(no subject)

[oblivium]

LOVE AT FROST BITE

I. COLD HANDS, WARM HEART

---

From December through January, high winds gradually rise all across the Netherworld, large flakes of snow causing white-out condition. The wind howls and whistles, blades of icy gusts cutting through your clothes as frost clings to your hair and lashes. No matter where you are, you feel its glacial, bone-chilling force, and no matter what you do, you quickly find that nothing keeps you warm. You're freezing, shivering, teeth chattering. Fire and the proximity of others may offer brief reprieves, so bundle up and find a cuddling partner before you crystalize. If you don't have a Soulmate, now might be the time to search for one.

Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours. Some of you may experience sudden, intense headaches, followed by a sense of panic. Your chest tightens. Your head swims. Your lungs ice over, and you know then: someone's messing with your home in the Shadowlands.

► If you're already in your home, stay alert as light goes out: squint through the dark, and you'll soon be able to distinguish an enormous figure. Krampus.
► If you're anywhere in Stygia and are unable to teleport, crossing the Tempest is particularly perilous on your own, though if you explain what's going on to a Ferryman, they'll oblige.
► Luckily, Krampus doesn't seem extremely interested in your Tethers, but it's entirely possible that he damages a few while being in your home. He's mostly interested in you, and whether you've been a good Restless.

If you feel like your character's done a decent job at silencing their Shadow, Krampus will curse them; every full moons through December and January, they'll be compelled to tell a significant lie. A single lie can be told multiple times to different and/or the same people, and multiple lies can also be told multiple times to different and/or the same people. If, on the other hand, you feel as though they've been struggling -- or worse, enjoying its presence -- Krampus will give them a unique coin: everywhere you go, it'll loudly comment on anyone within 10 feet, giving a brief but accurate description of what your character truly thinks of them. You can't get rid of it, but after its first use, it'll disintegrate within a couple of weeks.

II. DON'T LEAF ME HANGIN'

---

Kiss kiss fall in love, it's mistletoe time! And its provenance is a little gruesome: some Restless have been coughing them up due to the floral disease affecting Stygia's citizens, and for reasons unknown, the plant's made itself a home in tree branches, bushes, and ceilings. Having the time of its life, probably! Some sprites have taken a liking to them, and started worshipping them as flowery entities. It's believed among them that kissing underneath the mistletoe is the greatest way to honor said entities, while refusing to is a terrible affront; the sprites will start following you and pranking you in retaliation.

► If you walk under mistletoe along with someone else and refuse to/do not kiss, you'll be followed by a sprite for 24 hours, during which they'll prank (see list below*) and just generally annoy you. Only one sprite at a time will follow you, even if you walk again under mistletoe within the 24 hours time frame.
► If you walk alone under mistletoe, this unnamed creature will stalk you from the shadows, whispering and trying to coax you closer, promising delightful kisses you'll never forget. In truth, it just wants to devour your tongue, a delicacy. It'll give up after 12 hours, and will never follow you inside your home.
► An old woman sells mistletoe berry tarts in the Marketplace, and claims it'll help anyone who suffers from insomnia. She's not wrong! One bite and you'll fall dead asleep within the hour, and only a kiss will be able to awaken you. Sweet dreams, sleeping beauty!
► If you do wind up kissing anyone under the mistletoe, you'll find it easier to deal with your Shadow through the month, a blessing from the sprites! If, on the other hand, you don't partake in kissing endeavors, your Shadow will seem louder than usual.

Additionally, many patrons in Mirth host festive and/or cozy soirées throughout December. If you feel like dancing, singing, drinking eggnog in good company and eating delicious hors d'oeuvres, wear your ugliest festive sweater and have some fun! Just be careful, as mistletoe will 100% find its way inside these venues!

PRANK LIST

---

*you can either RNG or choose! all effects disappear within 24 hours. can be pranked multiple times within 24 hours.

► the sprite enchants your clothing to make them colder and colder.
► the sprite swaps your character's voice with someone else's.
► the sprite steals an object that belongs to you and puts it in another character's pocket/room.
► your breathing becomes loud and obnoxious.
► when it snows, you perceive every flake as a human face.
► everything you eat tastes like ashes.
► you feel compelled to scream everything you say.
► you think you are the world's greatest bard, so sing your heart out!
► you gain a forked tongue.
► when breathing out in cold weather, you exhale black smoke instead of white breath.
► anomalous orifices begin appearing on your body, such as mouths, eye sockets, etc.
► you can now hear all heartbeats within 10 feet of you.
► you hallucinate a worm in your chest trying to eat its way out. you can’t feel it, but the skin on your torso ripples as it burrows beneath.
► you feel like your body is slowly melting, like a candle with a too hot flame. it's not.
► your ears constantly hear a repeating brief tune.

---

ooc note

► As always, check out the Notice Board if you'd like additional prompts! Older quests from previous months are always available as well. You'll also find the Calendar right here.
► If you have questions, check out the plotting post's thread here, or ask new ones here!
► Cozy ambience for your cozy nights in Mirth!
► HAPPY HOLIDAYS ✨

Comments

Fukawa Toko/Genocider Syo | Danganronpa

[janescayre]

((KRAMPUS GIFT: she is getting the coin that screams her true opinions. Expect randomized appearances without warning.))

FUKAWA

A) Baby it's Cold Outside

[Perhaps it was too long of a trip to the store, a midnight stroll turned jaunt for cover, a group huddle around a fire, or you're safe indoors and still finding jack frost nipping at your nose (GET OUT OF HERE CHRIS PINE). No matter what the occasion you find yourself shivering in the frosty cold, and you're not alone.]

Th-th-this c-can't be n-normal. [Fukawa's bundled up in triplicate and still can't retain heat to save her life. Her teeth chatter through every word, her tea slops out of its thermos as she struggles to hold her hands still.] W-we're all going to die. They'll find us in the spring, our skin r-rotting as we d-defrost, frozen in indecent p-positions...

[Charming.]


B) Christmas with the Krampus

[There's not much that would have Fukawa dragging her carcass back to her Shadowlands home in this chill. Too bad this feels like an emergency. She's coughed up precious coins for the ferry and hustled as fast as her chicken legs can go. It's been slow progress, the cold is a deadly obstacle and she's just a little lady, so she's alarmed to spot a mysterious figure up ahead. They're standing next to a door, she can't make out which in the flurry of snowflakes.]

H-Hey! Stop right th-there, you meddlesome b-bastard! [She huffs, she puffs.] You b-better not be touching my stuff with your greasy fingers!

[She trips on a rock.]

WAAAAAUGH—

[Poof. She's a dent in the snow.]


C) The Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas: Announcing 82412989 All New Original Movies

[Fukawa has been raised in a mistletoe-aware society. She also stopped to grab some gyros the other day and the clerk coughed up a sprig while handing over her order. She has been traumatized. It's everywhere. She may run, but she cannot hide.]

1) Don't Touch Me (Curses)

[How horrible, you find yourself within a five-foot radius of Fukawa. If you're one of her ninety boy crushes or maybe an acceptable female friend(s)(?)(!) she might hold up her hands to stop you. If not, she immediately scowls and hunches away.]

D-don't come any closer! G-get away from me! I mean it!

[It's right above her.]

2) Please Touch Me (Kisses)

[Okay well obviously avoiding it is a terrible idea. The effects from last time have only now wore off and yet she finds herself haplessly hobbling right into these pissant sprites' traps AGAIN. She seethes for a moment.]

And I...I'd b-been so thorough... [Her tiny fist clenches. She glowers up at the sprite, who bats its lashes at her and puckers up.] I sh-should stick you in a blender and make into you a p-protein shake...

3) I'M BEGGING YOU TO TOUCH ME (established crushes only, pink heart-kin pls apply)

[With the lightness of feet only years of stalking distant appreciation can provide, Fukawa follows her mark. Yes...yes this time, she will use these cursed plants to her advantage. And she'd be doing (Y/N) a favour, because they're about to blunder directly beneath the mistletoe in three, two...]

Oh! I d-didn't see you there! [Where did she come from? Don't mind the snow all over her. That bush adjacent seems curiously ruffled.] Haha, wh-what a coincidence. Where...where are you headed? M-May I join you?

D) Jingle Bells Swing and Jingle Bells Ring (Party, can be mistletoe)

[Being dragged to a party is the last thing on her wish list for the season, but she's also tired of freezing to death in her apartment alone. At least this place is well heated. She's been snarled into a nice dress for once and still, she chooses to haunt the far and shadowy corner of the festivities. In fact, she's brought a book. And more tea. A mistletoe tart, some snacks from the buffet. And a pillow to sit on. Did she just want to loiter outside her apartment?

Don't bother her.]


E) WILDCARD

[Hit me up with whatever! Adjust my prompts as you see fit or surprise me. If we have an alternate scenario planned I can 100% set up a starter too. PM me or hit up my plot post for details/questions.]

wildcardddd

[appeale]

[ they share an apartment complex, so no matter how much one might try to avoid the other, it's inevitable that there are times Rudbeckia and Fukawa cross paths. for her part, Ruby's cheerful and ladylike guise has never faltered in their brief encounters: she always greets Fukawa with a wave and the same chipper— ]

Ciao, Signorina Fukawa!

[ today, it just so happens that the two of them are returning home at the same time. Ruby catches up to Fukawa outside the entryway, a cloak fluttering around her in the December winds. she often leaves her interactions with the other girl at simple greetings and farewells, but... it wouldn't really do for Fukawa to start thinking she dislikes her. she's meant to be too much of an airhead to harbour feelings like that. so she begins chattering as she moves to open the door for them both: ]

This weather is dreadful, isn't it? I've hardly wanted to leave our suite at all, but [ she's standing there, holding the door ajar, not quite wide enough for Fukawa to slip inside ] I wouldn't want to be such a burden on Dokja and Signora Sooyoung and Signor Joonghyuk, and of course, there's the Masquerade to prepare for...

[ finally, the door open, Ruby makes to step inside. she pauses. ]

... Signorina, is that mistletoe?

[janescayre]

[While she is grateful to Sooyoung for providing better accommodations for her and Lottie on the cheap, it is extremely unfortunate that there's a fly in the ointment. A blonde one.

The worst kind.

She was trying to minimize her time spent in the cold and so hustled to reach the door, failing to spot Rudbeckia until it was too late. The girl was always too peppy for her own good and even with the biting cold, today is no exception. Fukawa grumbles along with a barely audible, "Ciao," and low grunts, a flimsy façade of an attentive listener. She's learned to let the excess of words roll away like water on a duck's back.

That is until the girl pauses in front of the door.]

What? [Fukawa snaps, unsure what the hold up was. What the hell had she been prattling on about?] Did you forget how walking works? P-put one foot in front of the other, then you...

[She spots it. Her face pales.]

Don't move! [This is now an emergency. They're about to step on a landmine.] If you g-get any closer that thing will curse us both!

d (like his name)

[damnpire]

[Unfortunately for everyone else's enjoyment, this is not a Radiance party, so he shows up in... exactly what he always wears. Truly, he stands out like the ugliest, sorest gothic thumb. He appears to be gauging the festivities with a curious, but professional look around.

And he doesn't seem bothered that he a) stands out, and b) is out of place here as he is. He also doesn't appear to acknowledge the wary, wide berth some give him, or the infatuated gazing some are doing in his direction.

He does stop by Fukawa and her book and tea, though.] You look nice in your dress. [That's all he says... before he starts to move on...?]

d as in don't fight it

[janescayre]

[When the shadow encroaches on her refuge she was ready to curl up tighter and angle her body away. Strangers DNI.

Then that honeyed voice drips into her ear and her head snaps up, jaw dropped. It's him: D, the handsome, mysterious specter that whisked her to safety. And he's given her a compliment? And then LEAVING?

She whips up to her feet so fast that her book thuds to the floor and the tea splatters over.]

YOU GOOD TOO!

[That's not even a sentence, you soiled chum bucket!!!]

c1

[ittoryu]

[with all the cluelessness of a rock, shigure just blinks in confusion. but hey, at least he does pause for now, holding up his hands.]

Er... I don't think we've even met? What did I do?

I was going to come for you why are you so fast :knife:

[janescayre]

[The stranger, while attractive in an oddly doggish sort of way (maybe the hair reminds her of a golden retriever's tail?), is still an unknown element and therefore not to be trusted. Fukawa scowls and edges back a little more.]

Why d-does it matter? I said go away! Go on! Shoo!

[Meanwhile the sprite is gonna die of thirst over here. It's still hidden by the mistletoe sprig, but when it buzzes its wings the sound carries strong over the winter air. What a weird noise, wow! Maybe come closer to investigate??]

c2.....

[declass]

[ i'm sorry i just have to point out it's so funny there's a separate option for people she has a crush on. anyway.

rosa just stares at the plant for a moment before turning her attention to fukawa. she's smiling, at least. ]

I am afraid I may not taste good as a protein shake.

[ the fur, and all. ]

Rosa Darling ☺️

[janescayre]

[expecting zero takers there but dammit she has to try]

Not you! [For the love of god. Fukawa clutches her head and seethes. Deep breaths, come now.] That l-little shit fluttering around the mistletoe! You'd never fit in a blender w-with those stork legs anyhow...

[Tall people suck.

Unless you're a hot guy. misogyny]

b

[enactors]

( marc's used to cold winters. the sharp, sudden panic sitting heavy on his chest and the accompanying headache, though? that had been new. he'd tried ignoring it (both symptoms), and it hadn't helped — hadn't done anything, in fact. panic had turned into cold dread that felt as if it'd made its way from head to toe, spilling up and out of chest.

eventually, then, he'd found his way back to the shadowlands, back to his door. there had been nothing that had struck him as out of the ordinary but then, he's been here for maybe a week. he doesn't know what's ordinary and what isn't.

what does catch his attention, then, is the yelling. rarely has shouting ever been a sign of positivity in marc's experience and he turns towards the source of the noise, tense, cautious, ready. he doesn't assume she's yelling at him — he hasn't done anything — so instead marc wonders what he's missed. who or what she's seen that—

oh.

even in the relative darkness, even between the flurries of snow, he can see she (rather ungracefully, incredibly inelegantly) tripped. a moment of bemused silence passes — did that just happen? yes — before he makes his way over to the pile of

snow-slash-girl-slash-snow. )

—Are you hurt?

[janescayre]

[Marc has no idea what horrors lay within the hole in the snow. The snole.]

Ffffshp-puh!

[Fukawa spits out the filthy snow she'd just been forced to eat, head and shoulders raised laboriously.]

I'm n-not hurt, you — w-wait. You?

[She's managed to raise herself high enough to get a blinking grasp of the situation. Her glasses may be unseated and dusted with white flakes, but she's near-sighted, and even if she weren't she can damn well recognize that white mask with the moon on top.

Fukawa wheezes. Just as inelegantly as she fell, she scrambles back and away from him. The thick snowfall doesn't let her get very far, she's just wedging further into the drift.]

YOU! Y-YOU STAY BACK! I'M W-WARNING YOU!

[He did promise her an ass-whooping online.]

a but i'm inserting mistletoe later

[executory]

[ Why is Hell so cold? Why was she so busy thinking about buying swords when she should have been focused on buying blankets??

It's too late now to mourn her mistakes. All she can do is wrap her blanket around her like some youthful babushka and hobble around the apartment complex hoping that a little bit of exercise will warm her right up. (Spoilers: it doesn't.) You know what might help though? Some cuddling. Not that she is a free-for-all cuddler like Callisto seems to imply but sometimes, drastic situations call for drastic measures.

She unfurls her blanket half an inch. Immediately regrets it because of the sudden freezing breeze that sneaks in. (There's not even any wind in here??) ]

Here, get in. We won't freeze if we just huddle together.

[ Though that would imply a willingness on Fukawa's part to cuddle with someone who (accidentally) spilled soup all over her........hm. ]

can't wait to be cursed with you :*

[janescayre]

[It's that clumsy oaf again.

Fukawa doesn't bear half as big of a grudge against her as she could. Were the woman younger, perhaps, or had she not actually been helpful after plowing her over, If she looked less like Felix she might have etched her name onto a list of sworn enemies and spurned her forever more. But the age, the dutifulness, and the dim sense that Komaru would disapprove of her ire all swirl together in a slim semblance of forgiveness.

As such, she only grumbles for five seconds instead of fifty before scooting closer. It's that cold.]

Either th-that or our c-corpses will weld together. [She commandeers her corner of the blanket at once and cinches it tight. Her teeth carry on chattering as she wedges against the woman's side.] How the h-hell are we expected to carry on like this? I'd welcome Oblivium if it m-meant never feeling cold again.

c2

[midway]

[ Claude has no idea what mistletoe is! But he'd clued in soon enough when he saw various couples being amorous underneath the plant all throughout the night. Plus, it seemed to be all the Youths™ were interested in talking about, as he'd heard quite a few giggling boys and girls and those in between chattering to one another about it.

What he hadn't realized when he passed under the plant earlier however, was that they were a Kiss Or Else situation.

And so, ] A PROTEIN SHAKE?

[ He tries his best not to make Toko's ears ring with his voice in their close proximity, giving the sprite a weary look. ]

UNFORTUNATELY, I DOUBT THAT WOULD END WELL.

[ Maybe he should just go mute for the rest of the evening. ]

[janescayre]

[Claude you are a Youth? flicks his forehead, go back to the weenie table.

Fukawa yelps and shrinks, knees bent as if to crouch. Look she can't put actual distance between them without getting cursed, she'll have to hit the floor to save her eardrums.]

Stop yelling, you ingrate! [She shoots him a nasty look.] Are you trying to blow my ears out?! I'm right in front of you!

C1

[chokuto]

[The time that has elapsed since their previous encounter hasn't served Sasuke well. He looks even worse than before, pale and gaunt, like a ghost haunting the solitary avenues of Stygia's streets. It is his first time straying into the city in several days—evidence of the journey's purpose in the bright orange jacket tucked under his arm. He doesn't stop anywhere or speak to anyone on his way. The one-way trip affords no distractions in his current state.

But like this he is less aware, disoriented and distracted enough to lower his guard and walk right into the trap of garland and ornamentation strung across an awning above the street.

Sasuke stops cold, staring at the girl in front of him.]

You.

[His voice is a raspy tenor flatly delivered. We meet again, nemesis.]

[janescayre]

[Welcome and well met, mortal enemy of mine.

Although in Fukawa's case it's less enemy and sort of a boogeyman-cum-psycho-killer that's been haunting her dreams. The Michael Myers to her Laurie Strode, if you will. Her knees are immediately shaking, sweat swells at her brow, her heartbeat has spiked to mach speeds.

Even though he looks like he'll keel over any minute. Her own illness still dogs her heels but it hasn't taken half so heavy a toll on her. The symptom swell and wane, and though the bad bouts are brutal they fade on the following week. She's caught him at the lowest point it seems. Whether that improves her chances for survival or not is a mystery.]

Don't! [She edges away. Not too far, not too fast. Her eyes flick up to the mistletoe — just the other day she'd walked away from it and a horrible creature followed her for hours, begging for a toothy kiss. Can she somehow sick it on him instead?]

I'm — I d-don't ever want to see you again! Go away!

[He's already standing so close?!]

A

[salvageable]

[ They're in some communal space in their housing complex... Makes it a den with a roaring fireplace but the fire is doing absolutely nothing to help their current situation. Dokja's bundled up in his many layers, cup of hot chocolate between his hands which is also weirdly not warm to the touch, and he's seconds away from losing it.

This is an impossible kind of cold. No matter what he does, he can't seem to get away from the icy chill clinging to him. He coughs a couple of times, raising a hand to cover his mouth and feeling the brush of familiar flower petals against his palm before they fall to rest atop the table he's seated at.

Absentmindedly, he sweeps them off to the side before glancing up at the very dramatic words of his company.

... She's a lot to deal with, too. ]

Why are we in indecent positions in this scenario?

[janescayre]

[This is extremely cute holiday vibes, on any other day they could roast chestnuts and become enemies over Mario Kart.

Instead they will have to become enemies the natural way. Tragic. Her gaze skates over Dokja when he coughs, and the sprinkling of petals isn't lost on her. Fukawa's been doing a good job of pretending nothing is happening in the respites of good health between her surges of sickness. She's on an off week now, but last Monday she hocked up what must have been half a rose.]

I d-didn't mean us?! [Scandalized! She leans away with a glower.] I only m-meant that — shut up!

[If only she were sat next to Byakuya-sama. She'd have no qualms nestling close to his muscled form and borrowing his generous warmth, tucking her head beneath his chin. Falling asleep. Freezing together, lovers entwined in a final embrace...]

G-go sit somewhere else if you've got your mind in the gutter.

[It seems she's rounded back to disrespecting her landlords again.]

d

[pyojeol]

[Sooyoung immediately shows up to bother her. It's her right, considering she absolutely dragged Fukawa to this particular party. She's holding a plate of snacks, though she eyes the mistletoe tart on Fukawa's before she plunks in next to her. That tart looks familiar, okay.

Eh. Maybe it'll be fine. Sooyoung's had some of the food and hasn't felt a single urge to cuddle anyone, besides the need to steal warmth.]

How's the book?

[janescayre]

Eh?

[God can't Sooyoung just lay off already? She showed up, she dressed up, now she has earned the right to be left alone!

Too bad she's having a hard time staying invested.]

It's M-Murakami. His ideas are incomparable b-but any time a woman shows up she's the most thinly-drawn, insufferable ingenue it takes me right out. C-can't they ban horny old men from writing books already?

c2 (or is it 3)

[dodgeouttahell]

Stick them where and make them what?

[He understood almost none of that. He gives Fukawa a slight smile, still amused by it, go figure.] Are these things new for you, too?

perhaps it is both....

[janescayre]

[Oh boy. She winces. Right, she probably sounds like a total maniac. Just the impression she needs to give in front of one of the most well-built men alive.

Although "Zagreus" doesn't seem to care much for propriety. Can't, if he's committing this hard to the bit.]

No, they're j-just cheap holiday gimmicks. [She sighs. Should she bother explaining what a blender is?] A trashy excuse to m-make unwitting victims lock lips, except in the real world—

[Extremely pointed glare of death to the sprite.]

—there wouldn't be s-some shitty elf waiting to c-curse you for walking away!

c3..................

[boarwitness]

[the sour look felix gives her is sure to capture her heart.]

Where did you come from? [nevermind that, a sprite just appeared. he looks up, and groans.] Are you even bothering to look where you're going?

[drawing his sword, he reaches up, into the brickwork overhead, and cuts down the accursed plant. there. this will surely cause no ramifications.

the sprite near his ankle squeals in fury. something very funny is definitely about to happen to felix, but he's paying it absolutely no mind in this tag.]

b.

[uncourteous]

[ it's only natural that many individuals would find it necessary to check on their own homes, especially in a place where it seemed so imperative to their own comfort and survival. to be honest, whether someone saw his place or not didn't necessarily bother him as he wasn't one to hide his traumas, but it isn't like he wanted it to be a complete spectacle, either.

the weather, however, leaves much to be desired. the chill in his bones is different than the norm, and for once, it's all the more clear that his cloak didn't work like it had back home. but, that was food for thought later. it's in the snow that he squints back, just barely trying to peer at the doors in front of his face, before he hears a familiar voice...

who opposite to the words they once uttered, seemed so keen on insulting him? he's about to open his mouth back, but oh...

no, there she goes. he releases something between an exhale with a bite of humor, but also an exhale because.... sigh. ] While I don't know how conductive it is to your training to simply let your prior words go... [ "training."

is he joking? are either of them ever joking? either way— ] Here. [ he reaches over with a gloved hand. ]