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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Cute...

[Ah. The word just slips out quietly, watching and hearing him like that, and he quickly clears his throat to cover it. This guy is a big buff cat man but he's acting meek, he couldn't help himself for a moment. Now that Iori's able to stand, he does, dusting off and straightening his clothes for a few extra seconds before he tries a look at Asato again. Mmmm... Maybe he should try this again.]

I didn't mean to startle you. I was frustrated after being stuck in that vacuum tube for so long. [Then, he... crouches himself, without moving forward. Why? This is what you do with actual cats, not people (unless they're toddlers), and yet it's just something he feels like he should do.]

I'm sorry, as well. Were you hurt?

( 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?

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.]

Oh... Yeah. I noticed that, too.

( he had had chroma explained to him. multiple times. asato is not really a cat for wide-reaching, overarching concepts. he understands simple things in front of him — situations, people, things he can respond to. anything else beyond that gets handily written off as something that's not really his business or worth worrying about. it did feel nice, though. like sitting in a really nice sunbeam. like it would be a really good idea to just forget about violently landing on the guy and just cuddle up and take a nap.

asato's blue eyes widen at the thought of getting sucked back into the tubes. he looks warily up to the one they had just been ejected out of, and he gives a short, hasty nod. it had been a horrible, scary experience, and he doesn't want to do it again. so, yes, let's get out of here!!

but he's diverted from that by the... question? to this, he gives a slow blink, tilting his head slightly. ) Um... Maybe. I don't know very much about this place, though. It... was very confusing. Hard to listen to.

( you should absolutely take the cat ears as reason to think he knows even less than expected — asato is neither the sharpest cat nor well-experienced. )

It certainly was shocking to listen to. The whole time, I kept expecting to wake from a dream...

[He trails off as he's thinking on that, but then something hits him and he stiffens a little in his crouch, staring back at Asato.]

Wait— you were...? I mean, you're new to this place too? I just assumed...

[What did he assume. Native? Veteran moonblessed? Iori shifts to stand tall again, bringing his hand near his chin, fingers curled into a loose fist. His bad.]

Your ears move so naturally...

[Like he's so used to them... clearly, he's misunderstanding that, and they're new, too...]

( asato nods sadly, though it's the kind of dream he wouldn't want to wake up from, he thinks. sisa... he leaves some things behind there. he might have left behind konoe, which hurts him to even think about. and he leaves behind kagari, kira, and any shred of hope he might have had at trying to settle the bad blood between them. but perhaps that is for the best, and perhaps konoe would find his way here. that would make him happy. it was difficult to live in sisa. everyone here seems happier, safer. even if it's confusing, he thinks he would prefer stay here.

he's pulled out of this thoughtful reverie at the confusion, which seems to infect him as if it were virulent. he tilts his head to one side, giving a slow nod to indicate that, yes, he was similarly new and clueless here.

his ears? one of the dark, cat-like ears in question gives a flick, then pivoting to capture a sound from somewhere behind him. )

Mm... They are my ears. I am a cat. And you are... ( he seems to lapse into thought, wondering if it could be true. he glances iori over, especially at his legs, folded up as they were. weird. he had always thought they would be taller, if he is indeed what he assumes he is. ) ...Two Canes?

( the ribika word for humans, though he had overheard the devils calling them that far more standard term. but he starts with this one, because it is more familiar. )

You're a... cat.

[For a long moment, Iori is silent, puzzling this over. A cat. The Prisma natives don't call themselves that, do they? Ah, maybe they do... But "Two Canes" is a new one. He's getting the feeling he has no idea what's going on here, and it causes him to quickly reevaluate everything, before—]

I'm... human. By "Two Canes," are you referring to my legs? They've also given us the name "Moonblessed" here, though I've only just begun to understand what that means. Forgive me...

Mm. ( is all he says (or, rather, hums) in response, though something seems to register to him as the seconds tick past. ) Or "ribika," though we are are also called "cat."

( as in you wouldn't call another ribika a person, you would call them a "cat"... they might look very different from their four-legged ancestors, but ribika had a lot of pride in what they were and what they descended from. just like how they were said to have innate affection for Two Canes, or "humans"... asato was never particularly devout or interested in the old legends, and he can't help but wonder it now. does he have some kind of predisposition towards this person as a "human"? does he have some instinct to please him? he's just not certain.

asato isn't really the best cat to ask about this. he had heard the elder tell the legends a few times, and kagari had mentioned a few things off-hand. and then there had been what konoe had found in the library, though asato hadn't been able to read any of it... )

Yeah. ( he considers this for a moment. ) I always thought you would be... taller. ( why are they called Two Canes if their legs are just as long as a cat's! but perhaps it was from the cats' memories of them... weren't the four-legged ones much smaller? )

Oh. ( asato dips his head, looking himself apologetic as soon as iori apologized. ) No. I'm sorry. I... don't really understand much of that. All of the stuff they explained to us... or even things I learned about before coming here. I will call you "human," if that's what is better. Or... your name? ( he tilts his head, curious to hear how humans name themselves. )

It's just that you're incredibly tall... Don't compare me to that.

[He's not even short?! Compared to others?! Ugh. Whatever. Gotta focus on the here and now, and this very unique scenario.]

Please call me by my name, rather than "human." I'm Iori Izumi. [He bows respectfully along with it.] It's nice to meet you.

So you're a moonblessed as well, and a "ribika," or in other words, a cat. Do you have a name, as well?

Sorry...

( well... maybe compared to others, but not compared to this cat. and there are plenty of other tall cats out there? asato is fairly certain rai and bardo are his height, if not taller... konoe is probably closer to iori's height, though.

regardless: if he had heard of a race known as "Two Canes" purely because of their legs, one would assume them to be taller, right? it's not his fault... it's just his perception of things. )

Oh... Okay. Um. Which one? Or - both?

( most ribika don't have family names iori please... he's so confused. )

A cat, yes. And ribika. ( "moonblessed"... he zoned out for most of those lectures. ) My name is Asato.

"Izumi" is my family name. "Iori" is my given name... Do your people not have both?

[So is the polite way just to call him by Asato? Either way, Iori is getting the sense that this tall cat man is in need of assistance, if these small concepts are so foreign to him. Suddenly every sense in him is itching to stay and help him out.]

Since there seem to be people from a number of cultures arriving in this place, I don't think anyone will mind if you call them by their given names. [He figures this is easier than explaining anything in too much detail.]

Are you... alone? Or have you met others that you're familiar with from where you're from?

"Family name"...

( by the absent-minded parroting and asato's near-perfect blank expression, the answer is fairly obvious even without him answering it personally. ribika had never really had family names. sometimes ribika don't even really have families -- the sickness and the void had robbed much of them, of their numbers and their good will and their culture. concepts of bonding and love had slowly degraded in the face of their slow extinction. ) No. Sometimes... you are called by the place and people you are from. I am from Kira, so... I would be "Asato of Kira." But... ( his expression darkens, becomes distant. he was no cat of kira any longer... he had left them behind, and desertion was tantamount to death. were he still in sisa, in ransen, he is certain he would face more assassins from his home. )

...no, you should not call me that. ( he seems saddened by that. kira might have offered him nothing but scars, but it is the only home he's ever had. is it wrong he still wishes they would greet him, accept him? even if it were, he feels the thorn of that desire stuck in his heart. )

I should call you Iori then...?

( he tilts his head at the question, his expression growing a little sad again. ) No... Sometimes I see others who look like cats, with ears and tails. But I do not recognize them.

( he's been combing them for konoe, but he still hasn't found him... very troubling for asato, indeed. )

[To here!]

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▶ TDM .009

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