memesofeternity | Test Drive Meme II

A. RETRIEVAL

Dreams fade slowly, and awareness returns in increments. The hum of machinery, the smell of recycled air, the murmurs of others waking up around you.

The interior of the ship has been outfitted with cots for those Biggs and Wedge retrieve from the Dream Width. Outside of the makeshift infirmary, windows set into the walls of the worn lounge area offer a view of space.

It’s time to meet your fellow new arrivals who have been brought together on Biggs and Wedge’s airship. The other newly-awakened people have no idea how they came to be here, but now's a good time as ever to introduce yourself to the others on the airship and glean what information you can.

B. CURTI CENTER

The researchers at the Curti Center are not quite so unprepared as last time, but it is still obvious that they are struggling to understand the sudden influx of interdimensional travelers from the Dream Width. "Please step into the lobby for a quick survey. Perhaps there is some common thread we haven't discovered yet..."

The staff will do their best to help the off-worlders settle in. They answer the questions they can, write down all proffered information they can about the arrivals' homeworlds, provide maps and pamphlets about Vaikuntha and the destinations within it, and even guide the arrivals to a neighborhood where housing has been provided for you. Yes, due to the strange influx of arrivals, you’ll be expected to share, but the Curti staff are doing the best they can, considering they are still housing the previous arrivals here on the island.

Experiences like these bring people together. Perhaps you are the only one here from your world, but at least you are not alone in this experience. Others are right beside you, learning the same information, planning trips to visit the same new cities, checking out these Job things, and settling in to their new (temporary) homes.

C. UP IN THE SKY

There’s a whole new world to explore. It’s almost enough to distract from the fact that there’s one place you can’t go- home.

You are on an Airship, the main mode of transportation between the major cities of Vaikuntha. While the majority are owned by airlines, perhaps you hitched a ride with a friend that has their own. You can go anywhere in a matter of hours — One can only hope you don’t have motion sickness.

D. GUILDS

Proud representatives of the Guild are lined up, ready to demonstrate their skills for the new initiates. Make sure to stay behind the designated line, this might get dangerous.

So you want a new Job? You'll have to first travel to the Guilds, sign the papers, go through the orientation and introductory lectures, and get basic training. Afterwards, you can freely chat and practice with your fellow members, celebrating your new powers, and checking out your new wardrobe.

E. LET'S BE ADVENTURERS

Separated from all of your material possessions, connections, and everything you know, and really, what you’re left with is time. Better try to make the most of it.

Enough expository banter. It's explorin' time. Maybe instead of spending every day in your room, you'd rather spend it living it up in the city of Lavode, or betting on Chocobo Races in Sparks Goldsaucia. Or maybe you'd rather go and explore the caves and ruins near Arito. With Airships and Chocobos at your disposal, you can go nearly anywhere!

F. SIDEQUESTS

Maybe you’re telling yourself, ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’ But wait, you did. At least it pays.

It all started when you checked the Quest Board. All you wanted was a few gil to spend, and here you are in the wild, hunting for a Malboro Vine. Or maybe you are in some ancient and decrepit ruins looking for an artifact. Or you could be asked to be janitor for a week. Consider yourself lucky though, at least you don't have to do that alone.

G. GET A JOB (THE OTHER KIND)

You’ve got a Job, but Claire keeps sighing and muttering about layabout space-people not earning their keep, so it might be time to seek out Employment as well.

There are plenty of opportunities to earn some gil in Vaikuntha, no matter where you choose to settle down. Your iMog slate includes listing for employment opportunities. Hopefully you can find something you can live with so that you can start saving up for an airship or the security payment for your permanent housing.

H. MOGNET

*Ding!* You’ve got Mog-Mail!

Thankfully, you can instantaneously chat with your friends around the world thanks to you iMog Slate. And unlike old-fashioned Moogle Letters, you can even send messages to everyone in a blink of an eye! However, despite the change in technology, the old tradition of Mognet Strikes have never gone away. Nobody knows any more whether the Moogles have legitimate reasons to go on strike or if they are just lazy. But today, Mognet is down, and to get information you have no choice but going to the public boards or risk message corruption and mishandling.

I. RANDOM ENCOUNTER

The ground trembles, and out of nowhere, something hostile appears! ~~Is that battle music playing?~~

You were minding your own business walking around, and suddenly monsters attacked you! Time to put to use the skills you've learned with your Jobs! Will you try to fight on your own or seek help? And remember, you die in random battle, you die FOR REAL. There’s no shame from running from enemies that are a higher level than you!

J. CHOCOBO MADNESS

You look at the giant chicken, and the giant chicken looks back at you. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful relationship?

The kind folks at the Chocobo Farm have provided you with the tools of the chocobo-catching trade: greens, a bridle, and more advice than you can remember. Time to go find your new steed.

Or perhaps you have already captured a chocobo, and your friend has captured a chocobo, and now you'd like to bring some chicks into the equation. Chocobo breeding may be the minigame for you!

K. WILD CARD

Feeling inspired to create your own prompt? The power is yours!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Huh. Don't think we have anything exactly like that, but Red Mage is probably the closest. They use swords, black magic, and white magic, but they wouldn't be as strong as someone who masters just one thing."

He flipped through the brochure again. "You know you can pick two, right? You're only using one at a time, but once you practice with both you can carry a skill from one job into the other."

He shrugged. "It's all kinda complicated, I'm not really at that level yet. But you could pick that and a second job, like Berserker, maybe?"

"Hmm, that seems about right for Taddle Quest," said Emu thoughtfully as he checked the other brochures at Tidus' recommendation. "There's a lot of neat stuff here and as a gamer, I want to check them all out. But at the same time, I want to be as well rounded as possible with a lot of options. Red Mage might be a good idea, although I feel too many non-specialized might actually be a bad thing in the long run. Balancing issues and all that."

He looked at the pamphlet for Berserker and shook his head. "No, I don't think Berserker would do. Maybe Swordmaster though."

"Oh, I've just started training that one!" he cheered. "It's not too bad. It's just that sometimes you start spouting this weird poetry."

He shuddered. Definitely not his style. "But what do you mean by game?"

"Poetry's not my thing but I can see when it fits the theme of a regal character. Maybe I should look into a knight type as well, since I'm also used to defending and taking hits."

"My world is under the issue of a plague, called the Bugster Virus. It's a virus that manifests video game characters called Bugsters. People who are infected by their strain need to be operated on by using a device called a Gamer Driver, or at least that's how it used to be."

Emu smiled. "Recently, we've managed to make antibodies for the virus."

"...know what, I don't think I need to know," he adds. That was possibly the most confusing thing he'd ever heard. "But you're safe from that here, right? Just have to make sure you don't irritate a monster. Or your moogle."

That earned him a smug look from the sunglasses-clad Zunne, judging silently as always.

"More or less," replied Emu. "I don't think there's any sign of the Bugster Virus in this world anyway."

He chuckled. "But I'll be sure not to irritate a monster or a moogle."

"Yeah, it's really not too bad here. Just form a party with people whose skills support yours and you can get just about anywhere. I'm a ninja, so I usually need to be with people who can soak up a lot of damage, or heal it."

He rolled his arm back. "Just make sure you're sure when you go to the guild. They don't like you changing your mind too quick, asterisks are expensive."

"Aaaah so it is basically like an RPG," remarked Emu. "Forming parties to take down harder content as it were. Makes sense."

He nodded at the explanation however. "Fair enough. I wouldn't want to revoke my medical licence anyhow, so I'll probably wind up taking White Mage to begin with."

"Yeah, there are hospitals still looking for help, so you can work there on the side to make extra money too," he offered. "It's probably one of the best jobs there is, you're always needed."

Well, aside from getting paid to play a super-awesome sport.

"Well, I'm in it to help people, not really about the paycheck," said Emu with a nod. "But at the same time, I'm really happy there's a good hospital to apply to. I wonder if there's a standardized test to get in?"

I think so. Ask them about it, they should be able to set you up---they don't accept people at the highest levels without experience, so they have to test what you know.

And...yeah. It's a good thing, helping people.

[He'd been rich and spoiled, back home. It was overrated.]

I'm a newly instated doctor at Seito Medical, but I've done operations and the like. I've been actually active as a full doctor for three years now.

[Emu smiled at Tidus.]

Yeah, it's a nice feeling. I wish Poppy or Hiro or someone was here though.

Friends from home? Hey, don't give up---maybe they'll be found out there someday. Once the cloud or...whatever it is...reaches a world, it can always pull more.

Really? Well, that'd be good to know. I'm really missing my other half. It'd be nice since we have no way to communicate.

Parad must be worried sick.

I was leaving anyway, so I don't think anyone really misses me more than they would've. But that's not fair. I'm sorry.

It's all right. Everything's finally under control back home, so I can probably relax and enjoy my time here.

Glad to hear it. Not that it's all that relaxing, but...you don't want to be doing stuff here on top of worrying about there.

Yeah, well, being a doctor, I wouldn't want everything to be too quiet. In my line of work, too quiet causes trouble.

Test Drive Meme II

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