Test Drive Meme IV

[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. 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 Feeling inspired to create your own prompt? The power is yours!

Comments

oops sorry, life got nuts

[daggercubed]

You were an astrologer, back home? Astronomer? Star-looking type?

[He's not sure of the word.

Either way, rudeness doesn't bother him. He saw worse. He wasn't great, either.]

[beariot]

[ She offered a weak smile, at least showing some gratitude that he was engaging with her at all. Talking things out, in that sort of distant way she was, helped her steady her own consciousness... ]

Astrologer. Though star-mapping is involved in that, too, since the positioning of cosmic bodies is really important...

[daggercubed]

Yeah, that makes sense... if it helps, I think there's people that study that. They'll get you caught up quick, yeah?

[He tips his fingers to his brow and smiles, briefly.]

[beariot]

You mean on that world below? The one Mr. Biggs told me about? [ The name of it escaped her at the moment... ]

[daggercubed]

Those are the ones. They're called astrologians, I think.

Do some other shit, too. They have some magic.

[beariot]

[ Normally she'd suss about his language, but she was still too out of her head to even notice. ]

I guess that's where I'll start. Stick with what's familiar...

[daggercubed]

That's what I did, yeah? Not being an astrologian, but... what I knew.

It pays off. But, if you want to learn a new skill, they make it easy, yeah? It's almost unfair.

[beariot]

Learning new skills... It's like I'm a student all over again.

But maybe by studying the magic of this world... [ Her gaze turned towards the cosmic expanse outside the porthole once more. ]

Maybe I can find a way back. It has to exist, right?

[daggercubed]

Mm... I'm afraid they think it doesn't.

We might be stuck here. Some have for a long time -- decades long, it sounds like.

[beariot]

What?

So they've just given up? [ Even after a decade, she couldn't imagine just... ]

[daggercubed]

I don't know if I'd call it giving up, yeah? They settled in. Some of them had families, I heard.

[He hesitates.]

There might be hope, but I don't want to lie to you. Something changed, yeah? There's a lot more of us coming over now.

And... something worse. Something that could destroy the world. So at worst, there's something to focus on.

[beariot]

That's...

[ A lot. Too much even, that she slumps down to her knees, everything just sort of deflating about her, her glasses slumping down her face and her hands twitching as she clenched her arms around her chest. ]

[daggercubed]

[Ah. Shit.

He heads over closer, not clasping her shoulder, but kneeling next to her.]

I know it's rough. I don't want to sugar coat it, because it's a bad break we've gotten.

But you're not alone, yeah? Lots of people here are in the same situation you are.

[beariot]

Are we all just... waiting to die? [ Her voice sounds... terrified. ]

the damn grant access button, sorry!!

[daggercubed]

No. Fuck that.

[He shakes his head.]

We're not waiting to die. It means we have our work cut out for us. We're in a new world. It's not the one we want to be in, but it needs us. We're here for a reason.

We have to be. And we can find a way back, I think. Everything they knew is falling apart, and that gives us a sliver of hope.