430 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 14, 2019 6:15:43 GMT -4
 Etoile Enterprises - located in the heart of Tokyo near the Tokyo Park. It's hard to believe that such a big company was only around twenty years in the making. Today it is one of the few major businesses that made its rise in the advent of Quirks by providing products and services to cater to ever growing population of Quirker consumers. The entire property spans several hectares that included the main company building, several warehouses and factories, and its own private mall that serves as the main business front where most of their customers who wished to purchase things fresh from the factories would typically go. For the more VIP customers, a valet could take them straight to the factories themselves to personally inspect their orders as they wished and even request last minute customization. The owner who built the company from scratch was very very particular about this. The appearance of Quirks changed the lives of many people and it was Toshiro Hoshizora's policy to address people's needs as best as possible and as personal as possible. That man was Karen's father. In one of the warehouses that was also being used as a testing facility, a certain man in factory clothes with a purchase order clipboard in hand was briskly walking towards where the little miss could be found. Zipping through the air at a speed that was comparable to an Olympic sprinter, Karen was testing out another product today. On the ground an engineer and designer were on standby waiting for the results. Noticing the factory foreman heading their way she decided it was about time to make a touchdown and see what exactly was going on. After gracefully landing, she slowly took off the goggles that were today's test product, giving a quick review as she did. They also handed her a towel to wipe off her sweat.
"I like the fit of the design. Even at high speeds it didn't feel tight or uncomfortable while keeping in place on my head. These were meant to work with prescription lenses right? I think some anti-glare tint might be worth looking into then. I noticed from looking at the sunshine through the window that my eyes started to get a bit teary."The designer and engineer took note of her feedback and thanked her as she made her way to her unexpected guest. Her father was away on a business trip today so the foreman went to her instead. A VIP customer was visiting and inquiring about her usual order of expanding and shrinking clothes. That was one of their more popular clothing lines for people with transformation Quirks. It was also one that was especially custom made because of how very different people with transformation Quirks were. She quickly browsed the purchase order that the foreman handed over and got a bit excited at seeing a name that was quite familiar. "Yes, I remember father mentioning something about this. She isn't just any VIP customer. I'll see her then after-"The foreman gave her a nervous look, scratching his head. Something told her she didn't have time to freshen up and change out of her gym clothes before their meeting.
"You already brought her here?"
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1,296 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
22 Years
Female
"Redhorn"
Hero-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mia Kearney on Apr 14, 2019 9:09:48 GMT -4
Mia wasn’t exactly the kind to understand the nuts and bolts of how things worked, but now and then she still had to step in and give it a go. In this case for instance, while Mia was used to her hero costumes just coming through the mail, handled by someone in the hero organization to handle that for her from some desk job, she’d ruined one too many outfits. Sure her outfits weren’t exactly hardy, but they were designed by professionals to help her power through and still remain clothed…well, suffice to say, they didn’t exactly account for just how much power Mia had to power on with.
After a bit of a public near-miss where the back of her chest bindings had torn, held in place only by her hand until she could get somewhere more private, Mia knew she needed to get a more personal touch on her next costume. The design she was okay with remaining exactly the same, but she needed to be freshly measured and make sure that the specifications of the outfit could handle everything she could go through this time. Every battle she faced made her stronger, which meant she could get bigger, and not only did she face tougher enemies, but the strain she put on the outfit increased too.
Ultimately, she really just needed a new, hardy outfit she could rely on not to fall apart mid fight. Something told her as much as a lot of her fans may love it, fighting a bad guy topless wouldn’t do much good for her general public image.
She had been guided by one of the members of staff from the front door deeper into the complex, wondering what this place was designed for, only to have it explained they mainly dealt with general quirk orders. People with tails, multiple limbs, back growths, that kinda thing, making sure they could remain comfortable and fashionable despite their unique bodies. Mia briefly wondered why her costume orders were handled here rather than someone specifically handling super hero orders, but apparently since she had no gear on her costume and she went through outfits so fast, it was much easier to have it handled by a general supplier. Smart she supposed.
She was told to wait in a doorframe as the man went to inform who she’d be meeting in regards to her order. She lightly scratched her cheek and leaned against the doorframe. Wearing a plain white shirt with an open long sleeve flannel shirt over that, and cargo pants beyond that. It was a simple, boyish ensemble but given her size and even her own fashion sense, it was the best fit for her on a casual day. Even in casual wear though it was easy for any who kept up with hero work to recognize her by her long blonde hair, and the sharp red horn pointing out from her forehead, the distinctive yellow scar running up it’s side.
As the foreman brought the girl’s attention to Mia, she herself raised a hand with a mildly cheeky smirk, waving across and wondering if the girl had just inherited some family business, or if she was running the show while daddy was away. Either way, as she pushed off the doorframe, she strode across the room and offered her hand for a firm shake. “Mia Kearney, aka RedHorn. Pleased ta meetcha.~” Her accent was clearly not Japanese, having tinges of American to it, specifically a Texas drawl that had been fading a little over the past year, though still held proudly at the core of her voice.
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430 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 14, 2019 10:23:27 GMT -4
It was the hero Red Horn in the flesh alright. There weren't many official pro heroes running around so for anyone interested in becoming a hero someday it wasn't hard to keep track and stay in the know about those currently recognized by the government. Karen was the kind of girl who did her due diligence in these things. Another was learning how to run the business. One of the most important steps was interacting with customers. "Hi! Pleased to meet you too Ms. Kearney! I apologize for not looking my best. I just finished helping these guys test out some new products."Karen still in her gym clothes with a towel around her neck walked over to greet the hero, extending her hand for a handshake. She had just about normalized her breathing after that exercise and was getting back to the way she usually carried herself. They had never met in the flesh but she had seen records of her exploits. She loved heroes of course. For now professionalism was winning over geeking out but who knew how long that would last.
"The president is away so I'm afraid you'll have to settle for me for the usual Etoile business hospitality for VIPs. Rest assured I've thoroughly reviewed your order request. If you would please follow me, the facility where we process these outfits with special requirements is over this way."Her lines were well-rehearsed. This was not Karen's first time giving the VIP treatment to a customer. But this would be the first time she would do so for a hero. Normally her father took on these tasks, but he was away today. She suddenly wondered if that was on purpose, knowing that Mia was due for a visit. That was just the sort of surprise stunt he would pull on her. Well, in a way she was grateful for it. The walk wouldn't be too far. Their destination would be about two warehouses down from the one they just left. The valet who was waiting outside actually offered to drive them but Karen declined, wanting to take this opportunity to talk a bit.
"So Ms. Kearney, part of why we give these personally supervised tours is because we really want to get to know our customers. As a hero I can imagine you have a lot more going on in terms of what you need. Anything at all, even the slightest complaint or peeve about the product, we wanna hear about it and do something about it."
"Oh, and do tell me as well if I'm talking too much."She added with a chuckle. This sort of business conversation was more her father's style which she just adopted. She didn't know much about Mia's personality so she wasn't sure how she would take to her spiel. If the customer found it overbearing, she would have to tone it down. If there were other things she wanted to talk about, Karen was open to that too.
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1,296 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
22 Years
Female
"Redhorn"
Hero-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mia Kearney on Apr 15, 2019 3:38:25 GMT -4
As she was introduced to the girl apparently running the show while their father was away on business, Mia shared a strong smile and firmly shook the young girl’s hand as it was offered. Even in her smaller, more relaxed form where she looked more toned than bulky, it was clear the Oni hero held a lot of strength behind her, more than the average human rightly should with her build, and if the girl kept up with the hero news, it was probably clear this was nowhere near to what Red Horn was usually described as when on the scene, tending to hold enough muscles that it was more intimidating than the laid back woman now shaking her hand.
As she went on to show her out of the warehouse and start to walk down the path to one of the others, Mia scoffed a little at the offer of the Valet herself. She found it a tad odd that she wasn’t even given the choice, but she preferred the walk anyway. Having a day off she just wanted to take her time and enjoy herself, resting her hands deep in her pockets as she walked behind the young girl, speaking with her over her shoulder as her own height made it more than easy to tower over her a little as she followed.
“Oh I’m getting the whole tour huh? Well don’t I feel special?~” She teased, sticking her tongue out playfully as she followed along, her tusks not so prominent while she was relaxed like this, but briefly poked over her top lip when she stuck her tongue out before being brought back behind her lips. “Pretty nice policy though, making sure your clients have a more personal experience. Do they all get this or just the special ones?~” She asked with a cheeky smile. While her Ego was never the kind to escape her and run-away on it’s own she was at least aware enough of her reputation to know she wasn’t just any old customer here. Especially after being told by the hero organization that handling Pro-Hero orders wasn’t this place’s specialty.
As she asked about any complaints or the like, Mia shrugged. “Really less complaints about your work and more…I just need something that can keep up. Being a pro I go through a lot of crap so I need to make sure whatever my costume’s made of is able to weather a lot more than the average costume. I mean I go up against Fire, Ice, Lazers, Swords, sometimes a combination of like, any of those two things, so I’m mostly here making sure my next order can stand up to the challenge yeah?~”
She didn’t mean to insult the workmanship of any of her past outfits the hero organization had ordered on her behalf of course, but while each order had gotten tougher, she’d always managed to push it to the limit one way or another. “You fill out orders for any other pros?” She asked curiously. “Hear you guys do like, public outfits too, like for multi limbed people and such…ever gotten any orders from Army Of One?” Arm of One of courser was a spider hero that controlled a small army of spiders. Mia personally was a lot more used to the limelight than that woman, and while she didn’t bash the bug girl’s style, it wasn’t as easy to hear about Army Of One. She was still a pro hero of course, but even the insect lady herself had once admitted she didn’t stay in the public eye and go for the big targets as much as Red Horn herself did.
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430 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 15, 2019 8:40:38 GMT -4
Karen had to contain her excitement when Mia shook her hand with a nice and firm grip. The pro hero was about as friendly as she expected. An agreeable personality was important for someone whose job was to protect people. A comment about their service policy elicited a response from her to clarify things a bit. "You got us there. A solo tour like this is typically reserved for VIPs. But we do give group tours for most other people. Sometimes customers don't know what they want until they see it, so we try to show them what we have to offer on our end to help them decide. Only with both sides bouncing ideas off each other can we come up with the perfect thing to suit your needs. Or at least that father usually says."When Mia described the problems she encountered while out doing hero work, Karen understood that this was really something beyond the usual scope of their production. Their company valued comfort and ease of use, but pro heroes needed much more than that. The usual resistance to wear and tear wasn't going to cut it. They had to approach this with mindset of creating something that withstood even the most destructive of Quirks, while not sacrificing too much of everything else that their product offered. "That's a valid concern. It's not as though our company doesn't produce outfits emphasizing durability. I recall a customer who sweated a really strong acid. There was also another who would spontaneously combust. You can imagine the kind hassle that caused them in their daily lives. I guess the challenge lies in balancing that with the need for your outfit to be able to accommodate the body size changing effects of your Quirk. Tough material that's also flexible and elastic is not something easy to make."She paused for a moment to think. "What if we focused on creating extra durable sections in the outfit that can withstand more punishment? While keeping the sections that need to be able to expand free to continue doing so? The compromise would be that if you needed to take a hit, you would need to make the adjustments yourself to ensure it hit the tough spot of your outfit."It wasn't a perfect solution. Karen wasn't a scientist or engineer so she was just throwing out ideas that sounded like they made sense in her head. She would leave it to the people in development to make it a reality. While she was pondering this, Mia asked if they made things for any other pro heroes, specifically inquiring about Army of One. Well, Karen had response prepared something like this.
"Items and outfits for the general public is our main business yes. Special clients like pro heroes are something quite new. As for Army of One, I'm afraid only my father would know. The full VIP customer list is not something I'm privy too, though even if I did know, I wouldn't be at a liberty to disclose the info. In the same way we wouldn't advertise that you get your stuff here Ms. Kearney. Unless you want us to. Getting an official endorsement from a pro hero would make for great promotions."Karen chuckled. Though come to think of it, she wondered if publicly sponsoring a hero was actually a good business project or not. It would certainly draw more customers for sure. But then they could also get some unwanted attention from those on the other side of the law. From that point of view it was a bit of a frightening thought.
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1,296 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
22 Years
Female
"Redhorn"
Hero-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mia Kearney on Apr 15, 2019 9:30:54 GMT -4
Mia definitely admired the girl’s spunk. Something about how she spoke with confidence made it seem less like some rehearsed lines or speeches but like she was genuinely invested in her dad’s company. Mia felt if she’d stayed working with her own dad rather than pursuing vigilante work in Texas, and Hero work in Japan, she probably would have been similar, talking about working in the mines with an odd sense of pride and learned knowledge. All the same to see it in a girl who seemed so young was a good thing and it spoke to Mia that she clearly had a good head on her shoulders, meaning she had to zip up and listen as she talked rather than speak over her.
“Group tours huh? I see. Well even that’s damn good business for a place like this. Usually tours of factories for clothes and crap would be reserved for school trips…least I think that’d be the case. If it ain’t even then, it hardly sounds like the norm, so good on you guys for making the extra effort to engage the public! Probably earns a lot of trust with the average bloke on the street who might be looking for what you guys is providin’~!”
As the girl however went on to try and offer some solutions to her costume, Mia rubbed her chin. It was good in theory but it’d likely muck a lot with the design. “You’ve seen my outfit right kid?” She asked, careful with her tone so her asking didn’t come across as rude. As far as the girl might recall, in battle situations Mia’s hero costume was bandages around her chest, her forearms, and wearing room Japanese style pants. She didn’t even wear shoes or even sandles to match the ensemble because her skin and pain tolerance was tough enough to not really notice the pain others might when walking on gravel. When she felt Karen had a good idea of her costume in her head she expanded. “Well, the tops really just a tube top, the wrist bandages are arm bands, they’re just decoarated to look like bandages. Either way I doubt adding plating would be easy without it being obvious. And even then, it’d be super hard to keep the original design…don’t worry though. I trust your boffins have probably got some super rough material that can do everything I need. The guys at the hero organisation wouldn’t have made the orders here if they didn’t.~” She shared a warm smile, offering genuine assurance that she felt confident in their ability to handle her order, however tough the costume needed to be.
Still, it was a good suggestion if it didn’t mess with the design. And she added. “My costumes all about aesthetic. I need it to simply endure, not protect me. I can keep tanking hits all day long. I just gotta make sure I don’t end up topless by the end of a tough fight.~” She snickered a little at her own words, picturing a few blunders of that nature she’d had in the past before she kept moving.
As her question about Army of One was ‘answered’ she nodded in understanding. “Ah I get it. Bet you guys have some discreet VIPs too. Not everyone’s proud of their quirks so I bet a few customers would prefer as little info get out as possible that they need flame retardant shirts or some crap.” She scratched her cheek, knowing she could be wrong but she was always a bit bitter about that idea that someone could hate a part of themselves like that. She’d always took such pride in her identity as a quirk user that the opposite, being a bit shameful and hiding it, just registered as an alien concept.
With the tease about her advertising for them however…
“Oh hey I mean. Don’t expect me to wear you guys’ logo on my costume, but I definitely don’t mind!~” She grinned nice and wide at that. “I’m not exactly a media whore or anything like that but I’d be more than happy to help you guys get a bit of publicity. Maybe let you guys mention you make my costume on your website or something or mention it on some TV add?” She chuckled and opened her hands against the air as if displaying some new billboard. “Makers of RedHorn’s attire.” She chuckled again, defintitely amused by that image for some reason or other. “Course, I ain’t number one yet, so I wouldn’t want you guys latching onto me if I end up showing up low in the rankings or anything like that, ya know?” As big as her ego was she was always aware of the possibility of her falling from grace of course, whatever the reason for that may be.
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430 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 15, 2019 13:38:12 GMT -4
This was a very enlightening experience for Karen. There was only so much you could learn about heroes from news reports and interviews. Well technically this was sort of an interview. When Mia explained that it was more about the aesthetic, Karen understood why her reply may have sounded off base to what the hero was looking for. "Oh no definitely not plating. I agree it would look kinda silly with your costume. What I meant was weaving two types of material together, one being more durable than the other. It shouldn't be difficult to keep the colors similar so that the design still looks seamless. After all the customer is always right. We'll definitely take into account aesthetic when processing your order. I'm not sure if our developers have cooked up anything new since I last paid them a visit, but I do recall them testing a new material coating that increased resistance to nasty things like fire and corrosives."
"And then I guess the other approach is toughening the base material altogether. Since you mentioned that you can tank the hits yourself maybe there's less of a need to make it too comfortable? Like we would probably end up with something that only you were strong enough to wear easily. It was just a thought."
Karen was glad to hear that Mia was understanding about their privacy policy and was even more amused that she humored her promotions jab. The hero's response more humble than Karen expected. She was really enjoying learning all these new facets of Red Horn. It felt like she was hearing things that the more enthusiastic hero fans would give anything to be in the know about. "Definitely not going to make you wear any tags or logos. But I can see a TV ad possibly happening if you could spare us some of your time."Karen smiled again. This was fun. They would soon arrive at their destination. It was the factory where plenty of their more experimental products were being manufactured. Products that were in the last stages of development were being finalized or put under quality control. Meanwhile prototypes and blueprints could also be seen around for products that were only just in the conceptualization stage. For Mia's order, the material itself was in mid-development. At that moment they were too far from the machine that was conducting stretch tests. "Welcome to our little workshop! There are a lot of things here that haven't been seen by anyone else before outside of these walls. This factory in particular started seeing a lot more use ever since we entered into contracts with hero agencies. In other words, this is where the magic happens!"There were plenty of things to see here. Most likely Mia would be more concerned about her own costume stuffs, but if there was anything else that she wanted to look at, Karen was more than happy to accommodate.
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1,296 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
22 Years
Female
"Redhorn"
Hero-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mia Kearney on Apr 20, 2019 5:50:51 GMT -4
As Karen explained their suggestion a moment ago a little better Mia supposed she got the logic behind it now that it was presented to her more clearly, though at the comment about the customer being right she’d briefly interject. “Woah hol’ up a sec. If you guys come up with a better design that still helps my hero image I’m all for it. Don’t go thinking my word is law in this, I know I ain’t the expert okay?” She offered a bright smile to show she was genuine, really wanting them to give her their best shot rather than just trying to appease her sense of taste, especially since a fair handful of people tended to think her hero costume was a little too minimal. “Whatever you guys come up with to make it last, I’m sure I’ll be satisfied.”
With the idea that she might do a promotional bit for the people making her clothes, she gave a firm nod, especially as the girl seemed to take the idea. “No rush. Maybe run the idea by your dad. I get a final look at any commercial script though I’m saying that now.” She held a proud smile as she lightly pounded the side of her fist into her chest. “Got an image to keep up afterall.~”
As they entered willy wonka’s fabric factory, Mia was definitely impressed by some of the work and testing going on. From the sudden source of light off to the side she was pretty sure someone just used a jet of flame to see how a casual shirt held up to being burned by flame. Guess some people really did need clothes like that, a casual shirt that could hold up to such an intense flame and the like. Overall she was glad to see the work that went into accommodating quirks, especially with her general upbringing back in Texas. Quirks had gone from sheerly despised to much more widely accepted over the past few years. Hard to deny such a thing when everyone and their kid was developing one.
“Nice work you guys do here…heck if I understand half of it but I’m liking what I’m seeing. None of it seems half assed and that’s always good enough for me.” She shot the girl a bright grin, showing her appreciation for a good bit of sweat and elbow grease being placed into a project like this….again, even if she understood so little.
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430 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 20, 2019 11:04:50 GMT -4
Karen paid close attention to their important customer like how she reacted and responded to her suggestions and ideas and her own comments and thoughts on the important points brought up. All in all she could say that Mia was someone very reasonable to work with contrary to her somewhat intimidating appearance. And that was exactly the kind of good customer that they wanted to maintain good relations with and engage as much as possible. There were a lot of things to be gained from both sides. But most importantly this was a customer that they could trust to uphold their own company values and policies. "Of course."Karen would reply positively to Mia's consideration and then move on to listen to her impressions of their factory. Her first thought was that the hero was enjoying herself looking around even though at times Karen would notice that she wasn't totally sure how things worked and only expressed being impressed when something flashy or attention-grabbing caught her eye. That was fine. That's what Karen was there for. But though she waited for their important guest to ask any questions, she didn't seem to have any and was just content with looking at different production lines and testing mechanisms.
"We're very proud of what we do here. A few people that we've given the tour to before thought some of our tests were a bit extreme. But sometimes certain orders just call for that thoroughness. The last thing we want is our product failing them when they need it the most. So for cases like yours, we really take it seriously, coming up with something to suit your requirements."In the end they finally reached the testing area for Mia's own order. Laid out neatly on a table prepared by the staff beforehand were several prototype tube tops. The samples were of varying degrees of elasticity and durability. Simply put, the more elastic one was to accommodate the hero's growth quirk, the less durable it would be to incorporate more flexible parts. Now the more durable ones didn't mean they weren't stretchable. But they felt considerably tighter in fit and some might even require superhuman strength to stretch out. Though that might not be an issue at all for someone as strong as Mia, hence why they were put up there for trial too. "So what we have here a prototypes of the material that we hope to use to complete your order. The exact composition of the material is a company secret but it's been adjusted in various ways to come up with what you see here. From this end to the other, they are all arranged according to toughness. All of them should stretch out enough to account for your growing but the strength required to do so varies, with the toughest material also being the toughest to stretch out. Now you might be wondering, why not just go with the toughest? Well that's because we'd like to consider your comfort as well. If it was too tight or too difficult to breathe in, then it wouldn't be ideal either."Karen gave her a moment to digest the explanation and have a look at the prototypes herself. "And so the company thought, what better way to come up with the best product than to have you personally try handling the material. Please try stretching them out yourself or trying them on. We have a dressing room right over there. There's no need to worry about breaking them. These are all disposable prototypes that we can easily reproduce anytime."As Karen spoke, a few of the assistant developers, all female, had begun setting up a large curtain around the area so that no one could see just in case there were any accidents. Well it's not as though they were expecting her to try them all. Likely the first few could be easily tested by hand. There were ten prototypes in this batch. Fingers were crossed that Mia found something to her liking, or else it was back to the drawing board.
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1,296 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
22 Years
Female
"Redhorn"
Hero-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mia Kearney on Apr 21, 2019 10:23:54 GMT -4
“Psssh. Extreme? When you’re dealing with quirks? Yeah those people got a screw loose if anything can seem extreme….if anything I’m just impressed you go to such lengths for the quality of your products.” She gave a firm nod as she looked over some fabric apparently being strength tested, wondering if it was a stretching fabric similar to what she needed for her costume as she walked alongside Karen. “I’m glad to see you guys putting such work into it, I mean, especially if you’re serving the general public. Know you guys still gotta make a profit but hot damn you guys put in the work to make sure this stuff works.”
As they arrived at the table of prototypes, Mia felt like praising them more for being so thorough if it wouldn’t make her sound like a broken record. Multiple versions of the same basic tube top design, likely a prelude to it adding the ‘bandage binding’ aesthetic she was known for as part of her costume. She understood the process, had to make sure it worked out before wasting time making it look nice. She rolled her shoulder back, already working out of her flannel shirt and down to the white shirt she wore underneath, folding the over-shirt over her arm so it was out of the way. Before Karen was even done explaining it was clear she already had the mentality that she should be trying these things on.
“Right I getcha. Obvious enough. I mean I know I ain’t gonna be happy if I’m kicking a guy’s ass and all I’m thinking about is the way this thing’s pinching into my back.” As the female staff members pulled the curtain about the general area, she glanced to Karen with a casual smirk. “Hey I’m okay changin’ here if you don’t mind?” She’d wait for Karen’s preference, but if the girl was fine with it she’d start to take off her shirt there, followed soon by her sports bra. Her chest was fairly sizeable, but for her height and build it didn’t seem out of place resting on her torso. Reaching for somewhere in the middle of the pile, she hooked her arms up into the tube top and tugged her down over her chest, adjusting it a little to rest comfortably. She’d just pause for a moment, making sure it fit right, before tightening her fists.
Slowly, from her arms to her torso, her body began to bulk and build up, her muscle forming rapidly and growing outward in most directions. She got a little broader and just a fraction taller. Her horn stretched out from her forehead. The tube top stretched with relative ease from the building muscle, and though she noticed it pinched a tad, it wasn’t enough for her to notice over the general pace of a battle. She then let her muscles return to normal, glad to see the tube top hadn’t been permanently stretched and still fit well.
“Nice work, nice work…” She adjusted it a little again just to get a feel for it, before hooking it off and grabbing one two steps up the toughness ladder as she idly commented. “A few of the ones I got for my costume in the past had like…a bit of shape sown into them? Like bra cups built into the fabric?” She wasn’t a fashion person so she didn’t know if there was a name for such a design but- “Helps me keep a more solid frame as part of the costume. Not er…the best look of the girls are shifting about in their ya know?” She felt a bit awkward talking about that aspect of the costume, but she hoped it was a fair request.
She pulled over the tougher fabric and would test it again by flexing her muscles and growing them out. It wasn’t perfect, since she could only achieve her full size when fully in the zone and truly rushing off a battle high, but at the very least she got a strong idea of how far she could push it when it stretched. She felt a bit more pinch here, but for the durability, it was at a level she could still make the sacrifice…
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430 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 22, 2019 3:43:26 GMT -4
Karen was of course very pleased at the positive response from Mia. Though when the hero raised the point about making a profit she understood how showing all this didn't seem to translate well to their more public-friendly image. This was one of their more advanced development factories so it would give the impression that they were doing a lot of high end production. "Well Ms. Kearney, when my father started this company he had to pitch the idea to more influential people first who would go on to agree to sponsor him. You could say the development of these more amazing things is what allows us to trickle down the results of our efforts into products for the more general public. Experience in making these things is what was truly valuable and we've used all that knowledge into building up the company into what it is today."
"My father always told me that life for quirkers wasn't always easy or even widely accepted. Especially for those who came from more influential families, it was difficult to find support in making their lives more bearable when the appearance of quirks otherwise caused them problems. Father filled that void by creating a company that didn't discriminate and aimed to help everyone who would come to us. Though to be fair he wasn't the only one, but we'd like to think that we are ahead of the pack in some ways, at least here in Tokyo."Thinking on it, those who criticized their efforts were probably those who had some prejudice of sort to begin with and didn't understand why they went through such lengths to support quirkers. Of course Karen didn't say this out loud. Times were changing and she felt even those people might come around to see the light soon enough. That rendering this service to the public required that they didn't spare any efforts. No one deserved to live a life of difficulty because of their quirk. Mia suggesting that she was fine with changing out there caught Karen off guard a bit. With her emphasis earlier on wanting a costume that didn't leave her exposed, Karen initially thought she was more modest than she seemed. Perhaps this was the real Mia Kearney and that concern was mostly for keeping her good public image as a hero. She did mention before that her own skin was a natural armor so protection wasn't really what she was looking for in a costume. Red Horn fighting naked would be scary in more ways than one. "Feel free if you'd like."Karen tried to keep a straight face but it was hard not to be awestruck by Mia's impressive physique. And so she decided to keep herself distracted with note-taking, watching as the hero started with the middle of the pile and didn't bother with the first few ones. She then performed her familiar bulking up that made her increase in size and height. A few of the assistants there who were seeing this for the first time looked on nervously. Karen however was more confident and was quite excited to see this up close personally. When Mia was done and reverted back, she commented about how her costumes typically had built-in support for her chest. It was a very reasonable concern. "Ah yes I understand. I guess we should have included that in the prototypes. We do have copies and schematics of your costume and intended to replicate them design-wise as best as we could. I guarantee the final product will definitely have them."That was an oversight on their end. These being prototypes, they had gone for the simple bare minimum. But since Mia was so cooperative about fitting them, they should have tried to simulate the feeling of the final product more closely. It was only natural that she would feel the difference and compare with her previous costume. To say that she was a difficult hero to design a costume for wasn't far from the truth at all. With the kind of quirk that she had and all the motions that she executed, it wasn't the best combination with a costume design that had a reasonable tendency to slip off. But they had to accommodate it somehow. That was the kind of promise that their company stood by. The hero took off the current top and reached for another prototype that was a few steps higher before proceeding to bulk up again. At the very least in terms of accommodating Mia's quirk, Karen could be proud of their engineers for churning out these samples that did so perfectly. It was hard to tell though from Mia's expression if she was feeling discomfort or she was just being her usual intense self, so Karen had to rely on the reviews and insights she would give. So far this session was proving to be productive.
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1,296 Posts
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22 Years
Female
"Redhorn"
Hero-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mia Kearney on Apr 23, 2019 8:25:25 GMT -4
"Hey don't worry about it. I know these are just portotypes. Just don't want some shitty reporter for some tabloid pointing out my tits more than my work, so the chest would be appreciated." She spoke rather matter of factly, not wanting to linger on the topic in an awkward way or anything and so making sure to do her best and just focus on trying ot the prototypes. Though the current one did pinch a bit, she knew from experience fabrics like this could earn some comfort through use, so she deemed this range of the prototypes pretty safe. She laid down the current one, and moved a rung or two up the porototype ladder again, trying on a much more durable top, but finally starting to register just how little room it gave her to grow as she tensed her muscles...it could work, with a bit of wear on it, but she didn't think she'd enjoy her first few battles where she'd basically just be working on stretching out the fibres to a comfortable degree.
"Really I wouldn't worry about it. The past moddles the cups just kinda...helped me maintain a shape. If ya can't tell my back muscles aren't in need of the extra support..." Feeling herself stretching this one a little too much, she took on a sideways position and lifted her fists in the position of a boxer, though as she threw punches to test the prototype and how it moved with her, her motions were far more wild than the average boxer, clearly not classically trained in the art but doing a damn good job, to the point each blow looked like it might take someone's head off.
It all came to the end with the loud sound of a rip down her back however.
She wasn't too surprised, and pulled back with some dissapointment, but more in her own judgement of the product than the product itself. She reached back, feeling the tear go halfway down her back and rolling her head back on her shoulders. "Ah shit..." She shrugged her shoulders back and worked her way out of the prototype, gesturing down a rung or two of the toughness ladder. "This should be what we're working with then. Any toughter and it dosn't stretch enough to accomodate me. I'll just end up tearing it up or it'll be too uncomfortable if we go any tougher...sound good?"
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430 Posts
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"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 24, 2019 7:37:17 GMT -4
Karen appreciated that Mia was so understanding. They were all valid points. And Karen of people wouldn't have wanted to put one of the people she looked up to in an awkward spot because of poor product design, not to mention what it would say about their company. This did make her curious about what sort of tabloids would try to ruin the image of a hero recognized by the government. They were probably the sort that hoped to make money from the lingering anti-quirker sentiments that a portion of the population still had. It was unfortunate that such people still existed. "Yes the tabloids can be rather harsh sometimes. I recall father telling me a story from a long time ago in the company's early days. Someone actually wrote an article that we were discriminating because we only catered to quirkers. It sounds silly now, but some people actually ate it up it seemed. But of course bad publicity was still publicity and it opened the doors for others who were truly in need of our services to find us and become long time customers. It's amusing how the world works sometimes."Mia moved on to try one of the more durable but also tighter tops. While in theory these should have been harder to break, it seemed reality was different when taking into account motions and movements being done by the wearer, especially someone as physically imposing as Mia. She had assumed a boxing stance and began throwing some wild practice swings. Perhaps the prototype was feeling tight and she was wondering if moving around like that would help stretch it out. The result however was the material tearing from the back after a particularly sharp blow. Karen was astonished to say the least. The assistant developers who were around watching as well let out some gasps and exchanged whispers among themselves about that unexpected result. It just goes to show that it was difficult to truly estimate the kind of power a hero could put out. This spoke volumes of Mia's strength and Karen was more in awe than regretful that the prototype couldn't handle it. She then walked over to confirm the piece that Mia selected for them to work on. "Yes that certainly makes sense. You've given us some really useful data Ms. Kearney and we'll definitely put it to good use. I'll have the developers work on the final product for this order based on this prototype. As for the one that ripped, I can see now that we may have made some incorrect assumptions regarding the structural integrity of the material."
"We might actually do a few adjustments to keep the same feel but make sure it can better handle your own punches. It can be a bit challenging to measure what can accommodate the wearer's own strength so it was very productive and enlightening to have you with us today."With a quick gesture, the assistants stepped forward and gathered up the prototypes with one of them taking Mia's choice to the development lab to start with design adjustments and processing for the rest of her outfit. Meanwhile Karen was making some final notes on a clipboard and then handed it over to another assistant before going back to speak with Mia. "Thank you again for taking the time to visit us today Ms. Kearney. I'm sure your schedule keeps you busy so we really appreciate you coming by for this. With the current production schedule we should be able to deliver your order by the end of the week, taking into account the modifications and other improvements from today's testing."
"We have some refreshments at the lounge and I'll be accompanying you to answer any other questions you might have or if you just want to chat for a bit."Karen then spoke in a softer voice while leading the way to the aforementioned lounge. "This is normally the part where father has visitors watch a company video, but between you and me, ending the tour with a documentary isn't really the most fun idea. I'm still in the process of talking to father about it but I'll spare you the boredom."Karen chuckled softly. Before long they arrived at a lobby-like area with a few couches and various drinks prepared from juice to even beer. She didn't know what Mia preferred so she just had them serve whatever they had.
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1,296 Posts
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22 Years
Female
"Redhorn"
Hero-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mia Kearney on Apr 24, 2019 8:12:48 GMT -4
At the news that they’d had their own run ins with the Tabloids, Mia’s brow furrowed, especially at how they’d tried to punch this place down in such a dumb way. A hefty sigh flowed out of her chest as she started to put back on her own clothes, her own bra coming back first followed by the loose white shirt, both items briefly strained as her body took a few seconds to ‘deflate’, at which point the bra fit rather snugly, and her shirt hung a little loosely off her frame. The flannel over-shirt was hucked onto her shoulders next and she was lookin’ just as good as she did when she came in. I mean, if the casual ranch hand vibe was your thing.
“Well that’s shit to hear…but yeah. Any press is good press, especially in a new market. For every person raving about how they hate it, you’re gonna get someone in genuine need who actually goes running to the surface. I’d never defend the shit stains who gave ya the bad press, but never hurst to find the silver lining of a situation now does it?” She offered a warm smile as they moved on with proceedings, hearing Karen’s comments on the prototypes.
“Oh I wouldn’t knock your work on that last one. Trust me that think didn’t snap cause it weren’t tough. I think I was just stretching it too thin. One wrong punch and I just pushed it further than it can stretch.” Thinking for a moment, she hoped to prove her point. Given the lowest level of prototype wouldn’t be used anyway, she pulled it to ne side with the one she’d torn. She bulked up the muscles in her arm, and then slowly dragged her slightly prominent nails down each prototype.
The tougher one likely endured, while the weaker, but stretchier fabric could be pierced by her nails and strength against the table.
“Push comes to shove that other one can definitely take a hit, but if it don’t stretch, it don’t stretch is all. I wouldn’t knock whoever designed the…fabric compensation (she meant composition) or whatever. They did a bang up job. But even the hardest metals turn to shit when you stretch them too far.”
She gave a casual shrug, hoping she reinforced the idea that some good work had been done here before returning to the middle of the group. “Definitely work from here though, I won’t snap it from stretching it too far, and it’s probably still gonna be plenty durable, so I wouldn’t worry too much.” She was no expert but she hoped her advice on what she got from trying on the prototypes somewhat would help.
With the curtains drawn back, she rested her hands in her pockets and followed Karen to the lounge room to get a snack, rubbing her stomache idly, not too hungry, but the type to always be peckish and eager to satisfy that craving, be it with some juice or something to actually snack on. “Sounds like a plan.”
With the softer words she needed to lean in to hear, and was glad she did as she responded with a hefty chucnkle. “Hahhahahah! Fair enough their darling’!~” She tried to calm down incase the girl had been quiet for a reason, couldn’t have anyone reporting to daddy that she’d been talking about his bad decisions behind his back. Her own voice alittle softer, she nodded along. “Don’t worry I’m very appreciative of cutting out the boredom, but I could really use a snack.” She nodded along and followed until they reached the lounge, making a grab for whatever she could to satisfy her peckish little craving before sitting down and addressing Karen Directly once again.
“So!~” She began with a bright expression. “I know you’ve been daddy’s little tour guide for me this evening, but what do you do yourself. You just work here or you studying to be anything or…?” Of course it was a bit of an awkward, vague question, but the young girl had some spunk to her, and for all Mia knew she may see her again if she works with the company in the future, so it was as good a start as any in getting to know the blue haired ball of spunk.
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430 Posts
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"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Apr 25, 2019 8:00:33 GMT -4
Mia's understanding and helpful comments were once again appreciated. That made Karen's entire mood walking towards lounge pretty good. The hero even played along with her little mischief regarding skipping the company video. Today was supposed to be work, but it was easily one of the most fun days she's ever had on this break right before starting school. If father really was keeping any other hero clients under wraps, then she would very much want to know who they were and when they'd be visiting like this too. The setup of refreshments in the lounge was pretty simple. Apart from the choice of drinks, there was a selection of snacks from biscuits to chips to chicken wings. Mia looked like someone who appreciated more protein in her meals so Karen made sure that there was at least something like that on the table. As they sat down and made themselves comfortable, the hero threw a more personal question at her and she was more than happy to respond. "I'm a student yes, but I also work part time in the company helping with tours like this or assisting with tests for certain products. Normally there aren't many opportunities to practice with my quirk, given quirk regulations and all that. But as an official tester here, I've gotten the chance to spread my wings a bit and see how far I could go."
"I suppose that might sound a little unusual but I'm training because I'm aiming to be someone like you one day Ms. Kearney. I'll be entering UA this year as a new student in the hero program."That last line might have been spoken with a little more excitement in her tone of voice than how she was earlier. She couldn't really help it. Her first day was coming as soon as this Monday. Today was just a nice way to cap off her last vacation before becoming a high school student in the school she had been wanting to go to for a year now.
"Ah, pardon that bit of childishness. I do know that being a hero is serious business. But it's a dream that I've been chasing and working on for a while now. It finally feels like I've made the first big step."She was normally more reserved and proper but the feelings and emotions from being around a pro hero combined with getting to talk about her future plans just overflowed by that point. She needed to calm down a bit regain her composure.
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