memesofeternity | Test Drive Meme IV

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Test Drive Meme IV

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. The other newly-awakened people have no idea how they came to be here, but now's a good time as ever to introduce yourself to the others on the airship and glean what information you can.

B. CURTI CENTER

The researchers at the Curti Center are not quite so unprepared as last time, but it is still obvious that they are struggling to understand the sudden influx of interdimensional travelers from the Dream Width. "Please step into the lobby for a quick survey. Perhaps there is some common thread we haven't discovered yet..."

The staff will do their best to help the off-worlders settle in. They answer the questions they can, write down all proffered information they can about the arrivals' homeworlds, provide maps and pamphlets about Vaikuntha 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, considering they are still housing the previous arrivals here on the island.

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. PUMPKIN SPICE

Let us send shivers down your spine.

The weather has turned cooler, and with the arrival of autumn comes fall-themed treats, fall fashion, and of course, the beginning of the spookiest holiday season. Even though summer is still newly ended, it is not uncommon to already see people embracing the season in full force. Pumpkins and ghost-moogle decorations begin to appear on porches and in windows, stores offer a pumpkin version of everything, and there is so much orange.

It is all good fun in the day time, but there does seem to be a rise of monstrous activity after the sun sets...

K. WILD CARD

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[The watcher might become the watched as a form drops down nearby with a cheerful greeting.]

Bonjour~, ma peche~

"Er... well I know that a lot of the time people have belongings that're magical or special in some way, and we don't really know why but the Dream Width strips them away... could be that's what happened? Sometimes they turn up later though, like I said."
At the second question, though, he grins again. "Nope! I was born in Nakagawa, actually. I work for the Curti Center- they do research on the 'width, pick up people who show up there, that sorta thing. I joined up because... well, honestly they really need the help. There's a lot of offworlders coming in lately, usually it's one or two every few years but since April it's just been tons and tons, every couple months. We're running out of room to house everyone and the Center's way understaffed. I get a chance to help some people who really need it, plus housing's included and I can save up some extra to send home, so it's all a win-win for me."

"Is that what makes a man a King? The ability to sacrifice others? What kind of King were you? Are you? What would you sacrifice, Ardyn?"

They were the last words Nyx could remember speaking to a man from a daydream a century and many realities ago, or so it felt to him. Nyx had been in this new world a short week and while it had its similarities to Thisavrou it was more like home than that place had ever been. Naturally he was drawn to the Chocobo races. There was something missing here which he'd not had in Eos either, and when he headed toward the concession stands he'd seen a bright suit on a nice body and magenta hair-

It can't be, he told himself. It would be too good to be true. There were all kinds of crazy hair colors here. Nyx's stomach had done a few flips and churns and his throat had gone uncomfortably dry, eyes tracking the stupid white hat on disturbingly familiar hair. The hat in itself was almost more telling than anything else. Only Ardyn would wear a hat like that and somehow pull it off.

Nyx forgot all about his drink and followed the man from a distance, unable to take his eyes off of him, trying to talk himself out of what his heart so wanted to see under the brim of said hat. Nyx was good at being a realist, but he was also good at finding hope when there wasn't much. That hope boiled up inside of him as the man half turned as he began sitting down in his seat. Nyx had gotten just enough of a glimpse of a well-defined jawline covered in thick magenta stubble.

"Ardyn!" he called out, trying to push past a group of people squabbling over their seats a few rows back from where the white-suited man was sitting down. "Ardyn? Is that you?!"

retrieval
[Being suddenly alive is something that Enter was used to. A backup of a backup of a Avatar was commonplace in his line of work, being resurrected time and time again. It was really quite tiresome to be honest. Every damned time.

And yet, the dream was uncommon, having been pulled from a dream of being, well, human, to being human. Here he was, outside in the waking world, without any of his powers that made him an Avatar, and made him Real.

He was a Real Boy, papa.

Looks like Escape didn't have a lock on being the flawed one after all.]

Vivre pour mourir, oui? [he remarks to the nearest person]

Pumpkin Spice

This is truly wretched.

I have never tasted something so awful. And yet, so appealing at the same time. No wonder Escape loved this stuff.

[Enter was on his third cup of Pumpkin Spice latte and he was sipping the drink at the Curti center, paperwork all strewn about on how to work on his Custom Job. He wasn't going to suffer not having his Avatar powers, let alone Dark Buster. But they told him he had to choose. So peu importe he would have to choose.]

Come here. Tell me, what sounds better to you? Turning into a rampaging 30 story monster when exploded or summoning a giant robot?

Had Sephiroth been in more of one of his more-contemplative moods Kuja's remark about 'bleeding for it' might well have triggered him into considering how that might happen, what it might feel like to experience that, and by extension if he could put up with all of this enough to do so; perhaps it might be a thought that could recur later and then he'd figure it out.

Battle has always been something he's excelled in though, albeit with far-superior means than he's currently equipped with or even capable of. Having to put up with the mediocre-at-best weaponry within a limited budget had made him ache for the Masamune that somehow hadn't been a part of his recovery from the Rift.

A mage, though. Black or White magic would be incredibly useful; aside from the dire need for gil, experience for his Job's wasn't going to generate itself. Kuja certainly sounded like just what Sephiroth would need for that. Perhaps something worthwhile might come out of this stupid Mognet strike, after all.

"As pathetic-" Sephiroth made no effort to hide his extreme distaste for being in such a weak position, "-as that sounds; indeed, I came in on the last spaceship."

[It's not ENTIRELY inappropriate. There are probably some other adults around.]

Enough time to walk around, then?

[It's not a sightseeing trip, obviously, but his he's too keyed up to go back to sleep and needs to stretch his legs a little.]

Curti Center

[Oren was in and out of his physical with a minimum of fuss. As a military man, he was used to being poked and prodded and he knew the meaning of a good checkup when needed, lest he explode into shrapnel or something worse. And considering his line of work, he knew that he needed to be checked over.

Right now however, he was looking through the brochures with a minimum of eye-raised surprise.]

Gourmand hmm... seems rather surprising of a job to be had, non?

Get a Job

[Not surprising, Oren's skill had led him to getting a job as a Manager at a small bakery, and there were people lined up wanting to taste his work. He was flamboyant, and he worked his people hard.]

Come in, come in, welcome to Choconut Bakery, we have a most excellent selection of pastries today!

Wildcard

[The Preferred part of the post, hit this up the most, go nuts.]

Edited 2018-09-24 22:08 (UTC)

Kuja waves his hand dismissively. "Believe me, I empathize. I've barely been here two months, myself. It's been a constant struggle just to achieve the level of self-sufficiency I'm accustomed to; I can't abide charity and the thought of being in debt to someone just makes my skin crawl. On the plus side, starting from scratch and I can already toss out a Thundara again without straining myself. At least these Job Asterisks make the re-learning easy."

Zedd turned from the first man to the other and just glared. Probably could kill a man with it.

"I'd suggest running before the next thing I put in the garbage is you!" he growled.

"I am not apologizing!" Zedd said, taking offense at the last one. "I got better things to do than beg for 'forgiveness' for something you ingrates do!"

The man found himself on his back with a grunt and, finding himself face to face with two of them, he quickly made good on Sephiroth's suggestion and made a run for it.

"I could have handled it." Zedd said. "But, it looks like you don't suffer fools lightly, either."

He's used to it, as Enter simply removes another puddling cup from his jacket pocket and starts eating it. "Oh la la, you're so aggressive today," he chuckled. "Seems like you're just all grumpy all the time."

"Such as?" Serge shoots back. "Got somewhere to go? I mean hey, if you've got a way of getting off-planet I'm sure there's a lot of people who'd give you a great big pile of gold for a piece of that pie. But unless you do, and we don't either so stop asking, right now the best chance you've got is 'playing nice', since 'playing nice' directly benefits you. You've gotta understand that, even if you don't like it."

“Mim, did you hear my name?” Ardyn’s partner moogle was floating beside him, on the side where he held the drink. She was eyeing the carrot and Ardyn promised to share the drink with her, especially the carrot. “Hm? Kupo?” The sweet little moogle looked around found someone acting rather suspiciously amongst the crowd down below the seats.

“Look, there… half-hair.” She points a paw toward the stranger.

Ardyn followed her paw and at the sight of Nyx he stood with his heart skipping a beat. “Certainly… couldn’t be.” As Nyx recognized him, obviously calling him out like that, Ardyn knew - he felt that connection and his mortal heart palpitated. He abandoned the drink and kettle corn on the bleachers and made his way down the seats toward Nyx. His eyes never losing sight and when he was on the ground he lifted his glasses off his face to see him without the shaded barrier.

His breath was caught in his throat, the closer he got the more he felt out of control and belatedly so. A rush of their history flooded over his body and his eyes gave way to the hope he allowed for himself in this moment as he was close enough now to reach for Nyx. He grabbed onto the other and pulled him into himself. His heart pounded against his chest and one hand cradled Nyx’s head while the other settled on the boy’s back. His hero.. He fondly thought and he exhaled. “Nyx..”

A: Retrieval)

Awareness comes slowly. As dreams fade, the first thing the blonde haired woman in the infirmary perceives is a dull aching throughout most of her torso... A pounding within her chest that seems to shake her entire being. Coughing, she opens her eyes blearily...

Courier Six sits up abruptly. Holding a hand to her chest, the very first thing out of her mouth is, "What the hell? How the..." Heart. She has an organic heart again, how? She leaps out of bed, looking herself over. Pipboy is gone- now there's a first, her guns are all gone, she can feel her heart beating for the first time in more than two years. Her hand reflexively goes to her throat, and she lets out a soft sigh of at least partial relief. No bomb collar. Okay. Deep breath. This has happened before. She's been in worse spots- this looks like an infirmary, not some kind of twisted prison or mad science lab.

Now to just find someone and ask what the hell is going on...

D. Guilds)

The Royal City of Myste Aura, is it? What a grand name. As far as Kayle is concerned, any civilization is grand civilization, but the city certainly seems to live up to its name.

Magitek Knights, they're called. Fine, if this is the closest thing they can teach here to the engineering she's used to, she'll take it. Even if she thinks the gunblades look stupid. The paperwork is done, she has her weapon, and her basic training.

But now what? She muses to herself, as she holds up the gunblade she'd been issued. Running a finger along the flat of the blade beneath the barrel, she whistles softly. A finer weapon than most she'd found back home, to be sure, just for the condition it's in if nothing else. She leans against the side of the guild's headquarters, outside, looking distinctly out of her element. This city is about as far from post-apocalypse as you can get.

G: Get a Job)

If she's going to be living in this strange new world with more people than she's ever used to seeing in one place, she's going to need currency. Not a lot of wild flora to forage through for food or drink, and if she's going to better equip herself to be a, what, adventurer, she's going to need a lot of gil. That's fine, she's no stranger to hard work.

Unfortunately, the kind of skills and attitudes one builds up living in the ruins of post-nuclear war America do not translate well to peaceful city life. She looks very out of place walking through public parks and picking up trash, but it's a public service... And she likes to hoard potentially useful junk for herself, even if she doesn't seem to have the same knack for jury rigging she used to, anymore.

But hey, she hasn't drawn her gunblade on anyone that's surprised her, or annoyed her, yet. Small victories.

There was no hesitation or second-guessing himself. Nyx wrapped his arms tight around the other, pressed his face against Ardyn's cheek (nearly knocking the hat right off of him), and held on. "I can't believe it's you!" he quietly awed, nearly drowned out by the Chocobo fans all around them. Nyx rocked the unbelievably and yet undeniably real body. He pulled his head back finally and beamed at the older man, laughing with some of that happy disbelief.

"I haven't seen anyone else here that I know, I thought I might not ever see you again." The fear was an obvious one to have given their situation, but he felt no shame in sharing it. Nyx felt emotions start washing over him in foretelling waves as the initial shock wavered. In its place were those same tentative questions they had only begun to explore at Thisavrou. Exciting yes, also nerve-wracking given who this was. There had been so much Ardyn kept secret from him, and so much they had shared.

"How long have you been here? Are you alright? Everything good?" Nyx asked, still with his arms tight around the other. Soon there were protests of the others trying to get around them to their own seats.

But the smile that comes in reply is broad, toothy, and anything but apologetic. Time to enjoy the perks of his new promotion. "You kiddin'? I always have time for somethin' like this."

Especially when he's stuck keeping his eyes on a crate for a few hours. Now he can just lean up against it instead.

"Just sorry I don't have a Blitzball or flyin' disc or somethin' I could give you as a memento. What'cha say your name was?"

"Whaddaya mean 'lap it up'?! I drink from the cup like a normal person!!"

Red's quick to pop in his set... or at least to attempt to. It turns out large, triangular ears weren't really the right shape to actually hold the earpiece. At least it distracted him long enough so he didn't have to see the gruesome takedown.

A couple stray crates of illicit goods and filthy lucre were hefted and shoved into the water with a quiet, misty splash before he hurriedly dashed the DAHAK over to one of the warehouse's outer walls-- at least this curiously-convenient fruit cart would serve to help conceal him while he hunched down in the cockpit and manually held the bloom up to his ear-- a quick fix that somehow seemed even stranger while in the cockpit of a bipedal mech.

"Besides, I do have a kid sister-- and her 'parties' never involved throwin' the tea off the side of the airship!!"

"Serge! And hey, no worries, way I see it it makes a neat story to tell and that's enough for me. I might ask you to sign the rookie card I've got for this season if we ever run into each other again, but it's not a huge deal." He offers his hand, grinning brightly. "Nice to meet you, Red."

Retrieval

[Cindy wasn't the one to wake up in random places. Normally, she was the one driving the car to get someone from one place to another... and fast. So, when she rolled over and fell out of bed, jarring her awake, she realized she was in some random place, not at the shop.]

I really hope no one saw that.

Airship

[Cindy is having the time of her life. Standing where it was safe, but where she could still feel the wind as it tried to pry the hat off of her head, with the biggest smile on her face. At some point, she's kind of hoping that she'll be able to climb around on one of these, because AIRSHIP. But for now, she's content to just ride them between cities.]

Oh! Hey! Are you feeling ok? You look a bit green

Guilds

[So, she had to find some sort of guild to join? Join guild, get powers? Something like that. She joins the masses for a few demonstrations, before lingering where the Magitek Knights were set up. This seemed like her style. And, she had some talents with machinery of types already, so that would be a benefit.

After going through the introductory ropes, she can be found trying out the new gunblade, and getting used to the new armor she was wearing instead of her typical outfit. And yes, her Hammerhead cap is still on.]

Whatcha think? Fancy, huh?

Pumpkin Spice

[She had no idea what these pumpkin things are, but the ghost moogles were definitely cute. Maybe when...if...she got home and there was another moogle festival, she could get them in it. Maybe.

For now though, she has a pumpkin stuck on her gunblade, and needs a bit of help. (Blame the coffee nearby)]

Uh, do you think you can help me, darlin?

Wild Card

[Hit her with something (not a brick)!]

Richard feels a little bit like Columbo at this moment. Bumbling around, in shabby and not-quite-fitting clothes, asking questions long enough and often enough to wear down the patience of a monk. And the more this guy talks, the more questions he has.

Only, the thing is, he has no clever 'gotcha' moments planned. He really is just sorta that clueless.

"Dream Width? Nakagawa? What are these places? Who are you? Why's your hair purple? Do you have to dye it, or does it just come out that way?" He didn't see any roots. That's either fresh or things got even weirder.

( even heat's neutral expression looks a little annoyed, although he isn't exactly. the image of bright orange against black hair reminds him of sera... so there's an unfortunate bias here as he grumbles out that— )

Orange looks good against dark hair. ( and crosses his arms. ) Why? What is supposed to be your colour?

He looked for him, but it’s not like he would have gotten a personal message from this world identifying that Nyx was actually here. “From what I understand, we come in waves, I came in the fourth wave of outsiders.” His hand moved from the back of Nyx’s hair to gently cup the side of the other man’s cheek. When he came here, he felt the depressing disappointment of how things ended so soon between the both of them, especially when it was truly just beginning.

They had the luxury on Thisavrou to be alone, to explore one another and share their truths with each other without deviation from others that would intercede. This world, however, was not just for them; there were others that came from their world. Others that would be all too glad to tarnish Ardyn’s reputation and the thing he feared the most on the other world was starting to swell in his chest here.

Oh, it’s been so very long since he’s felt anything close to what it was like to be a man - a human. Nyx gifted him that and there was a vulnerability which Ardyn wanted to cater to as he now stood before the other, hesitant and worried for what would come here between them.

Or if their established connection on Thisavrou would withstand the transcendence here. “Nyx, you must know.. seeing you here, feeling you here, I couldn’t be better.”

"Serge? Well hey, maybe the nex--"

"Hey, you ok there?" Cindy had seen the woman wake up and look like she was panicking, so she'd walked over and sat on the nearby cot with some water. She'd just woken up herself, so she knew the feeling... somewhat.

"Here, have some water."

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Test Drive Meme IV

G

Re: No man should have to go pantsless

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enter | tokumei sentai go-busters

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Thank you <3

Oren Pierre Alfonzo | Kamen Rider Gaim

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Re: G

Re: Trouble, and the making thereof

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Re: G

Re: Trouble, and the making thereof

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Kayle Alexanders/Courier Six | Fallout: New Vegas

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Cindy Aurum | Final Fantasy: Road Trip (15)

Re: No man should have to go pantsless

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1/2

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