(december catch-all) LEGGY KRAMPUS IS COMING TO TOWN

[vestigemods]

DECEMBER CATCH-ALL

► YOU WANT SNOW? WE GOT SNOW

To all who've endured the last couple of dismal months, congratulations - you've broken through the windy rains of October and damp, depressing ones of November to an inexplicable peace falling over the containment zone. Untouched snow covers the ground, a veritable winter wonderland. It's almost idyllic, even if not quite in the same way that the early weeks of summer may have been. The air is brisk and chilly, but at least you can see the sun again. In fact, the heat of it on your skin is almost enough to make up for the chill, at least when the sun is at its peak.

Make snowmen! Have a snowball fight! Perhaps even skate on the frozen lake - Foodland seems to be stocking brand new sets of ice skates in various sizes, their colors obtuse enough to make sure you'll be spotted even if it starts to snow. And... consider showing a little pity on the local wildlife if they come a-scritching at your door? If you're cold, they're cold, et cetera.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

But December has a little bit more misfortune in store than just a little bit of nippy weather. On the 16th + 17th, you might start to feel... a little strange. Maybe you've come inside from a rousing snowball war to park by the fire, but instead of warming up, you just... keep getting colder. In fact, your temperature keeps on dropping no matter what you try - blankets, a hot bath, none of it seems to do more than slow down the speed at which you're cooling.

Or maybe you're not cold at all... but oh, you're starting to wish you were. Because your temperature only keeps rising, like a hot flash from hell no matter what you do to cool down, with sweat beading on your forehead and dripping down your neck. You may even find yourself desperate enough to strip down to your underclothes and lie in the snow, if only for some sort of relief. Don't worry, though - whether you're too hot or too cold, it'll go away on its own eventually. Let's hope it's before the hypothermia gets too bad or you go delirious with fever.


Then, throughout the couple of days before Christmas, the snow kicks up to a flurry. According to the children's books in Foodland, this is a telltale sign that a magical gift-bearing man called Santa Claus is on his way. But kids' books never do tell the full story, do they?

True to form, there's a pitter-patter up on the rooftop. Is it reindeer paws? Since when do reindeer have paws, anyway? Then the fire in your fireplace, if lit, goes out with a magical puff of air... but what comes down your chimney is quite a bit worse than the stories. His Naughty List is filled with those who have yet to satisfy the elder gods with their horrible death, and rather than bringing gifts and cheer, this particular Santa has come to collect.

Two clawed hands wrap around each side of the fireplace, eyes pale as the snow, the beard around his gaping mouth tinged with the red of blood. But there are more hands now, so many hands, so many too-long arms, peeling himself from your fireplace to attack. He moves quickly, almost uncannily so, with an agility one might not expect from one with such gangly arm-legs. His hands are sharply clawed, perfect for swiping and drawing blood - but that's not what he's trying to do. No, his goal is to drag those who've been Naughty back up the chimney from whence he came, hauling them off through the flurry of snow and disappearing from sight if you try to pursue. But it's fine. Being choked to death by Leggy Krampus's obscenely long prehensile tongue isn't... the worst death, at least?

► MOD NOTES

• This is the December Catch-All Log, for any action top-levels throughout the month. Large gatherings (parties, meetings, etc) are still encouraged to post their own logs for organizational purposes!
  
• Refer to the bottom half of the November + December Bulletin for any December-specific info to potentially include in your prompt, as well as more specifics regarding the events.
  
• Because this is a catch-all for everywhere + all month, try to remember to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location of each prompt (whether in the subject or in the prompt title within the comment). Also consider mentioning if any of your prompts are event prompts!
  
• December's specific resources can be found in the Not-Bulletin.
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

[legbreakings]

[ It's Blossom who alerts Jiang Cheng to the intruder before he even hears Wei Wuxian's faint call. The puppy sits up where she had been dozing, little ears pricked and tail beginning to wag in excitement at the arrival of her favorite person.

Jiang Cheng's own eyes narrow slightly, emotions conflicted at the realization that they have come far enough for Wei Wuxian to invite himself into their home though it is distinctly not his own anymore or again.

Shaking his head, he picks up the puppy, quietly chiding her for not scaring their guests, and walks over to the kitchen accompanied by excited yips.

Only to catch Wei Wuxian removing a certain container from the fridge. ]

Are you stealing Jie's soup?!

[mannerless]

( look, it's not as though he'd raid their kitchen under normal circumstances - but these are hardly normal circumstances, as indicated by the blanket armor and the general convalescing aura. he's a little too pale, a little tired around the eyes, and various other things he no longer has to explain away as if he had a golden core... at least not to jiang cheng, and he's fully confident that jiang cheng will help him cover it up and deflect from such details if shijie tries to question it. that's how these things are, or at least, how they used to be - solidarity around others, lecture in privacy. he'll take the private lecture, so long as he can slurp liberally at delicious soup in the process.

speaking of a-cheng, here he comes from his room, earning a cursory glance and then a double-take as wei ying processes that he's brought the dog with him. wei ying backs a bracing step away (as much as he's able while still stirring at the soup, of course) before he can quite stop himself, but then forces a steady exhale and pointedly turns his attention back to the pot on the stove. )

It's not stealing if it's Shijie's soup, her soup is our soup unless she's told us otherwise. Did she tell you I'm not to have any? ( his voice is admirably casual despite the prevailing yipping from entirely too close, only the slightest tremor underlying his words as he carefully ignores the fact that the dog now stands (or... is held, at least) between wei ying and the way out of the kitchen. it goes against every survival instinct he has, allowing it to box him in like this. jiang cheng should be proud of him. )

[legbreakings]

[ The squirming, yipping bundle in Jiang Cheng's eyes vibrates with excitable energy at being not just in the same room - !!! - but hearing the voice - !!! - of her favorite person. Instinctively, his hands tighten on the dog, though he is careful not to hurt her, and he even shushes her, all the while keeping his eyes on Wei Wuxian. He takes in his sorry state from the blanket to the... ]

You look like a hanged corpse [ he scoffs, and rolls his eyes. ] No. A corpse wouldn't be whimpering about a puppy. [ Which is deeply unfair, since Wei Wuxian is actually having quite formidable self-control to have only taken one step away. Honestly, he is impressed by his restraint; he must have worked hard on his phobia since their ways parted. He looks at the man by the stove, looking utterly pathetic debating for a bowl of soup, and sighs, shaking his head. ] Go to my room and wait there before you wake up A-Jie with your ruckus. I'll heat up the soup for you. [ More importantly, he will get Blossom settled in the living room with some toys. He narrows his eyes at him. ] Don't think too much of yourself for it.

[mannerless]

( wei ying knows that sigh. that sigh is concession, it's victory for wei ying, and he shifts his weight with every intention to turn his attention properly back to the soup - but then come the words, and those stop him short. his brow knits in wary bemusement for a moment (there's no insult, where's the insult? as it stands, the kindness is entirely unmitigated), but then he nods a little nod and releases the spoon to let it rest against the side of the pot. he definitely fails to breathe in the slightest the entire time he's making his increasingly tense way past jiang cheng and (more importantly) the dog - but then he's free and he lets it all out in a sigh, shoulders slumping under the blanket in relief.

when jiang cheng returns to his room, he'll find wei ying sitting on his bed with his back leaned against the wall, crosslegged in such a way that his legs all but disappear under the folds of the blanket he's cocooned in. his head rests back against the wall, eyes closed, but as soon as he hears a-cheng enter he's opening them again, flashing a grateful grin. ) So generous is A-Cheng, he feeds even a hanged corpse like me. ( all the while he's squirming just slightly so his arms can worm their way out with intent to accept soup. )

[legbreakings]

[ Jiang Cheng makes a grand show of rolling his eyes as he slips into the room sans dog, closing the door behind him in case Blossom grows bored of chewing on her bone. ]

I told you not to think too much of yourself for it, didn't I?

[ His brows furrow slightly as he takes in the sight of Wei Wuxian sprawled out on his bed. His heart gives a twinge as he is reminded of their childhood, of them sharing a room and treating the other's bed as if they might as well have owned it. They had been so close once, in a different life...

He sighs and though he doesn't shake his head, he tries to shake off these thoughts all the same. He perches on the edge of the bed and puts down the tray. There is a large bowl of Jiejie's soup and two cups of tea. ] Eat. I won't have you whine to A-Jie that my hospitality was wanting.

[mannerless]

( wei ying reaches out at once with intent to grab the soup, though he rethinks it once he notes how hot the bowl is, instead allowing his hands to hover around the bowl and soak in the warmth. though he's no longer cursed levels of cold like yesterday, he has yet to feel as though he's properly warmed, a (possibly imagined) chill still lingering on the surface of his skin. )

Hospitality, ( he repeats, half amused and half scoff. ) You don't have to treat me like some sort of guest. 'Endearing soup-drinking loiterer' suits me far better, I think. ( but his eyes flicker up from the tray to where jiang cheng perches, and his brows knit for a moment. then, with as much care as a giant blanket lump can manage, he's scooting a bit farther down the length of the bed. ) Better? ( he tugs the tray a but closer (and farther out of a-cheng's way) now too for good measure. )

[legbreakings]

[ Jiang Cheng watches him scooting over out of narrowed eyes, his face carefully not showing the conflicting emotions running through him. This feels so much like their childhood. Sharing the same bed while they talked and bickered (or Wei Wuxian talked and he bickered) while the room smells of A-Jie's soup smuggled into their shared bedroom...

He scoots over anyway, leaning against the wall and stretching out his legs across the bed much like Wei Wuxian has.

He gulps down the lump that has suddenly closed up his throat. ] There's hardly anything endearing about you [ he grumbles. ] Make that annoying and you are closer to the truth. And if you even think of hogging my bed all day I'm calling Blossom in here and then you can share the bed with her.