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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 ✨

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Scissors? In a holster? The confusion is brief across his face, a flicker extinguished by the reminder that he doesn't care about this girl or what she's lost — and in the current predicament, there's little in him left to even feel annoyance. He eases back into muted numbness with no effort at all.

Better than rage, after what he did to Laurent. And how he'd almost gone as far with this girl on their last encounter. He's dangerous; he shouldn't linger here too long.]

I'm not asking to enter so long as we find what belongs to us. [Meanwhile, he'll keep a lookout for the sprites, since that would be an easier source of interrogation.] This sort of mischief tells me that the main goal is torment in continued company. It would make sense if my weapon is somewhere among your other personal items. Let's go.

[That tiny flicker doesn't go unnoticed. Fukawa might miss most cues but any and all judgment? She has a sixth sense for that.

Thankfully he doesn't press further. Maybe he has yet to encounter Syo, or even hear of her antics. With luck it'll stay that way.]

Well good, b-because you aren't invited! [As if he were itching to spend a second longer with her than he has to.

Still, though she glowers and maintains a solid distance between them, she leads the way with a hunched and wary scuttle. The snow crunches bitterly under their feet, and she casts him sour glances now and again.]

If you think you c-can take your stuff without giving mine back too, you've got another thing coming.

[At times Sasuke is stupid, especially about girls, so his running theory is that the scissors are so she can cut her hair. Don't most girls care about their appearance to a fanatical degree? Surely this makes sense.]

You don't need to behave like that. ["Stop being so weird."] This isn't a complicated exchange. I have no reason to keep your scissors from you.

[He can just cut his own hair with his sword... like a barbarian. Or let it grow out to cover the Rinnegan.

Sasuke is following from a respectable distance, fine to endure the silence. Watching her move ahead of him, he recalls their last exchange — in all its misfortune. How she was the first to tell him of the disease's true source... and how she was right, at least, according to local Stygian lore.]

About before...

[He trails off there, frowning moodily.]

[Yes. They're to cut her hair. The hair of Fukawa, the hair that specifically belongs to Fukawa, Fukawa's hair.

There's a small gurgling sound, because she literally has to swallow the hot retort she had locked and loaded. Instead she must settle for a rather lame:]

Th-that's right! You don't!

[Take that.

Though they enjoy a stretch of pronounced silence, it ends all too quickly for her liking. She casts a glare over her shoulder, squinting hard as she tried to pluck apart his motivations by sight alone.]

...What about it?

[Did he regret not finishing the job?]

[He is very pointedly not looking at Fukawa as he speaks. It's easy and more effective to stare over her head instead.]

I reacted badly. If not for the Shadow's influence and the corruption of this place, I would have had more control over my actions. I don't attack civilians like you for nothing.

[As close to an "I'm sorry" as she's going to get out of him.]

I still think your idea was stupid. [Oh.] ... But since then, several others have confirmed it, and this world seems to be interconnected with emotions. So it's not an unbelievable theory.

[As a fellow apology hater, she recognizes the signs. Can even appreciate them to some degree. It's still a half-assed effort, and she wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him, but her scowling and cringing abates by slivers.]

...Hmph. ["Civilians." God, he sounds like one of those mask-toting super-twats from a comic book. If that's what his deal is, she'll be doubly glad to get rid of him.]

It's st-stupid but it was never my idea in the first place. I told you, it's a common plot device in stories back home.

[They've rounded the block, and her apartment building looms damnably before them. Fukawa grumbles as she fishes the keys from her pocket, feeling grateful that someone had removed the mistletoe over the entrance. Probably Yoo Joonghyuk or Felix, as both had been on an anti-kissing crusade since this mess began.]

And I don't b-buy that it's all "unrequited" affections. If that were true, eighty percent of the people here are just saps who c-can't tell real love from hopeless lust.

[Unlike her. Though she does have a sudden tickle in her throat. She attempts to makes the slight coughs as she swings the door open and urges him through.]

C-come on. Let's get this over with.

[Wouldn't it be their bad luck to get caught beneath another mistletoe while trying to fix the curse from the first one.

Sasuke keeps a good distance between them, eyes watchful and more paranoid on the arches of doorways as they pass into the building — he won't make the same mistake twice.]

... It's not always unrequited. [A quiet voice, low at her back.] Or so I was told.

[He hears the coughs, keen senses ever alert, looking Fukawa over before he goes through the door with some reluctance.]

You're suffering the same, but it doesn't seem to be as severe. It probably won't kill you.

[just a gauntlet of mistletoe so they can 100% the curse roulette, new playstation trophy unlocked

She leads him in with furtive glances and a hurried step. No one's lingering in the common areas, that's good. It's a very small building and it doesn't have scads of tenants. Less witnesses. And also, less people she has to expose to this guy.

On the other hand, less witnesses. Fukawa gulps. If a girl is murdered alone in the woods...]

It was w-way worse last week. [Ups and downs. She'd honestly gotten scared this time. It seems to come back with a vengeance every iteration, and she's worried. If they don't find a cure soon, is there going to be a lemon tree sprouting out of her guts? How far will this insanity progress?] They b-better get their asses moving on that cure already. Otherwise we might have a real p-plague on our hands.

[She takes him up a flight of stairs and quietly creeps into her shared flat. Lottie is responsible for most of the feminine touches, though Fukawa bullied in a few decorative flowers here and there. There are also several books littering the coffee table, and a bag of empty tissue boxes by the door. They're due to be recycled any day now.

She turns to Sasuke with a frown. Not that she could mistake his crap for anything her and Lottie might own, but you never know:]

Wh-what does this sword look like?

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im crying

they are destined to be an unfortunate pair i'm afraid

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