's expression for any hint, any tell, but comes up empty. He's too angry.
It's very tempting to smash the bottles he'd just replaced, but he has a little more self-restraint than a certain third party. ]
Oh yeah?
[ Except he still can't help his temper, and he snaps. ]
What makes you the expert here, then?
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He might as well admit something himself. Maybe Hector will feel less exposed. ]
Because I'm like that too.
[ Or, perhaps, he'll feel even more exposed instead. ]
That's why I know you won't listen.
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There isn't really much else to say, is there? There isn't much Hector can do, except throw his tantrum and watch as Fai surgically pokes his fingers in all of his cracks until Hector breaks something else. ]
Fine.
[ He huffs, reinforcing his walls, locking the doors, shutting the windows. He walks swiftly out from behind the bar, away from Fai, casting only a brief glance over his shoulder at him as he does so. ]
Then I guess this conversation's over.
no subject
He has one more thing to say, one more spot to poke a hole because Fai just can't keep himself out of other people's business, as much as he'd like to think he can. ]
Actually do things to help yourself for once. That includes no longer putting so much blame on your shoulders.
[ It's something Fai wishes he could say to himself. ]
no subject
Do something? To help himself? Like what?
He's far past that point. There's nothing he can do now to help himself. If Fai's the same, then he should know this.
He yanks his arm out of Fai's grip and faces forward again, marching towards the doors.
And without a word, he leaves the guild hall. ]