▶ TDM .017

[prismods]

Tropicana's heat

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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
07/08 - 07/15 | 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.

▶ You’re as Cold as Ice
07/08 - 07/15 | Level 2, Crystal Beach | top

Summer strikes Lunatia with record high temperatures as the city is wracked by an unnatural heatwave. Residents will feel the burn the moment they head outdoors, kissing their skin pink as it drenches them in sweat. For a hot and sticky day like this, it's the perfect time to head to Crystal Beach for a refreshing dip in the water. All sorts of new stands have popped up by the shore, selling icy treats and frozen cocktails.

The morning news recommends befriending those blessed by Cordis, who can keep people cool with their magic touch. They also warn of overheating machinery and electronics! Establishments and residences may end up dealing with broken air-modulating units if they use them too much.

Having cleared their names, Suzaku and Kaya of former *BTSB fame have decided to reform as a rock band duo called The Nine Tails after leaving their boyband roots. They will be performing their most chill new summer jam, “Fox Girl Summer,” while incorporating Cordis magic of their own to keep the listeners feeling cool and refreshed.

 B  Those listening to Kaya and Suzaku’s summer anthem might find their beats too chill to relax and party to. And by that, we mean literally. Ice may start to form around the limbs of happy local beachgoers, filling them with unfortunate shivers that will send them running into the arms of another Prismal to thaw. Even more troubling is that some portions of the oceanfront may also start to freeze, trapping some unsuspecting swimmers inside and leaving them in need of rescue. If anyone goes unnoticed, a Prismal lifeguard will be quick to rescue them.

In a panic, Kaya winks at Suzaku, who reassures his worried partner and ends their performance by summoning a mighty phoenix above the stage. Of course, it is only an illusion for the audience as Kaya thaws the partygoers and the ocean with his magic. Suzaku might have gotten carried away with their debut...






▶ Boom, Badoom, Boom, You Got that Super Bass
07/08 - 07/15 | top

The heated beach waters have brought a large onslaught of aggressive super bass close to the shore. Needless to say, the boys with the booming system were not ready for the sudden and alarming increase in population of this particular fish. In response, the beach committee is hosting a fishing competition to see who can catch the largest super bass. They will be providing extremely durable fishing gear and sufficient bait to all worthy competitors, so come to the Crystal Pier with your best fishing know-how and try and break a record or two!

Due to the competition, job openings for lifeguards have become available. Their main task is to keep an eye on participants and the audience. They should be ready to pull them out in case they have trouble swimming back to the pier. Lifeguards will be provided official beach committee high-tech swimsuits (in the form of tankinis and speedos of your choice) that enhance their performance by allowing them to swim faster and breathe more easily underwater. In the dark ocean depths, they glow with patterns easily recognizable to the Prismal eye. They also accentuate the Moonblesseds’ assets very nicely.

 C  Although they are no different from sea bass in appearance, super bass are known for their monstrous strength and penchant for mischief. They like to fly in the air and slap whoever tries to catch them and their fellow fish with their tail fins. You think you like them better when they dolo? Think again. These fish will purposely grab a hold of something eye-catching such as rainbow-colored sea pearl or other treasures from the ocean and pull the unsuspecting fishers into the watery depths.

▶ Put on Your Red Shoes and Dance the Blues
07/08 - 07/23 | City of Amegahara | top

The city of Amegahara is in preparation for the annual Vulpus Astra Celebration which is coming up in a few weeks. This year is special as the foxes of Amegahara have never celebrated this occasion with the dragons of Lyestellus, making it the first time all three cities in the alliance will be celebrating together. This is all thanks to the Moonblessed, who not only healed their lands but also brought the Prismals closer.

And so for this special year, the upcoming event promises to be an even larger and more extravagant affair. In order to address the extremely high demand for traditional dress and other materials needed for the celebration, many job openings become available in Amegahara. Among these are tailors, glassblowers, florists, and dancers.

 D  The tailors will be sewing traditional clothes, such as lovely-patterned yukata, kimono, haori, and obi. Glassblowers will create pearl glass plates, cups, and trinkets such as hair accessories and festive souvenirs. Florists will be heading to work at Inari Highway’s greenhouses, caring for flowers and putting together flower crowns, colorful bouquets, and floral arrangements to use for street and interior decorations. It is encouraged to make use of pearl glass vases!

Lastly, dancers will be auditioning for a group of strict Amegaharan foxes who will not shy away from hurling insults if you underperform. The traditional Amegaharan dance features many layers of intricate fan work that is difficult to master, or dancers can choose to take part in the more uproarious Amegaharan drum dance. Be prepared for long and grueling rehearsals after passing auditions, where you will be forced to partner up with one another to bend each other’s bodies as flexibly as it could then dance until every single person in the room has the movements and timings memorized perfectly. Moonlacing will keep one another from collapsing in exhaustion, but your bruised ego may require more tender care.

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Comments

arrival, b

[canids]

( legosi's own canine sense of smell was powerful enough to pick out of the crowd those with attributes of various animals that he was familiar with — it usually comes off to him like they wear them like masks, given to them by the moons or whatever magic is currently Fucking With Them that week. the scent is always watered-down, in this way. he could pick juno out of a crowd of five hundred different wolfish sanguis, and so it's in a similar vein that he ends up detecting another lupine scent that he doesn't really recognize. odd. legosi has never really been the type of wolf that feels the need to group up with his own kind (he actually might feel comfier and more at home with herbivores, most of the time), but he was not immune to curiosity. so he draws closer, picking his way through the thong of the crowd drifting up and down the street in the stern summer heat.

well, he's definitely a wolf. is he wearing a trench coat in this heat? (though, if he's not, retract this baffled thought.) regardless, he's standing before a food stall with a very familiar look on his face. if he really is new around here, as legosi expects he is (otherwise he would have smelled him around at some point), he can guess what the problem here is. )

Um... I can get you something, if you want. My treat. ( the wolf might stand a little over six feet tall, but he's got a youthfulness about him, in his demeanor and in his voice. his tail gives a few tentative wags. ) What do you want? ...Do you eat meat?

( some might see that as an odd question for one wolf to pose to another, but here's legosi, in a very short-sleeved t-shirt which reads "i am puppy" on the front (haru got it for him, obviously) and holding a plastic cup filled with a variety of cut fruit he had bought a five or ten minutes ago. so maybe it makes sense, just based on him. )

[worthmyclaws]

[ Shirou smells Legosi long before he sees him, much in the way he himself was scented out by the other wolf. For a fraction of a second he thinks it might be someone like him--another true Beastman, rather than the Prismals that inhabit this world--but the scent is different as it passes through his nose. Too wolfy, somehow? Not a Beastman, but an actual wolf, and still a cub, from the scent of him.

That's why he's actually surprised when Legosi actually approaches him. A wolf, but not like the wild ones back from his world. He could be any resident of Anima City, judging by his appearance. It makes Shirou homesick, and he hasn't even been here a full day yet.

He almost declines straight away, always having been the self-sufficient type. As much as he works to help others, he doesn't often accept help himself. But he's hungry, and he's hot (because he definitely is wearing that dumb trench coat), and he has no resources. ]

I... do eat meat. [ An odd question, maybe, but what's another oddity on this already strange day. ] But that looks more refreshing.

[ He gestures to the fruit cup in Legosi's hand. Yes, the sizzling meat is tempting, but he can eat anything a human can with no adverse effects, and it seems like the right answer if the hesitation in the pup's voice is anything to go by. ]

It's kind of you to offer. Thank you.

[canids]

( legosi has had time to grow used to the odd animals known as "human beings" (and the other spattering of odd aliens and strange creatures, though they were far less plentiful). he had also had time to get used to all of the animals from home being completely different here, unable to speak and seemingly without the sentience he was accustomed to. he is used to it, but it still strokes his fur the wrong way sometimes — it is the degrees of difference that this world has (as furry as it is) from his own. it makes him homesick as well, occasionally, even if his girlfriend and closest friends were already here.

so to be among an animal that is seemingly (??) familiar to him and those from his own home is a comfort to him, albeit a small one.

he understands that manner of self-sufficiency. legosi had felt a similar reproach at accepting help when he was new here. he's happy, then, that he seems more open to accepting than not. legosi looks to the cup of cut fruit in his hand and looks back to the other wolf, eyes wide. ) Ah, yeah, of course! There was a stand selling these a little ways that way. ( he gestures with a clawed finger of his empty hand. ) Come on. I'll show you.

( legosi begins to make his way back that way, a seam opening up for him in the crowd due to his height, size, and overall wolfishness. his tail is still wagging as he walks, continuing to speak. ) Don't mention it! You're new in town, right? It's... more difficult, when you haven't been here long. I'm - paying it forward, I suppose.

[worthmyclaws]

[ As they walk along, Shirou makes note of everything they pass--both sights and smells. If he's going to live in this world even for a short time, he might as well learn the ins and outs of it. He's still on high alert, so there's no tail wagging for him, but it is nice to be in the company of another wolf. ]

I arrived this morning. I'm a social worker back home, so I'm used to being in the one who looks after newcomers in my city. It feels strange to be on the receiving end, for a change.

[ He falls silent, watching a pair of Prismals as they pass, paw in paw, marveling quietly at the strangeness of both them and this world. ]

I'm Ogami Shirou. You haven't heard of Anima City, have you?

[canids]

( it is minute, but there is a slight tensing of legosi's neck and shoulders as shirou answers, a momentary stall in the cadence of his tail swishing from one side to the other. )

...I can see how that would feel strange!

( he tries to shake it off; there's no reason to be wary of someone, especially when it sounds like all he does is take care of others back home. but to think of social workers reminds legosi of... some of the more difficult parts about his life back home. being a predatory offender and all, regardless of the circumstances around it — well, it hadn't been intended to make life for him easy, and that was one of the reasons he had been pursuing a dangerous murderer. all because he had been promised his record would be expunged.

regardless... )

Nice to meet you, Shirou-san. I'm Legosi. ( he's thoughtful for a moment, muzzle tilting skyward as if he would find the answer among the stars and magically-imbued moons. he doesn't. ) Hm... I haven't, sorry. But that doesn't mean very much — I haven't really been very many places, back home. Is that where you're from?

( he's thinking he should have paid better attention in his geography and history classes... )

[worthmyclaws]

[ Shirou notices Legosi's unease immediately--smells it, even--but chooses not to comment even if he wonders at the cause. Is he some kind of delinquent to be nervous around a social worker? He hardly seems the type, but appearances can be deceiving.

Filing that thought away for later, Shirou decides to let the matter go for now. Whatever any of them were in their own worlds, they're here now. It's just hard to turn off that inquisitive, investigative mind of his after all the work he's done over the last decade. ]

It's nice to meet you, Legosi.

[ If he's disappointed that the younger wolf doesn't know about Anima City, he hides it well, shaking his head once. ]

Not originally, but I've lived there since the city was founded a decade ago. It's the only safe haven in the world for Beastmen like me.