prismaticrap | ▶ TDM OVERFLOW .001

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▶ TDM OVERFLOW .001

Cybernetic dream, something like you've never seen

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▶ Lisa Frank's LSD Fun House
anytime, anywhere on the moon Iris | top

Everything is darkness except for dim lights sparkling in the distance, a faint gleam that greets you as you start to unfurl from your dormant state. 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. Throat parched and skin dry and aching, you grope your body in alarm to make sure your possessions are still in place. 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 only rewards you with 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.

A ⬤ As you traverse the near-barren landscape, you feel something sting your skin. It's small and subtle at first, then you finally catch sight of it: an elegant, crystalline mosquito buzzing around from the corner of your eye. However, a pest is still a pest. After a while, marks near your welts begin to form strange patterns on your skin, mimicking ancient runes. Each rune has with it a particular side-effect that may hinder you on your journey:
✾ The Mark of the Enchanter: Hallucinations, hallucinations galore. Your character will see everything and anything their imagination can conjure and will have difficulty separating reality from fiction.
₪ The Mark of the Destroyer: Limbs start to cease their function, causing you to stumble or try and get around one-handed. Other certain body parts may be affected as well. Look at the bright side: you can stop worrying about jiggle physics and hiding your fear boner.
⍢ The Mark of the Sinner: Your hunger, your thirst, your fatigue and your desire are at an all-time high. Your impulses are rabid and uncontrollable. Maybe you experience only one of those symptoms. Maybe you experience them all. All you know is that you want relief now.

These effects will eventually clear up with a bit of accidental or purposeful physical contact with another person, making you wonder if there was anything wrong with you at all.

B ⬤ Hunger starts to gnaw at you vigorously. Perhaps you consider hunting the moon's creatures to sate your hunger. That's when you see it: a thick, meaty, juicy meal on legs. ~~No, we're not talking about Alex Louis Armstrong~~. A wild silver-white pegasus runs across the purple landscape, its hair billowing in the wind as its hooves smack loudly against the ground. Try and shoot it, and you may find your efforts curtailed by its legendary rage. Eyes aglow and wings beating up a storm, this pegasus is no dainty horse. Two thousand pounds of pure muscle swoop down and charge at you, all blades and ammunition deflecting off its impenetrable skin. Taming appears impossible; it will buck anyone away and leave a sizable horn- or hoof-shaped hole in them for their efforts. Hunting it, however, should be easier. Relatively.

C ⬤ Or you may decide that you'd like to take a drink in the prismatic waters. A small pond can be found just a few miles away from where you first awoke, but gazing into it reflects what appears to be a window into your own world. You see the faces of loved ones or at least someone very close and familiar to you gathered around your prone body, shaking it frantically as though to try and rouse you, yet your image lies frozen and unresponsive, not even a whisper of life running through you. Did you die in your world? Is this your afterlife? The questions start to pile up along with the gnawing dread that you may never return home again.

▶ Camp Nowhere
anytime, anywhere on the moon iris | top

Time moves strangely when you're trapped on a moon with no sun to guide you. Hours feel like days, and days feel like weeks. Travelling has rendered you weak and tired. Luckily, a few crystal formations in the shape of a cavern may offer you a small place refuge as you decide to nap. You notice a few artifacts left over from previous explorers.

D ⬤ A comm unit abandoned within the cavern will display the former owner's idol obsession. As you tap the buttons indiscriminately, a holographic screen will appear, and you will see a fabulous recorded concert featuring three bubbly young ladies in animal print, singing to you about something called Cordis, a cat, and a bag of gems. Does this make any sense to you? Probably not, but the beat is catchy. You may even find yourself tapping a foot along to it. Don’t worry. We know it’s plastic love.

E ⬤ There's a small cooler-like container of preserved powdered food bags labeled with only the word “Edible” that can be safely consumed. Although the powder tastes as bland as you’d expect, it’s oddly filling, sating either hunger or thirst. But who will be the first — and the bravest — to try eating them?

F ⬤ A strange, pointed instrument is among the effects found in the cavern. It's silver, long, and thin with a curved end and a light. When you grip it with warm hands, it seems to vibrate enthusiastically and comes in three settings indicated by a frowny face, a neutral face, and a happy face. What could it mean exactly? No one knows, but you can fiddle with it to your heart's desire. Just don't ask yourself where it's been before. You don't want to know.

▶ Interstellar Action Force Assemble
prisma, iris | top

Over a day has passed when a group of people find you worse for wear. Some are full of uncertainty and fear while some are full of curiosity and excitement. They claim that they are scientists from the planet Prismatica here to investigate the sudden appearances of rainbow crystals in the skies. That means you and the others they’ve located within the area. You are all a surprising find to them, and they are quick to load everyone in their transport vehicles for examination and questioning.

You all may have your usual inquiries — Where are we? Who are you? What's going on? Why are the pegasi so ill-tempered? — and the Prismals are almost too eager to answer. They do have questions on their own, so it’s only fair to trade. They tell you about their world as they poke and prod you, trying to understand what you are and how you came into their land. If they’re not trembling in fear, some of them may ask you odd and invasive questions in return, such as what the rate at which your body achieves thermoregulation is, how long your refractory period is, and if you would be willing to submit various kinds of body fluids to them. It's up to whether you wish to comply or protest.

G ⬤ If you react violently, you will be restrained and nerfed with a specialized neurotransmitting gun that releases a numbing agent through the top of your spine. They came prepared, so have fun with that! In any case, conscious or not, you’ll be brought into one of the transport vehicles. If you choose to peacefully cooperate, you’ll be provided any necessary first aid and a refreshing drink to help you recuperate after the rough time you had for the past few days. Each transport vehicle has a few small rooms to rest in, but due to the limited space, you’ll have to snuggle up with someone else on that bunk bed. Unfortunately, the moonshine fruit the ship is also carrying in its cargo has an extremely sweet smell that’s been permeating through certain areas of the ventilation system… Taking a whiff of it may inebriate you for the rest of the trip.

H ⬤ It’s a bumpy ride as terrain vehicles draw over various crystal formations until you see a large dome-like structure up ahead. Within its confines lies the seat of the Prismatica's government, Prisma. It’s a bureaucratic wet dream: skyscrapers practically touch the upper surface of the dome, windows glimmer with a prismatic sheen as daylight hits them, and small ships can be seen flying to and from its spaceport. The scientists, members of the Lunar Scientia, usher you into their facilities for tests. Arrivals are likely to twitch, tremble, and panic as Lunar Scientia fellows take and broadcast every embarrassing, unfiltered detail about you — height, weight, age, strange odors, estimated frequency of sexual activity —- to one another. These scientists will ask you politely to undress, too, but understand if you don't want to. They're especially fascinated by the readings of pure Chroma inside you, whispering among one another excitedly about the possibility of the new arrivals being a new moon species. What should they call them? Moonborne? Moonblessed?

I ⬤ At long last, the questions and physical examinations are done. They’ve decided to call the arrivals as the Moonblessed. They’ll take you under their care until they understand more about you. You're allowed a very refreshing hot shower and a warm meal for your efforts. Don’t worry, the meal was imported from their planet. “Planet?” you might ask, but you won’t need to wonder for too long. The ships are preparing for their next destination: the nearby planet Prismatica, where you will be dwelling for the time being. You're free to explore the government center until then.

▶ Wildcard
Lunatia, Prismatica | top

It only takes a couple hours for the ships to reach their home planet. The ships drop the characters off at the city of Lunatia, where they will be given their communication devices and a plastic card they can present to certain landlords at any residential district for their subsidized (read: absolutely free) lodging. Officials at Prisma instructed the newcomers to await further instructions from the government, but you have a lot of time to kill before then. Why not explore in the meantime? Learn the ins and outs of the world, get a job, transform under the full moon, and explore the many mysteries of planet Prismatica!

This is this TDM's overflow. Feel free to move your threads from there and continue tagging!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[In all of Fish's limited travel... nope. They've never gone so far in their short twenty-one years of life. They don't even know what a planet is, much less know how a moon's surface is like.]

I can't even guess. It's almost like this is a completely different plane of existence... it must be? Right?

[Excuse the merfolk for constantly looking at the elf for confirmation. It's just all built into them to trust an elf as their mentor was one, too.]

Apologies, we must both be so lost... but at the very least we can be acquainted.

[They bow, but they do it more like a curtsey-- with one leg crossed behind the other as they dip.]

You can call me Fish.

Well, could be? But I don't recall using any planar traveling magic before I ended up here. Could be uh...[He pops his lips as he thinks.] You know what? Nope. No idea. It's not the moon though - not the second one at least. That much I can tell you.

[The Director did a lot of messed up training activities, but this went a bit far beyond even her imagination. He hopes.

Taako watches Fish bow-curtsey and gives him a two-fingered salute in return. ]

Name's a bit on the nose, but nice t'meet you, Fish. I'm Taako. You might recognize me from TV!

That's what many say. [Fish laughs.] But that's just a nickname. I go by many names as a performer. Just calling me Fish keeps the confusion at bay.

[But speaking of confusion, Fish tilts their head a bit at Taako.]

... what's a TV?

Oh thank goodness, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to then go "Elf" or something. [Bards sure are weird, but if that's what works, then at least it's easily remembered. Hard to go wrong with calling a merperson "Fish."]

And y'know - I had a cooking show, traveled around in a wagon, entertained the masses, that sort of thing.

[Easy recall is part of the formula for fame, anyway!

Taako's words still kind of fly over Fish's head, but "entertaining the masses" does make sense to them!]

I'd feel weird if you called yourself "Elf", I've met quite a number and I've even studied under one some years ago.

Are you a bard as well?

It'd make two of us then because the Taako name is part of my brand.

[Which is something a bard probably would understand, right? There brand is everything.]

And nooooope. I'm a wizard. See the hat?

[He says motioning to the pointy hat on his head, the band of which is surrounded by flowers and stars. Or rather, he tries to. His hands won't raise as well as it was a moment ago and he frowns.]

Uh mind holding my hand until this goes away? Pretty sure it's gotta be some constant contact here.

[Thankfully a "brand" is something Fish does understand. And to be fair, Fish has not really met many wizards in their time. The hat is something new to them as they know many spellcasters that don't don one.]

Ah... I had a feeling that hat meant something. Sorry, I've met so many spellcasters that don't wear one... it's rather hard to tell what people are sometimes. Except for those clerics and paladins, always brandishing their holy symbols.

[And with that said, Fish moves to take Taako's hand. They were also feeling a little fatigued (and maybe the teensiest bit horny), but they had just thought that it was just their exhaustion from the situation they were in up to being taken to this place.]

I don't mind. [They laugh.] Well, bards are typically all about the contact, anyway.

[And do they ever brandish those holy symbols. Taako didn't get to meet a lot of paladins - avoided them honestly, too goody-two-shoes for his tastes - but he's never seen Merle without his Xtreme Teen Bible in hand. Or shoving Pan's pamphlets in someone's face.

As soon as their hands connect, Taako feels the numbness start to recede again and he sighs in relief.]

Can't expect everyone to understand the significance of fashion, I guess.

[But he does. He really does.]

As long as you're not a fashion disaster, I guess I can be seen holding hands with a merdude for a bit. At least until the whatever-the-fuck-this-is goes away.

[Although...it's a little awkward just standing here. Holding hands. After a moment, Taako pops his lips and looks around.]

Mmmm, soooooooooo. You- uh- what... instrument? Do you play?

[At even the suggestion that Fish could be a fashion disaster, the merfolk huffs and tosses their head flippantly, as if they still had long hair to flip back. It really wasn't too long ago that they cut off their much longer hair.]

I might have not known that hats are for wizards, but I'll take offense if you find me a fashion disaster!

[And Fish is rather finely dressed... well, finely dressed for someone who probably belongs in a harem of some kind. Or an exotic land. They had black leather strips arranged like a midriff baring vest covering their chest, and upon it were long, thin pieces of blue and green sea glass attached to a black cord around their neck like a choker. The waist of their pants was similarly designed, with rounder pieces of sea glass adorning the end of the leather. From the waist onwards though, Fish's pants were a soft, translucent white that barely hid much of their long, long legs.

Fish honestly is about 80% leg.

And if that wasn't harem ho enough, the said translucent pants had slits running down the sides, showing off some easy access to merfolk bum. Here is a picture. Also, they are wearing sandals, not like the picture.]

I play the lyre, but I think I sing better than I play. And there are other things I do better than playing the lyre, too.

[And at that, they wink.]

[Considering their pants are just barely meeting the requirements to being called as such? He won't call them a fashion disaster, but he also pretty much figures Fish got pulled from the middle of a club scene, a rave, or a bardic performance. Bards wear some wiiiiiild stuff.

And also?

Is this merperson hitting on him?

Holy shit, what is his luck????

Taako stares for a moment and then dissolves into a smattering of giggles as he realizes how ridiculous his life is.]

Oh, I'm sure you've got all kinds of talents and hidden skills.

I mean, this might all be a fever dream or some weird night terror, but sure, why not? Let's do this.

Why not list me a couple of those, homie? Paint me a word picture here.

[Well, this bard is perpetually ready for wild stuff. Taako may or may not be lucky??? But Fish does grin as they hear the elf dissolve into giggles. And they're having a bit of a laugh themselves--but quietly.]

Well, if this happens to all be a dream, then it's quite an entertaining one.

[And with the elf's hand in their own, they pull Taako a little closer to speak in a lower voice.]

A lot of people say I'm very good with my mouth. And...

[Slowly, with the side facing away from Taako, Fish stretches out their leg up... up... until it's gracefully in a straight line with the other leg firmly on the ground. They hold that leg up with their free hand, pressed against the front of their body.]

... I'm very flexible.

[He's pulled forward and it cuts his giggles off from the pure shock of it. He's not used to having someone out horny him. Also? He watches Fish raise his leg, his eyebrows raising in tandem.]

Hot damn, my guy, you weren't kidding.

[Taako's called a flip wizard and he's not even that dexterous. Gods damn, that's actually impressive.

Also? Fish is thirsty af and it's super amusing.]

Being kidnapped into some weirdo crystal infested world gets your gears going, huh? No judgement, just curious.

[Well, there was a joke their partymate cracked once on the second day of their adventure... something like "is living out of the water why you're always so thirsty??" Fish laughed when they were told that. But they never denied it.

Oh, they never ever will deny it.]

Not at all, really. I mean... there is something very dreamlike about this place. And, hey... if it happens to be a dream, why not have fun with it?

But really... I'm pretty much like this all the time, too.

[They laugh and lower their leg with the same grace they raised it with.]

Fair, fair, and also fair. Can't say I'm not down with it, because fuck me, it's been forever, but I just got a thing about TPO and not getting my ass ground against a bunch of crystals.

[They look sharp and he isn't into that. Also, the last time he was surrounded by pink crystals, they nearly destroyed the world.]

But the second we find somewhere that doesn't look like this? [He gives Fish a wink.]

Fair enough.

[Fish grins at the wink. They still have Taako's hand in their's though.]

Well... in the meantime, would you like to do some exploring? I doubt we'd find a place that doesn't look like this soon, sadly. But... I suppose we could get to know each other while we're together like this.

Might as well. Not like I got anything better to do.

[Seriously. It was either let go of Fish's hand and potentially fall over again, or keep holding their hand and do...whatever it is they could get up to that didn't involve banging each other.]

Let's.....

[He spun his other than around and then pointed in a random direction.]

Go that way. And why don't you tell me what it was that brought you outta the pond, so to speak?

[Fish laughs as Taako spun his hand around. Well, any direction is better than just staying in one place. So, they begin to walk, clasped hands swinging a little as they go.]

All right.

Well... first and foremost, I wanted to test myself as a performer, I guess. I mean-- even my teacher had told me it would be a waste if I kept to the little town I've been so used to. The best performers always spend some time traveling, she said.

I suppose you've been adventuring too, Taako?

[He has to laugh at how ridiculous they must look. Here they are, stuck on some weird plane of existence, potentially out of their planar realities (Lucas would cream himself, that fucking nerd), and Taako's walking along, swinging hand in hand with a fishperson.

Fuck. His life is so weird.

But Fish's story made sense. Bards liked to travel, right? It was kind of necessary for them to learn new songs and not suck as bards. The only one Taako spent any real time around was Johann though and that guy was stuck on a moonbase taking care of a giant space jellyfish. Kinda hard to travel that way. Maybe he did it before? He was a half-elf, who knew how long he'd been around the block before The Director picked him up.]

Well, ch'yeah, natch. Got myself a band of idiots, a job I can't talk about, and this nifty little irremovable and now completely useless bracer.

[He lifts his left arm to show the seamless silver metal bracer on his arm.]

You? Or did you just travel around by yourself?

[Somehow, that short description of Taako's adventuring time (heh) made Fish feel... like they miss what they left back in Gravir. At the elf's question about them traveling by themselves, Fish shakes their head.]

I guess... it's complicated? I was traveling on my own at first. Then, I met someone. He took me to another continent. Then, we parted ways.

[The way Fish shrugs and rolls their eyes at "parted ways" is easy to read as... something much more than that.]

And then suddenly, while I was at a tavern, I just got roped into this unbelievable party of weirdos and a whole mess of political intrigue.

[Insert big dramatic sigh.]

I was just about to get thrown into a dungeon when I came here.

["Parted ways" is such a fancy way of saying "shit got hairy," but Taako understands. Not everyone can be straightforward (ha) about their sordid pasts. Taako sure as hell isn't offering up any tidbits about himself, so he can't really blame Fish for doing the same.

He barks out a laugh at the rest of the explanation, shaking his head.]

What is it with taverns and idiots, huh? It seem like every story starts with "I was at a tavern" and then ends up with dragons or, apparently, dungeons. How the fuck're you gonna get out of that one? You got a plan?

Honestly, I really wanted to run away after I saw shit go down at the castle.

[Somehow, Fish's demeanor turns a little somber... very different from the flirty playful bard interacting with Taako earlier.]

I nearly got killed by arrows... I could have gotten beaten to a pulp on a whim... and... I saw a king killed, right before my eyes. I wanted to just... bolt. But I don't know. I guess four days was enough to feel attached to a bunch of weirdoes.

[They shake their head.]

Anyway, as for that dungeon situation my sticking around got me into... my plan is to just use all my charm, darling.

[A little shoulder shimmy and a wink and Fish is back to being, well, Fish.]

[Taako honestly has no idea why he stuck it with Magnus and Merle, except that he really needed the money and the original guy paying him got McFucked by a giant flaming dwarf, so he'd needed new employment ASAP. And then they'd gone to the moon and there was really no going back after that.

He laughs a little at the shimmy and shakes his head.]

That tracks. I guess not everyone can go murderhobo and just kill their way out like my dumbass trio probably would.

[Honestly, he probably wouldn't get thrown in a dungeon, but if he did? Knock was a surprisingly useful spell.]

Did you all get locked up separately or what? Can't your wizard just, I dunno, blast you all out?

I've killed once but I don't think I've got the capacity to do that myself.

[Fish shakes their head.]

Unfortunately, we don't have a wizard in our party. There are only three people who can cast spells... our cleric, who's a bird; A tiefling kleptomaniac rogue; and me. If I remember correctly, they have the cleric, our monk, and the tiefling's brother in custody.

I got caught up with our paladin and the kleptomaniac elsewhere and we were in the middle of being apprehended. And our fighter is nowhere to be found!

Edited (added a little more) 2019-03-27 17:02 (UTC)

Your loss. The loot they drop is usually pretty good.

[Yes, he loots dead bodies. No, they don't always have to be dead bodies he's made. It's just fair game once they're gone, right? Taako obviously needs it more than whoever the dead guy is.]

Holy shit you guys are bad at this. Even the rogue? Aren't rogues supposed to be, y'know, rogue-like? All stealth and sweet flips and whatver?

[Fish finds the act kind of distasteful but... well... to be fair, Taako does have a point.]

Hey, we've only been a team for four days and we don't even feel like a real team!

[Fish sighs, shoulders slumping slightly.]

The rogue brothers are actually extremely good at being stealthy, but it just... didn't quite unfold that way. I don't know how the younger brother got captured, but the older one with us-- the kleptomaniac-- was with the princess.

In all honestly, everything is just a mess. Apparently the prince died as well. Maybe getting thrown in here was a blessing in disguise.

▶ TDM OVERFLOW .001

c: yaaaay

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