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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

[longredribbon]

[Wei Wuxian ("Lotus") very openly and fondly admires his ornate ensemble, even twirling a couple of times in delight. The familiarity of it all runs deep, even if also leaving him feeling achingly homesick. It's a bittersweet thought, too, to envision himself wearing something akin to this if he were to have a more proper marriage ceremony.

At some point, he does put on the tiger headband and tail.

The buffet is taken full advantage of. He'll try a bit of everything, similarly savoring the nostalgia of plenty of the dishes. Yes, more than just the spicy options. (However, the amount of bright red chili peppers cannot be unseen even by the blind.)

He frequently finds himself returning to watch the parade, a similar fondly delighted look in his eyes.]

[carrionmywaywardsun]

[dressed like so, with his bird skull hairpin stuck through the sash as a decoration. he'll wander over while Lotus is watching the parade.]

Somebody looks fucking fancy today.

[longredribbon]

I love it!

[He happily gives another twirl for the sake of it.]

What a wonderful surprise!

[carrionmywaywardsun]

Yeah, the clothes are pretty nice.

[longredribbon]

I really hope we get to keep them.

[carrionmywaywardsun]

Shit yes, wouldn't say no to having at least some clothes from Creation.

[longredribbon]

Your world?

[carrionmywaywardsun]

Yeah. A lot of the stuff here looks pretty familiar... Don't know what's up with all the tiger shit though.

[longredribbon]

[He nods to one of the Lunar New Year signs.]

It's for the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year. It's one of the animals of the zodiac, out of twelve in total, based on the lunar calendar. Apart from the Tiger, there's the Rat, Ox, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The year of the Tiger won't come around again for another twelve years. A person's animal depends on what year they were born in, each with its own attributes.

[etcetc pretend I know what I'm talking about, idk]

[carrionmywaywardsun]

[Valor lets him talk, only really like, half-listening... I'm sorry Lotus. Waiting for him to finish talking before breaking in.]

Huh. Well, I'm not gonna say no to getting free shit out of it.

[longredribbon]

[He just laughs.]

Right, right!

[Reaches up to feel one of the headband's ears, directly next to his rabbit ones.]

. . .Although I bet this looks a little funny.

[carrionmywaywardsun]

Like you need anymore extra ears, right?

[longredribbon]

At least I can only hear from my normal set. That would otherwise be a huge headache.

[at_heart]

Something familiar for you, too, huh?

[ The nostalgic look. And the fake ears help distract him from the real ears, so he's okay for the moment. ]

[longredribbon]

Mm. Very.

[at_heart]

Heh, I keep hearing that. Well, you look great.

[ Outfits today seem to come in one of two flavors. His is definitely the other flavor. ]

—Anything from the spread that you especially like?

[ Some of the recipes are familiar, but there's nothing he knows how to make by heart here. He could look things up on the infernet and just... rotate 'em in. ]

[longredribbon]

Mapo tofu, Kung Pao chicken, Rou Jia Mo- ah, meat in a bun, any kind of dumpling, spring rolls, among many others.

[He has to pause several times to try and re-word the dishes, assuming Lupine wouldn't know(?) their names he would usually use.]

The wine, too! It's definitely a staple during Lunar New Year.

[There also seems to be quite a few things he hasn't seen before!]

[at_heart]

[ Well, he does in fact know how to make mabodofu— ] [ Lupine headtilts thoughtfully, then chuckles. ]

We really need to have BiT down for dinner sometime.

[ Get you a bunch of high-quality wine. ]

[longredribbon]

That ability of theirs is incredible! I'm jealous!

[at_heart]

[ Tiniest snort. ]

Eh, I'm pretty okay with the abilities we get, really.

[longredribbon]

Never said I wasn't.

[at_heart]

Ha. Fair.

I guess I just mean — there're way worse power sets. Ones that're harder to use.

[ Or just... ones he would never want to use. ]

[longredribbon]

I'll admit that I don't know all of the finer details, but they do vary quite a bit.

[at_heart]

Yeah.

[ Tipping his head back. ]

If you can, you should read through what they say on the unit profiles. [ The IC power descriptions. ] Most everyone has at least one combat-ready ability, and at least one that's more — I don't know, flavor.

[letgrow]

[Also dressed up for the occasion!]

The ears are a nice touch.