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【MAID WEEK / open mingle】
MAID WEEK
Welcome to Starsand
The city's atmosphere has lightened up since the cherry blossoms were revived. Talk of Fallen Stars being "omens of misfortune" and "out to replace us normal folk," have died down to mere whispers. In their place is louder talk of an event affectionately called "Maid Week," which has captured the attention of gossip and activities alike.
When prompted, cityfolk will explain that the event is actually a citywide cleaning event. Everyone in the city gets together not just to clean the streets, but to repair things and decorate. It's common for walls to be set aside for drawing on with chalk or for entire art projects. People who specialize in repairs or building will loan their skills to the public in order to better the city. Friends often get together to repair and clean each other's homes as well.
These efforts are given mostly for free... "Mostly." You see in Starsand, there is no longer a use for money. Spirits can provide most anything that you need in exchange for prayers, so coin money is becoming irrelevant. But when you work hard and passionately in Starsand, your emotions create something called a "Starling." These magical items look like konpeito and they have the same magical value as an hour of intense prayer. Starlings can be given to spirits for quick miracles, so they've become a sort of "faith currency."
During Maid Week, a lot of Starling is produced. When your character lends their help, they will produce Starling equal to how passionate they were about the task. For example, hating your job will result in one or two tiny Starling pieces per hour. But if you are doing something that you brings you joy, you will create bigger and more pieces. Because of this, people are encouraged to make the act of cleaning and helping as fun as possible. Some turn it into a game or a chance to hang out with friends, while some get playfully competitive.
Oh, but the most important part?
Maid outfits. Normally, the amount of Starling produced when doing household chores is minimal. You get more Starling at licensed places of business, where a special shrine is built to amplify the power. In order to make "Seasonal Cleaning Week" produce more Starling, a special enchantment was made... This enchantment triples the amount of Starling a person produces, which makes Maid Week more profitable (and appealing.) And, you guessed it... The enchantment only works on maid outfits. Wow. Weird.
So grab your maid outfit and earn yourself some magic konpeito! This isn't a fabricated excuse for maids at all!
The enchantment on the maid outfit will not wear off, so long as the owner of the outfit is not changed. (Ex.: Don't trade it or give it away.)
Your character can keep their outfit and continue profiting off household chores, even after the event.
Maid outfits are given out for free at various shops. No one will force your character to wear one, but people will explain why it is beneficial and gently encourage it.
Only spirits get a magic boost from eating Starling. For humans, it will provide a temporary energy boost.
Maid outfits are physical pieces of clothing, but magically altered to fit each client.
Characters can only keep one enchanted maid outfit. The enchantment transfers from outfit to outfit. But they can collect multiple free dresses this week.
The enchantment cannot be transferred to non-maid themed clothing. It can be added to a headdress, sleeve cuffs, or apron if you don't want a whole maid outfit.
Butler-type outfits are included, but everyone still calls them "maid outfits."
Skills should be beginner-level. Characters can return to establishments for part-time jobs to develop new skills further.
Go wild with cleaning/fixing projects!
You can assume that your character earns a sizable amount of Starling. It can be handwaved for buying housing, restaurant meals, nice clothes, and other luxuries.
Starling does not expire, but it does lose its potency within a week of being produced.
You may handwave various types of cafes.
Characters may be able to open their own pop-up cafe if they get support from a local. Locals are very happy to help bring new ideas to the city and will assist in keeping the cafe safe and up to code.
Reblooming picnic baskets can be picked up at cafes.
Reblooming parties produce Starling.
If you want to give sad spirits konpeito, reply to the Sad Spirit top-level for an NPC response.
Spirits are not malicious with their clumsiness.
Clumsiness should not break the city, but it can be very irritating and borderline dangerous.
Stronger spirits will step in to prevent injury, death, and widescale disaster.
! Out of Character Notes
(A) Dressing Up
Starting on Saturday the 7th, most clothing stores and boutiques will open special "Maid Day" sections. Here, customers can pick an enchanted maid costume to wear for the rest of the week. There are numerous styles, which vary depending on the type of store you are visiting. It's also possible to try them on. Everything will be fitted specifically to your character once they pick their outfit as part of the enchanting process.
If you're passionate about fashion, it's also possible to volunteer at these shops for the weekend. Volunteers can help modify details to make the outfit perfectly suited to each customer. They may even learn a thing or two about the enchanting process! And, of course, Starling will be created from their efforts.
! Out of Character Notes
(B) Volunteer Activities
There's a lot that needs doing during Maid Week! The activities will seemingly never end, so characters should have no trouble finding work to do. Streets need sweeping, buildings need repainting, structures need mending, gardens need tending... If your character sees something that needs to be fixed, then they can self-assign themselves the task of doing it. They're also encouraged to help others with tasks in-progress. Strangely, Starling amounts increase when more than one maid works together. So teamwork is literally valuable!
But there's more to Maid Week than cleaning. Shops will not only hire temporary workers, but shop owners are eager to share their craft with newbies. Bakeries are offering baking lessons, for example, or teaching people how to manage a store. Boutiques are teaching fashion and basic sewing, sports teams are teaching their games, clinics offer first aid, etc. Taking time to sit down and learn a skill can also produce konpeito, so why not try something new?
! Out of Character Notes
(C) Maid Cafe Break
Another aspect of Maid Week is pop-up cafes. Buildings are rented for limited run Maid Cafes, with some additional theming. There are animal-themed cafes (cats, owls, foxes, etc.) or design themed (alice in wonderland, gothic, cottagecore, etc.) The point is: There are a lot of them. And they're hiring!
Maid Cafes offer a space for the not-so-cleaning-inclined to make some spare Starling. They earn more Starling if they're having fun, so it's suggested to work somewhere that you'll enjoy. Refreshments are free. After all, hard workers need to refuel and relax between helping the city!
Starling is produced for both the maid and the customer if they have a lively conversation, so be sure to chat up the staff!
! Out of Character Notes
(D) The Reblooming
It's a well known fact that the cherry blossom trees "rebloom" every night at midnight. During this event, the blossoms that had fallen will float backwards and reattach to their respective sakura trees. Then the process of blossoms falling repeat until the next reblooming. During the hour after a rebloom, the petals glow like stars.
During Maid Week, this event receives a lot more attention. Tiny wooden shrines, looking a lot like bird houses, are set at the trunk of every tree in the city. At midnight, people gather to watch the reblooming and to give thanks to the hardworking sakura trees. They leave Starling in the shrines and potted flowers around the base, to "keep the trees company." It's common to throw midnight picnics at the trees, where people laugh and sing. They say that the tree's spirit is an honored guest. It's a joyous event, held under a canopy of glowing cherry blossom petals.
! Out of Character Notes
(E) Maid Day / May 10th
On May 10th, the formula of Maid Day switches up a bit. Rather than the citizens working to repair the town, this is a day when the spirits spoil the maids. Apparently this is why everyone wears maid outfits when doing work: It's so that the spirits can tell who they need to thank.
When characters wake up on May 10th, they'll find their breakfast has been prepared by spirits. If they've been giving a lot of Starling to the nearby shrines, then they will find a fantastic and luxurious meal. If they haven't then, well... the spirits will do their best, but they may not have the power to create something amazing.
This pattern of spirits trying to thank maids will occur all day. Sometimes the result is amazing: Your clothes are laundered and folded, your home is clean, you have great luck with everything that you do... But sometimes, it's not so great. A spirit tried to brush your hair and turned it pink instead. All of your clothes, except your enchanted maid outfit, have been ruined. The food in your fridge all expires at once. The spirits aren't malicious, but the weaker ones have a success rate of 10%. May the spirit gacha be in your favor.
At the end of the day, when all of the damage is done, some of the cleaning efforts are also undone. You may find spirits sulking in dark corners of the city, ashamed of how poorly their efforts went. A sulking spirit does not produce a glow, but creates a speck of darkness. Those with strong empathy can hear them crying wordlessly. You have a lot of Starling from working hard, right? Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to feed these spirits..? Or maybe you hold a grudge over their cluminess. Up to you.
! Out of Character Notes
Extra Notes
Maid Week takes place from May 7th until May 13th. Characters will be able to earn a decent amount of Starling from this event, which can be exchanged for luxury items. You can handwave your character paying for permanent housing, nicer clothes, going out to fancy restaurants, etc. by using their Starling. We don't track exact amounts, so no need to do math to tally up what your character earns.
Feel free to invent extra prompts & be a bit silly with the concept. This event should lean light-hearted.
no subject
[Mikale closes his eyes as the darker thoughts pass through his mind. He's learned to be guarded about his paranoia and he doesn't want to concern Hanyuu. Not when this is a week for fun.]
You mentioned you were a Kami, right, Ms Hanyuu? Maybe we should set up a shrine for you here in the cafe. We might be able to restore some of your power, if that's something that you're interested in.
no subject
...Yes, I did. My power does rely on the belief of others and their wishes. But this is not my domain, nor my home. Besides, I am not sure how the other natives of this country would take to a foreign kami from another world. If they learned that their shrine was set here, I would only bring more problems than solutions.
no subject
[Well. Mikale taps his chin thoughtfully.] And we don't hear from those outside of the city very often.
no subject
[ All of the ways she speaks as a child drops, and her voice reverberates with something more. ]
Then we are fine with taking up the mantle here as well. However, we do not wish for the mistakes of man to be repeated a second time. We refuse to be seen as a kami who would send their judgment onto others through a curse.
no subject
... I would hope that would never happen.
[He nods his head as an abbreviated bow of respect,] Humans are prone to mistakes. That's probably why we seek kami to guide us, hm? I'm sure you're a fantastic guide, Ms Hanyuu.
1 / 2
[ She immediately drops any honorific that she had been using, given that she is speaking not simply as Hanyuu, the foreigner that had been dropped off into a far off Fragment, but as the lauded Oyashiro-sama, the guardian deity of Hinamizawa. ]
I personally had made many a mistake that cost many people to be hurt. It is not one that we would like to repeat, however. Even if those seek the kami as guidance, it is up to mankind to forge a path for themselves, for their own future.
I believe in the power that children of men can offer. Strong bonds can even create something beautiful that even the likes of someone like me cannot achieve easily: a miracle.
no subject
I don't know about being a good guide, though. The people of my village revered me for many years. And they probably still will for many more.
But... for many lifetimes, because nobody could see me or hear me or even talk to me, I was seen as a very different person than who I was. To the point where none of the stories really match up with my own memories. Or how people believed that I had laid down a curse amongst my people as proper judgment when people were mysteriously dying every year during a festival laid out in my honor.
no subject
It sounds like your world has a lot in common with this one, then.
[The implications of what she said make him feel almost guilty sitting next to her. He has to avert his gaze, unsure of how to actually alleviate his own guilty conscious.]
Humans here still believe in things like curses. With the rise of spirits, that is a concern. I think that things like 'maid week' exist to keep the image of spirits and kami light and positive.
no subject
[ Being in the future and all that, of course. But the fact that there's many similarities... well, she can't entirely say that's a good thing. ]
Humans are afraid of things that they don't understand and don't know. So they tie their beliefs into superstitions and curses.
no subject
That's true. Has Satou told you much of the history of this world? Up until five years ago, most people didn't even know that things like spirits and kami were real. Back then, they would fight over faith and territory. They would even inhabit and spread a curse if it meant they could exist in some form.
no subject
[ But she's all ears, so she looks at him with curiosity and a yearning for understanding. ]
There are plenty of people back in the world I came from that still do not believe in kami. But many of the villagers in Hinamizawa are rather devout. But that does not mean that they necessarily understand who I am; they simply sometimes came up with their own ideas on who I was.
...but... it is sad, to hear that their existence was like that at a time.
no subject
[He doesn't understand all of this 'multiverse' stuff as well as some others. Mikale chalks that up to being uneducated. He's very good at thinking poorly of himself.]
The situation was quite dire. Spirits and kami were at the mercy of the people who still believed in them. Some of those humans realized what power their faith had over spirits and would use it to spread curses.
But that changed five years ago. Things aren't perfect yet, but I like to think that it's better than it was before. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if some people missed having so much power over spirits and kami.