HALLOWMEME

After a successful mission, LILITH gives orders for agents. While some are told to stay behind in England to collect more data or provide more assistance, others are told they can begin coming home to rest and recover. Upon arrival in Neo Tokyo, things are business as usual. There are the typical post-operation checkups and maybe even some paperwork involved but once it's all taken care of, they are granted free leave. Some of the younger members of LILITH might ask the Outsiders what their plans are for the holidays and some of the friendlier ones might even invite them to go to various bars or Halloween events around the city.

It's a week before Halloween and parts of Neo Tokyo are getting ready for the festivities. Everyone says Shibuya is the place to be for a real good time but there's no shortage of events in other parts of the city. Department stores advertise sales on Halloween decorations and candies. Costume stores suddenly appear where old businesses have closed down. Arcades promote zombie shooters and other horror experiences.

Life in the city is hard, especially if you're a business owner. The constant threat and uncertainty of kaiju attacks and the effect they have on society just add an extra level of difficulty to things. As a result, there are many empty and abandoned stores across the city during most of the year. However, in October, these empty buildings suddenly come to life when a specialized costume store rents out the spaces for the season.

These stores sell costumes ranging from cheap cat ear headbands to elaborate, tailor made costumes that cost at least one month's rent. The most popular costumes, however, are virtual style upgrades. This option allows you to rent or purchase your own costume via download. While these costumes can range in price like the physical costumes, at least they don't take up closet space.

Unfortunately, this retailer isn't really known for their digital integrity so the costumes are prone to glitching. They might randomly switch to a new costume or disappear altogether leaving you in a pretty awkward situation. Alternatively, some virtual style upgrades may give Outsiders a temporary body modification to fit their theme. Those vampire fangs? They aren't fake. How about a real werewolf tail? Anything goes as long as it is not game breaking and follow the general game rules. All effects will subside at 6am on November 1st.

At the end of the holidays, the company will issue an apology letter and refund along with one free costume (via style upgrade) for the trouble.

Don't ask how the arcades got your contact information but throughout the week, Outsiders will receive messages via their oculars bombarding them with advertisements for new horror virtual experiences. Even if you trash everything, you'll find yourself slammed with more advertisements on the train, on the bus, and random street signs. If the constant advertisements aren't enough, maybe a little bit of subliminal messaging embedded in the ads will make you think... why not give it a try?

Whether you are truly interested in the virtual experiences or not, you might find yourselves swinging by one of the many virtual arcades in the city and paying for their newest experience: A virtual haunted house. By linking implants with virtual reality technology, the arcade creates the ultimate horror experience.

Everyone will start off in a haunted house. Their mission is to explore the rooms and hallways to find a way out. However, characters might notice something is up with the rooms. Some of the rooms might look strangely familiar to the player and some of the virtual jumpscares and horrors might look like monsters or figures from their memories. It looks like simulation is syncing with the users to create a custom horror experience for each user and everyone can join in.

The haunted house is just a game. The horrors won't physically harm you but they're still designed to get your heart racing, the adrenaline going, and blood pumping as you battle your deepest horrors for "fun."

Halloween isn't Halloween without candy. Even if you aren't actively trick or treating, you might be offered a "trick or treat" when you go out. The convenience store cashiers will ask you to take candy from a box, restaurants toss in a random freebie, and you can even go out and buy yourself a limited edition bag for the holiday. These candies come in various types and flavors but the real appeal is the trick or treat aspect.

If you get a "treat" you'll be rewarded with a burst of energy and you'll experience a sugar rush for a certain amount of time. The candy can even make you feel happy or excited the way most people feel when they get free candy.

If you get a "trick" option, everything will seem normal at first but you might notice something is... off. You can't shake it off but you feel like you're being watched. Out of the corner of your eye, you feel like you see something but when you turn to look at it, it's gone. This candy gives you a feeling of dread and paranoia.

Whether you're treated to a euphoric sugar rush or wired with anxiety, you might have trouble sleeping at night. They say the effects are temporary but everyone metabolizes a little differently so there's no telling exactly how long these will last. Dr. Spim and Alex will advise anyone experiencing prolonged effects to come seek medical treatment which consists of relaxing tea, comfortable sweaters, cozy blankets, and aromatherapy candles that come in fun scents like caramel apple, pumpkin spice, cinnamon and brown sugar, and more.

This is an IC Meme! A light kind of event that is game canon.

All comments in this event count for 1 point towards October AC. We won't be answering any questions for a meme like this and hope you have fun!