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

Ruri Hoshino | Martian Successor Nadesico

[hontobakabaka]

Retrieval

Sitting up slowly, Ruri looked around. This wasn't her futon, this wasn't the empty room she was in. It wasn't even the Nadesico, or if it was it got a lot dingier.

It had only been a few days since the explosion and she still was recovering. Still she sat up and looked around, her face dead to emotion as she looked around. "Hello? Does anyone know where this is?"

Curi Center

After spending several hours explaining she had a job back home. Two of them even, and after that explaining she was actually a princess and an idol singer along with those Ruri gave up. She exposed everything, even the stupid secrets that she didn't want to use and sat on the steps.

"You could have at least brought Omoikane too, or showed me a job that didn't have kitty ears in the hat or helmet. Idiots."

Get A Job

Ok, fantasy worlds are simple, hit monsters with that gun sword thing they gave you enough times and take their money. Still, it feels silly not having the tools to do the job and really, Ruri wasn't a pilot to begin with, just this was the only thing that her tech skills were useful in. Airships looked nothing like the Nadesico, and that wheel looked daunting. The military flat out said that a 13 year old girl was not acceptable and she should consider school. School wasn't likely to have anything on Quantum Physics here or advanced computer theory.

Taking all this in Ruri sat with a sign next to her as she watched the clouds. The sign reading "Will fix machines, code, or solve physics problems for cash."

Maybe this having no money thing wasn't so different from home.

Random Encounter

So the repair gig wasn't working, and Ruri really would rather be self sufficient so she went out into the world. Walking back and forth over what seems to be the same 100 meter area for a while.

"Omoikane said this was the best way to grind in old school RPGs, but this is terribly boring."

Still walking she failed to notice the foes moving up on her rear.

Curi Center

[saint_sami]

“You, too, huh?”

And behind Ruri, joining her on the steps was Sasami. She flopped down by Ruri, a little annoyed.

“I can take care of myself just fine, but they seemed intent on protecting me...”

[hontobakabaka]

Ruri blinks and looks over, almost wincing at the protected comment, but recovering to her usual deadpan quickly, "So all the helmets they showed you had kitty ears too. I wonder if it is a thing for girls in general."

It is easier to not get into the second part, especially since it was Ruri's job to protect her ship of fools, not the other way around.

[saint_sami]

“Uh-huh. I mean, they’re cute, but I wanna be taken seriously. And we can’t do serious if we wear that.”

Sasami let out a sigh. She didn’t realize that being mortal again meant everyone being overprotective. Even her Moogle was!

“I think we should prove them wrong!”

[hontobakabaka]

"I'm not sure, all the jobs I am comfortable with have helmets. Maybe if I spent more time studying chemistry."

She shakes her head, "I'm not 100% certain how to prove them wrong. Do you know how to make hats?"

[saint_sami]

"Ah..." Oh, dear. That's... a stumbling block. She grinned sheepishly at that. "N-No, I don't. I know how to cook, clean, I'm a wonderful staves fighter... but not making anything like that. That was kinda Washu-chan's thing back home..."

[hontobakabaka]

"If I had a 3d printer maybe I could program one, but the technology here seems a bit lacking."

She tilts her head a bit and shrugs, "Maybe there is a smith that can redo them, but I am not sure what is at our disposal."

[saint_sami]

"We might have to look for someone, then..." she said, letting out a soft sigh.

"...maybe we can work together on this, hm?"

[hontobakabaka]

She nods a bit, "I'm Ruri. Hoshino Ruri."

She nods, "If this is a thing for all the girls, maybe we can get a large amount of help. And if it is just us... I wonder why it would be though. The hair maybe?"

[saint_sami]

"Sasami. Masaki Jurai Sasami. It's nice to meet you, Ruri."

At her question, Sasami takes a thoughtful look. "I wouldn't be surprised... but, I won't change my hair because of it. I like it as is. And yours is just as great."

Living on a planet where having long hair in twintails is part of your status is part of that parcel.

[hontobakabaka]

"No, I don't plan to change my hair, I've worn it like this my whole life. I'm just looking for patterns to identify the whole issue."

She just shrugs, "That and I've seen stranger things."

[saint_sami]

"Hmm... maybe it's because we don't look like warriors like everyone else." Sasami pondered. "A lot of people here look like they've seen fights, so they probably thought we'd be better off in something... cute?"

That was the best she could think up of. It seemed like the sort of thing you'd see in anime.

Sorry about the late! Yay school! - Get A Job

[chosehope]

Meanwhile, here Nunnally was trying to figure out how to get a job. While she didn't mind, it would be rather difficult to get one that might be suited for her. She just hoped that they didn't mind her wheelchair being too big for them. But still, as she stared at the screen, there was a pondering look on her face.

There were so many to choose from, which one should she pick? Such was the life of a princess.

[hontobakabaka]

Ruri looks over at the other girl and walks up, "Do you need help going over these? I'm a bit lost with it all myself."

[chosehope]

As Nunnally heard a girl nearby, she just smiled sadly to herself. "I'm afraid so. I'm new here so this is going to take quite sometime for me to get use to"

[hontobakabaka]

"No, I understand that completely. I just ended up here too and am a bit.... Like a fish out of water myself."

[chosehope]

Suddenly, the smile on Nunnally's face widen even more. "I suppose we can be fish out of water people together! I hope that we'll be able to figure this out."

Then, there was a pause. "I'm afraid this might be my first time having a job." Unless you count being an queen but...that's for another time.

[hontobakabaka]

"I've had lots of jobs. Computer operator, idol singer, voice actor, second officer on a space battlecruiser, AI psychologist, princess, and waitress. I'm not certain any of them apply here so don't feel bad."

With that she shrugs a bit, "We've all got to adapt I guess."

[chosehope]

Meanwhile, here Nunnally was, just staring at her in awe and wonder!

"Oh wow, you really are good at adapting! I don't think I ever heard of a computer operator who is also an idol singer and a psychologist!"

Hey, wait a minute here! "...And a princess too!"

[hontobakabaka]

Ruri shrugged a bit, "I found out when I was twelve my genetic parents were a king and queen. I'm fairly certain that is the one I'm least qualified for though."

[chosehope]

"But that's still exciting! It's not everyday that you get to find out you're a princess!"

Not to mention that Ruri was talking to a former princess. "It must have been amazing when you found out!"

[hontobakabaka]

Ruri pauses. Princesses are things from cartoons, things that every normal should aspire to be. Creatures of beauty and privilege, they have everything, till some stupid curse or nonsense lays them low and some unknown guy comes to save them. The prospect was insane to her, and what little she actually saw, given 5 brothers who were now the youngest and not heir apparent, and her disdain for saying what people wanted to hear left her a bit cold on the prospect. Shrugging she looked at Nunnally and let out a small breath.

"Honestly it was kind of confusing. I'm not really cut out for the political world. Most of it is lying from what little I've seen."

Curti Center

[kuposcreed]

"Kupo, they're not cat ears, they're moogle ears, and they're cute, kupo!" Bonnie wiggled her ears indignantly while trying to offer the girl the pamphlets for the ninja and dragoon guilds. And really neither of them had cat ears in their normal setups but Bonnie's hood was a unique case.

It certainly was strange that a moogle was here talking about the Jobs as if she was a member of a guild rather than helping out one of the other arrivals. In fact there was another moogle in dance tights who kept trying to slip flyers for the Dancers guild into the pile she was holding.

"Well...I guess some mage Jobs use the Cat-Ear Hood, but that's not a normal part of the uniforms, kupo!" If anything it was a rare and good piece when made seriously and not just for costuming.

[hontobakabaka]

Ruri tilted her head curiously. This was obviously some sort of animal, possibly plush, probably a stress hallucination that was talking to her. Still, given the day she's been having no sense in being rude.

"What is a moogle? I know back home most of the crew of my ship liked dressing me in odd things so I just assumed the worst."

[kuposcreed]

"Ah! What? I'm a moogle kupo! Kupo!" The moogle emphatically gestures at herself, her wings fluttering into a tizzy!

"And while we are both adorable, a moogle is not a cat, kupo!"