melodiesofeternity | Event || Custom Fit

Event || Custom Fit

Who: All
When: September 10th to September 30th
Where: Curti Center and mines around the world
What: Characters assist Ganeshan in developing Custom Jobs.
Warnings/Notes: OOC Post

A. The Lab

As much as Ganeshan requires supplies to create Custom Jobs, he need help at home base. With the large number of potential applicants, outworlders and Curti Center employees are invited to help out in the lab, not only with testing transfer of Jobs to crystals, but in developing the abilities and running safety tests.

Easier said than done when all of these cats aren't roaming throughout the center and claiming everything to be their sitting spot. The interns are trying their best to catherd to little avail.

B. Job Development

The break room contains formal submission papers and pamphlets describing the steps required to develop a Custom Job. Senior employees are available to help characters workshop the abilities, but they mostly want to remain in the break rooms to avoid Ganeshan's constant Job mania. His booming voice is muffled through the doors, interspersed with allergic sneezing.

A room has been prepared for those to practice using their basic job abilities, primarily in making sure they're stable yet not too weak. There is a chance that an improper ability extraction can go wrong and hurt the user, so Ganeshan has group of White Mages are on standby in case things go south.

For those that would rather have all the fun without the work, there is the Ability Simulation and Modeling Room, where characters can design their abilities on the computer and see them play out on the screen before them. There's no limit here, and since Jessie is too busy to keep an eye on everyone, the outfits and visual effects have the potential to get...very, very silly.

C. Heigh-Ho

It's off to work you go. Those crystals won't mine themselves, and anyone strong enough must enter the mine in search of the necessary material. It's tedious, difficult work, and some of these are embedded so deeply in the rock that they might be more trouble than they're worth. Not to mention those gross bugs might not like their homes to be disturbed.

There's also the fact that monsters have a tendency to wander inside and attack, so they'll need some reliable body guards.

There should be more crystals deeper inside, but someone else will have to scout the area...

D. Explore the Dungeon

Which is where this team comes in. All the good stuff is deep in this mine, and reliable navigators are necessary to map out the tunnels without getting lost. There's also the fact that the previous owners of a time long ago didn't want opportunists to take their precious resources and outfitted the rooms with puzzles.

Door Locks are puzzles. Pressure plates activate traps. It's the ultimate test of critical thinking. Some of these don't make sense if you think for too long. Why did they go through all the trouble to program time-based puzzles with falling blocks and symbols? The Pupu are strange. At least the bats here are easy to fight, and the mine cart rides are fun.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Keith can't help it; he laughs. And no, thankfully, the wolf friend is more licking the side of her cheek. Though he does listen when she first says "lemme up" and stops, nudging her with his nose before stepping to the side.

Keith steps forward to offer a hand, raising an eyebrow at his wolf. Really, boy?]

[ Oh thank goodness. She pushes herself up into a sitting position at least, before reaching out to take that helping hand. ]

So yeah, if alien spaceships ever turn up in the Dream Width we'll go take a look, got it.

[ She's suddenly acutely aware that there are still a half-dozen lab techs and other people milling about the area. ]

Normally I really am better at that but- there's some things from home that help with that. So uh, I guess help would be kinda appreciated, yeah.

[ Since those "things" aren't going to be present here no matter how many abilities they extract from her. ]

Anywayyyyyy.... [ She turns to wave a hand back at the still-summoned UFO behind her ] Behold my pride and joy, my Persona Necronomicon!

Edited 2018-09-16 20:58 (UTC)

[He smiles faintly, making sure she's on her feet before he lets go.]

Exactly. And we'll see about setting something up later, then.

[They could always practice using Black's jaws, but something the exact dimensions would probably be better for this. He eyeballs the amount of space in the opening compared to what angle her arms both made and length of said limbs. Then punches it into his iMog. Pidge would be better at the math, honestly; but direction, distance, speed, and velocity? Those were right up his alley.]

I'll admit, that's kinda cool. [Inaccurate, but cool. He makes a note to ask her what a Persona is when they're alone.] How does it work?

[ Human cognition Keith! Human cognition! True, human cognition itself is inaccurate but like. At least blame the correct thing for being inaccurate. ]

Like, which part? How I summon it, what I can do with 'em?

[ Given how careful he is though, she's gonna guess it's the latter. ]

I told you I'm Navigator, right? Up in there, it's like being inside some kind of datascape, or something. I can bring up maps, look out for enemies or treasure, keep an eye on the others. And in fights? [ She grins ] I can help in a few ways.

[Shh he's not blaming it! He even said it's cool, sheesh.]

What you can do with 'em, yeah.

[He confirms, because he knows the former is more something that should be discussed in private, or not at all. Considering the audience.

Something glints in those violet eyes despite his lips remaining a thin line. That's...actually pretty amazing?]

So kind of like what our Lions can do when they're fully functional, though Green and Blue are better at scanning and broadcasting than the rest. [He pulls up a holographic screen from his right gauntlet with a press of his index finger, letting her see; it's a map of the publicly accessible parts of the Center and the surrounding area. Not nearly as much as what she described being capable of doing, but it's still something.] And our suits, but they're more limited.

[Translation: We can only do some of that holy crap that is so cool.]

[ Oh, the hows will probably come up eventually. They still need to talk about what exactly the Phantom Thieves are, after all. ]

Whoa, neat.

[ Even if it's more limited than Necronomicon's capabilities, she's still impressed. Although... ]

Wait a second. That... [ She points at the working gauntlet ] And you! [ Sorry woof, you're getting an accusing finger pointed in your direction too. ] You couldn't do that before!

[Exactly! And that's why he's not bothering to ask it just yet.]

Our suits run on Altean magic and alchemy, so most of their functions were disabled when we awoke here. Same thing goes for our bayards, though it looks like only Shiro had his...?

[Which makes sense, considering he was holding it when he... Nope, not going there.]

...and Kosmo could always teleport, but the same thing that affected our abilities kept him from being able to here. [He's still not thrilled about the name, but... he uses it out of respect for one of their mutual friends.]

[ Huh. Well, that does explain things pretty well. Given her own experiences with her Persona... and hell even with her laptop. The finger pointing at Kosmo softens into an outstretched hand. Pets now? ]

Jeez. This world really doesn't like... anything non-native, tech or magic or... anything.

[ There- huh. She pauses for a second, an odd sort of feeling sweeping over her. A swooping, dizzy sort of-

And then her Phantom Thief outfit vanishes in a burst of blue flames, as does Necronomicon behind her. And she wobbles a bit, until she crouches down, putting her other hand on the ground to steady herself. Hoo boy she did not miss the exhaustion backlash from Persona use. ]

So uh. Guess that's a 'no' on the whole stability thing.

[ One of the lab techs behind her snorts, and mutters something about how she was lucky it hadn't vanished while she was up there. ]

[Kosmo trots over and nudges her hand with his snout. Yes, pets now.]

Guess not. [It's a very short answer for a complicated question, and he shrugs.

At least until both Persona and her outfit returns to normal. He reaches out, but Kosmo is already there, offering his neck to help support her; whining. He kneels down next to her, sending a glare the tech's way.]

You alright? [Need a hand to a chair?]

[ Futaba rolls her eyes at the tech's comment but lets it go otherwise. She's not liked here, what else is new. The hand that had been petting Kosmo half loops around his neck, taking that offered support. ]

I'm okay. This is... pretty normal, honestly. [ she chuckles ] There's always a... rebound, from Personas. First time is the worst, I slept like a month afterwards.

[ And he would know now that that isn't an exaggeration. ]

[Something more vibrantly purple shines in his eyes before he shrugs it off, offering a hand to help steady her.]

Being months out of practice can't help, either.

[He knows it isn't an exaggeration. He frowns thoughtfully as he weighs their options.]

Well, I got to see what you can do. I could reciprocate while you catch your breath.

[ One arm around woof, the other steadied by a friend. She could... get used to this? She thinks. ]

Sure. I'm game for that.

[ As much as she's excited for her Persona back too, she's not gonna pass up an opportunity to flop about sleepily. Plus now she's curious too. ]

[The two help her sit by the wall first. Both so she's comfortable and so that she doesn't accidentally get caught in the crossfire. They tended to get a little rough when they play-sparred.

He moves to the center of the room, relaxing his left hand by the armor on his thigh. The black bayard appears in a flash of red and takes the form of a katar, and that was enough to signal Kosmo. He a playful growl echoes through the testing room before he looks to take a leap, and disappears.

Keith has half a second to dodge, but he doesn't. Instead the shield forms over his defending arm, and he braces himself just as the wolf appears and bounces off the magicked barrier. He lands on his feet and bares his teeth. Keith grins back. Kosmo hadn't expected the shield. He'd expect it the next time. He dismisses it and lunges forward and swings, the blade misses by a hair as Kosmo disappears in a flash and a zap. Keith tucks in and rolls, dodging large paws by the skin of his teeth as Kosmo lands where he'd been a second ago.

Shiro hadn't been kidding when he said that he's wind and fire. He's fast, motions fluid and not unlike a flame dancing as he spins and twirls about. It goes on until he's brought to his knees. He spins on one, bringing up the sword to block just in the nick of time to avoid getting play-snapped at. Heavy forelegs and muscle roll under the soft navy fur, trying to see which would win: half-human or cosmic wolf.

Something sparks in Keith's eyes just as he lets out an angry cry and shoves with strength he didn't seem to have seconds ago. He'd been holding back, yet he never leaves a scratch on the canine. Said canine whines as he moves back to his feet, but is instead pinned by the smaller of the two. Keith wins this round.

He stands, reverting the bayard to its idle state and clipping it back on his belt instead of dismissing it outright. He feels naked without it or his knife's weight. And, since he doesn't have the latter...

Keith ruffles the fur on Kosmo's head once he stands again. The two disappear and reappear beside Futaba.]

Showoff. [Says the flashy one.] Can't really show off the real trick without having to figure out how to get someone back home, but-

[... A low, leonine snarl echoes from outside the center. Ah, hell.]

I'm gonna owe Ren that ride sooner than I thought.

[ It's.... actually pretty interesting. The Phantom Thieves, as far as she could remember, had never done anything like this. Sparring against each other. They did plenty of training, sure, but all against Shadows. ]

I can tell I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of either of you actually trying. To hurt somebody, I mean.

[ Because she's pretty sure they weren't trying to hurt each other? That seemed to be the point of sparring. The change in Keith's expression makes her pause, tilting her head a bit. ]

What is it?

[That is, indeed, the point of sparring: not hurting each other. It's easier if it's against a training dummy or a sentry robot program that they don't have to worry about, but that's something to deal with later.]

Not that I'd ever do that, and pretty sure he'll only tackle out of love. [He eyes his canine companion. Yes, he's watching you.] At full power my blades can cut through metal and cybernetics.

[He sits down beside her for a moment and sighs. Keeping his voice quiet, he explains:] Each Paladin has a psychic bond with their Lions. Black was talking to me.

Ohhhhhh right, right!

[ Now that he says it, she remembers Shiro mentioning something like that. Though given how much he's lowered his voice.... she glances around. ]

Should I tell 'em I'm gonna take a break? They probably won't mind having a chance to look at the data without me hanging over their shoulders.

[ Or something like that. She and the Curti Center had worked best so far with a healthy amount of buffer between them. ]

Edited 2018-10-01 07:47 (UTC)

If you need it, sure.

[He's willing to talk about it, though he's also wording it carefully. Both because of how secretive both their groups can be, and because he's far too used to said secrecy.]

Besides, it would give them a break from Kosmo.

[He pats said wolf on the head, scratching behind the ears. Yeah, he senses the internal tea kettle noises a few of the techs are likely making just because very big canine.]

Eh, couldn't hurt. Plus the crowds here are killing me.

[ Another hint: let's go somewhere quieter. The Curti Center was packed full of scientists right now. Even the usual places Futaba knew weren't used as often probably would be prone to interruption. Or eavesdropping - accidental or otherwise.

It doesn't take her long to find a lab tech, who seems to regard her departure with some relief (though actually not as much as she expected, huh). After that she's back and ready whenever you are, Keith. ]

[Hint received, though he blinks a second as he stands and waits by the door. Kosmo follows her, and is joined by Keith again once they start heading back. Stupid ninja lack of footstep sounds.]

Lance and I still have the house we were assigned to here; haven't officially moved out. Black's there during testing.

[It's one place they likely won't be interrupted, at the very least. Either the house, or inside Black.]

[ She maybe jumps a bit, but Ren and Makoto are both ninjas. She's getting more used to it. ]

Heh, bet that's been handy.

[ Once outside she stretches impressively, lifting her arms up over her head, before dropping them again and looking around. ]

So which one is it?

[Aww...] Considering how many times one of us gets notice something of ours has been found in the Dream Width? Yeah.

[It really has been. Also good in case one of their friends needs to stay at the Center for any period of time.]

B-02.

Wait seriously?

[ That earns a startled - and bemused - look. ]

That's where Ren and Naoto and Kanji were staying before we moved to Ka'pandol. I practically lived over there half the time.

[ And so when they get there, unless they've been doing a lot of furniture redecordating, she'll walk in like she knows exactly where everything is. Because... she does. She thinks she can maybe even smell a tiny bit of Ren's curry or the teas Kanji liked to make. Though that could just be a suggestion of memory, she knows. ]

Well, now we don't have to worry about anybody listening in.

[ She's... probably pretty thoroughly checked this place for bugs while the others lived here. ]

Yeah- [He's about to ask why when the question's answered for him. He blinks once or twice, then grins.]

Huh, small world.

[She won't have to worry about it; a lot of the things are the same. Didn't exactly have much time to put their own stamp on the place when Shiro disappeared, followed shortly by Hunk. After that they spent most of their time in Arito. Thus, it's nearly all the same. He watches her as she heads in and he closes the door behind them, eyebrow raised.]

Checked it for bugs too, I take it.

[It's not a question, though it could be construed as such.]

Yuuuup.

[ She flops onto the couch, making a familiar dent in the couch cushions. ]

Any bugs left here are my own. [ ... ] That's a joke, by the way. I don't even have the material to make any bugs. Yet.

[ It'll happen eventually. Trust her on that. ]

So now we can talk about whatever you didn't want the staff to overhear, and I can talk about the Metaverse and what the Phantom Thieves actually do and stuff like that.

[Keith raises an eyebrow, taking a seat in one of the chairs.]

I tend to check every night and morning. Some old habits die hard.

[So even if there were any left behind, there aren't any now. He leans back in his seat, hands resting on the armrests. Never question a soldier's paranoia, but especially his or Shiro's.]

Usually when someone says they hear voices in their head, people tend to think they're crazy. [Which is why he didn't want to say it in front of the lab techs.] Though the Lions don't actually talk - it's more feelings and thoughts behind growls or snarls. It's how we work together as one and learn their skills when they think we're ready to handle it. You likely experienced some of that in the Dream Width though, right?

[Which is why he doesn't hesitate to mention it. That, and the familiar setting might help more considering the sinking suspicion that she doesn't do well in crowds. Not to mention how that would affect her if that suspicion is correct.]

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wow I missed the smalltags in that middle portion there....

I kind of figured /gentle pats

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