(open mingle) it's not the mall without a spencer's!

[metafictions]

WHO: Kamui (metafictions), Wrench (wrenchedup), and you!
WHAT: A very silly mingle for hunkering down in the Spencer's.
WHERE: the city mall
WHEN: sometime during the August event
WARNINGS: Suggestively shaped bachelorette party items, will update for anything else.




After some hours of confusion in the dark, it becomes clear that they're all going to be stuck in the mall for a while. Naturally, the need for a safe home base arises next.

Enter: the Spencer's Gifts on the mall's second floor. It's near enough to emergency lighting to almost be visible, but more importantly, it's full of enough food and supplies to… sort of make it work, when it comes to hunkering down for a bit. Far preferable to sleeping on one of the mall benches, anyway.

The shop is stocked like pretty much any other Spencer's in the mall in 00's North America:

Cases and rows of alternative fashion, from spiked wristbands and chokers to body jewelry and gauges, line the shop. If you're especially enterprising they could be repurposed as a makeshift weapon. Orrrr you can just keep your cash in that chain wallet

Pop culture merch is also highly represented at the Spencer's. There's stacks and stacks of anime t-shirts, funny graphic tees, and novelty bobbleheads and other figures.

Careful going to the back of the shop, though: that's where all the adult items are kept though a whole lot of it might be already raided by Wrench, ask about that later.

Most importantly is the construction of what has been lovingly (oocly) dubbed as… ~ The Naruto Fort ~ or The Nort for short:

Welcome to The Nort.
Whether you’re helping construct it, stock it full of goodies, protect it from things that aren’t actually there, or just paying a visit or coming to sleep for the night The Nort can be found occupying one of the aisles close to the entrance.

The tent walls are crafted by strung together nondescript anime t-shirts and weird goth costumes and probably at least one tie dye pot leaf flag. There are tons of novelty pillows in all sorts of odd shapes (yes, there’s probably one that looks like a butt) for you to rest your weary head. There might even be a few throw blankets of everyone’s fav emo band, My Chemical Bromance.

Comments

i'm cancelling all of my future game plans this is where midnight lives now

[unrequite]

[ This is like, what? The third day of mall heck? Midnight's gotten separated from his usual pack somehow, washed up on the merciful shores of the second floor, and made his way here, seeing as how it's fairly clear that there's some sort of active habitation occurring here.

But now he's parked himself in the clothing racks, poking through a belt display, humming happily to himself. This store was clearly made for him. Look, he's been in survival mode for at least a day now, let him enjoy one (1) thing. ]

What manner of establishment is this? Is it common on Earth?

LONG LIVE THE NORT

[metafictions]

Umm... I think it might be American? I've never seen one before. Wrench was the one who suggested it.

[He kind of wanted to look for a mattress store, or something. In retrospect, however, if something dangerous really is in this mall, a little corner of 00s cringe is probably safer than a bed in the middle of an open space full of other beds.]

There's even food here, too. Most of it's candy and soda, but if whatever is in the food court runs out, at least we know there's something around.

[unrequite]

American... Must be quite the place, if novelties like these are commonplace.

[ He pulls a fully studded belt from the rack, studies it for a moment, then, without ceremony, goes to his waist and pulls it through his belt loops. His now. ]

Wouldn't like to think about that for the long term, but it'll do in a dire emergency. How long were you thinking we'd be stuck in here?

Get In Loser We're Going Norting (nsfw)

[wrenchedup]

_Discovery.txt (For Kamui)

[ Of course Wrench was going to explore the mall. It's a mall! He remembered those! The Bay Area didn't really have those anymore... or like, he actually can't remember if they ever had then but whatever. It was the whole emergency lighting and unrealistically long hallways that made him think they were in some sort of Purge meets that one stairway in Mario 64.

But luckily! He found a pal. And The suggestion of making a place to hunker down was a good one so he agree, and that's when he saw it. In all its glory, it was... Wrench let out a huge gasp of glee, hands came in, eyes turning to hearts. ] Oh my goooood, It's a Spencer's!!! There, there. Yes that is The Place. It's perfect.

_weapons_in_disguise.txt

[ Oh, wow. It's like I'm a fucking kid again, dude. Holy shit. Mind you, literally no one knew his age outside of possibly Jo because she had seen his face but he started wandering the aisles and some time after he could be found behind the cash register with a handful of crap. Making, you guessed it, weapons. Out of chain wallets and dulled down spike bracelets. Oh, a sock with a shot glass in it. And someone was welcomed to see him there. Join him, even!

However, because he is... him... he finds the back sections fairly quickly and oh, ohoho. eheheh. It's a cock pop. Oh yeah, absolutely weapon of choice. Come the fuck at him. He spins around with a grand ] En Garde! [ to the nearest unsuspecting victim.

Much later on, after The Nort(tm) was constructed, he's chilling at the front of it and looking out to the darkened mall ahead. Laying on his stomach, stupid novelty glasses on top of his LED display, and wearing a cheese hat with about fifty cheap spiked bracelets on his arms. He's got a whole bunch of raunchy candies of all varieties and a makeshift sling shot. You, passing person, just might get hit in the head with a boob. He's not sorry. ]

_wildcard.txt

[ idk, if u want something else lmao. ]

LETS GO

[metafictions]

[Scouring the mall for clues would be a given, even if they weren't indefinitely stuck here. But even if he could, he doesn't want to attempt sleep on a bench or in some corner-- not when they aren't sure what dangers lie here. (Sure enough, his senses, feeble thoughts they've gotten, have been going haywire since he first got here. Something IS very wrong here, and he knows it.)

Luckily for him, he runs into Wrench at some point. He doesn't know him well-- he doesn't know anyone here well, really-- but safety in numbers, and all that. Before he can even chime in with his idea for a base, Wrench finds...

Whatever this place is.]

Um... [After scrutinizing that weird decorative brick wall around the entrance, he turns to Wrench, perplexed.] What's a Spencer's? I don't think they have this chain in Japan. Is it a clothing store?

HEYAAA

[wrenchedup]

Whoa, wait. Seriously, dude??? [ He's kind of shocked. Okay, not that shocked. Hope you don't mind physical contact, Kamui. He's just going to throw an arm over the man's shoulder and mosey on up to the store. Already a person could see some clear plastic cabinet with cheap piercing jewelry in it.

Dramatic voice engaged. A hand scanning the horizon. It's all very cinematic. ] Beyond these borders lays every 90's child and 00's teen's dream. A mystical wonderland of pop culture, anime, and cheap edgelord bullshit. [ And here they are. ] Oh, and also adult novelty in the back because why not?

Forward!! [ And he's IN. Comin'? ]

weapons in disguise (NORTING LMAOOOOOOO)

[codenametesla]

[She looked... frazzled, likely. Moving here and there in the hopes that she'd avoid... whatever was following. She wasn't sure anything even was yet, and she didn't want to find out.

But... even that stress couldn't completely stop her from wanting to check out a Spencers of all places! She wasn't about to pass up the chance to go into a store she'd never been allowed to before!

Which is how she now found herself, bewildered, looking at someone with some sort of LED display on their head, who she was pretty sure was the source of the... thing that had just hit her.

There's two emotions battling for supremacy now. Embarrassment and battle!
Fortunately, battle is basically just scooping up the offending object and, after a pause, spinning to long arm it right back with a grin. Which is what she does.]

I mean you no harm, o defender of the gates!

[Look, she needs some levity right now.]

NORTING!!

[wrenchedup]

[ Luckily Wrench would experience the whole somebody watching meeee thing later. For now, he's still camping out in the fort with his cheese hat and glasses when someone came into view. Sling shot readied, aaaand.... BULLSEYE. A sort of quasi-mechanical laugh could be heard before he bellowed out: ] HALT!!

[ Oh hey, they play ball. Excellent. Let him just load up another, uh, ""candy"". ] Whoa! [ The candy hit him with a tiny plink before unceremoniously cracking on the floor. Awww. boob. He knew you well. Anyway. More drama! ] And yet fair traveler you engage. So be it declared: a war.

[ Get your catching hand ready, candy is coming your way! ]

i'm here to get boob candies thrown at me

[indwelt]

[ Sometimes you're just trying to have a disturbing time mapping out a mall that's way bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside and you get pelted in the head by a boob candy.

Wekt looks up from his mapmaking, an extremely disgruntled expression on his face. ]

I'm not one of the specters haunting this mall.

[ He's clearly solid and see-through and very normal-looking?? Please. ]

thank god

[wrenchedup]

[ Yeah, he noticed that while finding the place with Kamui. The whole bigger than it seems thing. Fucking weird, right? Eventually he'd go do the adult thing or to be more specific the mature and intelligent thing and try to figure out what in the heck was going on around here. For now, though, Wrench was comfortable being an idiot.

Anyway, hi. In the darkness his LED's probably look extra fucking cool thank you for noticing. Just two X's that occasionally change emoji every once in awhile peering from the darkened mouth of (dun dun dun) a Spencer's. ~ Spookeyy~ (not spooky, you're wearing a fucking cheese hat, Wrench). Anyway, he loads up another candy but— ]

Whoa, wait. Okay first of all who the fuck says specters [ Wrench said with a laugh ] but also have people legitimately been seeing ghosts? [ He hasn't gotten there yet but. He will. ]

wildcardish, eventually horks??

[coolerjunpei]

[Of course there's a goddamn Spencer's, why wouldn't there be—no shitty neon store has ever been a bigger bastion of safety and comfort in a haunted mall, in Junpei's humble opinion. Finally... he's home.

Or rather: he's been standing in front of one of those static plasma balls for like, ten minutes now, because coping is getting to play with funny lamps even if they don't work. He sees the Nort. He admires the dedication to the anime shirt bit. For now, he's keeping himself sane out here with the lamps.

To wit, once he spots Wrench gathering his weaponized dick candies or whatever he's going around doing:]

Hey, you ever pour all the goo out of a lava lamp?

[he has Always Wanted to do this!!!]

HORKS HORKS HORKS

[wrenchedup]

[ So glad they're on the same page. Honestly, Wrench could very well have ventured out to try and fix whatever was going on here. He had the skills. He was a fucking engineer. And maybe eventually he might try and take a look at whatever though also there was a piece of him that thought it might be like the whole Kiosk situation and have zero logical sense to it. Anyway, he'll do that eventually. For now, though? Absolutely chilling in the fucking Spencer's. Safety in shitty teen memories.

Wildly enough, at some point Wrench had become so entrenched in trying to fashion (hah, fashion) some kind of actual semi legit DIY weapon or several kinds that he didn't notice Junpei trying to play with the not-on-plasma-ball until the guy spoke up. ] Oh, hey man! [ The LEDs were bright in the darkened store. He's like a god damn flashlight. ] Uh, no actually. [ He sounds surprised at himself because honestly its exactly the dumb kind of thing he WOULD do. ] I haven't but.... I DO NOW. [ Up Wrench gets from the floor. ] Let's do it!

weapons in disguise (we duel--)

[bemist]

[ Well. Some people deal with power outages in mature, rational ways. Others panic and start screaming. And others brandish a cock pop at the people who are just trying to be serious and figure out the situation, and here is where Gebura finds herself, staring down this tiny rainbow monstrosity and then ever so slowly (she counts to seven seconds inwardly) lifting her eyes to stare at Wrench.

And, calmly-- ]

You're going to need something a little bigger than that to handle me.

[wrenchedup]

[ Excuse him for wanting some comfort, woww. He'll get there eventually. To the whole trying to figure out what was going on thing, that was. For now coping meant being an absolute, as Sitara would often call him, idiot sandwich. So when he produces his weapon of choice at the incoming threat and it turns out to be Gebura there's a sort of... uh. Well. You know, you remember... he'd mentioned she looking tough.

And then she said that. Damn well nearly had him choking, but he can play ball. ] Not the size that matters, lady fair. It's how you use it. [ WINK. ]

It's Kamui

[metafictions]

01 - mask de uh;

[Despite being from 2005, this is Kamui's first time in a Spencer's, ever. Apparently, this is an American mall rat institution: definitely not something you'd find in Kanto's neat and clean 25th Ward. It's a little overwhelming, but also... sort of funny? Travis would probably like some of the weird shirts here. Out of some weird sense of sentimentality, he starts shuffling through one of the racks of ironic shirts.

To whomever is browsing beside him, he holds up one of these monstrosities. Whether he's amused, unamused, or even truly understands the sentiments of whatever is on them is unclear.]

Whoever made this store just gathered whatever weird things they could find together, huh?

[Seriously. There's no system of organization whatsoever. Not that he's not swiping a couple of these for pajamas, but, y'know.]

02 - do not destroy;

[You're not getting him in the damn Nort. (Fine, he'll cave eventually, but give him a second.)

As the night grows longer-- not that you'd know, with the mall dark and dreary as it is-- he's working on trying to plug in one of the novelty lava lamps for a bit more light. Turns out it's not just that the lights are all off: the power doesn't work in here, either. He sets the lamp aside with a grumble, then shuffles over to a bit of wall not covered in assorted merchandise.]

There's a metaphor in this somewhere, I think... [Time to give it up, he supposes. With a sigh, he grabs a big donut-shaped pillow off the wall and takes a seat on the ground, hugging the cushion in his lap. The back of his head knocks against the wall with a soft thunk as he leans back against it, defeated.]

How much longer do you think we'll be trapped here?

wildcard;
[The Spencer's is your oyster. hmu at smithsyndicate if you want something specific!]

mask de uh - hello

[faststance]

[ A clothing shop, huh?

Someone from the 1940s, he looks at everything with interest. Since it seems like they're not going to be getting out any time soon -- he's more just making sure that everyone is all right. A wellness check? Is that what some people call it?

In any case, his hands are still bruised and red from trying to punch the door open. But enough about that -- he is pulling some of the shirts down. His eyes widen at some of it before turning to look at the young man that spoke: ]

Seems that way. [ He frowns. ] They're good for a laugh, at least? I guess we could use that -- uh, um, you're okay, right?

HELLO!! 👀

[metafictions]

[Strong as the man who's wandered in looks, Marcoh's injured hands haven't escaped his notice. Kamui glances down at those bruises with a frown.]

I'm all right. No injuries. [He's a little on edge, sure, but it's hard not to be in a place like this.] But I should be asking you the same question.

What happened?

01

[cranekin]

(Likewise, Tsurumaru is also rifling through the t-shirts to see what modern fashion has to offer. There sure is a lot of variety, isn't there?

He's holding up a shirt in front of him to check the size. He can't really try it on when he's wearing a full kimono and robe. Kind of hard to take it off, you know? But given how he's pretty twiggy, this shirt will definitely fit him.

He looks up at Kamui when he speaks and reads the shirts he's holding up and--)

What's "vaccinated?"

(What's a vaccine... He is a ye olde, Kamui. He doesn't get the joke.......)

[metafictions]

[Squinting through the darkness, he can almost recognize the familiar face, but it's not until the other man speaks that he recognizes him.]

Hi, Tsuru-san.

[And then he registers The Question. At this point, Kamui's used to the mismatch of timelines and worlds that exist in this city, but he's never had to actually explain a concept for anybody. He glances down at the offending shirt, pensive, then hooks its hanger back onto the rack.]

It's a modern way of preventing a disease. Don't worry about it. [...] I like that horse, though. You should get that one.

02

[coolerjunpei]

[The Nort is a lifesaver, honestly. Junpei has not felt at ease since crawling into this Spencer's and seeing all the should-be-glowing plastic novelty items. In his relief, he's chosen to put on a hat, but not one of the Funny Shirts. That would be embarrassing.

The hat is fine though. He's slouched with a novelty beer pong cup that he's drinking room temperature tap water from. It's a living.

First:] Until we find six magic puzzle pieces and build the key to the secret exit, probably.

[And then:] What's the metaphor?

[metafictions]

[Kamui smiles, wan, at the joke.] It'd be nice if it were that easy, huh? We'd have found it a long time ago if that was all, but...

[He trails off, fingers tapping idly on the donut cushion. Better not to think about that nice theoretical when they're still stuck.]

Anyway. We've got every lamp we could need, but no electricity, right? I think we have everything we need to work out what's going on in this city. We're just missing some crucial element to putting it all together.

do not destroy

[horrifictie]

Until the cursed entity consumes us.

[ Harry responds, peeking past the display of novelty glasses he has been trying. Meaning if Kamui looks up to respond, he will see Harry sporting a pair of plastic glasses with a giant honking nose in the middle. It barely fits over his bloated face. ]

Doomed commercial areas like these are haunted by the specters of failed business ventures. The market eventually swallows all things.

an elvira has been delivered

[matermali]

{ confusion
"do thou amend thy face, and i'll amend my life."

[ For now, Vanessa has managed to keep her wits about her just enough so that she hasn't yet succumbed to nerves. Naturally, she's drawn to any bit of light she can find, and more-so when she realizes there are people inside. People, not ghosts, not memories... Just people.

If not for how pale she is, she might appear as nothing but a shadow before stepping into the shop, neck-to-toe in black cotton and lace, with equally dark hair pulled back into a bun. Even her earrings are dark: little scorpions imbedded with onyx.

The second she enters, Vanessa feels as though she's stepped into an entirely different realm. Everything on display is bizarre, enough to make her temporarily abandon wariness for curiosity. Already, she's found a box of Shakespearean Insult Bandages. To put the quotes on bandages is just ludicrous enough of an idea to draw a short laugh from her, which she's quick to stifle before murmuring out one of the samples with a hushed voice. ]

Thy wit's as thick as Tewksbury mustard.

[ Well, now she has to see everything else in here. Momentary distractions really are priceless. ]

{ acceptance
what in the god damn is a nort

[ While some might think Vanessa to be completely nocturnal, she craves peaceful sleep as much as anyone. She also knows that it's going to elude her as it always does, and why should now be any exception? No matter if the others have established this as some sort of sanctuary, she knows it isn't safe. Whatever has cursed this building isn't going to cease so that they can rest.

She's avoiding the little fort they have constructed, finding it would only stifle her senses further and keep her from remaining alert. Instead she's found a spot near the entrance, still in the corner, where she's settled down with a single novelty pillow that mimics a bag of Cheeto's. Whatever that is.

Curled up against a stack of t-shirts so that she can keep an eye on the window as well as the shop, she may be eating too many inappropriately shaped sweets while trying not to doze off. She can't succeed for long, but only minutes after she drifts off, her dear Mina's face flashes before her. No, not her Mina. Someone else's Mina, he took her and he—

There are fangs on her throat.

She awakens with a rattling cry, a hand flying to her neck while she looks around with both fear and hope. But there's no Mina, there's no bite, there's no blood. Only a scattering of candies on the floor.

And she may have woken someone up (again), and this time she is very sorry. ]

{ wildcard
you know the drill

acceptance

[keepgodwaiting]

[ What time is it, even? Johanna's phone does have a time listed on it, but she doesn't trust that at this point. She's tired, that's all she knows.

Sleep has been evasive, though. After a while of failing to get comfortable towards the back of the store, Johanna has moved back towards the front to ... keep watch or something. Who knows. Mostly this has consisted of sitting by the door and doodling warding sigils in a hentai notebook.

When Vanessa cries out, Johanna jumps. She hadn't even noticed the other woman in the darkness. ]

Hey. Nobody here, luv.

confusion

[wrenchedup]

[ Wrench hasn't met the ghosts of Christmas past yet. Maybe luckily, he and Kamui found Spencer's fairly early in the game, and he sort of just. Parked here. It wasn't fear that kept the guy from wandering out to explore, and normally that was exactly what Wrench would do. It was instead this feeling, this need. For comfort. Weird that he found it here. Okay, not so weird. Still.

He'd been putzing about with something or other when the image of a very out-of-time person came into the corner of his eyes. Those LEDs on his visor were bright when they turned to look her over. ] Oh, oh hey! You're that Morticia chick. Uh, the graves lie empty and whatever. [ REALLY GOOD INTRODUCTION, WRENCH. ]