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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[ He's very well acquainted with maidens who make the most of their charms, to win over the hearts of naive young men. The way she's looking up at him, her wide eyes, her smile warm as summer sunshine: all of this moves his heart, but at the same time, he's aware of his heart being moved.

Two can play at that game, so he answers her charming smile with one of his own, accompanied by a quick flutter of his peach-blossom eyes, and asks, sounding amused: ]

Hm? Am I angry? Should I be?

[ He winks at her, and then he looks away and up, in the direction he's going (past a little forest of crystals): ]

I'm Gu Yun, called Sir Zi Xi. What's your name?

[Her first thought is, if you don't want people to call you a pervert maybe don't make eyes at a teenage girl.

But she hasn't met any adults like this...or guys like this. So this is a new experience to meet someone so shameless.]

Of course not After all, who could get mad at a cute, innocent highschool maiden?

[Never trust anyone who would call themselves innocent.

But having said that, she lets go so she can link arms. Look, the moonlacing is only secondary, she just likes physical contact!]

I'm Akashi Kaoru. [She's gotten into the habit of being more respectful to strangers who were also adults but this adult had just been batting his eyes at her earlier so like. All bets are off. That's why, after the briefest of pauses she decides to call him:] Zi Xi! It's nice to meet you!

[ He's enough of a wolf that being called intimately by a pretty girl doesn't bother him in the slightest; indeed, it makes him smile. ]

Little Kaoru. It's a pleasure.

[ Another Dong Ying person. There do seem to be quite a few of them here. ]

Have you ever ridden a horse before, little Kaoru?

[ He turns a corner, and the lavender crystal outcroppings open up to a clearing, where his "horse" is tied. The white pegasus whinnies and shakes its belled harness, making sweet little tinkling noises sound in the air, then stretches its golden wings. ]

I'm not little! I'm already sixteen! [Normally she'd insist harder, but...it's been a while since she's been treated like like she's 'little'. Lately, having taken over leadership of Pandra, she's been someone to look to for answers and final decisions and this was...it was nice.]

No. [But as she follows him and sees the 'horse' well.] Do all horses here have wings?

[Also, she's totally leaving you behind to get a closer look at that horse with all the fearlessness of someone who could fight a lion and win.]

No.

[ He follows after her in a leisurely fashion, with his hands behind his back. The pegasus is well-trained: it won't allow itself to be ridden by anyone but a Moon Knight, but it also won't behave aggressively towards new arrivals. Instead, it stands tall and blinks its long, golden eyelashes at her, while snorting softly. ]

Some have a single horn. Some have scales and gills. May I?

[ He's reaching to lift her up onto the saddle. ]

So...pegasus, unicorn and some kind of weird fish horse thing?

[...is there a word for that? Even if she weren't busy considering that she would have been caught off guard by the offer to help her up because...she could fly. Who would offer something like that?

She smiles at him teasingly.]

Oh, my. Do you give every girl you meet this sort of treatment?

[She won't stop him though since she understands why he's doing it...doesn't mean she'll let it go without teasing him a little!]

Seahorse. And no.

[ He answers her teasing smile with one of his own. Then he encircles her waist with his hands and lifts her up easily. ]

You're the first.

[ Still smiling, he unties the pegasus. Then he sets his foot into a stirrup and leaps up, swinging his leg over easily, and lands in the saddle behind her. Taking up the reins, he adds: ]

I'll have to hold onto you for a little while, is that all right?

...do seahorses have scales? [Like. Real ones.

Also she totally rolls her eyes at him good-naturedly.]

I bet you'd say that even if I weren't. Hmph! Charming guys really can't be trusted!

[...there really is no way to answer this that wouldn't have ended with a comment like this.]

[But she does smile for him when she tilts her head back to look at him again.]

It's fine. And thanks.

You're quite welcome, little Kaoru.

[ With that, he encircles an iron armor-clad arm about her waist. He clicks to the pegasus and it begins to walk, then canter, then gallop, its diamond-glinting hooves kicking up plumes of purple dust that rises up in a lazy, undulating trail behind them. As the pegasus picks up speed, he leans forward and down, pulling her securely against his chest.

Faster and faster they gallop, before the pegasus' golden wings spread wide; and then with a few powerful flaps of its wings, they launch into the air. It climbs for a long way, as if it means to crash into the vast planet hanging in the sky; presently, however, it levels off and glides.

His grip on her relaxes and he leans back, though he still keeps his arm loosely about her waist. ]

How are you with heights? You can just close your eyes if you want to, I'm here. It's a short flight back to the government center.

[She's absolutely ecstatic about the experience. Firstly, she's never even been on a horse let alone a flying one! It's very different from flying using her powers.

It's only because she's trying not to seem like a child that she doesn't whoop as they level off.

She turns her head back and grins at him.]

I'm good with heights! I've flown faster than this, you know! [She's...actually not really bothering to hold on very tightly with the clear fearlessness of someone who could fly.

Also, damn. Sasaki could take a lesson or two from this guy...]

[But...ith things as they were back home, remembering Sakaki didn't bring with it the usual warmth and exasperated fondness. It makes her worried instead because then she wonders how he is and, most importantly, how Minamoto is doing.]

[But she quickly covers up the briefest flash of worry with another smile.]

Do you work for the government, Zi Xi?

[ He catches that flicker in her expression, and interprets it as a crack in her sunny exterior. Probably she really is afraid. Suddenly here on an alien world, alone and unable to use her great power, who wouldn't be afraid?

Meanwhile the pegasus' movement is undulating, up and down smoothly with every beat of its giant golden wings.

When he answers her, his voice is gentle and soothing. ]

I do. For the government of Lunatia, which is the principal city on this planet.

[ He nods at the looming planet in the sky. ]

I'm part of an organization called the Moon Knights. We protect people and keep order. And—obviously—look for new arrivals each month.

[She looks and...uh.]

So...I'm guessing we're not taking a pegasus all the way there?

[She's not...concerned, exactly. But generally, she's not allowed on things like airplanes and she's certainly never been allowed on a spaceship.]

Haha! That would be a much longer trip.

[ In the distance, a domed city rises on the horizon of the moon, with a vast excavation next to it. ]

As I said, our trip is a short one, we’re nearly there. From the government center, you'll catch a ship to the planet. I need to take you to the hospital first, though.

[Ah. Hm.]

And...they'll let someone like me on the ship?

[Because, you know. If she won't be let on, then she'll have to sneak on and if she's going to sneak on she'd rather not set off any alarms from trying to get on normally.]

Is it standard for everyone to have to go to the hospital first?

[Not that she's complaining about that part but she's not injured or anything so wouldn't it be better to save the hospital trip for the people who need it first?]

Yes and yes.

[ The pegasus spreads its wings and glides, banking towards the city, as it begins its smooth descent. There's a little pause as he attends to this. And then, looking puzzled, he finally asks: ]

"Someone like you," what do you mean?

[ A beat. ]

Oh — there are lots of Dong Ying people here, don't worry.

[ That's it... right? ]

Edited 2020-01-20 07:27 (UTC)

[There's two possibilities here. Either powers are more common than she thought or Dong Ying people was what he called espers...or people with powers. So...what does she do in a situation like this?

Lie, obviously.]

I mean people like me who have no money.

[What she has learned over the years is that lies don't necessarily have to be believable. She just has to sell it. And she does it with the most innocent and open smile she could manage. Just look at this smile. Does this look like the smile of a liar?]

What is a Dong Ying person?

[ x doubt

He's neither naive nor a fool. There's clearly more to it than that. But he doesn't feel the need to call her out, either, only explaining: ]

Chroma itself also functions as currency, so you won't be short of money for long. Also, the trip is free. Face forwards.

[ The pegasus is getting closer to the city, and landing is a bit tricky, so he's got to lean forwards and bend down again. His arm tightens about her waist, holding her close to his chest once more. ]

Dong Ying is a cluster of islands off the coast of my country, Great Liang. I've also heard people here call it "Japan." Don't tense up, relax.

[ The ground is coming at them pretty fast. ]

[...huh.]

So not only am I stuck in some kind of bullshit isekai arc, I'm stuck in one of those settings?

[...those sure are words she just said. Whether any of those make sense to anyone who doesn't know about these things is debatable.

But she listens when he tells her to look forward at least.]

I see... [Then...Great Liang was probably Chena then...?] So there are other people from Japan here. [She doesn't look back because he told her not to but she wanted to...] Are there other people from the same place as you here?

[She's worried about him being the only one because that would probably be lonely...

And yes, the ground does come at them pretty fast and while she's landed harder and at higher speeds this was exciting for being her first time doing this without being in near full control of her own descent.

Even when she'd crashed the satellite she'd had more control than this.

It was exciting. And when they do land she laughs.] That was really cool!

Mm.

[ That's in response to her question about whether there were any people here from his homeland. He can't really elaborate further, or comment on her nonsensical complaint, because he's got to negotiate the process of landing.

Lower and lower the pegasus glides. Suddenly, as the ground runs rapidly beneath them, its wings flap backwards to slow down, until with a thump all four legs hit the purple earth, and without missing a step, it gallops. Gu Yun lets it run for a while, half out of the stirrups, holding Kaoru tightly, before gently pulling on the reins. It slows down to a canter and then, folding its wings, walks elegantly, lifting high each diamond-glinting hoof. ]

Glad you liked it. We're here.

[ There's an emergency entrance to the hospital, with stretchers floating outside, but the pegasus has brought them to the ambulatory entrance. Smooth planed glass doors slide open and a cluster of shiny, polished white robots glide out and wait. ]

[...to be honest. The robots worry her a little more than flying did but she doesn't show it.

She only turns a little and pats him on the arm.]

I'm glad you have other people from home here too.

[...she's assuming his answer was an affirmative, anyway. She considers asking him to help her off but...he probably has work to do, doesn't he? So she gets off on her own! And if she uses a bit of psychokinesis to help herself, well...you know. It is what it is! She tries to be subtle but it's not hard to notice with the way her descent slows right before her feet touch the ground.]

Thanks.

Well, I —

[ He'd just been about to swing off the pegasus, to help her down, when she jumps off on her own. Naturally, he notices how she lands, clearly making use of her power. Well, it's probably all right now. Here at the medical center, they'll give her a wrist device, so she'll be able to monitor her chroma.

Still, he feels exasperated... so of course, he grins at her. ]

Even if there weren't, a charming guy like me, how could I be lonely? Do take care, little Kaoru. I'll be seeing you!

[ He pulls on the reins, making the pegasus rear with its golden wings flapping, its hooves glittering in the afternoon, purple-hued sunshine. And then he makes it turn around and head off at a gallop. A few mighty beats of its wings, and pegasus and rider are aloft once more, disappearing into the violet sky. ]

[Telling her not to use her powers at all is like telling someone to walk on one leg only or to not use one of their arms. She can do it with great concentration but it's as natural as breathing to make use of it.

Also...that answer. Anyone who insists they aren't lonely like that are clearly the sort who does feel lonely.

Still. she won't call him out (today). Instead, she waves him off.]

I'll see you around!

[And she stays there to watch him until he disappears before her smile disappears for a moment. Well, then. Time to figure out what's going on, she supposes. Then she turns towards the hospital and walks in without further hesitation.]

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