TEST DRIVE MEME

[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. None of you know how you came to be here or where you are going, and the door to the cockpit is locked as the pilots focus on navigating the treacherous obstacles of the Dream Width. You might as well take this moment to introduce yourself to your fellow travelers. B. CURTI CENTER There’s an almost overwhelming aura of excitement in the tower as researchers rush to document this unprecedented number of interdimensional travelers. Over the commotion, the leaders of the Center struggle to explain, ‘Welcome to Vaikuntha. We don’t know why you’ve been brought here, but this is your new home.’ The staff will do their best to help the off-worlders settle in. They answer the questions they can, provide maps and pamphlets about the world 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 under the circumstances. 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. WILD CARD Feeling inspired to create your own prompt? The power is yours!

Comments

tidus | final fantasy x

[zanarkandian]

a. introductions
[Ugh, what a nightmare. Tidus awakens slowly, fighting back a queasy feeling when he remembers everything from the rift. His old man. Yuna. Those strange people...he's half-listened to the vague explanation, but it's little comfort now. He sits up, trying to distract himself by helping someone else. His smile's thin, but it's there.]

Hey. How're you holding up?

g. job coaching
[His visit to the Ninja Guild was painful (if successful), so he's very happy to see his chosen career as an option. But it occurs to him that others might want to play, so he's decided to start a blitzball training group. After his MogNet post about it, the stragglers meet on the beach. Tidus waves to them cheerfully, ball under his arm.]

So you want to learn to blitz, huh? You need speed, focus, and guts---but you've got that, right? Or you wouldn't be here. We're gonna play with the ball on the beach for now, and when we're ready we're hitting the water. It's the least fiend-infested place I could find---they wouldn't let me rent the blitz stadium. But that'll just make us tough, right?

i. random encounter
[Time to test his new ninja skills! Tidus's first encounter: a fairly harmless looking frog. He grins and flows into a strike, as he was trained, but the counter-jab hits him. There's a small crash---an abandoned katana and iMog Slate hit the ground, and a small yellow frog lands next to them.

Heed the flailing and croaks of distress, or attack the 'new' monster?]

j. wildcard
[Or feel free to use anything else!]

G!

[chrombobreaker]

[There's a hand up already!]

"I'd like to think I have all those qualities but... what exactly is blitz again? It sounded like some form of combat training at first, but now it appears to be a tournament, going by the locales?"

[Look, he just heard there was some sort of training going on and he was up for that. And now Chrom is feeling hopelessly out of his element.

As in literally out of his element. He's only a decent swimmer.]

[zanarkandian]

[Tidus is confused at first, but he soon smiles and holds up a ball.]

It's only the greatest sport in the world! It's played underwater with teams of six players, five in the field and a goalie to guard your goal. You compete against the other team for the ball, then try to shoot as many goals as possible while stopping the other team from scoring.

Does that make sense? We could do a mock-game on the sand if you want.

[chrombobreaker]

"Ah, so similar to a tourney."

[Sort of. Except for the absence of horses, armor, and lances. And the addition of spheres.

So not much at all. Still, the idea of teams and the rules do grab his interest. And it IS important to be open to new experiences, and learning from them.]

"Yes, and... a mock-game on dry land would be appreciated. I'd like to try at least."

[And he's showing eagerness, settling into a stance already! A fighting stance true, but A for enthusiasm?]

[zanarkandian]

All right, great! Since there's just two of us, we'll start with the basics. We're on opposite teams, and you want to get the ball past me, and I've gotta get it past you.

[He picks up a stick and draws two lines on the edges of the field.]

These are the goals. In a real game you'd have a whole team fighting for the ball and a goalie on each end, but with just us it's like this. I'll play offense first.

Now imagine I'm swimming in front of you and I have the ball. I'm gonna either pass it to one of my teammates or shoot it toward the goal, and you've gotta stop me. You can wait for me to throw and try to block it, or you can tackle me if you think I'm gonna try to score.

When I say go, we'll try it. Any questions?

[chrombobreaker]

"Underwater, offense depending on who has the ball... got it. And just this for questions; how hard do you hit?"

[He's actually picked up a slight grin as he says that; just treat this as an odd sparring match and game of keep-away then. And now that he's not in spooked deer mode, he's starting to warm to the idea.]

"Ready, whenever you say the word."

A

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie shrugs and chuckles slightly, although there's a note of hysteria in the laugh. "Oh, you know. As well as can be expected when you wake up on a space boat without any idea where you are, how you got there, why you're there, or how your friends and family are doing. So, uh. Pretty bad, honestly."

[zanarkandian]

"I know how that feels," he whispers, smiling sympathetically. "It's okay to not be okay, y'know? This is pretty bad as far as randomly being dropped in a new world goes."

He tries to look steady, though. "But you might still find them, yeah?"

[conniemaheswaran]

"I mean, on the one hand, if Steven and the Gems were here, great! I'm not alone! On the other, well, um," Connie tugs at her jacket, "...on the other, that means that there's nobody out else out there to make sure Earth is safe. In which case, I'm actually kinda glad that I'm the only one here so far. Although it does, um, suck a little bit." She pauses, then turns to Tidus, eyebrow raised. "Wait. You've been through something like this before?"

[zanarkandian]

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't want Yuna to get hurt, and Spira kind of needs her." Tidus sighs, clasping his necklace for a moment. As much as he misses her---and everyone---it's better this way. He's probably the most expendable.

"Yup. I'm from a place called Zanarkand, this big, bright city that never sleeps. One day, this giant ugly monster called Sin attacked, and it sucked me up and spit me out in a new world. I've been trying to go back, but...I think I got pushed a thousand years in the future. I don't know if I can. Especially now that I'm two worlds away, y'know?"

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie hisses through her teeth. "I... wow. I don't really know what to say to that, honestly, because, um, well... I've never really been through something that terrible until, um, now. Still, you have to--well, you had to have been really strong to survive something like that, though."

a

[nanaimo_bar]

[Nanamo sighed a little, shaking her head as she massaged her fingers a little in thought.]

Truly, tis naught a situation I wanted to be in, but fate certainly has a way of spinning it's wheels.

How do you fare so far?

[zanarkandian]

[Tidus lifts his head, trying to smile.]

Okay, I guess. I'm just worried about everybody back home. You too?

[nanaimo_bar]

Truly. Where I come from, the weight of a crown weighs heavily upon my brow. To be whisked to another star without a sense of readiness? Tis naught my first thing to do in the morning.

[She managed to smile a little, shaking her head.] Pray forgive my rudeness. I am Nanamo Ul Namo, Sultana of the nation of Ul'dah.

[zanarkandian]

Oh, so you're like a queen! I'm sorry!

[He bows. Should've clued in earlier, dude.]

Anyway, I'm Tidus, star blitzball player from, uh...somewhere. Nice to meet you.

[nanaimo_bar]

[She laughs a little, hiding her mouth behind her hand in a ladylike giggle.]

Nay, the pleasure is all mine, master Tidus. You've naught a home of origin? Much like the Warrior who graces my lands with their presence.

[She smiled and got up from her sitting position.] Come, let us explore. I am certain we may find yet your companions if you look hard enough.

i

[fayth]

Are you all right? ( of course he's not all right. he's a frog. yuna had only been a short ways behind him, but apparently that was enough time for trouble to rear it's head. )

Hang in there! ( with that, and raising her astrolabe high, she casts boon of the stars just in case things get... even worse.
and now, she's staring down the fiend for herself. )

Stay close to me. ( she'll protect you, little frog. )

[zanarkandian]

[He makes a small series of croaks that would've been 'Yuna!' if he could talk. But he can't, so he hops up on her shoulder for, uh. Moral support, careful not to jab her..

His little limbs flail. He points at the green frog and waves his arms, trying to gesture 'don't let it touch you!' ]

[fayth]

( she'll assist with that shoulder-perch, and nod at his flailing. she may not be able to understand frog-speak, but she can definitely get the gist of it. probably.

at any rate, she isn't going to touch it, but neither is she backing down! man, a good ole esuna would probably help out right now, wouldn't it...? )

We can do this...

( it's a whole new world, with entirely different rules... but giving up had never been an option for them. closing her eyes, she drew a card, the bole encircling the both of them with its light of sparkling defense. )

Hang in there! ( just a little longer... the spell would surely wear off if she could just protect them until then! )

[zanarkandian]

[He will, Yuna. His eyes sparkle with determination---though that's probably hard to see.

And displaying his characteristic maturity, he sticks his tongue out to taunt the enemy frog. Whoa, that's a pretty long tongue.

And with a shrug, he re-focuses on the battle, watching Yuna with interest. She's already pretty good at this new stuff.]

A!

[boomchucka]

[Selphie's been pacing the aisles of cots on the lookout for familiar faces when Tidus's greeting stops her. She returns his smile with something a little warmer, a tad more on the sunny side of things as she shrugs.]

I'm hanging in there. Could've lived without that explanation though...

[zanarkandian]

I don't think I caught it. Still a little...foggy-headed from what was out there.

[Her cheer cheers him up in turn, restoring him somewhat to his natural state.]

But I guess we're all stuck together for a while. I'm Tidus, nice to meet you!

[boomchucka]

Well, we'll just have to figure it out as well go along, then!

[Selphie grins at Tidus as she nods in agreement with his sentiment.]

We'll get through it together. I'm Selphie, nice to meet you too!

[zanarkandian]

[He smiles his agreement.]

So what did you hear about this place? All I got is that we went from our worlds into space somehow, and now we're going to some other place.

[boomchucka]

[These two are going to get along famously well. People should be worried about the next round of awkward laughing that may ensue.]

Well... we're going to a world called Vaikuntha and we were pulled out of some weird thing called the Dream Width.

[She pulls out a neatly folded set of papers from one of pouches on her belt and waves them idly.]

It's all in these papers that we were given.