2656/Collecting Commissions

Collecting Commissions
Date of Scene:	20 July 2015
Location:	Tomoeda-865
Synopsis:	An idol and a princess collect their outfits.
Cast of Characters:	385, Sarracenia, Tomoyo Daidouji

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Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     Yesterday, a summer storm had hit Tomoeda, lashing the town with strong wind and rain. It had been a welcome respite from the constant sticky humidity that had settled there, making the city feel like it was inside a worn sock.

    Today, the ground is still a little wet from the rain, and the winds have cleared up that mugginess! Thus, it is a pleasant sunny day today and people are finally able to enjoy the sunshine properly.

     One person not enjoying it though, is Tomoyo! She is inside her Boutique, doing a little bit of accounting while tending to the counter. However, she does have the door open and the AC off, so one could suppose that she is enjoying the weather in her own way.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The calm of the day is finally broken when someone steps into the boutique. Sarracenia is holding up the hem of her dress, having been trying to avoid the water on the ground. She finally lets the hem fall as she steps into the store, then looks around before calling out, "Miss Daidouji! I received notification that my dress was ready!" she calls out, then mutters under her breath. "...finally..."

     The princess then makes her way toward the counter. "It is a rather nice day outside, except for all the water on the ground. Are you enjoying the cool breeze?"

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     Tomoyo looks up as the princess walks in, and goes right into a 45 degree bow! "Welcome, Princess Sarracenia~ Thank you for coming." She catches that muttered statement, but keeps her pleasant smile on her face. The customer is always right, after all!

     "It is ready! Just hold on a moment, I'll have my assistant bring it down~" She calls some kind of serial number up the stairs behind the counter. Soon, Yamazaki comes down, carefully holding a coat hanger that holds a plastic bag with the costume inside.

     As he does, Tomoyo says, "Oh yes, very much so~ It's been terribly humid these past few days." She takes the bagged outfit from Yamazaki and offers it over the counter to the princess!

     "Changing rooms are behind you if you want to ensure everything fits~ If you need help putting it on, do say so!"

Sarracenia has posed:
     Princess Sarracenia seems to forget about her annoyance with the wait time once the dress is brought before her. She takes it happily and giggles. "I can hardly wait!" she says, twirling in place a moment before looking at Tomoyo. "As it is a new dress, and likely an intricate one, I would appreciate help dressing." she says, still smiling gently.

     She does not wait, though, and turns to head inside the changing room. She apparently assumes that Tomoyo will follow.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     Tomoyo does! "Of course, princess~" she says, walking around the counter to accommodate Sarracenia into a dressing room. Thankfully, they're designed to comfortably accommodate two people quite easily!

     "Undress, if you could~" Tomoyo asks of the princess as she starts to take out everything in the bag. Once Sarracenia is out of her dress (Tomoyo would help if she needs it), Tomoyo starts helping her into the Dark Magician Girl costume.

     She starts with the dress: a cobalt blue thing with /light red/ trim, Tomoyo having recalled Sarracenia's specifications. Straps cross over her upper arms, rather than her shoulder, and it shows quite a bit of cleavage, a black brooch with the Star of David in yellow right in the middle of her chest. The high skirts and small cape are also /light red/.

     Next comes the glove and boots. They match the dress, blue with /light red/ trim. The gloves are fingerless opera gloves, coming up to her elbows with yellow gems sewn onto the backs of the palm and the hems. The boots stop short of knee-length, with more of those yellow gems at the ankles.

     Next is the tiara! Based on the first tier of the Dark Magician Girl's unusual hat, it wraps around the forehead with a single point rising up at the middle. It has been embedded with more yellow and /light red/ gems to make it seem more royal. The final touch is a /light red/ necklace with another yellow gem.

     Once the whole outfit is on, Tomoyo extracts one last thing from the bag... a replica of the Dark Magician Girl staff! "I have some contacts in a prop-making company who were able to whip this up for cheap~ No extra charge, consider it a gift!" She hands Sarracenia the small wand with the spiralling yellow head, blue shaft with /light red/ trim and a spherical yellow gem at the base.

    Tomoyo gestures at the mirror on the wall, awaiting the princesses' opinion.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The princess is easily able to remove the dress she is currently wearing, leaving her in only frilly red lingerie until Tomoyo starts dressing her in the Dark Magician Girl outfit. "Oooh. A bit brazen, but I like it." she says, as she sees the amount of cleavage she is displaying. The princess seems used to being dressed in such a manner, holding out her arms or extending a leg when necessary. She seems especially impressed with the tiara. It does look lovely, after all, and rather royal with all the gems. "You did a wonderful job, Miss Daidouji!" the princess says happily.

     A happiness that builds into a squeal of excitement at having a cute little wand to go with the dress! "Oh my! It is perfect!" she says, then gives it a few waves as if casting spells before giggling like a little girl.

     When Sarracenia looks at herself in the mirror, she giggles delightedly once again. "I look simply amazing! Even better than the animated girl on the card!" she says, a bit arrogantly. Then, she hmms. "...Although, I am not sure I like the exposed fingers. Do you think it might look better with full gloves rather than fingerless ones?" she asks while she turns this way and that, regarding herself in the changing room mirror.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
The bell over the door jingles merrily as Yuna walks in - although this time, the idol singer isn't alone; apart from the little robo-faerie Elner, a Japanese man in his early-ish 30s is accompanying Yuna, looking more or less like an ISO Standard Japanese Salaryman.

And ... since Tomoyo seems to be out of the immediate shop - probably with a customer - Yuna contents herself with waving to Yamazaki if he's in evidence, and otherwise just waiting patiently.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     Tomoyo smiles as Sarracenia examines her reflection. Deep down, she kind of wishes that she had been allowed to make something new. Just copying a design felt so... restrictive. The tiara was fun to make though. She nods along with all of Sarracenia's self-aggrandizing comments though, maintaining her soft smile.

    But, at the mention of the gloves? "Oh! Well, I just tried to copy the outfit as best I could, expect for the changes you specified. If you like, I can have fingered versions of the gloves made and sent to you."

    Meanwhile, Yamazaki has taken over the counter while Tomoyo was in the dressing rooms. He bows to Yuna and her entourage as they enter. "Hello, and welcome to Tomoyo's Boutique!" He peers at Yuna-it's slightly disconcerting, considering his eyes remain shut the whole time-and says, "Here to pick something up, right? I remember, that dress with the multiple layers. That one was a doozy!"

Sarracenia has posed:
     "Yes yes, I realize that. I was asking your opinion as a fashionista." Sarracenia says a bit impatiently to Tomoyo. She grips the wand again, then holds it up. "Hmm...I suppose if I had gloved fingers they would not show up against the wand." she says, then gives said wand a twirl and smiles. "It is a mavelous outfit. I shall have to commission you again if I need another dress." she says, then she opens the dressing room door. "I will wear this one out." the princess states, then motions toward the dress she wore here. "Please ensure that dress is placed on the hanger and inside the protective case from this one."

     She then walks toward the counter, ready to make payment. When she sees another customer there already, she offers a friendly smile. "Hello there. What sort of dress are you buying?" the princess, now dressed like the Dark Magician Girl, says to Yuna.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna smiles, nodding to Yamazaki. "Yep, the multilayer dress Tomoyo came up with. I brought my manager along so he could see what we were talking about ... I was a little surprised it was ready as quickly as I heard, truth be told," she admits with a sheepish grin.

Then Sarracenia emerges, followed (presumably) by Tomoyo, and Yuna turns to wave to them. "Wow ..." And promptly gets slightly sidetracked as she admires the outfit Sarracenia is currently sporting. "That's ... that's awesome," the blonde idol says with a grin and a slight blush. "Really nicely done, Tomoyo!"

Her manager bows politely, and seems to be trying not to stare.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     "Oh! Sorry~" Tomoyo says, placing a finger to her chin as she considers it. "Well, personally, I like fingerless gloves! Especially in winter, they keep my hands warm while my fingers are still free~ Using a needle while wearing gloves is no fun!" She wiggles her fingers with a smile.

     Her heart races when Sarracenia mentions the possibility of future commissions. She did it! She tries not to look too pleased though, just bowing her head. "Thank you for considering us~" She begins packing away her original dress, carefully folding it and placing it in the bag.

     As she comes out behind Sarracenia, her face lights up when she spots Yuna. "Yuna~! Hello!" Going behind the counter, she gives Sarracenia the price for her costume-a very reasonable one-and hands her the bagged dress. "Thank you for coming, your majesty~ Yamazaki, would you mind retrieving Yuna's dress?" The boy snaps into a mock salute and rushes up the stairs, coming back with a bagged dress.

    Tomoyo, meanwhile, bows to Yuna's manager. "Greetings sir~ I do hope that my dress meets your no-doubt high standards for your client."

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia looks rather pleased herself when she gets compliments on her dress. "It looks simply ravishing on me, does it not?" she says, striking a few cute poses, one of which is the pose on the card itself: her holding up the wand while curling one leg upward at the knee and smiling brightly. She is a princess, so of course her posing is in good taste.

     When told the price, the princess nods, then reaches into the little purse that is usually overlooked by those around her. She pulls out...solid gold coins, nearly as big as her palm, and sets them onto the counter. "I believe this should cover it." she says as she sets out three of the coins. She then goes to a nearby mirror to admire herself again, giggling happily every now and then.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna nods, "That's definitely one way to put it, yes ..." She grins at Sarracenia - then does a double-take at Tomoyo calling her 'your majesty', followed by a terribly sheepish look. "Ah, sorry ... I'm Yuna Kagurazaka, idol singer," she introduces herself more formally to the princess-dressed-as-a-Black-Magician-Girl.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     Tomoyo stares at the gigantic golden coins that are plonked down onto her counter. "Oh, thank you~" she says, privately wondering how on earth Sarracenia managed to carry them around. Gold is heavy! With a little grunt, she lifts them from the counter and places them behind it, not wanting to damage the register with their weight.

     But, back to Yuna! She takes the wrapped dress from Yamazaki and offers it to the idol. "The dressing rooms are over there~ If you need some help, I can help you get dressed!" Yamazaki, meanwhile, is looking between the manager and Sarracenia, a sly grin creeping across his face. "Did you know that revealing clothing was once only worn by holy women?" he suddenly says, addressing the room.

    "You see, they were worn as a testament to the spiritual purity of the wearer. It was believed that by bearing their flesh, they would become more susceptible to sinful tho-" His little story is cut off as Tomoyo reaches over to jab him with a pen.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia smiles to Yuna when she apologizes. "I am Princess Sarracenia Sundew, crown princess of the Sundew Kingdom. It is nice to meet you, Yuna Kagurazaka." she says. Then, Yamazaki tells his story, and Sarracenia looks a bit intrigued. "I see. But, I take it that they eventually changed their minds." she says, then looks herself over. Is she showing too much skin? She hmms, then decides it is really no more than usual, since she asked for a longer skirt than the girl on the card wore.

     "Regardless, I am a princess, not a priestess. I am held to different, though no less strict standards. Just displaying this much bosom is more than my parents would like, I am sure."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"I know some shrine maidens who would be openly astonished to hear that, Yamazaki," Yuna replies with a smile. Granted, she *can* believe it, at least of the church of the Queen of Light ... but she's not about to give that story extra credibility until she has a chance to confirm it with someone who knows these things better than she does.

(And Elner ain't talking.)

Yuna bows again to Sarracenia, and smiles wryly as she straightens up. "They'll get used to it, I'm sure. You can always dress to their expectations most of the time and save this for costume parties or sleepovers or something ... ah, yes, I could probably use the help, Tomoyo, thank you! - Good meeting you, Sarracenia; hope to see you again!"

She heads for the dressing room. Perhaps fortunately, Yuna's outfit coming into the shop is basically just a sundress. And while Yuna is trying on the new dress, her manager temporarily occupies himself looking out the shop's front window ...

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     "Sorry about him~ He likes to tell stories, but they're always made up," Tomoyo explains apologetically. Yamazaki pretends to look affronted, but he's still smiling. "I think they liked it actually!" he insists, looking more than a little pleased with himself.

     Tomoyo meanwhile, accompanies Yuna into the dressing room, extracting the completed dress! It's exactly as she designed, a white strapless dress, quite tight with a diamond hole over the bellybutton and skirts that stop just above the knee. As she promised, the inside is black, so that light won't shine all the way through.

     Next is a pair of white knee-length stockings, along with a long, flowing pair of detached sleeves that Tomoyo secures with ribbons that have been sewn into the hems. They're quite long, similar to kimono sleeves. She kneels down to help secure the wedge heels.

     When Yuna has been dressed, Tomoyo claps her hands together. "You look wonderful! Come show everyone, and I can show off the layered patterns!" Without even waiting for an answer, she emerges from the dressing room and takes out a flashlight from under the counter.

     Tomoyo is aware that the manager will be watching, so she first shines a white light onto the dress, proving that there won't be any malfunctions. She gives the head of the flashlight a twist, making the light go red and points it at Yuna. The dress goes red under the light, but trees and plants appear in white, bearing red cherries, apples, roses, all sorts of red plants!

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia smiles at Yuna's reassurance. "Yes, you are right." she says, then waits for Yuna to change. She can at least return the courtesy of commenting on her dress.

     When Yuna emerges, Sarracenia is unsure. It is so...white. "Are you getting married?" she asks, then blinks as the red light draws out the hidden images. "Oh! That is rather impressive. I take it this is a dress for performances, then, and not a wedding dress." The princess giggles. "Too bad. Attending a wedding could have increased my own chances of finding my hero."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
The dress is a little more snug than she anticipated, but a strapless dress *has* to be pretty close to form-fitting. The assistance in putting everything on is quietly welcomed, and Yuna makes some mental notes about which parts she's likely to need a hand with.

The idol singer is blushing slightly again as she steps out of the dressing room, posing for the onlookers. "Not a wedding dress, no," Yuna answers Sarracenia, her blush brightening again. "I don't really have anyone to get married to yet ..."

"Not to mention," her manager observes with a wry smile, "some of Yuna's fans would probably declare war on her fiance as soon as they heard about it, even if it was only the faintest of rumors. - Oooh ..." He trails off, looking at the color-revealed pattern. "So that's what Yuna was talking about ... and each color reveals a different theme or pattern, you said?"

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     Tomoyo smiles with delight as her handiwork shows up under the red light. Looking to the manager, she nods! "That's right, just watch!" She twists the head again, making the light come out orange. Now, when she moves the light around Yuna's dress, it depicts a bustling cityscape in white! Her tights show the streets below, the dress and sleeves the building-packed skyline!

     She moves through all the colors of the rainbow. Yellow is a beach, with the white sun high in the sky over white sand and white figures enjoying the day. Green is a path in a forest, green light glinting through white leaves to illuminate it. Blue is an undersea scene, white fish swimming through white reefs. Indigo is a shot of the night sky, white stars and moon glimmering under the light. Lastly, violet is a field of lavender flowers, rustling in a wind that carries their petals out into the world.

     "I put a lot into this dress, and I think it came out marvellously~" Tomoyo says, looking very proud of herself.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia is impressed with the dress. Very impressed. So impressed that even in her new Dark Magician Girl dress she feels a bit jealous. With each additional color scheme, her jealousy (and thus her annoyance) increases a bit more. When the light show is over, Sarracenia hmphs softly at Tomoyo's comment and turns her head off to the side away from them, arms crossed over her chest. "Yes, it is a very nice dress." she says. A complimentary comment, but her tone is more like that of a pouting child.

     And to make it worse, she can't even ask for such a dress or say she would like such a dress because she -just- purchased a rather elaborate dress herself. To do so would just make her seem petty, something that cannot be attributed to lovable princesses. "I did not realize such things were possible for dresses. You must be quite skilled indeed, Miss Daidouji." she says, still sounding a bit like she is pouting.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"It did come out extremely well, yes," Yuna's manager nods. "Which is actually why I'm here, to pay your commission fee - and possibly a modest gratuity on top of that," he says with a smile and a faint but polite bow. "How should I make the check out ... ?"

Yuna gives her manager a tolerant smile - she was enjoying this as just another bit of clothes-shopping, he HAD to go and make it about business. "You really did an excellent job, Tomoyo, thank you so much ... ! We're kind of back to square one on the concert, though - Penguin Park would've been a great venue, except ..."

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
     Tomoyo is flushed with pride as everyone admires her handiwork! But, she manages to catch Sarracenia's pouty tone, having heard similar from the children of other businesspeople whom she has had to rub elbows with at times.

    Oh how she... is unable to think of nice things to say about them.

    However, this is a princess, one who is interested in coming back. She wants to soothe her, but at the same time, keep Yuna and her manager happy. So she can't say the dress isn't all that great because that might put off Yuna and her manager, but if she acts all proud, Sarracenia will be even more upset... what would her mother say at a time like this?

    The tailor's face lights up when an answer comes to her. "I'm glad you all like it. It is by far one of the most complicated pieces I've ever made, and I learned a lot from it. I think that, in future, I'll be able to make even grander designs thank to the experience this outfit gave me~"

    There, she's acknowledging that the outfit is good, but promising that she can do even better in future, should they opt to come back. Everyone is happy! Looking over at the manager, she smiles. "Make it out to Tomoyo Daidouji, please~" Glancing over at Yuna, she smiles sadly. "I know... Sakura was pretty bummed out about it. I'll miss that park too."

     But, with everyone serviced, she takes the check the manager might offer and bows her head to the princess and the idol, Yamazaki doing the same. "Thank you both for shopping at Tomoyo's Boutique~ Hope to see you again!"

Sarracenia has posed:
     The princess hmms as she listens, then nods lightly. "I may have to order such a dress one day." she says, then she looks herself over, a light smile returning to her face. She curtseys to those in the shop before she heads for the door. "It was lovely meeting you, Yuna. I wish you good luck in your future endeavors." she says, then exits the shop.