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

Baiken | Guilty Gear

[garyoutensei]

[ a - when everyone around is dreaming ]

-Not every break from the Dream Width was a pleasant one, especially given the nightmares some dwelled within. The one armed woman that had been picked up was definitely one of them, and despite efforts to calm her down, things were getting chaotic very quickly. She was more like a wild animal in the way she lashed out, kicking away one of the infirmary workers who was trying to restrain her. It seemed despite her condition, she wasn't exactly having trouble fighting off the orderlies, but...-

Where am I?! Where's my sword!? -Something had to calm her down, or she might end up seriously hurting someone else in her panic...-

[ b - sit before you upon a throne of scars ]

-Well she's calmed down, at least. But the aura given off by the woman as she enters the room still isn't exactly personable. Particularly given she had to be restrained during parts of the trip, and only in the last moments did she finally seem to accept her lot in life enough to not want to violently lash out at others. Her mouth was drawn into a thin line, and her gaze seemed locked into a void, not really looking at anyone or anything, but didn't seem to be spacing out, either...

She sat herself down, not on a chair but on the floor, with a slump, crossing her legs and leaning against the wall, drawing in a long, deep breath before instinctively reaching into her kimono for a pipe that... still wasn't there. And thus she found herself in a situation where, despite the aura she'd held since entering the room, she had to speak.-

... Anyone got any tobacco?

[ g - our war machine rolls on ]

-By hook or by crook, Baiken had managed to at least get three items she definitely needed in the immediate moment. A kiseru-style pipe, a wine cask, and a katana. They weren't hers, a fact that still deeply frustrated her, but they were there, and she felt a little less naked in this new world she'd found herself lost within. But some things never seemed to change, and after outfitting herself with what she thought of as necessary gear, she became much more aware of the fact that she was... pretty much penniless. And booze and tobacco didn't just come freely.

But, as a vagabond, this wasn't necessarily new territory for her. She had too much pride to beg, so it meant seeking out work. And given her skill set, it meant some pretty specific types of work...

She sat on the ground on a busy thoroughfare, pipe between her lips, and a crudely made sign in front of her. The sign read:-

Bodyguard For Hire.
Assassinations Negotiable.

-Oh...-
[ h- gather all y'all trekkies and tv addicts ]

i never owned a spellphone before and typing one handed sucks. can someone tell me how i can use this as little as possible? also recommend some good cheap wine or im gonna start making my own.

-She really didn't seem to care that this was sent to all.-

[ j - wildcard ]

-do the thing-

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda's not even gonna pretend like Baiken's cleavage wasn't the first place her eyes went, but luckily the rest of her was striking enough that she wasn't sure if she should look down or up. The woman had a sign though, and while she didn't look at all like the sort of person to beg on a street corner, sometimes people were just that down on their- ]

You really think you oughta just advertise assassinations like that?

[ That's kind of legally dubious right? ]

[garyoutensei]

-Baiken exhaled some smoke, pulling the pipe from her lips, before slowly looking the girl addressing her up and down. She didn't seem like much, but...-

Why? Do you need one done?

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Smoking is bad you know. Amanda's used to being looked over and kind of dismissed at first, at least by adults. ]

Not right now. I mean, you look pretty tough, so I guess I'll find you if you need one, but that seems like a good way to get some dirty looks from the law.

[garyoutensei]

I don't really care what the law thinks. -Baiken tapped the edge of her pipe, idly.- If you've got no business, you should move on, if you're worried about that kind of thing.

[witchwithoutacause]

Sure, hey - if you want your three square, a roof over your head, a free gym membership, be my guest. Bet they won't let you keep that pretty pipe though.

[ Come on lady she's trying to help for some reason. Maybe cuz you're cool. ]

[garyoutensei]

They won't get the keep their arms if they even try to touch me. -Stone. Cold.-

[witchwithoutacause]

...or you could like, hit up the quest board and not get, like, attacked by an entire city? Listen, I've got something that should pay good even if it's split a few ways and you look tough.

[garyoutensei]

-Baiken quietly groaned, rolling her head back before slotting the pipe back between her teeth.-

Fine. Make your offer, girl. I reserve the right to tell you to fuck off if I don't like it.

[witchwithoutacause]

No, no, that's totally fair. I'm the one bugging you.

[ She put her hands on her hips. ]

We're retrieving a particular artifact from ruins. The monsters should mostly be easy to chop up with a sword, relatively speaking. Ten thousand gil, plus an offer to buy anything else of value we pick up on the way. Even split.

[garyoutensei]

How many? -Puff puff.-

[witchwithoutacause]

Just us right now. Looking at you, the two of us could probably handle it.

[ With some effort.

She held her hands out to either side. ]

As a red mage, I could, of course, stay out of your way while providing magic from behind - while being able to take care of myself if anything gets close.

[garyoutensei]

If you intend to make me do that much work, I want a 70/30 split. -Not even moment's hesitation.-

[witchwithoutacause]

Heh. Here I thought you'd be more of the 'just stay out of my way' types, but I guess I'll be earning my half then.

G

[kuposcreed]

[The hood wearing moogle was going to simply flutter on by, not paying the vagabond much notice. But then she notices the sign and she pauses, looking the woman over thoughtfully.

Hmmm, how would Mary approach this?

The moogle flutters about thoughtfully before circling back around towards Baiken, a little closer so she can try to keep her voice down.]

Where other men blindly follow the truth, kupo, Remember....

[She waits to see how this woman responds.]

[garyoutensei]

-The only look the moogle gets back is one of confusion as her brow cocks upward. She lets out a long trail of smoke, taking out her pipe and clicking her tongue.-

I don't do business stuffed animals. Beat it.

[kuposcreed]

[Bonnie flinches back, the rough voice hitting her like a wall.]

Ah...kupo...sorry, I must have mistaken you for someone else.

[She should be on her way but her fright has her fluttering in a tight circle for the moment as she tries to decide which way to go.]

[garyoutensei]

How many one-eyed, one-armed women do you know? -Baiken grumbled. Of course she'd frightened the thing, and maybe felt slightly guilty about it, but still, what an incredulous thing to say, by her perspective.-

[kuposcreed]

"Ah...um...kupoooo...."

The flustered moogle couldn't help but stop and try to answer the question and now she was stuck looking off into the distance. Was there one? She felt like there might have been but now her thoughts were all jumbled up.

[garyoutensei]

"Quit yammering and say what you mean!" Baiken definitely should have felt worse for yelling at the poor creature, but... Well. One got what they bargained for with someone like her.

[kuposcreed]

"Kupo~ I was wondering if you were an Assassin too, kupo!" She shouts that perhaps a bit louder than she should, but fortunately nobody runs over yelling anything like "stop, police". A few people glance over but immediately dismiss the outburst as some of the usual moogle silliness.

[garyoutensei]

Baiken sighed, puffing on her pipe and humming.

"I'm not part of the Assassin's Guild, here or at home. And I don't intend to join one, either."

[kuposcreed]

"Ahh...kupoooo. Have you, um, seen any others then?"

(ooc: Oh man I forgot that there's an Assassin's Guild in GG too)

[garyoutensei]

"I haven't," a shrug. She had no reason to lie. And even if she had seen any, they'd given her no reason to protect them. The only Assassin she gave a shit about hadn't shown up, either...

"Why do you need them?"

[kuposcreed]

"Ah.....kupo...." At this point she remembered all of this was supposed to be secret. But now she's dug herself so deep she might as well be sprouting kupo nuts.

"Ahhh, I was wondering if some of my...friends were here...kupo."