memesofeternity | Test Drive Meme II

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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

[ Hunk's attention is piqued by the purple-haired woman. Honestly, between Ena, Euphy, Baiken, and Nanamo, he's seen a lot of ladies with that sort of hair. It's interesting to him, even though at this point he believes it shouldn't be.

So when she approaches him in his yellow-and-white armor, Hunk stops leaning against the wall, and stands firmly on his own two feet. He knows when someone wants to speak to him. But seeing a chance to try and make light of a dark situation, he cracks a bit of a smirk at her question. ]

Pardon the vagueness, but depending on how far back you go, either "Vaikuntha," which is where we're going, "space in general," or "Earth." [ He even went so far as to make the air quotes with his fingers every time. He's committed. ] Were any of those what you wanted to hear?

[Hunk's armour makes him an obvious target; though there is nothing like it in her world, she recognises what it is easily enough. The way he straightens up at her approach further strengthens her assumption that he serves, at least in some capacity, as a soldier. The smirk takes her somewhat aback, though, as do the finger quotes, which she watches as though she expects them to represent something more significant than good humour.

Nobody has ever finger quoted at the princess.]

Earth is what I wanted to hear, though the name might as well be as foreign as Vaikuntha given how you're dressed and your claim to be from space in general. Hmn. Should I take that to mean you serve on some manner of spaceship?

[There is a definite edge of skepticism to her tone. It's not that she suspects Hunk of lying, but rather that her own words sound so absurd to her that she can scarcely believe that she's speaking them.]

[ Hunk hears that skepticism, and golly is he familiar with it. He's kept it on hand himself for years, and it's been endlessly useful in this world. ]

Don't worry, the armor's a space relic, it's not from Earth. [ He says this casually. ] I serve on a squad of robot-spaceship pilots called Team Voltron. We're the Defenders of the Universe, [ It's like he's talking about the weather. ] and one time we took out an evil, oppressive alien empire that spanned about two thirds of the known universe and had been around for... ten thousand years. [ And then he shrugs- is... is he holding back a yawn? ]

[ Now the real fun began! Seeing how this confused woman reacted to tales of his home universe. Fascination and excitement were pretty common, but... she seemed a bit steadier than some of the other Earthlings he'd met. A bit older, too. ] So... what about your Earth?

[Okay, wait, what, no. She just kind of... balks at him for a moment. Space relics? Voltron? Defenders of the Universe? The proximity of the words "robot" and "pilots" to each other at least makes her think of her world's Knightmares, and she can't deny the similarities between his massive alien empire and her massive Britannian empire, but even together they're not enough to make his story not sound like anything besides a severely abridged version of a movie plot.

His casual tone and quickness to flip the question back on her certainly aren't helping to convince her.]

You can't be serious.

One-hundred percent serious. Like... [ He pauses for a moment, wholly unsure of what's grim and dire enough without seeming even more outlandish. ] A plague. Serious like a plague. [ He nods, but there's a dash of disappointment in his eyes. ]

So you were willing to believe space, but not fighting evil in space? [ And then he quirks an eyebrow at her. ] What's so hard to believe about it?

Like a plague.

[She catches that shift, shakes her head, offers him a faint shrug of her shoulders. Nothing about this trip has been believable so far, so why should she be surprised that Hunk's story rings so strange? Besides which, doubts can be maintained without being shared. She'll try to mind herself in the future, try to find more constructive paths towards solidifying the truth. Her tone shifts to something a little less accusational.]

You claim to have fought and defeated a 10,000-year-old, universe-spanning empire while equipped with space relics and piloting one of a fleet of robot-spaceships. Do you think that someone 1,000 or even 100 years into your past would find that to be immediately believable?

I wouldn't have believed it two years into my past. But sometimes life gets flipped upside-down and thrown out of the atmosphere. [ He just laughs and shakes his head. She probably won't take well to him mentioning aliens, either. Instead, he just takes out his iMog slate, a little touch-screen tablet dealie, and starts poking at a few buttons. ]

You think your world is going to be more believable? [ And he's still poking and sliding on that touch screen. He's not looking down at it, so it seems like he's got a real good grasp of how it works. ] Try me.

[Will watch him fiddle with his iMog, curious but not intending to seem intrusive. She assumes he has a good reason for having it out so she doesn't remark on it, not yet.]

It's more mundane. There are no aliens nor any Defenders of the Universe, and no human has ventured further than the moon. Up until recently, the government had been divided into three superpowers and a scattering of independent nations; now it's in a state of rebuilding due to the lengthy war between those powers reaching a nearly catastrophic conclusion.

[Conveniently leaving out the whole Geass thing? Conveniently leaving out the whole Geass thing!]

Ouch. Sorry. [ He didn't want to say that war was a painfully recurring thing in most universes, but it was. The alternatives to war weren't exactly humane, either. ] At least the war's over, right?

[ But then he glanced back to his tablet, and made a swiping motion with his finger. An image expanded to take up the entire screen as he showed it to the woman: a huge black robotic lion, wings included visible behind an otherwise normal house in an otherwise normal neighborhood. ]

One of our ships actually turned up in this world. See? [ There was a small hint of satisfaction in his voice, but he also knew it didn't prove anything about his claims. Could make a fun conversation piece, if nothing else. ]

It should be; the last tyrant is dead.

[She doesn't sound relieved about that, or optimistic, but instead comes across as being something closer to remorseful. That mood brightens into something closer to reverence when he shows her the robotic lion, though. She's seen similar Knightmare Frame prototypes from weapons developers intent on earning royal favour for what they had considered to be groundbreaking designs. With the military trending towards moving battle higher into the sky and not closer to the ground, however, none of them had progressed past the blueprint stage.]

It's beautiful. Why do you call it a ship? It looks so unlike one.

[ He allowed himself a sigh of relief at the mention of death. Peace was more important than the life of a tyrant, for sure. But that wasn't important- they weren't in that world, and this fancy lady seemed to like the Black Lion. ]

Well, okay, they're called Lions [ He shrugs a bit, because the reason should be obvious. ] but they're spaceships. [ And Hunk grows a bit of a grin, because he loves talking about his tech. ] They can swim through the sea, coast through the clouds, and soar through space.

Mine can even dig through the ground. [ And then he just giggles, as if the topic is woefully underappreciated in his life. ]

[Shocked! Admiring! Mildly jealous! Her robot had rollerblades...]

They're capable of that much?

[Actually smiles a bit at the grinning and the giggling and the pure admiration he has for his lion buddy.]

Is that true even here?

Well... [ He trails off, and the enthusiasm starts to falter into a somber sigh. ] We don't know. [ And he closes his eyes for a second. ]

There might be an adjustment period since it got pulled from another dimension- these things are pretty adaptable. [ There's a hint of a smile, and he opens his eyes again. ] So adaptable that they bond with their pilots and don't let anyone else take control. It's... interesting.

[ He wasn't going to say it was a huge inconvenience if anyone was unable to pilot their Lion. Because that's a huge, glaring weakness. ]

["Bond" seemed a strange word choice. Was he suggesting a degree of sentience, a natural familiarity between man and machine?]

Are you saying that it won't let--[A very clear emphasis is placed on let]--you pilot it yet?

[ His eyes grow a little wider at the implication. Him piloting the Black Lion? No. Nononono, that'd be hilarious and insane. So Hunk just sighs and starts to smile. ]

Hopefully it'll never let me pilot it. [ And his mood perks up a bit. ] This one is my friend's. Mine is almost as big, doesn't have wings, and it's [ He points to the coloring on his armor. ] yellow. But if someone else tried to pilot my Lion, it wouldn't work.

[ And then his hands begin to pantomime a sphere. ] They have these barriers they put up when their pilots aren't around, most of the time.

[ Most of the time. Not right now. Because it's deactivated? Dormant? Causing Hunk no small amount of distress, more like. ]

[Barriers make an acceptable amount of sense. She watches until he completes his sphere then nods.]

Yours also digs. [Slightly teasing; she hasn't forgotten the giggling.] Is it the only one that does? And are they accessable at all while the barriers are down?

My Lion's the only one that can dig. Something about an affinity for the land, probably. [ He says it matter-of-fact, like this makes perfect sense. ] But if the barrier is up, then nobody can get in until the Lion lets the barrier down on its own.

[ He chuckles, scratching at the back of his neck. ] It was weird the first time I heard it, too.

It's space technology, is it not? It'd be more concerning if it didn't sound weird.

[Emphasis on more; though she's holding her side of the conversation steady, it feels somewhat surreal, somewhat mad. There isn't much she can say about elemental affinities, or flawless barriers, or the other capabilities which Hunk has revealed, so she moves on to something that she believes will be more universal.]

You said you used them against an enemy empire. How?

War. [ Curt. To-the-point. And then a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips, trying to force a positive emotion. ] Well, a rebellion. Then a war.

[ But then his body stiffens up a bit. There's no way to talk about any of this easily, so he stops trying to smile through it. ] An alien empire, the Galra, controlled most of the universe. They enslaved civilizations and destroyed planets just to harvest their energy and resources. They were... horrible.

[ And then he sighs, and makes eye contact. He sounds dire. ] They... might exist in your universe, too. [ And he looks down to the ground. He doesn't want anyone else to have to deal with them. But people should know, right? Better to prepare for something that doesn't happen than to get caught by surprise. ]

Maybe. I mean, with as many Earths as we all come from, why wouldn't outer space be the same?

If they do, then they would make easy work of our Earth. [Spoken perhaps a little lighter than the gravity of the situation demands, but she is already thinking too much about the state of her world and how poorly equipped the survivors are even for something as peaceful as rebuilding efforts. All she can do about the thought of a civilisation-enslaving, planet-destroying alien race is assign levity to the potentiality--to overcompensate for the way it threatens to weigh her down.] But thank you for the warning. I'll put our space division on alert.

You said the threat is gone in your world though, correct?

My Earth wouldn't be much better off. [ He sighs after saying the words, trying to chase away the specters of concern. ] We were really far from any of their territory, so they just never found us. We found the Lions and could take the fight to them until we could force the peace.

[ There's no other way to phrase a change in rulership like that. Suddenly there was war, then there wasn't. ] But we don't know if it's gone. It's new, and... [ He looks down towards the ground. ] Things could still go wrong.

Things could always go wrong. What matters is that enough people are willing to rise to the occasion, which seems true of your world.

[A light sigh. A lighter smile.]

I apologise for asking so many questions. This can't be something you enjoy discussing.

[ Hunk sighs out the nerves, something he's finding himself doing quite often here. But then a smile starts to reform. ]

It's fine. [ It is not fine. He's a bit uncomfortable, still. ] We can't do anything about it here anyway. The last I heard, there was peace.

[ But then he looks expectantly at the woman. ] You haven't told me much about your Earth, miss... [ His eyes go wide, and he just chuckles before reaching out a hand for a handshake. ]

I don't actually know your name. I'm Hunk. [ And he's smiling again. ]

[Gives his hand an inquisitive look before shaking it, her grip strong. She knows what handshakes are, of course, but has been offered so few of them than she hasn't developed the natural impulse to respond to them yet. Not without having to think the gesture through, first.]

Cornelia. It's good to meet you--[Pauses for a moment, not certain that she's heard his name correctly.]--Hunk. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know about? Admittedly, I'm not sure where to begin.

[ He picks up on the pause, and just nods when she gets it right. And then his eyes light up at the request for questions. Hearing about people's worlds was always interesting... even if their worlds were upsetting. Kept him from taking his own for granted. ]

You said there were three superpowers and a big war. Who were they? [ This is a good test of how similar their Earths are- do they have the same countries? But without missing a beat, he muses out loud for a moment. ] I hope one of them's Antarctica or Australia, they seem like they have good tactical positioning.

[ Even though he probably just jinxed his hopes. ]

Test Drive Meme II

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