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

[conniemaheswaran]

"Nice to meet you too, Papyrus. It's, um, definitely an experience, talking to a... skeleton. That's, um, odd. Very odd. At least in my world. What's it like where you're from?" Connie almost asks why he would need glasses when he doesn't have eyes, but stops herself, knowing that would probably get her nowhere.

[einspine]

"Oh, I'm not surprised! Monsters have been sealed away for a long time... at least where I'm from. But I digress!" After all, this human wishes to know about his world! So this is a good place as any to segue into the glorious realm of the Underground.

...Once he clarifies that detail.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you about the entire world, but I can tell you about a very select part of the world. Namely, the Underground in which all monsters were tragically sealed! It might not be as grand in comparison, but I've grown quite fond of it!" He says, despite having lived there his entire life.

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie blinks rapidly. “Wait, what? Your entire species got locked in a cave somewhere? Why?”

[einspine]

"A war." He sighs. It's... not a happy story, but far be it from him to sugarcoat the truth from someone who seems genuinely interested. If there's one thing he's learned from spending time with Frisk, it's that it's good to be open with people. Even if some things are still best kept a secret. "They say that the humans feared our ability to take human SOULs. So they declared war. Attacked without warning... and despite the valiant efforts of our kind and the masterful puzzles we created... we lost.

And got sealed Underground."

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie's eyes widen. "That's... that's horrible! I mean, sure, it sounds exactly like something humans would do, but it's just not right to seal an entire species underground just because of something they might be able to do! Is there any way I-" she bites her tongue before she can finish her sentence, wincing. "...right, nevermind. There's not a lot either of us can do up here, is there? But, um, anyways. My sympathies."

[einspine]

"Well, Frisk and I were..." Wait. Should he say it? He promised Flowey to keep it a secret, but this is another world. It shouldn't be too big of an issue, right? He hesitates, looking away for a moment. "Well, the point is, there may be a way to break the barrier peacefully! Which is good, because the only other method would require taking human SOULs. In fact, six SOULs have already been taken."

He pauses, before waving it off. "But this is a different world! I don't think we have to worry about that soul business!"

[conniemaheswaran]

"Well, that's good, at least. I'm glad that, uh, you've figured a way out of that situation." Connie pauses, thinking for a moment as she mulls a question that's been in the back of her mind ever since she woke up. "So, um, you're a scientist, right? Do you have any hypotheses for how we ended up," she gestures vaguely at the rest of the ship, "here? If you need any more data, um," she takes a fistful of pamphlets out of her pockets, showing them to Papyrus, "here's some basic information on where we are. I'm not exactly, erm, a professional per se, but I'm fairly certain that at some point along the way we ended up dimension-hopping over to here. Multiverse theory and all that. I mean, it's the only explanation for how we seem to have dozens of humans from various Earth-like planets sharing the English language, general culture, physiology, resemblance to feudalistic cultures in some cases... but the question is how and why, I guess? I mean, I definitely didn't touch anything before I fell asleep that could've transported me to a weird interdimensional memory void."

[einspine]

She spoke his language. In fact, his eye sockets practically sparkle with enthusiasm as she mentions dimension hopping. "YES!!!" He shouts, without realizing how loud he's shouting, because it's Papyrus and this is pretty normal for him. But oh, this is great. Fantastic. Terrific!

He chuckles and brings a hand over his chest. "I'm of the opinion that some sort of dimensional vortex must have opened up. Perhaps a tear in the space time continuum? I've actually dabbled with inter-dimensional travel myself! A little. BUT! I think the real question we should be asking is what sparked this particular rift. Or vacuum."

Tapping his foot, he proceeds to stroke his chin. "Hmmm... perhaps the source is a fellow genius like ourselves, who sought companionship from across the multiverse! So they built a big, memory portal device."

Or maybe he's projecting slightly.

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie blushes at the praises. "Um, I wouldn't exactly call myself a genius, but I think we're on the right track here." Seeming to mirror Papyrus' foot tapping, Connie paces across the width of the hallway, hands clasped behind her back. "That is a distinct possibility, but considering how little we know about Vaikuntha, we're just taking shots in the dark about how we ended up here."

"However!" she whirls around, index finger extended. "Finding out the source of the Dream Width is definitely the first place we should start if we want to get back home. Finding out what caused, or is causing, it would most likely lead to a greater understanding of the Cloud in the process, and give us enough data to construct a hypothesis and follow through with the scientific method!"

Connie blinks, Papyrus' words sinking in. "Wait, you traveled to other dimensions before? You've got to tell me about them! What were they like? How different were they from yours?" She pauses. "I ask these questions for, erm, scientific reasons." Another beat. "And because that's incredibly freaking cool!"

[einspine]

"And you say you're not a genius!" He's still grinning. Oh, he sees through that humility. He sees through it like a clean, polished window! But humility is good. An admirable trait! Very commendable indeed.

"Well, I may have dabbled in a little bit of interdimensional theory. I've been hard at work on a device meant to bridge gaps between dimensions... with varying degrees of success. But I did receive a lamp from a parallel world! And may or may not have a contact. It's a start!!!"

And better a start than nothing! Every project has to start somewhere. Baby steps before grand strides.

[conniemaheswaran]

Papyrus' meager results do nothing to dampen Connie's enthusiasm. "That's still amazing! I mean, even if it's a perfectly ordinary lamp, any background radiation or particles that remain on it after passing through dimensions have to be invaluable for further research. And that's not even mentioning the possibility of communication!"

Connie clears her throat, blushing. "A-anyways, we should probably get focused on our current situation." Taking out a handful of pamphlets marked with notes and various doodles--including one of a fairly faithful artistic rendition of Connie shooting fire out of her hands--Connie rapidly flips to a map of Vaikuntha. "Now. We're going to be landing in the Curti Center, which is here," she points at an isolated island. "They're the experts on the Interdimensional Cloud. If we're seriously going to pursue this, we're probably going to be working closely with them. Here," her finger moves to a western landmass, "is the Ancient Oktavian State, which is apparently where most of Vaikuntha's technology comes from. Any other academic findings we can probably get from its capital, Von Oktavia.

"Vaikuntha is a pretty dangerous place, full of monsters and dungeons and stuff, so the locals have developed the Job system. No, it's not like working at a fast food chain. Jobs are a sort of... magical aura that accelerates or allows learning in certain areas, like swordfighting, healing, or casting spells." Connie chews on the end of a pencil that she's pulled apparently out of nowhere. "If we want to make any headway, we're probably going to want to stop and grab our Job asterisks first. That way, we can defend ourselves if any monsters decide that we look tasty while we're out in the field. Beginners get two jobs, one active, one passive, and they can switch between them at will. They also have a reserve job, which they can only switch out every two weeks or so."

[einspine]

"Precisely! It was my first real success. A sign that there's hope for a future Paparty! Every Papyrus across the multiverse, and-" Wait, he's getting off track, isn't he? Sigh. Well! Still. It's good to have someone who can appreciate the greater nuances of his genius. So he nods. Everything is A-okay.

But as she speaks, he watches the map closely. Curti Center... hmmm. And experts? That's very handy. Mentally, he takes note of what she's saying. This world seems... very big. Very, very big. But the mention of monsters makes him hesitate.

"Oh, I'm sure the monsters won't be an issue! I'd be happy to speak with them. Perhaps a bit of my charisma and enthusiasm will help win them over! After all, I'm a very popular skeleton!!!" At least, he'd like to be.

[conniemaheswaran]

"Hopefully! The key to conflict resolution is communication, after all!" Connie chirps, but she seriously doubts that Papyrus, as eager and friendly as he was, would be able to talk down random encounters in a world that seemed to conform to JRPG mechanics. "Well, there are plenty of non-combat jobs. Like Scholar, and Gourmand, and Chemist, and a bunch of others."

[einspine]

"Oho! Chemistry is one of my many strong suits. As is the art of cooking. But is there anything involving cool technology? That's also a must for a genius like me!" Especially if he wants to get resources for puzzles, he assumes. But he could be wrong. Hrmm...

[conniemaheswaran]

"Hm. Well..." Connie digs through her papers, tongue sticking out slightly. "Ah!" She shows Papyrus a pamphlet entitled Magitek Knight: The Job of the Future! "It's, um, pretty stabby and shooty, but taking it should give you your mechanical expertise back."

[einspine]

"Hmmmm... Well, a little combat never hurt, I suppose! Being able to work my metaphorical magic with machines is rather crucial to my field of study, after all." He taps his foot and squints. "Seems I have a lot to consider! These jobs are very different from what I'm used to."

[conniemaheswaran]

"It's always good to know how to defend yourself!" Connie sighs. "I really hope these asterisk thingies live up to the hype, though. It feels... weird, suddenly not knowing how to fight."

[einspine]

"Yes, it's... very strange. And frustrating!!! How am I supposed to make the best impression if I can't show of my... what's the word? Sick moves?" Pausing, he shakes his head. "Well, regardless, it's very inconvenient! After all, magic is how we monsters express ourselves!"

[conniemaheswaran]

"Really?" Now that was a new one. Eyes shining with delight and curiosity, Connie says, "So every individual member of your species develops their own casting style? And you communicate with each other through magic? That's amazing! If only humans-"

Connie grimaces. "Well, it's actually probably a good thing that humans don't naturally have magic like that."