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.]]]

The Ken Amada who made certain threats, whom Igor didn't bring to the Velvet Room and didn't welcome, has been permanently contained within his other-world self. Many of the Velvet Room residents mobilized in the effort to neutralize the threat he posed, and now, in the moments after the devastating battle that sealed Ken away, perhaps you have business to conclude.

Maybe you're a fighter, left in the rubble the battle made of its surroundings—or maybe you were a noncombatant this time, left behind to wonder what's happening or prepare for the aftermath. Maybe you linger around the battle site, or maybe you have other things to do.

Or maybe you didn't survive. Maybe you're one of the glowing forms slowly coalescing in front of Igor's desk in the Velvet Room over the course of the subsequent half hour. Igor presides over them gravely, with no sign of his usual smile. Near his desk sits a box of snacks, familiar to anyone who's used the operation's training room.

[[ooc: This post is a general catch-all for the aftermath of the battle! It's backdated to February 26, the day Ken got got.]]

It's in the wee hours of the morning that all residents of the Velvet Room receive a message on their phones.

Good morning.

In the interest of strengthening community bonds and preventing further vandalism on what was intended as a community board, I have elected to expand the capabilities of your communications within this realm.

Every device with network capabilities may now access a specialized social network designed for your convenience.

I have been told there is a similar application in reality, but for our purposes, you may call it Flutter.

Fortunately, it is closer to what you may consider a forum or a blogging apparatus. A limited character count would undoubtedly provoke misunderstandings. Someone could state that they enjoy pancakes, and others may assume they despise waffles.

Please do enjoy, and best of luck on your endeavors,

Igor

P.S. While vandalism is not strictly illegal within this realm, it is important to remember that there are children present. Use your abilities wisely.

[Any attempts to respond to this post will be redirected to a Flutter post. Feel free to threadjack and gossip amongst one another. Perhaps you'll even get a reply if you're lucky...]

[ooc: Congratulations! You have unlocked a network. Its functions are about on par with most networks in DWRP. You can do text posts, audio posts, insert videos if the device has a camera (e.g. phones or a computer with a webcam).

The difference between network posts and IC inboxes is primarily that network posts are accessible to any character. When posting, you can clarify a post is network via post prompt or in the post title. Posts can include action and network prompts as well!]