On December 1st, residents of the Velvet Room wake up to find the world outside transformed for the holidays. Lights have been strung in trees and along awnings; Christmas music plays in shops and busy squares, or, if you're in the area, blares at every hour from the top of the Tokyo Skytree for all around to hear, whether they like it or not. Some of the bundled-up cognitions that hurry through the cold are now laden with festive shopping bags, and others linger thoughtfully outside shop windows.

Jack Frosts dart around, pressing mugs of hot chocolate into your hands or perhaps performing small acts of mischief. Occasionally you might see a King Frost, or even a Black Frost if you're lucky (or unlucky?). Ponds and rivers have frozen over in the night, and someone—maybe one of the Jack Frosts—has set out benches and sets of ice skates. If there are no such convenient bodies of water, man-made ice rinks have been installed in public places, surrounded by booths selling hot drinks and towering, beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

But none of that matters too much. Because on December 1st, you might wake up to more than just holiday decor.

Igor and his attendants have, in their wisdom, malevolence, generosity, madness, or whatever you believe about their motives, seen fit to meddle with the ages of some of the residents. Maybe they've transformed you back into a helpless child or gangly adolescent. You might have no idea where you are—after all, you're just a child! The last thing you remember might be playing in your parents' home. Or perhaps you wake up to find wrinkles and joint pain you didn't have when you went to sleep. As far as your memory goes, you left the Velvet Room on November 30th, went home, and lived your life for twenty years, only to return now.

Or maybe your memory remains unaltered, with only your physical form changing. Or you might be one of the lucky ones who wakes up the same as they were when they went to sleep. In the latter case, good luck! You have an interesting month ahead of you. Especially since waking up unchanged on December 1st is not a guarantee that you'll stay that way...


[[[That's right: Coming this holiday season to a VRDR near you, an Age Fuckery event! To reiterate, this is an optional event where you can age your character up or down, giving them memories appropriate to that age or allowing them to remain cognitively the same, just in a different-shaped body. This event kicks off now, December 1st, though you can also have your characters age up or down later in the month if this doesn't work for you. The event ends on New Year's Eve; at the turn of the new year, everyone will transform back into themselves.]]]

Maybe you got a flyer from a Shadow earlier in the month and want to see what the Halloween party is all about. Or maybe you have no intention of going to the party, but Igor has other plans. However you end up in the Velvet Room's event room, whether you're able to leave or not, whether you're in costume or normal attire, the first thing that you notice is the decor.

( Spooky Time )

As the world within the Velvet Room welcomes its third autumn, the usual seasonal decor begins to appear: pumpkin- and black cat-shaped lights on light poles, spooky-colored banners, glowing lanterns with jack-o'-lantern faces strung above narrow streets.

And, of course, in the couple of weeks leading up to Halloween, Jack-O'-Lantern Shadows themselves appear, bobbing cheerfully on street corners as they hand out flyers once again. This year, the flyer, if you can call it that, appears to be hand-written in deep blue ink on vellum, and it is an invitation.


ALL ARE INVITED
TO COMPETE IN THE VELVET ROOM'S
HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST

HELD OCTOBER 31, HALLOWEEN
MIDDAY
THE VELVET ROOM EVENT ROOM

JUDGED BY ELIZABETH, THEODORE,
MARGARET, LAVENZA, AND IGOR

THE WINNER WILL BE INCLUDED IN
CONSULTATIONS FOR THE DECOR AND EVENTS
OF THE HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION
TO TAKE PLACE THE NIGHT OF HALLOWEEN


So that's happening.

Additionally, as Halloween approaches, some residents might wake up and find yourself transformed in a way that will be familiar to those residents who were here a year ago. You might gain the features of an animal, monster, or creature of myth—fangs, scales, horns, tails, snouts, and so on. Or you might take on the form of such a being entirely. Perhaps even your mind will be transformed. Who can say?

Those who transformed last year might repeat the same transformation, experience a variation on the same theme, or get something entirely different. The transformations will probably reverse on November 1st, but Igor makes choices for reasons only he can understand: For whatever reason, you might keep your altered form for a longer or shorter period of time.

Those who are transformed are still welcome to compete in the costume contest, of course! Igor and his attendants look forward to seeing your creativity in action.


[ooc: Welcome to part one of our third(!) Halloween event. The monster transformations are the same as before, with leeway for your characters to transform back whenever you want.

The costume contest will work as follows: If you want your character to compete, but don't believe that they have a chance to win, you can just tag that they're competing. No extra action needed. If you consider that they've put effort into their costume, it looks good, and in your opinion they do deserve a chance to win (and you want to help plan the Halloween party), please let the mods know on Discord or via DM on October 28th, 18:00 UTC at the latest. The winner will be chosen at random from among those entrants who have a shot, and we will write the Halloween party post with input from the player whose character won the contest.]

There's a new door in the Velvet Room, decked out in streamers and balloons and an ornate sign reading, Second Anniversary Celebration. Maybe you step through it. Maybe you think that's a bad idea, or you're too busy. Maybe you don't have a chance to see the door at all. Nonetheless, whether you've brought yourself or whether you've taken a step to find yourself transported against your will, you've found yourself in the party room.

Igor has provided the usual tables, chairs, and lavish spreads of food. This time, some of the food is already plated, with each tiny plate containing exactly two of an item: two cookies, or two canapes, or two dumplings, and so on. The forks for the fondue fountain are split, allowing you to dip two items at once, and every variety of mini-pizza has two toppings. The theme of twos extends to the decor: small tables set close together in groups of two, twinned streamers hanging from the walls, balloons shaped like the number 2 that cluster at the ceiling and float above tables. By the far wall, a shrine dispenses fortunes for the upcoming year in the Velvet Room—but, of course, always two at once. Who can say which is true? Is either true?

Unusually for Igor's parties, clusters of comfortable chairs sit a small distance from the rest of the party. You might be able to have something resembling a private conversation there. Even more oddly, ornately-framed full-length mirrors are set against the walls at regular intervals. If you're unlucky, the reason for those things will quickly become clear.

Everyone will receive a letter in their hand upon arriving in the room. In an elegant script, it says:

Welcome to the belated celebration of our second year together. We apologize for the delay, but we didn't wish to interrupt your summer vacation in Hawaii. We hope you had a wonderful time.

For some of you, the unlucky ones, the letter continues for another paragraph:

We're so proud of the bonds you have formed during your time here. To help you deepen them even more, we're encouraging you all to open up to each other today. Remember, candor and trust are key to deep, lasting relationships.

If you received the full-length letter, you only have to look down or catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror to spot it: one of your secrets, written on your chest for everyone to read.

It might hover there in glowing writing, or it might look like it was always part of the fabric, or it could look any other way that writing could manifest. Regardless, there it is, and nothing you do will hide it or get rid of it while you're in the room. If you cover yourself with a jacket or overshirt, the secret will appear on that instead. If you take off your shirt, it will reappear on your skin. If you try to hide, it will float over your head if necessary, visible to anyone who can see any part of you at all. It will only vanish from someone's sight if you yourself are completely hidden from them, and it will only disappear for good once you've left the room—but you might find that the door has disappeared.

Have a lovely time at the party, and as always, don't forget to bond with each other. That's why you're here, after all!


[[[Welcome to the anniversary mingle, but weird this time! To sum up, if you want one of your character's secrets to be revealed in a dramatic and involuntary way, you can optionally decide to write it on them during this event. You can also just have your characters hang out and gawk, point and laugh, try to comfort people, revel in their good luck that Igor let them keep their own secrets, eat the party food, etc.

The door will reappear for your characters whenever you want it to, or it might never vanish at all. That possibility is just there in case you want a reason for your character not to immediately run away.]]]