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

Starscream's not an IDW fan, I take it. ^_~

[peace_through_empathy]

You're not going crazy and this isn't a dream. Have you not been paying attention to anything that has been said to you since you arrived?

[For all his faults, even the Starscream Megatron knows would be better about that, even if it was only to find a way to turn the situation to his advantage.]

No but I am :D

[aerospacecommander]

[This Starscream's more of a take the opportunity when it arises sort of person. He'll certainly take advantage of any situation given to him though.]

... Define 'paying attention.' But there's no way any of this could be real. Half of the stuff people here babble about magic isn't even scientifically possible.

And most importantly Megatron would never join the Autobots.

[Starscream finally lowed his hand to look back at Megatron to see if he was still standing there and not just a figment of his imagination.]

I thought you seemed a person of culture.

[peace_through_empathy]

[Hearing Starscream-Starscream!-talk about what is and isn't scientifically possible actually gives Megatron a start.] You were a scientist? [Wait, they're getting off-topic. Forget that for the time being.] ...Never mind. You're not wrong, however, at least by the standards of our universes. This one, and frankly more than a few others if many of the other offworlders are any indication, seem to have fundamental differences in their laws of nature that not only allow magic to function, but even through mechanical lifeforms like ourselves. [Megatron should know, having the magic-using Scholar class as his current primary.] Do you at least know about the upcoming threat? The dragon?

[When Starscream asserts that Megatron-or at least his reality's Megatron-would never join the Autobots, Megatron is silent for a few moments.] Pity. It was the best decision I ever made.

I try to be

[aerospacecommander]

Wait. Dragons? Ugh. Nevermind. I've dealt with enough supernatural stuff for my entire lifetime as it is.

[Starscream shifts his gaze to Megatron at the comment about his decision. Right. If you wanted to join team happy, that's your prerogative. I just can't see it happening unless they somehow turned into club murder and torture times.

Either way that makes me leader of the Decepticons.

[peace_through_empathy]

You're going to need to know about the dragon Starscream, it's only a few weeks away from showing up and trying to destroy this world unless we stop it. I assume your sense of self-preservation is still as strong as it ever was?

By all means take leadership for yourself if that's what you still truly desire. You will command a great army here consisting solely of yourself. The War is over in my universe anyway; securing the future for all my people and a new home for us in Cyberutopia is what concerns me now. The fact that I was helping to make the universe a better place than when I found it was...a surprisingly satisfying bonus to that quest. [Though admittedly his time in the Functionist universe and then coming here has made him have to put the whole Cyberutopia thing on hold for the time being.]</small<

[aerospacecommander]

[Blast it. That sounded awfully like the prophecy his own Megatron rambled about. ... Not that Starscream was jumping on the whole covenant-thumping bandwagon or anything. He just hopes Sunstorm doesn't pop up here.

That's the last person he wants to deal with right now.

Starscream makes no comment on the dragon or his leadership though.]

I hope you realize that is a really stupid name.

[peace_through_empathy]

I didn't name the place. The Knights of Cybertron chose it when they founded the colony, according to the stories. You know that-[Wait, does Starscream know that? It does not necessarily follow that just because he's from an alternate Cybertron they share the same pre-War history. Functionist Cybertron did, however...multiverses can be tricky things, it seems. He holds up a hand to stop himself.]

-No, I shouldn't assume. Do the Knights of Cybertron exist in your universe? Or the Guiding Hand? [Megatron has a dim view of the Guiding Hand creation story and he doesn't honestly believe his race ever had gods, but due to information creep it's not easy to say what about the Hand is accurate, exaggeration, or outright lie. Still, for determining just how different their Cybertrons are, it's useful ground to cover.]

[aerospacecommander]

Never heard of them. Either of them.

[This whole other universes thing is so strange, but it's not improbable so Starscream can't really argue with the idea.]

But they are terrible at names.

[Though Starscream can't talk because the last time he took over a city on Earth he just named it after a Cybertron city.]