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

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

-An earlier encounter put the idea in her head that not ever Japanese person she came across was going to be from her own recollections, so she fought back the first assumption about what her words implied... The more obvious thing was that she had not found her sister in this world.-

She could still be out there. In the Dream Width.

[A hand reached around her ear and she gave this woman a smile.] You're right. Its too early to be be pessimistic.

[She politely folded up the kerchief and offered it back to Baiken.] Thank you. I feel much better now.

-Baiken took back the kerchief, but rather than stuff it back into her kimono, she reached out and let the wind catch it, releasing it into the sky itself, as it fluttered on the drift of the airship and into the clouds...-

You're welcome, but I don't intend to carry your tears with me. Neither should you.

[That was a waste... is what she her immediately thought when she stared at Baiken. Then she thought of their conversation and the symbolism of the act. Ah... did she mean to imply that she should leave that particular burden behind? If so, that was a rather poetic way of describing how she should let it go.]

I... see. Thanks again. I will not forget this kindness.

[With a polite bow, she smiles and return to gazing out at the horizon. She was right. Who know what they might find once they get to Dream Width? There was still hope.]

[There had to be.]

-Baiken didn't bow in return. Instead, she pulled a pipe from her kimono, checking the tobacco already inside before lighting it in a single motion. It was commonplace to her, but it was probably impressive to see anyone do that one-handed.-

I'm called Baiken. Got a name, kid?

[It was impressive, but there was one or two things about the whole display that rubbed her the wrong way. For starters, tobacco was very much not cool around her, but secondly... 'kid?' She was 18 for cripes sake.]

[None of that showed through in conversation, of course.]

Makoto Niijima. My name is Makoto Niijima. And I guess you don't mind if I call you Baiken-san?

[With her coarse nature and rough mannerisms, Makoto had a feeling she already knew the answer to that.]

I won't stop you, if that's what you prefer. -Not exactly as curt as "I don't care", but it was kind of the same meaning, regardless.-

Nijima, so... I was right. You're Japanese.

Hmm... are you Japanese too, Baiken-san? [She smiles.]

I'm not sure if its the same Japan, but I grew up near Shibuya. Tell me, does that mean anything to you?

-She figured that question might come up. Hell, she practically guided the conversation there herself. But even so, there was a lengthy pause before she let out a long trail of smoke and put a thought to words...-

It doesn't mean what you might be hoping. To me, Japan no longer exists.

[Her eyes become so wide they ran the risk of popping out.] W-what! But that's--

[She stops, taking the woman in. No, she didn't seem like the type that would lie... so that must mean...]

Ah... [A thoughtful hand reaches for her chin.] Are you perhaps from the future, Baiken-san? Or... maybe I should say a future?

Whichever thought brings you more comfort. -It wasn't exactly an empathetic statement, but her words held no coldness to them despite some of the other things she'd said.-

We're here now. Both of us. And there is no Japan here, either.

[She winces, but instead of shrinking away away, she instead folded her arms.]

That's what I'm told.

[She's not sure quite yet if she's ready to call it quits yet. If there is something that can be done, she will figure it out. But that's not going to be resolved on just one airship flight.]

What matters more now is what we're going to do now.

[Catching her in the moment is a good way to see her weakness. Push against her, though, and she'll have no problems standing in stark opposition.]

And what do you intend to do? In the now, I mean. -Baiken didn't mind the flinch. This wasn't an easy conversation to have, but she knew it was a necessary one. And maybe she wasn't well qualified to be having it, but even so...-

[She already had an answer to that question.] Gather information.

There's a lot that we don't know, and there is no way for us to do anything like that. I would also think getting one of these "Jobs" that I have heard them talk about would be another important step. We might be here a while, and having the ability to fight within this world's rules will be important for future operations.

And yourself, Baiken-san?

-There's another pause, another draw from the pipe and long exhale of smoke, fragrantly trailing into the whispy eddies of the sky that passed in front of them...-

I have something I need to finish. And I cannot rest until it's done. And it can't be completed here. -Now, *now*, her tone was dark, cold. The sort that sent a chill right into another person, lacing ghostly fingers around their heart and squeezing just ever so slightly...

The voice of a killer.-

[She stiffens, being much more familiar with that tone than she would like to admit. She's heard that tone. In the darkest places of the human heart a person can get to a cruel place where the entire world is nothing but distortion. It catches her off-guard, but then she relaxes. Only just.]

I... see.

I don't think that something includes offering a hand to a stranger on an airship.

[Her eyes probe the other's wanting to see what her reaction would be.]

It doesn't. -Matter of factly, and without the darkness from just a moment before.-

What I do in the meantime is decided in the moment. And in that moment, you looked like you needed that hand. Am I wrong? You did thank me, after all...

[She nods, but her stance doesn't lower her guard.] I did. And I'm still grateful.

[A hand moved her hair over her right ear.] Please forgive me if I'm being too forward, Baikan-san. After all, we did just meet, but...

...are you sure you're being completely honest with yourself?

Then allow me to be more blunt...

-The pipe is removed from her lips, one last trail of smoke leaving her before it is dashed against the rail, sending out the char of the tobacco that was once within it...-

The person I intend to kill isn't here. I will find a way to return to the path I was once on. In the meantime, I am nothing more than a wraith, neither alive nor dead, and nothing I do matters if it's not in the pursuit of killing that man.

Any benefit from what I do is just a bonus for other people. Or a detriment, if they piss me off. And so far, you haven't pissed me off.

[She nods.] I have no intention of pissing you off.

[But she refuses to back down either.] If I'm honest, I'm not sure of what the story is with this person, and I don't really have any reason to try to persuade you against your goal. Its clear you've made up your mind. I only wonder if you've given to some thought of what's to come after.

You're not the first person to ask that, but you're definitely the person who knows me the least well to do so.

[She subconsciously bit her thumb.] Probably because its a question I've had to deal with, too.

Though I will admit the circumstances doesn't sound quite as severe...

And what did you do, in your case?

[What did she do, indeed? The thought of what happened after actually makes a soft smile come to her face. The thieves, that person, her friends... suddenly having her worldview rocked was something that completely shattered her expectations of how life was supposed to be.] You know, I actually never would have had to ask that if it wasn't for a fateful encounter...

[Her wistful smile wanes ever so slightly and she's back to the conversation.} But that doesn't answer your question. For me... it took me an awakening to realize how I saw things wasn't the only way to be. And once I realized that I started to see other people I saw but never knew. I talked with them. I tried things I never tried before and that made all the difference.

All of those experiences helped me to understand. And once I understood I knew what I wanted to be.

Believe it or not, I'm glad to hear it...

But I'm afraid it's a little too late for someone like me to find that kind of salvation. Nor do I particularly want it, or intend to seek it out.

-Baiken took in a deep breath, wishing she still had something left in that pipe, anything to do with her mouth for the moment besides speak.-

It's a complicated answer, more so than I'm making it sound, but I'm aware of what I am, and what I must do. There is no Nirvana to be achieved by someone like me. Only a trip across the river into hell. I've accepted this.

TEST DRIVE MEME

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