outofsticks | January Plotting: Bitter Winds Howling

OOC UPDATES

Regular AC will be resuming in January!
January is also a TDM month, so it’s the best time to think about who you may want to bring in or to enable the people you love who aren’t us.
New characters of preexisting players are welcome on this post, for the record!
A new past life plotting meme will be going up January 1st to ring in the new year as well, and hopefully the new format will make it more engaging.
We are going to set 2024 on fire and I am personally holding 2025 at gunpoint on all our behalf. Otherwise, we have a lot of really fun things planned for the year and we are greatly looking forward to playing things out with everyone together this year!
Also there is an end of year love meme for the game. This winter’s been hard. This year’s been hard. Let’s end it with a bit of love and joy.

SETTING UPDATES

Mayoi has built a shrine to Ourania, which doubles as a new home. It is placed in the formerly burnt town!
The weather is going to reach sub-zero temperatures, with raging snowstorms threatening one’s health if they stray too far from the indoors… though with how bitter cold it is, that may not help as much as you might want it to.
The river and lake are both completely frozen over, and not even Terho’s cabin has any light or presence to it. State of the seaborne and fish and Sinann? Frozen.
By nature of their magic, the fruit trees and blackberry bushes are still perfectly fine. It’s just a matter of getting to them at this point.
As the winter progresses, the cold encroaches further and further into where it should not be. Cups from the cabinets are frigid as ice, and any fires you try to keep burning flicker even as you stoke them and feel as if they could go out at any moment- Irene’s fireplace in the inn seems to be the only one that isn’t affected.

PLOT UPDATES

Characters will experience strange dreams of water and something trying to reach out. What could it mean? Great question!
New arrivals will find themselves struggling to get through the storm to safety, and will find themselves drawn to various buildings within the settlement. Hanging from their necks will be a pendant with a heavy snowflake amulet. While they wear these, the wraiths may use their voice to call for their sacrifice, and the new characters will feel incredibly cold even within the hottest places in town until they melt the amulet in a fire.
On top of the awful cold, the Grove and surrounding forest are once again under siege- though this time it doesn’t actually seem to be the Fallen Sun’s fault. The winter comes beckoned by the call of wraiths of frost and ice, and their presence only makes things worse.
They can be fought off with a partner or more- they’re much too strong to face alone- and for a time their defeat will abate the winds, but the howling blizzards return not long after. Working alone may cause a curse similar to last January to befall characters as well, where they slowly turn to ice unless saved by an act of true love (platonic or otherwise). The buddy system is the way to go!
(Mods will not be handling these fights, NPC the wraiths in battle as desired.)
All the while the wraiths call for a sacrifice. They do not elaborate on what they could possibly want, but “to stop this awful winter, sacrifices must be made”. Player characters must decide on their sacrifices and how they make them. The results will impact the end of the month with a small mini-event.

Please use the following form for plotting.

Character:
Canon:
CR:
Plans:
Not Seeking:
Anything Else:
Recent Posts or Toplevels:
Past Life Plotting Toplevel:
Meme:

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Character: Joshua
Canon: The World Ends With You

CR: You know him, you love him, it's Joshua. The Grove's very own cryptid with a healthy interest in your business! Typically found not being found because he's invisibly popcorning over whatever drama may be happening (he doesn't have TV, he can't be blamed here) but when he's visible he's usually chilling with Revati (tiny star hedgehog). I am open for any and all CR with him please give it to me.

Plans: Joshua is going to be sipping tea in the inn because none of that going on outside is any of his business! He can probably be coaxed out to fight wraiths under certain circumstances, though. What are those circumstances? idk I guess you'll have to find out I'm not your strategy guide (I am, actually, just ask me)

Not Seeking: when am I not seeking anything. holds out my hands. give me things

Past Life Plotting Toplevel: Here!

Meme:

Character: Clotted Cream Cookie
Canon: Cookie Run: Kingdom

CR: Clotted Cream is the Consul of the Crème Republic and a very respected politician. He's also a merperson because he's a Ryslig AU that doesn't remember Ryslig, and he's got sea dragon wings and tail now thanks to the baby dragons! He's been very quiet lately and I would very much love to get him back out there doing something and making friends now that (hopefully) my brain fog is starting to recede.

Plans: CC is likely going to...... get sick! Because while merpeople have a tendency to prefer colder temperatures, the shrimp part of him gets stressed during extreme cold and is more susceptible to illness. He's going to avoid going outside if he can help it and he's going to hole up in the cookie house while probably taking very warm soaking baths as often as possible and drinking lots of hot tea.

Not Seeking: Not seeking death but that's about it!

Past Life Plotting Toplevel: Here!

Meme:

Character: Jiaoqiu
Canon: Honkai: Star Rail

CR: Jiaoqiu is a Foxian healer with a military medic background. He specializes in healing via food, though he is capable of first aid and emergency surgeries/trauma triage as well if needed. He's a shrewd and intelligent man that always seems to smile and has a generally pleasant and slightly mischievous vibe, though he knows exactly what negative effects certain medicines have and will use that as a weapon if necessary. He has a love for spicy foods and could probably do the one chip challenge without flinching.

I haven't got him out and about too much yet, but I'd love to extend his CR! Negative or positive, gimme gimme.

Plans: With the bitter cold setting in, Jiaoqiu is going to do what he does best: make warming food and drink for anyone taking shelter inside the inn. The food will probably be spicy. Spicy is warming. No he is not taking criticism at this time. He may also use his fire to attack the wraiths if he has anyone to team up with - he's a healer after all, not a one man wrecking crew like Feixiao, and he wouldn't go out alone regardless.

Not Seeking: Not really looking for death, but other than that have at it!

Meme:

January Plotting: Bitter Winds Howling

kaed's boys

Joshua

Clotted Cream

Jiaoqiu