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

[chrombobreaker]

"Ah... I- I see." There's really no polite way of asking what just happened to him, is there? "Is there a battle field nearby? You look like you've just been through a war."

Which is probably why that instantly slips out of his mouth.

"Though I'll probably look the same in a few moments, odds are," Chrom hurries to add, hoping that'll add a little humor to the situation. Though in his rush, he eases up on the reins a little... and that gives his chocobo room to move, and it chooses to rush up to the other rider, crest up and giving off a series of excited "KWEHS!"

...Is his chocobo seriously challenging the other to a race. Because that's certainly what Chrom is getting from this interaction. And no amount of tugging on the reins seems to dissuade the bird. Which continues bobbing its head and pawing the ground with its talons.

[takyumi]

Lucky for Chrom, Takumi is far too wary of the animals they're sitting astride to get particularly offended. He even laughs, in fact, though it's more a bitter bark of sound than anything. Unfortunately he's too wrapped up in spouting a good comeback to notice that his bird is ruffling its feathers and scratching the dirt in a distinct on your mark gesture: "Trust me, I look a lot better after I've been through a waaAAAAUGH--!"

Yeah, that... That's a chocobo taking off with such force that the reins are useless and Takumi is left piling forward to wrap his arms around the bird's neck. This was officially his worst farm-related experience. This was even worse than that time a few years back where he stopped to assist a village near the bottomless canyon and somehow ended up elbow-deep in the placenta of four subsequent ewes (alongside Hinata) at three in the morning. "I hate these things!" he calls over his shoulder, having no way to see or hear if Chrom is especially nearby considering the loud and wild thudding of his chocobo's feet. Where did this oversized chicken even think it was going!? " 'Domestic beast of burden' my ass--!"

[chrombobreaker]

Knowing that the chocobo is about to take off doesn't make it any easier. Chrom finds this out when his chocobo surges forward, neck down and wings flared in full charge. Apparently it believes in going full force right from the word go... and leaves him clinging onto the saddle horn for dear life and trying not to get bounced out of the saddle.

"Okay not like a horse, notlikeahorse, notlikeahorseatall," he digs his feet into the stirrups and manages to half brace himself against all the bouncing. He's fallen off horses plenty of times to know how to do so now, but that still doesn't make him all that eager to try.

"Really!?" He grits out as the two birds run alongside the fence, apparently deciding to pick the longest route. "How do you get them to stop!?"

[takyumi]

"Why do you think I said they don't handle like a horse!?" Takumi hollers back in a fantastic mix of panic and exasperation. "When I throw my weight back it jumps!"

Indeed just falling off is an option for both of them, but it's far enough down and would be too much of a pain to try and catch their birds again to make it worth trying to abandon ship.

[chrombobreaker]

"I was- urk! Hoping it was an exaggeration!" Chrom finds himself half crouched, almost splayed over the chocobo's neck as it gives another excited "wark!" and piles on more speed.

It probably isn't the safe to be going this fast. Certainly not safe to fall off at this speed any longer.

"It's a challenge just to stay on-"

But once he says that, realizes that this is a challenge as well, something changes in his expression.

...Oh.

No.

That sudden wild grin on his face can't be a good thing. Granted it flickers in and out as he fights to keep his balance but... it looks like he's starting to enjoy this. Granted it's more like he's holding on for dear life than actually controlling the chocobo. But he's also gotten it into his head that it's a race. And he's a little curious on who might win.

"I think it helps though, if you try to just crouch forward! It's keeping me in the saddle, at least." He yells over, trying to sound encouraging.

[takyumi]

The look Takumi throws the other man has a distinct tone of 'no shit?' about it, hard as it is for Chrom to likely catch in the midst of the rest of the chaos. Takumi's only been clinging to his bird's neck and shoulders since it went full-tilt into a dash half a pasture ago, after all. "I've figured out how to stay on, thanks. If you figure out how to make it listen to you, that'll be something worth yelling about!"

[chrombobreaker]

"Well, actually," Chrom says to partially to himself, glancing at the chocobo before looking ahead. There's a bit more pasture to go, though it seems like they're running out of field. Particularly since there's a bright painted barn looming up ahead, with stables and likely feeding stations that the birds are making a straight line towards.

"...That's the finish line, huh?" He might not be able to control the situation, but he can try to direct it a little. Perhaps by winning finishing as quickly as possible.

"FASTER!" That, he does yell out... and it seems that's a command his chocobo knows. Or at least chooses to listen to, with how it goes into a sprint and tries to take the lead. "I found one command that works!"

...He sounds so very pleased about that, too.

[takyumi]

Well, at least one of them was having fun. Really - if the birds were included - it looked like Takumi was the only stick in the mud present, but in his defense it was because his rear was seriously starting to kill him and the center of his range of vision included the ground moving alarmingly fast while it was regularly torn into with uncomfortably giant talons.

This was why he wasn't a mounted unit.

"That's not exactly one that I was--" he started, only to be interrupted by his bird's outraged warble as it shook its head and snapped at a tail pinion waving remarkably close to the side of its face. Takumi fumbled to get a better grip on the reins and jerked back with one hand. "Hey, hey, none of that!"