🧟 Prescott's Winter Holiday Party

[decaymod]

🎄 Prescott is all dressed up for the holidays, with fairy lights and garlands up around the fire station and the field hospital. In the parking lot in the northwest corner, the Christmas tree has been set up for anyone to decorate however they see fit. In the center of the main intersection, they’ve built a bonfire which burns all night.

🎄 Mulled wine, hot cocoa, spiced cider, and various small hors d'oeuvres are being served out of the fire station kitchen.

🎄 The fire trucks have been moved out of the apparatus bay and replaced with spare chairs and sofas which usually live in storage. They’re arranged into a handful of small circles, creating a space for conversation.

🎄 Secret Santa gift exchange happens in the apparatus bay at about 6pm.

🎄 On the outside wall of the radio station, adjacent to the community garden, there’s a new mural of Celia Wallace painted by Whitney Resident Amy McBride (who attended high school with her). The corresponding inside wall has been covered in cork board. There are index cards in various colors and pens available for anyone to write out a note in remembrance of someone they’ve lost, and there are pushpins available to put up these notes or photographs of loved ones.

🎄 It’ll be a pretty early evening, with festivities ending around 10pm.

♡

Comments

ARRIVALS

[decaymod]

ARRIVALS: Quaid

[quaid]

Quaid shows up, but isn't his usual jolly self; maybe only about 70%. Though his second brush with Black Fever was far less harsh than the first go-'round, it still sucked to be sapped of energy and generally listless even if not full on chills/aches/vomiting blood et al this past week. You'll find him more than likely sitting or slouching off to the side tonight, more an observer than trying to bring any real attention to himself. He'll gladly converse with anyone that approaches him, however won't be his usual social butterfly self against just quite yet.

Arrivals: Court

[castnet]

Even though she'll have a handful of rather somber moments throughout tonight (especially when taking in the memorial wall later in the night), Court is overall in a giddy mood and there's not much that can deflate her! She loves all of the things being brought together here tonight (especially bonfires), and tries the hot cocoa, apple cider, and mulled wine in that order. Spends most of her night in the cold, though ducks inside a few times to warm up here and there. Helps decorate the xmas tree at some point.

ARRIVALS: Reggie

[toughleaf]

Reggie is 100% completely and totally laser-focused on fire safety tonight. If she keeps her eyes on the fire and her attention zeroed in on making sure it doesn't spread and no one gets too close, then she won't have time to think about the idea of grief or anyone she's lost. For most of the night, she's snappish and tense and over-caffeinated, but she tries not to mingle too much to keep her grinchiness from spreading.

CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATIONS

[decaymod]

If your character contributed ornaments or other decorations to the Christmas tree, you can make note of that here.

GIFT EXCHANGE

[decaymod]

Secret Santa assignments here, but feel free to use this for all gift exchanging!

GIFT: For Dutch

[halligan]

dutch's secret santa gift is a cross sitich in an embroidery hoop (he got a nat 20 for finding what he needed at whitney, yahoo) and he gives credit to henry for drafting the pattern!

bonus: deciding to make this is what forced him to replace his glasses. his eyes thank u dutch.

GIFT: For Henry

[soliloquacious]

Blythe gifts Henry an unused sketchbook with some nature embroidery on the cover, plus his name in the bottom right corner. There's also a fleece scarf with braided edges (a la this), made from these two fabrics. Merry Christmas!!!!

GIFT: For Evening

[trustmeimadoctor]

Evening's Secret Santa gift consists of some practical items for Stage Managing: fancy Japanese highlighters, a couple of rolls of gaffer tape, and a new clipboard; also, because she deserves something fun, a warm wool cloak in whatever colour makes sense for her. Enjoy!

GIFT EXCHANGE: For Jem

[malarkeys]

Jem gets a monument to himself; a plastic rocking horse wearing a hi-vis vest and a cowboy hat. Someone has engraved a little wood-burnt plaque with his name on it and everything.

GIFT EXCHANGE: for Cal

[lineman]

About 2.5 feet of galvanized steel logging chain with carabiners at each end and a pair of tiny round sunglasses. Perfect for looking like Matthew Lillard in Hackers (1995), who John associates with Cal through the following logical chain: computer = hacking = Matthew Lillard.

GIFT EXCHANGE: for Quaid

[swordwife]

2 thickly padded dog bite sleeves, one for each arm, which she assumes will be useful against zombies. Be careful, Quaid…

GIFT EXCHANGE: for Niko

[swordwife]

Two pairs of rabbit fur mittens, handmade by Maggie herself. One pair is for Niko while the other is for Zelda.

GIFT: For Reggie

[malting]

Per Ares' expert direction, Reggie gets full Dad fashions: a new flannel and two thrifted bowling shirts* with the names Earl and Chuck stitched over the chest pockets. A small bottle of whisky (Nat paid attention to what Reggie liked best from her bday) and a khaki green baseball cap with "Hi hungry, I'm dad" embroidered in small letters on the front complete the theme. Nat also added in a sturdy hardwood backed clipboard and a pack of ballpoint pens for all her boss bitch needs.

GIFTS: For Mara & Lola

[toughleaf]

Reggie and Ares shamelessly split their gift in two like they were buying for identical twins.

Mara and Lola each get a box of thirteen novelty hats. They're all clean and smell vaguely of vinegar, so you guys don't have to worry about lice or anything when you wear these everywhere!!!

GIFT EXCHANGE: For Arlo

[barrow]

A six-inch-tall figure of a dalmatian standing guard, carved out of solid wood and painted white with black spots. The dog wears a collar of stitched red velvet fabric with a tiny buckle. A bit of lacquer has been applied to the dog's eyes so they appear bright and alert.

GIFT EXCHANGE: For Nat

[fixedup]

An unusual violin-shaped bottle, very slightly scuffed but in good condition. Whatever spirit was originally in the bottle has long since been drunk, but it's been refilled with Container Fort grain liquor (a curse more than a gift).

GIFT EXCHANGE: For Roswell

[orator]

A straw basket filled with artisan spa products from Whitney: lavender soap, hand lotion, minty face mask, beard oil, foot soak salt, a floral candle. Also included is a whiskey-infused dark chocolate bar (pre-outbreak) and a small box of gingerbread cookies (recently baked).

GIFT: For Maggie

[fixeddown]

Carter's seen her big black hats, so she thought she might like a black tulle veil for them, and black satin opera gloves to go along. They're designer and very expensive in the old world, not that this means much now. She gives her one of the raven skull hairpins she'd made for the dance as well, in case she'd like to complete the entire aesthetic.

MEMORIAL WALL

[decaymod]

If your character put something up on the memorial wall in the radio station, you can make note of that here.

MEMORIAL WALL: Niko

[trustmeimadoctor]

📸 A copy of a photo of a wildly curly-haired woman and man with arms around their equally curly-haired child—a young boy—in the middle; they're wearing aprons in a restaurant, their expressions proud.

SCENES: Indoors

[decaymod]

The fire station and the radio station are open to partygoers. You can also technically get into the field hospital and the dispatch center at the back of the fire station, but people are working in there and will chase guests out if they're being obtrusive.

INDOORS: Ares on the Radio (open++)

[smokeeater]

Ares stays in here playing radio dj most of the time today. He asked a few days ago for a list of songs to play during the bonfire, whether that be favorite Christmas carols or songs to honor the departed along with the notes, etc. That's the background music played softly now.

SCENES: Bonfire

[decaymod]

BONFIRE: Niko & OPEN

[trustmeimadoctor]

Dressed in his (thank you Arlo!!!) parka, Niko spends some time at the bonfire, warming his hands and occasionally poking at or rearranging the fire to help keep it going. He also has a spare blanket with him, so when someone appears to be shivering a little, he wordlessly places it around their shoulders, giving them a fatherly pat of reassurance as he does so. He's got you!

SCENES: End of the Night

[decaymod]

END OF THE NIGHT: Reggie & Ares

[toughleaf]

Reggie’s wound as tight as a tourniquet. She’s spent the whole night either waiting or hoping for something to go disastrously wrong – for the fire to spread, zombies to attack, a fight to break out – and now she can’t shake that energy. It’s pooled under her skin and made her muscles tense and her stomach uneasy.

She makes a final circuit of the bonfire in a bid to exorcise the feeling once and for all, but it’s all done. She’s already shoveled dirt on anything that still feels warm, cleaned up the litter, discarded anything that looks like a fall or puncture risk, double-checked the cleanup in the kitchen, and allowed herself one (1) handful of leftover hors d’oeuvres for lunch. They’re all returning to their normal schedules, whether that’s sleeping or just another night shift.

Muttering something about checking inventories to Della, Reggie heads for the ambulances with the wrong clipboards for the job and shuts herself in the first one. She feels like she’s about to bite something in half or scream or… have some other emotion that she really can’t approve, and she at least has the decency to hide that from the rest of the world.

OOC: Plotting, Questions, Chatter

[decaymod]

Happy Holidays all!!! Love you guys and once again thank you for playing in this world with me 🩵

Re: OOC: Plotting, Questions, Chatter

[toughleaf]

this is so cute thread with me everyone