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

[petcromancer]

Maul brings to Hector's mind the lesser vampires of Dracula's court- deadly, violent, and single-minded in his pursuits. Better than the ignorant masses, but still rubbing Hector the wrong way.

"They're slow. You don't need to be so aggressive."

They're not so different from some of Hector's earliest attempts at forging. He empathizes with the creatures as Maul lashes out at them, even though Hector was the one who wanted to encounter them in the first place.

He has no control over these night creatures, so he can't afford to stand by and let them advance. "Come forth," he calls to his puppet, a defeated golem who now serves him.

"We'll take the ones to the left," he calls to Maul. His golem needs room to work, and he doesn't need his 'ally' getting in the way.

[last_son_of_dathomir]

Never mind, apparently Maul signed up for this job with the one person who will care overmuch if he brutalizes the dead. "I don't hear them complaining-" Maul sneers as the zombie strikes at him with its one remaining arm; Maul's counter-attack is swift and brutal; the counter-attack takes the arm off, and then another [Shooting Star] cleaves the beast in two. "-Do you?" He asks as it falls.

Hector moves off to the left; good. Maul works best when he has room to maneuver. Twirling his blade with practiced, acrobatic skill, Maul hurls himself into the throng of zombies approaching him. His style is acrobatic, almost dance-like; the zombies move to hit him, but they are too slow and Maul practically never stops moving. It's impressive, given he's in his fifties, though he clearly keeps himself in shape.

"I find myself somewhat curious as to why you feel some sort of compassion for these husks." He asks as the fight continues, his tone entirely too conversational as he continues to take the zombies apart. "A waste of time to try and show care to something incapable of recognizing it and that will try to kill you regardless, wouldn't you agree?"

[petcromancer]

Such a human-like view- if it doesn't complain in my language, I am free to ignore it. Hector huffs and focuses on commanding his golem. He [sics] the creature on the nearest zombie.

"It's not compassion. They are just creatures, trying to survive, and there isn't any reason to kill more than we need to. Just because they are undead doesn't make them evil. Morality is for beings with the capacity for thought."

The golem smashes his fist down on the head of a zombie and shoves it back into the next one to hinder its approach.

"If these creatures have a master necromancer controlling them, that is who bears the blame for their actions. But I can't tell if they are free or bound. They're different from the zombies I've seen in the past."