thenearshore | 20 | Shopping Frenzy!

Entry tags:

20 | Shopping Frenzy!

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

Retail Rescue

Intrepid Investigators

comment to the "Investigations" thread below with a link to your thread.

by replying to your hint under the "Investigations" thread

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~

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Maintenance Madness
[ Because of all these toilets, and sinks, and pipes, there's a whole lot of water on the bathroom floors. So D2 is wielding a mop and trying to keep it from flooding over, and tightening pipes, so the costumers won't have to walk through ankle-deep pools of water if they want to use the toilet or wash their hands or whatever. At the moment, there seems to be no end to it, which is just friggin' fantastic. The look on his face probably tells just how happy he is with the never-ending amount of new leaks. Which is, you know, not at all happy. ]

Secret Shoppers
[ Since D2 was going to do some shopping either way, this is great timing. Primarily he gets stuck in the office supplies section, where he looks at all the, well, office supplies. But there's the household goods section, where he's looking at cooking utensils and things of that sort, and the book/movie/music section. Maybe he's taking a bit too long at deciding between some things, but you don't have to make alarm clocks go off and startle him all the time... Though who keeps misplacing them (on purpose? by mistake?) is a mystery. ]

Retail Rescue
[ The intention was to help out at this one shoe store, but the plans derailed pretty quickly. Because some parents brought their children with them, and the children, bored with trying on shoes and just waiting, had started playing with soap bubbles. And when one had (probably unintentionally) blown a stream of bubbles toward D2 (currently wearing a name tag saying "Hayashi" or some other similar name), D2 had pulled back and out of the way...not entirely because of surprise. It barely had anything to do with surprise. His back hitting a shelf and sending a few shoes to the floor had caught the children's attention and it didn't take them very long for them to realize that for some reason, this adult seems to be frightened of the innocent bubbles. Or maybe they think it's a game. Either way, there's a large crash when D2 tries to escape by backing up further, pressing further into the shelf in the corner and trying and failing to keep his breath even, and equally trying and failing from letting out strangled noises of fear. Of all the things to freak out over, he never expected this--not that he's thinking that, or much of anything, at the moment. The shoe store isn't the only place it happens in, either. Who even gives that many children free reign with bubbles?

Somebody save him from these devilish (not really) children. ]

Intrepid Investigators
[ After those mishaps, D2 just wants to get away from mortal children for a while. So he heads for the closed down basement, and to lighten his mood and get into an investigating mood, he's humming a somewhat out-of-tune (to some people probably familiar) melody. Because he had intended to look around the area from the start either way.

He's sneaking around corners very sneakily. Well, not really, considering his humming. But pretend-sneakily, at least. ]

Edited 2017-09-02 14:07 (UTC)

[ Maintenance Madness ]

I REFUSE TO PERFORM THIS SORT OF MENIAL LABOR!

[ Thus spake the god Apollo, ankle-deep in where a sink has overflowed. The plumber has stopped more water from coming in, but then passed a mop to Hibiki and promptly....left, to see if anything in the basement can be salvaged. They don't even notice Hibiki yelling after them.

Hibiki smacks the tiles with the mop for good measure. It makes an extremely unimposing squwack sound. ] RETURN POSTHASTE AND RESUME YOUR POSITION! THIS IS DESERTING THE BARRICADE!!

[ That plumber, though, is gone. ]

[ Secret Shoppers ]

I suppose this suffices.

[ Hibiki is in the men's section, looking over the luxurywear. Hibiki is picking items from the rack, checking the texture of the fabric and the stitching and the brand, then piling the chosen items into the arms of a very confused employee. Where did this person come from...? ]

We're headed to electronics next.

[ The employee looks like they might topple over. ]

[ Intrepid Investigators ]

[ Hibiki didn't just come here to shop or make a nuisance of herself, though. No, she's here because she got tired of all the prayers related to this store flooding in when she'd really rather deal with her actual sphere of influence.

Therefore, it cannot be helped. She is branching out especially for this occasion.

She also isn't cooperating with any of the other groups looking into the issues. Instead, she's hacked into the building's security cameras, sent a spygoat down towards the basement since that's the most suspicious place, and erected Mission Control (read: she has a table, a laptop, and half a dozen cups of tea) around a corner in this stairwell.

Thus, you may encounter one of two things. You may encounter a stuffed purple goat toy on a wheeled platform waiting patiently for an elevator that isn't coming,

or you may round a corner and find yourself

staring down the barrel of Shikyoin Hibiki's golden flintlock pistol. ]

Who's there?

Edited 2017-09-02 00:50 (UTC)

I. Love in an Elevator {various shopping prompts}

a. First Floor:
[ Tatara had intended to ride straight to the electronics story, buuuuut...

This place had him at “music”. Thus, he’s in flipping through cartons of old vintage LPs, maybe toying with a cheap ukulele and making up lyrics haphazardly as he strums along after that. Thankfully, he’s not about to take any of those home. No -- in his basket of goodies, what he’s actually got are decorative bookends and a slew of ‘how-to’ books on various topics.

Stop him before he buys them, question his life choices, or go back and tell him to buy the ukulele too -- the choice is yours! ]

b. Fifth Floor
[ This is where he finds his long-lost camera, he’s sure of it!

...Instead, he’s found solar-powered dancing toys, and is now deliberating over which he should get. Or, hey, why not one of each? They’re all pretty adorable, and with how much natural light his temple has, wouldn’t they make the place just a bit more cheery? The more the merrier, right? ]

c. Sixth Floor
[ After a long day of shopping, he’s ready for a break! Plus, the smells coming from the restaurant are too top-notch for him to stave of curiosity about what might be on the menu. What could it hurt? ]

Wanna give it a try?

II. Maintenance Madness

[ It may be August outside, but indoors? It may as well be December with how cold it is. Everywhere he goes, people are complaining, tucking close to one another for warmth, shivering -- Tatara himself is no exception, either. The difference? Upon seeing a cooling vent that is quite literally frozen over, he’s inclined to do something about it. ]

Sorry, but do you mind helping me out for a second?

III. Going... Down? {Retail Rescue: ~scandalous~ edition}

[ After de-icing the vents, it seems he’s somehow found himself in a store that’s... unattended? That’s odd. Well, no good can come from leaving it that way, right? Plus, it’s probably only a matter of time before someone turns back up. (He’s sure they’re only on a lunch break!)

So anyone entering this women’s lingerie store will find Tatara either “decorating” the front mannequins, or behind a rack with a handheld beeping away, humming as he works. Yes, works -- today only, he’s re-pricing things, and offering some rather exceptional markdowns! So if you’re in the market, now’s the time to invest~! ]

Hibiki (and robotic goat accomplice) are casing the joint here!

[Izumo stops when Totsuka stops, looking over at him briefly before he looks over at the restaurant.]

Might as well. It wouldn't hurt to try it out.

[And he's not exactly a picky enough eater to say no.]

[Heading toward a nearby glasses store, Reisi can't help but notice someone familiar working on the lingerie store's front display. Upon ~~closer~~ more thorough inspection, that familiar someone appears to be Tatara Totsuka, incarnation of the Roman goddess of wisdom, the arts, and trade, Minerva.

How curious.

When Reisi steps into the store, he finds there aren't any staff members to be seen. Eventually, he circles back to where Totsuka's working.]

My, aren't you rather busy at work today? Then again, this is a grand opening...

Maintenance Madness

[These incidents are, frankly, an excellent exercise for Komaeda's inherent talent and his godly powers. He's always been lucky - though not necessarily in the sense of good luck - but his level of luck seeks a sort of automatic balance. For all the misfortune it encounters, it attempts to repay him with good luck. In a place where endless misfortune is already happening...well, wouldn't it stand to reason that he can only have good luck here?

Add onto that that he is Averruncus, a god that can either cause or avert disaster, and really...he's in his element.

Today, Komaeda is leading a strangely charmed (and, he knows, highly temporary) life. He drifts around the store at his whim, and somehow wherever he chooses to go is the exact place and time where he can nip some catastrophe in the bud. And, somehow, the merest involvement of himself in some fix-it project seems to right whatever's wrong, regardless of whether he knows anything about what needs fixing. He's already fixed one malfunctioning AC unit - in front of an exasperated, experienced maintenance worker who presumably knows how one works - simply by banging on it once with his fist, ala Fonzie.

He's pretty sure he's getting on the nerves of a few of the crew, but he's never been good at making himself popular. It's possible he's annoying some gods and shinki, too...or are yours pleased for the help of someone so mysteriously effective? He certainly seems to know what he's doing as he approaches a malfunctioning cash register.]

Ah, excuse me for asking, but...have you tried unplugging it and plugging it back in?

[This has been tried no less than twice, and yet the very first plug Komaeda pulls out and plugs back in somehow restores it to working order. He smiles, brightly.

He has no idea what he's doing. But his luck has never cared.]

Secret Shoppers

[Komaeda's spent most of his life rich and with nothing to do but...well, basically, whatever he wanted. So being given a shopping spree on money not his own doesn't thrill him much; he's never wanted for material goods or financial freedom. Still, Garry was interested, and Komaeda likes his shinki; he's been more than willing to accompany the other man on a harmless errand, even if he's largely disinterested in the shopping aspect.

It means he's doing a lot of idling around waiting while Garry takes an interest in something, though. Do you talk to the bored, sickly-looking young man lurking outside the men's clothing store? He definitely looks like he could use a distraction.]

Intrepid Investigators

[Komaeda imagines that most people investigating the mysteries of this spate of bad luck will be heading down to the basement. He knows it might be better to spread out and search elsewhere...but the fact is that, over the course of the day, he's been over most of the rest of the shopping center. The one place he hasn't looked is the basement. And it's the one place his interesting combination of powers of fortune hasn't had the chance to work yet. If anyone stands a chance of finding something useful down there, he reasons, why not him?

So down he goes to the basement, a flashlight in one pocket and a knife in the other. He'd used his shopping spree to stock up, and he doesn't trust the lights after so many burned out bulbs earlier in the day...especially in a place that's closed to the public.

And, sure enough...the lights go out. Does it count as good luck that you've brought a flashlight when it was simply good planning?

Either way, if you find yourself in the basement, suddenly in the dark, that beam from Komaeda's flashlight will be a welcome sight. And he's not the least bit surprised to find that he's not the only one down here.]

This seems like a bit wider of a blackout than the lights going out upstairs were, doesn't it? I wonder if there's more bad luck to be had down here, or if it's just coincidence...

Edited 2017-09-02 01:33 (UTC)

[ See, he was doing that whole secret shopper thing until that shinki asked for help. Which is why he was in the basement, by using the stairs because why wouldn't he. Yet what does he get for this?

Someone pointing a gun at him. Was it even real? Did people actually make golden guns? Why does some kid have it? ]

Put the damn gun down already. I'm just looking into something a shinki asked help for. Is that even real?

Mm. [ Tatara affirms cheerily and with ease. ] You could say I'm working overtime just for this special occasion~!

[ He'll happily slip a couple more stickers on over the original price tags on a rack of silk robes and lean carefully out from behind them. ]

Which is even more so, now...

[ Make of that comment what he will. ]

What brings Munakata-san around today, hm?

[ Tatara angles up to glance back at Izumo. ]

Would you say it's fancy enough for the occasion?

[Secret Shoppers]

i. 6th Floor

[Instead of actually shopping, Toushirou can actually be found sitting in a cafe somewhere. He’s not exactly pleased with being dragged into a mall of all places (whoever managed to get him there deserves some points in the first place), but he seems to have sought refuge in the first cafe he could find.

He doesn’t seem to mind, really.

Coupled with what seems like a coffee cake of some kind and some tea, he’s idly looking through his phone as if something on it will be enough to occupy his attention.]

ii. Wildcard option

[This is an option for anyone who wants to try to find Toushirou on any of the other floors. He’ll be avoiding the third floor by habit and can be found on the first or fourth floors more often.]

[Interpid Investigators]

[It’s rare that the shinigami would ever turn down anything that’s directly handed to him, especially not a prayer of all things.

And it’s a lot better than actually being involved in anything concerning retail.

Join in or stop and ask him what he’s doing.]

[Wildcard]

[Wanna do something and these plots don’t scream out to you? Feel free to make a prompt of your own!]

[ Being the technical person Elfnein is, it's only natural to help out with the maintenance issues going on in the mall. ]

I don't mind at all.

[A chuckle.]

Fancy enough, but not too fancy for us either. I say it's a good choice.

If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for me!

[ Let's not kid about who has more discerning tastes, here. ]

But first--!

[ Peripherally, he gives Izumo a Look. ]

Aren't you going to offer me your arm, Kusanagi-san~?

[ It's a joke. He swears it's a joke! ]

Hibiki (and accomplice, and hapless blond interloper) will discover that the security cameras are unfortunately affected by all of the maintenance issues as well. About half of them are working on the floors open to the public, and none of them are working at all down in the basement.

Perhaps that's due to the flooding?

She'll notice that there doesn't seem to be any visible water damage or any smell of mold down in that basement, though. And, strangely, it doesn't look as though this supermarket is anywhere close to opening. The floors and walls are unfinished, there aren't any appliances in place, and there's no lighting. Mostly-opaque heavy plastic construction sheeting is hanging everywhere, making it very challenging to navigate the area.

[There's a pause.

Then a look, and Totsuka's getting a bonk on the head.]

Let's not push it, Totsuka.

[ Only Tatara Totsuka, incarnation of Minerva and former so-called weakest member of HOMRA, would be rejected on his very own not!date.

A wince and recoil precede a sheepish chuckle. ]

Sorry, sorry...! [ Even in the afterlife, he's still just as little fun as he was before. Ah, well. At least he's consistent!

Silence reigns until the hostess seats them at a table along a glass panel wall, wherein Tatara is immediately preoccupied with the view more so than the menu. ]

[Maintenance Madness]
[These maintenance guys should feel happy that Nari has some handyman skills. You pick things up when you live in the middle of the woods and have to provide all your own property maintenance after all. Lights burning out? No problem. Just meant there was a bad connection somewhere down the line. No AC or too much? Eh. Workable.

Anyone who comes across this god will notice he's in a good mood while working, and he's not wearing any protective gear...]

[Retail Rescue]
[When Nari's done with the maintenance duties, guess what? He's gonna go cook. Nothing is better than keeping busy and not being able to find a pet section has made him a little irritated. So he'll take it out on making food as fast and as efficiently is possible.

Since he doesn't really know Japanese food that well, he'll stick to the European and American dishes. If you're a waiter or just wandering around, you'll get a tray shoved in your arms.]

Table 4. Now. Those folks've been waiting long enough!

[Investigation]
[Finally able to take a break, Nari sets out on going back to the maintenance and see if there's any clues to be had. What was making everything short out or work too much? So poking around and possibly literally getting stuck somewhere is a go!]

[Wildcard]
[Want something else? Hit me up!]

Great!

[ He had a feeling Elfnein wouldn't turn him down, but it's still good to hear. ]

If this vent is frozen, it's safe to say there's more that are, too. Can you find them for me? I'll take care of this one.

[ With a wisp of flame on his index and middle fingers, it shouldn't take much more than a passing graze of touch. ]

[Goten isn't one for clothes or shopping. But being the child that he is, the few toys placed here and there were enough to grab his attention. There was a reason so many shinki and gods were around and he vaguely remembered something about a prayer but the toys did distract him for a while.

Luckily, its really hard to miss someone like hitsugaya. Despite the god's short height, his clothing and white hair were almost like a beacon among the regular shoppers.]

You look lost, Hitsu.

[Look, he's going along with this not!date already.

Doesn't mean he's going to treat the other man any differently, however.

As the hostess walks away after telling them that their server will be by shortly, Izumo gazes at the menu.]

Enjoying the view outside?

[ He didn't have to if he didn't want to. But as Tatara recalls it, it was Izumo who had made certain points of it and about it -- enough that the god had flushed and flustered about it, albeit mostly from disbelief. ]

Mm! It's beautiful from here...

[ It almost reminds him of home. ]

[It's enough to have gotten Totsuka to fluster from the tease.]

Should take a picture of it for the memories.

[ Spoil-sport. ]

Aah! You're right!

[ How is it that he's become so used to not having a camera that he has to remember he has one now? ]

It's in one of these bags...

[ He has to go rooting through them for a moment, sifting through all the kitschy nonsense nobody effectively told him he couldn't have before he finds what he's looking for. ]

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20 | Shopping Frenzy!

INVESTIGATIONS

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Investigators

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