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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

[1istheloneliest]

Uhh, sometimes the food or drinks or other free stuff will have effects on people, like making them act or look different for awhile, but that's more of a game thing. The powers that be want to motivate stuff to happen since we're "entertainment". This is just a holiday celebration though so we're probably safe, even if anything happens it'll be pretty tame, like giving us these outfits.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

I see... it's a bit of a shame having to be careful when offered some nice free stuff, but I'll have to keep that in mind for the future. I don't think I want to get caught up in something I wasn't fully expecting again.

[1istheloneliest]

[shrugs]

Everyone handles it differently. One of my brothers feels the same way as you, but I get anxious about the more social games so I don't mind that they provide inhibition lowering refreshments or other gimmicks like that. I think it's kind of like when we all get mail. Some people really love it and keep everything, some people burn or trash stuff automatically, some pick and choose. Anyways, don't let what I said stop you from enjoying stuff today. Sometimes tasty food is just tasty food and funny items are just funny items.

[little does he know he's under a slight bravery boost effect as they're speaking oops]

[wayofthehousekeeper]

[ That does make him chuckle. ]

Honestly, that's pretty good advice to keep in mind. If I get too caught up in being cautious about everything, I'll only be putting a burden on the people around me and potentially denying myself some good fun. Sometimes risks pay off.

[1istheloneliest]

Hell or not, it's not possible to avoid risk completely. We've gotta live our lives, even if this place is going to mess with us sometimes. It's the common ground we all share here. Use your best judgement and that's all you can do really.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

Wow, you've really put a lot of thought into navigating life in this place, huh?

[1istheloneliest]

[rubs the back of his neck with one hand looking a little embarrassed]

You think so? Those are just my own conclusions from having been here awhile.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

It's certainly more than I could say having just arrived. And I know I definitely appreciate being able to learn from the experiences of others, so I'm grateful to you for it.

[1istheloneliest]

Figured you were relatively new, and I'm glad if I helped you a little bit. I'm Hardy by the way, I'm a part of WILD CITY.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

Aster, with Lilis. I almost wonder if there's something above my head that marks me out as new, but I'm guessing a lot of people go through what I've been these first few days.

[1istheloneliest]

Nice to meet you Aster. After you've been here awhile it gets easier to tell when someone's a newbie. Although honestly I just treated you as new because I hadn't seen your face before and I've been gone awhile.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

Everyone knows everyone, huh? Guess there's few enough people for that to be easy enough to do.

But- you said you were gone? Gone where?

[1istheloneliest]

I don't know about everyone, but a lot of people, sure.

Oh, I had to go be on a different show for awhile. They make you do that sometimes.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

At any time? I suppose if we're performers of a sort, that makes sense.

[1istheloneliest]

More often than not it's pretty abrupt, we don't get a lot of say here.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

No management to communicate with?

[1istheloneliest]

It's very one sided. Management communicates with us, but we get limited chances to respond.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

That... sounds like a lot of management situations, yeah.

[1istheloneliest]

This version is more extreme than most...

[wayofthehousekeeper]

I don't doubt that, from the way I hear people talking about things around here.

[1istheloneliest]

Yep. Guessing your unit filled you in on how it's not always this bright and cheery when you arrived?

[wayofthehousekeeper]

I've gotten a bit of an idea.

[ Answer: Not actually, just vaguely. ]

[1istheloneliest]

Huh, OK. Well if you have any questions I'll try to answer them honestly.

[wayofthehousekeeper]

I guess the one question I have would be the one I like hearing each person's opinion on. Is there something you think I should know for sure? I've been told about things like wearing my unit's clothing, and not staying away from the dorms for too long, for example.

[1istheloneliest]

I'd say... When the bad stuff that happens here happens--and it will, it's unavoidable--try to find some way to detach yourself. There will be times when units are forced to hurt each other and stuff... None of us have a say in that so as strange as it sounds try not to take it personally.