▶ TDM .009

[prismods]

Now whip it

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"Devo - Whip It (Video)" (Watch on YouTube)

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.

Comments

Mikuni | Jinba

[dietary]

Whip It Good

A — New neighbors

[ One of your new neighbors may be immediately noticeable. You may not be able to tell at first if it's a man or a woman, but you can definitely see that his bottom half is that of a horse. No, he's not the first or even the second jinba to appear in the city, but it is really hard to miss him either way! He's been poking around the neighborhood for a while, and finally decided to see where he might rest his head.

While he's okay with sharing his space with some humans, the sheer number of two-leggers that outnumber the jinba is. Overwhelming.

And the spaces are a little small. He can still fit in the door of the apartment, they're just a little hard to navigate. ]

...They didn't model these with anyone but humans in mind, did they?



B — Put That Riding Crop Away

[ Mikuni goes to Grapplebears simply out of curiosity. At one point in his life, he always ate alone and he always ate a very specific diet. (Hint: Soylent Green is people) But now of course he's more accustomed to following the trends. Still, the bear people were alarming, and their riding crops even moreso. Mikuni respectfully threatened them not to even think about using it on him.

And they had to take his chair away so he'd fit at the table. It's also a little low. BUT IT'S FINE. He's managing. It's fine. Now, why make a point of not eating alone anymore and then eating alone? Makes no sense. So he'll just make some friends. ]

Is there something you recommend on this menu? I'm not familiar with this kind of food...

Night of the Living Dummy

[ Seeing merchants peddle their wares is nothing new to Mikuni, although the sparkly pink cart is a sight to see. That level of trolling is something he can appreciate though, so he does stop to take a look when the merchant catches his attention. The items aren't ... especially in Mikuni's interests but he'll politely browse through them.

Browsing isn't enough after a while though apparently. The merchant seems very insistent on shoving one of the dolls into Mikuni's arms. It may get squished and squeezed in the process. But he holds it back out to the man and shakes his head, trying to be polite though probably .5 seconds away from getting spooky on him. ]

I'm not interested in this, but thank you.

[ What would he want with a pretend human baby? NOT EVEN A SNACK. No but seriously, he starts to walk away before he gets himself into trouble and ... ]

Hm? Oh ...

[ Baby doll is creeping along. ]

It's following me.

[ He's less concerned than he should be. ]

Bird is the Word

A — Hug Bugs!

[ It does not take long before it appears that Mikuni has amassed a small army of hugbugs. They're wandering around the pumpkin patch with him helping him pick out a few choice gourds and harvesting them from their vines. They're also performing other minor tasks for him as dutifully and happily as can be, with him trailing slightly behind them. There may be one or two hitching a ride on his back as well, brushing through his long black hair and telling him he's lovely.

It's enough to get people staring, probably. ]

This? I've made some friends.

[ don't look at him like that, he amassed a child army when he was 11, this is just another day for Mikuni. ]

WILDCARD

[ Hit me with anything else! Also please imagine that he is in the knitting club and he's knitting the longest, most elegant horse scarf ever.

A couple notes: yes he's a centaur. I'm open to moonlacing but obviously... lower parts are horse parts. So like minor moonlacing or even one-sided is totally fine. Also, he's an ossan, being 41 years old! Was thinking about bringing someone else in but he has no (human) arms so ... pick your poison i guess ]

Slams into like a... well, like a half ton jinba

[lumberlady]

[Once Gonta had arrived in Lunatia, Konoha had finally stopped subconsciously looking for Jinba wherever she went, hoping despite herself to not be the only one, to not be alone any longer. Of course she wasn’t alone, she’d made countless friends along the way since being kidnapped from her village nearly a year past now, but...

It’s not quite the same, is it?

She almost misses him. The Groves where the pumpkin patch is set up have plenty of animals within, at least, compared to the residential and city areas of the second level, but it means his scent doesn’t stand out as much, the sound of a hoof isn’t enough to turn her head-

But by chance, she does. Turns, and stops so abruptly that the person walking behind her actually collides with her rump, and she doesn’t even care, forgets to even offer an apology.]

Mikuni?

[No, the squeak of a name is too quiet, it catches in her throat with a surge of emotion that clamps about both her hearts. Mikuni, it had to be, surely no one else could look exactly like that. Like her husband’s companion, her unflappable subordinate, one of the only Jinba that had ever stuck around to listen to her sing the praise of humans.

Already she’s turning, picking up speed, and finally her call comes out audible, waving for his attention over the crowds.]

Mikuni! Mikuni, over here- !

[If he wasn’t careful... in her excitement, she’s broken into a gait just a bit too quick to pull up quick enough to stop before she reaches him, but. She doesn’t care at all.]

chef's kiss

[dietary]

[ Even if you took him to every other possible world in every universe, Mikuni might not stop looking for other jinba. Mostly for his lost comrades. He had assumed that Konoha and Gonta were living their happy lives on the mountain still, and hadn't wondered beyond basic curiosity if they might be here.

For now at least, he seems to have distracted himself from any search by working in the pumpkin patch with strange little creatures who like to tell him he's pretty. He's not really paying attention to the outside world, taking slow steps down a fresh line of pumpkins as he looks for the very best ones. It's not until he actually hears his name being shouted that the familiar sound of hoofbeats catches his focus. ]

Konoha? Ah-- Konoha, wait—

[ He's not ready for her either, so there may just be a rather heavy collision here, completely with hugbugs getting tossed out of the way.

Dizzy... ]

Are you alright?

[lumberlady]

[A few bruises on her lower chest are the least of her concerns right now???

She does at least care about the little hugbugs. She dodges one here, literally jumps over the head of another, she tries to slow down once she gets closer but even the scramble of hooves isn’t enough to prevent a heavy... more a bump than a crash, at least, but.]

Oh, it is you— !

[Konoha’s already crying in a confusing cocktail burst of shock, relief, and happiness as alternates between throwing her arms around the other Jinba with her face buried in his shoulder and holding him at arms length to inspect him for wound or weary signs, hiccuping her words.]

Are you alright? Did you just get here? Did you wake up on the moon?!

[If he doesn’t stop her, it’s about to be twenty questions.]

[dietary]

[ It's not a terrible collision, that's true. And the hugbugs don't seem awfully distressed either. In fact, they're mostly still just attending to the pumpkin patch. Although the one that was hitching a ride on Mikuni's back and paying him compliments rolled off in the excitement and has gone off to help the others. Mikuni's not paying much attention to them at the moment anyway.

Rather it's Konoha's tears that hold his attention. She's crying for him, what does he do with this information. ]

It's alright. I'm fine, I promise.

[ He stands up a little straighter even so she can properly inspect him and see that he appears to be in tip-top shape. As tip-top as a 41 year old, former child soldier, former people eater can be. ]

I arrived not long ago, and yes, I did wake up on the moon.

[ Ask him twenty questions, he don't even care. ]

Ah, but I didn't expect to see you here too.

bird is the word

[resurging]

[ wei wuxian's among the peanut gallery, and he's very impressed. in a spur of the moment decision, he and the hugbug he's taken custody of jog up to the man with the small army of hugbugs following him. wei wuxian's hugbug, which he's taken to calling xiaoji, hops off wei wuxian's back and starts helping the other hugbugs pick at the vines. ]

Say, Mister, you've gathered quite a group! Are you collecting them?

[dietary]

[ Mikuni blinks, tilting his head toward the human (~?) before glancing at the hugbug sitting so contentedly on his back. It does slide the strands of hair the creature was attempting to braid away from it though. ]

Not particularly? They seem fond of me, that's all.

[resurging]

That must be a blessing, then! They're not too bad, these little creatures. Ah, the one I came with, that's Xiaoji. He seems to be making good friends with yours.

[ true enough, the red mottled-skin hugbug that wei wuxian had adopted is making a ruckus with mikuni's own horde, unsuccessfully pulling vines and tripping over the other hugbugs. ]

They're getting along very well!

I'm Wei Wuxian, by the way. This is a really amazing garden, I've never seen pumpkins so... stretched out like that.

[dietary]

I've never seen anything like them before. But they're not such bad company.

[ He looks at the newest hugbug of the group, Xiaoji, and watches all of them kind of tumble and bumble around each other. It makes him laugh just a little bit. His tail swishes up as if to urge the one on his back to join the others. ]

I wonder if they have a care in the world?

[ How nice it must be. But he offers a smile to his new companion. ]

My name is Mikuni. Is it your first time seeing crops that grow like this? I used to grow some in my village... a very long time ago.

wildcard for that elegant horse scarf okay

[inuko]

[ There's something to be said for having incurable wanderlust in a world where the people who defined his heart and home are not here, but he is. Where he's had to face some of his worst capacity again, and had to live with it, but doesn't know what to make of it, how to ask for forgiveness when things worked out and no one's there slapping him across the face because he screwed up again, and he didn't give it the proper weight, because he knows that were his most important people here, he'd have bungled the words again, tried to make it seem like it doesn't matter, that he's fine, because he doesn't need them to worry. Because he's impossible to kill, really, but it isn't impossible for him to die.

So he's learned a new appetite, another one where he cannot stay still, and today it has him wandering past the activities he'd give a try himself for both the company and the distraction, if he wasn't more distracted by the sight of the jinba who sits with this knitting club and creates their (his? hers? who cares, says one man repeatedly mistaken as a woman, because t doesn't really matter) massive blaze of gold that grows under their needles and with the deft movement of their fingertips weaving strands of gold together into something different and new. Like captured sunlight, and like the light that sparks in his green eyes as he and the massive raven (or crow, one never seems to find the traits to prove Murasame is rightfully one or the other) riding his shoulder.

He weaves between the knitters that he flashes smiles at as he says his pardons, until he's near this unfamiliar jinba, and he asks with Konoha there as a figure of such warmth in the back of his mind: ]

Pardon me, are you a jinba?

[ Not a centaur, but a jinba, one closer to Konoha than to the fiction he's heard about now as something that came out of a place called Greece in a time ancient to even the one he's from, compared to some people. ]

it's a wonderful scarf

[dietary]

[ Mikuni appears to have made himself at home in the knitting circle. He's already making quite excellent progress. But then his fingers have always been nimble. Years of working the land and swinging a sword or nocking an arrow have paid off for little tasks like these, apparently. And really, it's for the best that he pick up nice, normal (and calm) hobbies such as this. Really, really for the best.

He figures the little gathering of nature around the knitting club is also just some kind of normal thing. It's not like jinba mix with other animals frequently or anything, but it makes more sense to him than them cozying up to humans. Some of the birds and insects do scatter though when someone appears to be weaving through the people in order to get to Mikuni himself.

The knitting pauses and he puts down his needles, mildly on guard from being approached so directly by an unknown human (or humanoid. Hard to tell in this place, apparently!). While he may be more or less okay with being in their presence, that doesn't mean he trusts them right off the bat. It doesn't mean he doesn't expect one day for some human to just go off the rails and try to capture or harm Mikuni or his jinba friends. His defense only drops slightly when the stranger speaks, blatantly wondering if he's in the presence of a jinba of all things.

Maybe jinba aren't as rare around these parts as Mikuni assumed ... ]

Yes, I am.

extremely late tag

[inuko]

[ Shino goes from merely smiling to beaming, as if this is the best news he's heard today. It is, frankly, because he hasn't really listened to anyone's news today, but that's fine! Because there are people who are going to be happy, if they aren't already. ]

That's great! Miss Konoha, and her husband Gonta, they're both the only ones who've been here for a while. If you haven't already talked to them, I know she's been hoping for more of her people to end up here too!

[ Mountain or plains or whatever kinds of jinba there are out there, okay, he's not in the know. Still, he looks pretty darn happy for someone announcing that someone else is going to be excited by this. ]

I'm Inuzuka Shino. Please take cre of me.

[ Not... literally, but he bobs his head in a terribly impolite bow, hands up in a similar approximation. He earns one politeness point. Maybe. ]

no worries!

[dietary]

[ Mikuni is looking at the man curiously, tilting his head until the names of his companions are mentioned. That makes more sense why this stranger seems to know about the jinba at least. He got the impression that jinba aren't really a thing around these parts. ]

Gonta has been my friend for many years.

[ Mikuni saved him from melting, basically. But he smiles a little. Konoha of course also has become important to him. ]

Are they really here? If they're the only other jinba...

[ Well that's sad. But also fortunate at the same time? And honestly, Mikuni probably doesn't know what human politeness all entails anyway, so the bow is just an extra treat maybe?? ]

My name is Mikuni.

a. New neighbors grumping together!

[fashionicon]

[ Sesshomaru offers a small nod. ]

Is it surprising that humans do not think of anyone but themselves? [ Hello, the daiyoukai has gotten much more use to humans, but that doesn't mean he isn't willing to throw shade where shade is due. He is fine with his own humans, but doesn't give any breaks to humans that are not. ]

Though, I suppose the better word would be "Prismals." They are humanoid... and so they share their same weaknesses.

👌

[dietary]

[ Mikuni feels exactly the same. Granted, he doesn't actually have a lot of humans that he would consider his own anymore. He'll tolerate them but in general he doesn't trust them as far as he can throw them. And he does not think they're unworthy of criticism. Not in the least. ]

No. I suppose they didn't intend to draw in non-humans and didn't have time to prepare proper lodgings.

[ But then, hadn't this been going on for a while? You'd think they would have come up with something by now. Maybe that's giving them too much credit after all though. ]

Right. "Prismals", because they are part animal as well?

[ Actually, shouldn't that mean even more so that they should have been better prepared for a jinba ... ]

[fashionicon]

[ "Humans are awful" club +1 member. ]

When have they ever thought farther than their own nose?

[ Sesshomaru crosses his arms and lets out a single hmph. ]

I suppose that may be why they are named such.

[dietary]

[ we should just eat them -- wait. ]

Some would say they're capable of change.

[ whether or not Mikuni believes that depends on the day. ]

Either way. I am going to have to have a few alterations made if they expect me to stay here.

Bird Words & Hug Bugs.

[bailian]

[ Binghe's not alone in letting his gaze follow the menagerie of Hug-Bugs in every color and patterned configuration. They bustle about as though they're little more than worker bees around a self-appointed queen who remains half-obscured amid the excessively colorful pumpkin patch. It's anyone's guess if the impromptu entertainment the lot of them make catches more eyes for the number of enthusiastic helpers performing tasks like a well-oiled machine. Or if everyone who passes by can't help but dart a glance over because of the one making up the main event of this miniature circus of activity.

As if goading everyone's attention on, the Hug Bugs' unfettered praise doesn't seem to come with filters or volume control. And it's only natural for people hearing the ruckus to wander closer to see what the noise is about.

No less guilty of the same curiosity Binghe steps into the space expecting anything but familiar dark hair. For half a second the name of someone else is on his lips before the face beneath all that midnight hair quiets him. The features there are decidedly different enough for his thoughts to jump-start once more from their momentary halt. Then, and only then, does he even let his eyes slide away to register the expanse of withers and long legs donned with hooves.

For better or worse his master does not yet have a third self lurking upon this world; but with the second he never expected to exist, anything seems possible, ]

Not always an easy thing to do.

[ Spoken more from his own experience as a loner; when one is not alone when they have titles or followers but truly very few friends. ]

You must have a talent for it.

[ Said while one Hug Bug combing out a portion of ink-black mane sings the stranger's praises quite literally, proclaiming their unrivaled beauty to the absurd; including the luster and sheen of a coat and a particularly immaculate tail. All of which Binghe meets with a snort of amusement as his arms fold into his robes for the duration of this enthused, if not slightly exaggerated, ballad. ]

[dietary]

[ Mikuni isn't completely idle as he lets the hugbugs tangle through his mane and sing songs to him. He helps some of them untangle pumpkins (uniquely shaped as they are) from knots of vines, or lifts an extra heavy one up for them to check if it's one worthy of actually harvesting. If he's listening to the exaggerated poetry being sung in his honor, he doesn't seem to be completely phased by it.

He just appears to be pretty comfortable. But then, there's always something eerily comfortable about Mikuni regardless of the situation he's in. It's like he belongs too well despite sticking out like a very sore thumb.

While he definitely can't argue the stranger's point, he smiles regardless, dipping his head some in agreement. Making friends comes easily to Mikuni, and yet he can count the number of genuine friends he has(that still remain, anyway) on one, maybe two, hands. ]

No, I suppose it isn't.

[ He glances back at the creature currently sitting on him, still smiling. This smile has a fondness to it though, as if he's already endeared to these little guys like they're his own. ]

I don't know if it's talent so much as being in the right place at the right time.

[bailian]

I can't argue with you there.

[ Few people generally set out planning to befriend anyone with much contemplation beforehand, but more often than not find those things flung into their laps by mere chance. Though Binghe may be an exception. He's spent much of his adulthood orchestrating his world, to become a Peak Lord worthy of moving in circles involving the same, all to renew a particular contact and build bridges there. But he often exists outside norms with all he is. Not entirely human, nor demon, he meets Mikuni's form without stumbling over the sight most mortals would shrink from or gawk at. Though he has, it's less due to the fact he's met another of the same species, but because such inhumanity is the norm within his own realm.

Watching the lot of them harvest gourds Binghe is reminded of his original purpose for coming here. His want for pumpkin-flavored winter dishes now feels like an afterthought merely tugging at the periphery of his focus with the theatrical performance of excitable Hug Bugs swarming the immediate area. Although he resumes scanning the patch of tangled brambles once more, in search of prospective culinary targets. It's due to the benefits of keeps his lingering gaze diverted elsewhere, thoughts mildly distracted from blatantly observing certain similarities to another intelligent face that only barely just doesn't look familiar. ]

Are you planning to cook with the ones you've chosen?

[ With a nod towards the scattered pumpkins Binghe kneels to disentangle a few significantly smaller in size than the majority; still growing into their shape and therefore not as scandalous in appearance than the more mature rest.

A basket would have been reasonable to bring on this excursion, appearing less bizarre than slipping items into a cultivator's traditional pouch of infinite holding. But for now he'll just busy himself with brushing away the detritus from each gourd he finds reasonable before tucking them into the crook of one arm. ]

Some people here like carving faces into them. But I don't see what's enjoyable about that.

[dietary]

[ While Mikuni definitely set out to meet certain people, it wasn't really for the purpose of friendship, but survival. He wanted to find orphans like himself, and build an army. He succeeded too. These Hugbugs? Entirely different, entirely gentle and soft which the old Mikuni was never used to and never wanted. Maybe though, in his older age, he's okay with a little softness.

And silly songs praising his beauty.

At least they seem to be enjoying their work with the pumpkins and their twisty, slightly prickly vines. It's a little nostalgic even if the squishable creatures don't look anything like lost jinba children and the pumpkins are definitely more phallic than any Mikuni's ever seen before. Ah well. Humans do tend to be hyperfixated on that shape sometimes... ]

I have never had a talent for cooking, but ...

[ He smiles somewhat wistfully. Just don't ask him about his former eating habits. ]

I thought they might taste good for the season, yes. Even if they are very peculiarly shaped. Surely the flavor is the same?

[ The same as regular pumpkins, not as ... dicks. But anyway. He blinks a little then, never having heard of carving faces into the things. Honestly he does not understand that at all. The enjoyment of such an activity is also lost on him. ]

That's bizarre. Do they eat them after they carve the faces in?

whip it good - a

[koket]

[ When you live in a world dominated solely by anthropomorphic animals, it takes a lot to process being tossed into a city full of hairless individuals with smooshed in faces. God, everyone here is so ugly. Some at least seem to have certain defining qualities that make them stand out from others, those he steadily learns must be females, making the others male (but even that he's not 100% sure of), but otherwise it makes a lot of zero sense to him. And it's not his responsibility to understand. The place is crowded, it's very noisy, and he'd like some peace and quiet to brush his wool after being poked and proded by those creatures that called themselves "Prismals".

Pina is making himself right at home in the first apartment he finds. He doesn't need anything fancy, just to locate the bathroom and hope it's stocked with a brush. That's when he hears the loud stomping of feet, a clatter of heavy weight. His ears flick as he goes to find the source.

Only to see this huge half horse thing standing in the doorway speaking to him. ]

What's a "human"?

[ Also good sir or madam what is wrong with you what is he looking at??? ]

[dietary]

[ While Mikuni might not sing the praises of humans either, he isn't really expecting to run into ... well. This. Also, pardon you but that "heavy weight" is beautiful. A creature who has done nothing wrong in his entire life.

Anyway, he tilts his head, curious both at the manner of being he sees in front of him, and at the question.

How do you just not know what a human is? Even if they do not exist in worlds where sheep walk and talk like people do, they're all over this place aren't they? They had arrived with a whole bunch! ]

The hairless, two-legged individuals that occupy much of this land.

[ Don't say that his top half resembles one because he might actually get offended. ]

[koket]

[ There is a very silent, almost judging sort of stare as Pina looks the half-horse half... something else, intently, up and down. If he's a hybrid, then he's the most bizarre hybrid he's ever seen. But his upper half is certainly pretty. If it weren't for the scent of male Pina can pinpoint, he'd probably mistake him as female.

Humans, huh... two legs, hairless. All those strange creatures Pina had been watching as he left the moonport. He'd just thought he was in a world full of very skinny hairless pigs. ]

Hmm... those were all humans then, huh? [ He's not sure if he believes it, but any answer would be better than none at this point. And really, what other explanation is there? But that still leaves one question. ] So you're a human-horse hybrid I assume?

[dietary]

[ Mikuni doesn't seem to notice the judgmental stare. Or, if he does, he doesn't care at all. He's just smiling calmly like this is the most usual interaction in the world. Honestly he would have been used to being mistaken for a woman as well, if things had gone that way. Even harder to tell, without scent, when he's wearing proper horsepants.

But anyway, he nods a bit. ]

Yes. Or at least, that is what humans look like.

[ He's heard that there are non-humans here who happen to look human? Hasn't met any as of yet but they supposedly exist. Nevertheless, his comments still stand. This place was clearly built for them and not jinba.

Speaking of, he does manage to look a bit offended now. Or, if not offended, just eerily intense, like he might snap any second out of nowhere. ]

I am a jinba. Although we sometimes cohabit, we are not the same.