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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➤ a) whip it good

( first things first: when you find yourself in a new place, stranded, without anybody you know or anywhere to go, you need to... get yourself some place to go. or at least get yourself the means to take care of yourself while you're staying so that you don't, you know, starve. and truthfully? it seems convenient. great, even for other people, but the whole moonlacing thing is more than a little scary — especially when mika doesn't know a single soul here, so he'd rather avoid that at pretty much all costs. it's lucky that he's hardly one to shy away from work when there's work to be had though, so asking around, he instead finds himself a small part-time job cleaning up one of the busy streets of lunatia.

"oh yes, and do watch out for the vacuums" was about all the warning they had given him.

so now here he is, clinging to his rake for dear life as it acts as his only lifeline — held across the entrance to the tube so that it's too wide to be sucked inside the way that mika has. and he's watched willy wonka and the chocolate factory. he knows what happens when kids get sucked up into weird tubes. he's not about to be the next blueberry inflation out here, no sirree, so instead he does... about the only thing that he can — he calls out for help from the passersby. )

H-heeeelp! Somebody!

➤ b) bird is the word

( the visit to the prismal knitting group went decidedly better for him. while he didn't keep the whole scarf that he knitted for himself, giving it instead to one of the others who had been struggling with theirs, he did ask if he could keep the leftover scraps of yarn. tying the ends together to make them into one loop of yarn, he begins absently pulling the string into patterns with his fingers as he walks. at first it's nothing unusual — only one or two, maybe a third, but by the time he's made it half-way back to the small apartment he'd picked out for himself, there's a veritable murder of crows following behind him. not only that, but they seem to be quite fond of mika — who's distracted from his cat's cradle when one of them drops a certain shiny object it picked up onto him. and another. and another.

as much as mika hopes it's not the case, they are in fact snagged from other people instead of simply being lost and found. before long, they find a new victim; at first it's just one, but then two or three, and then four or five crows that begin to circle you. as they draw closer, one of them gets brave and — there it goes, some small precious object of yours has been snatched, and off they go with it to deliver it to their new favourite human. )

➤ c) night of the living dummy

( but anyway, he does eventually put the thread he's saved to use. while he, himself, didn't feel he had the money to invest in one of the dolls, as luck would have it, he did happen across one. yep, that's right, if somebody had a doll before, they seem to have changed their mind after — its familiarly adorable countenance is now tattered and torn, a sign that maybe it creeped its previous owner out too much to leave intact. or maybe somebody who found it afterward decided to do that to it, who knows. what mika knows is that he feels bad for the poor thing, picked up then abandoned so carelessly, so he takes it upon himself to give the doll a new home. some love and care to help fix it back up good as new.

unfortunately though, the thread still has those curious properties — except this time, it's different. right, instead of crows, it's a herd of cats that gathers alongside mika as he carries the doll, pawing and nipping at it when he holds it so that it hangs too close to the ground. at first, he's able to ignore it — they're kinda cute, aren't they? but eventually, they get bolder, and bolder. it doesn't take long before one moment, mika's looking at the doll just where it should be, and the next, it's completely disappeared.

so remember that doll that you got rid of earlier on? now it looks like this, and it's barrelling towards you on the back of a cat with several more behind it. and behind that is a very distressed looking teenager, calling after it. hope you missed it! )

➤ d) wildcard

( feel free to throw anything else at me if you have an idea! )

S... stop! Please stop, Mr. and Mrs. Crow!

[ Are they a crow couple? She doesn't know. One wouldn't normally think to say please to a crow either but Societte wasn't raised that way. As a member of the first family, she had to be prim and proper. Even as she runs down the street in her attempt to flag down the crows who stole her fancy hair accessories, she holds her skirt up and attempts to stride down the sidewalk with elegance.

Of course, that's also hard to do in long robes and barefoot.

She trips on her own clothes and barrels into Mika. ]

Ah! Are you hurt? I'm so sorry...

( by the time mika sees her coming at him, the mysterious girl has already tumbled halfway into him. and, let's be honest here, mika's pretty thin — it doesn't take much to knock him over. so down he goes, letting out an audible oof as he hits the ground, dazed.

give him a moment to buffer though, and: )

'S okay, I'm fine. I'm more sturdy than I look~

( and though he's a little dizzy, he manages — sitting back up and glancing at the lady (and wow! she really does suit the word lady) who'd crashed into him. )

How about you? Are ya alright?

( she was the one who tripped, after all. )

Oh? You work here? You're a little different from the usuals.

( lilac slowly raise to connect with heterochromia, trying to read his intentions but it's all easily shown by the menu he holds along with the paper and pen in hand. is this how they do their orders, he heard things were far more advanced here and it's a shame really.. he was looking forward to that. so instead, he'll take interest in his waiter as he pats the palm of his hands on the table in wait, wondering what he may say next. as soon as mika parts his lips though, caster takes this chance to speak over top of him like any sort of rude customer. )

Table for two, my mistress is on her way. Please, make sure you stand a little to the left!

( he smiles as arthuria no.2 makes her entrance, walking into tables they slowly tilt over because she doesn't understand the concept of moving around. he gets up to his feet, pulling the chair back for his wide hugbug who instead stands in place and doesn't think of sitting at all — but that's fine. a wide smile is on merlin's face as he grabs the furry hand of his loving creature. ) My Lord, he will be attending to your every wish, I hope that's fine.

( the creatures response is of encouragement, believing that anything merlin as to say is fine. he's the best? why wouldn't it be fine. so he turns to look back towards mika and a brow raised. ) You will do as our Lord says, won't you? ( he just wants to larp a little, that isn't so bad! )

Edited 2019-11-08 19:51 (UTC)

( he's doing his best out here. working outside hadn't worked out so great for him, it looks like, so instead, why not try to find a job where he could work inside? unfortunately, something like waiting tables necessitates talking to people — but, well, that's fine. it's something he needs to do, after all. so he applies at a restaurant that catches his eye when passing through the town — one that just so happens to be willing to take in fellow visitors from planets far far away.

unfortunately, the gimmick is a little much for mika, who's relatively timid.

so he tries to skirt around it instead, handing out a menu and politely requesting the guest's order. beginning to explain the daily specials, and — hold up. what the hell is that thing? tables swept aside in its wake, gasps from the other guests sitting in the nearby booths. all mika can think of is the mess he's going to have to clean up after all of this, but when the man looks at him? he freezes up like a prey animal; what's he gonna do, say no? and get in trouble? no thanks. )

Um, y-yeah. Can I, uh, take our Lord's order then?

( as his lord stands there, staring towards mika as if seeing right through him and caster is patting the creature's head in hopes to help it with any fear that it may be having. there's actually no fear, only acceptance as the hugbug is trying its best to find the words that'll be able to answer the male's question. though, the comments that are able to leave from his psuedo-king's mouth is that whatever big bro likes to eat would be the best! it'll accept no other. )

Ah, she gets like that sometimes! Maybe you should kneel down and ask? Acting like a knight of the Round Table may make her more willing to think on what she'd like herself.

( caster looks towards the more timid human our of the bunch of bears, watching as he frets over what worry may come from both him and his king. merlin can understand the fear, it's nothing too bad but if mika continues to be afraid of the outcome, he can't expect that this will be an enjoyable moment. )

[ someone dressed up as a fancy wizard is here to help!!! ]

St-stay strong, sir! I will save you!!

[ the fancy wizard draws a fancy wand, twirls it around, and then swipes it (rather violently) to one side. at the same instant, mika will feel himself taken hold of by an invisible, irresistible force and yanked out of the tube (along with his rake). fortunately, that same force will slow his flight and then set him down with at least a modicum of gentleness. there's no way his hair isn't going to be all messed up, though. ]

Are you all right? You are not hurt, are you?

( "sir" feels a bit formal for someone like mika — ironically, in the position that he is, that's still the first thought that crosses his mind.

still! when that wand comes out? mika's eyes sparkle — what's going on? what's he doing? with the sudden yank, what is this, h*rry p*tter? is this h*rry p*tter? is this a real live magician showing up in front of a poor muggle like mika? though he lets out a bit of a yelp at the sudden pull through the air, he's pleasantly surprised by the gentle way he's plopped down, though he still feels the need to dust himself off slightly as he gets up off the ground. running his fingers through his hair — sticking up in all directions now — that's a little embarrassing too. but there's something more important going on here, much more important! so trying to ignore the sheepishness rising up in him at the awareness he probably looks quite ridiculous with his messy hair and holding his rake like something precious, mika blurts out his first thought in his excitement: )

M-magic?! Was that magic ya used just now? Ah, I mean, thank ya for savin' me — I thought I was a goner.

Oh—why, yes! I used a combination of the fifth and seventh types to neutralize the pneumatic forces drawing you in and then levitate you back to safety. It was not a particularly elegant solution, but I am happy that it worked!

[It's bad enough Shu's just had something snatched from his person by a bird, but this particular bird had the absolute nerve to pluck a nice, shiny brooch right off of Mademoiselle's dress. Needless to say, it's already dead to him, and might be in real life too if he can ever catch up to it.]

You wretched thing! Scavenging and stealing from the defenseless, you...

[He had a number of choice words for the crow, but Shu finds himself drawing a blank when he rounds a corner and finds himself face to face with Mika. He's only just become accustomed to his unitmate's absence, so he's not quite sure what to make of this, or how to react...but then, this is exactly what Mademoiselle is here for.]

Welcome back, Mika-chan.

[This seems to be enough to prompt Shu to continue, gesturing to the airborne brooch thief.]

Kagehira! We will not rest until this bird has been plucked from the sky, do you understand?

[Formalities can come later but this is probably the second biggest crisis that's occurred since his arrival. Maybe even the actual biggest. The brooch makes the outfit, okay!!]

( mika, for his part, was pretty sure he recognized that voice from the moment he heard it. sure, there was distance, but if there's anything he'd recognize, it'd be his very own mentor, wouldn't it? and so speeding up, he just about crashes right into the two of them at the corner. it's lucky though, he slams the brakes just in time, and while his mind skips over the "back" part completely, he can feel his heart well up with relief at the sight of the familiar faces. )

Oshi-san! Ah, and o'course, Mado-nee too. I didn't know ya were here!

( and his delight at this new discovery is blatantly obvious — he's all-but sparkling at the realization that maybe this new place won't be so alone. his mind is already racing to all sorts of different conclusions; when did shu get here? does this mean valkyrie can continue, even here? though mika would probably have been determined to bring valkyrie's style with him regardless of the fact, given the blessing to do so as he has been, the thought that he doesn't have to do so alone is an uplifting one nonetheless. he's still grinning even as his eyes follow the direction that shu indicates with his gesture — that is, until his eyes lock on to the shiny that this one has decided to bring to him. )

Aahhh, no! No, bad crow! That's Mado-nee's, ain't it?

( panicked, he glances between shu and the bird, and immediately the excitement is replaced with distress. though, as if sensing that this isn't praise it's getting, the bird only caws down at the three of them, continuing to circle overhead as if it isn't sure whether to give up its offering or bring it home with it. )

Tch...

[Shu clicks his tongue in irritation, the only thing keeping him from just throwing a rock or something at the crow being that he's still got a lovely antique doll cradled in one of his arms, and dropping her is one of the last things he wants to do.]

...At the very least, it's staying here for now. Perhaps if we can lure it down again with something else...?

[Mademoiselle's got nothing else especially shiny on her, though, and even if she did he'd never use her as bait.]

Naturally, you will be the one to grab it, Kagehira, but...something must be done to catch its attention in the first place. Do you have anything with you that a crow might be attracted to?

[While he speaks, he's checking his own pockets—even something like a sewing needle might work if it catches the sun just right.]

Somethin' to catch it's attention? Uhh, one sec, I'll see...

( shoving his hands in his pockets, the yarn tangled around one of his wrists, mika searches for something — anything, really, that the crow might be attracted to. actually, come to think of it, his pockets are full with a little more than usual; though he worried about their origins, those gifts of the crows have been adding up steadily, one-by-one, and when mika pulls his hands out to show shu, his left is full with a variety of treasures. single earrings and another piece or two of small jewellery, a few loose buttons, crinkly candy wrappers with shiny insides, the works. sheepish, mika stumbles to explain himself. )

Nnah... Truthfully, these guys've been bringin' me all sorts of stuff today. I dunno why, but I'm sure he'll give back Mado-nee's brooch if he realizes ya don't mean him any harm.

( which, like, maybe shu does mean him harm. that's valid. but mika isn't about to assume the worst of his oshi-san, not in this lifetime. )

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▶ TDM .009

mika kagehira, ensemble stars

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