[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

[cybermask]

Wow, she was really cool. "I'm sure you'll be able to pick it back up soon. It's impressive you can do what you can. Don't force yourself. I've hit slumps before." She gave her a smile.

[midnightmaiden]

"Thanks! I know I can do this. It's just a matter of getting my body to move the way I need it to. It's been kinda difficult, but I'm doing my best to whip it back into shape." She pauses. "...Though I guess I could stand to take it easy sometimes. I don't want to overwork myself, either."

[cybermask]

She nodded. "Sometimes you have to take a break and do something different. Round out your stats." She gave her a grin.

"What other hobbies do you have? Maybe you can focus on those."

[midnightmaiden]

Other... hobbies? Kasumi taps her cheek with her index finger. That's... hm.

"Well, I have been cooking a lot. I need to stick to a super strict diet in order to perform well, but... hm." Dang it. "I guess that's still related to gymnastics, huh?"

[cybermask]

She nodded, "yep, if you are still thinking about it, then you aren't really taking a break. You've got to let your mind relax enough to be able to come back able to do more."

"Have you played any video games before?"

[midnightmaiden]

"A little, but it's not something I do very often. Usually I'm so busy training, or working on assignments." The life of an honor student! It's quite an arduous one, really.

[cybermask]

She smiled, "Then you should play with me some time! It would give your mind a break from everything going on. No training or assignments, just fun time to relax." She tapped their mugs together.

[midnightmaiden]

"Well, I can't promise I'll be any good, but there's a first time for everything!" So, why not? It'd give her something to do that isn't fretting over that one Akechi... And Futaba is pleasant to be around, even with recent events complicating things back home.

[cybermask]

"You don't have to worry about being good, it's having fun that's the important part. You can't be good at something you don't enjoy anyways." She laughed. She didn't know why Kasumi thought she had to be good at everything, Goro got like that too. They really didn't need to be.

[midnightmaiden]

"Sorry! Force of habit. I'm so used to having to maintain peak performance, since it's how I get to keep my honors status..." But gaming's different. Kasumi knows that, of course, but she's just so used to competition! ...Would that bleed into gaming, too? Huh.

[cybermask]

"I think if you are that worried about it, you should try and relax the best you can. Worrying too much will make you fail at what you need to do, or at least not do it as well as you can." Futaba smiled at her. There were several different kinds of games they could play, competitive, co-op, solo. Out of those, co-op would probably be the best, Kasumi seemed like she needed a friend.

[midnightmaiden]

"Hmm... Well, you're the expert! I guess that makes you my gaming senpai, huh?" At least Kasumi's taking it with a smile. It is nice to just talk to a version of Futaba without things being so strange. And strained, for that matter.

[cybermask]

She was immediately very flustered, "Oh, you don't need to call me that. I'm just someone who wants to hang out. There's no need for honorifics."

She didn't really think of being called that ever, by anyone... Ren was the exception but she was glad he never had.

[midnightmaiden]

"Okay, if you're sure, Futaba-chan!" Oops. "I mean... Futaba?" Not using an honorific feels weird. She's just so used to being polite!

[cybermask]

She smiled, she liked hearing that. "Yeah, I'm sure." She was getting to like Kasumi glad that she was making a new friend. "We can play a co-op game that way we are working for the same goal."

[midnightmaiden]

"Ooh! Is that different from multiplayer?" Co-op implies cooperation, but multiplayer can probably be that, too? She... really needs to know more about gaming, haha. The terms are still a little foreign.

[cybermask]

"It's a form of multiplayer. There's co-op, competitive, and the best way to describe it is side by side. co-op is where we work for the same goal, competitive is pretty straight forward, and side by side is things you can do together but you don't have to rely on each other."

[midnightmaiden]

"Wow. And I bet that's barely scratching the surface..." She's seen other types of games. Those dancing ones seem pretty fun, at least. "Well, I'll just have to trust your judgment! You know better than me."

[cybermask]

She grinned, "yeah! Co-op seems the best, do you like simulators?" she asked, "there's a few, like farming, fishing, cooking, there's even some cleaning ones."

[midnightmaiden]

"They make video games about cleaning?" That's... oddly specific, and kind of strange. "I'm surprised. It's kind of mundane, isn't it? And I know a lot of the really popular games are more colorful, like Super Marco Universe..." She at least knows some games, even if she's not super experienced.

[cybermask]

"It's meant to be relaxing, you go at your own pace and are able to see the satifaction of it being done without needing the mental and physical energy to actually do it. It doesn't mean it's lacking in color though! Super Marco Universe has a lot of color and is high paced, it's meant to grab and hold your attention, which is why if you listen to the music it's made to help you focus." That was probably a lot for Kasumi but it was easy for Futaba to get lost talking about it.

[midnightmaiden]

"Wow. I knew music was important to games, but I didn't realize it was so in-depth..." Don't mind the wide-eyed interest here. Futaba's clearly talking about things she's passionate about, which is good! "You really are an expert, Futaba-chan!"

[cybermask]

Oh she kind of went on an on about that, whoops. "I just been playing them for as long as I can remember. I get really into things that I like and research a lot about the game and it's development so I have some passing knowledge."

[midnightmaiden]

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being passionate! It's a great way to show your knowledge and skill." She smiles big and bright, hopefully trying to add a little extra reassurance.

[cybermask]

She had a nice smile. It was sweet being with her. "Thanks! I'm sure you've got things you are passionate about too, I'd like to hear about them once we get your mind to rest for a little while! That's got to be priority number one."