Happy October 1st Vivarium!

With Halloween on the horizon, it seems that many of the pumpkins on the map have somehow... changed. Seemingly overnight, the strange squashes are now sporting macabre grins, and an eerie glow emanates from within - tempting the curious to crack them open.

Is that... a shaking Pumpkin? It almost looks like something is trying to burst its way out... Even if you don't want to get close to it to inspect what's happening, you might find that they want to get close to you.

Each pumpkin has the ability to be a Trick or a Treat.

Trick Pumpkins can feel quite eerie, creepy and might fill you with a sense of dread. If you pick Trick, you have the option of finding one of the following:

• One Pumpkin might house a disgusting collection of creepy crawlies or the promise of a disease; if you're stung or bitten by one of these little creatures, you're on borrowed time (unless you can consult a healer - this is their time to shine!). Perhaps the sting causes hallucinations that are stranger than most, grim and terrifying as befits the season, and if you're large and strong, you might have a better chance at survival, but make no mistake... you need medical attention. Careful though, you might find breathing too close to someone might start making them feel worse for wear too.
  
  
• The Pumpkin shakes and shakes and suddenly, from the carved eyes and mouth of the Pumpkin, out flies some bats! You didn't anticipate them and there feels like there's hundreds! Oh dear... are they invasive, you wonder, once you've recovered from the fright.
  
  
• RATS! You might scream and recoil as one particularly large head pokes out from a pumpkin that looks like it might burst by how full it is. The rat isn't alone, you can hear and see them moving around behind it. Suddenly, these rats are looking quite hurried as they scramble to get out of the pumpkin. Rats can be known to be carriers of terrible diseases... what might happen if they infect the land? Your prey? The looming fear of a mass disease starts to make you feel violently ill.
  
  
• You're a little bit confused when you notice that this particular Pumpkin is housing a... Squirrel. At first glance, it doesn't look like anything is wrong with it. After a few moments, it inclines its head towards you and you see it... it's eyes, are they red or are you imagining it? This Squirrel can be fought or killed, because you notice that behind it in the Pumpkin, there's... things! Are they some interestingly patterned feathers, a sparkling gem? If you want to see what its managed to hoard, you're going to have to kill it. Careful though, he kind of looks like he might be jacked.
  

Treat Pumpkins may make you feel a particular feeling of giddiness, an interest within you to see what exactly you might find within this next Pumpkin you smash...

• The next pumpkin you smash open may not have an eerie critter. A butterfly with stunning wings could fly from the pumpkin, entrancing you forward - without much of a thought, you can't help but follow. It may eventually lead you to a lush array of herbs and flowers, herbs that don't particularly even grow here as the weather grows colder. You find yourself wondering, how did it know you needed these particular herbs?
  
  
• You're a little bit confused when you notice that this particular Pumpkin is housing a... Squirrel. At first glance, it doesn't look like anything is wrong with it. After a few moments, it inclines its head towards you and you see it... it's eyes, are they red or are you imagining it? This Squirrel can be fought or killed, because you notice that behind it in the Pumpkin, there's... things! Are they some interestingly patterned feathers, a sparkling gem? If you want to see what its managed to hoard, you're going to have to kill it. Careful though, he kind of looks like he might be jacked.
  
  
• This particular Pumpkin makes your mouth water and you cannot help but feel like it would be delicious. After a few seconds, you can't help yourself - you take a bite! Oh, you think you might never taste something so delicious ever again.
  
  
• Though it looks particularly past its sell by date, you can’t help but smell something that entices you forward. Accidentally, you eat too much and now – what is that? The world is spinning? You’re drunk! Wait… is that your tongue? It’s… it’s green!?
  
  
• You see something moving in the pumpkin and looking closer, you see a little nose. It suddenly moves quickly and suspiciously, it looks strange and domesticated. It’s a ferret! It doesn’t look hardened by the wild, in fact, he looks incredibly well taken care of. He gives a little bow and steps away from the pumpkin and inside, you see a bunch of items! You go to move forward to take a closer look but the well mannered ferret jumps in front of you, shaking his little head! Wait… does he want… something in return?
  

Be careful smashing these Pumpkins, because even though you may not feel a particular sense of doom... you might be surprised by what you find! Watch out for October 31st...

This is an optional event for players to enjoy; if you would like the Narrator to decide what sort of pumpkin you crack open, tag staff either on-site or via Discord and the Narrator will join your thread for a spooky surprise!

To have a thread with Mr. Fluffy the Ferret, you must tag a staff member as Mr. Fluffy lives within the *Narrator.

*The Narrator is an In Character staff-run account that can, as the name implies, join threads of willing participants to help narrate and conduct events.