(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

Nie Huaisang | OTA

[porndealer]

LET IT SNOW: DEC 1ST

[Waking up to snowfall is wonderful, beautiful even. While Qinghe is very mountainous, there's not much for any weather beyond rain and sun. It's not like he's never seen snow, maybe once... when he was very young, he can't remember for sure.

Don't mind him standing with the door to the Chinese Wizard Frat Cabin wide open, just outside, fan held up to keep snow off his head as he watches the snow fall.]


MERRY SHITSCRAM: DEC 20TH

[Another exciting morning for one Nie Huaisang as he wakes up, cold as hell, but that's not the most important thing right now. He rolls over tugging the blankets around himself tighter, while also brushing hair from his face-- wait.

One hand... two-?

AH! Sorry for anyone who was still sleeping, but there's a surprised shout from Huaisang's room as he scrambles out of bed. The cold is the last thing he's thinking about as he bursts from his room, in just his under things, excitedly yammering on about how his arm is back.]

Look look look!

[Whoever is unfortunate enough to come see what's got him up in arms, haha, will be shown his right arm, very much attached to him again and looking. Like an arm.]


YOU BETTER WATCH OUT: DEC 23RD

[Still on a high after getting his arm back, Huaisang is up late sitting in the living room on the couch, legs crossed under a blanket as he undoes his braids for the evening. Mostly he's in the living room as the fireplace is there and it helps take the bite off the unrelenting cold just a wee bit. Enough that it's better than hiding away in his room. With each braid he undoes he'll gently comb through the hair with his fingers, humming to himself.

His humming comes to an uncertain pause as the fireplace suddenly goes out. Almost like a candle someone snuffed out.]

... hm?

[He hadn't heard the scuttering of feet on the roof before, but he hears something now. Something coming down the chimney as smoke curls up ominously. At most he figures it's some animal, but what actually peers out at him is anything but. A hideous face and hands. So many hands. At this point when he shouts in shock the rest of the cabin probably thinks it's him being excited over something again.

Not until he's attempting to scramble over the couch and hide, but that thing is too quick. It's gets his robe first, trying to yank him back but he manages to get free long enough to make a run for it.]

W-Wei-xiong!! Monster, demon! Help me!

[Anyone can help, but it's Wuxian's name that comes to the forefront first. His friend was an amazing fighter after all, who else would he trust to save him? Huaisang barely gets the words out before he's snatched roughly by multiple hands this time, grabbing and pulling him towards the chimney and he tries to grab onto anything to keep from being taken.]

No no, let go! I don't want to die! Help!


(OOC: After typing these up I realize only the first starter is really OTA, but please come pelt him with a snowball or something. Anything.)

Vivi Ornitier | OTA

[toosmall]

DO YOU WANNA BUILD A SNOWMAN: DEC 1ST-15TH

[Anyone who happens to be having a stroll around town might start seeing small snowmen of varying sizes pop up. Some sport hats and mittens, another a scarf. All with rocks for eyes and... is that Twizzlers, or some cheap alternative, for the mouths? All with smiles, some with noses, others not.

But all of the snowmen have cans of dog and cat food near them, if not kibble of some kind, set out for the strays that wander about. Vivi can be found making his newest snowman, using his ice magic to make an icicle for the nose.]


ICE TO MEET YOU: DEC 1ST-15TH

[Vivi has mostly stayed in town since he'd been brought here, but the snow, while cold, does for some reason give him a bit of an adventurous streak. So he sets out, the trek to where all the cabins are isn't so bad, cold, but he's tried to bundle up. One of those kids jackets that give Michelin Man vibes and mittens over the gloves he already wears along with a scarf. It all looks a bit silly with his big ol floppy wizard hat on top of his head with this get up.

His destination isn't the cabins per se, it's the lake in fact. He'd heard about it, but not yet seen it. It's frozen over when he does find it. Just to be extra cautious he'll use his own ice magic to help make sure it's very very icy, definitely not falling through no thank you.

Vivi slip slides along, enjoying the light snowfall as he "skates" across the lake. Anyone else around might hear the little mage laugh, up until he falls over, scooting along a bit on his rear end.]

Whoops. I think I made it too slippery.

Jiang Cheng

[legbreakings]

1 Baby It's Cold Outside

a) December 16th, in town

[ It should have been just another trip into town and yet today, something is different. Jiang Cheng finds himself shivering as he rummages around Foodland, even inside the building he is rubbing his hands to try and warm them up, tries to keep his teeth from chattering.

His breathing is coming hard and fast, he is pale, his skin cold. ]

Have you seen more winter clothes here?

b) December 17th, at the lake

[ Yesterday, he had still believed that more warm clothes would be enough to fix the coldness that had seeped into his body. By today, it is clear that a second sweater and a thick scarf won't fix this.

And yet, despite all this, he isn't even staying inside.

No, he is staggering around at the edge of the lake, his eyes unfocused, his body no longer even shivering. And even worse, he is tugging at the scarf tightly wrapped around his throat and then at the fastenings of his thick winter coat. At least his cold hands are barely coordinated enough anymore to rid himself of the clothes. ]

2 Wildcard

Naminé | OTA

[lethechained]

A. || CABINS | DECEMEBER 1ST

[ Naminé doesn't make it off of her porch before the view outside her house draws her up short, bringing her originally brisk pace to a stuttering stop. The door swings shut - loudly - behind her, but the sound only makes her shoulders flinch, the rest of her too preoccupied with gaping at the blanket of white covering everything to actually glance backward.

The way she looks at it, you'd think she'd never seen snow before. ]


B. || LAKE SHORE | EARLY DECEMBER

[ It seems that since this place previously held the distinction of being her primary location for drawing in the sand, the snow hasn't entirely put a stop to Naminé's creative endeavors here. The shore might be hidden under all the crisp mounds of white, but she's acquainted enough with at least some of the policies of winter to know that there are entertainment options available to her even now.

Not that she's been exceptionally successful with getting the snow to clump together sufficiently to form anything out of it yet. The evidence of that is clear, as a few failed attempts are sitting here and there like sad little hills of uncooperative slush. She did endeavor once to scrape some sort of pattern into the frost, which looked promising enough - but made her hands awfully cold. (Too cold, in fact, to go on with the idea.) By now she's finally gotten around to figuring out how to roll a ball of snow into a slightly larger ball of snow, and is dutifully pushing it along near the frozen surface of the lake with all the concentration that any art project deserves. ]


C. || ANYWHERE OUTSIDE | DECEMBER 16TH

[ Breath clouding in the air, Naminé regards the stick she holds in front of her in one slim hand with a strangely intense concentration. The fact that she's shivering doesn't help much, since both it and her arm keep wiggling, but one can't say that she isn't trying. Her other hand hovers next to it, fingers splayed carefully as though she were about to grasp it. She doesn't, however - and instead they curl in, almost as if in anticipation.

This isn't her first try. Everything so far has created nothing more than disappointing sparks at best, and not one of them has taken. So when she attempts one last time to cast Fire, she's fully expecting to be as resounding a failure as before. Her fingers flick out just the way they did the last time, she forces the magic out the same as last time, and yet - maybe it's the interference of some vaguely remembered recollection finally finding the appropriate place in her mind, but this time, the result is different.

Unfortunately, it's different in a much bigger way than anticipated. A short burst of flame appears from her opened palm, instantly engulfing the small piece of wood. This would be excellent news if not for the fact that it lights all of the stick, including the part still clutched in her gloved hand. Her startled squeak is simultaneous with said stick being immediately released from her hold, whereupon it falls into the snow with an accusatory hiss of steam. The smoldering glove follows in short order, her eyes round as she pulls it off and drops it as expediently as she can manage. Almost disbelievingly, she regards the fallen items in the moments thereafter as they settle, slowly cooling on the ground.

As preoccupied as she is, she's wholly unaware of the gradually growing flame still clinging to the end of her scarf. Someone should probably give her a heads up about that one. ]


D. || WILDCARD

[ Choose your own adventure. ]

wei wuxian | open + some closed sub-threads

[mannerless]

GOTTA HAVE THAT BROTH, dec 17th, cabin 15 + just outside

( residents of cabin 15 may have noticed wei wuxian's unannounced absence yesterday, as well as last night and most of this morning. it's about noon today when he slips in through the door, then heads for the kitchen with purpose.

you see, while he firmly and convincingly assured lan zhan of his renewed wellbeing, the truth is that he still feels very much like shit from the little ✨hypothermic incident✨ yesterday, and now he also feels horrifically embarrassed about it on top of that. retreating to his own cabin seemed like the only reasonable option, really. and now he has done so, and here in the kitchen, he digs through the cupboard until he seizes the object of his pursuit: the broth. the can is quickly opened and poured into a pot on the stove turned up perhaps too high (to heat it faster, of course). in the meantime, he's ducking over to the couch to snatch the first available blanket and draping it shamelessly around his shoulders like some sort of overlarge shawl or cloak.

feel free to discover him at any point during this process, or in the impatient broth-stirring that ensues.

alternatively, a bit later, someone (who the fuck even knows who) has asked one too many questions regarding his blanket-cloak and his mug full of herbal poultry water and he's ducked outside instead. he can now be found sitting crosslegged on the front porch of cabin 15, just a head and two stubby arms poking out of a wad of blanket, an overlarge steaming mug in hand. )

A DESPERATE SEARCH, dec 23rd, lake + woods

( those who live in the cabins closest to the lake almost certainly hear a disturbance just after dark - though really, with leggy krampus running around, it likely isn't the first or the last. this particular disturbance, however, isn't the sound of someone being kidnapped. it's the sound of a rescue, or... at least an attempted one.

currently, wei wuxian is sprinting through the thickly falling snow, squinting for visibility as he sharply scans the area, shouting - ) Huaisang! Nie Huaisang! ( in basically every direction in hopes of some sign of which way to even search.

maybe you come out and see what the fuck he's yelling about right outside your cabin - or maybe you want to help the search. alternatively, you could already be outside for some godforsaken reason and (in his graceless and single-minded urgency) he straight-up collides with you without even realizing you're there. pick your chilly snow-covered poison, really. )

SOME COMPANY, dec 30th, along the road

( it has been five whole days since the last of the chimney abductions, and the first of those killed have begun to return to the land of the living (case in point: nie huaisang). between that and the strange.... cold incident before that, wei ying is quite certain that the tomfuckery of the month has properly passed. it has a light sort of near-bounce in his step as he strolls up to the roadside just north of the gas station, ready to set off for town.

maybe you're there (in the gas station parking lot or along the road itself) preparing to set out, yourself. or maybe you're off up the road ahead, and he has to jog to catch up. regardless, he pulls up beside whoever it is and says, ) Do you mind if I join you? It's such a boring walk, alone.

Fran Bow | Fran Bow

[keeperofkeys]

i. Let It Snow (pre-16th)

Snow is wonderful. Fran bundles herself up and runs outside to play in it. Tossing handfuls of the snow in the air, dancing around, tossing snowballs at trees.

She's even started to build a snowman. Come and help her, if you'd like.

Rhys // OTA

[theprezident]

A. December 16th - 20th, OTA

[ Despite the cold seeping into everyone's bones, Rhys can be found outside, wandering the town and entering all buildings that he can enter to check their basements (if they have any). Every day he has snacks and a hot drink of some kind with him, but from the 17th to the 20th he has more than one thermos with it.

He's not really looking to engage with anyone, but if you're close by, he will wave with a friendly smile.

If it's noon or later on the 16th, though, he will say something. ]

Is it just me, or did it suddenly get way colder?

[ But he won't actually notice anything off until he gets home and can't get cold. ]

B. 20th December, SSSS-haus, open to anyone who might pass by

[ He hadn't had very high expectations of the Technicians' generosity. In fact, he fully expected it to blow up in their faces. Colour him surprised when he opens the door to head into town again and finds The Multi-tap that he asked for.

Except he doesn't pick it up right away. He squints at it for a few seconds, and then goes back inside to grab an umbrella to poke it with.

Look, don't ask. Or do. ]

C. December 23rd, late night, SSSS-haus

[ Rhys is curled up on an armchair by the fire, wrapped in a blanket and working on his Containment Zone database exclusive to himself when he hears the footsteps on the roof. His first thought is that it's someone in the house moving upstairs, but something about it seems off. Considering where he's from and where he is right now, he knows better than to ignore his gut feeling, and he shuts off the hologram before he unravels himself from the blanket and stands.

Just in time for the fire to go out. He starts backing up, staring intently at the fireplace as the first limbs of Leggy Krampus starts poking out-- ]

Oh, shit no.

[ Nope, nope, nope, he is out of here, turning tail and running towards wherever he thinks Lalli is. Because he knows Lalli can be relied upon in a crisis. ]

LALLI!

D. Wildcard