melodiesofeternity | Event || Worldwide Tourists

Event || Worldwide Tourists

Who: All New Arrivals and Curti Center Staff
When: April 15th-30th
Where: All over Vaikuntha, starting outside of the airship hanger
What: Ganeshan, the resident Job Expert, will be taking the new arrivals around the the various Guilds so they can collect their chosen Job Asterisks as noted in their applications.
Warnings/Notes: Guild prompts can be found here

Enter the Master

[Each new arrival's iMog buzzes with a message instructing them to gather for a worldwide adventure to obtain the power of Vaikuntha. If they follow the invitation's instructions, they will arrive at outside of the airship hanger on the morning of the 15th, with their meager belongings packed.

An Enterprise-Class airship, the Ragnarok, hovers outside of the Curti Center. There is a flash of light on the top of the ship.]

"WELCOME!"

[A figure, minuscule at this distance, launches itself off of the ship and hurtles toward the ground. As he draws closer to the ground, he starts to flip, landing with a flourish. An armored figure, sans helm, turns his toothy Zora grin to the crowd. With a shimmer, his armor transforms into a white mage's robe, and he sends a rush of wind through the crowd for dramatic effect.]

"I AM GANESHAN, THE JOB MASTER! GYA HA HA HA! TODAY, YOUR LIVES WILL CHANGE FOREVER."

[Ganeshan shimmers again, ruthlessly abusing the Chemist's Modifier skill to once again shift Job Classes so he can lower the airship's loading dock with a wave of his hand.]

"I BELIEVE THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU HAS THE ABILITY TO MASTER THE JOB CLASSES. SOME OF YOU MAY MASTER MANY, OTHERS WILL PURSUE THE PERFECT MASTERY OF JUST ONE. BUT EITHER WAY, YOU'LL BE INCREDIBLE!"

[Ganeshan gives everyone a big thumbs-up. The out-worlders who are not scared off by this booming speech can feel free to enter the airship and prepare for their ride around the world. Hopefully some of the Curti Center's newest hires can serve as ~~non-crazy~~ less exuberant tour guides for the new arrivals.]

Around the World

[The Ragnarok will be stopping at every major city in Vaikuntha, with the exception of those cut off by the Imperial border closing. Characters can create top levels to respond to the Guild prompts and explore the cities themselves as the ship makes its stops. Each Guild provides information sessions, free food and trinkets for potential applicants, and once you're ready to receive your Asterisk, all you have to do is take some introductory lessons and fill out forms. Characters can receive up to two asterisks. Time to get to know your new world!

Questions for Ganeshan can be directed to the Ganeshan top level post.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Makoto was enjoying herself, and was taking the time to sit back and watch the new recruits try their hand at some basic practice. She wasn't entirely sure when she would need to be using throwing daggers, but why would she turn down learning a new skill?]

[The man standing next to her seemed to be having some trouble, though. At the exclamation, Makoto's focus was broken just enough for her to be completely off the mark. At first she was annoyed, but she was more upset at the lack of direction he was getting. How was he going to learn that way.]

[While not normally in her nature, Makoto let out an audible grunt of frustration. She then turned to the moogle that was "instructing" the young boy.]

Excuse me. I think I have the grip, but I don't know if I have the follow through memorized just yet. [When she got the moogle's attention she would add.] Would it be possible if I were to have such a masterful expert to show me how its done?

[Another knife spun too much and clattered to the floor, and the boy swore again. The moogle, glad for the distraction, clapped her little paws together.]

Someone who actually asks questions, kupopo! When I throw my fans, it's like this...

[She took Makoto's hand, placed the knife, and moved it forward. But she applied pressure to the wrist to keep it still near the end of the throwing motion.]

Limp wrists will flick the knife and create too much spin, like my brute is doing, kupo! Let the built energy of the throwing motion carry the knife out of the hand, and only lower your arm once you've hit your target to ensure trajectory!

Give it another try, kupo!

Ah, yes, I see. [She nodded, one eye closed and the other looking in Kanji's direction.]

So the key is to make sure that the knife has a firm hand with as little movement in the wrist. That way the shoulder and arm guides the knife, and the fingers determine when its released.

[But before the moogle instructor caught on to what she was doing, she decides to give it another go. Closing her eyes to visualize what she wants, her body snaps into motion. The knife sails like a swallow and sticks into the rim of the outer rim of the target. Room for improvement, certainly, but she was satisfied.]

I think I may need to get to practice the motion and when to release a little more. [She nodded to the moogle.]

Edited 2018-04-17 17:56 (UTC)

[Seemed like the gears were turning in his head. He hadn't tried throwing again, and had already corrected the grip. He may or may not have had a peek at Makoto's throw to see the motion, a visual learner himself, and readied himself.]

Much better, kupo! Keep practicing, and you'll be a natural in no time!

[Thunk. Though a little lopsided, a knife had embedded in the target. It wasn't accurate by a long shot, but it looked like the boy had stopped tossing knives at the floor.]

H-holy shit, I hit it! I hit the bastard!

[Makoto paused what she was doing to look in the direction of the thunk. She smiled a the boy in the lane over. There was something about him -- the obviously bleached hair? The tough-guy attitude? Something about him reminded her of a friend from home and she couldn't help but smile.]

Good job.

[With room for improvement, of course, but she has a feeling the moogle teacher will have no problems pointing out everything he did wrong.]

[So for now she will resume throwing the last three of her remaining knives.]

Thanks! [He was so jazzed, he just wanted to admire his handiwork for a while. But he hoped she didn't mind if he watched her for those last three knives, see how she did.

Suzette seemed content, tapping her little fuzzy chin with a paw. The girl had more of the look of someone who belonged in the Guild, not Kanji. She was all for supporting the boy, but she never minded acting just as her partner did in watching the skills of others.]

[She finished fairly well. Two of the three stuck in the target. The third was a little too flat and fumbled limply to the ground.]

Still room for improvement. [Her expertise was more with her fists and a revolver. She could get the aim down but the technique was still a little beyond her. With a dissatisfied huff, she caught a glimpse of the two figures looking at her in the corner of her eye.]

Oh! Um... hello. [She was a little unnerved, but he didn't seem like he was doing anything threatening.] Looks like we've got a long road ahead of us. Is knife-throwing starting to come more naturally?

[He blinked at her.] Huh? Oh. A little bit, yeah... think I'll stick with tanking a little bit and come back for this later.

I'll practice in my own time in the meantime, though. Gotta stay versa... uhh... multi... lingual. Yeah!

"Versatile." [She couldn't help herself. Her soul would not allow to see such a savage beating of the language. Still, she wasn't about to make a big deal out of it.]

[There was a much more important topic to discuss, after all.] Tanking? Is that a term to describe a role? Clearly you have no aspirations of being a large mechanized vehicle.

[Why do you use gaming terms around the sheltered honor student, Kanji? ;w;]

Look, if I can turn into a giant tank and crush bad guys, I seriously would! But that's a word some people use for berserkers and paladins and stuff... people who take hits and protect others.

I'm used to that kinda thing back home, so why change things, right?

[Oh! Yeah, that makes much more sense. Though now she feels a bit embarrassed at suggesting he wanted to be a war machine. But at least he didn't seem to mind the idea?]

Oh, yes. I see. That's quite commendable.

Ordinarily I would not consider having one person take the focus of enemy attacks, but there may be some tactical value. But don't you think that's a bit dangerous? Surely you would prefer to not take any damage at all.

The method the pamphlet suggested sounded needlessly dangerous to me.

I didn't get as far as I did lettin' people push me or people I like around. I learned, I grew, I still got growing to do. I can take a few hits, so I'd rather be up there makin' life hard for all those bastards out there than have 'em jump and knock the shit outta somebody else.

Not about to go and die over it, but in a pinch I can buy people some time before I knock their teeth out and cover the exit.

Worked on Shadows, so I think it'll work here.

[Huh! While she still wasn't sure about the whole 'taking a few hits' thing, the way this guy carries himself does make her feel confident. Certainly, if she was going to take on a palace, she wouldn't mind counting on him to get into a shadow's face.]

[...wait...]

Shadows?

[There's... no way. Could it?]

Oh. ...Uhhh... I dunno how to describe 'em without confusing people again. But they come from negative emotions and start off blobby, but then they turn into different things like animals, or- or robots. Masks... they all got masks on 'em, with numbers.

Anyway, I guess they're the 'monsters' for my world.

I... see... [Ho. Ly. Crap. What he was describing definitely did sound like the shadows from the Metaverse. But... how could that be? As far as Makoto knew, there were no other Phantom Thieves that she was aware of.]

[Frankly she still couldn't make heads or tails of it. But at the very least he seems pretty comfortable with talking about them? How deep does this rabbit hole go?]

Cognitive monsters? Masks? That's a very unusual type of monster. Do you fight these animals and robots outside of cities, like here, or do you have to go to a cognitive world?

Cogni-... I mean, there's the TV world, and then the shadows leak out when the fog from inside it began to leak out. Er, the weaker ones, anyway.

The stronger ones built worlds for themselves, turn into rogue copies of the people that made 'em. So I had a, like, Shadow Kanji and everything.

[Those... sound an awful lot like palaces. The more she hears, the more confident she is that her hunch is on the right track.]

And, um, what do you do when you find out about these worlds?

Like the one with the Shadow Kanji, I mean.

[While she's putting on a calm front, inside her heart is leaping in her chest. Just a little bit more...]

[He ran his fingers through his hair.]

Uhhm... we got the person to try to chill out and accept their shadow after we kicked the shit out of it for goin' crazy?

Accept their shadow...? [She thinks of that a moment. Where did that sound famili--oh! That's what happened in the temple!]

What happens after that?

[Did they steal her treasure? Did the "world" disappear? The similarities are too much for her to bear. She has to keep herself from jumping over at Kanji and shaking him for an answer. But he's still conversing, so for now there's no need for anything drastic.]

Then the shadow becomes our personas. I dunno the science or whatever behind it, but that's what happened with me.

So yeah. Lotta weird shit. ...Wait, you're not a cop, right? I was told not to tell the cops about that stuff!

[Something inside Makoto's mind broke.]

[There were other Persona users here? REALLY? Could it be that there were other people that could have been responsible for the mental breakdowns? No... that wouldn't makes sense, right? Crap. CRAP. Just when she thought she understood what was going on. Why did this have to happen?]

[The mental bluster took a few seconds and frankly made Makoto's head hurt. But... no, she has to keep herself together. After all, this guy may provide some very important information. Just keep him talking Makoto. Just... keep him talking.]

Uh... no. Sorry.

My sister works for the prosecutor's office... I guess you pick up a few things like how she questions witnesses.

Let's... start over. My name is Makoto Niijima. I am from Shibuya. And you are--?

[With any luck, this guy would take the bait and tell her where she's from.]

Oh... that makes sense.

City chick, huh? I'm Kanji Tatsumi, from Inaba. I guess you'd call me a country boy or somethin'. I dunno. Ain't been outside of my hometown much.

[With Kanji, there is no trap-setting or baiting. There's just asking and watching him run his mouth a bit.]

[What the heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeck.]

[Right right, play it cool.]

Hah, yes. It takes some getting used to but I couldn't see myself living anywhere else. Well, before now.

Inaba... that was the place with the murder investigation, yes? The one with Ace Detective Naoto Shirogane?

Did you... get to meet him?

[He wanted to keep it cool with the nod. But his upper arms tightened up briefly with the name, and his eyes had turned to focus on something else.]

W-well, sure... Naoto's one'a my best friends! Got assigned the same house here, too.

[She could fancy-foot around it, but there was only one thing on her mind:]

Tatsumi-san, does Shirogane-san have a Persona too?

Tark Varentain

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