I have to admit, I’ve been dying for a reason to just celebrate with plain, all out goofiness for a LONG time in an event and finally, it’s come to pass. I love you guys. The Harvest Festival Week of events has probably been the most I’ve laughed since I’ve come on staff here and it’s only day two! For those of you that missed it, here’s a little clip from the beginning. Giggle with me.

A chiseled Aartiran male smirks at a fair skinned woman’s comment as he says, “(Human) I’ll show you youngin’s how it’s done properly. Don’t discount me just becuase I’m in my third decade.” He winks at her than then hearing a dusky haired woman’s call he props his foot on the post to rise up and call back to her, “(Human) Hey! What about me?! You dared me to do this. Don’t I get a cheer?”

A thin man wanders over to a dusky haired woman and smiles at her in greeting. He leans in and quips, “(Human) Interesting to see the women chasing the pigs, instead of the other way around. There any wagers going on?” He waves to a fair skinned woman and gives her a thumbs up, “(Human) Good luck!”

“(Human) A safe bet would be the Captain,” a dusky haired woman tells a thin man with a smirk. “(Human) I hear he wrestles pigs daily to help him capture criminals. Slippery things, they are.” Laughing, she shrugs and gestures to the boar. “(Human) Safer bet’s on that old fellow.”

A curly-haired brunette looks over the crowd again as she sets down her things to one side, out of the way. Her eyes then go to the pig itself, staring at it with a slight smile to her lips. After a few moments, she calls over to a lean old woman, “(Human) Is it ladies first?”

“(Human) No!” a dusky haired woman calls back to a chiseled Aartiran male. “(Human) You’re the safe bet. The boring one!” Still laughing, she ducks her head away from his sight.

A fair skinned woman searches the crowd with her eyes, leaning left and right as she tries to look behind and beyond people. Spying a thin man, her entire demeanor changes as she eagerly waves in his direction before answering a dainty lass, “(Human) I’m as ready as I will be. To be honest, I’ve.. well, I’ve never done this before.” Her attention turns to the a large brown boar with a tattered left ear, “(Human) Looks easy enough. Looks like he’d rather be rolled in mud and dozing.”

A lean old woman stands quietly for the moment, giving her participants a chance to prepare themselves. Then, without any preamble, she whacks a large brown boar with a tattered left ear across the rump, sending him in a snorting, lumbering dash to the far end of the fenced in arena. “(Human) Go on and get him! You wanted in together. Get him. First to pin wins!”

Ahh, if you want more, I’ll post it on the forums once I’ve got it all cleaned up and pretty for you. But that’s about the looks of things. Very, very fun all around, I think.

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Here’s the list of events for the next few days. All times, unless otherwise announced, will just occur whenever we have the numbers on to make them worthwhile.

Saturday:
1. Pie eating contest. (Yes. I’m serious).
2. Foot races.

Sunday:
1. Strength contests.
2. Wrestling, knife throwing contests, and combat sparring displays.

Monday:
Closing ceremonies. I will note now that this is going to be a more sober time of prayer, reflection, sacrifice, all followed up by another rip-roarer of a party. It’s also probably your last chance to get drunk off your ass for free, for awhile.

Many of you know that I’m off for a week, tomorrow. My sister’s getting married. Somehow despite the shitty string of luck that trails romances in this family, she’s found herself a really good guy. I’m happy for her, thrilled, and all that but ehhh… maybe a little jealous too. Anyway, spending a week in California. I might be around a short while this weekend while they’re off in Legoland with all the kids (including my monkey) because I simply cannot afford it now, without a job. We’ll see.

Anyway, long and short of things, those of you who were actually really caught up in our reconstruction events, I’m sorry to have to put them on hold for a week. As soon as I get back from this, we’ll get back into them full swing, okay? The school is ready to go already and the other buildings aren’t far behind.

Hopefully we can get it all wrapped up in a couple of weeks.

I know it’s taken a little time to get things rolling, but thanks for your patience, especially with the series of crashes involved. Here’s an update:

1) Reconstruction events are underway. Echoes in game, and my titles, etc will be about all the notice you’ll get, unfortunately. However, if you happen to be around, find a way to get your character involved. The last two have been fun (I think) for everyone involved and I’ve been really thrilled at the turn out.

Just for you:

2) The Reconstruction Marketplace is open, and can be found on the docks. I’ve noticed a couple of you taking advantage of this way to earn extra coin, but a lot of you haven’t yet. I urge you to check out the posting here and find out what your character can provide before it’s too late. Once the last structure is in place, the market closes!

3) Upcoming events, though the dates are not yet specified, include:

1. - More reconstruction on various buildings around the city.
2. - Something the Rangers are cooking up
3. - a Fall Festival
4. -The announcement and coronation of the new ruler of Seahaven. (Don’t forget to vote for the candidate of your character’s choosing IN GAME by using the support command before Saturday!)

4) Silver Points: Cherish these babies but don’t forget to share them! It’s more than generosity, it’s a recognition of great role play. We have a lot of great RPers and it makes me smile every time I see one awarded. Please don’t be that person who takes and takes and never gives. There’s no reason NOT to award them – it doesn’t deduct from the total you have available to use. Look in Carmine’s blog for information about how they work.

1. What are Silver Points?
2. How Can I Use Silver Points?
3. What Else Are Silver Points Useful For?

So, the kid and I have a deal. She works hard on workbooks and reading and such this summer, and for every 20 pages she does, we get to have a ‘fun day’ of her choice. It’s worked out remarkably well – for her. In two weeks, we’ve been to see 3 movies, been to the park, she’s had 4 sleep overs with her cousins, and went camping with them. I’m fairly sure she’s going to break me before I find myself another job.

Whee.

So for those of you, like me, who are parents, Lil and I have reviewed the movies we’ve seen this summer, so far.

Marmaduke:

My review:

This movie is so chock-full of teenage angst that it would have made me sick, if it were teenagers. But it’s not, and that’s it’s saving grace. Marmaduke’s a massive dog in the throes of adolescence and all the good, bad and ugly that come with it. The movie’s dumb, frankly, and for that reason I was laughing as hard as my daughter the entire way through it. A note: there are mildy tense and scary parts where little minds find it easy to think the dog’s going to die. Sensitive children will probably need a bit of encouragement through this part. I know mine did. Overall? Worth seeing if you’ve got kids, or are a fan of dumb humor.

Lilly’s review:

It’s really funny, where the bully dog slobbers on all the other dogs. It’s kind of scary though, where ‘Duke and his girlfriend fall into the street and get washed away. I cried! I want to see this movie again though. It makes me happy and it’s good with popcorn.

How To Train Your Dragon:

My review:

I was quite entranced by this movie, much of the way through. It was action packed, with the typical heart-jerking moments of teenage angst, bullying, and just not belonging. Of course, it’s a scrawny boy named Hiccup, who doesn’t fit in with dragon-killing Vikings, but all the same! My daughter quite sympathized with him and pointed out a few of the bullies who she’s renamed after kids from her class last year. He manages to save the day, of course. Overall? Worth seeing. A bit intense in places for little ones, but nothing they can’t be talked through.

Lilly’s review:

It was awesome! The best part was where the man finds a good dragon and changes all the other dragons to be good. It was scary when the big, bad dragon came out of the mountain. The fire was scary too, and there was lots of fire! It was sad when he broke off one of his legs at the end. I really like this movie lots!

Shrek Forever After:

My review:

This movie had me sympathizing far too much with Shrek and Fiona. Uggh. It was a cute fairy tale twist though, and a fitting ending to the saga, I think. Overall, I enjoyed the movie but it’s probably not one I’d go back and watch over and over again (despite my rugrat’s pleading).

Lilly’s review:

This movie was fun. The babies were gross with all their farting! I felt bad for Shrek. I didn’t like the bad guy though. The witches were scary but it was funny when one melted away! It ended really good though, and was very funny. The baby donkey-dragons were SO cute!

Looks like most of you are managing to find something in this that you can spin off into your own RP. Kudos guys. I know tavern talk’s inevitable in such situations, but it’s nice to see it be more than the usual. This time, the RP awards go to Cavinaar and Kelindel. If you want to know what they did, you’ll have to find out ICly.

Keep up to date on the forums. It’s okay too, to ask for information on newbie as to what the current situation is.

Well, only one.

This is my monkey, and her soon-to-be ‘twin’ cousin behind her. (Once my sister gets her butt married next month, that is!)

The quality of the photo isn’t the best, sadly. But here they are, for posterity!

I’ve decided to add a fun little contest into this particular mini-plot. 300 extra RPP (that’s approximately 6-8 hours worth of playtime!) to those of you who find unique, creative ways to outwit and wait out the storm. Be prepared to provide logs if you want to ask for this reward, as I may well not be around to see it.

Thinking is a must for good RP, of course.

Beyond that, there’s no requirements. You can risk your necks or hide away. It can be soft and sweetly romantic, terrified, or just plain hilarious. It’s your RP after all.

I’m already RPawarding two characters, Salec and Wraenne, for their antics yesterday. I won’t tell you what they were doing because that’d prevent anyone else from trying anything similar! Congratulations though, you two.

Personal:

Summer has finally hit. For those of you who think teachers have the summer off, think again. Here’s a bit of what my schedule looks like, over the next two months.

May 24 – 28: Cleaning, packing, organizing my room and the rest of the elementary building, end-of-year meetings, etc etc.

June 7 – 11, 14 – 17, 21 – 25: Meetings in Phoenix, every day. 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. with a 2 hour drive home.

June 17 – 20: Sister’s wedding party and wedding in California. (Yes. I’m leaving class, driving there, leaving there, heading directly to class. UGH.)

July: Free. Woo. I need a vacation idea for myself and the kid that’s not ridiculously over the top in monetary costs.

Oh wait. Lesson plans. Yeah. I have to plan for next year, in July. They want the first quarter done before school starts.

It’ll be fun. I’m not complaining. But I’ll still be busy, even if I will be on the MUD more often. Still, I’m hoping to get really deep into the crafts that I’ve left undone for so long. Thank you for your patience, guys. There’ll be a lot coming with pottery and glassmaking.

MUD related:

1) Crafting: Thanks to Alazair, our delightful builder, armor crafting is fully functional. While not all the pieces are yet implemented, many are, and it’s ready to be used. Yay.

I’ve done a lot of updating to pottery to make it viable with the new quality coding Carmine put in. There’s a lot of new, racial (mainly Sayaki) recipes added to the cooking lists. All food items in game should have at least one recipe to go with them now. Also, weaving is complete (to my knowledge. If I’m missing something, please let me know) and as of tonight, gemcrafting is (or should be) absolutely finalized. I know there are a lot of common stones that we just haven’t put in, but there are hundreds of things there already. It’s fully permissible to restring an amber bracelet as a carnelian one, a bit of black leather as blue, or a shell pendant as a coral one. Nobody’s going to bite you for it.

2) Mini-plot: It’s in the works. Expect updates regularly on the forums. Just to give you guys an OOC idea of what you’re looking at here: Whee! You were warned, that it could get nasty if you did something silly, right? The video’s long, but I’d suggest watching it. It’s very very similar to what Seahaven’s going through, and what’s to come. (Minus the cars, obviously).

3) Specials: We’re still experimenting with the wolfkin, but so far I like what I’ve seen. If you’re interested in playing one, now’s the time to snoop them out and start thinking about backgrounds.

Mini plot

There’s a new mini-plot in the works. I’m not announcing the time/date for this one. If you want to be involved, let’s just hope you’re online at the time I’ve chosen! Heads up: There’s serious danger and even the chance of not surviving it. If you participate, you’re agreeing to that.

Whee!

Farming updates:

We’ve had some players interested in farming in one way or another who were always told to ‘hold off’ until the code got adjusted. Not happening. SO, I came up with a nifty little work around. You’ve probably seen a lot more plants growing wild. There’s also plants and animals that can be purchased if you have a farm. (A real farm, not a ‘I want to use this bit of wilderness’). It’ll allow you to harvest fruits and vegetables and even milk. So, it’s now a viable RP option for players. Farmland can be purchased as well, outside of Milford.

We’re working on specials at the moment. Some are nearly done and ready to be offered again, others will be some time in the future still. It’s okay to start thinking about a special you’d like to play, but please don’t get mad if you’re told that your background won’t work or that we’re not offering them yet.

Requirements to play a special:

I deal with discipline all day, every day, between my daughter and my class, and I’ve tried to avoid such things here. It frustrates me, intensely, to have to growl at adults who really should know better. We’re all here to play and have fun, and as the mature individuals you all claimed you were when you created, we should be able to do that without having discipline issues.

But we don’t. So I’m going to take the burden off Carmine’s shoulders and say this: If you cheat; if you misuse blogs (either other people’s, to gain information or your own for bonuses); if you use OOC information to boost what your character knows; if you decide you know better than the staff as to what you can and can’t, should and should not do; if you decide to ignore the circumstances surrounding your character and play them as a mini-god, then I will step in, and I will reduce the amount of RPP you’re able to gain until you show that you are able to play your character fairly.

Please, don’t make us do this. If you’re really unsure if your RP or OOC behavior is crossing a line, petition and ask. But for the most part, (as I’ve said before) you’re all adults. Act like adults and we’ll all have a blast and such things won’t be necessary.

Brief reminders:

* RP style: We do expect emotes of several lines in length. Don’t dash out three words, leave off punctuation, and expect this to habitually be considered good RP. It isn’t. And it isn’t newbie error, either. Several of you have been coached by other players time and time again, and you still refuse to cooperate. It really isn’t fair to the other players around you.

* Leaving scenes: Show etiquette, please. If you need to go, use osays or emote out, and go. But don’t run through without stopping to at least let people acknowledge you (or not). Wait a round before departing, minimum.

* Using OOC information: Really? Do I need to? You cannot tell who a wolf is, by the color of their hair, or their eyes. You cannot just know that a person is vek because the clouds grow ominous when they enter a room. You cannot know that x is cheating on y, just because your alt knows. You have to be reasonable, guys. If you couldn’t logically figure it out with IC clues only, then your character can’t either.

* Tells: Several of you have been sharing a lot of IC information over tells lately. These are a privilege to let players have contact with each other, for OOC purposes only. Don’t say ‘my character thinks x about y’ Don’t say ‘Isn’t X character such a bitch?’ Just don’t. Don’t talk about characters OOCly, beyond, perhaps a compliment like: “I’m really enjoying RP with your character.”

* Blogs: This isn’t IC information for you to use. Enjoy them, but don’t bring it into your RP unless its YOUR blog. Enough said.

* Multiplay: This one really won’t be tolerated. Your characters cannot do things for each other. Ever. You shouldn’t even create situations where it looks like you are. IE: Your hunter needs a place to sell leather, so you create a leather-worker character and buy a shop. You should not be best friends with the same character with two of your own characters. Your character cannot date your alt’s sister. See what I mean? It’s dodgy at best.