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

Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane | Voltron: LD

[spaceforged]

B. Curti Center
[As much as he'd like to go tearing off into the wilds to find out why he's here and how to find a way back that would be reckless. He doesn't do reckless. Shiro takes advantage of the researchers excitement to ask anything he can about the world and get pointed towards maps and further information. He hasn't seen hide nor hair of his team so far.

But if they're here, they'll go looking for answers too. He sits down in plain view of anyone passing by, but enough out of the way to not be a hindrance. He pauses his reading any time anyone really lost comes by.]

Hey, if you need the maps or something else, I've got a few of them right here.

[Eventually he has to turn in. He doesn't want to but, he'd be useless if he just worked himself into the ground. When guided to the place he has to stay and share with others he holds out a hand to his new roommates.]

Hey, looking like we're selected to share this space. Anything I need to know to make it easier on you?

D. Guilds
[Jobs are the way to get power here. Power that could help him explore and protect others. He'd weighed his options and considered what he felt would serve him best. Thus he stepped off the airship and made his way through Von Oktavia to the guild of Paladins.

It's been a while since he signed papers and went through all the red tape of getting into a job. He can't help feeling a little lost when his guide directs him into the introductory lectures.

On the bright side he's used to armor. The problem? He's not used to heavy swords. At first training with a heavy sword or spear is awkward. He swings too hard and his strokes aren't as accurate as they would be if he used his arm. The spear is worse.

Judging the distance between himself and a target is a bit harder than he wants it to be. Still when facing off against someone else he smiles just a bit.] Looks like I'm your opponent today. I'll do what I can to be a match for you.

[Going to Safer Osu to become a dragoon is a lot easier. By now he knows what to expect. Or he thought he did. Lighter armor is fine. Jumping way high? Not so much. Maybe one is out training or chatting with others on the practice field. A dragoon hits the ground like a hammer, spear driven into the ground with a bit more force than necessary. The helmet is shove up enough to talk, revealing a shock of white hair and a sheepish expression.]

Sorry, getting used to the jumps. Didn't mean to startle.

F. Side Quest
You okay? [Shiro has planted himself firmly on a ledge and cautiously driven his spear into the rocks of a cliff. It was either that or jump down into unknown territory and he'd learned the hard way how bad that could be here.]

Just grab my hand and I'll get you out of here. [He risks a glance below at the writhing, stinking, horrible mess of tentacles and teeth below them. For the uptenth time he reminds himself that he signed up for this. Not knowing what Malboros are is entirely his error.]

...as quietly as I can. Seriously, try not to wake that thing up.

H. Mognet strike
Really? You're just going to- [An irritated sigh issues forth from the Paladin standing by the public boards. He'd meant to send a message to a team he'd signed up to complete a quest with.

The the moogles decided no one was getting instant messages anywhere. He frowns up at the boards and glances around.]

...this better not last as long as last time. [Or he'd miss the window to get details for what they were facing on this quest into the wilderness.]

Wildcard
[Got ideas in mind? Shoot me a pm and we can plot something out for a specific top level!]

H!

[rivieran]

[ Coincidentally, Ena signed up for the same quest, and just as irritated, she similarly headed over to the public boards. It was nerve-wracking waiting for information she had no way of receiving!

So when she spots Shiro with a frown that mirrors her own, she approaches him. ]

I assume you're here for the same reason I am, correct? Unbelievable how they decide to strike today, of all days.

[spaceforged]

I don't think they care what day it is. [Shiro checks the piece of paper he'd been reading and sets it back on a table with the rest of the notes of the temporary mognet.]

It's whenever suits them. I'm here about a quest to explore a cave north of here. There was talk about people disappearing and they needed a team to see what's wrong. [Judging by the hints, whatever it was might have merely trapped people there. He hopes that's the case.] I was hoping to hear from the team and compare what we found out about it before we head out.

[rivieran]

Ah, I thought so. [ Ena straightens her posture and holds her hand out for a shake. ] We are here for the same reason. I am Ena. I came hoping to learn some more information about the others I'll be working with, and it seems my hunch was correct. [ smile ]

Did you learn anything? I did ask around a little bit, and a number of people seem to think it's a curse, but it just sounds like superstition.

D

[jeido]

[While the loss of Jade's much feared abilities had been something of a less than comforting, finding himself able to use a sword with relative ease without much hitches is something of a novel experience, to say the least of it. Still, it's not enough for him to shrug off the reminder that this feels eerily of the time he got hit with that fonslot seal, especially with these very basic spells he's able to use.

At the very least, it seems he isn't alone in this regard--or so seems the case when he's faced with Shiro during sparring practice.]

And I as well.

[He returns the smile, an airy note to his tone as he readies himself.]

[spaceforged]

[He takes his time and studies his opponent, his smile falling away as he readies for the combat. The world narrows down the way it always does in combat, then it expands. He's not used to heavy blades. His had been light and up against his arm.

The thought of it goes out of his head as he darts forward, sweeping his blade in from the right to left. It's a cut he's used too many times. He normally would spin, letting himself off the self imposed chain. He steps back, and turns to give the blade the power of his upper body. Too wide but they're learning. Learning always hurts.]

Used to swords? Or just starting out? [Might as well learn if he has an instructor or fellow student.]

[jeido]

[Jade grunts as he backsteps and parries the tail end of Shiro's blow, wanting to see how much the thin blade could take before he shoots off a counter by twisting and thrusting forward. It's a lot more durable than he gave it credit for, but it's not about something he's going to try again soon, given the power behind Shiro's strike. If he caught that blow full on, the potential for damaging his own blade was certainly there, and gil isn't exactly a currency he has in abundance at the moment.]

Something of the latter.

[In contrast to Shiro, Jade holds himself with some amount of poise as he backs away, his stance that of someone experienced with weaponry. However, the way he holds the sword isn't as certain as the way he holds himself, grip loose as he adjusts to a more accommodating one. In some ways, rapiers were quite similar to polearms, in others, not so.]

B

[resolvetochoose]

[ She shakes her head quickly. Anything she could honestly think of would hopefully be common sense anyway. ]

Oh, no, it's fine, really. We're all in this together, aren't we?

[ Not to mention it's been easiest to think of this place like an inn anyway. Somewhere she's staying temporarily while she figures out where to go next. Since she may very well end up leaving to explore the world more like she had Terca Lumiries. ]

My name's Estelle.

[spaceforged]

Shiro. [He drops his hand and smiles light and easy. The housing here is so different from anything he's seen before and yet so like it. He steps inside and shuts the door behind him.]

And yes, we are. As much as we want to be. [He still has his helmet tucked under his other arm. After the day he's had he almost doesn't want to put it down.]

Which...which bedroom is open? [He does need to unwind and getting settled will be the easiest start to that.]

H

[theoldhope]

[A bearded man wearing robes makes his way towards the boards as well, with a frown.]

I can't believe that it's happened again.

[With a soft shake of his head, he glances towards the other man.]

While I support their right to let themselves be heard, the frequency of these strikes is quite unusual.

[spaceforged]

[He crosses his arms over his chest and shifts his weight to make a little room for the man. The shouting from other adventurers is a din he's gotten used to over time. Especially at times like this.]

And usually right around the time a stock of Kupo nuts comes in. [Shiro lets that sink in and sighs.]

Or warm weather. [He has enough restraint to not consider wringing their little necks for them. But sometimes he stares at them a little too hard.]

F.

[heartcandy]

[ the marlboro… looks peaceful while it’s sleeping. every once in a while, it opens it’s mouth, inhales, and exhales a green plume of what can only be described as smog. she looks away from the creature, and up to shiro who is on a ledge above her. it had taken her a while to make it this down far the cliffside, and her hands are scraped and reddened from how hard she had to grip the rock to keep from outright falling into the pit where the marlboro is resting. ] But… if we don’t wake it up, how are we going to ask for its vine?

[ . . . surely, if they ask for a vine ( it has so many after all, it can spare a single one ) the marlboro will give them one, right? ]

[spaceforged]

[He stares at her, lips parting to repeat the words she just said to himself. Shiro eases himself a little farther to the edge of his ledge, hand gripping the spear tightly.

Sometimes the armor of a dragoon is just so impractical he yearns to be tackling problems in his old armor.]

We can wake it when we're not in its home. If you fell into its mouth you can't ask for permission for anything.

[He will never let that happen. But he's trying to make a point.]

B

[conanima]

Oh no, it's okay, really. Besides....[And she smiles, her eyes lighting up.] Living together like this could end up being lot of fun! [And while she barely knows Shiro, she gets the impression that he's probably a pretty nice person. She'd like to get to know him. And about his world. She'd like to know that about all her roommates.

And an idea pops in her head.] Hey, maybe we should all have a little party tonight! So we all get to know each other.

[Oh wait. He held out his hand, didn't anyway. She laughs a little awkwardly and takes it.] Ah.....sorry, I didn't see your hand there. But anyway, I'm Kaede Akamatsu! Nice to meet you!

[spaceforged]

Takashi Shirogane, [He releases her hand and shuts the door behind him as he steps into their present abode. It doesn’t look too cramped. Better than a barracks room or bunk. Two rooms are used. He steps towards the unoccupied bedroom closest to the door.]

And I don’t see anything wrong with a little get together. We don’t know how long we’ll be sharing space together.

[Shiro sets his helmet on the bed and after a moment’s pause sets the U shaped item that has been clipped to his hip beside it. But he picks it back up and puts it back in place. He can’t let go of it.

Not yet.]

I warn you I can’t cook.

d!

[sunderings]

There is no need for apology, my friend.

[ For rather than startled, Sion had only been delighted by the impact of spear driven as fulcrum into the earth below, his white mage's robes swirling about his feet in quiet susurration from the force of the dragoon's landing. Almost, he wishes he'd explored the notion of adopting the dragoon's asterisk, if only for the the freedom to be found in jumps which border on flight —how thrilling must it be, to soar so very high?

And while, upon first glance, it may be something of a curiosity to spy a white mage upon a dragoon's training field, it becomes swiftly apparent that Sion's presence in the guild is to assist with mending the injuries of new recruits as they test the bounds of the abilities granted to them, invariably pushing past their limits (...resulting broken ankles in so very many, many cases...).

Although...! ]

Should you wish to jump higher still, but fear lack of control, I may be of some assistance to you. [ Reaching for the stave at his back, Sion casts a summons for wind, the spell small, but powerful as bright arcs of magic form a vortex upon the ground, swirling in stasis rather than being employed as an attack. ] With my wind magic, I will be able to cushion your landings.

[spaceforged]

It’s not about a lack of control. I’m judging response time and drop speed. Knowing that could mean all the difference in when to jump and when not to. [He rises to his feet and pulls the spear from the earth. He shakes the dirt from it and clears away any debris. Shiro dusts the armor off with quick pats.

It hadn’t been surprising to him to see a healer here. It reminds him of back home and the medical teams waiting when people tested aircraft. He turns towards the wind thoughtfully.]

Could you use it to speed up my coming back down?

F

[200metershot]

[This is a little bit embarrassing, but maybe it's a decent sign that she still has a lot to learn about adventuring in the "real" world. Sinon had thought she'd picked out a pretty good spot to get a shot on the monster down below when the ledge had crumbled beneath her feet and sent her tumbling downward with a rather unimpressive shriek.

Fortunately, she'd managed to snag onto an exposed ledge before she fell into the monster's jaws and even managed to keep a hold on her bow. For a little while she just... hangs out, catching her breath and feeling the icy coils of fear wrap around her at the thought of what could have happened if she'd fallen all the way. A grip that would have left her paralyzed once, but not now. Not anymore....

She blinks when all of a sudden there's a hand reaching down for her. No other choice, she glances down and tests her footing before reaching out and taking hold of the hand.]

Thanks. [She adds her own strength to the, probably minimal, effort of lifting her up. She just doesn't want to completely depend on somebody else.] The ground wasn't as sturdy as it looked....

[Ugh, that really does sound like a weak excuse.]

[spaceforged]

[Shiro keeps his grip on the spear and pulls her up with his other arm. The effort makes his shoulder burn. He keeps a sharp eye on the beast below them.]

Considering what is in that bad breath attack I’m not surprised the place it holes up in is unstable. Hold onto me. I’ll jump us out of here. We can regroup and plan how to get the vine without coming back down here.

[He slowly pulls his spear out of the side with as much care as he can muster. He doesn’t want any debris to wake it up.]

Tell me when you’re ready.

B

[fatefulprincess]

[If it's a handshake, Corrin isn't going to hesitate taking it and returning the gesture. Their lodgings are nothing like the camp she and hers have been dealing with. It's not quite as nice as her room in Nohr, but there are no walls to keep her there either. She'll take it.]

I think the only thing you'll need to worry about is constant visits from my siblings.

[Maybe she should warn him more about that. Maybe. Eh. They'll get to that if it becomes a problem.]

My name's Corrin, by the way. If there is something I should know to help you feel comfortable, please tell me as well okay?

[spaceforged]

Of course. Nice to meet you, Corrin. [He releases her hand and shuts the door behind him. So she has family here. At least she isn’t alone.]

I can’t think of anything you might need to know. Constant visitors won’t bother me. So long as it isn’t in the dead of the night.

[He’s a very light sleeper. Being part of a war does that to people. Shiro glances at the empty rooms and back at her.] How many roommates so far?

H

[modelcivilian]

[He's supposed to be going on a quest with a new group soon. By now, it isn't the first quest he's taken and it isn't the first time he decided to join an all new group. It might be difficult, sure, but if they got together before heading out, learned what each person's class was and what they could do, then the quest would go smoothly. They just had to work together.]

[However, there's a slight issue with that 'together' part and that's Mognet going down suddenly.]

[The idea of a strike is nothing new, but it's inconvenient right now. There's no way to get an instant message out, and the one attempt Adrien makes, it decides it wants to delete his message draft. Frowning and gathering up his swords, he heads to the public boards. Maybe if he goes there, he'll run into someone from his group? Hopefully? There is someone there when he arrives.]

Excuse me, did you sign up for the quest today, too?

[spaceforged]

[He finishes writing a note to his group and turns at the sound of a voice. Shiro takes a step to the side to allow the kid through to the temporary mog-net of notes.]

I signed up for one of them. If you tell me the details of the quest you volunteered for I can see if we’re on the same one or who might be part of another.

[His job class should be obvious with the heavy two handed sword on his back and the plate armor. But he says it anyway.] In case you needed to know, I’m a Paladin.

Wildcard

[studdedcouncilprez]

[The day was long, but then what else can be said about the first day in a new world after being told where you came from no longer exists? A part of her had hoped that some direction would reveal itself to her about which of these "Jobs" she should try, but for the most part she's still sitting on a bench in the center of town. Frankly, she was exhausted.]

[Her focus was broken by the tuft of white hair in the middle of the crowd. Ah... that was the person that Hunk was talking to after he made the wild shot. With the way Hunk was talking with him, he was both comfortable and also respectful of this person. Could he be--?]

[You know what, figuring out what she should be could wait. How often will she get the chance to talk to somebody like that? Bolstering her courage, the young woman broke through the crowd and soon caught up with him.]

[She tapped him on the shoulder.] U-Um... excuse me, sir. You wouldn't happen to be Shiro-san, would you?

[spaceforged]

[It has been a long day. Shiro has turned to head back to his temporary housing when a finger taps him on the shoulder. He stops and turns, pivoting in place. He hadn’t heard his name and an honorific used with it in a very long time.]

I am called Shiro. What can i do for you? Hang on. Let’s get out of everyone’s way. [He glances at the foot traffic around them and motions for her to follow him to just out of the way.]

Over here.