jan event.

[crescentviewmods]

summer has arrived

As the last of the sakura blossoms fall away and the leaves on the trees grow into ever more vibrant greens, the familiar buzz of cicadas begins to echo all throughout the isle. Summer is quickly approaching and bringing brighter days and blazing temperatures along with it.

Summer also signals the start of the wine production season. Grapes growing on trellises are a common sight on Crescentview during the summer and a notice on the town memo board from the local barkeep encourages farmers to consider growing some varietal grapes of their own.

Temperatures are rising, so put on a comfortable pair of shorts and head to the Town Plaza to see what’s cooking! While you’re at it, take a look at the calendar for Summer 1st through 15th.

This season’s crops are corn, onion, pumpkin, watermelon, and pineapple. Summer’s seasonal flowers are poppy, rose, sunflower, lily, and hydrangea. As for mushrooms, shimeji, trumpet, and common brown spores are available for the summer.

hot! ...or not

Posted prominently at the top of the Memo Board is a cartoonishly-written advertisement for the first annual Hot or Not hosted by the Goddess herself. Contestants will take to the stage while the audience votes on whether they are as hot as the blazing sun or cooler than a dead fish. Leave your egos at the door! ICly, this event takes place on Summer 8th.

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 January 1st to February 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.

---

This month’s tasks are centered around getting to know your fellow neighbors on a deeper level. As such, the Goddess has put together a small human scavenger hunt to encourage people to learn more about the people they are living with — and hopefully falling in love with.

Find someone who...

1. Was born in the summer
2. Pours milk into their bowl before the cereal
3. Plays a musical instrument
4. Has more than 3 siblings
5. Works out 5 times a week or more
6. Doesn’t like animals
7. Would like to date the Harvest Goddess
8. Has traveled around the world
9. Speaks two or more languages
10. Is wearing socks that aren’t black or white

Each submission will earn you two random bags of summer seeds. Specify whether you want crop, flower, or mushroom spores in your submission. This task can be completed a total of 10 times.

---

Many ingredients used in wine production grow in the summer, but so do a variety of tea plants and grains. Grapes, tea shrubs and grains like wheat and barley can all be grown on your farm or in your greenhouse, if you have one.

Complete the following tasks to earn yourself some nice beverage-producing crops for the farm:

1. Take something from last month’s harvest and gift it to a neighbor. You can give it to them directly, cook it into a meal, etc. Alternatively, craft them a bouquet, flower crown, or another gift from the flowers you grew last season. Complete 3 times for a total of 6 grape starters.

2. Share a piece of hot gossip with a neighbor or exchange secrets with them. It doesn’t have to be your secret! Complete 3 times for a total of 6 tea starters.

3. Exercise with someone. Go on a run, swim in the ocean, help them stretch out! Complete 3 times for a total of 6 grain crops. You may choose from wheat, barley, rye, or rice.

---

Summer is the perfect time to hang out on the beach and splash around in the ocean. Participate in some summer fun at the beach and earn more animals for your barn and coop.

1. Swim in the ocean, build a sandcastle, or bury someone in the sand. Do any of the following for one of the following animals: cow, sheep, alpaca, or goat. This task can be completed once.

2. Participate in Hot or Not. It’s an annual tradition! Submit yourself or comment on someone else for a single chicken or rabbit. This task can be completed once.

local happenings

The Crescentview Times newspaper has chronicled the latest happenings around the island. A physical copy of the paper will arrive on your doorstep early in the morning on Summer 1st.

Recently, a group of townspeople have taken it upon themselves to check out the abandoned mine. They’ve made good headway on opening up the path in the hopes that would-be explorers will be able to take to the mines and find some of Crescentview’s fabled gems and minerals buried in its depths. They expect to be done by Summer 15th.

A strange “gurgling whisper” has been reported by some concerned townsfolk living in the mountains. The concerning sounds are coming from one of the lakes at the foot of the mountain. Supposedly, the voice is asking for offerings of... something. The townsfolk have yet to identify what exactly is being asked for.

A hurricane has been brewing off the southern coast of Crescentview. Meteorologists have yet to determine whether the hurricane will make landfall or not, so stay tuned for more updates.

mod notes

⬥ Welcome to our second event! We want to thank you all for participating in our game and contributing your efforts to it. Thank you for playing!
⬥ A second event post will go up in mid-Jan.
⬥ Please plot over at the Jan 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

Comments

Scavenger Hunt

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya is similarly reviewing the taskboard to see what new crops he can trade for. He has one hand to his mouth as he reads down from the top.

And then his gaze drifts aside, pausing as he sees someone distinctly not human. Which is a rarity here, so far he and Trahearne have been the biggest anomalies by far.

His brows shoot up as she talks, until she stammers through a clarification, bemused.]

I see. [He looks at the list again, briefly, then back to Ori.] Well, I have also traveled the world and have more than three siblings.

[hearthwarming]

[ well at least this tree man is wearing clothes

She doesn't know what about this person is giving her the impression of a well-traveled individual, but it's there, and as such she finds herself unsurprised at his first admission. The second, though, does pique her curiosity. ]

Oh? I only have one sibling - a sister. How many do you have?

[ Ah, wait. She should introduce herself, shouldn't she? ]

I'm Oriphi, by the way. But most everyone just calls me Ori.

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya. [His tips his head in greeting.] As for siblings, we are somewhere in the thousands now... admittedly, we have not kept record enough to have any certainty beyond that.

[Maybe they should have? But Sylvari are all so wayward, it's impossible to keep track of most of them when they venture beyond the Grove.]

[hearthwarming]

Syrlya.

[ A rather pretty name, she thinks. She would say as much out loud if not for the fact that he's just told her he has thousands of siblings, a fun fact which has her brows shooting up in response. ]

That's—! A lot. A thousand, really...? And these are all siblings by... blood...?

[chronosynthesis]

[He nods once.] Right, we are all born of the same mother tree.

[In case it wasn't already obvious he is a plant.] Of course, I do not know them all intimately.

[hearthwarming]

[ It is certainly obvious that he is some kind of plant, but... Mother tree...? ]

Are you... [ she tips her head to one side in curiosity. ] A dryad, Mister Syrlya?

[chronosynthesis]

A dryad? [He tilts his head.] No, I am Sylvari. We hail from Tyria, so it is likely you have yet to meet one of my kind before.

[A pause.] Unless you've already met Trahearne.

[hearthwarming]

[ Neither 'Sylvari' nor 'Tyria' seem to strike any recognition within her two brain cells, so a hand lifts to her chin as she hums contemplatively. Right. M-21 had mentioned something about different worlds, hadn't he... ]

I see. Where I'm from, there are beings borne from trees, called dryad. A bit similar, but different I guess...

[ Then she blinks. ] I don't think I have. What do they look like?

[chronosynthesis]

Tall. [He levels his hand higher in the air.] With a dark green complexion. You'll recognize him when you see him.

[Because he is the only tall green guy, let alone a tall green plant guy.] We both arrived in this place around the same time.

[hearthwarming]

[ oh, but that is quite tall, judging from where his hand is! But that's okay, because she is normally surrounded by tall elves (and an even taller half-orc!). ]

I see! And when would that have been? I arrived... Umm...

[ A pause. ]

This morning.

[chronosynthesis]

About... four weeks ago? [He furrows his brow, absently counting off his fingers to ensure he has the weeks correct. It hasn't been much longer.] We were the first and must have arrived at the tail end of spring, as it is turning to summer.

[hearthwarming]

Oh... That long, already? And I missed spring...

[ She looks genuinely disappointed to have missed it. It's her favorite season...

She sighs. ]

And... Are you roommates with your friend?

[chronosynthesis]

Oh, no, we were assigned different places. [He points in the direction of the rural farms.] Mine it that way, in the plains. Trahearne is within the forest. You may not be alone at your farm, either?

[hearthwarming]

Oh, I'm not! I woke up to my roommate giving me coffee, it was lovely!

[ if not incredibly awkward at first. But it's okay. They're past it now (?) ]

But our farm is in the forest, too. Does that mean your friend and I are neighbors?

[chronosynthesis]

Yes, I suppose you would be. [Though as far as this task board has been concerned, it seems like anyone on the island has been suitable.] I'm not completely familiar with the layout beyond where to find where Trahearne and Kaspar stay.

[hearthwarming]

Well... If you end up getting lost in the woods, maybe then you'll find my farm!

[ She seems to be taking this whole thing pretty well? ]

Does your friend like cookies? I was thinking of making some neighborly visits with food.

[chronosynthesis]

I think they both would appreciate that. [It isn't like Trahearne has refined tastes and, anyway, who doesn't like cookies? Though, that makes him realize something.] Your housemate... are they just as new as you?

[hearthwarming]

[ She nods at his reassurance. It's decided, then! Cookies for her neighbors. Though she may as well make cookies for everyone else, while she's at it.

His next question seems to catch her off-guard, though. ]

Oh. You know, I'm not exactly sure? But he seemed to already have an idea of what's going on, and we have a few crops and animals growing, so... I don't think he's as new as I am? His name is M-21!

[chronosynthesis]

Oh, M-21! We're acquainted. He's been here as long as I have. [He tilts his head.] Has he got you up to speed with all of this?

[hearthwarming]

Well, he told me that the Goddess put us here to farm and get married, but not to each other?

[ he made that abundantly clear so she will, too! ]

And that we're in some other planet or plane of existence... But if you have any more advice or helpful information, I definitely won't turn it down!

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya nods. That is all, unfortunately, correct.] Right, we all appear to come from another world besides this one... and often, another world entirely from each other. The the goddess is... invested, in our personal lives. Why, I don't know.

The town itself seems peaceful enough, that aside. There has been little beyond the usual day to day for the people who live here. As for the farm... just try your best.

[hearthwarming]

In my experience, it's usually futile to try and understand what a deity is thinking or why...

[ But! She perks up soon enough. ]

I'll absolutely do my best! I don't mind having to farm, really. It's actually a bit of a dream come true, maybe! I just didn't think it would happen this soon!

[chronosynthesis]

Oh? At least someone can look forward to this. [Half of them are doing this begrudgingly.] I'm sure you'll do fine with M-21.

[hearthwarming]

I'm sure, too! We just need to keep working on his relationship with the animals, I think... It seems they're a bit wary with him, but I've talked to them and asked them to give him a chance!

[chronosynthesis]

You talked to them? [He assumes the way a ranger would, or like he normally would with plants. Not an actual conversation.] I'm sure it's a help that you know how to handle animals.