[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

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!

[unfoggedlotus]

"Haven't you met him...? But yeah. He's very cute. Very chuuni. But in a good way."

[midnightmaiden]

Oh dear. A sheepish smile takes form, and she titters unsteadily. "There's a lot of people I haven't met. I... kinda got stuck somewhere after the Halloween party." Oops.

[unfoggedlotus]

Ren doesn't have a good answer for that. "...You really must've."

[midnightmaiden]

Kasumi can't help but pout a little. "In my defense, that place is like a maze! ...And I didn't know I'd get stuck. I just figured I'd be able to turn around and leave the way I came, but then I couldn't."

[unfoggedlotus]

"Cognitive places are like that."

His voice is flat and neutral.

[midnightmaiden]

"Oh, are you used to this, Senpai?" Feigning ignorance like a pro? Well, maybe. She's doing her best! "I guess you have been here longer than me..."

[unfoggedlotus]

"At this point? Yeah." He swings his legs off the branch of the tree. "I showed up here before you did. I had some more time to figure it out."

[midnightmaiden]

"Well, you've always been a quick learner, anyway." He has been helpful with her training routines, after all! "Still, it probably doesn't hurt that you had Akechi-senpai here." Wink, wink.

[unfoggedlotus]

"I've mostly been learning how much he likes to overwork himself when I'm not watching," his grin fades a bit. "Have you uh...learned anything interesting here, Sumi?"

[midnightmaiden]

"I ran into a version of Haru-senpai, but she didn't recognize me. She said that in her world, her father's had people killed, instead of brainwashed." And she winces at the prospect. That's so cruel, using the Metaverse that way. "Something about mental shutdowns, and she said that Dr. Maruki didn't come to her school in her world..."

So that's different. "She also didn't seem to really agree with his methods..." Which is a shame. Maruki's so kind! He only wants the best.

[unfoggedlotus]

"I thought his methods were just...helping people." Easy to play dumb when both your brain cells are competing for fifth place. "Like. With psychology. And stuff."

[midnightmaiden]

"Because that's what he does. He's just a skilled therapist, so he knows how to tap into people's feelings and help them through their trauma." So... maybe sometimes he might nudge things here and there, but it's always with consent. It's always because they want it. "But I guess in some other worlds, Dr. Maruki does more than that."