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

You're a Swordmaster, then? What type do you favour?

Call it old fashioned, but nothing cuts quite like a well made katana. -She tapped the hilt of the one tucked into her sash.- They make some pretty decent ones here, surprisingly.

I prefer to call it classic. [Not that she favours classic weapons herself; her own blade, still back home, is a gunblade, and it's been years since she's wielded a proper sword for anything other than training.]

Have you had the opportunity to use it much?

Here, not as much. But at home, my sword was basically an extension of myself. It's part of me, and thus feels as natural using it as it does to breathe.

You're a vagabond, not a soldier, correct? Yet you say it's an extension of yourself. Under what circumstances do you find yourself using it?

The world's a pretty violent place, you know. Especially for someone traveling alone.

A lawless place as well, it seems. Why have you chosen such a life?

I get the distinct feeling I'm being judged right now. -Not that Baiken did much but shrug, puffing out a trail of smoke.-

There's someone in particular I intend to kill. Which can't be done while I'm stuck here, unfortunately.

I'm merely interested in learning more about the company I keep. Particularly those who know how to fight.

[Besides, she's in no position to judge. She spent a year on a solo mission to hunt down a cult, and once she found it she slaughtered every member she encountered.]

The person you pursue... they're also a vagabond?

... They're a monster. -There was something... to the coldness in those words. A mix of anger so profound that it had no heat to it anymore, condensed into a cold, dead star. But there was also... some fear there. Without thinking, she'd brought her hand up to her side, finding the empty sleeve there, and only the seemingly obvious realization that there'd be nothing there to catch her out of that reverie, and she turned her face away to hide whatever crossed her disposition afterward.-

But no, they're not a vagabond. But they're very difficult to track down.

[Cornelia relates to that reaction, too, but she holds her pain differently than Baiken does. It nests closer to her heart than to her hatred, more familiar, less maddening. Or rather it is now that she's accomplished her own task. The curious yet distant air she'd been maintaining before softens into something empathetic and regretful but scarcely more personal.]

I apologise for asking. It was too personal a question. [It would have been for her. She doubts she'd have answered it.] May they be brought to justice.

I'm not interested in justice. -The response is almost reflex.- This is revenge. There's no sugar-coating it as something more righteous than that.

No, I suppose you wouldn't be. Especially not against a monster. Are you getting any closer to finding them?

Considering I'm stuck in this place while they're not here... not very close. -She grumbled.-

I did mean prior to your arrival here, but I see your point. How will you occupy yourself in the meantime, then?

-Baiken chewed on her pipe a moment before puffing, as well as giving a shrug.-

Same thing I do any time the trail goes cold back home. Take odd jobs, wander around, avoid the police. That kind of thing.

Avoid the police?

I'm a wanted woman back home.

It's for bullshit reasons, but I don't really have a great respect for the law, anyways, and that's not really gonna change here.

Do you mind sharing what those reasons are?

Because I'm a free Japanese. -Well, she also killed some people, but she knew damn well the real reason the authorities wanted her contained. Ironic that she'd just been at the Colony before arriving in the Dream Width...-

[That is also familiar, but in a way that makes her look taken aback, cautious, appraising. Where there were similarities between the women before, now it feels to Cornelia like they're positioned on opposite sides of oppression.]

A free Japanese?

-Another pause, another long exhale of smoke.-

They call them Colonies... but in reality, they're more like internment zones. We're not allowed to leave.