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[prismods]

This Is Our Time

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"SelloRekT /LA Dreams - This Is Our Time" (Watch on YouTube)

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. Even the few shy moon creatures you find in the wild have strange crystal growths on their hides. This is far from home— perhaps a dream? You pinch your skin and slap your cheeks, yet nothing seems to do the trick. Searching for answers yields nothing but an endless expanse of purple dust as far as the eye can see. You have four options: one, panic; two, soil yourself; three, admire it all then soil yourself; or four, go into survival mode. Eventually, you’ll realize that you’re not alone.

▶ The Mirror has Two Faces
Iris Moon, Government Center (Arrival) and Planet Prismatica, City of Lunatia | top

After a day or two of living off the crystal wilderness, a group of people find you worse for wear. They are the gallant Moon Knights from the planet of Prismatica. After the strange phenomenon 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? Why did I think drinking alcohol made in a bathtub was a good idea? — 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.

While waiting for transport to be prepared, you may freely roam around the government center. Eventually you’re called back from exploring, escorted to the docks, and led onto a large transport vessel. Destination: Prismatica.

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. 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.

B. All apartments have been officially upgraded with special mirrors in the master bedroom that allow you to modify your features using a chroma-powered side panel. You can change your hair color, clothes, add animal parts, and even reduce or augment any feature of your body. Play around with it and see how you look! Sometimes, the mirrors will glitch and give you access to another person’s mirror, letting you see inside their apartment and catch them unawares. To their (your?) horror, you can hear them as well as they can hear you. Hopefully, you’re not caught doing something you shouldn’t be!

▶ Knottingham Forest
Level 2, Greatmoon Groves | top

The whole city receives an invitation to watch a once-in-a-lifetime outdoor play in Level 2’s Greatmoon Groves. It will be performed by the renowned traveling fox thespians from Amegahara.

It’s been a whole month since these fox envoys came to Lunatia. The Amegahara foxes ended up staying in the city longer than expected because of the fiasco last Vulpus Astra. Aside from needing to smooth things out with the Lunatian government, they also need to regain enough chroma to travel back home.

The locals aside, wanting to make up for their carelessness from the past month, they’ve primarily put together this play while keeping in mind the Moonblessed who were most affected. Though the Conclave of Amegahara and the Oracles of the Sinless are not affiliated, the Amegahara foxes regardless wish to apologize for the wrongdoings of the Sinless because they’re still their kin.

They hope everyone can move past it. Eager to show the real beauty of their culture, they encourage all to attend and bear witness to a truly tantalizing feast for the eyes. All Moonblessed will receive VIP seating and special service. The play does not start until the evening, but don’t worry, there’s more entertainment prepared around the groves!

A. Trending online is the Tree of Knots, a large tree with low-hanging branches covered in thick ribbons of various colors. It's such a hit with the locals that there are long lines for those who want to take Prismagram-worthy selfies.

The Amegahara foxes will explain that knots are sacred to their kind as they represent deep passion and eternal bonding. Participants are encouraged to work in pairs to loop a ribbon around a branch and then pull either end to ring around the tree. The bigger the knot, the better! Once a knot is secured, the two Moonblessed may find themselves, well… stuck together. Their hands will lace, and they will not be able to pull free for an hour. Enjoy the quality time spent with a friend and/or stranger… Hope you don’t have to go to the bathroom any time soon!

B. Cozy up with your fellow Moonblessed at the comfortable VIP seats facing the stage. Plates of delicious food and drink will float around to serve you until the show is over!

Under the moonlight, the play tells the tale of the Queen of Loch Drasta. The aloof and sheltered queen is seduced by a winsome village maiden named Peirene, only able to meet her when the night is upon them.

Special effects spellcasters make illusions of stars that encircle the audience, their bright glow emitting a comforting warmth that may lull audience members into a peaceful trance that lasts well after the show has ended. Those affected may find themselves feeling intoxicated. Strange — they haven’t even had a single drop of liquor! They’ll be prone to feats of reckless abandon or be charged by feelings of either elation, desire, or happiness. Possibly all of the above!

▶ Preparation H
Level 1, Lunar Scientia Headquarters | top

It’s almost time for the Conclave of Amegahara to return home and they will be taking the Oracles of the Sinless with them. Though, it seems they’re not the only ones heading out. As part of the ongoing efforts to bridge relations between all cultures, any willing Moonblessed will be invited at the end of the month to travel together to Amegahara, the Oasis in the Nothing, to give them a chance to learn more about this world. It’s also a volunteer experiment to see how their special moonlacing will affect their dead environment.

It’s said that the Amegaharans developed their own culture and technology independently from the Prismals of Lunatia, as their lands are separated by a large ecological wasteland created by the Calamity—dead lands which they call the Nothing. In order to traverse this dangerous territory, appropriate equipment developed by the Amegaharans will have to be used given that the Nothing is inhospitable and impossible to breathe inside of.

And so, to make sure nothing goes wrong, a proper testing and training session in Level 1’s Lunar Scientia Headquarters will be underway before the big trip. The Amegahara foxes warn that the current calibrations are for their kind, so it will likely be incompatible with the Moonblessed at the moment. Part of the test procedures is to find the right configurations, so brace yourselves.

A. L.I.F.E. or simply “LIFE” is a special form-fitting full body suit and helmet that are capable of providing ample chroma to keep the wearer alive through the most hazardous environments, such as toxic air.

One of malfunctions may potentially cause suffocation by squeezing the wearer’s bodies too tight. Another is that it might drain chroma instead of providing any. Stay with someone nearby to help you strip and moonlace with!

B. Another piece of technology available for testing is the aerial mecha suits called GIGA, which require at least two to three people to pilot one. Similar to LIFE, the suits also have a few noticeable glitches. Sometimes, the flight function stops completely, making it impossible to hover more than a few feet off the air. Other times, the emergency function suddenly ejects pilots straight into the ground. A neural cord that is supposed to affix itself to the pilots’ central nervous systems has also been coming out from the bottom of the seat instead of linking to the back of the pilots’ neck as designed, making for a particular uncomfortable seated experience.

As always, please take note of all glitches and errors and report them to your nearest Lunar Scientia employee!


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

▶ As a reminder, test drive memes are for new characters only. 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.!
▶ 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.

Comments

[unhappy]

[ Emerald's eyes widen when she hears his voice and her lips part to say something, but then his actual words echo in her head. Excuse him? If he remembered her then he wouldn't be asking what she's doing so calmly like that, he'd be.. he'd be saying her name to let her know he was there, that it was him, right?

It's probably a good thing neither of their emotions manifest as magic anymore, because Emerald's would probably be dropping the floor out right about now. The only thing worse than not seeing Akashi again is seeing Akashi and not having him remember her.

She still doesn't look at him for a few moments, staying silent. Maybe it looks like she's ignoring him, maybe it looks like she's just focused on the panel. If he looks at her expression she looks like she's trying to control herself. She may have gotten more practice keeping her feelings inside with more memories of Remnant, but she's never quite mastered it on her face when she's truly upset about something. It feels like it's been forever since she's seen him. She wants to hold onto him and just flat-out not let go. Her eyes slowly turn to him, then her head, and the expression on her face is one that can't hide recognition, even if she's trying to keep it inside because that wasn't the response of someone who you haven't seen in god knows how long-- for Emerald it's been a longer time. ]

Is it your business?

[ Is it? Please tell her she's wrong. She'll happily be scolded by Seijuro than have to pretend she doesn't know Akashi. Because the last thing she wants is to have him think she's someone to be avoided because she has the wrong reaction and he doesn't remember her. ]

[glorifies]

[ Akashi had gone with that approach because he wasn't sure what Emerald would do if he recognised her and she didn't. That Emerald wouldn't be his, and because of that, she might consider him an enemy. He's unable to fight. She might pull a gun on him.

He's able to figure out what Emerald's reaction means, though. She recognises him, just as he did her. She seems frightened, hence what she says.

Akashi steps closer until he's able to place a hand over hers to bring it down from the panel. It... feels good, he immediately thinks. Far better than any other time he's held her hand, and he quickly dismisses it as the feeling of moonlacing. He's going to have to learn more about moonlacing soon. That felt good. ]

You might break it, that's all.

[ He doesn't have the money to spot Emerald right now, but he can at least give his girlfriend what she needs. He moves closer until he can rest his forehead on hers and takes a deep breath. His hand hasn't let go of hers yet. ]

I was worried. I should have looked for you right away, but I wasn't sure where to begin.

[unhappy]

[ When he moves to hold her hand, it's the relief that rushes through her body that impresses her far more than the chroma. It's there-- she notices it, but she's preoccupied with everything else happening right now. ]

I was definitely going to break it.

[ Not might. But it's actually her Akashi so she can close her eyes and be honest if it's really him. She moves her free hand to very lightly smack his arm. Way lighter than she would be if it were anyone else. ]

I thought you didn't remember me, jerk.

[ But he kept his promise. He really, really did. She opens her eyes and looks down at their hands, then into his eyes. ]

This is definitely not Japan, so how?

[ What is going on? ]

[glorifies]

[ Emerald's very lightly is still painful. Akashi lets go so he can rub the part that she hit. ]

Please don't hit me.

[ But he let go, so he pulls her close by the small of her back and has her rest against him. To Akashi, he wasn't able to fulfill his promise. This wasn't his doing, and he'll admit to his failure, too. ]

I'm not sure. I'm not the one behind this, but I'm thankful that you're here. [ Then, softer: ] I'm sorry.

[unhappy]

[ He's such a baby...

She lets him pull her close and rests her chin on his shoulder. She grabs onto the bottom of his shirt with both hands, just holding him for a moment. ]

I remember you and we're in the same world. I don't care which world it is or how it happened.

[glorifies]

[ She has a point... They should just focus on the positives. What she says actually makes him smile, and he keeps her close for a while longer so he can soak himself in her presence. ]

We're lucky this time. I'll do my best to keep it that way.

[unhappy]

[ Emerald isn't exactly one to focus on positives, but she also doesn't particularly have much that she cares about that isn't the people who care about her. The world around her, even the people around her she doesn't value, don't matter as much in comparison. So for Emerald, this is more than she could ask for already. ]

Me too.

[ She pauses for a moment, freezing, then looks up. ] I didn't break your apartment, did I?

[ ..Because anyone else's is fine, but she doesn't want to break Akashi's. ]

[glorifies]

This isn't my apartment.

[ Akashi says it with a chuckle before he pulls away. He's still holding her hand, though. ]

Mayuzumi-san is here too, you know.

[unhappy]

[ She looks surprised at that. Did they.. really all get here? The world doesn't work out that easily. There's no way. Just Akashi was more than she expected. ]

Does he remember too?

[ She keeps his hand held and starts heading out of the room. ]

[glorifies]

He does.

[ That's why they're really lucky! Emerald can meet Mayuzumi later though. Akashi wants to be selfish just for today. He was worried sick about Emerald. ]

Holding your hand feels even better, in this world. Is that weird to say?

[unhappy]

Everything you say is weird.

[ She looks around. They.. definitely lost the tour group. Oops. ]

But you're right, too. I think it's that chroma thing they mentioned. Which is leading to the last job I had on my list. So much for yoga instructor.

[ Akashi, are you ready to be prostitutes with her. ]

[glorifies]

[ ??? so. Guess who doesn't get it. He looks at her, confusion written all over his face. ]

What do you mean?

[unhappy]

From what I understand, chroma is the currency used in this world. And you make chroma by...

[ She pulls his hand up with hers, then uses her free hand to stick her finger in the gap between the two of their hands. ]

[glorifies]

[ Graceful as always, Emerald. Akashi's eyes widen and he looks away. His cheeks feel warmer, as do his hands. ]

Moonlacing is not a job.

[ COUGHS ]

[unhappy]

[ Embarrassing him is too fun for life. But at least on this she'll drop it...

..Mostly because she doesn't want him to get super weird when she actually wants to do something. She pulls her finger out and kisses the back of his knuckles. ]

Does that mean I still have to get a real job?

[ She laughs a little, but it sounds kind of tired. ] It's been a while since I got to think about stuff like this.

[glorifies]

A while?

[ Are they from different points in time? Akashi looks at her, curious. ]

How long?

[unhappy]

I remember what Merc was talking about with Cinder, then after that too. She's not dead, but Salem won't let her back until she fixes what w-- what she messed up.

[ It doesn't take emotional effects to hear Emerald's conflicted feelings as she speaks. Being forced to admit that Cinder was in the wrong was a challenge the first time, but she's learned to correct herself out of fear. She still loves Cinder, no matter what Mercury says. ]

I... Salem told us that she was the only means we had to get what we wanted but without Cinder there, that wasn't true. Merc and I fought about it, and Tyrian pointed out that if we weren't loving what we were doing, we were in the wrong business. [ She uses her free hand to rub her arm.

She hasn't acted on anything-- she didn't even know if she would, but she sounds like she's a little more sure of herself than she was before. She's been away from Cinder long enough now even in their world to start thinking about what they're doing, where they are. Why Mercury joined them and why she was fighting because even in the same fight she witnessed Weiss getting skewered, she was yelling at Ruby that she didn't care about any of this. It was one thing to say it while she was trying to convince people she wasn't any harm, it's another to say it when her life is on the line before she lost, when she was confident they would win. When she believed in Cinder like she was infallible. But that lens was a little cracked now, and as Salem dug that into Emerald. ]

I asked if he meant we should leave. [ The rest of the conversation Akashi doesn't really need to hear. He's too kind-hearted to handle that part. It's still fresh in her memory though. She squeezes his hand slightly. ] We didn't, but I guess... Long enough to start thinking about what I want.

[glorifies]

[ That's a lot to unpack all at once. Akashi knows this shouldn't be about him, but even after they talked about why they can't date or this and that, he still can't get rid of that emotion - the one that says he doesn't like Cinder. He's a lot better at not showing his emotions than Emerald is, at least, but if she's looking at him, she might notice how his eyes narrow just a little at the news.

Akashi's not supposed to be happy that someone is dead, but he's not exactly brimming with pep either knowing that Cinder is alive.

He listens and keeps his mouth shut, though. It seems Emerald's learned a lot more even without the guidance (control) of Cinder. He doesn't know who Tyrian is, but that whole conversation just seems... shady. If you leave after doing all that, nothing good ever comes out of it. That's how it is in the movies. He assumes it's the same in real life, especially after such a commitment. ]

What have you come to realise?

[unhappy]

[ She stretches one arm above her head as she thinks about how to answer that. It's a challenging question, honestly. She can't know for sure if she's going to come to the same conclusion back home as she did in Empatheias. ]

Before we left Verens, I told Jaune what I knew about Salem and her faction. I told him because if anyone's going to beat her, it's them- everyone else is either under her icy acrylics or about to be crushed by them. I thought Cinder was dead and I made that decision somewhere safe and only because I thought it would protect you guys. Back home, I'm thinking about what leaving would mean for me and Merc. Even with nowhere to go.

[ Maybe not telling the brats about Salem, but at least she thought about leaving. She didn't want to be there, and she wanted to do something about it. ]

I guess what I've come to realize is even without listening to you all the time or even knowing you're out there, I know that isn't where I want to be. Maybe I've got the guts to do something about it, too.

[ It feels a little less like she's doing all of this- the job search and not stealing or hurting people for Seijuro and Chihiro and like it could be for herself now, is what she's saying. Which is probably just a little healthier than before. But she's also definitely gotten a ton more nightmare fuel and her fuse has gotten a bit shorter, so two steps back one step forward.

..Either way, she still wants him to be proud of her, which is kind of why she wants to share that. ]

[glorifies]

[ He squeezes her hand, both to provide support and comfort. There are things Emerald does that Akashi doesn't like. He imagines there are things he does that she doesn't like either. They promised they'd talk to each other to settle any differences though. Now that Emerald is speaking, Akashi offers his ears. He's listening, even if he doesn't like what she said prior to that. This is important for Emerald, so it's important for him, too. ]

Then, have you made up your mind?

[ It's the "maybe" that's getting to him. ]

This world is a lot more advanced than Empatheias... if there's a way to actually bring you elsewhere and not to where you're from, then we have better chances here than in the previous world.

[unhappy]

[ Whether she's made up her mind or not is troublesome. Now that Cinder as an option is back on the table, it's a choice she has to make. Akashi and Mayuzumi or Cinder. There is way to smooth it over like there is with Mercury. When she means she wants to leave, she still means to Cinder and from Salem, not away completely.

That would get her killed either way, if she couldn't convince Cinder not to return to Salem. She doesn't really understand what Cinder sees in her, but she imagines Cinder is in a position that Salem is capable of achieving what she wants. Maybe Salem is to Cinder as Cinder is to Emerald. She doesn't really understand, and she doesn't agree with some of the things that Salem has had Cinder do. She can't betray her. If she's alive then it's betraying her to turn her back and leave- she's flat-out killed someone for just that before, for no reason other than to please Cinder. She looks up to Cinder, needs her.

Needed her.

She loves Akashi and Mayuzumi in a very different way. They both want her there, and don't ask anything in return. She needed Cinder, she wants them. ]

I want...

[ She trails off for a moment, looking down at the ground for a moment. She reaches into her pocket to take her own Piphron pendant out and reaches over to put it into Akashi's hand. ]

I want to go with you.

[ She doesn't deserve a pendant from an Arehtei she's sure she was aligned with for her unyielding loyalty in saying that, though, so she's going to give that to Akashi. In a way, it's her saying that he needs to hold onto it and make sure she doesn't lose it. ]

[glorifies]

[ Akashi once thought that making one's crystal one with you would connect you to somebody, or to the world of Empatheias. He's never done it, nor has he tested it, but the fact that he's here in a different world with his crystal and with Emerald and her crystal? Maybe he's got an idea going on. Maybe. There's no scientific way to explain such a phenomenon, but he needs to hold onto some reason. There's always one.

He stays quiet for some time as she leads Emerald out into the streets. The pendant that's in his hand is pocketed, kept in his coat pocket. He could say "Thank you", because he's glad she chose him and Mayuzumi over the life that she once knew, but that's a little too selfish. Akashi likes getting things his way more often than not, but he's a lot more selfless when it comes to Emerald in a situation like this.

Instead of saying anything, though, he squeezes the hand that he's holding to let her know that he's here and he's supporting her. He'd probably crack again—if one's soul could split into two a second time—if Emerald said she didn't want to go with Akashi anymore, but he understands that this decision was a tough one. ]

Each day you spend with me, I promise not to fill it with worry or fear or anxiety.

[ ???? Why does it sound like a vow. That's because it is one. ]

[unhappy]

[ There's a lot of Emerald that doesn't feel right about the decision she's just committed to. Not because it's not the truth- it is what she wants. But that reverence for Cinder is still there. The need to pay her back for everything she's done, the understanding that Cinder is the closest thing she's ever had to family is still there. It isn't as if it isn't, and that's going to be something she's going to need to find a way to cope with. But Akashi, Mayuzumi, and even Kuroko have become people she can't separate herself from. They make her feel not only like she has people who care about her and her wellbeing, but who want her to be her own person in addition to that. She learns from them and can't help but want to try to please them, somewhat in the same way she does Cinder and in other ways very differently.

She'll want to find out if there's a way she can still help Cinder, still find a way for Mercury to get away from Salem too... and...

Cinder doesn't care about you. She doesn't care about either of us.

Words like that from someone close to you about the person closest to you cut deep, even if you refuse them. It's only Akashi's words that really break Emerald out of the negative thoughts she's drowning herself in as if convinced that making that decision because of what she wants, rather than what she owes, is selfish- wrong. She swallows and looks up at him, gaze uncertain- but in herself, not him. She just said she feels like maybe she has the guts to make that decision on her own, and she said it so she means it, but it doesn't make her feel better about it. But Akashi's words are kind, and she knows he means them. He isn't just saying nice things like so many "good" people who only speak positively in hindsight or seek glory. Akashi really will help her, he really will take care of her. He's shown that. So his words genuinely help, even if not completely. ]

Thank you for finding me again, Seijuro.

[glorifies]

Thank you for being here with me.

[ He wouldn't wish this situation on anybody, but he truly does feel fortunate that Emerald is here and not back in Remnant. She's experienced more now, but she's here and she remembers him, so that's a point in his favour. He's lucky, and it's as if the gods have truly blessed him because of this.

They're here for a reason, though. Mayuzumi, too. They'll have to figure out a way to survive in this place, much like how they got used to emotional effects and magic. They can't do that anymore, but they still have to adapt. ]

We'll have to sit down and talk about our situation here in this world. Moonlacing may be easy money, but I'm sure there are other avenues for income.

[ Akashi wants to be rich, but he also doesn't want to sell his body??? ]

Not to mention, the Moonblessings promote moonlacing with multiple people, not just a specific person. Exclusivity could make things difficult.

[unhappy]

[ The change in her expression pretty much says everything she thinks about that. There's a very good chance that she's going to need a transition period and to maybe not be told about anything Akashi or Mayuzumi do outside of her if that becomes a reality. Just because she will deal with it if that's what they want, it doesn't mean that she's going to be a fan of it and if she knows any names she's probably going to imagine more than one murder scenario. ]

If you have the energy to "moonlace" with other people you have the energy to moonlace with me, don't you?

[ ...If anything though, isn't it Emerald that's not going to have the energy, with two boyfriends? She isn't thinking that way right now though. ]