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

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie's mouth opens and closes a few times, then her brow furrows. True, she'd deducted that the Gems had some kind of universal visual and auditory translation field, but she figured that was the advantage of being part of a manufactured to order species. This was either something out of science fiction or high fantasy, and considering the wide variety of attire the passengers of the airship were wearing, Connie was willing to place her bets on it being something of both.

"I... hm. I know just enough Japanese to, um, embarrass myself in front of a native speaker, so we probably have some kind of universal translation field thing going on here." Looking out at the crowd once again, a metaphorical lightbulb goes on above Connie's head. "Wait a second. Universal translation to get over language barriers, a bunch of people from planets with conditions enough like Earth to produce humanoid species with similar mindsets, social norms, and cultures... this is like those crisis crossovers DC and Marvel do every once in a while! Except, um. Real. And way bigger than would be manageable by an comic company. And, uh, with a lot more multiverses involved. If that makes any sense at all. Which I honestly doubt it does. The simile kinda, um, ran away from me there."

I get the feeling I'm gonna be googling "how popular is x in Japan" a lot playing her

[promiselisting]

DC and Marvel... was those like those American superheroes? They certainly sound similar. She has passing familiarity with them - everybody knew about those movies that were coming out recently. Not as cool as Phoenix Ranger Featherman but, y'know.

In any case, it's enough that she's able to get the jist of what she's saying. "Huh, that kinda does, actually. So like... it's one big giant crossover..."

Now that she's able to think about in those terms... that... helps. She's still nervous about being surrounded by strangers but it somehow feels slightly less overwhelming?

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie slumps against the wall of the airship. There was still one thing she didn't get. Well, there were lots of things that she didn't get in this situation, but there was one in particular as pertaining to the current conversation. "Why me, though? Why am I here? I can think of three--four, maybe? It's complicated--people who are vastly more competent than me! Okay, well, they're not technically people, but my point still stands. I couldn't even beat one Homeworld Gem with Steven's help, and they took down hundreds, if not thousands, of them during the war!"

Realizing that Futaba has no context for what Connie just said, she shakes her head. "Sorry. You, um, have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

[promiselisting]

"N-not really," she admits, "But I mean... I can't really fight at all, so if that's the criteria we're working with, I have even less reason to be here than you."

Was it because she was a Persona user? A Phantom Thief? But she couldn't even really sense Necronomicon, couldn't even tell if her Persona was there. The back of her mind felt... quiet, rather than humming with energy like she'd grown accustomed to these past few months.

[conniemaheswaran]

On seeing Futaba's expression, Connie winces. She'd been victim to the exact same feeling of inadequacy far too many times. She wouldn't be able to bear it if what she said accidentally dredged up those feelings for her anxiety corner buddy. "I'm honestly not the one most qualified to be giving this speech," Connie shifts slightly, "but, um. As much as my sense of self worth is apparently tied to my swordsmanship skills--that's probably something I, er, should work out--fighting isn't everything. My best friend taught me that. You don't have to be a spiky haired protagonist with a giant sword, something to prove, and a traumatic backstory to make a difference.

"Sometimes..." Connie rubs her wrist, half-expecting to feel a long dead glow bracelet wrapped around it. The accessory's absence was an aching reminder of that horrible night. "All it takes to be a hero is the guts to suffer in someone else's place." She could see that now. Steven only had the best of intentions. But what he did still hurt. "And the wisdom to not try to martyr yourself when there's a better solution," she adds, something bitter in her voice.