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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Yusuke had wanted to try the new VR pods for himself, having spent some time in the Amphoria Room. What he hadn't counted on was the pods being so popular he was left with no option but to step into an already occupied pod.

As it turns out, two people can't use the pod for two different simulations, because as he steps in, Yusuke finds himself already in someone else's memories. He balks, looking around at the school rooftop and the city skyline in the distance...

And spots a teenager around his own age, lying down and talking to himself. That uniform, he thinks, looks awfully familiar.]

Excuse me. [He approaches the stranger.] I apologise for the intrusion, but where are we?

[He thinks he can guess at the answer, but he wants to confirm it anyway.]

✴ there and back again ― a

[ Arrival is an unfathomable blur, from coming to within a fissure of crystals, to the intake process made all the longer with her hundreds of questions, to finally vomiting aboard the transporter to Lunatia in a bout of... sky vessel sickness?

Whatever the proper term, not even her grandfather will believe her if she ever makes it back home.

After disembarking, Sypha makes her way to the housing districts in a daze that is delighted and overwhelmed in turns. She's tending more towards the latter as she walks the halls, occasionally stopping to look into an unoccupied unit. On the one hand, she is very grateful to have been provided for. On the other, she cannot help a mounting sense of disquiet. Until recently, she's never been without her family. In her entire life, she's never had a home. How is she supposed to choose one for herself now, so far away from everything she's ever known?

She stops for a moment beside a giant window overlooking the city, pulling the hood of her robe over her head. This place is amazing, but a sullenness is coming over her all the same. ]

✴ say cheese ― champagne supernova / a

[ So, what does it take to get a very homesick Speaker to finally loosen up?

One ice cube. One.

The bit of liquid courage has Sypha popping up at several attractions throughout the festival all night. What happens next? It's up to you! Is she offering to light your sparklers with a bit of her magic? Attempting to convince you to join her in a round of Lucky Tail? Demanding to know why so many people here are dressed like carriers of the plague? Maybe she spilled the rest of her drink on you, how obnoxious. ]

[ ahahahaha you're a very positive guy, mr stranger! doppo stares at the ridiculously long, beautiful hair that's tumbling onto his shoulders, momentarily distracted by just how gorgeous he is. but something about his words catch his attention -- dear friends.

sensei and hifumi are dear friends of his, and in the midst of his confusion (because surely they can't reach here all that much quicker than him) he can't help a cold sort of dread. has hifumi already replaced him? can't be helped, right? this man's shiny, gorgeous, sunny and warm and kind the way doppo can never hope to be. ]

A-ah, yeah. [ but they're safe, and that's what matters, right...? being alone isn't so bad, right? ] You've become close so quickly?

[That’s the other thing about parties, the inherent danger to a man who skews towards the anti-social — people will (with good intentions, true) attempt to wrangle him into small talk. An art that Sephiroth never initiates on his own, who wields it like a man who isn’t so much inept as he is unwilling.

So it might be strange to consider that he’s standing in the midst of a party, of all places, but practicality often supersedes inconvenience. His second foray to the planet of Lunatia requires that he readjust to a foreign lifestyle yet again, and seek out any familiar faces from his last stay. Thus far his success has been middling, spotting none who would match his memory.

Only new faces, far too revelrous. And introductions that he did not ask for thrown his way.

Sephiroth sets his jaw, watching as the other moves with something of a drunken flourish to accompany his words. He dredges up what resolve he has to humor the other; it makes his tone not impolite, but certainly not very warm.]

So you’re new. [He’ll grant him some leeway. That alone is worthy of a drink.] A word of advice — don’t always consume what’s given to you without asking after the consequences first.

[There has been some Weird Stuff he’s seen during his stay, okay.]

My name is Sephiroth. [His arms cross.] You’re a doctor of what?

Um... well, I don't think this would've happened without him.

[ "This" of course is referring to herself, and clearly as she's alive and opening the entrance to the pod, there's no problems! If Kaden didn't exist, she wouldn't either, so therefore he must be inside of the virtual world inside of the machine? She opens it up, the inside revealing the dark innards of a forest: the one that hid her Deeprealm, the one she escaped while chasing some birds. ]

Oh, he might've gone looking for me. That, or he's brushing his tail or... [ And she gasps with widening eyes! ] ... he's playing without me! Ugh, he would do that. Come on, let's go!

[ She tugs at Byleth some more, though she's not going to force him in--- no such thing as forced funsies, you know? ]

[The person who answers her is a scruffy-looking man wearing an old trenchcoat. He'd been curious about the Lucky Tail game, but didn't have a partner to play with, so he's quick to nod along.]

Hmmm... Sure thing, pal! I'm sure we can nail it! [Never mind that they're complete strangers.] We just gotta figure out who does what part, right?

I was under the impression there was a lot of people here. Do you know everyone?

[ He knew a lot of people himself, Social Links and all, but not that many. Although, the gesture to his arm band has him perking up a bit. Wait, he wasn't the only one from Gekkoukan High here? ]

Some of my friends are here? Who?

[ He may actually be showing some excitement here, nevermind what he said about not fitting any description. He even has a small smile on his face. ]

Edited 2020-01-09 16:04 (UTC)

Is that what that was? Okay. Okay. I - let me center first and. That helped.

Uh, Deedee. Call me Deedee Yeowoo, Pidonus.

(she steps back, emoting gratitude, then stands wide and centered and brings her arms to her sides, two balled up fists upside down. She faces away from Pids - the better to not hit her with the high mid low low mid high combo she unleashes on imaginary foes, then the two high kicks, then the clear.

She ki-ai’s, a bellow from her belly, then draws her hands together.)

...Monk. Never was good at meditation by sitting still but that... centers me.

[ He spins, turning to the voice, and meets a familiar face, but one that makes him scowl immediately.

Didn’t remember him, huh? Too young to have committed any of his crimes, huh? What a joke.

He drew his sword. ]

I’m not afraid of you. [ The rage was slipping into his expression. ]

You may have fooled my uncle, but you can’t fool me! You even dare to wear his colours!! What kind of game are you playing at?

[ Well, he thought he'd be alone in this place. He hadn't thought that one could enter it. Not that he really minded too much, aside from being caught talking aloud. Still, he sits up on his elbows, reaching to unclip one earphone to address the fellow blue-headed teen. ]

Gekkoukan High School, the rooftop. Sorry, did you want to use the pod?

[She's walking from her room to explore a bit, wandering around in a seemingly careless fashion. Mainly because it's the only way to keep herself from freaking out, to keep herself from trying to run away with nowhere to go. Squashing down instinct after instinct.

And these strange....fleshy...ape-like but not animals are really weirding her out.

She passes by one, who seems to be stuck standing in front of a sliding door to his room. And she was about to just pass him by. Avoid him because something deep inside her says this kind of creature is dangerous to her kind, despite never seeing anything like it before coming here.

But...Haru is one for accidentally wandering into dangerous situations, and this guy seems more a fool than a foe. She stops, turns around on her heel, and approaches him.

She comes to about waist-height. If that.]

Having fun?

[Oh, he's not always a positive guy, don't worry. Or, well, do worry because that's your thing.

He gives Doppo a reassuring pat.]

Quickly? Well, it is true that I'm like a baby bird to Doctor-san, but they've both been here for some time. Ah, could you be... their missing third member? And newly arrived?

[Wataru lights right up, taking Doppo's hand and shaking it.]

As I'm their Wataru Hibiki, so shall I be yours. Welcome to Lunatia! Let me take you to the clinic, Doctor-san will be joyous!

[In this particular instance, it's less cracked shoulders with, and more nearly tripped over.

Which...being a small herbivore in a world full of animals true-to-size just walking around with the rest of society, is a common enough occurrence where she knows how to react. By deftly moving aside, stumbling a bit before righting herself up.

Her heart is naturally beating fast from the near run-in, nose twitching a bit, but she plays it off as though unfazed, brushing off the skirt of her dress.]

It's fine, really! I'm used to it. [and then, looking up at the cookie he has in his hand....] Oh, they have dessert?

On Tatsumi Port Island? [He didn't see the school itself before, but he knows of it.] It's all right, I don't mind waiting my turn.

Are you perhaps classmates with Minako, or Takeba-san?

[These fleshy animals are still really weird to her, but Haru knows fox ears and tail when she sees them. So even though she did approach this girl, the friendliness and familiar touch still has her feeling very...careful.

Even if on the outside she's as cool as a cucumber.]

That, uh, depends on the kind of "daddy" you're talking about.

Er, yes, actually.

[ He really shouldn't sound surprised, but he kind of does. It wasn't like Tatsumi Port Island was some secret getaway, anyone could come and go. He came and went when he was young, after all.

He unclips the other earphone and sits up a bit more properly at 'Takeba-san', although the first name doesn't ring a bell at all. ]

I'm afraid I don't know a Minako, but I do know Yukari, yes. We're friends and we lived in the same dorm. Is she here then?

[ It’s definitely Martin all right. Looking rather more washed out than the last time Jon saw him, as if something’s leeched some of the colour out of him. (Thanks, Peter, for shoving him into the Lonely along with everything else terrible from the last few months.) Martin somehow manages to go even paler when a familiar voice calls his name, and he turns to see— ]

Jon? Wh - what - what are you doing here?

Excuse me?!

[Moran's voice immediately takes on the inflexions it takes when he is scolding his nephew, the Emperor of HuangDao. It is a voice that carries enough hauteur to make most think twice about what they are going to say next, and his arched eyebrow and vaguely offended look only adds to it.]

Mind your manners, young man! You are in public! Do not dishonor the robes you wear any further.

[He snaps his fan open, looking at the... child, up and down.]

Am I supposed to know who your uncle is? Or who you are, for that matter, beyond the fact that you clearly are a Jin Sect member?

[Considering his usual behavior, Haga should probably be scurrying off somewhere after being straight up threatened like that. But this person is so mystifyingly dumb he's actually a little fascinated, if not a bit frustrated.]

I'm not picking a fight with you! And you are supposed to light up a firework not eat it! How dense are you?? [Haga can understand people not being familiar with this place's more futuristic technology, but fireworks are really old.] Are you some kind of caveman?

[Didn't Minako also live in a dorm on the island? It must be a different building. Regardless, Yusuke nods and moves over to sit beside him.]

That's correct. She has been here for a number of months already, and was quite the beautiful model for my art. [That part is important.] If you're friends, she will surely be pleased to see you.

[An embrace they both give themselves over to, then, Julian easily drawing her to him, softening within the circle of her arms. He's always been quite the traveller, the kind of man who finds a home in any port with a rowdy tavern, in any place he lays his proverbial hat. Despite this, there's comfort to be taken from familiarity, and when he pulls back just enough to look at her, he's still smiling his wide and welcoming smile.]

Hah! Confusing, certainly. But at least, ah-- it's not the first time, is it? Ending up in a strange new place for reasons unknown. Not quite the shock it was last time.

[Not that he'd minded, terribly. Duplicity suited him down to the ground, a place he would have willingly remained in, had he not - quite abruptly - found himself here, instead.]

But um, I've only just arrived, yes. Should I take that to mean your appearance preceded mine?

[ He adjusted the earphones to hang over his shoulders, swinging his legs over to sit properly although he still slouched a bit and stuck his hands in his pockets. ]

A model? I didn't think she would be into that... [ She's certainly a beautiful girl though, so it also wasn't too much of a surprise. ] You're an artist, then?

[ He nodded, he hoped to run into her later then. ]

[those are intriguing words. zixuan blinks before tilting his head in curiosity. the other young man's robes are a clue for him as well, but not as much as the fan.

he parts his lips to say something, but he's going to feel foolish if he's wrong.

a second hesitation, his eyes flitting elsewhere before he finally speaks.]

It's nothing that can't wait. And I'm interested in knowing more about these differences.

[ If he hadn't already met Legosi, he would be gawking at Haru's presence alone. Actually, Josuke still is gawking, because she's so very small, and he's not used to talking to someone who stands at half his height (or has a rabbit-face, really). Of course, it's rude to comment, so he doesn't, but his difficulty processing the situation is apparent on his face. Then, the VR surroundings change, and they appear to be in a bedroom?

It's not a bedroom. Seconds later, it sinks in that this is a hotel -- the risque sort of hotel. ]

Wait, is this some kinda love hotel?! Why is this place what appears?! [ He's never been to a love hotel. There's just too much to process right now. ] What kind of ... memory are we in?! [ Because if it's a sex memory, he might nope out of the simulation. Josuke doesn't how, exactly, he would leave, but it's better than seeing something he's not meant to see. ]

[Not the expected reaction she was aiming for! She didn't expect him to get....upset on getting teased. Was it upset or pouty? He seemed more indignant in the way his body has positioned itself. Almost as if he was trying to protect himself all of a sudden. It was a sense she was getting from the way he was beginning to pull away.

A small pout of her own will be given at watching him distancing himself. She felt lonely all of a sudden! But this was no longer about her. Right now she was more interested in the reaction she just got. One she did not expect to find in the boy before her. In the very affectionate, very welcoming, and very warm boy. She almost wanted to laugh at his reaction. It was so childlike! He looked like a kid to her all of a sudden. A kid trying to act like a grown-up in the way he was using formal language to sound insulted.

A warm smile will appear as she observes him with great interest. His reaction, as unnerving as it may have been, maybe a little off-putting because it was not the reaction she was looking for, has tickled her. He was far more interesting the more she observed.]

I know. You wouldn't. Not purposely, anyway. [How many hearts has he broken? All of a sudden she was curious to know if he has ever been charmed by anyone or has charmed others by mistake. She may have been. Or was. Just not in the way she was wondering now. Hovering over him again, she'll cradle his face once more just to....]

Edited 2020-01-09 16:51 (UTC)

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Page 35 of 205

▶ TDM .011

there and back again

Sypha Belnades | Netflix's Castlevania | Cordis

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