#the ''parents'' are volunteers who like a good fight and to spread crustus cheer to kids

[lollytea]

Similar to the Grom event, a lot of Boiling Isles holidays are invented around the defense against various beasts, many of which are dormant all year round and only cause havoc on one special night.

It's called a Crustustious Carbuncle, a leaking, boil infested, mucus drooling creature that ventures all around the Isle on the eve of what they call Crustus. Its diet involves the chewy underdeveloped organs of children. Years of magical training toughens the tissue up which upsets the Carbuncle's stomach, so they can only eat it when it belongs to the very young.

They have an innate sense of smell and can catch the scent of a kid from miles away. You can't hide your children. You can only guard them.

The Boiling Isles, a morbidly festive world, has made Crustus Eve a highly anticipated holiday. On that night, parents happily tuck their children into bed before heading outside the house, wielding staffs, prepared to stand on guard all night until the creature appears.

It's quite the social event. If it happens to be in a close knit community where all the houses are clustered together, it's common for the groups of parents to throw outdoor parties while they wait. Since they could be here for hours after all. Relatives will usually gather from different towns to clump all their children in the same house so brothers and sisters and cousins can fight the monster together. It's a traditional bonding experience. Practically the norm for this holiday. ("Oh you're not coming home for Crustus Eve this year? Hm. Okay. I see how it is 😒")And then once it's defeated, that leaves the rest of the night and the morning to party some more.

The exciting part of Crustus for the kids is the presents. Specifically, the toys and candy and other fun objects that the monster has spent the last year gathering as a honey trap to lure out children. It keeps them stored in a large pouch of skin on its throat.

When the beast encounters a hoard of ferociously protective witches, it is promptly beaten within an inch of its life. Gifts are spit out with every pummel and blast of magic like the world's most revolting piñata. It's common courtesy not to kill the thing completely, so it gets the chance to retreat and try again elsewhere. And then other parents will get a turn to wallop it.

The vomited up gifts are then cleaned up and wrapped by the parents and presented to the giddy kids the next morning, as they tell the story of how the the fight against the Carbuncle went this year.

Do you want to hear my silly headcanons about whatever the fuck Christmas-adjacent holiday they're celebrating here?

[uncleasriel]

via @lollytea

#if youre wondering how children with no parents handle things#there are kids shelters for this kind of thing specifically#the ''parents'' are volunteers who like a good fight and to spread crustus cheer to kids#it is king's favourite holiday btw#he lies in bed with his stuffed animal and giggles excitedly knowing Eda is down there going apeshit#if youre wondering what it was like for hunter as a kid#belos made him fight the thing himself#since it was ''his fault'' it started showing up at the castle. his stupid child smell

Do you want to hear my silly headcanons about whatever the fuck Christmas-adjacent holiday they're celebrating here?

[drachenfalter]

(From the tags:) #if youre wondering how children with no parents handle things#there are kids shelters for this kind of thing specifically#the ''parents'' are volunteers who like a good fight and to spread crustus cheer to kids

So, I might have just written a quick one-shot inspired by this...

Do you want to hear my silly headcanons about whatever the fuck Christmas-adjacent holiday they're celebrating here?