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

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up in the sky

[ she stands, hands folded in front of her, as she looks out at the passing landscape on the airship's deck. it seems that the train of her dress isn’t quite made for high wind-speeds, and the white lace billows out a measure behind her. should someone approach, she’ll greet them with an incline of her head, a slight smile and : ] Please, stay. This does not seem a view that should be enjoyed alone.

get a job

It seems we’ve been tasked with their care.

[ she’s kneeling, in front of her three chocobo chicks who are as she has been instructed not to be left alone to get themselves into any mischief. one tries to climb up onto her lap, with… no success, only managing to bump into her knee, and she laughs lightly. indulgently, she picks up the chick, and places it on her lap uncaring of how it tracks dirt onto the white of her dress. ]

I admit, I do not have much experience with chocobos, but— [ one of the other chicks jumps as high as it’s able, attempts to snap an errant piece of her hair in it’s beak. ] I believe with the two of us, we’ll manage.

wildcard

[ go wild, i'll roll with anything! ]

Edited 2018-03-18 05:13 (UTC)

Although Jack has lived in Vaikuntha all his life, he doesn't work with the chocobos very often. But he's familiar with their care. He has a special place in his heart for the little guys, and so he's happy to sit cross-legged across from Lunafreya and hold his hand out for another chick to explore. It lets out a high-pitched peep as it pokes at his broad hand.

"It's rare to find someone rescued from the Interdimensional Cloud who's familiar with them at all," Jack admits. "I definitely didn't expect it." He smiles encouragingly.

"Are they similar? Where you come from?"

[There is a lot going on in his head when he first reaches the deck of the airship. First, it's an airship that even has a deck - something he would never think he'd see. Second...

That is one particular silhouette he would never be able to forget even if he wanted to (which he didn't; gods he didn't). The blond hair, that slight smile... that lovely voice he only ever heard in person the one time since they were children before arriving here.]

Luna... [He can't help but return that smile, holding out his hand to her as he moves to stand beside her.] You don't have to ask me twice.

[ it’s strange still, having noctis so close in proximity, instead of only existing in her memories, in short messages ( clipped photos of his life in insomnia, a note that he’d made a friend— ) written in their shared notebook. it’s strange, but welcome, and it’s simple to reach out and fold her fingers around his offered hand. the hold something gentle, easy enough to remove himself from should he wish to. ]

Noctis. [ a moment, spent looking out over the edge of the airship. it really… is beautiful. there had been times when she had thought she would be confined to fenestala manor forever, which had no longer offered the comfort it had noctis when he was infirmed, the manor had become cold with the occupation of niflheim’s soldiers.

to be here now— ] To think that we’ve ended up here, together. It seems more than coincidence, does it not?

[ it’s said lightly, absent of any real suspicion towards the natives that had saved her, the both of them. it has never been in her nature to seek out the worst in people, and she is nothing but grateful towards the people here who have been kind. ]

Would it be selfish, to consider this time a gift?

[ they both have duties after all, to eos. the light still must be fading from their star, while they are here. ]

[Noctis could say the same of her, but for one additional reason than he cares to ever admit. One that made his heart ache all the greater when he realized their notebook did not make it with him to this Star. Stained with his dried tears though the last page may be.

And yet, he finds himself happier than he has been in years. They were finally, finally reunited after all this time, and it took awakening in space to do it. Something he'd feared he wouldn't have this chance until after he sat upon the throne that first and final time.

Noctis nods to her question, his calloused fingers wrapping themselves around her hand as well as he stands beside her.]

Yeah, [ his voice echoes the same lack of suspicion, one he regretted briefly entertaining when he awoke in that ship's infirmary.] To think that after all this time, it would be something like this.

[Vaikuntha, the Dream Width. There were several options to pick. All of which he's grateful for more than his words can ever express.]

If it is, then I guess I'm selfish, too.

[Because it is a gift. Even if this star has it's own problems, being able to spend time beside the woman he loves— wanted to save more than anything. It means the world to him. Even though he knows that without her, daylight has become increasingly scarce. Without him, there probably isn't any at all.]

[ his hand is warm around her own, calloused in a way that she supposed must be a consequence of the years he has spent training, from whatever ordeals he has faced since leaving the walls of insomnia. she had hoped to see him there, when she was delivered to the citadel under the watch of imperial guard, but it was empty of the person that she had most wanted to see— though, it had made sense. after all his majesty’s duty had the same as her own. he had wished to see the prince safe, delivered from harm. and there would have been no way for him to escape the wrath of the empire, had he stayed. he would have met the same fate as his home ( insomnia had fallen, the barrier broken, daemons within walls that were once considered impenetrable ).

the fate of insomnia, it will be the fate of all eos should the scourge be left to fester.

it weighs heavily on her mind, the fact that eos is without the oracle or the true king meant to deliver it from darkness. but still, somehow, the fact that noctis considers this a gift as well. it makes the burden a fraction lighter, less consuming. ]

To see you again, to see you safe, it is more than I could have asked for. That my wish has been granted, for whatever time we have here, it means more than I can say.

[ she turns toward him slightly, smiling still, but it has a wistful quality to it. being here with him, being able to spend time together as they had when they were children, it has made her happy absent of her duty. it is as his majesty wished, that they could spend time happily together— but. if there is anything she has learned it is that sacrifice is not something they will be able to escape. that for their star to be purged, there must be something given in turn.

it had been the lunafreya the girl’s wish, to be with noctis again. a wish independent of her standing as oracle. ] I fear that I am undeserving.

[ a quiet admission, one that she hopes that noctis will not think less of her for. ] Ensuring that there is a future for those to wish to see it, one that is free of the darkness that threatens it, that is my calling. [ one that she has accepted, regardless of the concequences. ] To stray from the path that I have chosen [ to pursue her own happiness here— ] I fear it is unforgiveable.

[The choice of words isn't lost on him. His mind automatically travels back to that shared dream, after the revelation of the Tidemother. Their so brief reunion, tainted by the pain of a farewell. It takes a considerable amount of willpower not to focus on that, and instead on the woman before him. One who he never thought he would be able to so much as touch again until his own calling is fulfilled. That they are together now, their hands still holding onto one another...

It means more than words can say. And if Luna thought he would ever think less of her, she is sorely mistaken. She has done nothing to make him ever feel that way, and that admission does nothing to change that. Yet that she is beating herself up over their current circumstance, no matter how little choice they have in the matter, it is like a knife has cut into him.]

Hey. [His voice is quiet, authoritative yet attempting to be reassuring as he lifts his free hand to cup her cheek — if she will allow it.] We have no control over this — how we got here and how long we stay. Those at the Center said as much, right?

[He smiles warmly at her, but this time, it doesn't quite reach his eyes. His unwittingly mirroring the sad acceptance his father's held for all those years. Noctis knows, what lies in store for him when he returns home. Only the Draconian knows how long he will spend in stasis, slumbering as the Ring absorbs the Crystal's light.

The future she speaks of is one he will never see, either. Not while among the living. Yet he too shares that desire; that worry of what lies in store for their Star while they linger here.]

We will find a way back, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the time between.

[Shun eyes the woman that kneeling beside him, then snorts and shrugs – he has never seen a bird like these chocobos before, but he figures it's not going to be that much of an issue to watch them.

After all…]

I doubt it's any different than watching kids.

[In some ways maybe even easier. These birds don't talk back after all.]

A feat which you’re familiar with, I take it?

[ a chick, noticing a new presence and curious, takes the initiative to start towards him. bumps against shun’s shoe a couple times, before craning it’s neck back as far as it’s able to, trying to get a look at him. ]

If that’s true, then I doubt we will have much trouble at all.

[He shrugs.]

In a fashion.

[Shun is an older brother for one… and he used to entertain children for fun, a long long time ago and also more recently, in Ryslig. He crouches down when the chick scratches at his shoe, then after a moment picks it up, carefully settling it in his arms.]

I don't think they can make all that much trouble.

[Not within Shun's definition of trouble anyway.]

[The moogle isn't much made for high wind speeds either, clutching onto the railing to make sure she isn't blown away. But her wings beat softly and keep her balanced and she seems to mostly have herself under control.

Still, the little one hesitates at the invitation, frowning softly.]

Um, sorry, kupo. I'm trying to find someone. I was hoping she'd be here, kupo. Have you seen a woman with brown hair named Mary? She'd be dressed a little like a pirate.

[ A man approaches, dressed in simple clothes reminiscent of the Nakagawa style; he looks about in his late twenties, with black hair and unnaturally light blue eyes. Her words receive only a nod in reply as he takes a place next to her, close enough to speak yet far enough to be respectful of her personal space.

A beat later, he retrieves an ocarina from within his sleeve, and begins to play. The notes are muted somewhat by the whisper of the wind, but they still ring true. ]

[ she’s drawn to his eyes; a clear, bright blue that is a stark contrast to his dark hair. he nods, moves to stand by her, and she inclines her head in thanks. grateful that he has honored her request. the beat of silence does not seem one that needs to be filled ( she has never minded the quiet, moments spent simply enjoying the company of another ), and she turns back to the view content.

then, he starts to play— and the song is arresting. beautiful. she waits until he has finished, and the wind has carried away the last note. ]

You play beautifully.

[ somehow, it feels as if she’s received a gift. one that is separate from his company, which she considers a kind of gift as well. ]

I only regret I have nothing to give you in return for your song.

No need. The view is exquisite, I merely wished to provide an accompaniment.

[ His voice is calm, almost well-oiled in the way he cuts his words in clear pronunciation. There is artistry that should be preserved in the events unfolding around them. It is rare to find worlds that allowed groundlings to take wing, and there's a certain poetry in it that he admires. ]

And you are?

[You know who's loving this job? Prompto. This is the best job ever. He squealed a little when he saw the chocobo chicks, clearly not concerned at all how he looks doing it.]

Hi little guys! Who's going to grow up big and strong?

[His partner for the job appears and he squeaks a little.]

L-Lady Lunafreya!

[He flails, what should he do? Should he panic and then freak out or freak out and then panic? Was he supposed to address her some special way for being the Oracle? How did she get here? She looks, well, healthier than she would have been being slightly less...alive when he's from. He always wanted to meet her.

Oh Astrals. He's always wanted to meet her and here she is, chocobo chick nibbling on his shirt and another trying to get at his hair.]

Uh...well..yes?

[Very smooth, Prompto.]

Edited 2018-03-20 22:24 (UTC)

If you’re certain. I did not mean to interrupt.

[ Truly, she didn’t. The view caught her eye first before she was aware of another. It felt intrusive to what seemed like a peaceful moment of solitude, but it was just as rude to decline. Her gaze turns back to the view as the smile from earlier renews. ]

I have never seen a place quite like this. It’s almost a little frightening to think about—a new world. A new life...

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TEST DRIVE MEME

lunafreya nox fleuret ( ffxv )

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