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

Re: G.

[gathersnomoss]

[And Zelgadis is going to wince at the bang]

Would an ice spell be more useful than these tiny bottles of water?

[checkmate_past]

"Actually yeah, that was my first thought too!"

[Wait, wait. Indoor voice volume. Don't get too excited over discussing this, to the point of other people overhearing. Still, it's a subject Robin finds herself warming to.]

"But then I thought about the strain that might put on the engine parts, plus the fact that I'm... sort of working on the whole ice magic thing. Direct contact with magic sounds a little risky. But then I remembered something a friend told me, about using outside agents for catalysts."

[Cue a nod to the small beverage bottles.]

"In theory it should work."

[And to be honest she's more than a little curious about it in practice.]

[gathersnomoss]

"There's plenty that works in theory that doesn't in practice. Of all the times to be stuck with weird magic."

[Because one of the most basic water shamanism spells back home is to create water. Not to mention the wide number of ice spells that Zelgadis could easily manipulate from 'enough to chill a drink' to 'everything is frozen'.]

"Here, I'll come with you."

[checkmate_past]

"Thanks; two heads are better than one in this situation, anyway. It's right over this way... though tell me if you need any help with carrying the water?"

[She motions towards the back of the cabin, and the stairway leading down. Robin also sets a quick enough pace, just in case the engine gets demanding again.]

"There was never a lot of ice magic being employed where I'm from. And no airships at all, for that matter. Still, first time for everything."

[It helps not to consider just how much of a drop is waiting for them, if something DOES go horribly wrong.]

[gathersnomoss]

"Airships were definitely not a thing where I'm from either. Some of the principles are known, but no one has tried it."

[It was another thing where Zelgadis suspected that the small-scale tasks were done better by magic, even if human magic couldn't lift something like this craft. A bit like realizing that the explosives that were a curiosity he'd encountered in passing were used as weapons in the Outer World where magic was scarce.]

[Zelgadis was a bit slower; he was mindful of his increased weight on a craft where 'light' was a major design goal.]

[checkmate_past]

[It takes some doing to reach the lower levels of the ship. And there does seem to be a bit of an odd creaking accompanying them, courtesy of both their footsteps. Robin does her best to file that away to investigate that later, and focus on the matter at hand. Probably something reacting to weight, or the like.]

"Well, here's our problem,"

[She says, easing open a door... and ducking back to the wall when a hot blast of steam streams out. It does a nice job of obscuring the hallway and the room itself... save for where there's a section of the engine that looks ready to rattle apart.]

"Actually, before we go in... it sounds like we're both new to airships? I've tried to read up on them before signing on for the job, and I've got a rough idea of how an engine works and where the issue might be."

[She points to a gauge that in turn feeds into an odd looking component. And which currently has its needle fixed squarely in the red.]

"But what about you? Any extra ideas, outside of throwing magic at it? Don't get me wrong, I still have a plan! I'd just... like to go over the options, real quick."