prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .009

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You awaken amidst the darkness with only a faint light to greet you. Your body is hemmed in by shards of crystals, gently sparkling and possibly pricking your skin. The surrounding landscape is dyed in the pinks and purples of the dusk filled with crystals protruding from the ground, some as large as a skyscraper. Even the few shy moon creatures you find in the wild have strange crystal growths on their hides. This is far from home— perhaps a dream? You pinch your skin and slap your cheeks, yet nothing seems to do the trick. Searching for answers yields nothing but an endless expanse of purple dust as far as the eye can see. You have four options: one, panic; two, soil yourself; three, admire it all then soil yourself; or four, go into survival mode. Eventually, you’ll realize that you’re not alone.

After a day or two of living off the crystal wilderness, a group of people find you worse for wear. They are the gallant Moon Knights from the planet of Prismatica. After the strange phenomenon during the past months when scientists observed the sudden appearance of rainbow crystals in the sky, the government has been feverishly combing through the moon for more Moonblessed to be rescued. You’ll eventually be brought into Iris’s moon government center.

You all may have your usual inquiries — Where are we? Who are you? What's going on? Why did I inhale all those permanent markers in the third grade? — and the Prismals are almost too eager to answer. They tell you about their world and about the first appearance of the Moonblessed as the medical staff give you an examination to make sure you’re not carrying any viruses or biological hazards. If you react violently, you may be restrained and nerfed with a specialized neurotransmitting gun that releases a numbing agent through the top of your spine. Once the examinations are over, you’re informed that you will be provided accommodations on their planet during your stay.

While waiting for transport to be prepared, you may freely roam around the government center. Eventually you’re called back from exploring, escorted to the docks, and led onto a large transport vessel that makes frequent trips back and forth between the moons and the planet. Faces onboard vary from both old and new Moonblessed as well as the local Prismals. The next destination: Prismatica.

▶ Whip It Good
Iris Moon, Government Center (Arrival) and Planet Prismatica, City of Lunatia | top

Welcome to Prismatica’s hub, Lunatia, the city of your dreams! A bustling metropolis lush with bright lights, vibrant colors, luxuriant plant life, and all the conveniences of technology absent from your own world… It seems like paradise to all the uninitiated. After a quick tour of the city, new arrivals can find themselves getting cozy in their new homes.

A Settle in your new home at Level 2 to find new roommates and say hello to your neighbors! City officials will give you directions to the designated districts across Level 2 and instruct you to pick out a unit. Each apartment complex has a different aesthetic, some may look cozy, some stylish, and some bizarre. The free accommodations have a basic living space that can only fit two or three people at most in one unit.

Starter Chromaspace furnishings are provided which can be controlled with the touch of a built-in panel. Examples are color-changing curtains, transforming sofa beds, cabinets turning into tables, etc. Customizing your apartment or moving out will have to wait until you earn more chroma. Until then, why don’t you check out your new neighborhood or explore the city levels? Maybe your new roommates or neighbors can give you a “hand” with allowance for dinner.

B At the Crystarium Moonports is a new family restaurant called Grapplebears, here to serve your favorite dishes from all around the galaxy at affordable prices! The menu ranges from the atomically hot and spicy Chamakshalan curry rice, delectable dragonsaur steak served with mashed space-tatoes, to the sweet and creamy Lunatian milkshakes that bring all the boys to the yard, all prepared by their handsome and huggable bear crew.

As you might have noticed, the restaurant staff is a ragtag group with members from planets unknown to both Prismals and Moonblessed. The waiters and waitresses in particular are tall, muscular, leather-clad bears who take your order by whipping you with a special riding crop that compels you to bark out your order — but only if you ask to be, of course! They might induce you to reveal other unrelated interests so make sure you’re not thinking about anything embarrassing!

If you chat up the staff or customers, you learn more about the restaurant’s origins. The bears say their planets* were also wiped by the Calamity hundreds of years ago, and life for them has been difficult for them since then…

*Further information about these planets is unavailable at this time.

▶ Night of the Living Dummy
City of Lunatia | top

The last vestiges of Geistnacht have officially passed and the first chilly autumn breeze ushers in the new season. The city is awash in giant piles of browning leaves that decorate every walkway.

A To deal with the mass collection of fallen leaves, many buildings across the city have been retrofitted with a new disposal system to help clean up. A sprawling network of automated vacuum tubes around the city will efficiently suck all those pesky leaves right up. While children love playing inside and using them to “teleport” around Lunatia, they have also been known to spontaneously suck up anyone who’s not too careful. You may find yourself falling on some hapless bystander on their afternoon walk, or crammed in a tube with your new neighbors. Lunar Scientia officials warn everyone to be careful of where you walk, else you might need to crawl your way to sweet freedom.

B A pop-up shop in Level 1 is attracting much of the locals' attention, run by a peddler who speaks in a low, elongated hiss and wears a hood over his face. He assures you that his face is of no consequence. What is more important is his selection of wares! In contrast to his cloaked, enigmatic appearance, his travel cart is a Barbie pink explosion of frills, hearts, glitter. He will tell all visitors he comes from the Valley of the Crimson Serpents, which Prismals and older Moonblessed arrivals find odd. Wasn’t the Sanguis moon uninhabitable?

Among the peddler’s wares are adorable, wide-eyed and heavily perfumed dolls in all sorts of clothes a child dreaming of rainbows and tea parties could ever ask for. Hug and squeeze a doll, and you will be greeted by a pre-recorded voice telling you how they’re your bestest friend ever. It’s like they were made for lovin’ you! But if you look away for one moment, you can almost swear you hear a snake’s hiss, its long tongue licking the shell of your ear… The next time you see the doll, its body will be in a slightly different position or location. Is it… following you? Fortunately, a minimal amount of moonlacing will make it leave you alone. You can wait it out too, but why would you?

Destroy a doll and it will later reappear wherever you are when you least expect it, good as new, but leaking from their porcelain heads is a strange pink, glitter-covered liquid. The peddler calls it the “love juice” giving the doll an extra dose of affection for you.

▶ Bird is the Word
Level 2, Greatmoon Groves | top

As autumn paints Lunatia with its golden hues, pumpkin decorations and desserts are now in vogue. This is thanks to Chroma-infused pumpkin seeds, which allow them to rapidly grow in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colors. The Moonblessed are invited to visit one of the largest pumpkin patches in the city housed within the Greatmoon Groves, where they can enjoy the sight of oversized, colorful neon and sparkling semi-phallic pumpkins, expertly carved to greet you with their buck-toothed smiles.

A The pumpkin patch is full of toddler-sized creatures called hugbugs. When they are not tending to the pumpkins, they follow the Moonblessed around, requesting hugs and treats in exchange for their obedience.

Reward them and they will do simple errands for you and give you compliments. They will also be your personal hype men, talking up your strengths, talents, and physical assets to all those special someones you’re trying to impress. Once you earn their trust, they will be your friends for life!

Ignore them, hurt them, or bully them, and they will cry and place a curse upon you, reducing your self-esteem to nothing and magically forcing you to cry along with them. The effects of the curse may last for up to a week if you’re not careful! But how could you do such a thing? The hugbugs are sensitive and want somebody to love.

B If you manage to survive your encounter with the hugbugs, you are welcome to join in on the Prismal knitting group and enjoy creating your own fanciful scarf made of Galadrian thread, which is known for its bright, golden sheen and aromatic properties. Give it to a friend or wear it yourself, and you will notice a strange ability to attract animals and insects of all kinds. Live out your Disney Princess fantasy! Or a Hitchcockian nightmare. It’s all a matter of perspective as a whole flock of honking birds comes bounding towards you.

▶ Questions
If you have any questions regarding this test drive meme, please ask them in the Questions thread below.

▶ As a reminder, test drive memes are for new characters only. However, current players are more than welcome to use these prompts for their own posts in the IC communities, personal inboxes, catch-all posts, etc.!
▶ As our test drive memes are game canon, feel free to keep any threads that happen here as canon for your character should they be accepted.

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[Well, he's going to anyway. #noshame]

Well, I was a founding member of the ADA. Do you really think we could have come to be so formidable without someone like me leading the way?

[Just don't challenge him to a fight, he's soft and fragile.]

She really wants to frown - something's definitely off - but instead she forces on a comforting smile. "If you're sure. My shoulder is always open if you need it, though." She gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before begrudgingly releasing him. It had been nice while it lasted, but it's time to head back to reality.

She's not sure why, but she's suddenly nervous; nothing about this interaction seems right. "The park is fine." She'd honestly prefer a quick bite, but she's not going to force him to pay for her and she hasn't exactly had time to pick up a job in the short time she's been here.

"Just Ren, no Nora?" That's... bizarre. They're rarely apart. "When did you two get here?"

[Luckily for him, Pyrrha has no reason to suspect anything and misreads the look entirely.]

Hey, don't feel bad! It was a very impressive match. Your team has a great dynamic, which is much more important than winning a competition. The only reason my team got so far was because we're a team. I couldn't have done it without them.

[She tilts her head at his query, not understanding. He says it like he's been here longer than a couple of days, but that doesn't make sense.]

Yeah, I just got in this morning. Didn't you?

"Same here Pyrrha, whatever you need." He's sure she's going to need love and care after this. It was best she understand the kind of reactions she was going to get from others.

Her questions get a frown "I've been here for a month, Ren's been here a little longer than that. Nora hasn't shown up at all. All of team RWBY is here though."

As they began walking Jaune hesitantly reached out and grabbed Pyrrha's hand. It was comforting to physically feel her here.

He tried to be casual about it "So while we're walking, could you tell me the last thing you remember before ending up here?"

Worse?

[ Akutagawa doesn't pull his punches, normally. He's on a no-kill restriction with his Atsushi, but probably due to his anger, he might ruin his streak. Atsushi's strategy is a good one. The killer will burn out his energy since he's in a mood to relentlessly attack the tiger.

He watches as Atsushi dodges his initial attack, but he's quick to counter. The black tendrils seep into the ground, emerges near the wall Atsushi perches on. Rashoumon sharpens its fibers, become sharp spikes trying to pierce into the man-tiger.

Even on his rampage, he wonders if this Atsushi's words are true? He's worse? What did that even mean? He knows that Atsushi's ideas are different. His will to live is by saving others and that gives him purpose. Akutagawa's understanding of the world has been proven to be true, too. The strong live, and the weak die. Akutagawa wanted to live, so he chooses to take life rather than allow someone else to take his. Why was that wrong, when society makes it right? Atsushi is strong, and so he has the power to protect those who can't, doesn't that still fit with his understanding?]

Jinko, you're no different from me! Don't act as if you've never soiled your hands!

[What's the difference? Sheryl wants to ask.

That would seem a little rude, though. She can be a bit of a diva, but she's not needlessly rude to people.] Right, it was... just a little surprising, that's all.

[And she'll push herself to her own feet.] So, are there a lot of... mechanical lifeforms where you come from?

And he died after, yes? Well, before the victory.

( everyone knows that story. caster thinks on her words that she presents to him, it's all so familiar that even he could reminiscence on them. that's a name he hasn't heard in a long while, that's enough to bring a smile on his face as he thinks back. he remembers telling king vortigern that the end was coming, but it was the siege laid out on the castle near monmouth that led to his demise. sadly, the end is but a reminder that great things come from out the mouth of flames. that was one of the sensitive turning points, but who succeeded after only played smoothly into what the future was meant to give them.

he hums softly in thought, nodding leisurely at what he manages to create that the female had spoke about. he makes sure that it's in a good condition to be handed over, and considering this is merlin's magic, he knows that it's more than good. the white petals lay against his own pale hand as he notes the way she keeps her distance from him now, and when he thought he was the one trying to make a run for it! he holds it out for her to take herself when she feels comfortable enough to do so. )

What a peculiar choice, the flower that symbolizes hope. ( he's looking it over one last time as if he's searching for answers that'll maybe expose why there's something interesting about their conversation. ) You must find me horrible, but do not forgive me, and instead, do take this in forgiveness of my sharp tongue. ( merlin has his moments, but he knows where he's done wrong. it must be odd for him to leave their previous conversation to focus on something else, but how he sees it now — there's no need to bring up any sour memories. ) Big Brother has to repent somehow so I'm sure you are aware how this goes? Tuck it under your pillow, and drift off into dreamland! I'm sure you can handle that, right?

( it's a quick just in case, clearing his throat: )

Hm? Are you gunna say something like, "Why should I trust you!" To be honest, I don't know why either!

[ pls don't say that to him; he still gets butthurt about how similar they are. ]

I have no illusions about that.

[ He always knew there was an incredibly slim chance that the War would have a positive outcome. Giving Shirou his arm wasn't by any means a guarantee of actual success -- it was just the only thing he could do, given the circumstances.

He gestures for her to follow. ]

What was it like? The other place where you were?

"A month?"

Here she was, all ready to reassure him that she knew she could always count on him too, and then he dropped that bombshell. The bombshell that doesn't even make sense. There's no way that he was here that long. Was he sick? Did he whack his head?

Before she can even react on that, he's taken her hand for the second time in a span of days and it just. Shuts her down for a moment. She walks in silence, led by Jaune as she tries to process everything. Did she dare to dream? Or was this about to be some rude wake up call she was getting? She couldn't get a good vibe on what Jaune was thinking, a rarity in and of itself, and she really had no idea what to expect.

It takes a minute to realize that she's been asked a question and another to put words together. "Um, the tournament. I was about to go face Penny. You were in the stands..."

She stops walking, hand still intertwined with Jaune's, and waits for him to stop before speaking. "I don't understand. How could you have been here a month when it's only been two days?" Her voice shakes a little and her hand grips his a little tighter. Between whatever the hell this was and her recent talk with Ozpin along with her subsequent decision, it's all just overwhelming.

Cut me down...?

[He doesn't really get to question that before it's already happening, though. He can't see anything, but he hears the slice of the tube, feels it give way before he slips and falls. He squeezes his eyes shut, and as he finally falls free of the enclosed space, drags his bag close to himself as he's falling and prepares for the worst—

But he lands safely in this stranger's arms? He blinks a few times and tilts his head up in shock at the man. Carrying a sword on the streets is wild enough, but this place is weird like that, he supposes.]

Thank you... Your swordsmanship is amazing.

[Politely, sincerely, of course he's completely appreciative, but—]

However, destroying public property puts you at risk of being charged for a crime, doesn't it?

???

Because we're friends?

[You can almost hear the untyped "duh" implied to follow.]

She calls me by mine too, so it's only fair!

[Nevermind that he has pointedly avoided giving her his last name.]

[ Akutagawa pauses as Atsushi mentions that other people from their world is here. At first, he considers that it might be members of the Agency, but then he hears Dazai's name and the mafioso fully turns about.]

Dazai-san...is here?

[Well that just emboldens him to get in gear even more. Akutagawa has an opportunity to prove himself to his mentor here, so he couldn't fail. He couldn't lose to Atsushi.

Chuuya being here is a relief to Akutagawa. He's one of the few superiors in the Port Mafia he could tolerate, so he'll seek him out.]

Where is Chuuya-san?

[Honestly, what is even going on anymore.

Iori is following as best as he can. He gives this stranger a half-exasperated look, but settles down a little, letting his hug stretch out with his hugbug until that last question. He pulls back, and his red, fluffy/furry little friend is elated now, singing praises about Iori in the background. How he's thinking so hard because he's smart and doesn't let anything get by him! How he's perfect!]

Before I begin my guesses, is it fine if I ask some questions? To begin with, you were too vague. I should be guessing the origin of this chair, correct? How specific would I have to be in order for it to count as "figuring it out?"

And above everything else, what do you mean by getting a new pet? Please be straightforward in your answers.

[Pyrrha looks up at the voice, embarrassed to have been caught in the act of running from a doll. And in front of a friend, no less. She gives a small wave.]

Oh, hello again! Don't mind me! Everything's just fine.

[Except judging from the glare the doll is now giving Blake, maybe it's not. Yeah, okay, she could use some help.]

I'm sure she's harmless - it's just a doll, right? [It's actually a legitimate question because they didn't cover creepy living dolls at Beacon.] I wouldn't mind if it weren't so... creepy. When I tried being nice and asked it to leave me alone she told me that she was the only one for me and licked my ear again. [Definitely a memory she needs to burn from her mind.] I don't know that it can be reasoned with...

I meant paper pushers.

[ because kogami has no idea what she actually means, much less a place called PANDORA. his eyes register no recognition of the term, only curiosity. it's evident enough that he has no ties to the organisation she mentions, his gaze drawn to the belt loop. ]

I've had it all along; there's no station here.

[ he sets it aside for now, despite every instinct in him not wanting to, because this stranger from the ministry looks like she can leap at him at any moment -- but on the other hand, she doesn't seem to know or care about who he is, which means she isn't looking to cash in on the bounty. he glances around, then back at hazuki again; something tells him that they have bigger problems than quibbling about agencies. ]

Can you walk?

"Yeah," Leonard said. "Creepy. Pink. Looks like it's cute enough it might murder you with its eyes. Never trust anything too cute. Its always got a plan." It was an exaggeration, but not by that much, in his estimation.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Moving grave statues," Leonard muttered. "Fantastic." That would make trips to visit grandpa and grandma interesting, he imagined. This must be a whole planet full of traumatized kids. Or they were just used to it. Considering some of the other things he'd learned so far, the kids must just be pretty good at not seeing what they didn't want to see.

"The guy selling them pushed the thing into my hands, and I put it back, but it's like its been tailing me ever since," Leonard admitted. "The reasonable explanation is someone's just carrying it and propping it behind me when I spot it. But I swear I've seen it move and I'm about to go nuts and just break a doll in half and throw it in the trash, so I'm looking for a little reinforcement here to tell me I'm not entirely crazy."

So roughly when he guessed Pyrrha was from judging from how she was talking. She didn't know she had went off to die or anything like that. There would need to be a lot of explaining.

In fact there was so much to explain he forgot one of the fundamental things about being in this place.

He stopped when she did and turned to look at her. "Oh! I'm sorry I wasn't thinking. It's not just that these Gods or whatever brought us here can take us from any place, but any time too. So it seems like when we get sent back we get sent back to the exact same place and time. I had to ask Ren about that, especially since we were in the exact same place before I ended up here."

Jaune sighs "I didn't want to say this until you were sitting down, but I'm from the future from your perspective."

That's it!

[Ah. There's no mistaking it. The golden coloring, the faint glitter, the way the cat in his arms immediately tries to reach for and bat at it. He holds it a little out of the way, so it won't snag, but not so much that the cat is going to grow tired of sitting here and jump away. He hopes.]

That yarn is made from something that attracts these animals, so it's vital to our mission. Make sure you don't lose it.

[If they lose cats on the way back, they might startle and run off, and then who knows what could happen to them! More than that, in order to have them all orderly follow, and maybe even to gather more, they need to keep it in their possession.]

We should move back the way you came and retrace your steps. Any kittens that aren't found by their owners or return to their home along the way, we can take back to my apartment and create "found" posters while caring for them to assure their safety. As a fail safe, being in the area that they were originally picked up in leaves higher chances of them making it back.

[ Well that's...impressive. The idea of repairing books, being embedded into a story and fighting monsters seems like something Akutagawa would wholeheartedly do.

Never mind saving lives, when you can preserve antique books.]

How do you feel about the task you've been given? You were dead, and now you've been brought back to fulfill this duty?

[The question surprises him when it comes and Kureno hums thoughtfully, before speaking.]

Why do you care?

[He'd already made it clear that he'd heard too much about him with what little he'd already shared, asking for more detail only perplexed him. The question wasn't accusatory in the least, it was curious, confused. Like a child that didn't understand a concept that might be common sense to most adults. Why was this guy bothering to ask for more information? It didn't stop him from answering though, perhaps quickly enough that there was little room for Genya to respond to his question in the first place.]

She is.

[Short, and to the point.]

She's been here for awhile...

[He doesn't elaborate further than that, figuring that the guy would not be soothed by the idea that when you disappear from home no one even notices you're missing.]

He is... he arrived a month after I did.

[And he is nooooot telling Akutagawa where Dazai is living right now, because he's fairly sure he might get another punch for taking up Dazai's attention as a roommate. But as for Chuuya--]

Ah.... I don't know where Chuuya-san lives? He isn't exactly the sort of person to share where his apartment is with someone like me.

[Someone from the agency, he means.]

But I imagine he should be in one of the apartment complexes they assign us to. I'm sure you'll be able to find him easily, or he'll find you.

[ The question prompts him to turn, pointing out a door just down the hall. ]

Right there, actually. It was fortuitous that I should cross paths with you here.

[ How puzzled might Lucifer have been, if a locked door had opened at his touch? He holds no illusions that he'll avoid explaining for long, but for now, he hopes to keep things simpler for Lucifer. ]

[Not only preserving the books, but preserving the stories, in written form and in the minds of everyone who's ever read them.]

It's more than a little daunting. Not in the least because I don't measure up to writers like - well, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, for one. The father of the Japanese short story, the person who Japan's most distinguished literary prize is named after. One of the greatest figures in modern Japanese literature.

And I'm only a teacher who wrote a few things while traveling. It's hard to imagine I'll be much use.

I'm fine. It was a rough landing, but somehow, there was a warm feeling that followed and softened the impact.

[Chroma, that's what it was, though he can't confirm that, being new and all. The simple physical touch of someone falling on him... It wasn't really intimate, but was it because he was so startled by the closeness that it worked? He's going to have to look into this more.

For now, though, he stays crouched, arms around his legs as he watches Asato. It's only a moment later that he remembers himself and glances up, though, a little wary.]

But I do think we should get away from this malfunctioning vacuum tubing system. There's no way of knowing if we'll be sucked up again. [And boy is he stiff from that.] Forgive me if this is rude to ask, but I've only just arrived recently. Do you think you could help me with a few things?

[He. He thinks Asato has been here longer because of the ears, okay.]

"You... what?"

Okay, so either he's lost it, or this place is a lot more complicated than she thought. And judging by his changed appearance, it's looking like the latter. She's not sure if she prefers that or not.

Time travel. Okay. Cool. Why not. Fairy tales are apparently real, she's destined to maybe lose who she is, and she and most of her friends have been transported to a different world. Why shouldn't time shenanigans be a thing?

But more on that mental breakdown later. She has a thousand questions. Is he sure? How far ahead is he? How was that even possible? How was any of this possible? Is he really sure? Did she become the Fall Maiden and was she able to still be her? Is he just messing with her? When was Ren from? Team RWBY? Was anyone else here? Ozpin, Qrow, Professor Goodwitch, anyone who might know what's going on or how to get back? Is he really, really sure?

There were many important questions to ask, but when she opens her mouth, it's none of those that comes out as her focus turns towards their held hands again, an edge of hope in her voice.

"In your time, are we...?"

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▶ TDM .009

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/scream

you get me

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oof that last line

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ha! You thought I went to sleep