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

[king_jenkins]

((OOC: he does know what it looking like, but he’s not wearing it right now - he’s from not long after the lions were first active. Did Hunk show up with his?))

[Alfor only barely glances away with a half-laugh - acknowledging, but not even enough to split his attention yet.]

No, not new to it, but there’s absolutely nothing familiar in this area at all - I’m not even sure the stars and such we’re seeing are even following the normal laws of physics as I’d know them. We might be in a completely different universe, or some kind of extra dimensional space!

[Enthusiastic nerd has hit, implications have not entirely sunk in yet; he’s still cheerful and fascinated by this.] I don’t even recognize the configuration of this vessel at all.

[chefbayardee]

(( Yep, he's got the armor! Sorry for forgetting to mention, ehehehe. Also Hunk is gonna be well-adjusted to Vaikuntha so he knows the buzzwords and stuff. ))

I mean, it might be easier not to think about it. But how do they fuel the ship? And if the space here is weird how are they flying?

[ Hunk starts to work himself up, but then takes a deep breath in and sighs it back out. He could hit on the remark about the ship, but... he didn't quite know enough to sound confident. ]

I guess it's why the Vaikunthans call it the Dream Width, [ He rolls his eyes and groans. ] Because dreams don't have to make sense!

[king_jenkins]

((Sure thing! :D I figured IC distraction would help while figuring things out. Luckily Alfor at this age is not hard to do that with.))

Well, the rules might not be ones we're used to, but there have to be rules to how this space works - at the very least, it'd be impossible to engineer a ship to handle it if there weren't some pattern or reason to it.

Do you know if the Valkunthans have any libraries or - [And he finally looks up enough to be paying more attention to who he's talking to.]

[And has a visible moment of mental bluescreen, with a couple awkward hand gestures at Hunk.]

...Paladin.

[chefbayardee]

Mmmmmnope, Gourmand. [ Hunk's brain kind of zeroed in, latched firmly onto the mention of rules and ships and engineering, because that sure is his speed. And with everyone talking about Job Classes, it's an easy misstep to make.

Even as Hunk turned to face the source of the voice. His brain has a clear recollection of Allura and Coran, given the darker skin, white hair, and pointy ears, but he's also seen many, many Elezen native to Vaikuntha. And Ena. And Corrin. So, well... ]

Our home base has a library and it's where the expeditions leave from. [ He nods sagely, the true meaning of Paladin having gone entirely over his head. ] But the four nations have a ton of libraries: Min'to has universities and the McGard Library, Safer has crystals and warfare, Oktavia has engineering and the PuPus, and Myste Aura researches magic.

[ And then Hunk sighs, slumping his shoulders and rolling his eyes. Maximum displeasure. ] By the way, Vaikuntha has magic. A lot of it. How do you feel about magic?

[king_jenkins]

(apologies for vanishing! Moved into a new apartment + got a new job, things're just settling down >.>; )



I mean - your armor - that's - [Bear with him, he has no idea how the job classes work yet. The rest of the explanation derails the protest, because like Hell is he going to interrupt hearing where the libraries are, even if he has no idea where these places are or how to get there yet.]

I should hope I'm comfortable with magic, when it's a major part of my main field.

[And you know, a major component of their technology, inherited ability, etc., but that's only part of the point right now.]

Is - that armor from this world, or did that come with you?

[chefbayardee]

( It's all good! Also, I'd def be down to port this thread over to the second Test Drive Meme since more people might respond to you there than this old one. :3 )

Oh, it's from home. [ And he smiles, just casually shrugging. Hunk definitely takes note that the elf-ish man is used to magic, it seems like a pretty common thing. Maybe pointy ears were genetically correlated with magic ability? ]

Back home, I'm a Paladin. [ But then his eyes go wide, and he catches himself. ] It's not like the Paladins here, with their sword and shield and light magic. [ And then his grin starts to widen. ] I'm a Paladin of Voltron, which means I'm a Defender of the Universe.

[ And then he chuckles, almost condescendingly, because people always act shocked about it. ] It's fun, sometimes.

[king_jenkins]

(alright, dropping a new bit here!)