[OPEN] have a holly jolly what the hell.

[covenantal]

WHO: Yu Narukami & you! Guest starring various chore-friend appearances as they happen.
WHERE: All over the city,
WHEN: all throughout December.
WHAT: A little bit of solo log, a little bit of event prompts! There's non-event related prompts here if you like, but there's event stuff, too.
WARNINGS: A Narukami twin doing what the Narukami twins do best: being as ridiculous as possible at all times.

[ I. Some Nights I Stay Up ]

[ Throughout the month, only ever in the evenings after the sun has completely gone down, Yu makes his way to Peach Beach. He tries to keep it a secret, as much as he can; much as they've all discussed training together, for one reason or another, his natural tendency to seek solitude wins out time and time again.

He goes when there's enough moonlight to sit by. He sits on the sand, bundled up in a winter coat and earmuffs, and calls something. Someone, it feels more like.

Sometimes it's Kohryu, massive and majestic, twisting through the air and flickering bright silver in the moonlight. Lightning crackles in the great dragon's claws, or instead a gentle glow surrounds Yu himself. Sometimes it's Ishtar, soft and elegant and somehow strange, crackling with her own lightning or lighting up Yu with a different kind of glow. He works through all of his Personas, each in their turn, Sraosha and Mada cutting deep gouges in the sand or burning up the sky. The outcome, at least, is always the same (though Yu always tells himself it'll be different this time, this time he'll be careful):

Though it happens mostly with Sraosha, eventually, with all four of the things, people, creatures, selves he can now summon, eventually he just slumps to the sand. And the Persona will disappear in a shimmer of blue light.

Left to his own devices he eventually wakes up and takes his leave. But passing out this much probably isn't healthy, you know? ]

[ II. did you think of this terrifying asshole because i did ]

[ Well, anyway.

When not being secretive and dramatic things are pretty much as normal in Yu's life. The, you know, Unsurprising Shenanigans™ that are happening all over aside. As is usual for him, he seems almost completely unfazed by all (mostly all) of it. He ends up getting caught by the sneaky snatching garlands a few times, though his reaction just about every time is to blink once or twice, stare up at the garlands, and stare at the poor asshole what got tied up with him.

At the very least he ... seems to be keeping count? Because, depending on when you get entangled with him, he'll either remark a number -- are you four, or even five, aka: the fourth or fifth person to get stuck with him? -- or, if you're lucky contestant one and this is the very first time it's happening, he'll instead say: ]

Thanks for hanging out with me.

[ because He Gotta. ]

[ III. Santa Is Apparently His Name-O ]

A.

[ So, completely of his own accord (or ... poor luck?), Yu will end up roped into the Santa's Wonderland that's going on at the mall right now. He already went once with Anya and Karkat, and at random times he can be found wearing the reindeer antlers headband he acquired from that trip, but when he returns for actual gift shopping, antlers equipped, things just ... kinda happen.

Which is: Sir, Santa can't make it today and his replacement can't be reached! You look like you might be able to help us out -- please?!

So, you know.

100% independently of the fact that he ends up doing this for ReVA, you can find Yu sitting in Santa's chair in the middle of the mall, seemingly enjoying himself. I mean, he probably is? He's got a Santa beard on so it's hard to tell. He will absolutely not even once break character if you talk to him. Instead you just get a booming, surprisingly convincing: ]

Ho ho ho! And what do you want for Christmas this year, little one?

[ He calls you this regardless of your age. ]

B.

[ However this is also actually a chore he needs to do. So you can find Yu once again dressed as Santa, apparently having the absolute time of his life ruling the Santa's Wonderland court, but this time a poor unfortunate soul is with him, looking ADORABLE but also sort of like she doesn't know what to do with Yu doing a bang up job at convincing all comers that he really believes he is Santa Claus. As it turns out, she kind of honestly does not want to be here, but being the person she is, she'll smile politely, and mean it sincerely.

Doing Her Best™, she'll pipe up with: ]

"Um, hello everyone! Look who's... come down from the North Pole! It's... It's Santa! Please come tell him what you want or... have your picture taken with him...!"

[ IV. Jingle Bats, Jingle Bats, Jingle All The why is life like this ]

[ Mistletoe bats.

They'd be kind of cute, if they didn't start harassing you with Mariah Carey and flapping in circles around your head.

Given that they're mistletoe, it's not hard to figure out what they want. And for the first time during all the festivities, Yu is fazed.

Yu is really, really fazed. And throughout December he'll do the following things to escape the bats, every single one of them unsuccessfully:

1) Carry an umbrella, which he pops open when a bat appears and just kind of tries to ignore his increasingly persistent serenade.
2) Carry a stick, which really isn't effective at all in swatting the bat away. This usually just results in more bats.
3) Abruptly yell "Persona!" and actually try to destroy the bats with a huge terrifying manifestation of self, which also doesn't work but does result in a lot of off-key shrieking Mariah Carey once the bat(s) are frightened.
4) Run. Just ... literally run away. #bye #youreonyourown #saveyourself

Get stuck with him when all these options fail, and he'll look somewhere between wishing he was dead and like, vaguely apologetic. ]

... sorry, about ... [ offers a gesture encompassing "all of that," regardless of which option you saw him trying to take. ] Whatever you're comfortable with. [ A small smile then, an attempt to regain his chill. Is it working? ]

( ooc: please hit me up at izanagis or PM me for plotting or wildcard top levels! other top levels will probably go up for chores as needed, and you can feel free to tag in with any wildcard prompt you like! )

Comments

IV finally, it is our time to CR

[nachetanya]

[ Jesus Christ can I say she saw the persona exploding the bats leading to the Mariah because that's fucking hilarious holy fucking mcshit.

... But no she's uh... either way she's looking a little bit sheepish, the prosthetic left arm still at her side, but the real, right arm going behind her back. And given that the boy is surrendering like this...

Her lips quirk up a little. ]

Oh, you didn't want to kiss me that much?

[ . . . Natalia you have literally never met him other than to praise cats on the network. And you don't know this is him. And this wasn't about you. But I guess she's just like this. ]

I'M HERE, I'M READY

[covenantal]

[ honestly buddy live your dreams

The prosthetic arm doesn't really catch his attention - Noah is one of his closest friends, after all - but the girl herself does. Yu has the good grace to look sheepish, lifting one hand to rub at the back of his neck. ]

Ah... it's not you. I'm sure that if you wanted to, you wouldn't have any trouble at all finding someone who wanted to kiss you. [ A small smile. ] I was just ... that is, I'm not single, [ he explains, his smile turning apologetic. ] So I'd been hoping to avoid these situations, was all.

[nachetanya]

[ The smirk she has on shows no, no she would not and she totally knows it. But that smirk fades at the second part, replaced with a somewhat apologetic look of her own. Ah, that's right. Not everyone around her age is as undefined as she is. ]

Oh. You might be hassling them if you were to approach them with so many bats, though! I hope they're affectionate.

III B. why yu

[gunsandveggies]

[After Haru says her line while wishing the ground would just swallow her up, she turns back to Yu for his approval. Please say she did that right. Her cheeks hurt from putting on a smile so much here.]

[covenantal]

[ Double thumbs up, and a deep, Santa-y chortle. ]

You're doing just fine, Haru! Just fine.

[ how is his deep santa voice. is it cool. it's cool, isn't it. ]

ii what the hell is that

[unenvied]

[WHY, YU, WHY.

...

Yeah, Bruno's just going to groan. HE'S STUCK, AND HE'S STUCK WITH SOMEONE WHO MAKES PUNS.]

it's from nightmare before christmas and it just wants to give you a nice hug!!!

[covenantal]

[ because.

he's gotta.

Yu will offer a somewhat sheepish and yet somehow not ashamed at all half-grin. ]

Is something the matter? You seem hung up on something.

I

[maskreant]

[ Peach beach is no foreign land to him and the rest of the Persona group, so they have to bump into each other at some point. Today is that fated day where Akira heads to the beach late, but notices the familiar Persona from the distance during his little trip. When he gets there, Yu is already out like a light...

So he's going to bury his legs in the sand. Let's pile a bit of whatever snow he can, too. Pat, pat. ]

why are you like this, as a person.

[covenantal]

[ you know.

he's a good person. he does nothing to warrant getting attacked like this.

It's just as Akira is putting the final touches on his work of art that Yu will offer: ]

You did a pretty nice job.

[ How long has he been awake, just kinda ... chilling on the sand, letting this happen? ]

iii a

[elevelvetor]

[ Oh my. Elizabeth stares for a moment, then lays a hand on her cheek and seems to very seriously consider his question... ]

...Wings. I'd like wings.

[ liz please choose something people can actually get you ]

[covenantal]

Wings? Why, those aren't any trouble at all for Santa, little one!

[ why.

anyway one of the semi-terrified elves goes scurrying off somewhere. Will Elizabeth actually get her wish...? ]

IV

[burningblossoms]

[Well, this was not really what she expected to happen when she'd heard Yu yelling over the sound of Mariah Carey. It wasn't what she expected at all, when Sraosha or some other magnificent monster appeared in her field of vision.

But here she is...standing next to him, surrounded by a singing swarm of bats...]

...are you sure the Persona didn't make things better? I could try...

[covenantal]

[ look he's doing his best

even if he looks kind of like he wants to die. ]

I haven't had much luck getting rid of them no matter what I try... but you're welcome to give it a shot. [ a somewhat wan smile. he's trying. he's dying but he's trying. ]

/slams down IV

[redarm]

[Noah was walking home from...idk, somewhere, when he came across the view of Yu trying to swat away a bat with a giant stick. He watches for a moment, like one would watch a trainwreck- before calling out]

You okay, Yu?

[covenantal]

Yes, [ he says, rather stiffly, swatting at the bat once more.

Even connecting with a solid hit just sends that one bat flying, but another quickly takes its place. Yu looks ... a little exasperated, to say the least. ]

... Noah, save yourself.

IV

[imaginex]

... Oh, you're like Yukiko-san!

[Yep, that's Sakura's major observation as she watches Yu attempt to DEATH his escort of bats. Hers are much more behaved - all six just chilling on top of her head and shoulders like cute little song birds, though there's a ripple in there glossy green leaf!wings now that there's a target.

But uh, seeing as Yu's bats have the shrieking down, they'll just... stay where they are.]

Is that your... um, Persona, right?

[covenantal]

[ Yu kind of blinks over his shoulder at her, because--

1) she isn't surprised?

2) she's seen yukiko's persona?

3) she's cOVERED IN BATS

--but his blinking is quickly ruined by bats Sensing Weakness and converging upon him. Yu vanishes in a small whirlwind of mistletoe and Mariah Carey.

Well. In all the commotion, his Persona (this time Mada) vanishes. They're both at the mercy of their bats, now. ]

JOHN EGBERT | CHORE 3 (dog or cat sit for a local resident/walk the animal shelter dogs)

[covenantal]

They can be pretty rowdy, at times.

[ The Holidaisies, equipped with flower crowns, are at the shelter this afternoon. Yu hasn't been here too much of late, like the other college-aged volunteers, thanks to finals. But he's here!! now!! it's fine, probably!! he has one last final tomorrow and he's just kind of Over It.

(he's been studying for two weeks already and is wildly overprepared so you know what he's living his life.)

Either way, the shelter is grateful as always for the help, and now Yu and John are in the back gathering the dogs from all their kennels. They're all SUPER EXCITED and will jump and attempt to lick, for the most part. ]

[windeity]

[John's 100% not even bothered. He's mostly sorry he doesn't have enough hands to pet all of these dogs but he has a decent grip and it's easy to hold all of their leashes as Yu and John start clipping them on one by one. His flower crown's perfectly perched in his hair and he grins over at Yu when the other boy speaks up. John's finished the worst of his finals at least and he's in full holiday mode by now.]

That's kind of just a dog thing isn't it? [One of the dogs actually jumps high enough to lick his chin and he laughs, pushing at the dog's face before clipping on his leash.] I would be excited if I were them, too.

SOUJI NARUKAMI | CHORE 2 (serve soup at a local soup kitchen)

[covenantal]

Oh no, no, [ Yu tells a patron as he ladles out soup, smiling. ] I'm Kris Kringle. He's Saint Nick.

[ they've been switching names all afternoon let's be real

Of course when the twins went to go help out at the soup kitchen, they had to do it in Christmas style. So they're here in identical Santa suits and Santa hats and, well, they HAD beards, but couldn't keep them on for health and safety reasons. But they still look festive enough, don't they?

Yes. Yes they do. ]

Isn't that right, Nick?

[ Handing over the bowl, grinning back at his twin. ]

[tarotcards]

You’re quite right, Kris.

[ souji smiles back at yu as he hands out his own bowl of soups ]

Have you ever wondered how Santa were able to deliver all those presents over the world in a night? Well, it wouldn’t have been possible without my good twin brother here.

[ he then places one finger up to his mouth and winks ]

But keep it a secret, okay? Don’t want to ruin the magic.

PEKOYAMA KAGUYA | CHORE 2 (be a bell ringer or a present wrapper at a local store)

[covenantal]

[ So, Yu, working regularly at the hospital like he does, has come to know the local hospital administration pretty well. And when the time comes for a chore that requires being a bell ringer or a present wrapper...

He manages to get permission from the hospital to be a bell ringer for them. So he and Peko have set up shop in front of the Towers, a high-traffic area with holiday fervor in full swing, with a hospital-branded donation bucket and a pair of bells each. ]

Thanks for agreeing to this, [ he'll murmur to Peko as they finish getting set up. ] The hospital means a lot to me.

[saburai]

It is not a problem.

[ It's not the charity she would've chosen - she does a lot of volunteering with the animal shelter, so she probably would've raised money for them if left to her own devices - but it didn't seem worth arguing over. ]

Though, I do not know how much money we will succeed in raising as it is. Most people are understandably off-put by panhandling.

IV Jingle motherfucking bats wildcard

[youraffection]

[ Because does Yosuke need a reason to walk around Recolle and run into his boyfriend? No, no he doesn't. Because he's not running into Yu at all, they're just being two cool guys walking down the street in search of some Christmas decorations for his party. Yu agreed to help and Yosuke just wants more reasons to hang around the other boy. (Six months, man, they've gone by so fast.)

So there they are, being totally innocuous as Yosuke laughs a little too loudly at something cute and/or ridiculous Yu has said, when he starts to hear the familiar flutter of wings...and that damn song. ]

--They're back!

[ There's definite panic in his voice. Why are you so afraid, Yosuke. ]

[covenantal]

[ It's fine. If Yosuke hadn't, then Yu would have been the one to find an excuse to spend time together. Just being with Yosuke makes him feel happier, even if they're not doing anything special.

Which they're not, really. Just shopping, laughing together over stupid stuff. Until the bats, anyway. For once, Yu doesn't freak out about them, even when one lands on his hair. In fact, he seems a little relieved as he rolls his eyes skyward like he can see his new attachment. ]

I'm sort of getting used to them, at this point.