▶ TDM .013

[prismods]

Final Countdown

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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.

▶ Welcome to the Jungle
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.

▶ Let’s Do the Time Warp Now
Lunatia | top

Time is relative, but the days do seem shorter — or longer — than usual. A minute passes like an hour. An hour passes like a minute. Everything appears to be moving along as normal, but the numbers and hands on clocks flicker and spin with an unusual and worrying slowness or quickness. Eventually you notice that the darkness of the night barely lasts long enough for you to fall asleep while the sun seems to glare down upon you for an eternity. The temporal shifts disorient your body, which now grows lethargic from being overworked and underslept. Soon, the temporal abnormalities reach a critical point…

 B  Due to the temporal distortions, Prismals and Moonblessed new and old feel their bodies sporadically transform in the strangest of ways. Your joints ache like they’ve carried a lifetime’s weight of misfortune and regret. Your voice turns high-pitched like a certain pair has yet to drop. You turn into a confused infant in one moment and the seasoned fighter you always wanted to be in the next. Your memories also shuffle around along with your apparent age, leaving you confused and unsettled. The transformations can occur and last for as long as the 11th, when everything turns back to normal without incident. That time your baby self peed in your pants? Never happened. Until then, moonlacing seems to stabilize the weird abnormalities.

▶ Starlight, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight
Lunatia | top

The city’s landscape is not spared by the erratic flow of time. Buildings and streets continuously flicker between the beautiful and vibrant paradise it has become to the ruins of glory days long past. Your eyes may struggle to adjust as you try and convince yourself of what is real and what is not. High rise towers one moment will become wreckage the next, filled with technological debris and the echoing cries of the terrified, and the mighty wingspan of an unknown creature continues to hovers in the distance. The illusion will only last but a minute before you’re back in the present, going about your daily business. However, your trip from the future and back is far from over.

Soon, breaking news reports will inform the city about the sudden vanishing of certain celestial bodies in the sky. Though the moons remain where they should, the nights grow longer and darker as the stars in the sky start disappearing one by one until only the sun remains, eclipsed by some mysterious force. Lunar Scientia has already sent capable teams to investigate the abnormalities, so they ask the public to be patient as they wait for the reports. Until then, they have issued safety guidelines and measures to effectively light the city. The Caelus Tower appears to burn brighter than ever.

 C  For these dark hours, Lunar Scientia releases their latest Chroma-powered technology for Moonblessed use: star lanterns. When a star lantern is held by two Moonblessed, it absorbs newly generated Chroma from them, enabling it to light up the missing stars in the sky as you travel from place to place. The light’s color and intensity will depend on you and your partner’s bond, the spectrum ranging from a violet of hatred to a red full of love. Indifference, however, will not light the lantern at all. It also comes with a float function so that it can be released into the atmosphere without needing to carry it everywhere. Since the technology is limited in stock, Moonblessed may only have one star lantern in their possession.

One of the issued guidelines is to never walk through dark alleys alone even with the lanterns, as the crime rate has increased lately due to those taking advantage of the chaos. This is especially rampant in Level 3, at the mouth of the Lightless.

▶ Oh, They Just Can’t Wait to be King
Outside Lunatia, Port Sylvel | top

On the ides of the third month, an emergency broadcast appears from Captain Natela:

Captain Natela

Greetings, Prismals and Moonblessed.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Port Sylvel has been completely crystallized. The Moon Knights are currently recruiting willing explorers and scientists to investigate the cause. Investigations are still pending, but the outlook is grim. The only survivors were among the few we carried out of the city last month. The rest perished from the crystallization.

Our heart goes out to those affected by this plight. There is no cause for panic. There is no sign that the crystallization is spreading beyond Port Sylvel. We Moon Knights stand with the people of Prismatica, as we have done for centuries. We are not mere defenders of a city but protectors of a planet. We endeavor to find the cause of this tragedy and bring peace and justice to the lives it claimed. Until then, we ask for your cooperation. Stay calm and press onward.

Those who volunteer to participate in the expedition will be rewarded for their efforts. They will be assisted by experts from the Lunar Scientia as well as the bear Prismal and Moon Knight Fahrouk, who looks worse for wear after hearing the news.

Officer Fahrouk

Oh, Moonblessed. It's you. Yeah, Hala is doing good. Won the spelling bee! I think she might make the nationals. ... I… I don't think I ever told you. Port Sylvel was our hometown. My wife is buried there. We’d go there every spring. Hala loved picking the flowers there. Did you know that different flowers grow in Port Sylvel compared to Lunatia? Haaaah...

Moonblessed! I know you think I'm not cool enough to hang out with you, and all I do is ask for your help, but please let me go with you! Please… This is something I have to do as a soldier, a husband, and a father.

… What? You always thought I was cool?

Finding strength and resolve after the participants tell him he's supposed to assist them on their mission anyway, Fahrouk distributes LIFE suits to the participants as he briefs them on what they're about to do. He and the participating Moonblessed will then be transported via a large transport vessel.

Port Sylvel is hardly recognizable. What was once an idyllic coastal town is now a site of tragic beauty — crystal formations encase buildings and Prismals like jagged glass coffins, as if preserving life in its final moments. Readings from life detectors tell you that everyone in the crystal has passed on, but you and your fellow Moonblessed think you can still hear their cries of distress carried along by the wind, warning you about the Prideful King.

 D  Gigantic crystal lions flank the passage of the port city, their wings spread open and blue flames pouring forth from their mouths. You hear rumbling guttural noises, and if you approach them, their roars will escalate to warn you about proceeding any further. Beware: a single bite from these lions can easily tear through the LIFE suit and cause your body to crystallize quickly unless someone rushes in to moonlace with you to halt the effect. These lions are unlike the beasts you’ve fought before: their otherworldly strength is overwhelming, and nothing seems to wear them down. Destroying them seems pointless, as they quickly regenerate the minute they are obliterated.

Eventually, transmissions from the LIFE suits announce an order for escape. Buildings collapse and shatter in your wake, and the ground quakes violently as something awakens in the far distance...


▶ questions

If you have any questions regarding this test drive meme, please ask them in the Questions thread below.

WHO CAN POST? ▶ Test drive memes are for new characters only. Existing players may not post starter threads in the test drime meme. 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.!

IS THIS CANON? ▶ 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.

ANNIVERSARY ▶ Happy first anniversary, Prismatica! Thank you to all of you who have been with us since the beginning. We appreciate it immensely! Remember that we always welcome input and suggestions from players. This event is a little out of the ordinary because of our anniversary celebration.

OPT IN AND OUT ▶ For current players, please do not be alarmed! As always, you do not have to be affected as there are safe areas across Lunatia that remain as is.

AGING UP AND DOWN ▶ You have free reign over how long and how many times your character will be affected. If a character doesn’t have a canon appearance from the past or future, you are welcome to provide one of your own from imagination and use your own PB. You are allowed to speculate on how they’ll look, act, their potential future, and so on. All of these will be temporary to this event. The intensity of the effect is also up to you: whether it will only affect appearance alone and retain their current memories.

IMPORTANT ▶ As a reminder, writing sexual content with characters below 15 years old is a violation of the game's rules and potentially Dreamwidth’s ToS. Players caught doing this will be banned from the game.

Comments

μ | Caligula Effect: Overdose

[mu_sic]

1. Arrival

[ There are probably many upset and disoriented Moonblessed on the transportation vehicle, but this young woman happens to look particularly distressed. Even though it's being explained to her, she seems like she's deliberately not listening as she tries to plead back. ]

No, I'm very sorry. You don't understand. I have to go back, or Mobius will collapse! Everyone is counting on me! Please, just connect me back to Metaverse-Es and I can do the rest!


2. Starlight, Star Bright

[ This sort of thing is right up μ's alley! Armed with a lantern, she is running (or rather, floating) around, approaching anyone and everyone who looks like they might be a fellow Moonblessed, no matter how unapproachable they might be trying to make themselves look otherwise. She holds out the lantern in front of her, showing it off to the person she's now in front of. ]

It's sad without all the stars in the sky, isn't it? Won't you help out? We can cheer everyone up together!

[ She offers a gentle, bright smile. ]


3. Just Can't Wait...

[ Volunteering for this mission seemed to make perfect sense for μ. After all, if she can't go back to Mobius and make people happy there, she can at least help out here. And an investigation seems like the sort of thing that she can assist with!

And yet, she isn't ready for the sight of the devastated town. Everywhere she looks, it's more signs of lives cut terribly short. She can't cover her ears while wearing the suit, and the cries of those now passed on haunt her, bringing tears to her eyes as she tries to block them out in vain. ]

Please, stop... I can't take on your sadness like this...!


Wildcard

[ Bring your own! ]

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Soundwave, even in his human avatar, may look unapproachable, what's with the grump on the 'woman's' face and the creepy glowing red eyes. Even so, when there's someone approaching, floating... towards him, she'll find that Soundwave doesn't push her away, and instead, listens to her, even with a frown.]

Sad is an understatement. [...] It's lonely.

[Though Soundwave's experience back home made the starless night much scarier and creepier than most would think. It's why he's out here offering to help in the effort to light the sky back up.]

I'll help. [And as much of a grump he can be, he is genuine with wanting to help, holding his yet to be lit lantern between his hands before firmly nodding.]

[mu_sic]

Thank you! No one wants to be lonely, right?

[ She holds out a hand to this person. ]

They say it takes moonlacing, so if we hold hands, that will do it, right? I'm μ; what's your name?

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Soundwave silently nods his head once at that. His demeanor might be that of a sad loner, but he agrees no one wants to be lonely. He doesn't like being lonely.

But moonlace, is it? He takes the offered hand, gently interlacing slender fingers with the girl's, moonlacing taking immediate effect.]

Everything with this world relies on us generating Chroma with each other... Soundwave. It's nice to meet you, μ. Let's get these illuminated.

[mu_sic]

Soundwave? What a pretty name!

[ μ's lantern lights up a bright orange, already caring deeply for and trusting this person who also seems to want to help out everyone. She takes a moment to admire it, then raises her gaze to the sky. ]

Ah, look! I think it's helping already!

[ And sure enough, a few stars seemed to have blinked back on. Of course, that's not necessarily just from the two of them, but at this point does that matter? ]

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Pretty...]

Oh... Thank you.

[It's not the first time someone complimented his name, but pretty is definitely a first. Being in this human form, the pink blush forming around his cheeks is easily visible for μ to see, flustered.

However, Soundwave isn't as trusting or caring deeply of someone he just met like μ is, but just from this very short interaction, he's holding some positive view on her. Her complimenting his name helps a bit.

Still it's not quite enough for his own lantern. It's dim, a very steady, soft yellow, comparing to μ's bright orange lantern, this couldn't lit up a room.]

Mine's not bright enough...

1

[nyctea]

[Bokuto didn't like not having answers, but what he liked even less is seeing others distressed. And she looked beyond that. He tried to stand to the side and let her try and get the answers from the Prismals on board, but they all seemed to ignore her pleas or, as they are starting now, sending glares her way. Before things escalate, he steps in, placing a hand on her shoulder to get her attention and gently move her back and away from a Prismal that wasn't very happy that she's not listening.]

These guys don't seem to know much, I asked too! How about we wait and land and then find someone else who can help?

[mu_sic]

[ When the hand pulls her away, she suddenly redirects her full attention at him. ]

How did you come here? Can you remember? If you remember, please tell me.

[nyctea]

[Bokuto shakes his head and steers her gently towards the seats and away from potential trouble.]

No, I don't, sorry. All I remember is that I just- woke up. And bam-! Not home anymore. Here, let's sit.

[mu_sic]

[ When she walks, it seems normal enough, but as μ sits down it becomes slightly more apparent that gravity isn't affecting her quite like normal. Yet she settles into the seat, and the effect becomes significantly less noticeable. ]

Were you... listening to a song? Or doing something on the internet? Or maybe looking at something on a screen, or...

[ She trails off, searching for more triggers that she can think of. Mobius used her songs to draw people in, but if she had power in other ways, what else could she have used? ]

[nyctea]

[Bokuto, if he even notices, chalks if off to the ship being weird.

When he's sitting down with her, he becomes thoughtful for a moment, head tilted to the side.]

Not really... I remember getting onto a bus. We were headed to one of our volleyball matches. I remember also dozing off because it's a few hours ride to the destination.

When I woke up, I was here.

3

[pyrrhic_paladin]

[Jaune had come on this expedition. There was a part of him that just wanted to stick his head in the sand and avoid it all. However he couldn't just sit by and do nothing. Not when so many lives had been taken. They needed to find out what happened and why.

He's part of a small expedition force including μ. So many lives lost was bothering him too, but he was familiar with this kind of loss. More familiar than he'd like to be. The familiarity didn't change how heavy his heart felt, but it made him resolute to make sure it didn't happen to anyone else.

His attention snaps to the woman who was clearly in distress. He hurries over to her. He's not sure what to say so he just says the first things that come to mind.]

We're here to make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else. We need to find out what happened to these people and why.

[His expression is sympathetic.]

If you can't stand it here though we can go back to the city together.

[mu_sic]

No... I can't go back. All these people... They need help. We have to help them, somehow--!

[ But from her tone of voice, it's clear that she's lost on how to do that. μ has never had to face death in such large quantities before. On some level, it doesn't register as real to her.

All she can think is that the town's residents are suffering and she wants them to be happy... but there's nothing more that can be done for them. That's not a truth she's ready to accept just yet. ]

If I sing for them, will that make them happy? I don't know if my voice can reach all of them...!

[pyrrhic_paladin]

[It hurts to see just how much she's affected by this. Jaune hadn't exactly become numb to it, but he's had to learn to stomach it a lot quicker than many. His expression softened.]

The best thing we can do for these people is find out what happened to them and why so it doesn't happen to anyone else. There's no way they'd be able to rest easy if they thought their friends and family were still in danger, right?

[He hopes that's enough to give her something to hold onto. Something she can do rather than feeling unable to help these people.]

[mu_sic]

Rest easy...

[ Her voice trembles as she repeats the words. ]

But why can't we do anything else for them? Why is it already too late?

[ She shakes her head. ]

This shouldn't happen. If you want people to be happy, then people shouldn't die. Death just makes a lot of people unhappy.

[ She's still thinking of this place like a different Mobius, and that's why it doesn't make sense to her. She'd never let this happen in Mobius, so why are the administrators letting it happen here? ]

2

[zunge]

[The moonblessed in front of her is an annoyed looking blond man with a ton of piercings and two long, golden blond rabbit ears extending upward. He stares squinting at the lantern, then glances down to take in the fact that uh.... she's floating. His eyes finally meet hers again.]

I wouldn't call it sad, just extra dark at night. Aren't you perky?

[mu_sic]

When bad things happen, it's even more important to be cheerful so that people can feel better. You don't think it's sad? The sky is so lonely without the stars! And there's so many people who like to look up at them. Even in the darkness, it helps people remember that they're not alone, and besides that, they're very pretty...

[ Her smile fades a little. ]

Does that mean you won't help?

[zunge]

[Her imploring words would likely convince a great many people to share some chroma. It's just her bad luck that she'd approached him of all people. One of those super cynical, ultra-pragmatic types.]

The sky is just the sky.

[There is so much more he could say about the words of this woman who comes off as radiating with naivete, but he holds off on that for the more important matter. What his chroma is worth to her.]

If you want my help I'll need to know what it's in it for me.

[mu_sic]

If you help, then you get to light up stars in the sky for everyone! [ Isn't that it's own reward? ] I'm sure everyone will be very grateful!

[ But... ]

Is there something else you also want? If I can make you happier, I want to do that too.

2

[burstingflowergirl]

[ Well Konomi can't help but smile back at that! What an odd girl though. She's sort of dressed... like a magical girl? Could she be one maybe?

Now's not the time to focus on that. She raises her hand out. ]

That's the spirit! We can do it together!

[mu_sic]

[ μ might as well be a magical girl, though certainly not in the way Konomi is probably expecting.

She absolutely beams in reply, shifting the lantern to one hand. ]

Thank you! I'm sure it will make everyone a lot happier! Let's hold hands, okay?

[ When she reaches out and takes Konomi's hand, the lantern instantly lights up. It's not very bright, between the two of them having only just met and the rather tame moonlacing. But the color is a brilliant orange, evidence of μ's immediately trusting nature even towards this person she's never met before. ]

Ah, it's so pretty!

2 ~

[heibai]

Sad... Yes, I suppose it is.

( empty, is what it feels like. empty, and lonely, and a part of him thinks that he is much like this starless sky, too — and wonders what, or who would qualify as his 'stars'. it is very likely that the kind of man xie bi'an has become, the kind of man he is, doesn't really have the right to have a glowing little companion.

a man like him, does he not deserve only the most sinful and cruel treatment? )

I have a lantern of my own, but I have yet to find a helpful hand. ( quite literally. ) May you be my destined one?

♪

[mu_sic]

Is that what you want? I can be your destined one if that will make you happy!

[ Can she actually? She doesn't know, but that isn't the point. If she doesn't know, she'll just figure it out, because making others happy is the most important thing. She reaches out a hand towards him. ]

Let's hold hands and help everyone out! And you can tell me what it means to be your "destined one"!

[heibai]

( is that what he wants? — not quite so, for perhaps he has already met his 'destined one', but that person is someone he no longer can see, no longer can truly converse with and share a lantern with. for both of them, now, a replacement is all they have left.

bi'an takes the girl's hand on his own, and it's almost a strange — albeit certainly nostalgic — skinship. the lantern may not shine a fervent scarlet, but it stays on a calm blue. curiosity and interest could best describe the hunter's feelings towards the girl. )

You are not my destined one, ( he says, with no true hint of disappointment in his voice, but something more similar to pity, ) but this is a beautiful blue. Calm and serene, as though it bears no worries. I find it quite ironic.

[mu_sic]

[ Her own is a warm orange, cheerful and trusting.

She listens to him, and her smile fades a little. ]

Oh, I'm sorry. But even if it's not me, I can help you find them!

... Why is it ironic?