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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( It hardly surprises him that Diarmuid (seemingly?) doesn't recall their last encounter. He knows it's not impossible for him to arrive from a different point in time, Archer and his (future) son's presence was a constant reminder of that. But never did he consider Diarmuid would have arrived from an earlier point in time.

Certainly he would want to kill him. Perhaps it was for the best.

But Kiritsugu has no inclination to respond, he doesn't even so much as turn to view him, simply raising the back of his hand, calling attention to the two remaining seals on his hand. )

Our war is not here.

( He had no intention of resuming their conflicts. It would be a meaningless endevour, with no reward to. He simply sought for his own, internal peace in this new dwelling. )

[ the bare-boned acknowledgment stirs, again, the antagonism in the pit of his gut. Diarmuid knows so little of the man who razed Kayneth's dreams to dust, but what he knows, he can hardly abide by.

not that his personal feelings matter much, not in the long run. what the resigned set of the man's shoulders is saying, in not so many words, is that they have nothing to discuss. even the seals on his hand seem like an afterthought.

Diarmuid frowns. ]

—But you're aware of it. [ which is enough— it's all Diarmuid needs to know. ] I see.

[ and he'd be content to leave it at that, really. but, a beat later: ] ...I have no intention of harming you. There would be no reward in cutting down a turned back.

( Whatever strained niceties he's been retaining in Diarmuid's presence all but go out the window. Kiritsugu would have been content to go on his way, leaving Dia to his own devices, and yet, he can only feel anger clawing up his ribs.

He, without a shred of honour, whose actions against Lancer and his Master could be described as callus as best, was to be met with the same chivalrous drivel Saber would pride herself on.

Finally, he shifts his head, the contorted expression on his face can only be described as a glower. )

I haven't any business, with a killer who extols the virtues of chivalry.

[ —a 'killer'.

Diarmuid's indignance sharpens the amber-gold of his eyes; his tenuous truce with the man in front of him threatens to break, but pride and dignity still his hand. ]

...Hollow words, from the mouth of a man like you.

[ one that refused to face his Master in a true fight between mages; one that would choose deception in favor of honor.

(or so Diarmuid thinks— he's every bit as obstinate and shortsighted as his Master is, really.) ]

What right do you have to pass judgment on chivalry?

Please, don't equate yourself to me. I have no delusions about what I am.

( He snorted in derision. Kiritsugu will acknowledge that much, because in his eyes, there was little difference between those who killed with honour and those without. It was simply a matter perception. )

If chivalry could save the world, we would have accomplished so by now.

( His lips curl, as though he longed for a cigarette. The longer he was forced to interact with the knight before him-- he could only feel himself growing more irritable, much like a pin being pulled from a grenade. )

When you build your glory on death and suffering, you are no better than those you've deemed 'evil.' How many men have you led to their deaths by parading to your banner? To a hell we call 'the battlefield'?

( To him, there was nothing to be found in war but despair. )

[ they're walking on parallel lines. this, Diarmuid can tell— his first instinct, upon hearing the accusations leveled at him, is to metaphorically recoil.

the crease between his brows cuts deeper; the set of his jaw, firmer. ]

Enough. Any more, and you threaten to insult the honor of my former king.

[ his hands stay by his side, fingers furling and unfurling. venting indignation through the balling and unballing of fists. ]

You accuse us of washing blood with blood, but suggest lawlessness in return. What right do you have to devalue the purpose we find in the clarity of our blades? To render meaningless those we choose to preserve and protect under the pennant of a worthy liege?

Edited 2020-01-11 13:00 (UTC)

( Comparatively, Kiritsugu doesn't so much as flinch when Diarmuid outbursts, retaining a fixed gaze and level tone, in spite of the clear anger conveyed by his words. Even the perceived threat does little to deter him. )

Because you use chivalry as a means to justify your false righteousness. ( A beat. Interesting, he finds, Diarmuid's loyalty to his king. ) Your own king sought to have you killed, did he not?

( The hint in his voice is subtle, that even after such a betrayal, Lancer would not hold resentment against Fionn. That he would willfully remain blinded in spite of his faults. Truly, he'd consider it foolish. )

[ say what Kiritsugu will about Diarmuid's intentions, but the backhanded implication regarding his history is what sharpens the knight's indignation into offense. he'll hold fast to his promise that there's no honor to be found in felling a man outside of the battlefield, but severity clips the seams of Diarmuid's words. ]

Hold your tongue.

[ ironically, this isn't a rebuttal of the actual point at hand; let's face it, Kiritsugu isn't wrong. but Diarmuid won't see it that way (of course he won't).

his heels dig into concrete. ]

Your judgment means little, but there are some insults that I cannot abide by.

( Really, all he's doing is proving Kiritsugu's point. His clipped tone; his sharp, offensive pose. A stark contrast to Kiritsugu's deadpan nature, which at this point could almost seem mocking. To that, Diarumid receives a very casual shrug. )

So even you would set aside your chivalry over blind loyalty to a ruthless tyrant. You knights are all the same, no better than dogs.

( Tell him how you really feel??? Kiritsugu?????? )

[ the nonchalance is what ultimately crushes Diarmuid's patience; that seeming lack of care, the ease with which Kiritsugu does the metaphorical equivalent of charging headfirst into someone's garden to crush their well-tended flowers under his heel.

as much as Diarmuid knows better than to rise to easy bait, it's the word 'tyrant' that makes Gae Dearg manifest between the curl of his fingers. a whistle of wind, and the tip of that blood-read spear points, unflinching, towards the bridge of Kiritsugu's nose.

again, he has no intention of actually harming the other man. this is just the principle of the thing. ]

Retract those words.

[ being called a dog— fine. he'll endure it. but to call Fionn a tyrant????? ]

To level such lowbrow accusations against my former king— I won't allow it.

Edited 2020-01-13 04:00 (UTC)

( Is... that supposed to frighten him? His display only draws an unflinching click of the tongue from Kiritsugu, as if he were chiding a small child, even as his perceived death stares him down. )

Sorry, I'm not one to abandon my ideals so hastily.

( Nonchalant as ever. Sorry Dia, there's just no winning with him. )

Edited 2020-01-13 04:46 (UTC)

[ so like.

alucard is just minding his own business, but when he, well, passes by and sees a stranger hoisting weaponry at his boss-not-master he pauses.

well. okay. ]

I'll be confiscating this.

[ he drawls it, lazily, as he pops up unexpectedly behind kiritsugu and grips both his sides to lift him up like he expects him to react like a misbehaving, squirming cat. ]

I have standing orders from my master to avoid mass conflicts, so whatever's going on here can continue whenever there aren't half the population around, probably. Or you can take me on instead and we can make this quick.

[ he sounds excited about that prospect. so excited he kind of squeezes kiritsugu a little. sorry. ]

[ ah.

deja vu sweeps up from under his feet and threatens to knock him flat. here's something to think about: his duels will always be interrupted by dramatic men wearing red.

fortunately, the breath he takes to assess the situation is the break in tension that Diarmuid needed. besides—

—seeing Kiritsugu be hefted like a cat on a clothesline is enough. ]

...There's no need. [ his indignation settles, content to dissipate slowly. ] It was a futile argument, from the start.

( He almost cannot believe this is happening. One moment, he's staring death in the face, almost certainly about to die in the service of his ideals, and now he's being hoisted off by his vampiric co-worker like a cat. Cool.

He doesn't so much as squirm, merely staring off blankly in Diarmuid's direction, uttering in that perpetually flat, deadpan tone of his: )

Ah, my hero.

( Alucard???? What??????? )

Oh. Are you sure? You could get some stress out. Feel free to come at me. I'm indestructible, but if whatever you have going on can make a dent, I'm interested.

[ he GRINS. it's a rude grin. he's awful. then his naughty emotionless cat boss has to say some words and he laughs, a sharp, brittle thing. ]

Oh, no one's ever called me that, you don't have to go that far. I'm just being proprietary.

[ the moment's gone; Diarmuid's anger fades with his spear, and his hand strays back down to his side. honor retained through resignation— there's no point in arguing with someone who he won't see eye-to-eye with.

gold eyes close, as if to shutter himself from his previous emotions. ]

I've no intention of starting a scuffle during festivities.

[ sorry, Alucard. a low exhale, and Diarmuid reevaluates his current situation. ] —I acted out of turn. If there's nothing else to discuss, I'll be taking my leave.

[ he almost seems to deflate, with the promise of a fight gone. what a tragedy. he nods though, considering, then shrugs. ]

As I said, my master prefers I don't cause too large a ruckus, but sometimes it's just necessary. At least tell me your name before you go.

Some arguments may be won by the brilliance of a blade, but I don't suppose this one will.

[ maybe later, maybe when there are less people around; he's a Celtic warrior and he'd love to see what Alucard is made of, but again. not the time or place, probably.

his gaze flicks to Kiritsugu, as if to evaluate how best to answer the simple question of his name. Team Saber already knows it, so is there any point in truly concealing his identity for Kayneth's sake? ]

...At any rate, refer to me as 'Lancer'. [ ultimately, this is his decision. ] Until I'm convinced of my own Master's true absence, I'm beholden to the title.

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▶ TDM .011

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weeps.

clutches chest for kerry

Let me know if someone needs to come in and save Kerry's stupid ass.

PLEASE lmk if kerry wants to call someone to kick diarmuid's ass

A;SLDKFJ I MEAN... Alucard wants to intervene.................

LMFAO I WOULDN'T MIND TBH, np if you need intervention!!

I'm just screaming tbh. WHY IS KIRITSUGU LIKE THIS???

I'M CRACKING UP, WHY ARE THEY BOTH LIKE THIS!!

Alucard is jumping in after this comment.

im losing it preemptively

oh my god

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i thought i replied to this holy shit i apologize if this is too crusty don't mind me

HAHA, no worries at all!