prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .013

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Itachi assesses the options available to them on the street, sight fallen at last on a vendor to the far end, conveniently one of the busiest. He chooses not to respond, though it isn't because he hasn't heard or taken her request in mind. Rather, Itachi needs his concentration for what he intends to do next.

Stealing or theft was never a necessary component of the Akatsuki, yet as a terrorist organization living on the fringes of society, it was not always possible to acquire their needs and resources through conventional (or legal) means. At the time he'd had little say in these decisions; he was not its leader, nor did he have any control how the organization was run. Morality can become skewed in the suffering light of criminality.

And beyond that, the vendor in question hardly endures for lack of business.

Itachi's eyes are bright red as he stands there, unmoving, seemingly unacting. Then a flash of black appears overhead: a large, winged crow flaps into view, and at lightning speed, snatches one of the wrapped hamburgers from the display before wheeling back up into the sky. It's a bizarre sight that leaves a few on the street wondering if they had imagined it.

He starts walking down the street, away from the food stand, gesturing for the girl to follow him. A moment later the bird lands on his shoulder with the paper-wrapped hamburger tucked neatly into its beak. This he takes, then offers down to her. Super casual.]

Edited 2020-03-10 19:13 (UTC)

[ Re-L watches with intent every little thing that this new, mysterious man is doing. Some may have been too threatened to approach, but a little girl who has known no fear and hardly the rod wouldn't blink an eye about it. And.. well... a girl guarded by a seven-foot robot with a personality that does not match his bulk would lead anyone to not blink an eye about approaching anyone. ]

Are you just going to stan- [ Re-L stops mid-sentence as the crow appears, little brows rising in surprise and wonder as she watches it. For a girl who's only ever seen butterflies in the form of holograms, this is all brand new and so wonderful she can barely contain herself.

It even inspires a burst of a laugh as the bird takes off, amused that the bird might be taking something for itself more than anything else. Though that childish wonder disappears into a frown as he turns and gestures for her to follow. She follows, but angrily. ]

You said you were going to get some food! Not watch a bird! [ A bird she wanted to see, okay, but that's not the point right now. Until that bird lands on his shoulder, and soon she's silenced by the wrapped food being deposited into her hands. She's silent for all of a few moments. ]

... What is that bird?

[If he does meet Iggy, that will be a whole new brand of culture shock.

Itachi allows himself the rarest slight smile at the outburst, curved mouth partially hidden in the turn of his chin, amused by the girl's display of emotion. So quick to turn from eager excitement to anger, then at last to that brief cautious quiet. He'd forgotten how honest children could be.]

A summoning.

[On his shoulder, the crow rustles its black wings and shifts around, watching her with beady glass-like eyes.]

If you hold out your arm, it may even borrow you for a perch.

A what? [ Her eyes are wide at the bird, though not only because she's never seen one up close before. She wants to, but also... Well, she has no idea what the hell a summoning is, or whether the bird could injure her. That wouldn't be a massive issue, considering she tends to heal quickly, but Iggy would no doubt take exception to that kind of thing.

Still, curiosity killed the cat, and little Re-L Mayer straightens her spine and puts her arm out to accept the 'summoning' should it choose to come over. ]

A summoning allows someone to call upon an animal if they have a contract established with that animal or its species. The technique requires chakra.

[Itachi is patient in the explanation. He once explained many concepts this way, and so it comes naturally to him, faced now with this bizarre circumstance - as well as the very real fact that many in this world know nothing of chakra or shinobi. Meanwhile, the crow eyes the girl's arm and decides to hop down onto it. Its large even for a bird, heavy and real-feeling and solid as its talons shift for a sturdier grip around her bony elbow.]

It won't hurt you. [So much for the novelty of a hamburger, huh?]

There aren't any animals where I'm from.. [ Considering it's all a contained dome without domesticated animals, she's pretty taken with the crow as it comes to rest on her arm. Strong for a child, Re-L only takes a moment to adjust to the bird's weight.

She'll remember her food in a moment, but for now she's taken with the crow's iridescent feathers and just.. staring at it. ]

It's.. heavier than I expected.

These are larger than what might be found in the wild.

[No animals? Itachi struggles to imagine a world without them, given the wildernesses teeming with life that he's accustomed to. The crow stares back at her, twitching its head at an angle, then leaning to tug on a strand of her black hair as if out of curiosity for this small creature.]

Why are there no animals?

Oh.. it is a little heavy... [ She laughs lightly as the bird takes her hair in its mouth, head-turning to mimic the crow as he considers her just the same. For having never experienced a bird before she's fairly unbothered by it. ]

Because outside of the Dome there's Nothing. [ She states it rather matter of factly as if she isn't talking about the annihilation of a planet or anything. ] Just a wasteland...

[He'll let her hold onto the crow for as long as she wants, since the expended chakra is minor comparable to other abilities. It may look a bit stranger to the streaming flow of pedestrian traffic around them, but Itachi has always been an out of place element in plain society, so it doesn't bother him. He's more interested in learning about the girl's world through those strange comments.]

What caused the wasteland?

[Surely there's a reason.]

[ As adults they have that in common, at least. Child Re-L Mayer was the much-adored granddaughter of the Regent. Adult Re-L Mayer? An iconoclast who refused to blend into the background or take anyone's word as law, much less Donov Mayer. She and the crow play that little head-tipping game still, Re-L occasionally bubbling over with a laugh as the bird ruffles its feathers or tips his head quickly.

Re-L hums in thought, as he asks, trying to summon up the answer she'd heard time and time again, chirping it out almost nonchalantly : ]

I think grandfather called it a 'nuclear holocaust.'

[The words are somewhat abstract to Itachi. He recognizes holocaust only by grasp of definition, but he can assume the overall meaning. Some sort of cataclysmic event able to obliterate the surrounding land... and the people living within it. She references her grandfather, so it comes from an older generation.

Were it not for the topic at hand, Itachi might find some mild humor in the behavior of child and bird as they mimic one another. As it is, he only frowns, red gaze cast over the street.]

I see. And what instigated the event? If you know.

I don't really know... [ Later she may learn, or maybe she wasn't paying attention to that part of Donov Mayer's lesson. Anything is possible, really, but Re-L seems to remember, at that moment, that she has some food to eat. Mainly because she's raised her other hand to mimic a wing and giving a little shout of remembrance as she sees it. ]

We should eat before these get cold!

[Stop, he's too endeared by that gesture... Interacting with children has de-aged him significantly. He even smiles, openly this time. At her noise, the crow hops up in a flap of black wings, resettling a new home on Itachi's narrow shoulder.]

Go ahead.

[The food's all yours, Re-L. He hadn't intended any of it for himself.]

I’m not eating all of it! [ look, she’s got to keep her health in mind. And it’s just too much for even a growing little girl to eat. So instead, with sudden and inordinate authority for a young girl, but the kind that says she does this often with results : ]

Sit with me and eat. Or let the bird have it.

[Puzzled, though outwardly displaying nothing of it, Itachi doesn't offer an argument. He just takes stock of their surroundings and walks toward the nearest outdoor table close to the line of food stands. Then he sits. The crow leaps onto the edge of the table, talons clicking, walking in a circle. It continues to eye the girl intelligently.]

What is your name?

My name? [ Mainly she asks to be factitious, knowing that he's talking to her and if the bird had a name he more than likely was the one that gave it to him.

She waits until she's sat down and taken the wrapper off of her burger to observe it to answer, blue eyes rising to look at Itachi as she says it. ]

Re-L Mayer.

And you?

[The name is foreign to him, but he commits it to memory nonetheless.]

Itachi Uchiha.

[His crow veers closer as soon as she begins to unwrap the food, head bent forward, as if it might pluck it straight from her fingers. He says to it, patiently:] Wait your turn. [It ruffles its feathers and hops to the other end of the table like a petulant child.]

Who is Iggy?

Itachi... [ She rolls the name around in her mouth almost, trying to wrap her mind around it. Those around her had odd names, for sure. Donov, Daedalus, Laccan, Deride, Deluze and Quatari... So she supposes a name like Itachi Uchiha isn't all that unusual. More out of her scope of names, actually.

For the bird she plucks a little piece of the burger out, entirely charmed by it. At least enough to offer it a snack. ]

Iggy is my Entourage. [ Because of course, he'd know what the hell that is. Re-L seems to think that he'll get it, at least. ]

[He looks at her, hearing his name, a bit estranged by it. Not for anything Re-L has done. But simply for that absence of a reaction, of any emotional flinch or hatred or judgment which he's come to expect. Then again, even a child of his world might not have the same awareness.

Still, he sees an intelligence in this particular child... or perhaps he's that unused to interacting with anyone who wasn't both adult and criminal.]

A chaperone of some kind? [This is his guess, based on the word 'entourage' rather than anything more context-heavy.] ... He must be looking for you.

[The crow is swift to snatch that bit of meat out of her fingertips, and it vanishes almost instantly down its throat.]

Edited 2020-03-13 00:14 (UTC)

Kind of... he protects me but also cooks my meals and does my hair.. [ An all-around protector and general services provider, basically. Re-L hums a little, as if thinking over whether she's properly described Iggy's general usage to her in the right way or not before she continues. ]

He is. He'll find me soon enough but.. sometimes I just want some space. Grandfather likes to always have people around me.

Is your grandfather here as well?

[The picture he's forming in his mind is of a well-protected, cared for young woman, perhaps to a point of stifled lack of freedom. Itachi's eyes turn back to scanning the street.]

Grandfather? No. [ Thankfully is the part that she doesn't say out loud. At this age, she hasn't quite gotten the spike of rebellion in her that came to the fore that she gained as a teenager. Instead, she plucks a bite out of her burger, looking almost bored. ]

If he was, you'd see him. He's always got a big group of people with him since he's the Regent.

[Itachi's brow climbs, slightly, in reaction to this.]

I wonder at his reaction to your running wild through the streets alone, then.

[If she does come from a privileged family of high status as it sounds.]

[ Re-L offers a sly smirk at that, head tipping back ever so slightly and offering a little shrug of her slim shoulders. ]

He won't like it. But if Iggy doesn't tell, I won't.

Hm.

[How conspiratorial... he wonders at the relationship between the girl and her guardian. Itachi leans an elbow on the edge of the table, tipping his chin into one palm. The crow has determined to eye Re-L's fingers waiting for movement, head cocked, unblinking and intent, its appetite plain.]

If you don't eat quickly enough, you may find yourself in competition for the meal.

▶ TDM .013

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