Baby it's cold outside [mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: 23.12.2018-30.12.2018
Characters: Open!
Note: Timeline behind cut at the bottom of the post!

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23-24th December
With the schools out for Christmas, and the last few days of Christmas shopping closing in, there really is no escaping it now. Everyone but the best prepared is rushing to finalise the last little bits. Excitement is gathering as the shortest day of the year comes and goes.

The weather reports for Christmas are standard: grey, with light showers and patches of sun. As usual, a high chance of snow was predicted at the beginning of the month, but as the day approaches it has changed back to the more seasonal and typical (if less picturesque) weather: rain. But, with days to go, that suddenly changes again, as the weather reporters talk about the sudden turning of an artic wind, bringing with it sub zero temperatures, and maybe, just maybe, a white Christmas.  Temperatures drop to -5c during the day and -10c overnight, particularly cold for this part of the world.  On the morning of Christmas Eve, with less than 24 hours notice, the snow begins, falling lightly at first, and then heavily. By lunch time, the south east, including Mossgate, is a foot deep in snow and chaos has spread. Just a covering of snow is enough to cause panic, with infrastructure and transport unequipped to deal with it, and this is unexpected and heavy, and there has been no time to prepare. The trains have given up, promised refunds, and stopped. The busses have also all but stopped, and in Mossgate town centre just one or two an hour are running to the villages to ferry home those still stuck in town. Gatwick airport, which is having it's worst year since the ash clouds in 2010, has also officially given up and closed, redirecting flights to Stansted or Birmingham. Just after midnight, even the motorways close, and the smaller roads are unpassable much earlier. Panicked shoppers, trying to grab supplies for the unexpected weather, are being shooed out of stores early so that coworkers have a chance of getting home before the last transports stop. And it's still snowing. By nightfall there's almost two feet of snow, an almost unprecedented amount, and the news is talking about the possibility of powercuts and disruptions to water supplies. Sure enough, around 8PM, a powercut hits Mossgate and the surrounding area, wiping out the last of the Christmas cheer in the town centre as the festive lights go black – along with everyone's houses.

Christmas Day
Christmas morning opens to fresh, white snow all around, picture post card beautiful, and small showers keep it fresh looking for most of the day no matter how many snow angels, snowmen and igloos are built. That's probably little compensation for those stuck: the news is full of heartfelt stories of the struggle to get home for Christmas, and of locals in towns and cities along the southeast welcoming people stuck into their homes for Christmas. While the power is back on in Mossgate town centre by about midnight, the surrounding areas, including Moss Manor village, are still without power, with the word from the electricity board that it's unlikely to be fixed anytime soon. Neighbours with gas cookers and stove tops suddenly become the most popular people around (but at least with the temperatures outside dealing with food from the fridge and freezer is relatively easy).

In Moss Manor, the church hall, which has both a gas cooker and gas heating, is opened up for those who are unable to stay in their own homes. People are invited to bring along what food they have to share and join in with a community Christmas. The community feeling is only shattered when the power comes back on at 5:20PM, just before the repeat of the Queen's Speech on BBC2 and Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1 start. A short but fierce battle ensues over which to show on the big screen. With moments to go, Pat Marsh puts her foot down and casts the deciding vote for Strictly, promising that she'll show the Queen's Speech from iPlayer directly afterwards.

As if that isn't enough, Mossgate and it's surroundings have one other surprise waiting for them on Christmas morning. Father Christmas has been through the entire council area, and apparently not one single person has been good. Every fire place has been decorated with traditional stockings full of neatly wrapped coal, one stocking for each member of the family. For those who don't have a fireplace, the oven has been selected as a replacement, and the stockings hang merrily from the oven door instead. If it's a prank, it's seen as bad taste, especially in homes with small children, but it's also generally agreed that given the weather it's rather backfired (not that anyone still has a coal fire but still).

25th-30th December
The snow finally stops overnight on Christmas evening/Boxing Day morning, but it remains cold, the temperatures only picking up at the weekend. Between the remaining snow and the ice formed where it melts, transport remains awful, with the connections to the villages particularly bad. Due to the Highspeed line, the trains from Mossgate to London are back up and running by the 27th, but other routes take days to be cleared. Likewise, the motorways are at least traversable by the 26th, but some smaller roads are still unaccessible until the weekend. Food supplies are slow to come through, and when the stores reopen on Boxing Day after Christmas closures, the shelves are immediately stripped bare again, especially of essentials such as bread and milk (although anything and everything is subject to panic buying, up to and including shampoo).

All of this chaos doesn't stop some people going out to the Boxing Day sales, with queues forming outside Next, which has advertised it's traditional early opening times of 6AM, despite the cold and the snow (and the fact that they don't actually manage to open until almost 7 due to lack of staff).

But as the temperatures rise back to a seasonal temperature in the single figures, things start to return to normal in time for the count down to New Years.

Timeline:

• 24th: Heavy snow starts unexpectedly in the morning
• Transport is badly affected
• A powercut hits the Mossgate area at around 8PM
• Power is returned to Mossgate town by midnight, the villages including Moss Manor won't have power until well into the 25th

• 25th: Stockings appear overnight for each member of the family in every home containing coal
• Moss Manor church hall is opened to the community
• Moss Manor and the other villages have no power until 5PM

• 26th-29th: Panic buying and lack of supplies affects food availability
• The snow continues to affect transport

• 30th: Temperatures return to normal for the time of year (0-10c)

Comments

OTA

[iamnotgod]

The 24th: For the Flat; The events of the whole day up until the power goes out are observed with wry amusement - he wouldn't speculate out loud that the weather is tied to whatever directed the spiders, birds, and poppies, but he's in no position to dismiss the notion either. Apart from intense texting with his family - both to assure them he's alright and to eke out much the same from them - the whole affair is rather low-key.

And then the power cuts out, and Walter's not happy at all. When no Echo immediately hits, he's only slightly mollified.

The 25th: [Network]

[Walter holds up one of the coal-filled stockings.]

I'm not sure if this is gift-giving or mockery. No one's happened to have caught any traces of how these were dropped off, have they?

[The power being back is a relief, but he's still not best pleased.]

26th-30th: Mossgate and Environs; Regardless of the rest of the madness, Walter's glad he doesn't have to worry about shopping.

Though the fact that both residents of the flat need less to eat hasn't escaped his notice or his concern...

He does spend time outside, as well - just well-bundled.

Dec 25 [Network]

[lovedramamoron]

No hint. And I looked all around the house.

Re: Dec 25 [Network]

[iamnotgod]

[Tenderly laying down the coal-filled stocking so it won't spill, Walter turns his attention quickly back to the feed.]

Would you say there's no way to test these for fingerprints, either?

[Because, well, they are stockings. He's been trying not to handle them too much in any case.]

Network

[fairfeste]

I don't think I've been that bad.

[it's... a joke, but delivered in a way that makes it very difficult to tell. Feste is like that.]

[Video]

[iamnotgod]

[Walter smiles wryly.]

Perhaps we all fell in the same range of 'bad' this year, if we're judging by that route?

network

[brofistsforall]

You too, huh?

Text, or Video?

[iamnotgod]

[Walter nods.]

And Russell. And the entirety of Mossgate town, judging by the news.

And no one's got even a hint as to how it was done.

24th - flatnanigans

[spaghettimonster]

[He's been messing around online, wrapping up a few last gifts, and getting off the phone with his mum. They'd had plans to meet up with his mum the next morning, for presents and breakfast and some general family time, but those are going on pause until they're sure the snow will slow enough for the roads to be plowed.

And then the lights go out, accompanied by the solid silence of fridge and computer fans and other electronics going quiet together.]

Ughhhh. Hey, Walter?

[Russell cracks his door open, glances out into the hall.]

Is there any chance you've got too many things on, and it tripped the circuit breaker?

[Slim chance, he knows.]

Re: 24th - flatnanigans

[iamnotgod]

[Russell just gets this face as a response. And then, eventually:]

No.

[Internally, he's trying to make himself focus on emergency procedures - don't open the fridge except for necessities, though the cold temperatures do help, ways to improvise battery charge-

But he's still floundering, and that's equally clear in how Walter's holding himself.]

25th Dec, Voice

[dragoonrouge]

Everyone at home got coal too. I think it's the same person who did the stuff at Halloween.

Also, we might have someone who is actually Father Christmas in town and it certainly wasn't him who did this.

[Voice]

[iamnotgod]

[This may be an audio reply, but Walter's rubbing his head in aggrievement.]

Not sure if this counts as seeing him or not, but he's very not welcome here!

[Sadie's other remark, however, catches his interest.]

What makes you say that?

[He hasn't gone to see that Mall Santa; something may have slipped by him.]

[Audio] Network - 25th evening

[vernal_miss]

[Although her voice lacks the same spirited energy she displayed in previous times meeting, Nel certainly cannot pass up the chance to add her two cents to the matter of the coal and stockings.]

Whoever it was is being very mean to Father Christmas. I didn't see how they did it, but they should feel awful!

Re: [Audio] Network - 25th evening

[iamnotgod]

[The energy - or lack thereof - in Nel's reply doesn't escape Walter's notice, but he'll respond to her in turn first.]

I hope that they do too, Nel.

... Now, are you all right?

25th

[catted]

No observations here.

All I can supply is that whoever put them there knew exactly how many people are living in every household, and that cats don't mind their presence, or alternatively didn't notice them.

23rd Of December

[warped_replica]

Having stopped by to deliver his presents to the Moore household before his work shift at the warehouse, he makes a point to swing by the flat on his way home in the evening following a text exchange to get approval.

Benjiro knocks before he opens the front door of the flat, letting himself inside to the warmth of the home. Toes put to heels, he steps out of his shoes but keeps his backpack on to keep the presents out of sight a little longer. Stepping in from the doorway, he’ll look for Walter and smile when he sees him, “こんばんは!”

OTA

[lovedramamoron]

December 24,Mid-Morning:
With the snow just starting to fall, Jimmy bundles himself up and goes out to explore. After an hour or so he stops by a cafe for a hot drink, but doesn't linger long before he's out again to watch the snow coming down. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen this much.

December 24, Early Afternoon:
On the way home Jimmy has the misfortune of walking past a house with a roof heavy with snow just as the snow falls off the eaves. He is unexpectedly buried under a pile of snow.

December 25, Afternoon ,Moss Manor Church Hall
With the power out at home, Jimmy didn't have any reason not to accompany his host family to the church hall. He spends much of the time looking around at the festivities with interest and asking questions about the ones he didn't recognize. What was Strictly Come Dancing anyway?

December 26-30
For the most part Jimmy stays at his host family's house. Fortunately the Christmas festivities meant that the house was well supplied with food, even if it means eating leftovers for several days. He focuses on his writing, and trying not to think about what he had experienced these last few days.

Occasionally he checks for messages from the other numbered, and goes outside for short walks.

24th December, early Afternoon

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie was really rushing to deliver the last of her gifts now in the increasingly bad weather, she'd almost rather take the spiders over this, at least then she'd be warm. Brits were just not made for this sort of weather.

As if to exemplify her mental point, Sadie watched wide-eyed as the snow on the roof of a house a little further down the road starts to slide off the tiles and plummeting down onto someone walking along the pavement.

"HEY! WATCH OUT!" Sadie shouts though it does no good as the person becomes buried underneath the fallen snow. "Shit!"

Running forward, she drops her bag and starts digging through the snow. "Hey, I'm going to get you out alright?!"

Dec 25th - TV time

[spaghettimonster]

After the roads cleared enough to head out, Russell made his way visit his mum - but the power was out there too, and would be for quite a while longer than than the flat. But given his inconsistent habits of cleaning, and the compromised aesthetic filling the common areas, he hardly wanted to invite her back there. It was a stroke of luck when, hardly fifteen minutes into her thoughtful ramble about where they should go, one of the neighbors came by to tell them about the gathering starting up at the Moss Manor church hall.

It means he's around when the power comes back on, around when the quick vote ends with entertainment rather than the queen's speech, and around when Jimmy asks the people around him what Strictly Come Dancing is anyway.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Russell gushes from a nearby seat, shifting to ensure he'll have a good view. "A reality show, of course, but it's competitions of ballroom dancing, latin dance... those quick graceful sorts, all in elegant costumes."

OTA

[dragoonrouge]

24th December. She's made a list, she's checking it twice.

Sadie is a young woman on a mission to deliver the presents she's bought to some of the other Numbered, those she's most familiar with and certain that she can track down. Bundling up warm, she pulls on her rucksack and double-checks the list of names. Considering the weather it was probably best to start in moss Manor and make her way back towards home;

To Deliver:

Mary and Nel
Ben
Sam
Chad
Russell
Walter and Jim
Kitty
Prof P

25th December. It's Chriiiisssstttmaaasssssssss

Sadie is determined to spend the entire rest of the season indoors. With her cats. In bed. Having experienced true winter temperatures for the first time yesterday, she is highly unimpressed that they have persisted. Worse though is the coal in the stocking, bringing that bald man to the forefront of her thoughts again. Was he behind this? How did this person get into her house?

Sadie's going to be mucking about on the Network to try and work off some of the tension caused by the coals appearance so that she can examine it.

Sleep will not be forthcoming as her nightmares from October make a return with wonderful new slants to then thanks to more recent memories.

Boxing Day and Beyond...

Sadie is out and about almost immediately once the poor weather lets up a bit, grabbing some much-needed food shopping, and then taking herself off to check on her friends. Just in case.

24th. Should this be a joint thread w/Russell?

[iamnotgod]

Walter's staying in today, so assuming she makes it to their flat sometime in the afternoon, she'll be greeted at the door.

"Sadie? What brings you here?"

Though perhaps he can guess...

23rd (as discussed)

[warped_replica]

Rather than waiting until Christmas Eve with the knowledge that Sadie would be out for a fair portion of the day and with consideration to his last shift before the holiday requiring him to travel to Mossgate, he leaves early to drop by her home a couple hours before he is due at the warehouse. A brief text conversation gives his girlfriend forewarning of his intended arrival and secures permission to drop by with her gift.

Once he does arrive dressed in his work clothes and a hoodie, he hikes the rather large cardboard box topped with a bow to rest balanced on his shoulder with one hand easily while knocking with the other. When the door opens, he smiles and waves with his free hand before he reaches to bring that box back down from his shoulder to turn it in such a way that he can fit it through the doorway, "Good morning! And Merry Christmas!" Of course, he has his backpack on with a few smaller gifts intended for her family as well.

24th

[runs]

Sadie doesn't find Kitty when she tries to deliver her presents. The girl isn't to be found anywhere around town.

When she comes home and goes to her room, however, she'll find that someone turned all her pillows, her blanket, and anything else that is soft into a nest on her bed, and that Kitty has curled up inside said nest, only a part of her face poking out from the pile of softness. She's spent ours out there, and it's really cold out there, so she's both exhausted and cold. ...Was cold, at least. She's warmed back up by now. Still sleeping very firmly, though.

[vernal_miss]

23rd and 24th
Barely clear of her Numbered slumber by a day, the deepening chill in the air outside the home creeps inwards and forces Nel away from the outer walls of the home to keep sufficiently warm to ward off another bout of induced sleep. Still suffering from a lingering drowsiness so close to the solstice, she contents herself with small activities using crafts to keep her hands moving and keep her attention focused. A ball of yarn and a plastic loom keep her occupied for several hours in fact. Generally she stays curled up on the couch bundled in a blanket with a cat sharing, out where she can stay with family and amongst activity. She does nod off now and again, but she's easily roused.

At least, until the power goes out in the evening. As the warmth slips away from the home, so too goes her consciousness despite bundling up like her siblings and keeping close to someone. Trapped under sleep, she does respond the way someone in a natural deep sleep does, but there's no reaching her while the cold surrounds them.

25th
The Tilly family has their traditions, so when she awakens in the morning at the church hall, Nel is quite confused by the change in locale. Grateful for the warmth, she'll stay clinging to her family for the most part, but in the early afternoon she makes her way to a window to sit and look out at the snow with her head resting against the glass. She can see where other children are at play. Nel has never seen so much snow in her life, and to not be able to enjoy the deep white covering the ground even for a few minutes is disheartening.

Once power is restored and she returns home with her family, her spirits improve with the chance to give her gifts to them.

26th to 30th
While the cold holds on, Nel remains indoors. Thankfully she has many ways to amuse herself, including keeping the household fresh catnip supply stocked, her lovely gifts from the holiday, and a demanding sewing project of piecing together scraps of material to make a new blanket for covering her bed. A new layer certainly would add to the warmth.

27th

[fairfeste]

Like the rest of the family, Feste is damn well making sure that Nel stays warm, since that seems to be the cure to... whatever was going on with her. Numbered stuff, they figured. They hoped that they didn't wind up melting in the rain or something like that. It seems really inconvenient.

Nel may or may not be fine at the moment, but Feste comes over to wrap a blanket around here anyway while she plays with one of the cats. "You doing ok?" they ask, sitting next to her, wherever that may be.

25th

[catted]

Mary Ann rolls her eyes when people argue that they should watch the Queen instead of Strictly Come Dancing and leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Seriously?

Nel, Feste," and then follow the names of her other children, "if there's a vote, you will vote for Strictly, all right?" Not that she thinks that she has to ask. But better to be safe than sorry.