20 | Shopping Frenzy!

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Helping a grand opening go well
When: August 21
Where: The Near Shore
Summary: The owners and employees at a new shopping center are begging for help. Bad luck has plagued them, and their grand opening is this weekend! Gods and shinki alike have been asked to respond to their prayers on Opening Day, find the source of their misfortune and ensure that the opening goes smoothly.



The Yamada Corporation is opening a new, high-class department store in a Tokyo suburb. They've been running advertisements for weeks and excitement among their prospective customers is at a fever pitch. Unfortunately, things inside the project aren't going so well. Construction has been delayed, deliveries are wrong, employees keep getting sick or hurt on the job and it's starting to look like the grand opening will be a grand disaster. Their fervent prayers for help have reached the Heavens, who are passing them along to you to be granted... but with an addition: Heaven, too, is very interested in learning where that bad luck is coming from.



Maintenance Madness

For a brand-new building, Yamada Department Store is having a lot of maintenance issues. Toilets are overflowing, lights are burning out, stair railings are coming loose, and either the air conditioning is set so cold there's frost on the vents or it's not working at all. The overworked maintenance crew needs all the help they can get! How many gods does it take to change a light bulb?

Secret Shoppers

Are you really going undercover to make sure you stop problems before they start, or just enjoying a day of high-class shopping on Heaven's dime? Whatever your real motivation is, all expenses are covered... but you'll still want to keep an eye out for mishaps. Unfortunately, the grocery and bakery in the basement are under construction (they've had some flooding problems) but there are still six floors of designer clothes, consumer goods and restaurants to enjoy.

Retail Rescue

Between mysterious accidents and that nasty flu that seems to be going around, the department store is badly understaffed. Grab an employee uniform and someone else's nametag and pitch in before the lines get too long. There are positions open in every department, from the restaurant on the top floor to book sales on floor one.

It's not just sales and service you have to worry about: thanks to the store's misfortune, displays are toppling over, the wrong orders are coming in, fancy candies are melting all over the shelves and ink tags are exploding on their own. This is hard work!

Intrepid Investigators

The Heavens aren't just sending so much supernatural help to this department store to keep their faithful followers happy. They have reason to suspect that there's something more sinister behind this mysterious streak of extra-bad luck. Between keeping the lights on and the customers happy,
you've been asked to search the store and investigate all of the "unlucky" incidents in order to determine what's going on. The shinki who brought you this request hinted that Heaven would look favorably on anyone who uncovered something particularly useful....

If your character is investigating the department store and needs to know what they have found, please comment to the "Investigations" thread below with a link to your thread. Your hint will be provided.

Investigation threads longer than 10 comments will earn 200 followers for every god in the thread and 20 exp for every shinki. Once your thread reaches that length, please turn it in by replying to your hint under the "Investigations" thread to let us know you've earned the bonus.

In Summary:

• Keep the lights on
• Take some time out to enjoy a shopping trip
• Make sure the customers are happy
• Discover the cause of the bad luck
• Have fun~

Comments

[demonsheath]

When you're out of your time and place, this whole building is a lot to get used to, even without senses that were keener than a human's. However even someone unfamiliar can see how many problems were plaguing the various floors and departments. The ice on the vents were particularly unusual and confusing, not because air conditioning was a foreign concept, but when you think that's the intended method, it seems unusually damaging. Not that Hannah was the most mechanically inclined, but you didn't have to be to understand that ice melting onto the walls and floor is just an invitation to problems. Which meant that while something was obviously wrong, she couldn't understand how it was meant to be fixed, no matter how many times that was a complaint.

Past that, plumbing and lighting issues were unfortunate, but not weird.

Eventually Hannah makes her way up to the roof to get a bit of a break from all of the stimuli when she spots the man in the bandana. She's had passing moments of her senses, mostly smell, picking that up. What a curiosity. This was the first time she's seen the source. Gently closing the door she had open, making sure it doesn't lock, the long-haired shinki speaks up after taking a few steps further in, with a light and amused tone. "It seems they are having you work everywhere in this building. Have you had any luck?

[royaltyloyalty]

Dokugakuji doesn't normally mind being approached by Near Shore people, which is who he thinks Hannah is, so when she cuts to a very direct question... it unsettles him a little bit. He's never been an outwardly sociable sort, but it's always been worse with humans in general. So that sort of question puts him on edge. It's been awhile since he served as a "repairman" on the Heavens' behalf to keep him a little more... casual.

"If you're looking for someone in charge of maintenance, that's not me. I'm just here for the day." Not a lie in either respect. He can't guess what she's after by asking him, though. So he waits to see how she responds, instinctively tilting the brim of his hat a little lower so as to conceal the tips of his ears tucked inside of it.

[demonsheath]

Hannah was hoping to blend in with the humans of this world, yet she hadn't gotten to the stage of really trying. She was still in the late Victorian era dress, which was far more fabric than one normally should be wearing in summer. Perhaps that was a small advantage, given how some of the areas of this mall were absolutely frigid. So she couldn't tell whether she overthought this 'blending in' idea, or if there were more people that didn't know how to accomplish it.

"The one in charge is unable to really do anything, right?" Casually asking, the long-haired demon made her way around a few of the contraptions while gliding a hand along the sides of the metal. "Most of us are here for just the day, what with all those requests. Honestly, it's still a little above me and my understanding right now."

[royaltyloyalty]

"So you're from the Far Shore too?" He narrows his eyes at her, trying to pin-point why she's still getting a little under his skin. Maybe it's just being a woman of her maturity and skin-color that's striking him with too many memories just about now, having recently discussed his past. Or it's her clothing being so opulent - at least to him - to make her appear more high class, like Gyokumen Koushu.

"God or shinki?" Because at least if she's a shinki, he'll understand a whole lot about her being confused. Gods don't have it much better, but shinki certainly have it tougher without memories to go on.

[demonsheath]

She certainly held herself as if she belonged in a higher class, or at least to the high class. Nodding, Hannah pauses when reaching one of the particularly cold sections of the ventilation system. Tapping at it a little, she stops with a bit of curiosity and doesn't get into a closer, conversational distance from the man. "A shinki. I was a part of the last wave of arrivals."

While toying and dancing around everything was an option, like it often is, Hannah continued to have little interest in that kind of game. "I'd offer my services, but I don't think a shinki is needed for... mechanics. I'm not exactly familiar with this era's technology either."

No. She honestly ended up here out of curiosity.

[royaltyloyalty]

Doku relaxes some of his tension - a shinki, hence some of her confusion, and not familiar with 'this era', hence more of it. Makes more sense. He can almost guarantee she's not a youkai by her ears as well, so he tells himself to calm down.

"Ah, something we have in common. I guess I was lucky then that I've proven useful to the Far Shore on more universal skills - like using a nail and a hammer, and hauling building supplies." He likewise kept his distance, but at least now he's smiling. "What services were you expecting them to offer, anyway?"

[demonsheath]

No long ears or clan markings from what little skin could be seen upon her, and her nails were neatly trimmed. Though her way of speaking probably wasn't helping to ease Doku's nerves.

"I meant that it seemed there was no need for shinki exclusive services here, at least at this time. Such as requiring borderlines or the chance to rend. Universal skills were another matter," and those she had quite a variety more of. Though mechanics were still not in her expertise at this time. She could certainly learn however. "This is my first time out to the Near Shore by the heaven's request, so I admit I haven't been holding many expectations to begin with."

[royaltyloyalty]

"Oh at this time, maybe, but I guarantee you that if it turns out whatever's causing all of this-" He gestures generically to the building they're supposed to be investigating. "Ends up being an ayakashi? Every god here will be calling for their shinki. You're very important as our partners. Trust me, I know it's your first day, but I think you'll see it."

He's trying to be vague but encouraging about it. Not dumping too much on her, but also insisting that a god treating her like she's worthless might be mistaken.

[demonsheath]

"Perhaps," she can sort of see what he was doing, and it was charming in the attempt. She hadn't even really brought up how her god saw her as- well, not as worthless, but like something he had stuck at the bottom of his shoe, but couldn't get rid of. "If it is, then I'm sure he'll call for me like all of you gods will their own shinki. Until then, my utility skills are limited. Unless you need something mended or cleaned. As long as it's not so modern, as I brought up earlier."

A little more humor there, but the point stood. She needed to develop more modern skills. Aside from that, she had fire. "Aside from that, I have my company."

[royaltyloyalty]

"Well, at least you have some company. No one should be too lonely around here." He looks down at his coat then. "I think I'm still doing alright for not needing it mended just yet."

So he just bows to her. "I wasn't trying to utilize your time, to sway you away from your god or anything, but it's nice to have met you anyway. I'll leave you to your business."

And he can keep looking around as well.