memesofeternity | TEST DRIVE MEME

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TEST DRIVE MEME

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!

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He nods and pauses at the unfamiliar word. “Choco-what? I assume that’s some kind of...bird?” Birds have feathers but maybe even that isn’t accurate. He raises his eyebrows and adds. “I’ll keep an eye out. If I see him I’ll contact you immediately.” Approaching wouldn’t be wise. More over that kind of thing is private between comrades.

He finally lets out a breath. He’s covered every single angle he can to find to keep his team safe. He doesn’t think Zarkon could show up here. But it would be foolish not to consider the possibility. For now this is all he can do.

Edited 2018-03-19 20:06 (UTC)

"Chocobo. Large bird, mostly used for off-road travel or racing back home when trained." Something he knew a bit about, having been fascinated by the sport growing up. "Their feathers are usually some shade of yellow. Others used to be more common back home, but their populations have been dwindling the last few decades."

Like that poor black chocobo chick... It's a weird thing to worry about, given their current unknown situation, yet here he was. A king, worried about a little girl chickling they'd saved as an egg. Wondering just how she and her surrogate parent were doing, along with everyone else on Eos.

"Thanks." He says at last, staring up at the ceiling. Things would be better if he could just... talk to Umbra. Ruffle that pup's fur for a second. Feel some sort of tie to his Star. Have some sort of reassurance that they were fine... Would be fine no matter how long they were stranded here, wherever that or their destination may be.

Yet the gods remain silent, his eyes a midnight blue.

He catches the movement out of the corner of his eye and drops his hand down onto his helmet at his side. “We’ll figure this out. It’s just going to take some time.” He can’t make himself sound calm about it. Not when flashing across his mind’s eye is Zarkon’s mechanized suit. “...these chocobos sound a bit like our horses. There used to be wild herds of them all over the world. They were in a variety of earthy colors. Hooved and have a kick that you never want to deal with.”

Noctis might know horses. But the idea is to see the common link. And to give them something to think about that isn’t going to add stress or worry to their backs. He needs to shift his focus for both their sakes.

Noctis, to his credit, didn't bother to make an effort to show that he noted the stress in the other's voice. Instead, he kept his voice carefully monotone. Or rather, tries to. He can't help some of the worry that seeps through. "Yeah. I know. Been one hell of a day, though."

He won't focus on it; only point that much out. His friends are probably surprised he isn't asleep again, already.

"We don't have horses, but those sound a lot like spiracorns. Just missing the horns bit." He chuckles under his breath. "Wouldn't dream about riding one, though - they definitely aren't tamable. More likely to attack just for walking twenty or thirty feet away from them."

No, he totally didn't know that from experience. What are you talking about?

He grins and laughs. "And you definitely don't know that from experience." He...hasn't really experienced horses. "I can't say I've tried to ride a horse but I know they can be. People try to ride bulls." It's a sport and he winces anytime he's ever seen it. Shiro leans back and shakes his head. There's a little bit of humor in his voice now. Why not. "Usually after a waver..."

"They're bigger than horses, have a lot more muscle, and have horns facing forward." It has been a hell of a day but talking about ridiculous crap has eased the tension in his shoulders. "How many horns do spiracorns have? One in the forehead?" If they're violent.

It's a bit hilarious and a bit terrifying.

"Had the pleasure of having to fight and kill a few, yeah. Try to ride? Not even close." He's had enough back injuries to last a lifetime, and he's only ever had the one. Never again the dark times. "Bulls?" Okay, now he's curious. He glances over, shifting slightly though keeping his back against the cool surface of the wall. "I'd say that almost sounds like a behemoth, but I'm pretty sure what you're talking about isn't the size of a decent four bedroom, two story house. Or purple, for that matter."

And yes, he has fought one before. Killed a few, too. Though, getting back to Spiracorns... "Two, curved around one another into a spiral. Hence, spiracorn. There's some without crooked horns, but they're rare."

Two curved horns. All the better to gore people with he supposes. He tries to construct a mental image of a behemoth and fails. Purple. "Just how purple is a behemoth? What shade?" This is going to make meetings with the Marmora a bit funny. In his head.

Shiro pulls one leg up against his chest, stretching the other one out. He's been in a cockpit for several hours. If he doesn't stretch now he'll be sorry for it later. "...while we've taken on things that size. Fighting what sounds like a giant bull...that's certainly one for memories."

Memories and photos from a hospital or the latest reason to be in a healing pod. "Bulls aren't that big. They're in the hundreds of pounds not tons."

"I'd say... mauve?" If only he had his phone, he'd just pull up a picture of it. Or the photo album they kept on their journey. Either or. So, he shrugs a little helplessly there. Can't help what he can't share. Still, it's a little nice knowing that Shiro's having just as hard a time with different animals and beasts as he is.

Different stars are wondrous things.

"I- normally I'm able to turn any drink into a healing potion, so we don't usually end up in the hospital. Don't think it'd work here though, if my weapons are stuck, too. the normal populace, though... Yeah, it would be."

He hums, stretching his arms out with his fingers locked and interlaced together before leaning back again. "Gotcha. So more like a garula- Big, tusked creature. Shoulders are a bit taller than I am. Commonly used as a herd animal, though vicious if provoked."

“Sounds about right. There are different kinds of bulls. From the ones they use for the sport of bull riding or herd bulls.” But Noctis brought up a point. He shifts his arm and attempts to activate the particle shield. Nothing. “Looks like all the functions of my armor are on the fritz. Good thing to know now than later.” Like leap from a high height and think the jet pack will work kind of later.

He picks up his helmet and turns it around in his hands. His armor is as much a symbol of being a paladin as the Bayard on his hip. He sets it by his bent leg. “Anyway. So long as we don’t have a repeat of a giant bug hatching out of a moon, I think I won’t complain too much about weird creatures.”

That had been an experience. He would rather never repeat it.

"Huh. Interesting." Noctis hummed, thinking. At the very least there were some similarities. Things to help cross a culture barrier of exponential proportions. He waits patiently for Shiro to try and activate something. Raising an eyebrow when he confirmed his hunch.

"Yeah... Trying to summon my father's sword was the second thing I did." Noctis shrugged, looking down at the ring on his right middle finger. Trying to cast Holy had been the third. "So no magic, no weapons. Juuust great."

But he won't panic. Not yet. Not when he has to be his friend's king first. If he panics, they'll panic. Especially Prompto.

Though that thought makes him pause. "... A giant bug. From a moon."

What the fuck is your world, Shiro.

He nods, leaning back against the cool metal of the wall. “We were sent there to deal with it without knowing about it. It wasn’t that bad of a task but I would have rather known what the team was getting into.” They could have planned accordingly. But the wild goose chase they went on did serve as decent training.

Shiro pops his shoulder and breathes out with obvious relief. That twinge has been bugging him. “It wasn’t the only bug on that mission. I just count that as the weirdest part of the whole thing.”

"Sounds about half the odd requests we took, too." He sighs, exasperated at the memory. Dino really needed to work on the hazard pay beyond just some piece of jewelry...

He can't believe he misses the guy.

"We once had to hike up a volcano. With the lava flows still not solidified. For a photo of the summit." Their poor, poor boots. Rest in pieces. "Pretty sure it was the one time Prompto could honestly say he didn't skip leg day, though. And it's good he's not here to hear that. Pretty sure he'd have been stuck in the ceiling at just the thought."

“I’ll be sure not to talk about large bugs in his presence.” Unless he absolutely has. But he has to pause. What person would employ people to tread that close to lava? “...But I assume all of you made it to the summit safely?” He raises an eyebrow and casts a glance at Noctis with concern written all over his face.

They dove into dangerous situations themselves but the Lions can move through all sorts of lethal chemicals and ordeals. To say nothing of when they unite as Voltron. “Any other fears I should be aware of?”

"Oh, yeah. We were fine. Maybe a bit exhausted from the climb and heat, but fine." Thank the Hexatheon there was a camp site away from the lava flows. Shiro didn't need to know they actually walked on said lava flows.

"Acrophobia and claustrophobia." He pauses. "Same ones here, but not nearly as bad."

“The later.” He can admit that much. The rest is his own and he won’t give them up unless he has no other choice. He glances at his right arm. The armor covers it but the action is a habit. He lets it fall and looks back to Noctis. “We’ve have had dangerous adventures too but nothing like that on foot. ...” but he pauses.

No. That’s not quiet accurate. “As a team, anyway.” It wasn’t that long ago he won a stronger bond with the Black Lion. It had been meant to be harmless but. He had been battling for control from a tyrant. He glances at the stars beyond the glass. “But to be specific...man made small spaces.” Only that much.

He can allow it. No matter what it reveals or hints to.

"All of ours were on foot, unless some imperial patrol found us on the road." He explains. Not everyone has cool space ships, man. "With my family's magic and each other, it wasn't a problem." He wasn't even going to mention the Revelations. The trials he had to overcome to win his gods' favor. This likely speaks enough on just what kind of role he played without outright stating his status as royalty.

A royal who lowers himself to other's level, tries to see from their perspective. Something that was far too easy to do. "..." Noctis catches that movement, not quite sure what it meant thanks to the other's armor, but admitting to claustrophobia alongside it set off a few warning bells. Not danger specifically, but what not to broach subject-wise. So instead, he simply looks - or rather, glares - down at the ring on his right hand.

Honestly, even if he didn't have the same fear, his first thoughts would always go to Prompto. Because so long as he has a goal, he can push through most of his fears. Prompto, though - he didn't have that luxury. Yet, when he opens his mouth, there is no attempting to sugarcoat - no attempt to distract or share a story about their shared fear. Only: "I understand."

Because he does. He understands far too well... He only hopes that the man beside him didn't have to face it alone like he did.

He catches the movement of Noctis eyes but he doesn’t call him on it.They both clearly have goals and while they’re united in purpose he will merely stand by him and support him just as he would any other teammate. He meets his eyes and nods slowly. It hadn’t escaped him that this young man had all but said his position. Like protecting Allura he will shoulder this man’s secret. He looks again to the stars.

“Speaking of Magic, I have to find my ship. It must not fall into the wrong hands.” The Black Lion must not fall back into Zarkon’s hands. Any universe is finished if he does. “If it isn’t here it is probably back home.” His brow furrows and he scowls. His voice is laced with worry. “I have to find out which it is. If it’s here...and not operational that is a whole other problem that needs dealt with.” He scrubs at his face and sighs.

“More things that can’t be handled or fixed right now. Sorry. This...tripped me up a bit.”

Edited 2018-03-23 01:24 (UTC)

Noctis sits and listens. He knows that tone. The feelings that fuel that desire; that need. Briefly closing his eyes, he tries to push back down the emotions that surround the very thought of something like that happening to the Regalia. The last - well, maybe not the last he had of his father, but the last gift he'd been given by him. His safe place...

"It's important to you." That wasn't a question, only a statement of fact. He can tell by Shiro's voice. "Never know. Might just be too big for this thing to handle." He's grasping at straws and he knows it, but he still held out hope that Gladio is out there somewhere. That he won't be without his Shield for long. Who knows? Maybe the other's ship is out there, too - yet undiscovered.

"Don't sweat it. I know the feeling all too well." He sighed, trying to catch Shiro's gaze as he lowers his voice. "We will find answers; and if they're here, your teammates. You have this king's word."

The air is still for just a moment and between that beat and the next Shiro meets his eyes and nods. The serious look on his face is one of absolute authority. He holds out his left hand to him. Trust for trust. His voice lowers accordingly, “Then as the Leader of Voltron, I accept your word and give my own. We’ll find your people and anything I and my team can do to help, we’ll do it.”

He pauses and adds, “Yes, the Black Lion is important. It’s one of the only things that can stand against the forces against peace and freedom. ...one of five. Even one missing and we can’t do everything we can. Finding out where it is, is a critical objective. ...after I understand where we are and where my team is.”

The gesture isn't lost on him, though it has been some time since anyone on Eos has used it. Himself included. Most of the time his retinue simply fistbumped or high fived (Ignis and Prompto would always be the biggest nerds ~~aside from him shh tell no one~~). He turns; just enough to reciprocate the gesture.

Trust for trust, after all. Besides, his status as the last king of Lucis was the worst kept secret.

"You can count on mine to do what they can as well. Our weapons may be stuck, but that hasn't stopped us before." Haha... ha... He's so glad there aren't any daemons here right now to be all 'bitch, you talking shit? Prepare to get hit'. Peace and freedom, though... Those two words strike home.

"Looks like we have something in common, then." He won't specify, but even without its power, the Ring feels heavier on his hand.

“Yeah, sounds like we do.” He doesn’t touch his Bayard again. But the armor and his still tense body say enough. He forces himself to relax again his voice back to the conversational tone from before. “We’re both without our standard arsenal but it hasn’t stopped us either.” It’s nice that the Galra and Druids aren’t here to really screw him over.

His side still burns with remembered agony some nights when he wakes up from a dead sleep. “At least no matter what happens none of us will be on our own.” Even if they could endure like that. Better not to. “...thanks for the help and the trust.” It needed to be said and he ends it with a small tired smile. All he can allow.

Noctis simply gives Shiro a knowing look. Yeah, he hit the nail on the head there. Yet it doesn't really need any spoken word. So he nods, humming quietly in affirmation as he lowers his hands into his lap.

...What he would do to have his safe place back again.

Noctis looks out at the lounge, a few stragglers finally poking around. "So long as there are those who keep the light of hope alive, none are ever alone. Even in the darkest of nights." It's... a bit more deep than he usually goes, but it felt right. Just like the faint, tired laugh. "No prob. Just glad I could help." He turns back to Shiro, offering the same tired smile.

It's the smile tells him without going into detail that both of them needed this talk. "Funny, I was going to say the same thing." His smile finally reaches his eyes and warms them. Even in the darkest of nights? Well. That must apply to the depths of space as well.

He breathes in deep and lets the wall hold him up. Whatever happened he would find his team. They would be safe. He can trust that if he can't get back to them Keith will make them safe. "well," He can't ignore how tired he feels right now.

All of the adrenaline is draining out. "Looks like we've exhausted most of the worries we can share. We might want to get some rest while we can. Who knows how long we've got until we can get our questions answered." He gives Noctis a knowing look of his own. "If you'd rather one of us stay awake I can do that. I'm still too awake."

It certainly did. At least, he hopes that came across in that manner. Noctis rests his head against the wall, eyes already half-lidded closed.

"Guess we'll both just have to be glad for it, then." He says it flatly, like he just doesn't have the energy to seem interested in it any further; but the way his eyebrows raise slightly likely gave away how he really feels about it. He's tired, but amused.

"Ignis'll likely be by soon," he mutters, already hearing the familiar footfalls. "There's no one I trust more." And just like that, the young king is asleep.

He notes the name and cross-references it to descriptions. But it sticks in his head that Noctis trusts Ignis wholly and completely. Or at least that's what it sounds like. Noctis is asleep before he can respond in kind, to tell him Keith is who he trusts above all others.

He settles back against the wall and tips his head just enough to listen to the sounds of someone's approach. It seems soon will be much sooner than he guessed. "Alright. Then I'll trust him too."

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TEST DRIVE MEME

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