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

[coruscation]

[ his hand is warm around her own, calloused in a way that she supposed must be a consequence of the years he has spent training, from whatever ordeals he has faced since leaving the walls of insomnia. she had hoped to see him there, when she was delivered to the citadel under the watch of imperial guard, but it was empty of the person that she had most wanted to see— though, it had made sense. after all his majesty’s duty had the same as her own. he had wished to see the prince safe, delivered from harm. and there would have been no way for him to escape the wrath of the empire, had he stayed. he would have met the same fate as his home ( insomnia had fallen, the barrier broken, daemons within walls that were once considered impenetrable ).

the fate of insomnia, it will be the fate of all eos should the scourge be left to fester.

it weighs heavily on her mind, the fact that eos is without the oracle or the true king meant to deliver it from darkness. but still, somehow, the fact that noctis considers this a gift as well. it makes the burden a fraction lighter, less consuming. ]

To see you again, to see you safe, it is more than I could have asked for. That my wish has been granted, for whatever time we have here, it means more than I can say.

[ she turns toward him slightly, smiling still, but it has a wistful quality to it. being here with him, being able to spend time together as they had when they were children, it has made her happy absent of her duty. it is as his majesty wished, that they could spend time happily together— but. if there is anything she has learned it is that sacrifice is not something they will be able to escape. that for their star to be purged, there must be something given in turn.

it had been the lunafreya the girl’s wish, to be with noctis again. a wish independent of her standing as oracle. ] I fear that I am undeserving.

[ a quiet admission, one that she hopes that noctis will not think less of her for. ] Ensuring that there is a future for those to wish to see it, one that is free of the darkness that threatens it, that is my calling. [ one that she has accepted, regardless of the concequences. ] To stray from the path that I have chosen [ to pursue her own happiness here— ] I fear it is unforgiveable.

[warpstriking]

[The choice of words isn't lost on him. His mind automatically travels back to that shared dream, after the revelation of the Tidemother. Their so brief reunion, tainted by the pain of a farewell. It takes a considerable amount of willpower not to focus on that, and instead on the woman before him. One who he never thought he would be able to so much as touch again until his own calling is fulfilled. That they are together now, their hands still holding onto one another...

It means more than words can say. And if Luna thought he would ever think less of her, she is sorely mistaken. She has done nothing to make him ever feel that way, and that admission does nothing to change that. Yet that she is beating herself up over their current circumstance, no matter how little choice they have in the matter, it is like a knife has cut into him.]

Hey. [His voice is quiet, authoritative yet attempting to be reassuring as he lifts his free hand to cup her cheek — if she will allow it.] We have no control over this — how we got here and how long we stay. Those at the Center said as much, right?

[He smiles warmly at her, but this time, it doesn't quite reach his eyes. His unwittingly mirroring the sad acceptance his father's held for all those years. Noctis knows, what lies in store for him when he returns home. Only the Draconian knows how long he will spend in stasis, slumbering as the Ring absorbs the Crystal's light.

The future she speaks of is one he will never see, either. Not while among the living. Yet he too shares that desire; that worry of what lies in store for their Star while they linger here.]

We will find a way back, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the time between.