Scene #5470: Come On Down to Electric Town

Owner	Pose
Xiaomu	When you get right down to it, it's not really impossible for Xiaomu to imagine life without modern electronic entertainment hardware. She's lived at least 765 years by her own count (before she stopped counting), and even Pong is only a few decades old; she's lived longer without such thing as TVs or VCRs or home game systems than she has with those delightful conveniences. On the other hand, this is the frickin' Multiverse and she's picked up on how some of the kanmusu at Hikari Seaport are fans of assorted anime (plus a couple of gamers in the mix, possibly with more to come). As a fellow member of the Paladins, and as somebody who knows how to appreciate the newer good things in life, she considers it her solemn duty to help update the amenities at Hikari - and has extended an offer to Nagato to assist in exactly that task. So, the sage fox of Shinra has staked out a spot near the warpgate in Akihabara, which just happens to also be right outside the Akihabara Electric Town exit from the local train station. She's doing something on her phone as she waits - a modern smartphone with a red case and a foxtail-styled strap (the last of which is probably custom) - but she's also glancing up every so often, and keeping an ear perked even when her eyes are on the screen.
Nagato	For as long as the Hikari Seaport has existed, there really hasn't been much in the way of consumer electronics and the like floating around the base. It's only been a year since the base got their first truely electronic source... an Amusphere for the Admiral and a few others to go play in Alfheim Online. But other than that, the most fancy thing in the base was a typewriter... an old style, ink ribbon typewriter. Suffice to say, after hearing some of her members plight about how boring the docks are... she exits the warpgate to Akihabara. Dressed conservatively in uniform, the white-dressed Admiral of the Hikari Fleet steps out of the Warpgate and a few paces to the side to allow other people to move around better. "Hmm." she mutters, looking around at the various vending machines, storefronts that she can see and other... really strange things here. She scratches the back of her head slightly and looks around for her contact. Wait, what did Xiaomu look like anyways?
Xiaomu	There are a few people looking at Nagato as she emerges from the warpgate. Two of them are uniformed policemen, one of them seated inside a tiny, kiosk-like office (what's known as a 'police box'), the other just outside it. There's a salaryman seated on a bench next to the train station gate; he may be waiting for his train, but whatever else he's here for, he seems to be reading the current issue of Weekly Shounen Jump. And there's a blonde girl with fox ears, dressed in a black qipao and a red vest (plus red sandals), with a Buddhist monk's staff nestled in the crook of her arm and leaning against her shoulder. That's the girl who was playing with her smartphone - and as she unleans from the guardrail-fence and tucks her phone away, she greets Nagato with a voice whom the Hikari Admiral should recognize. "Ah, you made it! Excellent, excellent - sorry, I probably should have warned you to watch out for a bit of culture shock on arrival. Welcome to Tokyo-52605!" Xiaomu grins, approaching Nagato with a hand extended to shake.
Nagato	Nagato's eyes look towards the police box, if there was something Nagato recognized, it was law enforcement. She gives a small bow towards them and starts to head off, at least until a voice stops her. She turns to see the fox-eared girl make her way towards her and she gives a small bow towards her, "So, this is what Japan looks like... after all that happened." she comments, shaking her head some before turning back to Xiaomu. The extended hand gets connected with her own and there's a handshake. "It's quite a bit different than what I expected." comes one more, slightly bewildered comment. "I shouldn't be surprised though, I rarely see places as... antiquated as my own."
Xiaomu	"You might be more surprised by some of the places I could show you," Xiaomu replies with a grin. "There are temples and shrines which have been around since feudal times - some of them are older than I am, some I was around to watch the building. Reiji said he'll catch up with us if he can, by the way. I told him which stores we'd be visiting, in roughly which order. So, what's first on the list? I was going to start with the TV, that's liable to be the most expensive piece of kit we're getting ..." If Nagato thinks back a bit, she may remember that she's met Xiaomu before - on a few occasions, actually. The sage fox showed up for one of the tours of Hikari Seaport, and they've responded to a few incidents in parallel ... plus, of course, there's ALO. Although Kanokon doesn't look THAT much like the sage fox.
Nagato	"Perhaps I should take a visit to pay my respects one day." comes Nagato's reply to the temples and shrines. "Ah, Reiji..." a pause, "And now I remember you. As for first...?" she thinks a moment... there were a couple baths for the fleet, one for the Capital Ships and one for everyone else. "I think the TV would be the best place to start. We would need two of them, one for each bath. Are they waterproof, I know a few like to splash around... especially the submarines." Nagato's eyes continually look around with curious abandon, "I may have to call in someone to put more power to the baths... to support the equipment we're acquiring today."
Xiaomu	"Depends on how close the TV's gonna be to the water," Xiaomu replies. "I was figuring something wall-mounted, if your budget'll go that far. That said, I do have some people I know, I can probably carve the price down by thirty percent or so if I drive a hard enough bargain ... and if push comes to shove, I'll dig into my savings to help pay the difference if you find something you really like. At least for one of them." She's already starting to walk ... NOT in the direction indicated by the signs for 'Akihabara Electric Town' or for Central Avenue, but around behind the train station's ground level. It's not like it's a back alley, per se - there's foot traffic, there are buildings and some curtains, but it's not like any of the big name stores will be back that way.
Nagato	With Xiaomu already on the move, Nagato turns to follow in step. Practiced motions, very military like as she follows the Sage Fox down wherever she goes. "I have a high enough budget to cover the basics. I was frugal with my Union paychecks." she comments, "I should have enough to buy a decent setup for the Fleet." a pause, "Do they still use cathode ray tubes now a days?" she questions, "I think I have enough ready for a good thirteen inch or so for the baths." There's a slight pause though in Nagato's voice, "By the way, what's a blu ray?" this may have a few more people stare at her, as she looks around, a frown, "Did ... i say something funny?"
Xiaomu	Even Xiaomu is trying, very hard, not to bust out laughing. And it shows ... or it would if she were actually facing towards Nagato right now. Actually, that's probably all the giveaway Nagato needs to realize that even Xiaomu is fighting down a wave of hilarity. "Yeah. Yeah, you're .... oh man, you have some catching-up to do. Ahaha ... hooooooo ..." Xiaomu still has an incredibly goofy grin on her face as she looks at the Admiral again. "Yeah. Little behind the times. I mean, if you WANT a CRT, we can find a few of those, but they'd probably cost even more than a 4K flatscreen - CRTs are antiques, I think the only regular market for them is with the 'no school but the old school' crowd, who are sadly a dying breed ..." That statement actually seems to help the sage fox ground herself again, and the mirth fades. At least, most of it does. "Okay. Quick catch-up class: Most TVs right now are flatscreens, typically LED or LCD. OLED's been gaining ground lately. And the common broadcast standard these days is HDTV - high-definition television signals, as opposed to the SD - standard definition which was established for the old cathode-ray TV systems. On the plus side, HDTV is universal ... or, well, international anyway. So none of the NSTC vs. PAL stuff is going to be that much of a problem. Plus, whatever else we get, you need a Multiversal adaptor for incoming television - so even if your world is still using SDTV, this'll smooth that over." Say what you will about the downsides of an otaku, but being steeped in geekery does have some advantages.
Reiji Arisu	There are some times when a man is faced with a deal he just cannot refuse. ...Which is why a certain exorcist seems to have what appears to be an enormous box slung atop his shoulder. It's easily nearly as big as he is, if you take just volume alone into account. "Xiaomu," Reiji says, making his way towards the fox and boat. "Are you sure you're not overwhelming our guest with all of that... Jargon?" "Nagato," Reiji nods his head, "It's been a while."
Xiaomu	"It's either I give her the glossary version, or she goes into a catatonic state when the salesman assumes she already knows this stuff," Xiaomu replies, looking critically at THE BOX. "You never buy electronics, Reiji. What'd you come up with? We do have a TV already, and 'big enough' is more important than 'biggest available model' ..."
Nagato	Nagato's face looks a bit confused... that catatonic state is there already from Xiaomu's little info dump. To be fair, if she started going off on military terms and the like, she'd see the exact same reaction. "Ummmm." she blinks, "Okay." she gives up, "Perhaps I can go for best of the best then, since morale is important. Though something that will let me limit their time with it so they don't shirk their duties." she comments. With Reiji entering the scene, now, Nagato looks at that box before giving him a bow. "It has, Weapons Officer." she comments, "I trust you've been well after all this time?"
Reiji Arisu	"I've been more or less fine," Reiji answers, carefully setting his Box Of Stuff down. It's rude to be carrying something like that in the middle of a conversation, after all. "The girls have been a bit of a handful lately, but it's nothing that I can't deal with." He shoots Xiaomu a look, and then a shrug. "I was made a deal that I couldn't refuse," he says. "The owner had a forty-inch television going for only a few thousand yen. It's not like you get those kinds of prices every day, you know?" ...Judging from the size of the box, though, he certainly doesn't mean a flatscreen.
Xiaomu	"Forty-inch ..." Xiaomu reaches up to rub the bridge of her nose. "Lemme see the charge slip and receipt real quick. That's ..." She does some quick mental math. Yeah. Really good deal. Doesn't change the fact that they HAVE a decent-sized TV already. It is, in fact, damn near too good to be true, and Xiaomu has learned to be REALLY careful about that kind of thing. "Worst-case scenario, this sounds like the kind of deal the Admiral would be looking for. If it's as good as it sounds. You didn't cash in one of my favors on this, did you? I need those for Hikari, that's why I invited Nagato out all this way ..."
Nagato	Nagato blinks, "Can you crack open the box?" she questions towards Reiji, "This might be the type of TV I can put in the mess hall as well. Would probably be better than the old projector we have." she comments, giving a curious look at the box. "Failing that, I can help lift it if you need..." and a turn towards Xiaomu, "Would you mind showing me what you were looking for for the repair docks? Just in case this ... box may not work out?"
Reiji Arisu	"Your favors...?" Reiji's eyes narrow. "Ah, one of those things. What did you even do to get these people in your pocket, anyway?" You can never underestimate these wily old foxes. So many years of life means so many books of blackmail, or so they say. "I don't think you have to worry about that. Here, let me show you." It takes a few minutes, but in short order, Reiji's able to get the thing out of its box. It's a... CRT TV, as one might expect from its size, but there's also the production date to take into account. The model is only fifteen years old. Too new to be a collector's item, too old and outdated to entice anyone but the cheapest of buyers into purchasing. It's right in the price valley where obsolescence and modernity intersect. "See?" Reiji says to his partner. "It's a pretty nice unit, isn't it? I can't imagine why anyone would be selling it at such a low price." ...He still technically paid too much for it. But 'twice the cost of super cheap' is still pretty darn cheap.
Xiaomu	"If you don't know the details, you don't have to report anything to whichever authorites would be relevant to them," Xiaomu says in a not-remotely-ominous tone. "Besides, we're talking about before you were born, I think the statutes of limitations have expired. For the cases where anything was illegal. Mostly it's all legit favors-done-and-owed, and instead of charging interest I whittle down the size of the favor by generations." She pauses, giving the very large CRT a very critical look, and an even more critical look to the receipts. "Yeah, I think we've got your mess hall TV here, Nagato, but if this thing can translate HDTV signals as-is then I'll polish its screen with my tongue and dry it with my tails. No worries, there are adaptors for that too. Yay Multiverse." Xiaomu lets out a breath, pushing the receipts back at Reiji, "Hikari Sea Port appreciates your generous donation, and next time you want to pick up a new TV for our apartment, ask me first even if I'm in pitched single combat against the ghost of Nobunaga at the time."
Nagato	Nagato eyes the CRT with a curious look, almost the same critical look that Xiaomu's giving it. Almost. Though when Xiaomu speaks about donation, Nagato quickly looks towards her, "Donation?" she looks between Reiji and Xiaomu, shaking her head, "If you're going to donate it, I will not have any trouble accepting it, though, for the find, I should at least give you /something/ for it." she moves to grab the receipts to see how much was paid... but her hand moves down to her pocket... And she pulls out a few thousand yen notes... "This should do it... should leave with ennough left over to get two TV's for the baths and resiquite players for movies."
Reiji Arisu	"...Xiaomu," Reiji sighs, "That kind of thing-- isn't that pretty bad, though? I don't mind, but it looks from the outside like you're running some kind of part-time protection scheme. Or maybe it's more that you're a part-time unsanctioned guardian spirit of Akihabara? Hmn." Well in either case, it's kind of... Sketchy. "A donation?" He blinks, then shrugs, "...Oh, is that why you're both out here today? Well, I guess I could part with my purchase, seeing as how I probably stole a deal out from under your noses." He raises a hand to refuse when Nagato offers payment, though. "It's fine. Use that to buy something for the girls at the base." Besides, he used the joint credit card for this thing, so it's not like Xiaomu's not giving something away too.
Xiaomu	Which Xiaomu already plans to hold over Reiji the next time he bitches at her about spending money on the newest game or Blu-Ray or whatever. "Anyway, I was thinking something more modern for the baths," she says to Nagato without missing a beat. "When I said 'wall-mounted,' I meant flat-screen TVs. This ..." She looks at the CRT, then moves to help start wrapping it back up to pack it into its box once more. "You'd need some seriously intense architecture to support this, and if the construction is as dated as your network is, your docks might have an unauthorized window if anyone tried hanging this the wrong way. Reiji, be a good man and keep carrying this, will you? The other TVs we'll arrange to have delivered. - I'll cover the shipping costs on that and come help with installation," she adds, talking directly to Nagato now. "I imagine Fayt'll be happy for some more business." Even if Xiaomu has been the bane of his existence on a few occasions. Hey, she still pays her shipping bills when she does anything through Black Dragon. It turns out (eventually) that Xiaomu's intended contact for the HDTVs is much less of a fast-talking shyster than the Great Entrepreneur whom Reiji did business with. What may be even more surprising is that, not only is his business legit, so is the favor in question. "My grandmother always told us such stories of the maiden who saved our great-grandfather's life," the old man recalls with glee. (Xiaomu may blush a little at being called a 'maiden,' but that's neither here nor there.) "She never did believe any of us children when we claimed she'd visited us, but she never forgot to leave a plate of inarizushi in the entryway come Obon. I think my cousin in Izumo still upholds the tradition, even if the inarizushi doesn't get eaten any more ..." Xiaomu looks outright sheepish at that. "Next time you talk to her, please let her know the debt has been redeemed - I hate to know that anyone's wasting good inarizushi, even Izumo-style. Especially Izumo-style." And if the end result of the bargain isn't quite as competitive as the deal Reiji got on the giant CRT, it's still a healthy discount on two 4K flatscreen HDTVs.
Nagato	Nagato shakes her head a bit and she gives a bit of a nod, "We have time before Saratoga and the Dreadnaught wakes for interrogation, so I have been taking it a bit easy. This is a reward for them for their hard work." though when shipping is concerned, she gives a nod, "Supply Officer Fayt has been good to us as well. I can't have you cover /all/ the shipping. I'll pay half of it so it's not all on you." she comments, "After all, it wouldn't do to just have you pay for everything..." Though Nagato does follow along to the buisness in question, Nagato's eyes a bit wide at all the electronics around that she doesn't seem to be paying attention to Xiaomu or her contact, instead just doing window shopping. She thinks a moment, spying a desktop computer and the fixings... "Hmmm..." she mutters, taking a few pokes here and there at it, looking at the monitor... touching it. "I suppose the office could use the upgrade from the typewriter." Nagato continues to look around, taking notes of a few things, running across a surround sound system as well... "Hey, Reiji? What's this do?"
Reiji Arisu	Of course, Reiji was pretty sure that Xiaomu's indiscretions over the years were relatively benign. Sure, her work ethic can be a bit questionable sometimes and she eats maybe a little too much tofu to be considered healthy, but there are worse habits in the world. Like smoking, for example. Not that Reiji exactly has the chance to do much right now, considering he's currently acting as a pack mule. "Oh, that?" Reiji peers at the speakers. "...Ah, it's a tool for keeping the neighbours up at long hours, and can be used in a ritual to make the unreal more real." "It's called a surround sound system. It surrounds you with sound."
Xiaomu	"It's no replacement for actually going to a concert," Xiaomu chimes in, "but it's a passable substitute if you don't want to trek out to a concert venue and be surrounded by strangers who just happen to share your taste in music," She purses her lips, looking at the price tag on the surround sound array. "Might be worth it though ..." She looks at the shopkeeper. "Really should make this purchase worth your efforts for that discount, too. Got two of these in stock?" The shopkeeper smiles, "Think I can find a couple of these in stock. The computer's a little old, but if it's for office work it'll be more than enough. Just don't go playing World of Battlecraft IV on it. III is about all it can handle." "She does the Amusphere thing," Xiaomu says wryly. "Rough competition, I know." The shopkeeper makes an amused-if-rude noise, "So few people appreciate mouse-and-keyboard gaming any more ... good to see a few young people appreciating the old ways, though." So that's three more items to get shipped, in addition to the two TVs. Xiaomu makes arrangements to prepare them for shipment, and then they leave - but not heading back to the warpgate. Not quite yet, anyway. "So Nagato, how confident are you in the girls' ability to control an addiction to video gaming? I'm not sure if a PS4 or a Switch is a better choice for them ..."