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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Bless you, Asuna. He's winded, wheezing a touch after chasing after his errant creature, and stands up straight when she walks over, considering her point. She... absolutely had one. He looks a bit chastised.]

...I mean eventually, sure, but... [He looks at the griffin, who proudly prances its way back to his side, sits, and preens. Tanjiro looks slightly mocked.] ...I am being a little soft, aren't I.

[Subleader-sama to the rescue. here for all your leadership/alpha needs.

there is nothing wrong with being soft (especially with animals, ESPECIALLY) but the soft route isn't working. when something doesn't work, you change your strategy!]

Training animals requires a strong mind and a patient hand. [or she had read that once.] Hold this for a moment.

[her fishing rod and veggie pie, of course. she then uses the FULL POWER of hands on hips and an incredibly Disapproving look on the creature.]

Listen here. That's enough fun and games. We need your strength in an upcoming battle. It's time you show us you have what it takes to lead us into victory or we'll find another griffin to do your job.

[hitting where it hurts, Asuna. right in the pride.

it looks just as chastised as Tanjiro now, honestly.]

[Patience he most certainly has, and maybe animals aren't that different from looking after five younger siblings growing up, but... He has way less experience with them, so he's faltering. He takes her veggie fishing rod, and even he holds himself a little straighter when she puts her hands on her hips like that.]

[He smiles when the griffin seems to change its course, a little.]

...I think it's well aware I wouldn't replace it, but I've also never put my foot down like that with it. Thank you, um--? [Here they are having an exchange surrounding a griffin, and he hasn't introduced himself or gotten this sassy lady's name. RIP.]

Asuna. You're welcome.

[she supplies him with this sassy lady's name while the griffin lowers its head, properly scolded. she can't help but reach forward then and stroke the top of its head, marveling at the soft feathers.

and continuing to talk to it. Asuna, you're embarrassing.]

There, there. You're actually a good boy, aren't you? You're smart, too, since you knew you could get away by not listening.

[WITH TANJIRO, not with her. look. she's always wanted a pet (that's why she had read that thing) so she had jumped on this Quest like it was Super Important Content though she told herself it was also to clear the event story.]

If you listen and behave yourself, I'll give you a treat.

[she's already giving it scratchies tho......

she finally turns back to Tanjiro while scratching under its chin with a small smile on her face that she doesn't know is there.]

I suppose I'll need both of your names.

[you named him, right, Tanjiro??? that's step one.]

[He stays quiet, watching her handle the griffin and not even remotely judging her for talking to it. She's a natural, chiding it firmly but also being gentle-- he's taking mental notes, honestly. It really is no different than disciplining a younger sibling.]

[He hadn't named it, but when she turns to him with that smile on her face and he considers how feisty the beast had been the whole time, he doesn't have to think very hard about it.]

Tanjiro. [He steps forward with a smile, reaching his hands out to join her in petting the griffin's plumage.] ...and this is Takeo.

[when you're the second in command of one of the strongest guilds in an MMO, you gotta be firm. not only that but the only girl... in the said guild. ugh.

the name is so on the nose that Asuna blinks a couple of times before muffling a small giggle into her fist. you heard nothing...

once she gets over her small fit, she clears her throat.]

Nice to meet you, Tanjiro-san. Mm, okay, that's good. If you hadn't named him, I would have scolded you next. You can't really bond with him if he has no name, right?

[You show 'em, Asuna. In the wise words of Anastasia, men are babies.]

[He doesn't mind, if he even notices her giggling at him-- he's too busy seeing the griffin in a new light, maybe. He turns back to her with an impossibly soft smile-- this kid doesn't know how to do things not soft, really --and makes an affirmative sound.]

I hadn't, before just now, but... You reminded me a little of my sister, with one of my younger brothers who could be kind of troublesome. So maybe now I'll manage him better, because I just named him after my kid brother. [He laughs at himself for that, turning back to the griffin and ruffling its feathers.] What do you think, Takeo?

[The griffin has probably no complaints, but Asuna promised a treat, so he's probably seeking that by way of standing very close to Tanjiro and craning his neck toward her. Treat, yes? He's been a good boy.]

[it's true!!! men ARE babies.

but how honest. what a soft smile. she can't help but relax in the face of such obvious transparency. the guys she knew were always trying to look tough or show off. or just... being stupid. mostly that.

er, she relaxes AND blushes a little upon being told she reminds him of his sister. his siblings. she wouldn't have asked about his siblings but since he mentions it,]

Hee──eh? So, you're an onii-san.

[ok yes he's been a good boy and his treat is the veggie pie that is useless in Asuna's hands when it comes to luring griffins. she plucks it off her fishing rod and then holds it out on her palm for this griffin to enjoy since NO OTHER ONE WILL.]

Actually, I thought you named him Takeo because we're training them to fight in an aerial battle together. I wouldn't have thought you were an older brother...

Edited 2020-01-11 02:45 (UTC)

[The smile stays, but he turns it on Takeo, instead, patting him.]

Ehh, look at that, Takeo, you got a treat. What a good boy.

[His expression doesn't quite fade at the topic, but it changes slightly. It's very slight, but the softness to him becomes just slightly despondent.] Mm-hmm. Oldest of six. Takeo's the second-oldest boy.

[finally. that smile was getting to her squishy center that she tries to ignore and that was concerning.]

I said I would give one to him, didn't I?

[not quite a huff, not quite NOT one either.

not that all her puffiness lasts. she's too shrewd not to notice the way his voice gets far more subdued. she's more shocked about the number, first.]

S-six!? [SIX KIDS HOLY CRAP. she's the younger sister of only TWO and she's pretty sure that's the average.] So many...

[Sorry, Tanjiro's good for making people realize they have gooey caramel centers. Or, organs, maybe, hard to say.]

[He just nods, letting her huff and puff-- he's got a friend like that, too busy huffing and puffing to try and cover up softness because he's a dumb rugged mountain boar who clearly is not soft in any way. It's okay, Asuna, he won't judge.] Yeah, and you came through. What'll you do to catch your own now, though?

[His smile pulls a little wider again, because... well, yeah, six kids is kind of a lot.] Yeah. Makes for a crowded house, really.

[both. both is good. except bring out her soft side. she's cute.

not a dumb and rugged mountain boar. the opposite actually. a seemingly straightlaced ojou-sama.

what will she do to catch her own? well, she has a Cooking Skill. maybe she'll just create her own veggie pie. maybe that'll lure them in like flies instead of using the one given to her. it's her problem, don't worry about it, Tanjiro...

six kids would have been fine in her childhood home. still, SIX KIDS. it sounds like chaos. it sounds like big dinners. it sounds lively.

... it sounds nice. she cups Takeo's big bird face and rubs her thumbs beneath his eyes, making him coo.]

And makes for an onii-san who is dependable and responsible, if you're really the eldest.

[He brings out everyone's soft sides, so you can look forward to that.]

[His smile is still the slightest bit tense as he watches her fluff Takeo's feathers with her thumbs, and his shoulders go a bit stiff.]

...I'm sure we could find another one of those pies somewhere. Surely people struggle to win them over often enough that you're allotted more than just one? [Is he avoiding the dependable and responsible comment? Quite possibly.]

[gimme dat soft stuff.]

[as she's too busy figuring out what Takeo likes petted best, she doesn't see him tense. or think too much about him ignoring the "dependable and responsible" thing.

maybe he should have stuck with it, though. she turns and levels a sharper look at him.]

I wasn't struggling. [YES, YOU WERE?! with another huff, she turns away from him.] I already decided I would make my own, anyway. If a griffin takes a veggie pie that I made, that means our bond will be stronger and we'll have an advantage.

[Tanjiro is very soft, so that's pretty much a guarantee.]

[He jolts when she immediately takes up the defensive, and raises his hands in a placating gesture.]

Oh-- no, I didn't... I'm sorry, I didn't say that right. I can't imagine there's a strict allowance of only one pie per person, because what if you don't catch one in the first day? It'd go stale... [He's digging his grave, here.] But-- oh! That's a really good idea, actually, it'd make your bond even stronger!

[the edge in her eyes softens again. like his softness is contagious. well, it's more like how quick he was to apologize that had her easing off. the guild would often say the Subleader was scary (that's her) but it didn't matter. nothing mattered but winning and surviving.

Tanjiro is rambling, though. it reminds her of-- no, don't think about him.]

I said that, didn't I? Since I helped you manage your griffin a little better, it's only fair for you to return the favor. How are you with cooking?

[he didn't even ask for your help, Asuna, but ok.]

[He does ramble a bit, especially when he's trying to diffuse something that could be misunderstood. He's snapped out of it pretty easily when he's voluntold to help her cook, and he goes a little pink in the case.]

Um, well I'm a coal burner's son, so I'm pretty okay at it! I've never made a pie for a griffin before, though.

[coal burner's...? maybe they were still popular in the rural part of the world. cooking and coal burning are two different things but

that's not that point. the point! is!!]

Me either but you won't be able to do something at all if you don't try it once. Come on.

[Asuna grabs his wrist and starts tugging him in the direction of civilization and out of griffin field.]

You too, Takeo!

[she's bossy.]

[Different, but it means he's good at temperature regulation, and from there cooking is sort of natural to him. Probably stemming again from the whole oldest-of-six thing.]

[He starts when she just grabs hold of him, but doesn't protest, keeping pace with her nearly immediately.]

Ah-- oh, okay, sure thing.

[Tanjiro is an older brother and yet Asuna is leading him around. or maybe it's the little sister in her that feels compelled to drag the big brother around. and it's the big brother in Tanjiro that goes along with it.

Takeo follows behind, obediently, in any case as they walk through high grass and pass by another griffin here and there. they lift their head, curious, at their little troupe.]

Birds are omnivores. I bet if we made a meat and veggie pie, they wouldn't be able to resist it.

[Little bit of both, probably. Tanjiro's also just sort of an easygoing kid? He at least isn't bothered by being pulled along as Asuna wills.]

That's probably true-- I've never encountered a bird this big before, so I can't really say I know much about them.

You haven't? But there were those giant vultures on the--

[right. she's the only one that remembers Aincrad, here. what was it all for, then? nothing. a waste of two years and now she's stuck in this new place, Prismatica, with no clear goal to escape it as she did in Sword Art Online.

her stare is furious at the tall grass brushing against their knees.]

Nevermind.

[then she TUGS HIM AGAIN. HARDER.]

I'm going to train my griffin to be the best so that means he needs the best. I'm sorry, Tanjiro-san and Takeo, but I'll even have to beat you if I want to get out of here.

[He blinks when she starts to bring up-- giant vultures, was it? But handles her redirection of topic relatively well. He jolts forward when she tugs on him again and takes a few wider steps to walk alongside her, twisting his hand to trail his fingers along the inside of her wrist lightly. It's not a suggestive touch by any means, more of a tap like he's trying to get her to let go or shift how she's gripped onto his wrist.]

Here, just give me your hand, it's easier. [He holds hands with his sister when he's walking pretty much anywhere with her, don't mind him.]

[He smiles, then, because he's taking it as a challenge and he is certainly happy to rise to it.]

I'll make sure we give you a hard enough time to be worth beating.

[Asuna... makes a strange sound when his fingers brush the inside of her wrist.]

Hyah?!

[IT WASN'T SUGGESTIVE but she's sensitive?! ever since leaving her two year VR dive, she's had to get used to not emoting. and having normal human nerves and not just technology recreating sensation in her brain. it's complicated.

mostly she makes the sound because she's shocked.]

Wh- eh?! [HOLDING HANDS. she's blushing. Asuna, calm down holy shit.

the fact that he's treating it like it's nothing, not a big deal at all makes her speechless. and it is easier but it's not like she will admit it.]

You... [none of this went like she expected it to go. she ducks her head slightly, looking at him uncertainly now. eventually, her gaze trails to his sword.]

So then.

You do use that to fight? You're a swordsman?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

▶ TDM .011

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casually loses an entire week to my job rip

its ok ur in pretendy funtimes land now

wheeze

pat pat

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whEN WILL MY JOB LET ME RETURN FROM THE WAR

WHEN THE WAR IS OVER BUT IT AINT EVER OVER