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 wrinkles his nose a bit. ]

Not really, not exactly.

[ There's no real way to get out of this one, so he makes a vague expression, wondering if they'd appreciate being talked about.

No harm in it, right? This wasn't exactly gossip, not really. ]

Where they're from, Fish is...kind of a very important person. Sort of. Or they used to be. Made a few choices, found out who they were. Lived up to their own personal principles. Family finds out, and the rug's yanked out from under them and they have no one. No home. No money, nothing. Totally disowned.

They make do by learning to perform, take the nickname 'Fish' and then make those performances something people come to see to make them happy. Make them forget. Distract them.

And they finds out they like being 'Fish' way more than they ever liked being the person they were before.

Seeing any similarities here yet?

You're aware of the creepy amount of similarities in that story, I expect.

[ Because ... wow, it's like a shade of Molly seen from a different angle. True enough that odd people tend to find Molly, the circus is a good example of that, although to hear Fish's story laid out (which he won't be mentioning to them, he can keep ~~gossip secret~~ his mouth shut) there's a lot there that bears an unnerving resemblance to Molly's issues. Privately, Fjord wonders if what they have together is even healthy or misery loving company.

That's none of his business to voice, though. ]

Look, Molls. If you're happy and trust them ... her, or — is she —? [ ~~rolled impressively low on Perception and now~~ No one is talking about Fish as a beautiful woman, which confuses him. ] I don't need all the details, just so long as you believe they're not a danger.

I'd hope so.

[ Molly looks quite sure of himself, the point across quite clearly. Fjord's discretion is promptly noted, then, filed away. ]

They're a drag performer. So. She when performing, they, otherwise. [ Said matter of factly rather than in chastisement. He didn't know where to start at first either. ] That being said; I don't think they particularly mind.

And no. I trust Fish like I trust the Nein. With both my secrets and my life.

Your turn. What's with all----[ Another vague gesture, mostly to his top half, the broach, his new face. ] This!

It suits you.

Ah, got it. [ That makes a lot of sense, in hindsight. He takes on what Molly says about Fish and makes a mental note for the future.

He distinctly remembers Molly insisting he knew the character of the fiend they fought at the circus and would never have suspected them to turn as they did, but he gives him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Fish, who is decidedly un-fiendlike (as far as they know). The truth is that Fjord respects Fish for the way they stood up for Molly and now, with a bit of their backstory, he can understand how they have related to him. Molly is easy to love but he's incredibly difficult to like without a good reason, and Fjord would admit that as his friend. ]

I said I would tell you when we got there, [ the tease falls flat with so much more of a ways to walk, and he looks down as he wonders where to begin, ] but alright. Thank you.

[ The compliment draws out a small genuine smile that quickly fades as he launches into an explanation. ]

The accent was fake all along, I was imitating my old mentor. This voice you're hearing now never served me well at any dock, but after I tried out the drawling one it was easier to get by. [ Instead of people laughing at what they thought was a well-off half-orc teasing them, they actually listened to what he had to say. ] Then I met Jester, and I couldn't stop and admit it wasn't real when we ran into everyone else ...

It was a lie that spiralled out of control, and I'm sorry for it.

[ That's part one of Fjord's bullshit saga. ]

Aha, so, lying from the beginning I see~ The biggest charlatan of us all.

[ Save for maybe literally everyone else except Jester and Caduceus. But, those secrets were past his time. He remarks in a faux knowing tone, as though he knew all along. The reasoning he gives---well. It makes a lot of sense, and Molly can't exactly blame him. Not a bit.

Molly continues to amble along lazily, listening intently. ]

How'd the rest of us take it? Probably a lot better than our little Zone of Truth exchange, I'm sure.

[ And he says that with some confidence, the rest of us, as though he's never left. ]

[ The rolling of his eyes shows he isn't taking that all-knowing look seriously, snorting at the mention of the group-wide Zone of Truth exchange that had gotten a little heated. ]

Well, I admitted it the morning I lost all my powers, so no one really cared about it much. They were all too busy handing me their spare weapons.

[ The plot thickens! ]

[ That very nearly stops Molly dead in his tracks. Fjord? Mister Eldritch Blast himself? The plot thickens indeed. He looks almost mournful. ]

Well I'd say it could've been worse but I stand corrected.

How're you holding up with that?

[ And that is a tone of genuine concern; Molly might've had his strange foray that led to his own powers but he couldn't really imagine not having them after this year. And didn't Fjord have...a pretty insistent patron? The image of him hurling up sea water came to mind. ]

At the time I wasn't ... doing so well. [ How does he summarise this? Hm. ] The creature lending me their power was a leviathan called Uk'otoa, it wanted me to be one of its champions and release it but I started ignoring it and my powers began to wane. I dreamed it was crushing me. It became a bit too much [ to put it very lightly in that carefully conversational tone Fjord uses ] and after it refused to show me any respect I destroyed my pact-blade in a pool of lava.

I lost all my abilities that night.

[ It was a really shitty time. Feeling weak and useless without even the illusion of strength ... If it hadn't been for the Nein, Fjord would have spiralled immediately but they took him back into their fold without question. He'll never forget that moment in the caves when they offered him weapons, once from each person; even a dagger from Nott. ]

Then, the Wildmother came to me ... in a seaweed egg.

[ Is he lying or is he telling the truth, take a look at his smirk. ]

[ Color Molly impressed. Rejecting a patron was...well, he can't imagine it was a very good idea, hyperbolically spitting in the face of a deity, but sure. Fjord was still here, that's what mattered. There's a solid pat on the back from him at that. ]

Well, I can't imagine telling a leviathan to kiss your ass would go very well, but it sounds like it went better than expected.

[ Losing all his powers seemed....well it seemed like a drop in the bucket. Though the seaweed egg---he doesn't buy it. Seaweed and eggs are two things that don't go together, he would know, he is partners with a merfolk. ]

Now, you're shitting me.

[ Click. ]

Hey now, that's ah, what's his name, tall, pink and fuzzy. That's his pal though, isn't it?

[ They'd talked. They'd shared a smoke together, talked about death. Things were weird, but a good weird that they mutually agreed on. ]

Edited (syntax is a cruel mistress) 2020-01-18 23:41 (UTC)

Caduceus's goddess, yeah. Melora. She's ... She's so kind, Molly.

[ Fjord's expression softens considerably as he looks ahead, gazing at the middle-distance as the immediate surroundings fall away into a backdrop of noise. ]

I sat outside in the snow of the cliffside and tried to meditate. She was the one who brought me to her. She showed me an ocean that was as blue as the sky and her face was where the clouds should've been, smiling down as she asked me what I wanted. [ If Fjord had ever had a mother to look up to as a young child, that would have been the comparative experience. ] We wanted the same things, I swore to protect her oceans and everything else she needed me to fight for in her name, then she wrapped me up in seaweed and pulled me down to the bottom of the sea ... and I woke up to the guys ripping this sea-weed egg thing off of me. I'd been out there all night, but she kept me safe. Made me healthier, actually.

[ That's a lot of talking. Fjord swallows the lump in his throat and shrugs as carelessly as he can, tapping the Wildmother's brooch pinned to his cloak where the blue crystal glimmers like the waters of the Menagerie Coast. ]

I'm still a Warlock, but now that she's my patron I'm also her Paladin.

[ YOOOOOOO come getcher autographs from this certified holy man. ]

[ Some small part of Molly aches. He's not sure if it's his heart or where the blade felt cold in his chest during the nightmares that he'd had, or if it was both. But as he listens, he almost...feels cold.

It's not a bad thing, he reasons with himself. He's...not envious, he's just morose. He missed all of this. And that's not just Fjord, either, he imagines it's been the whole group learning and adventuring and meeting new people, hell, when Beau was here, she wasn't the same person at all. He feels simultaneously so left behind and yet, and yet--- ]

Fjord, that's incredible.

[ He believes him, totally. And he pats him on the shoulder again, this time with a little less candor. ]

I'm proud of you. And really, really happy for you. It sounds like it was for the better.

Thank you, Molly.

[ It means a lot to have someone he respects feel proud of him, fighting not to blush and failing with wild-apple splotches of red on his green cheeks. He pats the hand on his arm and gives it what he hopes is a reassuring squeeze, wondering if he can infuse more of those warm feelings into the touch by will.

Yellow eyes track Molly's expression, how it hitches up but seems inclined to fall. ]

When we get you back home, I'll try to introduce you.

[ Which is a normal thing to want to do; take Molly home. Show him all the things he's missed. Fjord says so without having to think about it. ]

[ Home.

Mollymauk had really already come to terms with not leaving, resigned to either pass on or stay in this crazy place, but the way Fjord says it---in an accent he's new to, with a voice slightly aged with experience instead of time, he can't believe him.

Still, it's a nice lie to think about, to fantasize about. Home. ]

Yeah.

I'd like that, I think. See what all the spiritual guidance that seems to be going on is all about.

[ Speaking of spiritual guidance. ]

How's Beau? How's everyone?

Last I saw anyone here, not much time had passed. Seems like more than just a little while for you now, am I right?

[ So much has happened, it's hard to find the words to encapsulate it all. ]

Well, it's been a wild ride. Beau is now an Expositor for the Cobalt Soul, with a fancy new sash and everything. She acts like it's no big deal but it's obvious she's thrilled to have their respect. [ Nudging Molly as they walk, he eyes him sidelong with a smile. ] She got a tattoo on her back of the eye thing that you have.

... It was hilarious when she passed out during most of it.

Expositor.

[ He's clearly looking for the meaning of the word, please hold. At least, hold until Molly hears about her choice in ink. ]

She did? What brought her around to an idea like that?!

[ Molly's not sure if he's flattered, impressed or amused. Either way, the grin he makes shortly after is nothing short of priceless. ]

Ha! Of all of us, I would not have expected her not to be able to take it.

[ Fjord ends up chuckling along with Molly, seeing it all through his eyes. ]

She's all fancy and official now, that's all. They actually trust her at the Cobalt Soul and upgraded her to a better room, gave her some new clothes ...

[ Aloof Monk shit or whatever. ]

Well, we had a friend who knew how to do tattoos with some magical ink and all the girls opted for one. [ Whereas the boys were sensible pussies. ] She wanted the same design you had, Molly, because it was yours. Beau's missed you a lot.

[ His voice softens toward the end, thinking about the circus pamphlet Beau kept all this time. She's like Fjord, keeps most of her emotions in check (when she can help it) and the deepest buried far out of sight: she loved Molly too, that's never been in question for him. ]

Everyone's missed you.

[ Squeezing the arm laced through his elbow. ]

All of the girls? Now I'm just sour that I missed out.

[ He imagines any of them getting artwork placed, and the thought makes him smile.

'Because it was yours.' That hits him. Hard. Beau had been here, briefly. Just long enough to establish herself, and then in an instant she was gone.

Maybe some part of him hated that he didn't press to spend more time with her. She'd always been a bit aloof, and while he definitely trusted her with his life, he didn't exactly make his own feelings available either. ]

Well, next time she's here I'll be sure to not let her live it down.

[ His expression is weirdly twisted with both pride, admiration, but also sorrow. His own voice in his mind told him not to dwell on it; she was home. That's what mattered. Not here. The not-hug is reciprocated with that same arm. ]

I'd be a liar if I didn't say the same.

How's Caleb, Nott? She hasn't shown yet, not here, and I've heard nothing about her. Still the same, I hope? Better at sneaking around I hope?

Please give her shit about fainting, she won't punch you.

[ Whereas Fjord would be the proud owner of a bruised bicep for days. His hand covers Molly's where it loops around Fjord's arm as they walk, giving a pat. Missing Molly has never stopped, never will, and Fjord is dying to take him home where he belongs with the Nein.

It's easy to lift out of morose thoughts when Nott is mentioned. ]

Funny thing about Nott ... she's actually a halfling called Veth under a curse that altered her body. Got a husband and son in Felderwin, the full works. [ Fucking weird, right? Sad too, but. Really weird to think about Nott looking like the halfling woman she sometimes changes into when walking cities. ] Kind of makes the dynamic between her and Caleb a little odd, but. Mmm.

[ He may have just missed talking shit with Molly in their shared room at taverns and be running his mouth. Moving on!! ]

Caleb's looking better now, he bathes semi-regularly and has become a brilliant wizard. Oh, and his real name is Bren.

[ Look at Fjord's expression, Molly. Look at this extremely tired half-orc who has lived through the weird revelations of his friends having different identities more than a few times. ]

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