crescentview | dec event.

dec event.

prologue

You awake to find yourself in a bed that creaks with your every movement, motes of dust flitting about the sparsely lit room. Whether you wake alone or with another by your side, you exit the worn-down building to find yourself on an old, abandoned farm. It isn’t long before a familiar voice lilts in your ears, carried to you on the breeze—

“Hurry over to the town square. Chop chop!”

Whether you go willingly or find your feet inexplicably compelled to trudge into town makes no difference. Once you arrive, you find yourself surrounded by a small ocean of new faces— some confused, some angered, and others quite chipper. At the center of the crowd is a bright-eyed woman with an otherworldly allure, her white hair tied up neatly in a bun, pamphlets and assorted papers tucked in her grasp.

“Welcome to Crescentview, farmers!”

Spreading her arms out wide — as much as she can without her papers blowing away — she eagerly regales the crowd with some fun facts about the island and the town while also reminding everyone of one very important fact:

“Remember, you’ve been brought here to tend the earth, fall in love, and begin your new lives together. You’re not leaving until you do. It will be quite the experience for you, I’m sure.”

Complain, grouse, or rejoice if you like, but don’t expect the Goddess to budge. Oh, right, there’s that too: she, the Harvest Goddess, is the one presiding over this land. Don’t get on my bad side, she gently warns as she stuffs pamphlets into the hands of Crescentview’s aspiring farmers.

spring breeze

While you’re here, you may as well check out the pamphlet the Goddess insistently pressed into your hands. Within it, you’ll find a handy infographic on each of your neighbors detailing their likes, dislikes, and... ideal dates? Even the Goddess’ profile is there. How invasive! Each farmer’s picture is hand-drawn by crayon into simple stick figures with the only difference being how the hair looks on top of their heads… if it can be called hair with the mess of crayons, that is. Every single stick figure is smiling. In front of each personalized pamphlet, there’s a stick figure on the cover with the same style as the photo. It’s definitely yours with how the hair color seamlessly matches yours. For the ones who have multicolor hair, you might notice the goddess seems a little more huffy with you.

The pamphlet also includes a map of Crescentview and lists the services available in town. There aren’t many on this small, remote island. Learning how to fend for yourself seems like the best course of action. Finally, a hand-printed bingo card has been made up for each new island resident. The Goddess must have spent quite a bit of time making these...

The Goddess gives her new questionably loyal followers a chance to mingle and mix before speaking up with another announcement. A small group of haggard-looking fairies appear at her feet, and clapping her hands, a notice board springs into existence. When the fairies fail to react, she gives one a nudge with her foot, prompting them all to burst into the world’s smallest round of applause. It’s a little... pathetic.

“Ta-da! Behold: the task board. Every season, I’ll give you new tasks to complete, and in exchange, you’ll be richly blessed by me, the Harvest Goddess. Spring is the season of new beginnings, so let’s take a look at what we’ve got cooking, hm?”

task board

The task board is located in Town Square and changes from season to season. In real time, a season is one month long. The following tasks are available from December 1st to January 1st and more tasks may be added mid-month.

Certain rewards are only available through event participation, so please keep this in mind when planning your threads. Multiple tasks may be completed within a single thread, but when turning in, please link to the individual tags in which each task was completed.

Finally, rewards are per character, not per farm, so those with housemates may want to coordinate with one another with regard to what animals you’re bringing home to your farm.

1. Greet your neighbors. For every person you meet, you will be given a random bag of spring seeds. Potato, cabbage, turnip, strawberry, and cucumber seeds are available at this time. Alternatively, random mushroom spores are also available. These include morel, matsutake, and common white mushroom spores. This task can be completed a total of 10 times for rewards. Please specify how much of each you would like when submitting your threads, i.e. “I’d like 5 random spring seed bags and 5 random mushroom bags, please!”

2. Exchange names. Start learning some names and faces: you’ll be seeing a lot of these folks! For each name you learn, you’ll earn a random bag of spring flower seeds. Daffodil, tulip, forget-me-not, primrose, and hyacinth are available this season. This task can be completed a total of 10 times for rewards, and yes, you can cheat the system and introduce yourself to someone you already know, but the Goddess won’t like it.

3. Check out your new farm. Take a look around and settle in! After a bit of wandering, you’ll notice a small cat or dog following you around and looking up at you with them big ol’ eyes. Looks like it wants to stay with you, but will you adopt it? This task can be completed once.

4. Till your field and begin planting. Find the beat up farming tools in your beat up house and begin beating your farmland into submission. Plant some seeds and be rewarded by the Goddess with a single chicken or rabbit to keep in your coop. This task can be completed once.

5. Visit another farm. Pay one of your neighbors a visit to receive a stationary set blessed by the Goddess herself. There are no cell phones or Internet on the island, so get used to sending all your “LOL”s and “XDDDD”s by hand. This task can be completed once.

6. Make a new friend. Isn’t friendship wonderful? For each person you proclaim to be your friend, you will receive two random gacha items. This task can be completed 3 times.

7. Pray to the Goddess. Whether you do so grudgingly or willingly doesn’t matter much to her so long as you’re doing it! Clasp your hands together and bow your head or throw an offering into her pond— she’ll hear you either way. Praying to the Goddess will net you a barn animal of your choosing: a cow, sheep, alpaca, or goat. This task may be completed once.

Caution: throwing certain items into her pond may have consequences. Choose your offerings wisely.

mod notes

⬥ Welcome to the game's opening and our first event!
⬥ A second event post will go up in mid-Dec.
⬥ Please plot over at the Dec Plotting Post.
⬥ As a reminder, please keep all plotting on the OOC post as not everyone has Discord or Plurk.
⬥ Please submit your completed tasks at the top-level below.
⬥ Have fun!

navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

An idol?

[ Having never met Barbara, he's just zoning out of his own mind right now, staring at what horror Gaku's brought out. Gazing intently at those chopsticks, his old nemesis, Childe's frighteningly slow to answer. ]

Huh. Well... [ Wait, he forgot to answer. ] I was working at a bank. Used to, I mean. I ended up quitting.

[ He also became an enemy of the state around the same time, but that's just water under the bridge. ]

Singing, dancing, having concerts. We act and go on variety shows too.

[ Damn, so many people have no idea what an idol is. He should just start explaining it right off the bat.

He goes to grab the wine and a couple of glasses, pouring them both a glass. ]

Why'd you quit?

No wonder. With a schedule like that, you wouldn't find any time for yourself.

[ Seeing Gaku sing and dance does sound pretty intriguing, even if he can't fully visualize it. The best approximation is some sort of street performer or actor, but there's clearly more to it than that. Opting to stir his own bowl with the soup spoon, he continues: ]

In my case, I had a falling-out with a coworker and a beneficiary of mine. I cut ties with them both. ... Well, I was already planning to move on. Things worked themselves out.

[ Even if he's somewhat bitter with them both, one of them is dead, and the other is a fossil, so no use holding onto that resentment anymore. ]

You'll let me know what you think, right?

[ Please try the soup! With great reluctance, Childe picks up the chopsticks. His hand isn't so wobbly this time, but he hasn't yet gone in for the kill (and the soba noodles) just yet. ]

Sounds complicated.

[ It’s a very barebones sort of story, but Gaku decides it’s best not to pry into that sort of thing on a… first date.

He looks down at the soup, glancing up at Childe to see how he’s handling the chopsticks. When it seems like he knows what he’s doing, Gaku puts his attention back onto the soup. It sure is… something. He’s not sure what to think of it, the display on the cusp of haunting and unappetizing.

Well, here goes nothing.

Gaku uses the soup spoon to get a good mouthful. Once he’s swallowed, he gives his verdict. ]

Not bad.

You think so? Looks like this is the moment of truth for us both. Here goes!

[ Who fares better in the kitchen, him or Gaku? Too bad Childe's literally suffering over here, heavily resisting the urge to stab the chopsticks into the noodles. No telling if the gloves are making this easier or worse; he's got no traction with his fingertips at all, struggling to firm up his handhold and keep it steady. The fact that he was even able to take this first mouthful is a stroke of luck. The resounding silence afterwards is pretty telling. ]

... It's quite good. To the victor go the spoils, I guess.

[ His eyes are watery... from the overwhelming spiciness... but he's eating with as much gusto as he can muster. Don't look at his messed-up grip, okay, struggling to twirl enough with his head bent low to take another bite. ]

[ Hah, he won!

The win is more enjoyable by the way Childe's eyes water from the spiciness, and he has to hold back a laugh. In fact, he has to hold one back for multiple reasons as Childe struggles with the chopsticks.

But there comes a point where he can't stand it anymore and he gets up and puts a hand over Childe's before he picks up more noodles, guiding his fingers where they should go. ]

[ STOP, HE'S KIND OF WEEPING FROM THE HEAT. Low-key hiccuping into the noodles, like a real masochist, as Gaku comes over and finally does him in properly. The first humiliation shared with a dear companion is always the worst one. Childe doesn't retreat from his touch, though, relenting to let his hand be guided into something resembling proper chopsticks etiquette. ]

How do people eat this way on a regular basis? I can't wrap my head around it at all. [ Utensils are so nice? Why this. It's so embarrassing. ] After all this time, I'm still out of practice...

[ His stint in Inazuma prepared him for nothing, clearly. Childe's mostly gotten around the issue by stabbing the chopsticks into dumplings and fish balls instead of lifting them up with any decorum. ]

Edited 2022-12-15 04:23 (UTC)

Think of it as picking things up.

[ Will that be helpful? Who's to say, but he lets go of Childe's hand. ]

Just like with anything, you'll get better the more you do it.

[ Gaku walks back over to his seat, picking up his wine glass and having a sip as he watches Childe eat. ]

Easier said than done. [ His laugh is awful but also mostly resigned. ] I appreciate the advice. I do.

[ So stop watching him struggle to eat? Setting them down for now, he's going to switch courses and take a sip of the wine to parch his delightfully burning throat. Now they're pointing their cups at each other. ]

I take using them is commonplace where you're from.

[ Nah, he's not gonna stop. At least he's not judging, right? ]

Yeah, they're common. I guess they aren't where you're from.

[ You know, just an educated guess. ]

[ Another long siiiiiiip of the glass, like it's negligible. He chugs fire-water, though, so that's rote. ]

No one uses chopsticks in the homeland. [ Not that exposure since has helped much. ] They're fairly common in Liyue and Inazuma, though.

[ Are there idols in Teyvat? Only one way to find out. ]

Any chance you're familiar with either of those places?

No.

[ He puts down his glass to eat some more of that strange stew Childe made. It’s just as good yet unappetizing as the first bite. ]

Never heard of them. I guess you don’t know Japan.

[ You know what, that inspires Childe to go for... round two with the chopsticks. He's losing, badly, as he responds: ]

Just a hunch, but I'm beginning to think you aren't from Teyvat.

[ The lack of the Vision was a dead giveaway, though: everyone hailing from there has arrived with a Vision of some sort, fabricated or not. ]

What's Japan like?

Never heard of "Teyvat".

[ Sounds like some kind of place in the anime Rokuya watches.

Anyway, he has another bite of his stew. ]

A lot more advanced than this place. Skyscrapers and shops everywhere. Of course, there's rural places with mountains and beaches too, but I'm from the city.

[ Imagine he was a larper just super committed to the schtick, how wild would that be. ]

So has no one else. Only Vision wielders have recognized the name so far. [ He'll go ahead and unclip the Vision at his hip to briefly show it off, attempting to preempt any questions. ] Can't claim I've heard of skyscrapers, either. Are they spiky?

[ Like a weapon? Like a spear. ]

As for where I was born... I grew up in a village by the sea. Since it'd snow so often, our town's main source of income was catching fish. [ Another bite of noodles, his fingers still unsteady but slightly less so. ] Your turn. Tell me about your hometown.

[ That's my headcanon now. ]

Oh, a Vision. Diluc has one that's fire.

[ At least he's had that explained to him already, so Childe doesn't have to worry about it. Even so, it's nice to see a different kind. Just how many types are there...?

Swirling his glass of wine before taking a sip, he marinates on it a bit before answering. ]

It's a big city, bigger than what you're used to since you don't know about skyscrapers. They're big buildings that reach high up into the sky, by the way. Some have eighty floors.

[ He pauses. ]

People make money all sorts of ways where I'm from. Running a business, teaching, making their own art... it all depends on what dreams someone pursues.

Friends with him? I never would've guessed. I met that guy just the other day.

[ Interesting! Who knew that sourpuss could make buddies? Filing that tidbit away, Childe's resorted to twirling one chopstick once he's given up the semblance of being able to use the pair of them with any ease whatsoever. ]

Truthfully, your world sounds so much different from mine. I'll admit, I'm envious. I think I'd enjoy seeing those skyscrapers of yours. I wonder if they'd even be tall enough to reach the Jade Chamber...

[ Living in Snezhnaya, if he didn't join the Fatui, he probably would've remained in Morepesok, never privy to anything beyond the village. ]

If I asked, would you teach me about the things I don't know about your homeland? Assuming you'll let me return the favor and consult me on the same, of course! It's only fair I answer in kind.

Wouldn't say we're friends.

[ They just camped and sat in water together naked, that's all.

His gaze shifts to the chopstick in Childe's hand, watching the way he twirls it. The temptation to correct him again is there, but it's relatively small. ]

Yeah, I don't mind. What do you want to know about first?

[ Acquaintances, maybe. Of a sort? Imagine being the first person to see Diluc packing heat. ]

Well, I was curious about... that, actually.

[ He's going to go ahead and point to the phone hanging on the wall, or on the table, or wherever it is in this room. Not with the chopsticks, though. Childe casually sets that torture device down for the time being. ]

It's at my place as well, but I have no idea what it's used for.

[ What is technology? Who are the French, even? What the heck is Twister? ]

[ He's honored, truly.

But his gaze follows Childe's, and he raises his eyebrows when they fall upon what he's considered an extremely outdated phone. Damn. No one here knows any technology, huh? ]

It's a phone. You use the numbers to call another person here. When you and the other person both pick up the receiver, you can talk into it and hear each other.

... Numbers?

[ Wait, what are the logistics? Wouldn't someone need to be around to pick up the phone? Does it announce calls? How exactly does it reach another home, much less anywhere in town, when the cord's connected only to the wall?

Staring blankly, Childe deliberates over this newfound knowledge. ]

So... you're telling me can reach anyone with this? Would we be able to give it a try now?

Anyone whose number you have. When you dial it, that person's phone will ring until they pick it up.

[ He gets up and walks over to the phone. ]

We can try calling your house, just so you can hear it ring.

[ Accompanying Gaku over to the phone, Childe... picks it up by the receiver, staring blankly at the landline cord. It emits a dull, incessant dial tone. A bunch of digits are emblazoned on the number pad, but the confusion remains staggering and immense until it occurs to him to rifle through the pamphlet jammed into his pocket. Sure enough, there's his own listed here, which he holds out to Gaku. ]

It's all yours.

Edited 2022-12-26 02:48 (UTC)

...

[ He stares at the receiver before reluctantly taking it. ]

Shouldn't you be the one to dial?

... I'll give it a try.

[ Look, he just didn't want to embarrass himself again. Reluctantly, Childe does punch in the numbers, and then just... stares meaningfully in Gaku's general direction... ]

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