Test Drive Meme VI

[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, and some helpful Heroes of Light 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 and your rescuers 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. The experienced outworlders who helped pull you from your memories may be able to get you caught up to speed. B. CURTI CENTER The researchers at the Curti Center are pretty used to this right now, though there's still no good explanation for the influx of interdimensional travelers from the Dream Width since earlier this year. "Please step into the lobby for a quick survey. We have just a few routine questions, it's invaluable to our research so we do ask you indulge us..." 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 have offered to permanently house all of the outworlders here. 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 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 productive members of society and helping support the local economy, 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 housing elsewhere in the world. 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. And they say, those that party up will live to party on! J. LOVE IS IN THE AIR All the mistletoe would have come in handy here... As January gives way to February, stores and streets are decked in red, pink, and white. Posters line the Curti Center walls advertising Speed Dating events and offer to send flowers with anonymous or signed letters to outworlders and Curti Center employees - though there is some suspicion that a handful of received were never requested by the sender. Who cares! Some romances need an extra push! For the less adventurous types, the love-o-meters stationed at just about every hallway can predict your romantic (and platonic, if you so wish) future with just 100 gil, or even measure how good a potential match between two people will be. Is there any scientific backing to their calculations? That's not important. K. WILD CARD Feeling inspired to create your own prompt? The power is yours!

Comments

B

[einspine]

That... is a very big, imposing figure. Some might find it intimidating, what with his massive horns, broad shoulders, the pauldrons, the cape, and all that jazz.

Papyrus?

Papyrus goes googly-eyed and makes an abrupt beeline. He'd know those horns anywhere! Even if the attire differs- he'd chalk that up to alternate realities. It's par the course by now, but that doesn't stop him from excitedly shouting, "OH MY GOD, IT'S YOU!!!!"

[kingfluffyboy]

Asgore doesn't actually have every single denizen of the Underground memorized by face and name, but there's more than a few he would inevitably recognize on sight.

Papyrus has a way of ... sticking in someone's memory.

Almost immediately, he does his best to put aside anything even remotely like sadness (which he pulls off reasonably well but not completely); lurking around woebegone while one of his subjects are around might well make them despondent too, and ...

And it really isn't helping his growing idea that they never needed to kill at all to get out of the Underground.

"Why, howdy! Papyrus, isn't it?" He can't quite manage a cheerful, winning smile, but Asgore manages amiably friendly effortlessly. "I am happy to see you here." He pauses a moment, then adds, "Would you like a pamphlet?" He has a lot of them.

[einspine]

Oh dear. That certainly is a big grin on the skeleton's face. His hands are all balled up in excitement, and those googly eyes are still out in full force. Really, he looks like a kid who woke up early to see the Christmas presents.

"WHY YES, IT'S ME!!! THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Definitely a different 'Santa,' but that's okay! It's clearly still him in all his jolly, bearded glory! And while he doesn't technically need a pamphlet, he nods anyway. "AND CERTAINLY! IF YOU NEED HELP CARRYING ANYTHING, SAY NO MORE!!!"

[kingfluffyboy]

"It's wonderful to see a familiar skeleton!" If he can offload some pamphlets, then he's going to, some of them looked interesting but most of them.. well, why would he ever want to be a catmancer? What would he DO? Swap out his throne for a nice box?

Actually that sounded kind of nice.

He's keeping a couple of them though, they did look like something worth investigating if it's true that his power's been somehow sealed. "How ever did you get here? Is this 'dream width' truly another way out of the Underground?" While he's not entirely certain Papyrus is ... well the best source for clear, relevant information (Undyne spoke well of Papyrus' enthusiasm, but the rest..), but surely by now he had an idea of how he got to this world!

[einspine]

Papyrus gladly takes them, chuckling at the sight of Catmancer in a sort of amused bewilderment. He still doesn't get that job! Cats are... cute? Ish? But how does one make a job centered around a fuzzy critter? That'd be like having a Dogmancer!

...actually, that would make a lot of sense, now that he thinks about it.

Either way, Asgore's asked some very valid questions! Naturally, having spent months in Vaikuntha, Papyrus readies his answers. Nyeh heh heh! Getting to help Santa acclimate. How wonderful!

So he shifts the pamphlets a bit- actually, better idea. He'll just quietly swap to Chemist real quick so he can stash the goods in his pocketspace. It's not really a visible change, anyhow.

Now then! Dramatic index finger raising time. "I ARRIVED THE SAME WAY AS EVERYONE ELSE... BY SIMPLY POPPING UP THROUGH THE DREAM WIDTH! WE'RE STILL TRYING TO SORT OUT THE HOWS, BUT AS FOR THE WHY... I'D BLAME THE BIG, BAD SUMMONER LADY WHO WANTS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING IN EXISTENCE."

[kingfluffyboy]

Asgore might actually consider a dogmancer Job. He was rather fond of all the dogs in Snowdin! And he knew what dogs did all day, more or less!

There is a change, and he's vaguely aware something is different, but frankly the difference between Normal Papyrus and Chemist Papyrus are so minor that he merely blinks once owlishly and decides that he must have simply not been paying attention earlier.

"..Oh. That sounds terrible." UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY, ASGORE. "But if she wants to destroy everything why is she bringing us here? Surely she knows everyone will want to stop that sort of troublesome thing."

End of everything: troublesome.

[einspine]

"WELL, IT'S NOT HER DOING IT! IT'S MORE... THE WORLD? I THINK. AGAIN, MUCH OF THIS IS STILL HYPOTHETICAL!"

He pauses, stroking his chin in thought. "ACTUALLY, IT SOUNDS LIKE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DRIFTING THROUGH THE DREAM WIDTH FOR DECADES, IF NOT LONGER. IT'S JUST THAT BIG BATCHES DIDN'T BEGIN UNTIL ALMOST A YEAR AGO! AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS AMONG THE MASSES!"

He grins at this, despite the fact that he was yanked from his home. It's been rough in some respects, but not all! He's met many great friends, fallen in love, and learned so much.

[kingfluffyboy]

Asgore tucks his hands beneath his cloak, which immediately obliges him by folding across the front and rendering him a cloak with a head so nobody can actually SEE his hands. "I'm fine with hypothesis."

After all, it's what he's got to work with! And perhaps he'd misjudged Papyrus a bit; Undyne did have a good head for combat and recognizing good fighters, but perhaps she wasn't so good at judging how sharp someone's mind was.

"And I myself it seems! Do you suppose this ... mm, world kidnapping, can be relied on?" There's an implication there, but Asgore's not being glaringly overt with it. "Or is the presence of both you and I a remarkable coincidence and nothing more?"