prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .011

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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. After an hour or two of wandering through the crystal wilderness, a group of people find you worse for wear. They are the gallant Moon Knights from the planet of Prismatica. Because of the strange phenomena 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? — 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. You will then be escorted to the docks, and led onto a large transport vessel that makes frequent trips back and forth between the Iris moon and the planet. Faces onboard vary from both old and new Moonblessed as well as the local Prismals.

The next destination: Prismatica.

▶ There and Back Again
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 As a Remooning gift from the Lunar Scientia Headquarters, the dedicated team from the Amphoria Room has released their latest perfected technology: Amphoria Pods. These VR Pods, which can fit up to four people at a time, have been set up in the gaming hub within Level 1’s PrismaPlace. They allow users to upload sceneries of their world in order to create a realistic holographic landscape of their homes that others can access and play around with, granting everyone the means to relive past memories with their loved ones as well as interact with the bestiary of other worlds. The pods also use the same technology that enhanced the popular virtual game, League Match Action Online (LmaO), which means you’re liable to feel the chill of cold environments, the burning heat from boiling water, the hard slap of your ex-lover, or the biting sting of a stray wasp. All who use the Amphoria Pods for the first time this year will also receive a small amount of Chroma in case things get too real.

▶ God Save Us from the Queen
Level 1, PrismaPlace and Level 2, Greatmoon Groves | top

The first month of the year is packed with two of the most important winter events this season: Queen Elara’s birthday and the League Match Action Online (LmaO) PVP semi-finals. It just so happens that the Queen of Lunatia is also a huge LmaO fan. Coincidence? Definitely not! LmaO players and royal family fans alike can meet her at PrismaPlace, where she will be appearing in cosplay of her favorite hero, Ah-Kari, while holding a body pillow of Commander GareBear. You, too, can get an autograph or selfie with the birthday girl if you’re willing to fall in line! Her bodyguards will also be in LmaO cosplay, keeping the crowd under control during the long wait.

Queen Elara

Good day to you all! This may come as a surprise to our guests the Moonblessed, but I am a normal person despite my exalted position. Please do not think of me today as Queen Elara. Instead... my name is Ah-Kari, sorceress of the crystal! With my soul fan blades, through the darkness, I shall slice all who dare hurt my commander in twain!

But when she is not meeting and greeting...

Queen Elara

My comrades, we're going to make history today. We're going for a new record. Perhaps the highest kill counts or the fastest clear for this map — it matters not. We’ve practiced day and night for this tournament, so let us show everyone that we’re not to be taken lightly! Also, the livestream is going in the royal archive, so make your successors proud!!

... she will be furiously grinding her character and training her skills in LmaO in the hopes of qualifying for the finals. Spectators will see her bring her own team full of hapless palace attendants who are there to either serve as her practice match partners or provide support to the one-woman army that is Queen Elara.

PrismaPlace is packed with giant crowds, many of them also in cosplay. While the semi-finals are taking place, new and old LmaO players alike can participate in the game’s current campaign: players who form teams get an improved chance of spawning unique monsters as well as winning rare items and skins in those prized lootboxes! Teams can also try to clear the event’s story together, featuring an aerial battle fought on griffin-back, which is heavily inspired by the popular Lunatian epic, The Battle of Abraxas, a colorful and complex story about the conflict between two families fighting over the fictional land of griffins, Abraxas.

A Progression in the event requires acquiring a griffin mount and getting it ready for battle. You can lure a wild one to yourself with a special veggie pie on a fishing pole. Should the griffin reject the lure, your character will be caught in a wind gaol and can only break out with the help of other players. Should you succeed, raising the griffin is a tedious task that involves players training alongside their respective griffins, running laps with them, taking them to hunt monsters, and feeding them properly. Depending on their diet, the food you give them will affect the color of its plumage and their battle stats.

Or you can skip the hard work and simply moonlace with your teammates through all the progression bars and required materials to save time. Once finished, you’ll be able to battle one another through the thunderous aerial domain of Abraxas. Clearing the event will net you an event-exclusive skin inspired by the royal family’s shining celestial robes and a weapon skin of a body pillow with your favorite character, so do your best!

B In celebration of Queen Elara’s birthday, the office of the royal household is hosting a modest tea party in the Greatmoon Groves. Swiffy bots that are normally programmed to remind visitors to keep the groves clean are now playing a birthday jingle on repeat. For people who prefer to be away from the blinding neon lights and the thumping techno music of PrismaPlace, this is the ideal escape. Unlimited tea and cookies are being served!

The tea is a soft-colored lilac concoction made from Ehrysian tea leaves that are known to cause a huge spike of alertness and is popular to Moon Knights and office workers with long night shifts as well as gamers for those all-night grinding sessions. The assorted cookies have either Ah-Kari or Commander GareBear printed on them. In case it isn't obvious yet, both are the birthday girl’s favorite LmaO characters.

Any Moonblessed looking for extra income is welcome to be royal attendants for the day; the hours are paid by Demichroma. They must be properly dressed up as maids or butlers (outfits provided by the royal household) as they serve tables.

▶ Say Cheese
Level 3, Caihong | top

Meanwhile, Caihong is in the midst of Remooning festivities in celebration of the new year, and merriment usually lasts a fortnight, filled with fireworks in the sky. Upon entering the district, beautiful Prismals with rat ears and tails greet you with a Happy Remooning and eagerly tug you along to join in.

Those welcomed will receive a pack of multi-colored sparklers, mooncakes topped with cheese, and a glowing drink called Champagne Supernova, poured in a thin glass in your hand. If you are over eighteen, the rat Prismals will ask if you prefer your drink with a kick. If you say yes, then they will add flavorful ice that causes extreme intoxication and might leave you to be susceptible to all levels of suggestion. Saying no (or if you’re under 18) will simply leave it as a sweet drink.

A One of the party games being played by the locals is called Lucky Tail, which is basically pinning the tail on the holographic rat stand-in — with a twist, it must be played with a partner! Another participant will blindfold you, spin you around, then push you forward. The stand-in is located at the end of unsteady elevated platforms forming a maze, filled to the brim with distracting objects underneath. They’re long, they’re thick, and they’re vibrating furiously in an attempt to knock you off the platforms.

Your partner must guide you by voice to successfully navigate through the maze! The game is rigged with various mechanisms, so stepping on specific platforms will activate a number of traps against you or your partner: machines that may tickle, drop colorful slime, or cause the platform to repetitively spin, and who knows what else?

Should you manage to get through the obstacle course and pin the tail successfully, you and your partner will win copious amounts of Demichroma, courtesy of Buwan from Buwan’s Stop.

B Another attraction is a fun magic glamour booth known for its face or body swap features. The booth staff, clad in their festive rat paraphernalia, will encourage you and your friends to take aesthetic shots using an illusion generator. The effects last an hour. Photographed images can be instantly uploaded and shared in Prismagram. New year, new you! Why not take the chance to celebrate this momentous occasion in a unique fashion? It’s all in good humor.

There are two buttons to press: (A) CUSTOM or (B) RANDOM. Pressing A will allow participants to customize their desired effects. Pressing B will cause the illusion magic to randomly rearrange participants in questionable positions, new outfits (or lack thereof), and you may even come out of the booth looking like your best friend or your worst rival. The possibilities are endless!

▶ Questions
If you have any questions regarding this test drive meme, please ask them in the Questions thread below.

▶ As a reminder, test drive memes are for new characters only. However, current players are more than welcome to use these prompts for their own posts in the IC communities, personal inboxes, catch-all posts, etc.!
▶ As our test drive memes are game canon, feel free to keep any threads that happen here as canon for your character should they be accepted.

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[his heart does a funny thing when he thinks about nie huaisang's words. the possibility had occurred to him, but he's still so new to this place that he didn't feel certain of it.

whether or not she would actually be glad for it...jin zixuan blinks a few times before glancing down. he would like to believe that, but it feels like she's been unhappy in his presence more often than not.

which has led him to this.]

I...am trying to show her a different side of myself. [his next words are harder to say. he'd actually avoided them at first.] A better side of myself. Whether she accepts it or not...

[he trails off helplessly. only the future knows that.]

[While a sport on griffinback would also be cool, Nidai wanted to create a sport for the griffins themselves, and one in which they could compete without dealing with the burden of carrying humans.

He strokes at his chin thoughtfully as he takes in her criticism. He can't tell if she's specifically athletic at the moment, but at the very least she seems to know what she's talking about.]

Hmmmm...! That's a good point. This game is mostly based around the griffins, but if humans are going to be involved at all, then they have to have a more substantial role. It's not a sport if not everyone can push themselves to their limits!

[After a moment of thought, he adds on.]

What if the playing field's filled with obstacles? Ones that only the human players can remove? So that can be something they can do as support for the griffins! They'll compete in making the clearest paths for their steeds...

[The thought of that makes him blanche. it had been hard enough last time he'd seen Martin, how detached he'd become.]

No. No, that's not going to happen.

[ An exasperated noise. ]

Even knowing you die? It's not like Lukas is going to murder you and then let me out.

I can't just leave you there. I have to try.

You've already --

[ Wait. He pauses, abruptly, realising something. ]

You - you haven't yet. You're from six months ago.

[Jon blinks at the sudden change, and then gives a slow nod.]

Well, no. i haven't done it yet. But it doesn't change things.

Edited 2020-01-14 00:18 (UTC)

Alright, I got you.

[ he's got full trust in ranulf as he keeps walking forward, more and more until--

boof. enjoy the beef in your arms ranulf. ]

Did I run into someone?

[ your master plan has worked, what will you do now? ]

[ Sorry, Jon. At least this is vaguely hopeful for Martin. ]

It could, Jon. If you stay away then Lukas won't kill you.

[...you know, Seteth is just walking by, but he does hear a familiar voice, and ah! There's another familiar face. He'll leave Ashe to greet his actual new neighbor before stepping in, since he's checking in on the new arrivals and seeing if there's anyone he knows. Because he's like that.

In any case, once the conversation is over, he'll step on over!]

Ah, hello, Ashe. I see you've arrived here as well, then.

[ he feels ranulf bump into his arm and he lightly leans into him, putting less space between them. ]

I'm... sure there's other things we can do while we wait.

[ he says this with a bit of hesitancy. he has no idea what he's doing, but also-- it's ranulf. ike trusts this laguz more than anybody he knows. if there's anyone he's willing to go down this road with, it's him. so, very slowly, he shifts his arm, until half his hand is covering ranulf's. ]

I'm not leaving you in the Lonely, Martin.

...

It's not - it's not bad there. Doesn't sound at all like the coffin.

[Tony's eyes progressively narrow with each new word that streams out of the guy's mouth. He raises a finger to interject after "orange," but -- oh. Nope, he's still. Talking. And also pantomiming playing an instrument, all with his back still glued to the concrete.]

A normal-- okay. [Tony crouches down and grabs the guy by the shoulder.] First off, Jonas Brothers aren't handsome. Second, [he hauls him to a sitting position, then uses both hands to prop him up against the dragon statue,] I doubt this is par for the course unless you're, like, coming straight from a Dartmouth frat house -- hey, FRIDAY?

["Yes, boss?"

Tony snatches a pair of sunglasses from his jacket pocket and slides them on.]

Could you check this guy's heart rate? I'm guessing this is some Lunatia magic-crap-intoxication, but let's still check his O2 levels -- oh. [He shoves his wrist into the guy's face, which now has a small nozzle attached, as if part of a bracelet.] Blow into this.

[A beat. He sighs.] Please don't make a joke--

[ jake is... well he's kind of just hanging out. thankfully he's sort of dressed for the weather, since he's been here for a month, so sorry his perfect gams are just not on display today. the query from someone he assumed (clearly wrongly) to be one of the native fox prismals surprises him, but he grins a little, sort-of-sheepish, and shrugs. ]

I've seen worse rulers. She's the real queen though, yes.

[ah. so he's lost his father. plenty of children have in the world that they're from. jin zixuan can't personally relate, but he can at least have some compassion. it's not like the child is crying over a skinned knee. this is surely a larger hurt. and by his robes, he is one of his own.

idly, he wonders who his father was.]

I don't know how the Sect leader fits into this, but-

[he clears his throat. how does one comfort a child? what if he just makes this worse?]

But I have no doubt that your father died bravely, and wishes for you to live the same.

It's still one of those things, Martin. I went into the coffin for Daisy. I'm sure as hell going to do the same for you.

The last day or so has been a whirlwind; Waver barely knows how long he's even been here, and he keeps waiting to wake up and find this all a dream. He keeps waiting to open his eyes and be greeted by the familiar dingy ceiling of the free housing in the Down, the musty smell of old wood and cracking plaster, the dimness outside. But instead, everything here is bright and alive and noisy, a bustling city full of people he'd never even imagined before, those who look human and those who look completely alien, and yet none of them forced into some insane stratified caste system. No police checking for marks and collars or harassing him to see his papers if he wanders somewhere that looks a little too upscale. No one dragging citizens away for reprogramming if they don't perform as expected by some insane creator. For all its wild colors and incredible technology, Lunatia is the most normal city than Waver has been in for over a year.

It's overwhelming. It's probably going to feel overwhelming for a long time.

Waver has been spending his time since arriving just trying to get an understanding of the city and wandering the available levels, asking questions of the natives and being astounded by their general friendliness and apparent respect for 'Moonblessed' like him. He's welcomed, offered directions and assistance largely without question. He's allowed into stores, allowed to buy food on his own, treated charitably even when he realizes he doesn't really have much in the way of what passes for currency here. The difference is breathtaking. He feels like a person. Something so simple as buying a coffee for himself... it shouldn't be such a striking relief, and yet here he is, amazed and embarrassingly happy over something so small.

The only thing is that, with the shock of being somewhere new starting to wear off and the reality sinking in, he's also beginning to realize that in this enormous city, bright and welcoming as it is... he's alone all over again. Starting over again. Square one. Again.

One day at a time. One foot in front of the other. Even when things were at their worst, Waver promised to keep living. He's overwhelmed, stressed and lonely, but he's alive-- and he's out of Duplicity. He's here and so is Julian, and if Julian is here, then there's a chance -- a slim, crazy chance -- that maybe they weren't the only ones who somehow escaped.

It's that sliver of hope that makes Waver stop in the middle of the busy intersection in Lunatia Square, so abruptly that someone clips his shoulder from behind when they have to swerve fast to avoid him suddenly being in the way. They curse, but Waver doesn't pay attention. He's already turning around and dashing across the street from the direction he just came, following the glimpse of a petite form with long, dark hair.

His heart is pounding. He knows the chances are slim, and already he's sure he'll be disappointed, he's so scared to find out, but he has to--

The figure turns a corner past one of the neon-lit storefronts up ahead, and for just a moment, Waver glimpses his profile. His heart is trying to burst right out of his throat. He shouts.

"Soren!"

[ Martin slumps a bit, sensing he won't win this argument. ]

Well I'm here now.

[Oh he hates that.]

...I mean, I guess that's sort of what the months are, when given different names, anyway.

Well, only when I leave the door unlocked.

[How often does he forget?? Truly a mystery.]

Ah, unless you mean people showing up here -- that happens every month or so. Need any help getting settled? I know this place can be a lot to deal with for new arrivals!

[ Oh, Kars. That might be a worse move than commanding her to answer. She's already bristling at the vocal dismissal, at the way he looks her up and down as if appraising. Granted, it's not the first time she's been appraised like that, but it's still not something she appreciates.

But then - then he has the gall to go and shoo her away with the motion, and in the span of a heartbeat Re-L's usually even demeanor snaps.

Her own pale hand reaches up to slap at his with force, vehement as she speaks : ]

Don't you dare dismiss me like that! Who the hell do you think you are?!

[It is! He's just... not exactly used to being questioned about it, really.] I guess so, yeah!

[Alas...this is just how she always is.

As for whether or not she was used to saying whatever she wanted because of her powers....that depends on who you asked, really.

She pouts.]

Of course not. Do I look like the sort of girl who enjoys camping?

[She follows after him and she's observing him curiously. There were really two types of people who wore armour: soldiers (or similar people) and really dedicated cosplayers (and maybe royalty, she supposes, but really, was there any substantial difference between them and a cosplayer sometimes?)

And she's been around military types enough to recognize the body language at least a little.

She'll keep that to herself, however.

She won't ask to hold his hand, obviously. Instead she just floats up around shoulder height, her hand touching his shoulder instead.]

You're not mad are you?

[He does his best not to jolt, and it's a lot of trust to put in a stranger with as much impotent rage as Katsuki harbors-- he can smell that, thanks, but he can also tell he has no honest intent to hurt him, either. It's confusing. He follows his lead regardless, though, moving aside from the blast.]

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▶ TDM .011

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wildcard i do what i want!!

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