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[idolpro]

Who: Idols and idol accessories
Where: Tokyo-F
When: Day 437

[ Idols will start their day today to find red envelopes, each with their idol names, presented to them on a table at their dorm's landing. Each envelope is supernaturally sealed, incapable of being opened except by their designated recipient. Inside each envelope is a gold zan-style hairpin with stripes of silver carved into its stem, and the tip is heavy with a weighty decoration—be it a dragon, phoenix, tiger, butterfly, flower(s), or anything else, they are all inlaid with bright, glowing tiger's eye gemstones.

As ornate as they look, these hairpins aren't just for decoration: upon the recipient touching the accessory, they'll find their clothes magically changing into fanciful Chinese or fantasy Chinese clothing—perhaps vibrant red, regardless of unit, or woven patterns and colors that reflect the idol's position. At the same time, the hairpin knits itself into the idol's hair (if capable, else it pins itself as a brooch) which has also magically been done up fancifully.

Down at the lobby there are more hints toward the holiday, if the red envelope didn't already make it obvious: red streamers and paper lanterns decorate the hotel, along with tiger decorations which vary from elegant wall scrolls to cute tiger plush pillows on the lobby seats. And, if it still isn't clear enough—perchance for those who aren't familiar with the culture at all—a red and gold banners hang from the wall, reading "HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY" and "LUNAR NEW YEAR" and "YEAR OF THE TIGER".

Near the kitchen, there are tables with spreads of Chinese foods from various regions, all available in an all-you-can-eat styled buffet. And, what's more—the food seems to be completely safe! They don't contain even a little bit of status effects. For once, here's a party with safe food.

There are additionally tables with gift bags, once again labeled with each idol's name. These are not supernaturally sealed, and in each bag are . . . well. . . tiger things, along with a note that reads,

300 points per item worn for the day! Max 1,200 points (head/hands/tail/feet

Oh, right, this is an idol show. And oh, surprise, the tiger appendages (optionally) have some sort of status effect thing going on:

• Feel more cuddly/desire cuddles
  
• Feel more mercurial/contrarian
  
• Feel more possessive/territorial
  
• Feel more hungry, both for food and for immaterial things (especially attention)
  
• Feel more brave
  
• Feel more light-hearted/more easily amused

At least they're all fairly mild in effect.

Last but not least, decoration wise, there's also an ominous poster near the elevators. . . Well, who's afraid of a sign, right? . . . Nevermind that if someone were to break a taboo, they'll find themself just slightly unluckier today, on the level of breaking their shoe/sandal laces and receiving the wrong order at the café.

Outside, though the weather is cold, the sun is auspiciously bright today, warmth radiating out the city to soften the chill. Moreover, there's an infectious energy on the streets, one that would surely make a person forget the temperature—long paper puppets, taking the form of dragons and lions and tigers, parade down the street, powered by ghostly dancers and backed up by the orchestra of a marching band and fan dancers. Floating lanterns guide them throughout the city, where they'll circle around the streets ceaselessly until evening.

At the stroke of midnight, idols will find their old clothes back in their closet and their hairpins no longer glowing, but they'll also find they're able to keep the clothing they received from the hairpins. They can also keep the tiger paraphernalia, which have lost their effects. ]

Comments

[sangreine]

Well -- I guess we have to come with something, otherwise we wouldn't be much of anything but empty shells. Which is sort of a funny thing to say, because that's what I was when I woke up. I couldn't talk and I didn't have any idea about how to behave. It was all in there, just took a while to settle down. Most people don't have that problem, so I can't really explain it.

But once I got a handle on it, I can speak around 7 or 8 languages and do all sorts of complicated things from muscle memory. Don't ask me to find logic in it.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

Maybe since you had so much knowledge inside you, it took a while for it all to come back.

[sangreine]

A few hundred years of life does that, I guess. Or a few thousand, it's not really clear.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

[ PAUSES, considering for a moment then. ]

... Part of being who you are?

[sangreine]

[ ...she really needs to explain this every time, huh? Well it's a less dramatic reaction than some have had. ]

I suppose so. Vampires are immortal; we don't die of natural causes, and we're hard to kill.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

Feels like I'm learning more and more about you each time while not bringing much to the table myself.

[sangreine]

You just got here. But if it makes you feel better, I can demand an itemized list in due time.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

I'd respect the list.

[sangreine]

[ Laughing ] Well we know you've got a sense of humor.

Don't worry about it, you're kind enough about it, and you promised me some spars, so what more do I need to know? Usually I wait a bit longer before getting too personal, but you're on the clock, buddy.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

How much time would cleaning services get me though? I've figured out I'm pretty good at that.

[sangreine]

[ She starts to reply, but then pauses, clearly confused. ]

I don't... what kind of time are you talking about? [ Is he offering to clean stuff so she'll lay off, is that what's happening here? She's bad at taking hints so no choice but to ask. ]

[wayofthehousekeeper]

[ He laughs a bit at the look she gives back. ]

I'm joking, cleaning's pretty much the one thing I've figured out I'm knowledgeable about, so it's more or less the only thing I feel comfortable offering right now.

[sangreine]

You had me thinking you were offering to clean in exchange for being rid of me. Which is fair, but if that's the case you'll have to whack me over the head with a mop. I don't get subtlety.

If I come across any stubborn cleaning issues I'll be sure to send them your way. [ But really she probably won't, it feels exploitative. ]

[wayofthehousekeeper]

[ Chuckles. ]

I wouldn't want that. Rather, I was going to ask if you'd like to walk the festival with me for a bit.

[sangreine]

Confounding my expectations, hm? I like it.

Where were you headed?

[wayofthehousekeeper]

I was planning to take a look around and see if I could find some hot pot to eat. Something about this puts me in the mood for a good hot pot.

[sangreine]

I'll never say no to food!

[ She's going to grab his arm again, maybe now that he's not so hung over it won't be so off putting. If it is, she's easily shrugged off, just -- tiger accessory things. ]

[wayofthehousekeeper]

[ Aster seems perfectly fine with it, leading the way in fact with her arm secured with his. ]

How're you with spicy then?

[sangreine]

Haven't met a food I didn't love. Spice is fine.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

Then let's get one with a good kick to warm things up.

[sangreine]

Warm things up -- are you cold? I didn't even think of that. Temperature doesn't affect me very much.

[ Rubbing his arm a little ] Spice warms humans up, huh? I should remember that in case I ever find someone in need of warming.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

Just a little, but the warmth that comes from something with a good spice to it is appreciated any time.

Careful though, some people can't handle some spices.

[sangreine]

Really? Huh. [ Human taste buds, wtf? ] How much can you handle? On a scale of utterly bland to volcanic eruption.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

I'm not entirely sure yet, but I wouldn't mind finding out.

[sangreine]

I don't know how much I can handle either.

Care to make it interesting? [ Competitive about everything, she is. ]