tanabata

[idolpro]

Who: Princesses & Cowherds
Where: Various parts of the city
When: Day 137, morning

[ Good morning, idols! It's. . . it's morning, right?

Even though your clocks are correct and it is the AM, the sun isn't out in the sky yet. More than that, the stars are shining ever so brilliantly today - you can see the entire Milky Way system here, in fact so clearly that it feels like you could reach out and touch them.

It might be a familiar sight to some of you idols, though there's no message that accompanies your phone.

Step through any given doorway outside of the dorms - the elevators for example, or the lobby doors - and you might find your clothes mildly transformed: the style and colors are still the same, but white constellations and stars glitter the fabrics, twinkling like the night sky. (If you're wearing white, the stars have a black outline, still twinkling against your clothes.)

This will likely persist throughout the day, although depending on the doorways you go through the constellations may change. (When the clock strikes midnight, the constellations will no longer move or twinkle, though it's player choice if they want to keep the clothes transformed to have unmoving stars.)



Outside, you'll find a lit-up pathway to Shinjuku Gyoen from . . . anywhere you are, honestly; the pavement seems to reflect the sky above to make a river of stars that run down to the park. There, you'll find a wooden platform lined with white cloth just outside the park, as well as a few fold-up chairs and cloth-lined group tables - you know, the long ones. There's nothing on them, though. The place looks primed for a potluck, but only if you're the ones bringing the food!

Lining this side's edge of the park are tall stalks of bamboo, with a wooden plaque hanging from one of the stalks. It has this written on it:

Long, long ago, the Sky King's daughter began to weave him a beautiful cloth. He loved it so much that the Weaving Princess would work diligently every day in order to please him - but her weaving left her in solitude, alone and loveless. Seeing this, the Sky King arranged for her to marry the celestial Cowherd. The Weaving Princess and the Cowherd fell in love, happily spending their days together ☆

However, in their love was tragedy. The two were so enamored with one another that they forgot their duties - the Cowherd his heavenly cows, and the Princess her weave. Displeased by this, the Sky King separated the two across the heavenly river - but at the behest of his daughter, he promised that the two could meet each other once every year should she finish her work.

And so, we celebrate Tanabata, for the two's reunion. When we celebrate the day when the two lovers can meet once more, we also ask to be granted a single wish! Write your wish on a paper tag and tie it to the bamboo tree; it very well may be granted to you.

The paper tags are neatly placed in front of the bamboo, several inkwells in the ground - that is, the cement seems to be dug into in order to fill with ink - and some bamboo stalks lend to disposable one-time use brushes that start to dissolve once it's written a tag, although if you want like, you know, nicer writing implements to write with or more space on the paper you can always hit up a Taisho.

The first tag is already on the bamboo: STOP BREAKING MY CITY . . . One year later . . . things haven't changed.



At the café, the decorations inside have been replaced with Tanabata-themed items: bamboo stalks, star wallpaper and flooring, and black-and-white spotting on the seats and tables like they're for cows. The door is fixed, so that's nice - for today only, the outer walls have fencing as decoration too, as if the café is a cowpen.



The station has been cleaned up, with constellation paths going to each train. The missing train has returned, and upon searching, you won't be able to find it at the bottom of the bay, so . . . there's that! There's also a building somewhere that had a hole in it . . . but the hole is gone . . .



There are various vending machines to be found today only, both in the arcades and just around: 50 points for a broach or lapel or hairpin themed Tanabata, taking form of one thing or another: a little cow face, a constellation, weaving instruments, kimono, or other things. You know, just stay in theme. There's no option to select anything, just a little scanner where you can beep your phone and you'll get something random out of it. In other words, it's a gacha.



Nothing to be heard from the Producers today, it seems. It's quiet. It's nice, isn't it? ]

Comments

[forgottenmercy]

It, ah, seems so.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[Holds the sparkler out to him]

Hello, Maiden.

[forgottenmercy]

[takes it, gracefully] Ah, hello.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Enjoying the festivities?

The changes to our clothing is an interesting touch this year.

[forgottenmercy]

I, ah, do like the change to our clothing.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[Takes a look again at Maiden's attire, considering for a moment]

Interested in performing a blessing?

[forgottenmercy]

I could, ah, try, anyway.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Excellent.

What kind of blessing would you perform to help the wishes of us lowly mortals reach a higher power?

[forgottenmercy]

It would, ah, have to be a performance, since that was how I did it before.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Seems like they've made quite the stage for you. If that's your specialty.

[forgottenmercy]

Should I, ah, make it a Live, or...?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Can you slot it under self care?

[forgottenmercy]

I, ah, have before, yes.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Then yes. Make it a Live.

[He's broke and needs the points]

sensitiv live

[forgottenmercy]

[inclines head and runs through a quick vocal warmup just before he hits the media attention button. takes a beat before he starts dancing, one of the sacred dances that he remembers, and then sings, soft and clear, in a language Intensity doesn't know

he's very, very, very good. but then again, Intensity was probably expecting considerable skill given his memories. which is clearly in evidence, even without access to his powers.]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[And Intensity surely recognizes talent when he sees it. He crosses his arms and leans against a nearby tree - watching Maiden move across the star laden ground.

Don't mind him recording it with his camera eye. In fact, roll a perception check to see if Maiden will even notice the slight glow coming from Intensity's fake eye]

[forgottenmercy]

[talent and years and years of practice and honing his skills.

Persephone does notice the slight glow but given his lack of modern tech knowledge...well. also he's more focused on dancing and singing.]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[He waits. Quiet and appreciative. Until Persephone finishes]

[forgottenmercy]

[and eventually finishes, coming to a slow and graceful stop, holding the final position seemingly effortlessly, before stepping out of it.]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[Small quiet applauds]

[forgottenmercy]

Was that, ah, to your expectations?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

So humble, Maiden. You're always to my expectations.

Sometimes you even exceed them.

[forgottenmercy]

Ah, thank you.

I will, ah, have to work harder, then.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

For my benefit?

Maiden. I'm blushing.

[He is in fact not blushing]

[forgottenmercy]

I thought you incapable of such a thing. [gentle, but with an edge.] Not, ah, simply for your benefit. Just, ah, in general.