Test Drive Meme II

[eternitymods]

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!

Comments

Hamtaro | Hamtaro

[sunflowerseeds]

[forget multi-prompt toplevels, there's only one thing going on here today: hamtaro, used to a life of sneaking past humans, has somehow managed to avoid all the intros and stuff, hitchhiked his way to the magical city of lavode, and picked up a red mage job. somehow.

he's even got a rapier-shaped toothpick sword!

but now, here's the problem. a small furry orange thing running past in the corner of your vision might be relatively easy to dismiss, but a small furry orange thing waving a toothpick sword and attempting to cast magic? even if he picked a quiet place to practice, it might be hard to go unnoticed for much longer.]

Alright, let's see--take that!!

[he casts! he shoots! oh no that dandelion's actually on fire he can't help a single gasp-p before frantically trying to remember if he has any fire-stopping spells.]

Um, uh, aaahhh--water! Water magic, go!! [he's shooting snowflakes.]

Re: Hamtaro | Hamtaro

[kuposcreed]

[It's not often that Bonnie meets someone smaller than her. Lavode doesn't have any of the guilds that caught her interest, at least just yet, but as a new mognet employee sometimes one has to go the extra distance to get the mail delivered. She wouldn't let some fancy imog app show her up!

But she freezes when she sees the little one, terror welling up in her at the sight of such a frightening creature. How did one of THOSE get an Asterisk?! Everyone was doomed! DOOOOOMED!

But...but it seemed to be having a little trouble. And it was trying to put the fire out. Maybe it was a GOOD Hamster?]

Ah...are you okay, kupo?

[sunflowerseeds]

[The frightened frightening creature lets out a yell of surprise at the sudden appearance of...a giant flying hamster-like creature?]

Whoa, you're a--wait, that's not important! We need to find water, fast!!

[Considering the size of the flower it's probably not a threat to anybody at all, but it still looks huge from a hamster point of view, okay?]

Sorry~ Been busy with a few RL things but I hope you app :D

[kuposcreed]

[Bonnie is still quaking in fright, especially as this hamster actually TALKS. But then it clicks that maybe it wants the water to put the fire out? What is this sinister little thing plotting. Is this a trap?

Bonnie remains on guard but looks around, trying to find something they could use.]

Water...water...um, there's a stream over there, kupo...

i could not pass up this opportunity

[hatejakku]

[That's a talking rodent.]

[That's a talking rodent trying desperately to put a burning weed out.]

[Finn needs a nap.]

You... want some help, little guy?

[sunflowerseeds]

[Oh, somebody noticed. That's probably a good thing here, right?]

Yes! Help, please!

[He jumps up and down for emphasis, running circles around the dandefire - humans don't usually understand hamchat, gotta act out his distress!]

[hatejakku]

[Um. Finn blinks. All right then.

He stomps on the dandelion.

Fire's out.]

[sunflowerseeds]

[Ah...there's no more dandelion.

Hamtaro plops down on the ground, catching his breath after that short scare.]

Phew, I'm safe...I gotta work harder on that magic stuff, if I wanna be a real hero...

[hatejakku]

[Finn's actively forcing himself to not get all judgy right now. The cute little talking rat thing is trying, after all. Finn can't set a dandelion on fire with magic, so-... Yeah, okay, this is getting weird.

He crouches down to be a little closer to the rodent's level.]

A hero? That's why you're trying to learn magic?

[Okay, that is pretty impressive.]

[sunflowerseeds]

Yeah, that's how it works, right? There's magic and monsters and everything, so that means I gotta fight a bad guy and save the day-- [Wait.

He pauses, staring up at the guy, tilting his head with a little "heke?"

......Nah, y'know what, he's gonna file "humans understanding you" under "we're in fantasy magic town," this is fine.]

--Oh, uh, did you wanna be a hero too? There's probably a lotta bad guys out there.

[hatejakku]

[Finn's still trying to figure out how the rodent is talking at all so... it's whatever.]

I don't know about being a hero but I want to learn more about protecting myself and others.

I thought what everyone was calling monsters was just... wild animals that were out of control. Do you think they're really bad?

[Yes, Finn. Let's have a debate about ethics with Hamtaro.]

[sunflowerseeds]

[Oh no, ethics debates...Hamtaro thinks on this, trying to figure out a proper answer. Though of course since he's about as smart as an uneducated elementary schooler there isn't actually that much to think here.]

Well if you gotta fight them then that's gotta mean they're bad, right? If they're out of control then you can just calm them down. [A pause.] Unless they're cats, I guess.

[Cats are bad by default, he doesn't make the rules here, that's just how it is.]

[hatejakku]

[Hmm. Good point. He nods. Though-]

Cats? What are those? Like loth-cats or-?

[Oh no.]

[sunflowerseeds]

[what's a loth-cat]

Umm...probably? I mean, it still has cat in the name, right?

[Just in case though--]

The cats I know are big and furry with claws and fangs, and if you're not careful they'll eat you! [Wait.] I mean, I guess they wouldn't eat you, but they'd definitely probably eat me if they caught me.

[vambraced]

[Considering he was already on the lookout for a small furry blue thing and drifting from place to place was in his nature, it probably wasn't all that surprising that Jack found himself beholden to the spectacle of some kind of orange and white rodent waving a tiny needle around and setting fire to the nearby plant-life.

Well... at least he wasn't about to set the city on fire like that. The tall man in the long coat approaches the little guy slowly, a sword at his hip implying that he at least knows a little about the fencing part of the hamster's job if nothing else. He plants a boot on the flaming dandelion, snuffing the magical flames out in the process, before turning to the frantic hamster.]

Hey there, little guy. You should watch where you're waving that stick pin of yours around if you don't know how to handle it.

[sunflowerseeds]

[The sudden appearance of a giant boot causes Hamtaro to fall backwards out of--shock? Relief? A tiny bit of fear, maybe? Feet are about as dangerous as fires when you're barely three inches tall.

Still, once the surprise subsides the little hamster plops down on the ground, having temporarily exhausted himself from all that panicking.]

Phew, that was close...magic's tougher than I thought.

[Is he talking to you or ignoring you though?]

Gruff guy meets cuteness; what can go wrong?

[immortalmarshal]

[Cor does notice that little furry orange flash, and he turns his head to see...a hamster? A hamster...in a red mage outfit. Not the weirdest thing he's seen since coming to this world, or even back home. He doesn't make a move towards the creature, though, even as it seems to be panicking about lighting that weed on fire.

Though that kind of spellcasting clearly needs work...]

...Calm down, and focus on the ice magic in your blade.

[sunflowerseeds]

--Huh?

[The tiny hamster pauses in his panicking to glance up at the guy who said that. Did that human just give advice? Maybe he should try that? Does ice work on fire--he's a hamster, he'll believe pretty much anything.]

Focus the ice magic... [He focuses, eyes squeezed tight as he points the toothpick blade straight forward at the fire like some sort of dowsing rod. Focus, focus, focus......

...and a proper stream of ice actually does shoot out! More ice than is necessary, even?]

...Whoa, it worked!

[immortalmarshal]

[that is more than enough ice to put out the flaming plant. In fact...its charred remains are pretty darn frozen now. Good job, little hamster.]

...not bad, though you might want to tone it back a little.

[Cor kneels down to get a better look at his fellow red mage.]

Don't think I've seen you before, though... Are you a native here?

[sunflowerseeds]

[Too little, too much...magic is hard to regulate. Especially when you're a hamster.(?)

Hamtaro looks up at the big hulking stranger again though, smiling now that the danger is past.]

I'm not a native, I'm a hamster! I'm not from around here though, this place is a lot more magical than back home.

[immortalmarshal]

A hamster, huh...? You got a name? Mine's Cor.

[He reaches a hand out to the little guy, but stops half-way as he realizes something.]

...mind if I pick you up? Dunno if you'd be okay with that...

[Though it would make talking to the little creature much easier on Cor.]

[sunflowerseeds]

Cor, huh? I'm Hamtaro! Nice to meet you, and all that!

[As for whether or not you can pick him up, he answers by climbing onto the guy's hand himself.]

People picked me up all the time back home! It's easier to get to eye level that way, right?

[immortalmarshal]

Hamtaro... Nice to meet you, too.

[Cor definitely stands back up, holding the hamster up near eye-level.]

Much easier for both of us. Did you recently arrive here, too?

[sunflowerseeds]

That's right! I woke up on one of those boat things, and there were so many people I almost thought I was gonna get stepped on...did that happen to you too?

[immortalmarshal]

[Cor nods.]

Did anyone at the Center explain what's going on to you?