Event || Custom Fit

[eternitymods]

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.

Comments

[songbird_slayer]

She began to adjust the position of the guitar, swinging it around and behind her back. She then stood, brushing off her blouse.

"Oh, you're fine! No need to repay or anything like that. But I'm flattered you came, dear. I was just hammering out an Asterisk that contains my memory of all the powers I had back home."

Ah, that reminded her: "Are you doing the same? A spot of skeleton magic from home?"

[einspine]

"OH, BUT I INSIST! SURELY THERE MUST BE SOMETHING I CAN DO. EVEN IF IT'S SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS COOKING YOU A FESTIVE FEAST! OR... SHOWING YOU THAT HOVER BOARD?" That was always an option. Though, obviously, not here. This wasn't the ideal landscape for flying about, after all. Besides, she had a very good question.

One which earned a great big grin. "BUT, YES! AS GREAT AS THESE ASTERISKS ARE, I'VE FELT RATHER NAKED WITHOUT MY MAGIC. ...ER, METAPHORICALLY." He was, after all, dressed in layers upon layers, from his lab coat to his battle body and the goggles upon his skull.

But hrmm, this simulation seemed very, very promising. Perhaps this'd be a good chance to show his stuff... if she wanted to see, of course. But where to begin? Already the gears were spinning away.

[songbird_slayer]

"Why, I'd be delighted to see it! We have this entire setup to see how they'd work and we can even stick it into a little crystal later on. I'm curious as to what you did back home."

In the meantime, she settled into a chair and crossed her ankles. What did skeleton monsters do back in such an interesting yet sad world where monsters and humans were forbidden to mix?

[einspine]

"TRUE! SO... IN THAT CASE, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL GLADLY SHOW MY BONE-A-FIDE, BONE-BASED BATTLE STRATEGY!!!"

He chuckled at his alliteration before stretching a little. It'd been so long. He needed to make sure he was in prime condition for this, even if it was merely a test. After spending months without his own innate magic- such a key part of himself, it was almost like learning to crawl again.

He stretched out an arm, eye sockets narrowed to little slits as he focused, and...

SUDDENLY BONES.

Bones come sliding across the ground, some short, some tall, some rising and falling. There's even one on a skateboard. And a few spelling words like "COOL DUDE." Perhaps it's a bit flashy of an attack to start with, because by the time the bones disappear, he's a bit wobbly, but. Still! He had to make a good impression!

[songbird_slayer]

She sat up straighter. My, my... after such wordplay, she HAD to see this display! But would she be so surprised that he would summon bones upon bones?

Actually, yes.

She felt something rather odd twisting in the air, something she recognized from countless moments of turning the ear of magic to listen to your bidding, but to see such a variety: Small, large, sweeping, looping and even word-shaped bones conjuring and dismissing...

Madhuri stood when he wobbled, but he seemed stable. So she would do as was proper after such a skillful display: She applauded.

"Bra-vo! ...But are you alright, though...?"

[einspine]

Despite the semi wobbly footing, Papyrus took a dramatic bow. Ah, applause! Someone genuinely appreciating his beautiful bones. And someone so cool! And talented. And very kind, of course. Was he being spoiled yet again?

He chuckled a little at her concern, though. "OH! YES. AS ALWAYS, I'M DOING GREAT. IT'S JUST... I SUPPOSE AFTER BEING WITHOUT MY MAGIC FOR SO LONG, IT WASN'T THE BEST IDEA TO EXERT MYSELF THIS MUCH. BUT! SURELY THE DISPLAY WAS WORTH IT!"

Ah, if only it wasn't just a small sample. Patience was far from his strongest suit.

[songbird_slayer]

"If you're sure, dear." She knew too many who would push themselves with no thought to their well-being.

But since he was alright, that left working out the logistics of such daring, de-bone-air displays of skill.

"So the bones are pure magic, it looked like. Are they shaped by will? By emotion?"

[einspine]

Ooh! A good question. Enough to distract him from the slight whiplash that overtook him. His stance straightened, and he set his hands on his hips.

"BOTH! A MONSTER'S MAGIC IS DIRECTLY LINKED WITH THEIR MIND AND THEIR FEELINGS." He could leave it at that, but that was still a bit of a gross simplification. And Papyrus was nothing, if not thorough.

"HOWEVER, SINCE WE MONSTERS ARE MAGICAL IN MAKEUP, IT'S STILL IMPORTANT FOR US TO HONE OUR BODIES AS WELL AS OUR METAPHORICAL HEARTS. OUR HEALTH WILL GREATLY DETERMINE OUR STRENGTH AND PROVIDES AN ADDED ENHANCEMENT."

[songbird_slayer]

"So lots of practice and self-care, just as with the rest of us! Though, that leaves me with a complicated question... how do...?"

She paused. 'Where do baby skeletons come from, if they're made of magic?' Maybe today wouldn't be a good day for her curiosity.

"Nevermind. I recall a story or two you've told me about your brother... what's his magic like in comparison? You mentioned his unhealthy habits."

[einspine]

"HOW DO... WHAT, EXACTLY? Oh wait, she changed the subject. To his brother. Though he slumped a little, 'twas a fair question to ask. It just brought to mind feelings of homesickness. And maybe, just maybe, a bit of brother sickness as well.

"WELL, DESPITE HIS LAZY DEMEANOR, SANS IS... VERY SKILLED. OF COURSE, HAVING TRAINED AS A ROYAL GUARD FOR TEN YEARS, THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED. BUT IN ADDITION TO HIS BONES, HE HAS A KNACK FOR MANIPULATING GRAVITY AS WELL AS FOCUSING HIS MAGIC SO INTENSELY THAT HE CAN DEAL EITHER SHORT-BURSTS OF POWERFUL HITS OR INTENSE, RAPID COMBOS OF SMALLER HITS THAT ACCUMULATE TO AN EVEN GREATER BURST OF DAMAGE."

There were also some... other cheap tricks, but it was best not to say too much at once. Time to let her soak in the first exposition dump before whipping out another.

[songbird_slayer]

"So a 'sprinter' sort of thaumaturgy. I can see that working well when you're the lazy sort. Be intense and get everything done quick, then take a nap afterward. Sound strategy."

So what was she? She tended to have her stronger moments, but she supposed she was more the trapper, followed by the ambusher. If something caught her, she was a cooked goose.

"While you... hmm... exert control and apply presentation to your magic. Wow, it really does flow with the personalities, doesn't it? I ought to figure my own magic out and see what happens, shouldn't I?"

[einspine]

Oh! Yes, that made sense. He nodded, though there's a a teensy laugh escaped him. How did he not make that connection sooner? "YES, MAGIC REALLY DOES VARY FROM USER TO USER. THOUGH, OBVIOUSLY, SOME MONSTERS DO BETTER WITH DIFFERENT TYPES AND ELEMENTS. SKELETONS HAVE BONES, BOSS MONSTERS USE FIRE, WOSHUAS USE... MAGIC. SOAP. BECAUSE THEY'RE KIND OF UNIVERSALLY CLEAN FREAKS."

But, ooh, contemplating her own magic. He rubbed his hands together. "BUT PLEASE DO EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR MAGIC! MAKE A GRAND SPECTACLE OF SORCERY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD EAGERLY WATCH SUCH A DISPLAY!!!"

[songbird_slayer]

"Weeeell..." Now that she thought about it, as her fingers ran over the strings of the guitar, the air growing light yet heavy all at once, as if swaying under the force of a sort of sorcery taking hold:

"I'm not particularly strong, I suppose, and I face such large, aggressive things on a typical basis back home or whatever world I'm in. Tieflings are hunted constantly, but my trick is that they have to reach me first. Thus... control magic.

...Left."

She played a chord, and it was like a large unseen hand took hold of the table just behind her and threw it entirely up and over to her left hand side.

"Or I'll scream, and that's the end of anything that finally manages to reach me. But I can't demonstrate that now, because I always like being near you, Papyrus."

[einspine]

"BUT WHY ARE YOU HUNT-" Before he could finish, that chord flipped the table, and his jaw dropped. "WOWIE!!! I HAD NO IDEA MUSICAL MAGIC COULD YIELD SUCH TREMENDOUS STRENGTH... WELL, UNTIL YOUR LAST PERFORMANCE. BUT STILL!"

He continued staring at the table, but that last comment brought a bit of color to his cheekbones. Somehow. One could probably write a whole speculative essay on how magic skeletons could blush, but the simplest explanation was, 'It's Papyrus.'

"OH. WELL. I ALSO GREATLY ENJOY YOUR COMPANY! SO... YES. I APPRECIATE THE LACK OF SCREAMING. EVEN IF I'M SURE IT'S INCREDIBLY COOL."