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

[associative]

[ Uh.

That's weird. Gaku watches the Ellis shaped hole in the air for a moment before continuing the process of changing. Maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something!

Either way, when Ellis comes back to his room, Gaku is changed and laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. ]

[framestory]

[ Ellis doesn't come back until maybe twenty minutes has passed to make sure Gaku is "no longer in the mood" or whatever Ellis misunderstood from that whole debacle. He makes sure to peek in first before walking in with two cups of water for them both and holds one out to Gaku when he gets close enough. ]

[associative]

[ Gaku sits up and takes the glass. ]

Thanks.

[ From his body language, it doesn't look like he was expecting anything... ]

Where were you? Are you feeling okay?

[framestory]

[ Ellis just shakes his head no once he realizes it was a misunderstanding, but he needs to tell Gaku right now. ]

"I'm fine, but saying that you wanted to see me in those clothes as you start stripping in front of me is... prone to having misunderstandings. I think I'm justified."

[associative]

...

[ God, he's such a dumbass. It takes everything in him not to bury his face in his hands. ]

I didn't even think about it. I know you don't want to do any of that right now, so I wasn't even worried about changing in front of you.

[ As an idol, he's used to changing in front of dozens of other people, so he had already compartmentalized it. ]

Sorry.

[framestory]

[ Alas. Ellis has learned that people could change minds! Who knew. He still trusts Gaku and all, but seeing that happen was like (sweating intensifies) for Ellis at the moment, so he just did what he does best: running away.

He goes to sit down on the edge of the bed after drinking water and placing the cup on the desk. ]

"Sometimes you're a little too straightforward."

[associative]

You'll know when I want to sleep with you, and I'd never do it without you wanting it too. I'm not going to suddenly decide it.

[ So Ellis can at least rest assured that Gaku would try to create some kind of mood around it... He might be extremely direct, but he at least wants things to feel special. ]

[framestory]

[ Ellis sighs and sits closer to Gaku on the bed. ]

"I know. It's just sometimes when I see you"

[ "--send mixed signals." He pauses. Yup, that's sure what he did to Gaku. He's realizing that now and shakes his head. ]

"I still trust you. Doesn't mean you take me off guard though."

[associative]

[ He furrows his brows at the pause, taking a sip of water as he waits for Ellis to continue.

But that doesn't help much either. ]

Do I confuse you?

[framestory]

[ Ohhh, yeah. Definitely. Yes. Absolutely. And all the other synonyms that I can fit from my flu addled brain right now.

Ellis nods, but it seems to be greatly emphasized for some reason. ]

[associative]

[ LMAO

Wow, he's never seen Ellis nod so vigorously. ]

What about me confuses you?

[ Go on. Tell him. He can take it. ]

[framestory]

[ Ellis looks at Gaku for a moment before getting out his notepad. It seems he just has that thing at all times by now. He even had it with him when he had panda ears and shortened on the beach. ]

I told you a lot about it already, like me shunning you but you decided to get closer to me anyway. You kept chasing me when I said I didn't care about you. You keep doing things opposite of my expectations. That's why you confuse me.

[associative]

I do what any normal person does. How is that outside of your expectations?

[ What shitty people has Ellis had contact with that has given him such low expectations in the first place? It's kind of sad. ]

[framestory]

[ Ellis regards Gaku for a moment. ]

"Maybe you're just different from a normal person despite being normal."

[ People can be all sorts of things, after all. He wonders if that's why. ]

"Shunning people usually implies cutting off contact, so they don't bother coming back."

[associative]

Maybe so. Even normal people have their own personalities.

[ And he's an idol, which means he has a certain spark of tenacity within him. ]

My personality just happens to involve hating being shunned or ignored. You really think I was gonna drop everything with a guy I had invested so much time into?

[framestory]

[ Ellis nods. ]

"That's what people do after they break up with someone--or expected to, anyway. People also cut connections after they think they've been used or just disrespected in general."

[associative]

[ Hmm. Well. Ellis does have a point here. ]

That's true, and I did feel pretty used. But it also felt like you were giving me some kind of challenge... like you'd never care about me no matter what I did.

[ But he knows how that sounds. ]

I've never thought of you as a challenge to conquer, by the way. I like you, so that's why I chased after you.

[framestory]

"That's what also confused me--after I did all that, you still ended up liking me."

[ Gaku? Please respect yourself. ]

[associative]

[ He shrugs. ]

Yeah, I did. Can't help that.

[ The heart chooses what it chooses, or so the saying goes or whatever. ]

Do you feel guilty?

[framestory]

[ Well.

He did, a little. Just a little. Before that, he kind of pitied him, because wow. Please love yourself (again). HE CRIED FOR THIS; OF COURSE HE FELT GUILTY............ but he's not going to admit that right away. It's not about pride. ]

"I was just thinking people are so strange. They really can do just about anything they want."

[associative]

Within reason, pretty much.

[ You know, like laws and morals and all that. Basically a bunch of stuff that doesn't seem to apply to a lot of the people here for some reason.

A thoughtful look comes over his face, though. ]

Aren't you doing whatever you want right now?

[framestory]

[ It doesn't take Ellis a moment to shake his head no. ]

"Kind of."

[ He gets a pillow (he has several on the bed) to put it against the wall so that Ellis can sit against it while on the bed. ]

"Do you still want to know things about me?"

[associative]

Of course I do. I'll never say no to that question, Ellis.

[ Shouldn't Ellis be aware of this by now? Gaku will always jump at any opportunity to get to know him better or be closer to him. ]

[framestory]

[ He's aware, but he thought it would be nice to give Gaku a choice regarding his lore dumps. Also because Ellis knows that it always sounds so convoluted and messy so Gaku should prepare for the worst. So he nods. He thinks Gaku has been getting better about sign language, so he'll just give it to him bite-sized chunks. ]

"My character is has a deeply rooted survival instinct that triggers whenever I feel like I'm in danger to get myself out of it. The danger can be anything from nonthreatening to possibly dying."

[associative]

[ Gaku's sign language is exponentially better, between using it with Ellis all the time and studying for a while every evening. His time with Ellis tonight can count as studying too. ]

Which is why you punched me, right?