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

[ ~~lmao gdit Hijikata she won't be very happy later. always warn her about dead fish eyes.~~ ]

Right.

[ As much as being roped into a Shinsengumi investigation hadn't been her intention, what he was suggesting did make sense. It's a weird thing really, having a conversation for an extended period of time that makes some kind of sense.

They're definitely not at home.

One thing though: ]

Ya don't confident about sendin' him unsupervised. [ I mean, she hasn't interacted with him in that many episodes either but enough to give her some kind of idea. ] He's some kinda perv, right?

He's a rotten sadist, yeah. I honestly don't know how it's going to play out, but I hope he'll behave himself. He wants to go home too after all.

[He sighs and wearily runs a hand through his hair.]

...

Or maybe the two of us should just do it on our own.

[His confidence in Sougo's best behaviour is fragile enough to shatter at a quick mental review of his most sadistic moments. Hijikata and Tsukuyo may be in the same boat more than others in some regards - two second-in-commands who are probably equally worried for their respective leader -, but at least she isn't saddled with a subordinate who keeps trying to kill her. Good, he wouldn't wish that on anyone.]

Mm. That could be a problem. Lettin' a kinky perv loose on their high society.

[ Although from her very varied experience living in Yoshiwara, it's often the poshest, richest people that are the most perverted. Sougo might just get distracted... ]

I'll still do this level. I'll meetcha on the upper after you're done with the lower.

On second thought I wonder if we're going about this the right way.

[The analytical part of his mind snapped into action with some delay. It's been a damn long day alright.]

They're ferrying dozens of "Moonblessed" down here every month, from what they said. This whole area is a designated living space for us.

[He slowly turns around in a circle, overlooking the many nice modern apartment complexes and recreational areas.]

The more I think about it the more I doubt they'd hide the access point to any of their people-snatching operations around here. Same for the level right below; that's more of a downtown business area from what I've seen and heard. It's got to be either in the upper level where their government organisations guard it, or underground where access is barred for us.

I may be wrong, but we'd lose a lot of time trying to comb through the whole city on our own. Granted, we'd probably find plenty of allies since almost everyone wants out, but a big group would quickly draw attention.

[He exhales more smoke, looking a little more determined as his plan takes form.]

I'll try to join the Moon Knights. They're one of the main parties running the show, and if I play my cards right maybe I'll be able to investigate both the moon base and the underground.

[ What he says does make sense. It had occurred to her that the upper level would probably be the most worth investigating of the lot, given that most of the forces that seemed to be in control of the place appeared to be operating from there. ] The place is definitely crawlin' with 'em.

[ She's thoughtful for a moment as she takes another drag from her pipe. ]

Ya think it's easy for outsiders to join?

Hell if I know. I guess we'll find out. If it works out, though, I'll be out of luck as far as finding out anything more from the "Moonblessed" civilians goes. If I know one thing it's that no one trusts a cop.

[He cracks a small grin.]

That's where you'll have to come in. There's no way we're the only ones who thought of looking into this, so it'll be a matter of finding the others.

So, you're officially tryin' to recruit me into your crazy squad?

[ Cos you know Hijikata, you may be coming across as mega serious to her right now but she has a very good idea of the kind of stuff you lot get into - Host Club included. Not that she's one to talk. ]

...I'll help. If other people want out too then I need to do somethin'.

[Give him a break, he was just there to drag his commander to work, but the man kept insisting on roleplaying a motorcycle, and one thing led to the other really fast.]

Don't say it like that, it's not like this is a Shinsengumi operation. This squad's just you and me.

[He exhales some more smoke, looking at a small swarm of unfamiliar birds passing by overhead. He could take his leave now, but... her presence is comforting. He can at least stick around until they've both finished their smokes and bring her back to her room - not that she'd need an escort, but it'll be good if he'll be able to remember where to find her.]

Fine.

[ Yeah, yeah. Just no shenanigans if that Gorilla of yours shows up!! She's remembering that communication device she had been given now and holds up her wrist. ]

I take it ya got one of these too? I'll send you a message if and when I find out anythin'. I won't give any details unless we see each other in person though, someone's bound to be monitoring' it. [ Her pipe is pretty much all smoked out at this point and while yep, she definitely doesn't need an escort, she's okay with walking back in the direction of her apartment room with him. ]

Edited 2020-03-22 16:00 (UTC)

[He can't promise no shenanigans if Kondou turns up here, but he'll do his best. At this point he should be considered a professional gorilla wrangler. Tsukuyo's suggestion, in any case, sounds good to him. He hasn't really used his communicator yet, though he did familiarise himself with it a little.]

That sounds like a plan.

[His cigarette is merely a stub now, and he feels tiredness sink in as he walks alongside her, finding nothing else to say. While everything that happened today feels surreal he truly appreciates that he'll be able to sleep alone in a quiet room tonight. The door-locking mechanism seems individualised to the apartment owner, so maybe he won't even wake up to a certain sadist trying to slice him like back at the Shinsengumi barracks.]

[ And she had pretty much smoked the contents of her pipe down to nothing so it seems as good a time as any to head back. She's tired too but she can't picture herself getting a very good night's sleep given all that's happened. She would take a good few hours to mull everything over.

Once they reach her unit she turns to him once more. ]

I'll let ya know if I see that anymore people from home have shown up.

I'll do the same.

[He gives her a nod.]

We'll hear from each other, then.

[He isn't one for goodbyes and goodnights, so he just turns and walks off. This time he pays more attention to where he's going so he'll remember the way to her. Once he finds his apartment he tries to text her his address, but can't figure out the network right away, so he decides that it can wait. At least he can rest more easily tonight knowing he isn't the only halfway sane Edo denizen around.]

▶ TDM .013

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laughing at matching thoughtful smoking faces

They're two peas in a pod and it's cracking me up!

hehehe :)

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