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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( cute...?

surprisingly enough, it's not something he gets very often. but asato has a very limited frame of reference: up until about a week or so ago, he had spent his entire life in a village full of cats who reviled him, where it was safest to remain out of sight and out of mind so he didn't incur their ire. it wasn't until konoe had complimented him that he had ever heard a kind word. it had been intoxicating, to tell the truth... and he finds himself similarly captivated now.

the stranger seems swift to want to move past it, so asato doesn't ask about it either. he merely watches him, quietly and carefully, his ears swiveling to face him as he speaks. )

Mm. I was frustrated too... and scared. ( scared he'd be stuck in there forever. a horrible fate... he shudders, rounding his shoulders up near his head.

it actually does make him feel a little more calm to have the stranger crouching down at his level, even though asato would be quite tall if he actually made the action to stand. his tail curls neatly around his ankles, and he seems to take stock of himself. he shakes his head. ) No. Not badly. ( he looks worried. ) I didn't hurt you, did I?

[It's not everyday that Ranpo feels like he's stumbled into an episode of The Twilight Zone, but that sure is where his mind goes when he happens upon a crying Ryuunosuke "Actual Lawnmower" Akutagawa in a pumpkin patch.]

[Naturally, his first thought is to flee. He's never been so unfortunate as to run into Akutagawa himself, and honestly, that's a record he's not really keen on breaking. But at the same time, thinking logically... from what he's learned about Akutagawa from both Atsushi and Dazai, there's not a chance in hell that this guy is moonlacing often enough to support the full strength of that ability of his.]

[Or at least, he's gonna bank on that possibility. He can't just leave him here to cry alone, even if he is an extremely dangerous cold-blooded killer.]

Now, now, don't cry!

[He's not actually addressing Akutagawa -- instead, kneeling down to address the hugbugs, reaching into his pocket to pull out a few pieces of candy.]

Here-- why don't you guys take these and share them with your other little friends? Don't worry about this guy -- I'm sure he's just having a rough day!

[This seems to appease them, at least -- but will the curse linger even after they've cheered up? Or is there more to it than that?]

[She watches him with a carefully neutral face, but it's one that still manages to speak volumes in its stoicism. Resignation. Waiting for the other shoe to drop or for him to tell her that she's wrong for this. In her world, the tool isn't really met with negativity--Hisoka had it passed down to her, and then passed it on to Yuri in turn. The Camera had been around for hundreds of years, and sometimes terrible things happened to those who used its power.

It was fine, mostly, if you already had a strong spiritual power to begin with-- At least, that was Yuri's theory on it.

But Jin Ling had already raised his voice over it to her, had already planned to storm to Lan Wangji and demand a way to save her from herself. So she watches, and waits, and draws herself up a little in preparation as he begins to speak and--]

Ah?

Perhaps we could discuss it over lunch?

[He has not forgotten the quest to get Akutagawa some food without wounding his pride too badly. Frankly, that is the more important matter at hand.]

Good.

[He seems to relax just a smidge at that. If there was one thing he believed about Akutagawa, it was that he would keep his word for ill or good. He wanted to believe it, rather. It was part of why he'd proposed what he had in the first place, after all. He wanted to see if Akutagawa could do it... wanted him to prove he could. ~~to the both of them.~~

...That relaxing does mean he slips a bit on his grip, and he quickly digs his claws into the side of the tube twice as hard as before with a quick, panicked look.]

I'm not going anywhere, okay?! We can probably find a way out of this... probably.

[A grimace, before he's glancing around. He couldn't fathom how far they'd actually fallen down here, in all honesty.]

...Well we might get fined for property damage if we get caught damaging their equipment. Maybe you could use Rashoumon like a rope? Or a grappling line.

( six... please... be the soul of discretion, for all of their sake. asato isn't necessarily an easily-embarrassed cat, but when it comes to something that casts doubt on his grace and elegance as a feline... it is almost too much to bear.

at first, when six approaches, asato shrinks back — which is very nearly impossible, considering how he's stuck, but he manages. armored, hooded, and masked; even though he has tell-tale, cat-like ears in the shape of the hood, he is for a moment anxious that this individual would take advantage of his plight and attack him.

but he doesn't. don't panic. asato is trying, but his dark blue eyes are flown wide and huge and bright with fear. being reached for... it frightens him too, given catlike instincts against hands reaching for him, but. he had told him not to worry. should he trust him? )

What are you going to do? ( hope you aren't offended he's cautious, mr. masked man... )

[ To be honest, he's almost got a feeling of deja vu right about now. ]

...Well, you haven't slapped me yet, so I'd say I've had worse.

[ Emphasis on almost. He gives the back of his head a nervous scratch as he thinks back on the last time a girl landed on top of him. Having learned his lesson from that, he opts not to call even the vaguest sort of attention to the fact that she's in his lap at the moment. ]

What about you? You good to stand?

[ Knowing his luck, he silently prays to Aidios that that doesn't count as calling attention. ]

[Ranpo happens upon Louisa around the same time he hears the hugbugs calling out for her. He hardly needs to see her expression to know what she wants him to do--]

Ah, you're all looking for that lady with the glasses, right? I think I saw her on the other side of the pumpkin patch-- and she looked a little lonely, too!

[That seems to get the hugbugs in a frenzy, as they quickly thank Ranpo and scurry off. Which means peeking back behind the pumpkin... is she still there?]

--they're gone, by the way.

How intimate can strangers possibly be?

(( For Song Lan, intimacy means having an emotional connection with another person. With a stranger? That just doesn't seem like a possible thing to have.

Then he adds with a gentle smile. ))

I don't even know your name.

(( Nor does Huaisang knows his, he recalls. ))

Song Lan. Courtesy name Zichen.

Edited 2019-11-11 08:18 (UTC)

Oh.

[She feels a little--deflated. That's not really the way she expected this to go at all, as evidenced by the fact he's managed to get an actual emotional reaction out of her, her expression turning openly bewildered and surprised.]

It's-- [dangerous, she almost says, but she looks down at the camera and then back at him, remembering that he'd said he was a cultivator and all. So... Likely he'd be fine. Probably. She was fine, and it's not like just a couple of uses would do anything if he tried his hand at it.]

...I thought you wanted to visit a cafe... [Is her mumbled, weak defense, and she abandons it anyhow to nod.] But yes, it's fine. I don't mind, as long as you're careful when you handle it.

If it breaks, I don't really have the tools to fix it... [She shifts it, a bit nervously, before putting it back carefully into her bag. Her fingers brush against the couple books from home she has in there too and hesitates.]

...Mostly it just... helps me to weaken spirits enough that I can use my own powers on them to cleanse the spirit so it can move on, but... It might be a bit different to what you might usually do.

[jin ling had been quite horrified at just what her 'cleansing' involved, after all]

[Of course Alcott recognizes Ranpo right away - she's seen enough pictures of the ADA that she doubts she could mistake any of them on sight. But she's too panicked about the hugbugs to really consider the ramifications of the greatest detective of the ADA doing her a favor.]

Th-thank you. You're, um, Mr. Poe's friend?

[He likes to call Ranpo his 'rival' but Alcott really doesn't see why...]

...I'll do my best...

[She got here at the same time you did, Akutagawa, she doesn't know this city halfway well enough to give a tour. But she doesn't want to die, so.]

[You'd think after two solid months here, Ranpo would be used to strangers grabbing his hand for chroma purposes. But no, it's still weird.]

[Especially when the one attached to that hand is tall, dark, and spooky as hell. But while Ranpo recognizes him from the reports written up by the others in the agency, whether he'll be recognized in turn is hard to say.]

[...]

[As is just about anything when a human-shaped abomination is holding your hand.]

Er... were you looking at the candy, too?

Heh. That would be me!

[IS POE ACTUALLY TELLING OTHER PEOPLE THEY'RE FRIENDS......... nah, it's just obvious to everyone except Poe himself, huh.]

And you're Alcott-san, right? Poe-kun's mentioned you before-- gee, they're really ramping up the number of people they're pulling from our world!

[SQUEAK.]

I-I'm sure I haven't done anything worth mentioning!

[why have you betrayed her like this poe]

[ She does not recognize Iri's voice, no, but her confusion is apparent when Sakura sees Iri's face. Wow, this lady is the spitting image of Illya. Is she one of the Einzberns? It's enough to distract her for a few seconds too much, and the tube sucks in a few more inches of fabric. Whoops. ]

Oh no, I'm sorry, I'll--

[ Sakura braces herself more effectively so she doesn't go flying into the tube. Work your mom magic, Iri. ]

Aw, come on, don't say that! Just think of all the trouble we had to go through because of your plans!

[THIS SOUNDS ODDLY THREATENING?? But he's smiling.]

But I can see why Poe-kun liked you-- you two are pretty similar, huh?

[In both the unexpectedly-scheming and anxious-mess kind of ways.]

[OH NO

OH NO WHAT DID HE DO

Unfamiliar with the workings of the hugbugs though his sharper eyes do see the flash of red, Eagle's first reaction is panic. Unsure where his hands should be, he holds them up in a placating gesture.]

U-Um, then I could call you Yifu! Please don't cry! It's going to be fine. Yifu! [S-Should he pat his head? Lion has always done it and so he reaches out as high as he can. Pat. Pat.

Did it work?]

...I see. It's been a bit longer on my end.

[ hmm, that's an interesting question! Is this Archer from the universe she's from? She wasn't expecting to get lucky. ]

It...should have. There was only one Servant left, but...I don't know for sure. I was taken from home before it officially concluded.

[This is the most threatening encouragement she's ever received thank you?]

We don't do very well with people... I hope he isn't here too, he would hate it.

[All that affectionate physical contact with people he barely knows. Or with Ranpo. Mostly with Ranpo, probably.]

[Almost certainly 100% with Ranpo.]

No, he's not here. [Which is for the best, but he still sounds a little sad about it. He misses his tomo.] But you're not the only one from the Guild, either-- that guy with the vine ability is here, too.

[ it's always such a lovely feeling, with someone new. especially a fellow moonblessed. to many, chroma is simply money, or energy, like food or water. to someone normal like ryuu, it's like having someone's essence in his palms. it has color, shape, weight. catching the surprise on kogami's face, the nature of which is a bit different from how his own had felt, he's sure - ryuu's smile takes on a curious tilt.

social as he is, extroversion playing at his polite edges, ryuu still feels extraordinarily small at times. ]

I suppose I am. It's not home, but I've gotten to like it here.

[ is it easy to feel small when he has a smile that can light up a room? there are people who carry the sun within them -- people who command the gazes and hearts of others easily; kogami is not poet, but saiga has taught him well enough to see charisma for what it is in others.

perhaps ryuu hasn't noticed it in himself yet; he finds that people like ryuu rarely do. the handshake lingers, and when it ends, kogami glances down at his palm, as if it could divine the secrets behind the pulse of energy he had just felt. ]

I've been hearing good things about this place. [ he concedes (even if he's sure there's a catch somewhere; there always is), not missing the curious slant of ryuu's mouth. it's mutual. ] Do you miss home?

Edited 2019-11-11 10:25 (UTC)

[That's okay, Moran isn't exactly known for his own dirty mind. He really meant anything physical.]

Touch I supposed you were used to, but what about smell? Taste? Isn't it so very different from anything you could have imagined?

[ The air shifts, light breeze of careless road deepening into start of coming storm. He feels it beneath skin, even if no rain might pass.

Or maybe it's simple metaphor, and Wei Ying's question stabs have learned to hit too deep. (Fool of a boy. Never did stay still.) ]

It will serve.

[ For Wei Ying's purposes, if not Lan Zhan's own. Mobility was never under threat, but the leg has earned respite. He knows the gamble: strain early, recovery will compromise and the rot of long sickness will take seed. He cannot strand himself with congee on a mattress while the moon above lessens and swells.

The hand that holds his wrist can give way. He starts the long-chronicled process of staring it into submission. ]

What must a guest know?

[ Of this place, their circumstances, Wei Ying's seeming hesitation. Everything is the answer and demand of a scholar, but they are gentlemen and warriors — action precipitates learning. Scraps of learning will do, so long as they stay alive. Bone and marrow.

They are — visitors, he supposes, transposed in parts of the world Lan Zhan has shamefully failed to walk before. Whatever customs the clan who holds the grounds keeps, they are indebted to obey them, or risk the penalties due. ]

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