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

Feeling inspired to create your own prompt? The power is yours!

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Aqua blinks, head tilting – Connie is right, she is a little overwhelmed by all this new information. Her right hand clenches a little… indeed, like the girl said, she can't feel the call of her Keyblade echo within her. It is as though she has never been chosen by it… and after all the years that she had held first Rainfell and now Master Defender, this is a little distressing.

She can't focus on that. She has to focus on the good things, on the fact–

"So, I'm back in the Realm of Light then…"

That is a good thing at least. She can work with that. She shakes her head sharply, focusing on the girl beside her again.

"So… what kind of skills do we stand to gain from those asterisks?"

This is going to be important if she wants to move forward after all.

"All kinds of things! Black Mage, for example, gives you some elemental magic to work with, while Swordmaster gives you--or gives you back, in my case--well, um, skill with the blade." Connie shrugs. "There's tons more, too. Magitek Knight, Red Mage, Gourmand... there's a lot."

Connie pauses, raising an index finger. "Um, if you don't mind me asking... if this is the Realm of Light, where were you before?"

"I don't suppose there is a job that combines sword skills with magic?"

Since that probably comes closest to what Aqua former(?) skill set looked like. She looks down at Connie, frowning for a second before shaking her head.

"Not quite, but… please don't worry about that. I was just talking to myself."

Until she knows more about this Dream Width, it's probably best she doesn't talk too much about the worlds.

"Well, um," Connie digs out a pamphlet, "There's the Red Mage! They get access to every element, healing, and some sword skills, but they're not a master of any of them."

Connie sighs, shaking her head. "I, um, honestly don't know many specifics. I'm a new arrival too. I can see, uh, if I can direct you to somebody who does know about all this, though?"

Aqua reaches over to take the pamphlet, glancing over the information on it. Red Mage… yes, this sounds about right.

She nods at the girl's words, now feeling a little bad for directing all her questions at her – she shouldn't be expecting a girl so young to have all the answers.

"That would be incredible, yes. I have quite a few questions to ask them."

About the Dream Width, though she'll have to be careful about that. Master Eraqus had always warned them… they must not reveal the existence of other worlds, and even though that seems to be pointless now, with the worlds revealed already… best not to tempt an unbalance through carelessness.

"Alright. Um, they're pretty swamped right now--apparently this is way more people than they were expecting--but I'm pretty sure that we can find somebody who's free if we look." Connie begins moving through the crowd, desperately searching for a subject of casual conversation. "I, uh... that's a. Pretty nice dye job you have there," she says, then winces, already regretting the words that had escaped her mouth.

Aqua nods again, smiling faintly.

"Right… we won't know if there is someone free if we just keep standing around here."

So here they go, searching for one of the actual locals for Aqua to discuss her questions with. Though, Aqua can't help but blink and reach up to tug on a strand of her hair when Connie mentions her 'dye job'.

"You mean my hair? That's my natural hair color, actually."

Connie's first instinct is to laugh at Aqua's joke. Nobody had blue hair in real life. That was something straight out of the big book of Anime Genre Contrivances. Then again, she was on an airship sailing through a giant interdimensional void straight towards a world that seemed to run by the rules of JRPGs, not to mention how insane her life could get on Earth. SO really, Connie was in no place to judge.

"Oh. Um, oka- woah!" With extraordinarily fast reflexes for a girl her age, Connie slides out of the way of a clumsy dragon barreling through the crowd towards some unknown destination with only a quarter-second's warning. She almost bumps into Aqua, but once again demonstrating the kind of instincts and bodily control that only months, if not years, of training can instill, she stops herself well before she would've made contact. "Whoops. Sorry."

Look, she's a squeenix girl – of course she Gotta Have Blue Hair!

Aqua jumps back when the dragon zooms past them, one hand prepared to catch the girl with her… only to find that her assistance isn't needed.

"You have good balance."

She wouldn't have quite expected that from a girl so young.

Connie blushes, tucking a strand of hair that had come loose behind her ear. "Thanks! As my teacher always says, 'keep your stance wide, keep your body lowered, and as you're moving forward, balance is the key!'" The last few words have an almost musical lilt to them.

In fact, Connie could practically hear Pearl chastising Connie for almost getting hit by the dragon. Awareness, Connie! You can be the best swordswoman in the world and still get killed by a knife in the back if you don't remember to be aware of your surroundings.

Aqua smiles sadly as she thinks back.

"That's good advice. My master used to say something similar."

Master Eraqus… how long has it been now since he was struck down… since Xehanort took his life with Terra's help? Too long, surely… and now Aqua doesn't even have his Keyblade to give her strength anymore.

Connie winces. She's seen that kind of look before. On Steven, while he was hallucinating all his mistakes as Stevonnie. On Pearl, when she thought of Rose. On Garnet, when she remembered the war. Even on Amethyst sometimes, although Connie for the life of her couldn't figure out why. It was loss, captured in an expression.

Hesitantly, Connie reaches out her arm, then pulls back. "Um, I know that none of us are okay in this situation, but you look especially not okay. Did I do something wrong, or..."

Aqua startles slightly, then shakes her head sharply to dispel the weight of those memories… she can't let them tie her down when she needs to focus on the present.

Then she shakes her head again, smiling sadly at the girl at her side.

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong… it's just that there is a lot on my mind."

Then she blinks, realizing…

"Come to think of it, I never introduced myself! My name is Aqua."

Connie blinks, then says, blushing. It was becoming something of a trend for her to forget to introduce herself. Then again, niceties tend to be forgotten in chaotic situations such as the one she and Aqua had found themselves in. "Me neither. Still, it was rather embarrassing.

"Mine's Connie Maheswaran," she says, sticking out a hand for Aqua to shake.

True enough, in this chaos it is easy to forget one's manners… but that is little excuse not to act on them once one does remember them again. Aqua reaches down to take the girl's hand and shake it, her smile now a little more upbeat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Connie!"

((Alright, considering stuff we've plotted and I have no idea where to take this from here, want to end the thread? If you have any ideas, though, I'm still down.))

[Nah, sounds good to me! I'm looking forward to playing with you again in the intro already! :3]

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TEST DRIVE MEME

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