[EVENT] On the first day of Christmas...

[vrdr_mods]

Winter has been drawing in for quite a while, and even here, Christmas is inescapable. What's going on?

The day before

Snow is falling... all around. It's a freezing cold evening, and the air is still—except for the blizzard outside. Will you stay home in the warmth, watching the snow fall and the frost form on the windows? Or will you head out into the whirling night? Visibility is next to nothing, but you'll probably be fine... as long as you don't go too far.

The next day

Snow has fallen! It lies everywhere you look, inches-deep, from Tokyo to Mikage-cho. The air is still, and the sky is a clear, wintry blue. Doesn't look like it's going to warm up any time soon. But that means a snow day. You'll be fine, as long as you wrap up warm. Do you want to make a snowman sledge, skate or ski? Waterways are frozen solid, and if you can get to the right store, you'll find the equipment you need. Or maybe you want to keep it closer to home, with snowmen tea-tray sleds and snow angels? Just try not to kill any rivals or near-rivals with a snowball.

Snow also drifts gently from the ceiling of the Velvet Room, fading before touching the floor. Festive, unseen sleigh bells clash unnervingly with the usual elegiac piano melody. Igor watches on with his trademark knowing smile—the festivities are just beginning....

In Iwatodai Mall, Inaba Shopping District, and Station Square, there are Jack Frosts around the place, along with chilly-looking Pixies, Onmoraki, and many other assorted demons. They have large sacks, or toolboxes, or planks of wood; they work merrily in hard hats, and whisper and giggle amongst themselves, and watch you as you pass. What could they be up to?

Christmas trees now stand in all the open spaces, hung about with baubles and lights. Illuminations are up, too, on every building, across every street, between streetlamps, you name it. More urban areas, like Tokyo or Sumaru, are as dazzling as you'd expect. But it isn't just the real world—all cognitive zones are suddenly hung with countless tiny lights as well. Probably not a good sign.... then again, the inhabitants seem strangely reluctant to fight you.

Comments

[midnightmaiden]

"It's not your fault. I just think it's really tasteless. Christmas isn't supposed to be..." She trails off for a second, then winces. "Well, I guess it is a romantic holiday for couples. And couples..." Nope. She stops herself, shaking her head. "Um! Anyway. Glad you agree, Senpai!"

[unfoggedlotus]

"It's almost like people should be able to consent to seeing sex-related things," he grumbles. "Anyway." Best way to get something bad out of your mind is distraction -- he learned that from Maruki. "How have you been doing here? I haven't seen you around much. Get into any fun adventures?" Another green bauble comes his way, and he dutifully passes it on to Sumi for a lower-hanging.

[midnightmaiden]

Kasumi gladly accepts the next bauble. A good way to keep herself busy in light of... that. Ugh. "Weeeell, I did end up getting stuck in a school that turned into a creepy tower. I got out, but for a while, it was like going through—" She stops herself. Shoot! Subtlety, Kasumi. "Um... Like one of those liminal space images, I guess? You see them online sometimes."

[unfoggedlotus]

"Oof. Sounds like something out of a nightmare. This whole place is kinda liminal, I guess." Has she been briefed about the Metaverse? No, Goro would've told her about it...Ren toys with a wire.

[midnightmaiden]

"It is, isn't it? Like all the people. They're so..." Hm. What's a good word for it? "It's like they're... um. I guess Futaba-chan would call them NPCs, huh?"

Well, at least Ren doesn't seem to realize she knows about the Metaverse. That, or he's just really good at hiding that he knows. Given what happened with Yusuke...

...No. That's a problem for future Kasumi! Right now, she is going to have a good time, darn it!

[unfoggedlotus]

"Cognitive places are like that," Ren observes. She mentioned Mementos, so Goro definitely told her. "How are you doing?"

[midnightmaiden]

"To be honest, not great..." She sighs, lowering her voice for the benefit of the Jack Frosts nearby. "There's this Shadow in Mementos, and... Well, he looked like Akechi-senpai, but he was so angry."

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren winces, dropping down a branch to sit upright in front of Sumi. "It especially hates me, apparently."

[midnightmaiden]

Kasumi winces. "It's really hard to imagine him hating his own boyfriend, but I guess it might be different in his world..." Her face falls. "Something happened to him that made him a Shadow. He says it has to do with Dr. Maruki, but that can't be right!"

She doesn't sound sure of herself, though.

It's no secret that 'Kasumi' is really Sumire. Ren and Akechi were both informed the day after Ren arrived in Tokyo and the day before Ren first set foot in the Metaverse. Her involvement in spying on the Thieves, the "Midnight Maiden," and everything else...

She still hasn't told Ren. A part of her naively hopes he hasn't realized, but she had to slip and mention Mementos.

[unfoggedlotus]

"There are several versions of us that aren't dating," Ren says, running the note about Maruki over his tongue carefully. There are things he wants to do today, and worrying about stuff back home isn't on that list. "We're the odd ones out, apparently."

[midnightmaiden]

"Hmm... But what about that conspiracy board? It had this little note about a 'fated connection.'" She giggles. The change of subject certainly isn't unwelcome. "Not that there can't be worlds where you aren't together, but it's pretty hard to imagine!"

[unfoggedlotus]

"There are a lot of crushes going around between different versions of us." Ren's grin goes just a liiiiittle shit-eating. "Wonder if you have any 'fated connection' out there?"

[midnightmaiden]

Oh, is that a blush? It's a blush, and she holds up her hands.

"Nope! Definitely not! ...I mean, I don't think so. Honestly, I've been so busy with my training, I haven't really had time to consider it."

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren chuckles. "Fair enough. Keeping up your training here?"

[midnightmaiden]

"As much as I can. I know that technically I won't have any meets while I'm here, but I can't afford to let my body get outta shape." But she can accept another lil' ornament from one of the Jack Frosts. Aww... "But what about you, Senpai? Anything fun happen lately?"

[unfoggedlotus]

"Just the woes of teenage motherhoood, mostly." He makes a gesture towards Aki-chan, who's currently buried over his head in snow a little ways away. "And trying to figure out why people keep getting de-aged."

[midnightmaiden]

Oh, goodness. He's so little. Kasumi covers her mouth, giggling. "Aww... He's so cute!" Just a tiny little guy. "But what do you mean by de-aged?"

[unfoggedlotus]

"Sometimes people here just get...vwooped to being younger. Not Akira-kun. He was five when he showed up." Ren makes a mental note that Sumi hasn't met Aki-chan yet. "Like...Magpie used to be Crow's age. And the other Ren was my age. And now they're tiny."

[midnightmaiden]

"Mag... oh, wait, that's right. There was a note on that big board about that. Different Akechi-senpai with different nicknames..." Okay. That checks out. She nods along. "So they just randomly turned into kids? ...How long have they been like that?"

tempting fate arent u there

[unfoggedlotus]

"Magpie turned into a kid during our Halloween ball, so...two months, almost? I think the other Ren turned more recently...it's almost like the place wants us to work through childhood trauma, or something."

Of which Ren has none of note. Nope, absolutely nothing. You hear him, powers-that-be? It would not be fun or productive to turn him into a kid.

[midnightmaiden]

"...Maybe there's some lesson he wants them to learn that they can only learn as kids? The man with the long nose, I mean." She hasn't spent a lot of time around him. To be honest, he's a little creepy, but still. It could happen. "I guess if you do turn small, you'll have your boyfriend to take care of you, but I guess he'd be pretty sad, since you'd be younger and probably wouldn't recognize him."

Plus, that means no boyfriend time.

[unfoggedlotus]

"Igor has a funny sense of humor," Ren nods. "Goro doesn't need more on his plate...he's already overworking with me here. And there's Raven."

[midnightmaiden]

"...Which one's Raven? I'm not caught up with all the different versions of him." Which is her own fault, admittedly, but she's been trapped in that creepy tower. She has an excuse!

[unfoggedlotus]

"The thirteen-year-old Goro," Ren replies.

[midnightmaiden]

"...Aw. Is he cute?" These are the important questions! She needs details. Details on the tiny senpai!