prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .015

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CW: Contains potential body horror in Prompt D.

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.

▶ My Anaconda Don’t-
Inari Highway, Amegahara | top

As promised by Lord Bairen, the leader of Amegahara, the route between the cities of Amegahara and Lunatia has been completed. The Inari Highway will improve both travel time and security, letting the Moon Knights deal with any potential threats in a more efficient manner. With the Oracles of the Sinless having cropped up a second time last month, the timing of its completion couldn’t have been more perfect.

Shortly after the Inari Highway’s opening, the Moonblessed are invited to come. Using the highway, attending Moonblessed can quickly and securely traverse the Nothing to personally witness the impact of their Chroma through their stay so far on Prismatica.

Upon entering the glass tunnels of Inari Highway, the glass first displays images of the Nothing before the Moonblessed’s arrival. It was entirely bereft of any life, and only gigantic monsters roamed the barren land. Then the images on the glass walls vanish to reveal the sudden miraculous growth of plant life, astonishing the entire planet.

Scientists at Amegahara have been hard at work testing the Nothing’s capacity to support life. They have determined that a constant and heavy flow of Chroma is required to maintain the baby ecosystem in the Nothing. Otherwise, the existing plant and animal life will die before reaching full growth. The Moonblessed are encouraged to support this endeavor.

B At the greenhouses across Inari Highway, you will find multiple rows of wildflower sprouts and small trees planted near solar panels. In order to help them grow quicker, veteran Moonblessed already know what to do. And if they don’t, Prismals have stitched together some floral “Get Along” t-shirts for this very purpose. These shirts can fit up to two people inside them, making moonlacing practically unavoidable. Everyone will be rewarded trying these out, as the shirts have a built-in feature that amplifies the release of Chroma.

Other activities that can be performed to aid the plants include measuring chemical quantities in the soil, trimming dying leaves and petals, pulling weeds, chasing away bugs, and watering the plants using the Anaconda 5000.

The Anaconda 5000 was created with the same state-of-the-art technology as everyone’s favorite Raging Hydra 5000. This thick and heavy talking snakehead device requires a little love and tenderness to get it started. It will not be shy in giving instructions. The user must vigorously caress its sides to make it spew water. The more firm and powerful the touch, the more water it will release everywhere. However, should you and your friends go overboard with your ministrations, the Anaconda 5000 will promptly explode and set off sprinklers, drenching everyone in the greenhouse, which is bad news for them unless they want a wet t-shirt party.

▶ Beez in the Trap
Amegahara and Lunatia | top

With all the new flowers blooming at the edge of the Nothing, pollen is in the air, attracting a rare type of insect known as the Viscosus Bee. Huge honeycombs will start appearing around both Amegahara and Lunatia, their size and numbers growing rapidly by the hour. The cities will be abuzz about these bees — literally!

A public advisory by the Lunar Scientiae appears: please exercise extreme caution when walking by open spaces, especially around parks, farms, gardens, and anywhere else that has flowers. Better check that nice bouquet of yours before giving it to someone. Chances are that you’ll meet the bees right in their trap!

C Lots of bees means lots of honey. Giant globules of the sticky stuff drip and fall on innocent bystanders, practically gluing them together. Unbeknownst to many, the Viscosus Bee is known for producing the stickiest kind of honey across the galaxy. It will take more than nail polish remover to pry yourselves off each other! Thankfully, there is a special type of lubricant that can help those who are trapped — one that local news stations will tell you repeatedly to stock up on. Local pleasure emporiums will be selling this “Slippery When Wet” brand of lubricant at an affordable price. What you lose in dignity purchasing it, you gain in helping yourself and maybe a new friend.

▶ Flower Power
Amegahara and Lunatia | top

As the weeks pass, you may notice some strange gradient discoloration on the tips of your fingers, and your veins (or wires) have gradually turned green. It’s certainly a peculiar affliction. Even stranger, a light touch like simply brushing against another’s shoulder will discolor parts of their body as well.

All becomes clear when three moons finally appear: everyone affected will not transform according to their usual Moonblessing. Instead, you find vines and leaves growing along your body. Flowers sprout from open cuts, between your lips, out of your eyes, through any available orifice on your body, or in place of certain limbs. You are not too different from a walking plant.

D Your emotions towards others will also cause certain flowers to spontaneously burst out of you as soon as you exchange words with them. What do these flowers mean? Well, if you ask the Amegaharans nicely, they may give you a few guides to let you know, or you can check your local library.

Otherwise, you will be left to try and guess on your own as your body slowly germinates itself in front of others. This effect will naturally wear off once the three moons disappear.

Scientists at Amegahara will later postulate that the phenomenon originated from some of the intense cross-breeding of the plants in their greenhouses, which had released unconventional spores that had attached themselves to the Moonblessed and spread about.

However, they will assure you it’s nothing to be alarmed about. Just another hiccup in the name of science! The effects will be completely gone soon.

▶ 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.

DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE? ▶ As always, all content is optional. You do not have to be affected by any of the prompts if you wish to opt out.

AMEGAHARA ▶ With the opening of Inari Highway, the city may now be permanently accessed. You may travel freely between Lunatia and Amegahara anytime. Refer to this announcement for more details.

FLOWER POWER ▶ As always, the severity of effect is up to you. You may choose to have minor effects and only have one flower grow on any desired body part.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"This planet is definitely not ready for you to take off your shirt," comes a voice from behind him.

It's Jin Ling, standing there with his arms crossed and his sword held between them, looking exasperated and irritated though there's something closer to relief at the edges of his eyes. But like hell is he going to acknowledge it.

"Are you kidding me, right now? You finally get back and you come visit some plants instead of heading home? I'll drag you back to Sizhui myself."

The words, the tone, is just familiar enough that Jingyi is turning and responding without thinking too hard.

"If I knew you missed me so much, I would have--"

He cuts off when he sees the speaker and blinks.

"Ah?"

He cannot help the confusion, because this person is...unfamiliar? Sort of? And he had been speaking as if Jingyi was something to him. Little clues suggest many things, and Jingyi is not so unobservant to not notice that he seems to be a Jin (almost?). And around Jingyi's age (almost?). And with a mouth on him that was all Jin Ling (No, that's pretty much exact). All of which should add up to Jin Ling himself, except that Jingyi cannot say that for certain.

A little shiver runs down his spine and he demands, "Who are you? What do you mean by back?"

He can see the surprise and the confusion, the lack of recognition, well before Jingyi actually spoke. His own face was impossible to control. Hurt, first, inescable, then annoyance and frustration, finally settling on something haughty and defensive.

“You were here before, but you clearly don’t remember.” And he was going to ignore how much that hurt. He was going to ignore it!!

“And you know who I am, I just look different! I’m— that’s not important right now!” He stomped over to the boy, and if he was clutching his sword a little tighter to stay calm then so sue him.

“People come here, and then they leave and forget everything. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes they don’t. You’re lucky you came back because Sizhui’s been upset since you left and it was getting really annoying!”

He doesn’t mean that. It’s out of his mouth before he can stop it, but he doesn’t mean it. It was upsetting, yes. It was heart breaking. But A-yuan was anything but annoying. He grit his teeth.

“You really can’t figure out who I am? We’re from mirrored worlds. Everyone in my world has a duplicate in yours. Hanguang-Jun, Uncle Wei - even you and Lan Sizhui. Even me.”

Edited 2020-05-13 17:01 (UTC)

"No, I clearly do not remember," he replies in annoyance, then leans back as Jin Ling approaches. Not because he thinks anything might happen, but because Jin Ling is so angry in a way that Jingyi has not seen before.

Well, of course he had not seen it before, but he knew what he meant.

But then Jin Ling just keeps speaking! And while the information is very useful, Jingyi cannot let the slight against Sizhui pass without comment.

"Sizhui could never be annoying!" He scoffs, folding his arms across his chest. "And of course I can figure out who you are when you talk like that, Jin Ling! Only you could could be so insulting in trying to tell me that Sizhui missed me. Or someone who is not me." This is confusing. "I would know if I had been here before, but Sizhui would miss me anyway!"

So there.

"It's definitely you! You're the one from his world, not mine, and you were here and I even have stupid - stupid photographs - so don't be dumb!!" He knows he's getting worked up. He doesn't address the correction about Sizhui because, well, he already knows. He never meant it in the first place but he can hardly take it back.

"Of course he missed you." He sniffed, frustrated, then turned abruptly to look away, a ruddy colour raising to his cheeks.

He knew that Sizhui had missed Jingyi all too well. Had held him when the other boy had disappeared. Had promised to save Jingyi a space in their... well. Whatever weird relationship they had. But he couldn't exactly say all that.

He had a sudden brief panic over what Jingyi would think about the golden thread in Sizhui's hair but then pushed it aside. He wasn't ashamed!! Even if - even if Jingyi was actually Sizhui's fated person, he was pretty sure Sizhui wouldn't just push him away now that he was here.

Right?

He grit his teeth.

"Whatever. My point is, I can take you to him, if you want."

At the mention of different worlds, Jingyi's spine stiffens and his frustration with just how Jin Ling that Jin Ling is being falters. "Ah." Because...well. Different worlds makes things very complicated. And Jin Ling is different enough that he does not have a great deal of trouble thinking about it as true.

"There is no proof that it is me, even if there are photographs," he points out, even though it does not necessarily matter. He is more speaking because he feels like he must say something while he thinks about this problem. "What if I am also from a different world from the me that showed up here before?"

Is it likely? Unclear.

But Jin Ling is more upset than Jingyi would have anticipated?

"Take me to him," Jingyi ordered, because if nothing else, Sizhui would be able to figure something out. "And even if I am not this other world me, I am still excellent and you should be glad that I am here to keep both of you out of trouble."

"As far as I can tell there are only two versions of our world," Jin Ling said a little primly. "And you're not mine, so you must be his."

The order made Jin Ling bristle a little, despite it having been his idea originally, and he rolled his eyes as Jingyi continued.

"He'll be happy to see you regardless, so don't go putting ideas in his head that you might be from a third version of our world. It's bad enough that we know we won't be going back to the same place."

"Well, we will just see if I am. If I recognize him immediately instead of having to figure it out, then we will know," he says, more or less agreeing.

He does, however, frown a little bit over Jin Ling comment about it being bad enough that they are already from two different worlds. "Are you very much different from our world's Jin Ling?" he asks, although he frowns a little harder a moment later. "That is not a good question. I mean to say that you have become a good enough friend that he will miss you specifically?"

That is not the right question either, but it is as close as he is going to get.

He started walking, if only so that Jingyi wouldn’t be able to completely focus on his face.

“We’re different.” Tightly. Firmly. He wasn’t even sure it was true, but... he needed to believe it was. The concept of being so easily replaced was a terrible one that he didn’t want to consider. At the last question he let out a hard breath, turning his head away, gripping his sword a little tighter.

“You should ask him that.” It’s not very fair to say that, and he knows it, the retort automatic. He clenches his teeth. Damn it. Why was it so hard to just be honest with Jingyi? He and Sizhui had discussed him before, he should be prepared. Instead he was still at a loss.

After a second: “If he feels even halfway as much about it as I do, then yeah. He would miss me pretty specifically.” That was putting it mildly, he hoped. But he couldn’t speak for Sizhui. He cast a grumpy look back at Jingyi.

“Why? Is that so weird? We’re allowed to be close.”

Missing a step before he recovers himself enough to follow Jin Ling, Jingyi repeats himself. "It was a bad question. If I am different then you are different." But now he is floundering a little. He feels like he might be missing something?

Still, it is Jin Ling and he cannot help but feel like his metaphorical fur has been ruffled the wrong direction. "You are allowed," he says, though it sounds a little grudging. Mostly because he is now nervous to meet a Sizhui that is supposedly 'his' but is also someone who he has also supposedly been here before with and he does not remember.

It is very unsettling.

"I was just not here to see you get close," he points out. "If I did not see it, that means I have to ask about it."

His fur is ruffled the wrong way, though it's through no fault of Jingyi's own. This situation was always going to ruffle him. He lets out a hard breath and comes to a halt, crossing his arms in front of himself and turning to face Jingyi.

"Look, it's ---" Ugh. This was going to be complicated to explain. He glared for another second and then put out a hand.

"Take it." His hand, he means. "It'll be easier to explain then."

Jingyi blinks at Jin Ling's face, then at Jin Ling's hand, and then back at his face. "Holding my hand will help you explain how you got close with Sizhui?"

But after asking, he does not hesitate, either, before grasping Jin Ling's hand. It may sound like nonsense, but Jingyi woke up with crystals everywhere and got to fly in a spaceship. Maybe Jin Ling has decided to learn to share things with people's minds by touch, since he sure as hell cannot do it with his mouth. Jingyi cannot judge.

The moonlacing hits him and his eyes widen, and he is too startled to pull away as the wash of sensation locks him in place.

Jin Ling is so used to this now that the mere hand hold feels pleasant but unremarkable. However, he remembers what it was like to moonlace the first time, and he is watching Jingyi intently for his reaction.

“Yeah. That’s moonlacing. That’s what generates the equivalent of this world’s spiritual energy, chroma. And without it, none of our cultivation works - and if you don’t have any, you die. You have to touch people, you can’t avoid it. And some things generate more than others.”

He paused, frowning deeply, but fuck it. Better to illustrate than explain.

He leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to Jingyi’s cheek, a bright spark of warmth where his lips touched. He pulled back again, but he stil held Jingyi’s hand.

“The more intimate the contact, the more chroma it generates.”

As Jin Ling confirms that they are, indeed, moonlacing, Jingyi simply shivers. There is a hefty dose of confusion swirled into the sensations, and he stares at their clasped hands. He does not snap his head up until most of the way through Jin Ling's explanation. Die? Wait--dying? He did not volunteer for any of this.

Before he can demand anything, however, Jin Ling kisses him on the cheek.

In that moment, it feels as if Jingyi has split in two.

Part of him feels the swell of sensation, tucks away how it affects him, that oh, yes, Jin Ling is right. More intimate means more chroma. That is what that feels like. That is very nice. He likes it.

The other part of him shouts that this is almost-Jin Ling. Jin Ling. He knows him and he has no idea who he is at exactly the same time. Why this? Why demonstrate with kissing??

Jingyi shakes his hand free of Jin Ling out of startled reaction as he covers his kissed cheek with the other and gives Jin Ling the most incredulous look. About eight different variations of 'what' and 'who are you kissing!?' and 'what did I miss by forgetting/being the wrong Jingyi!?' try to come out of his mouth all at the same time as he flexes his hand against the fading sensations.

What comes out, though, is: "You die?!?"

He’s not super surprised by the strong reaction, though his face does flood darkly in embarrassment as he takes a step back. Ugh, he had just wanted to explain quickly!! It was just the cheek!

(His sense of propriety really has shifted after being here for months. )

He huffed, rolling his eyes, as he crossed his arms back over his chest.

“Relax. Sizhui and I wouldn’t let you die. Besides, even if you die here— it’s— from what I understand it’s not the same. You can come back, just... changed. Either way, you shouldn’t do it!! So just take care of your chroma, alright??”

He turned and started walking again, his face still flaming hot.

Ah-ah-ah, no you do not, Jin Ling. Jingyi is not done with you yet.

Chasing after, Jingyi catches at Jin Ling's robes to try and make him stop and objects most strenuously to just about everything, "I do not want to be changed! Who would want to be changed! Have you changed? Is that why you thought to kiss me?"

That last is a demand more than a question. Jingyi has a concern.

"Is holding hands and that sort of touching not enough to not die?"

"No!!" Snapped, despite himself. "It was just the easiest way to explain!! We've just been here for a while, and things work differently here." He was still beet fucking red. Just kill him already.

"And sure, it's fine, but you won't be able to fly on your sword or use talismans or train properly. Anything that we would use our golden cores for, you need chroma. Cuddling is fine, though, I'm sure Sizhui will make sure you can train."

He is not about to say he's going to cuddle Jingyi. He is not. He will, if requested, but fuck no is he going to say it, not when he's this embarrassed.

He tugged his robes free from Jingyi's grasp, just as someone threw a get-along shirt at them. He caught it out of the air and it only made him blush harder so he threw it on the ground in a huff.

"Let's just go!!"

He stares at the get-along shirt on the ground for a hot second before he scoops it up and rounds on Jin Ling. "That means you have to do all of this also," Jingyi points out. "And it sounds like you have not died yet, so you are clearly touching people." He does not know how Jin Ling is doing so even though he has insisted he has not changed (and with how red he as turned from only kissing Jingyi on the cheek!), but that just means that Jingyi will have to make sure he is alright also. The get-along shirt billows out as he shakes it at Jin Ling. "But I think you cannot walk away from things like this! I want to grow some plants and then we will go see Sizhui."

Jin Ling stared at him with all the impotent rage of a seventeen-year-old who knew he was wrong and didn't want to admit it, and then angrily huffed as he snatched Jingyi's hand instead.

"We don't need some dumb shirt to moonlace!! We can get along fine!!" He glared. "I'm not walking away from anything, I just thought you'd want to see Sizhui first!!" Not entirely the truth. He really didn't care about the trees. But. Again. He had his pride.

He let out a hard breath through his nose and glared at the ground as he adjusted his grip, threading his fingers between Jingyi's and relaxing his hold a little bit.

"Of course I touch people." Muttered, still embarrassed. "Like I said, we all have to. And I have friends!!" He said the last in the defensive way that clearly outlined he expected no one to actually believe this, despite the fact it was the truth.

Maybe being triumphant about the fact he has successfully reclaimed Jin Ling's hand should be stranger to him(?), but no. Jingyi has won. And he will not gloat about it. Much.

"Now you can see that I do not bite. Even after you have kissed me," he tells him in satisfaction, marveling all over again at the effect moonlacing has on him. "And...how much of this moonlacing do we need to do? Because I do want to see Sizhui! It is just that we agreed to do this and I do not just want to leave without doing so."

But more than that, it is a little bit of a struggle for him to not sound like he is humoring Jin Ling when he says, "Of course you have friends." All sorts of odd people can make friends in a place like this where sect politics no longer come into play. He gets that. Still. Jin Ling. "You obviously have Sizhui," he points out with the hand he is not holding Jin Ling's with. "And if I was here before, you had me."

"I know you don't bite." Petulantly. He knows when he's being teased, thanks, stop pointing out his embarrassment, Jingyi!! "And that hardly even counts as a kiss, so don't go around telling everyone I kissed you."

He huffed, looking at the plants. "I don't know. I've never tried making plants grow with it before. I knew that it helped restore the planet, but I didn't know it was - well - that direct I guess."

He was going to glare at Jingyi for 'of course you have friends' but when he got to 'you had me' the aggressiveness immediately died. He was really never going to get used to people calling him their friend.

"... Yeah." Mumbled. "Zizhen was here for a little while, too. But -- Harry and Yuri-- they're the other two that are closest to Sizhui and I. I guess. You'll meet them later. They're both--" He hesitated, his face heating up again. "-- The kind of idiots that would throw themselves in front of a sword for you. So you'll probably get along fine."

"Hey!" Jingyi objects to the 'idiot who would throw themselves in front of a sword' being applied to him. With the names of other people who were not Sizhui, though, Jingyi relaxes and, well, most of his internal hesitance to leave and go see Sizhui immediately vanished. That Jin Ling might not have the people he needed here to do this thing that was apparently horrifyingly necessary was...really most of his worry, honestly.

He scrinches his face down as he considers this. He looks at the plants. At the get-along shirt. Then at Jin Ling.

He makes a decision.

"Okay we don't need to deal with any of the plants. We should go to Sizhui. I need to see him or I will not relax at all."

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Oh NO my HEART

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