memesofeternity | 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Hunk, having just picked up his two asterisks, needed to get geared up. Well, more than the bog-standard kitchen knife and gunblade. Something a little better would be nice, and so here he is.

He sighs upon seeing the bummed-out shopkeep. The guy must get this sorta thing all the time, what with all the newcomers. Hunk feels a lump in his throat from the anxiety, and gulps it down like something out of a cartoon before stepping up to the counter. ]

Ex- uh, excuse me, sorry, what can you tell me about forks?

[Honestly, in the couple of weeks that he's worked in the weapons shop the most he's been asked from a customer is where they can find a particular type of weapon. He's never been asked his opinion on anything before. It's kind of a novelty.

The question surprises him so much that he actually blinks up at him and slowly rises out of his slouch. It is pretty weird to be asked about forks in a weapons shop, but he's seen a few of the massive forks lining the shelves used by Gourmands.]

I don't know much about them, honestly. I know they're pretty big. So they can be used on battle I guess. We have some on the shelves over there. [He points.] You can take a look.

Are you a Gourmand?

Y-yep. [ Hunk is tempted to ask how the shopkeep knows, but it's obvious: no sane and reasonable job uses a fork. The more he adjust to Gourmand, the more it seems like a terrifying mistake. He looks over where the guy points, and- ]

Wait. [ He strokes his chin thoughtfully. ] Isn't part of working in a weapon shop knowing how the weapons work?

[He sighs.]

Yeah, I thought so to. But the owner just wanted someone to man the counter.

[He returns to his former position slouched over the counter, head in hand.]

He's not in right now so the best you can do is take one down and give it a try. I don't think there's any special trick to it.

[But he's far from an expert. But he is curious to see what the guy will do.]

Hmmm, alright.... [ Hunk sighs, because of course this wouldn't be easy, of course the guy manning the counter doesn't know how a fork works. It's a fork, they're not for fighting! His shoulders slump and he walks to where the shopkeep pointed, and he grabs the first one he could reach. ]

This is so ridiculous. [ He says this loudly and with more than a hint of agitation, hoping to start a conversation to keep his mind off the fact that he's holding a giant fork. Hunk starts swinging it like a club, first with one hand and then with both. ] A fork? Who thought this was a good idea?

[ He shoots a look over to the shopkeep, absentmindedly switching to a few poking motions, since forks are for stabbing food. ] Do you have any idea who gave this a thumbs-up?

[Yeah, he really can't disagree with the ridiculous part. It's hard to be intimidated by a fork. Even if it is large enough to impale someone on. He watches Hunk swing it around for awhile, trying to find his smile behind his hand.

When the guy addresses him again, he just shrugs.]

Nope. I have no idea who made the rules around here. Maybe the fork is for eating a large amount of food on the go? [Although, how anyone can be expected to open their mouths that wide is anyone's guess. Exactly who thought of a job that requires you to eat in order to power up?]

Maybe it's supposed to hold food for a group, like a fruit bowl! [ Hunk laughs, rolling his eyes, because nothing here seemed reasonable, and it was a bit exhausting. ] That can stab people.

[ The poking motions seemed to be working, so now he's alternating between one- and two-handed jabs. A little bit of confidence creeps onto his face, just shy of a smile. ] Wait, you don't know how things work? That means you're from another world, right? [ The jabs get a little faster, and Hunk doesn't seem to realize he's inching towards a wall, about to start stabbing that nice wooden siding. ]

I...think the design could use a little work if its purpose is to carry things around. Balancing your groups' rations on a fork might get tricky if you have to run somewhere. The stabbing is probably closer to the truth.

[The stabbing would also make more sense in a fight. As much as using a large kitchen utensil in a fight makes any sense at all. Why not go for a large butcher knife instead? Why a fork?]

Yeah, I am. You too I'm guessing? [He notices one of Hunk's jabs coming dangerously close to colliding with the wall and grimaces.]

Maybe move closer to the middle of the store? If you leave holes in the wood the owner will never let me hear the end of it.

Oops. [ The sound of his heavy footfalls echo as he places himself firmly in the middle of the room. Property damage isn't good, especially when you're in a world who uses literal gold coins, of which you have basically none. ]

Yeah, I'm more used to spaceships and lasers than magic and monsters. [ He sighs, the skin-crawling discomfort of the local fauna sticking in his mind more than most of the things he's seen. ]

What about you? [ He takes a few more stabs at stabbing the air, even doing a little spinning flourish... which he fumbles, barely catching the utensil before it flies across the room. ]

TEST DRIVE MEME

g - they're both screwed

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