prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .010

Entry tags:

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 accidentally swallow the worm at the bottom of my tequila? — 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.

▶ I Heat Up, I Can’t Cool Down
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 After settling into your apartment, you notice a shiny silver indestructible mechanoid cube with a pair of tiny stag horns attached to it. The card attached says that it’s a gift from the Lunatian government. One touch of the cube makes it hover in place, light up brightly, and play the classic hit Last Firalia by Blam! on repeat. By the 7th listen, you get hot under your collar, beads of sweat forming on your temples and rolling down your neck, and your breath grows labored. By the 17th listen, you’re all but ready to burst into flames — a stark contrast to the plummeting temperature outdoors.

A bit of vigorous moonlacing should keep you from growing too hot and bothered indoors. Or you could simply decide to chuck the cube out the window and let it be someone else’s problem. That won't really stop it, though. The music only stops once the cube picks up enough Chroma in the atmosphere generated via moonlacing, so go forth, and spread the Firialia lust, love, and cheer!

▶ It’s the Moose Wonderful Time of the Year
City of Lunatia | top

In the city of Lunatia, the streets are emblazoned with beautiful antler decorations, gleaming gold and silver along every walkway. Snowflake holograms appear on shop fronts to announce their annual Firialia sales, and Prismals are all rushing to buy gifts and make preparations for the upcoming holiday.

According to legend, on one incredibly harsh winter, ancient Prismals were downtrodden and on the verge of starvation when the majestic stag king of the forest, Firi, emerged from his humble kingdom to bring them warm clothing, blankets, and gifts for surviving the biting cold. It is said that his spirit remains on the land even after the Calamity, appearing every winter solstice to bless the Prismals for the new year ahead. Every year, Prismals mount festive wreaths on their door, decorated with stag horns in Firi's honor, and exchange gifts to invite the benevolent spirit of Firi into their homes.

A Hanging fake deer antlers is a strong Firialia tradition that has endured for centuries — a success that can be attributed to its magical effects, which often compels two people caught beneath to share a bit of Firialia spirit with one another. One can find these trinkets everywhere, decorating even the most secluded of spaces. The antlers come in three colors:

RED: Causes a dangerous but intense feeling of desire to embrace the person you're with! You will want to roughly pin the closest person to you on a flat surface, passionately kiss, and/or aggressively hold hands.

BLUE: Causes people to want to kiss until they’re out of breath, hands liberally moving across each other’s body, and the errant temptation to go further, but no taking any clothes off in public or the Moon Knights will get you! You’ll simply be eager to tease and kiss beyond the lips and have difficulty feeling sated.

PURPLE: Causes people to want to caress each other's faces affectionately, steal soft kisses, and/or tenderly lace their fingers together. They may also feel compelled to offer up some sweet whispers and compliments!

B To combat the cool weather, Prismals will also be handing out cups of warm chocolate moose mousse. This light and creamy dessert is prepared in enchanted moose-shaped cups with a pair of festive graham cookie antlers poking out of it. Prismal traditions include taking a bite and passing it to your neighbor, enabling you to get a glimpse of one another’s Firialia wishlists left unspoken. Fancy a new fishing rod this holiday? Or perhaps that saucy leather subligar you’ve been eyeing since your arrival? The words and images that make up your list appear before whoever eats your mousse, so who knows? Maybe you might get it this Firilia...

▶ Are You Not Entertained?
Level 1, PrismaPlace | top

After the long wait and preparations, the League Match Action Online (LmaO) preliminary qualification rounds are now underway at the gaming hub in PrismaPlace in Level 1, as the city will be hosting the LmaO Grand Championship next month. Moonblessed old and new are welcome to take the game for a test drive and participate!

The award-winning VR MOBA boasts amazingly seamless first-person view graphics and a real-time combat mode almost as authentic as real life and guaranteed to wow and amaze. Players can explore and immerse themselves in the fantasy world of LmaO, where they can create their own avatars and either fight with or against players from Lunatia and the Kingdom of Lyestellus for glory and loot!

In co-op mode, you will be battling a selection of huge beasts chosen at random. The most notorious among them is Ogma the Dread Ogre, who has high defense and pesky unavoidable attacks. PVP mode pits you against other players, and getting KO’d three times in a row or having your base captured is a loss for you and your team. Fun mode featuring mini-games such as virtual basketball, rhythm step action, beat sword, and many more. Winning any of these modes nets you loads of in-game gold that can be used to buy aesthetic skins, cute in-game pets, fun game emotes, furniture for your in-game house, or weapon and skill upgrades to make you stronger for the next round!

Event emcees will be recruiting anyone passing by for the preliminaries and showing them into fully-equipped private rooms for teams of two to eight players. Each player will be given virtual headsets and tight suits for immersion and communication. Prismal players may be recruited with Moonblessed teams if necessary.

A The scenario for the preliminaries is a majestic coliseum filled with gladiators of all ages and species. In LmaO, weapon choices are currently limited to any melee and ranged weapons you'd find in an ambitious fantasy RPG setting (read: you can find dual swords and grimoires but also gunblades), including an elemental magic system of water, fire, wind, earth, dark and light. Choose your weapon and, with your team, fight for the top spot!

As you begin to battle, you notice that the more you get hit, the more your physical body shows visceral reactions to the attacks. Outside of the game, you lose balance. Bruises appear out of nowhere and mar on your skin. You earn minor abrasions and bleed. It’s possible to feel the sweat or saliva of other players or bots, the sensation of their virtual hands grappling you, or their teeth sinking into your shoulder as they bite. It's a new, tantalizing world of virtual stimulation.

B For those of you more interested in the glamour aspects of LmaO, you are welcome to compete against other players in either the in-game or a real glam-a-thon. Festive LmaO cosplayers will be scattered around the venue, dressed in colorful costumes of characters from the game, such as the ridiculously cool cyborg Kenji and the flirty immortal fox mage Yeri. As for the in-game contestants, they are located on a bright sparkling stage. Large monitors at PrismaPlace can be seen livestreaming everything.

Some of the many competitors are dressed in colorful gear, including stylish himations, risque chitons, and a bevy of glittery, neon gladiator sandals. Challenge other players to a fashion walk-off on the raised catwalk. Score high enough on either contests, and you will win an ultra-rare Firialia plump moose mount in-game. You are welcome to invite others on a scenic moose ride after as the plump moose very slowly waddles across the virtual snowfields and exhibits its adorable built-in feature where it decides to take a nap every few minutes.

▶ 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

[Tote bag filled with books hanging off her shoulder, Meteora is going home after work when she encounters this... communicator massacre.

Well, okay, no. It's not a massacre... yet? The poor thing seems to be working still. Maybe she should save it from its confused owner before it ends up smashed on the ground. Meteora approaches the man and at the question, she looks both ways then at his face to take notice of where he's facing.]

East.

[Yes, that's her answer. Is she serious, is she joking? itsamystery.gif]

[ It's about to be a massacre as Jiang Cheng looks up at the stranger speaking to him, frowns at her answer, tries to parse it, fails, then scowls. Is she mocking him? How would she know where he's going when he doesn't know where he's going? Why 'east' of all things? How much more vague can directions get? Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, which way is east?!

But instead of snapping at her, he takes a deep breath instead and tries to speak like a sane person. This gets middling results. ]

Why east??

[Middling results indeed, huh. Meteora knows the average person is way more emoting than herself, but it's still kinda amusing to see this guy change his face so many times and so quickly in a few seconds. The poor communicator never stood a chance, did it?

She appreciates his trying to speak calmly though. Good man.]

Because that's where you were facing. [She answers with her same dull tone. Then she points behind her, since he's looking at her now.] And that's north.

[...okay, okay, maybe she's taking this too far.]

Is your map app not working?

Edited (typos) 2019-12-08 19:38 (UTC)

[ Don't lose your temper at girls don't lose your temper at girls don't lose your temper at— He takes another deep breath and releases it, massaging delicately at his temples.

There, at least he can answer that question without completely losing his mind. ]

No, it keeps— Showing me other things. I got it to work once and then it just... disappeared.

[ He grumbles this staring at the device like it personally slapped him in the face. ]

[Meteora has to wonder if this is a case of the communicator actually malfunctioning or just a person not used to technology (or both). So she raises her hand, palm up, silently asking for the device as she makes a question.]

Where were you initially intending to go?

[ The answer to your question is 100%, unmistakable user error. He's from ancient fantasy China where the main mode of transportation is flying around on your magic sword, so his chances of doing well with a floppy cell phone was never great.

At her question, he just sort of throws his hands up. ]

I don't know. To get food, maybe? Everything about this place is confusing and off-putting.

[Seeing as he doesn't hand her his communicator (people can't read your mind, Meteora, come on), she gets in his personal space and starts poking at the screen, navigating the menus with ease. Medieval fantasy land she may be from, but living on Earth for a while has given her the experience she needs.]

You need to take a moment and put yourself together. There's a lot of information to absorb and if you find it overwhelming, then you must take it in little doses. [The map finally appears on the communicator, and Meteora steps back after marking the destination.] This dot is you. That marker is the town centre. You only have to follow the lines that represent the streets.

[ He balks at having his personal space intruded on, but understands she's... at least making some attempt to help, so he tolerates it the best that he's able. He clenches and unclenches his teeth, trying to pay attention to her word sin spite of his discomfort.

Dot, marker, follow the line. Seems straightforward enough. ]

Th..Thank you. [ His attempt at gratitude is clumsy at best in light of his lingering unease. ] Erm. What... do I do if the map disappears again?

[ Besides, you know, smash the communicator. ]

You're welcome.

[Meteora usually isn't a fan of people that need to chill, so she appreciates his manners, even if it's clumsy. It's not like she's the best at socializing subtleties either, after all.

(Please don't smash the communicator.)]

Think of this machine like a book. Or a catalog. This button- [She presses "home" and the map disappears.] -takes you to the "index". From here, you choose the "chapter" you need by just pressing the little drawing that represents said chapter. Like maps.

[She demonstrates. Look at that, the map is back!]

You can install a voice-activated program later- [Is she making fun of his yelling? Maybe. Hard to tell when she's always so deadpan.] -but first I'd recommend familiarizing yourself well with it.

[ Jiang Cheng jumps a little in the way of old people being taught about email when the map he so desperately needs vanishes once more, frowning so deeply his eyes nearly disappear into the canyon-like crease between his eyes as he tries to follow along with her explanation. The idea of thinking of it like a book is novel and enlightening, helping him picture its contents and functions better immediately. A living text. That sort of thing isn't completely unheard of where he's from.

The sarcasm goes over his head completely, too caught up in the marvel that is technology once you can convince it to work for you. ]

I'll... I'll do my best. Thank you again, Miss...?

Meteora Österreich. [She offers a small bow.] A pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[Well, a pleasure may be a stretching it a bit. His screaming at the communicator didn't exactly impress her, but he seems much nicer now. He's obviously trying and she can appreciate it, so she gives him a chance. Especially when there's a newbie in trouble and she loves expositi- I mean, helping. Ahem.]

If it's food you seek, remember you'll need Chroma to pay for it.

Jiang Cheng. [ He bows to her in return, hands clasped formally before him. ] Courtesy name Jiang Wanyin. The pleasure is all mine.

[ For him, it's both repeating courteous phrase as is expected of him but also the plain truth, Meteora having genuinely saved him in a very real way by taking time out of her day to educate the technologically inept.

At the reminder regarding Chroma, he nods, a grimace creeping back onto his face. ]

Yes, I'm... aware. [ He sighs, rubbing his face. ] How do you... manage here, Miss Meteora? If it's not, ah. Prying.

[While not very expressive herself, Meteora can sympathize with that grimace. Casual touch isn't usually a big deal, but this place demands much more of it, and to even take it beyond hand holding. Meteora isn't the biggest fan of the constant need for it, especially since she must keep an extra eye on her chroma energy to be able to use her magic.

She has been doing her part, because she's very to the point, but still. She gets it.

A slight shake of her head, not minding the question.] It's not. Moonlacing is a necessary topic to discuss for every new arrival in order to survive. [Whether anyone likes it or no, she seems to imply.] I've taken a position as librarian in the local library, and there I ask visitors to hold hands with me while we read or I guide them to a specific section. It's not optimal but I, as you, have recently arrived, so I don't know many people yet. A job will pay you with demi-chroma, which is less valuable but still helps you greatly with your daily, minor expenses, allowing you to save your chroma as energy for your daily activities.

A job... [ Rather than look relieved, Jiang Cheng looks more troubled still by this. It's the sensible thing to do, but he's a young lord who's been raised his entire life to inherit his father's sect, so the idea of doing some kind of craft or trade comes off as even more daunting than moonlacing if he's honest. He sighs and nods, trying to at least be grateful for the young lady's insight. ]

That's good to know. [ He pauses, expression briefly pensive. ] Is it... acceptable here, then, to simply hold hands with... strangers?

[That's a very simple question that Meteora, being who she is, is making more complicated than it should be. But she can't help it, she's been thinking about the hows and the whys a lot. The lack of explanations are incredibly frustrating.]

I can't tell if it's always been the case, but you're correct, it's acceptable now. The Moonblessed like us need to survive and the locals are eager to help because gathering Chroma helps their planet in return. From what I understand, better results are achieved from Moonlacing with other Moonblessed rather than with the Prismals since they can't produce Chroma like we do. [A little frown appears on her face - mark the day on the freaking calendar!] It would easier to help this place if we could understand its workings.

[Translation: she needs to understand everything, other people are chill.]

[ Yeah, all of that is a little above Jiang Cheng's pay grade. He's just a simple ancient Chinese man trying to get by in a futuristic scifi world. He's hesitant before he continues, knowing there's a lot more going on with Meteora and their current situation than he's feeling. ]

Well, ah. If I can assist you in return to better understand things or... anything of the like, please don't... hesitate to let me know.

[Oh! Well, look at that. This is a pleasant result after their rocky start. Meteora offers a little smile - acquaintance acquired!!! This is how you do it, right? Sure, let's go with that.]

Thank you, I appreciate that. You can count on me too if you need help with anything else - be information or another tutorial.

[That may be an attempt at teasing. Don't mind her.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

▶ TDM .010

1

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject