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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...I just meant there isn't anything easy about the entire situation, is there? [ Not just... "moonlacing". Even with just an incredibly bare bones kind of answer he's going to purposefully try to not think about that. Something about it just goes against his sensibilities. But it's just a detail in the sea of a bigger issue. ]

Even if there's nothing that overtly terrible about it, or even that it's anyone's fault... [ though if cookies and food do get spiked to "encourage" certain behaviors his righteous indignation might swing back in full force ] ... it isn't easy for anyone to find themselves somewhere strange they're not supposed to be without any idea how to get back. Where there might be expectations of them they never would have agreed to and aren't comfortable with, but don't really have any choice in the matter.

[ There is an irony in that. He can feel that, even if he tries not to dwell on it because he knows how depressing the answer would be. ]

I'm sorry that anyone has to be in that kind of situation. Even if it might feel a little better to realize we're not alone, I feel bad that there's other people besides myself that don't belong either. Any one of us might be leaving behind so many people who would worry and not understand, let alone what sort of impact our absence might have on any battles we may have been fighting.

[ Though in Allen's case... it's arguable if that might not be a good thing for his own. In fact it's arguably a very good thing. Painful as that might be to admit.

And yes. His thoughts are that composed on at least the overall situation already, spacing out on the details or not. He had a long flight to the city without anything else to keep his screaming anxiety at bay, and being able to compartmentalize and quickly figure out his thoughts and feelings in an ever-changing sea of chaos is literally the only way he's stayed both alive and as (relatively) sane as he is. It's literally a survival skill. He couldn't even manifest his Innocence if he couldn't figure that out... probably. Not well, at least. Which might explain a lot.

And he looks back to her and smiles then. Gently, and in a small sort of way that's distant and faintly a little sad. And doesn't quite reach his eyes. ]

It's sad. And I'm sorry that it's something that has to be dealt with in the first place, even if that's all we can do now. Move forward.

That's all I meant.

[ So very simply, like that's so obvious and natural. ]

Edited 2020-01-09 09:49 (UTC)

[The shape of his name on someone's lips surprises him, and for one brief moment he blinks at her without a trace of recognition, head tilted slightly to one side in evident confusion.]

I'm sorry, I er--

[But it's as he speaks that his mind begins to clear, that the fog inside his head starts to lift, gaps in his memory swiftly filling in until his face splits open on a smile. He's stepping forward himself, then. Quite impulsively, he's reachcing for her, pulling her into a warm and leather-scented embrace.]

Oh! Oh, my darling. You're here! Well this is ah, well this is a surprise.

[He hadn't expected to find anyone he knows.]

[ The sound of the glass shattering startles Xichen from his reverie (he hasn't actually drunk any of his own tea yet), and he blinks, his eyes only widening slightly at the bright color of her hair. Then his eyes move between her and the nearby shaking objects. ]

Miss? Are you all right? Would it be better if we were to go somewhere in the open?

[ He recognizes that apology, really. From another young woman whose powers were going out of control. So he has to ask - and no, leaving her on her own doesn't occur to him. ]

[So many people, most of which he had only heard of vaguely. Also, most of them people he should avoid.... He wasn't sure what he had expected. It wasn't like things had been good.

The mention of himself did give him pause. From the future? How? The differences between were small so....

He had a bad feeling.]

Th-this other me.... Th-they are not....

[Well. He wasn't sure what word to use. But, perhaps this other him hadn't had the same fate as himself. It was the only explanation. He wouldn't be a ghost, and he shouldn't become a fierce corps. Even if he died terribly. No one would interact with such things anyway, it would be dealt with quickly.

But, there was a feeling gnawing inside him that was saying it would not be happy.]

[Don't worry, when it comes to being drunk, this one can relate. Although, she's usually more of a violent drunk, but that's a minor detail. Minor detail.

Many around her were really getting into the spirit of the festival, so she wouldn't be surprised to see more than one drunk along the way. Because of being easily drunk, she's decided to be good and not partake in it. This means if you need a designated driver, she's your girl.

Did she expect someone to try to talk to her? No. And when she looked at him, did she expect to see, well, him looking like this? Also no. Her eyes try to look straight at is, and that was after looking around to see who he was addressing.]

Very fun. You appear...to have really enjoyed yourself.

[ That she leaned into his hand at the gesture is rather surprising, although maybe it shouldn't be. He might even find that a little oddly reassuring, that she had been comforted by it, but when her tone turns teasing...

He colors a bit, though entirely not for the same reasons as before and a bit indignantly. Is...is she toying with him? If she's been toying with him he will dump her off of him so fast... albeit gently... But it's so jarring against how genuine she had been up until that point that it's unsettling.

Although that might have more to do with how guarded he is. How guarded he normally is. Somehow she just waltzed right through like they weren't even there before they abruptly snapped back up with that. ]

I wasn't! I'd never! [ Huffing, if mildly, though he does let his hand drop. He does get that she's joking, he just doesn't like the joke. Especially when in a compromising position that he's quickly growing all too conscious of.. and he shifts a little at realizing, an unconscious squirm. And after he'd just opened up a little...

Sulky? Him? He's absolutely not, thank you. ]

Edited 2020-01-09 16:09 (UTC)

[She looks pretty young for sure, in her early twenties tops, and a maiden's hairstyle as opposed to a married woman's certainly adds to the youthful impression. At the boy's confusion, Yanli seems to remember her manners.]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. That was rude of me.

[She offers him a gentle smile.]

It's just that you look a lot like someone I know. It surprised me.

[Then a slight pause before making an inquiry:]

...Ah, excuse me but you are of the Lanling Jin Sect, correct?

I... A lot has happened recently. [ Xichen swallows, the familiar, long-lost warmth of his name said like this adding to the kindness of the gesture and the additional twinge of moonlacing, almost taking his breath away. ] I am unhurt - I'm sorry for worrying you.

Ah, but this place plays tricks sometimes. May I ask what you last remember?

[Link senses Kanda before he actually sees him.

Well, it's more accurate to say that he feels something familiar combined with the sensation of being watched as he's talking with his neighbor at the table. Instinctively he goes on high alert, head whipping around to try and spot the offender just as Kanda moves briefly out of sight. Odd, he could have sworn...

But then he notices a figure in waitstaff uniform approaching and his focus returns to the meal, only to nearly choke on a piece of cookie when he finds himself face-to-face with the Exorcist.]

Kanda?! What are-

[But he sees that tray coming and immediately priority becomes making sure that no other guests around them wind up as collateral damage. A hand comes up to catch the wound-be weapon as it's coming down, gripping the edge of the tray before it can hit.]

... That's hardly appropriate behavior for this sort of event.

[ government-assigned roles are, in a word, Bad— god knows Diarmuid has had enough of people assigning value to him based on legend and past history. that said, an easy association to make about a man in a mask is that they wish to be anonymous, and the insistent hands trying to peel away that first line of defense is...

...well, it doesn't sit well with the knight. brows furrowed and lips set in a frown, he lowers his voice to a whisper. ]

It isn't my intention to let your discomfort continue.

[ straightforward? yes. Diarmuid has always been nothing but, and sometimes to his detriment.

so, amidst the pushing, he makes a suggestion. ]

—If you'd allow it, I know of a way to remove us both from this situation. Would you trust me to see it through?

[ the simple suggestion prompts a raise of his brow; this, he wasn't expecting to hear. ]

I would hardly take it upon myself to intrude on someone else's quarters. Not to worry— you'd have the place to yourself.

[ it's once they have breathing room again that he turns on his heels to face Sen properly, head tipped and amber eyes flicking down to the back of his companion's hand. he doesn't think he's seen Command Seals there, which would mean that she isn't a Master— but she's familiar with the concept of Heroic Spirits, which would make her, potentially, someone from his world.

he's silent in his appraisal for a second, before he catches himself. it's rude to stare, after all. ]

...There's no need for gratitude. If anything, it's my thanks you should have— I requested quiet, and quiet is what you've given me.

[ just a few yards away, the festivities rage on. the cooling wet patch on the front of his bodysuit reminds him of why he wanted to get away in the first place.

still. time to address the pressing issue at hand. ] You're aware of others like me?

[ That cute behavior is going to get him so many hugs and hair ruffles, goodness. She can't complain about him playing it up, though— anyone who can have a bit of a laugh at themselves is worth keeping around, she says. ]

I haven't even begun to tease, Gigi.

[ He has a perfectly good nickname and she goes and calls him that. Her reasoning was, "It rhymes with "cutie"!" And it stuck. Not that she won't call him Ginoza, mind. It's just funny to see his expressions when she does use it.

At his question, she chuckles and motions him over to the kitchen. ]

We could do the smart thing and order takeout. My treat, with you lacking chroma! Or—!

[ She declares, with a lift of her ears at this incredible important bit of information! ]

We make a special mix of chazuke. Which I happen to have everything for.

[ They'd have to try really hard to destroy chazuke, to be honest. ]

It might be a rough journey, but you're not stranger to hard work, are you? Us bad cooks can only endeavour to do our very best!

[ And wouldn't you know, she already has the tea and rice boiling. ]

[ As though realizing their behavior is actually unpleasant, the Prismals look between one another and two of them start to speak—

"Hey, lighten up, beautiful. How about you let me take you somewhere you'll *really* enjoy—"
"That shy berry there could be the treat right on top, too!"

Though, they're instantly silenced by the other two motioning to their companions to be quiet, the guy looks angry— only to suddenly make a squeak of horror and scramble back, suddenly tugging the other two along.

"We're sorry!! We're sorry!! Don't hurt us!!" They exclaim as they run off.

Diarmuid, should he be sensitive to the use of magic around him, may be able to sense something having shifted in the red-clad girl out of his line of vision right now. ]

[Link can't help a noise of frustration when he doesn't get any sort of elaboration at first, taking advantage of the Exorcist's distracted state to finally close the distance between them a little more. He doesn't get too near, but he figures that if Walker is so preoccupied then this (likely) is something worth taking note of. Maybe he was injured after all?

Also never being naked around the person you observe is a top priority, ok.

But that's neither here nor there at the moment, because Allen has finally gotten his shirt open and Link is similarly shocked. After all, he's not only been around the Exorcist enough to be well-versed in his various scars, but also the torment that certain ones have caused. Of course the one in question had been the most concerning ever since he received it, which is why he's having trouble comprehending what he's seeing.]

What? How...

[Propriety and earlier caution be damned, he's right in front of Walker now. He kneels a little to try and get a closer look, trying to find any signs of what could have healed the wound so cleanly. Despite all previous attempts at care the injury never closed like this, and his brief time with the Atuuda he knows that doing so even with sorcery would be no easy feat.

He picks up one of the crystals as it falls, only for his investigation to be interrupted when Allen's words finally hit home, making him slowly look up.]

... What do you mean?

[It can't be.]

[ And when he turns, he'll probably see what looks like a ghostly illusion of a very, very frightening looking cat-beast moving away from Kitsuno's form, beginning to dash off after the offenders— projected right at them and looking quite ready to tear them apart. It's almost comical, though Kitsuno stands where she is, hands moving in front of her body. ]

Thank you. They left me no choice, but I hope that terror is it's own punishment.

[ The surge of chroma fades, and she looks up at Diarmuid with a small, sheepish smile. ]

An illusion. I hope it didn't startle you... it'll fade very quickly. I hadn't wanted to use it earlier—

[ Though, her words are cut off as she suddenly feels her head spin and has to quickly balance herself with her hand on the wall. ]

Ah...

[ Then hopefully she doesn't mind Martin staring a little. He feels like he's looking at someone out of a film, or some detailed reenactment, or - something. Certainly every detail of her dress and manner seems to be an unreal level of perfect.

And yet ... is she staring at him a little? At what? He's not sure any of his features deserve that kind of attention. (Though he probably does look very odd to her, with that mess of dim copper curls and dusting of orange freckles.) He stares at the plate for a moment, struggling to respond without looking overwhelmed; he doesn't quite manage it. ]

What - what d'you reckon is in the tea?

[ He takes one of the little confections - some kind of petit four, or similar, which he turns in his hands. ]

[That is much better now, no? Space, freedom, and not having to be jostled a lot. Although, she doesn't suspect that he's trying to see if she's a Master at all.

When she looks up, she notices he did look, a little. But she shakes her head at what he says.]

We would not have reached quiet if not for you protecting us all the way there. Although, I believe we will keep saying the other did more if we keep this going.

[Still--] I have met others like you. Here. [In this world. If he was wondering.] Heroes would be very dear to my colleagues, being that I'm not quite human myself. Still, I will not ask you for your true name unless you wish to divulge it. That is part of the rules, no?

Would it be possible for a Persona user to use their *Persona* as the base for an Amphoria Pod setting, to create a reflection of a subconscious space rather than a physical one? Basically, to form a pseudo-mindscape dungeon like the ones in P4 or P5 that the character was never able to consciously visit.

[Do not mind it, it is food. IT IS FOOD. Oh, he even said that too.]

It seems we are of the same mind. [She beams. Food can taste amazing, and she will make sure of it. But when offered, she is not going to complain about it. Besides, everyone has to start somewhere.

Also, thanks to Prompto, she now knows what a chocobo is and they're frightfully powerful.]

Fruity? They do like to put berries in these.

[Damn, can't believe we'll never know Magnai's flavour--wait.]

Ah.

[He looks at his person, the sign, apron, the singing, and appropriately smiled sheepishly.]

Well, not usually, no.

[He tucked the sign under his arm and walked over, hand extended. The smell of butter, garlic, and herbs getting stronger as he approached.]

I'm called Bishop. Nice to meet you!

When she looks over at him, it was then she realises that she's met him before. The world surprised her at first, that she felt immersed in it. Now that she can get a better look, she remembered a dance.

Henry, that was his name. He was polite and nice, and she had wondered what happened to him. Guess she knows now, and that it seems like he's come back.

Also, even if he wasn't going to laugh, she was. Even puns are fair game. Although, she tries not to by clearing her throat to stifle it down.

"That being said, we are trying not to have her punch, no? If it were to..ah, knock us out of the simulation." Look, she tried.

[ best friend protocol activate. it's easy for doppo to brush aside his own anxiety and negativity in the face of hifumi's distress, and when hifumi wraps his arms around him he does the same without complaint, more fixated on trying to alleviate the source of it, to comfort even when he's entirely confused.

hadn't he just said goodbye to him this morning --

-- i thought i would never see you again. i was so scared. the words ring in his ears, wraps around his heart in a vice grip. he has never seen hifumi like this, not even in the midst of a panic attack.

no, this is different. this is hifumi at his most vulnerable, and doppo only hugs him tighter. ]

No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [ their bodies flush against each other, doppo's own protectiveness overriding everything else. his hand comes to cradle the back of the other man's head, and doppo feels his heart cracking, just a little. hifumi is so inexplicably sad, and doppo doesn't understand it, even if every cell in him wants to rush to soothe, to reassure. ] I'm here, Hifumi. You don't have to be scared anymore.

[ he turns his head, words buried in the crook of his neck, as if he could brand every syllable into his skin, willing them to reach hifumi's heart. ] I'm here. I'm not going anywhere.

[ listen, the fact that Rin is a magus and seems to have resilience against his charm spot is good enough for him... it's the biggest point of contention he has to grapple with when it comes to Chroma-sharing, really. they'll cross that bridge if and when the opportunity presents itself, but in the meantime...

..."winner of the Fifth Holy Grail". an impressive title, to be sure. not to mention that he vaguely remembers there being a 'Tohsaka' in his own war; afterall, Kayneth'd been thorough with his research (not that any mage with half an inclination for history wouldn't know about the Matous and the Tohsakas, but that's a digression that Diarmuid is unaware of).

surprise flits across his features. shutters his gold eyes once, twice, before they widen. ]

—The Fifth? How...

[ how can that be the case, when he's still fighting the fourth!!!!! existential crisis pt. 1. ]

[ say what?

he's sorry he's such a loser, doctor. doppo takes the cue and stands up with him, wide-eyed and entirely lost. did he just say five months, and how time's passed differently? the rush of calm energy settles fraying nerves, except it's starting up again, like a persistent beast that seeks only to reclaim what jakurai has always so determinedly pushed back and kept at bay.

five months, a hundred and fifty days, and hifumi has been here even longer, and doppo -- doppo had been in his miserable little cocoon of life with the others, and their thoughts hadn't reached him. he feels his heart tighten, reaching to squeeze the good doctor's arm, surprise evolving into profound dismay. how could he inconvenience them like this? ]

We're supposed to be a team, all three of us. I'm sorry, sensei. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. Is Hifumi okay? Are you -- [ no, the doctor would always be okay with or without them, right? he takes a deep breath. calm. ] -- are you doing okay? Not that you won't do okay without me, I'm not that important. I mean... generally speaking.

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▶ TDM .011

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ii ig Kaoru gets sad chinese men from me

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♥! Also Kanda pls...

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