▶ TDM .001

[prismods]

Cybernetic dream, something like you've never seen

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"Michael Sembello - Automatic Man (original music video)" (Watch on YouTube)

▶ Lisa Frank's LSD Fun House
anytime, anywhere on the moon Iris | top

Everything is darkness except for dim lights sparkling in the distance, a faint gleam that greets you as you start to unfurl from your dormant state. 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. Throat parched and skin dry and aching, you grope your body in alarm to make sure your possessions are still in place. 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 only rewards you with 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.

A ⬤ As you traverse the near-barren landscape, you feel something sting your skin. It's small and subtle at first, then you finally catch sight of it: an elegant, crystalline mosquito buzzing around from the corner of your eye. However, a pest is still a pest. After a while, marks near your welts begin to form strange patterns on your skin, mimicking ancient runes. Each rune has with it a particular side-effect that may hinder you on your journey:

✾ The Mark of the Enchanter: Hallucinations, hallucinations galore. Your character will see everything and anything their imagination can conjure and will have difficulty separating reality from fiction.
₪ The Mark of the Destroyer: Limbs start to cease their function, causing you to stumble or try and get around one-handed. Other certain body parts may be affected as well. Look at the bright side: you can stop worrying about jiggle physics and hiding your fear boner.
⍢ The Mark of the Sinner: Your hunger, your thirst, your fatigue and your desire are at an all-time high. Your impulses are rabid and uncontrollable. Maybe you experience only one of those symptoms. Maybe you experience them all. All you know is that you want relief now.

These effects will eventually clear up with a bit of accidental or purposeful physical contact with another person, making you wonder if there was anything wrong with you at all.

B ⬤ Hunger starts to gnaw at you vigorously. Perhaps you consider hunting the moon's creatures to sate your hunger. That's when you see it: a thick, meaty, juicy meal on legs. No, we're not talking about Alex Louis Armstrong. A wild silver-white pegasus runs across the purple landscape, its hair billowing in the wind as its hooves smack loudly against the ground. Try and shoot it, and you may find your efforts curtailed by its legendary rage. Eyes aglow and wings beating up a storm, this pegasus is no dainty horse. Two thousand pounds of pure muscle swoop down and charge at you, all blades and ammunition deflecting off its impenetrable skin. Taming appears impossible; it will buck anyone away and leave a sizable horn- or hoof-shaped hole in them for their efforts. Hunting it, however, should be easier. Relatively.

C ⬤ Or you may decide that you'd like to take a drink in the prismatic waters. A small pond can be found just a few miles away from where you first awoke, but gazing into it reflects what appears to be a window into your own world. You see the faces of loved ones or at least someone very close and familiar to you gathered around your prone body, shaking it frantically as though to try and rouse you, yet your image lies frozen and unresponsive, not even a whisper of life running through you. Did you die in your world? Is this your afterlife? The questions start to pile up along with the gnawing dread that you may never return home again.

▶ Camp Nowhere
anytime, anywhere on the moon iris | top

Time moves strangely when you're trapped on a moon with no sun to guide you. Hours feel like days, and days feel like weeks. Travelling has rendered you weak and tired. Luckily, a few crystal formations in the shape of a cavern may offer you a small place refuge as you decide to nap. You notice a few artifacts left over from previous explorers.

D ⬤ A comm unit abandoned within the cavern will display the former owner's idol obsession. As you tap the buttons indiscriminately, a holographic screen will appear, and you will see a fabulous recorded concert featuring three bubbly young ladies in animal print, singing to you about something called Cordis, a cat, and a bag of gems. Does this make any sense to you? Probably not, but the beat is catchy. You may even find yourself tapping a foot along to it. Don’t worry. We know it’s plastic love.

E ⬤ There's a small cooler-like container of preserved powdered food bags labeled with only the word “Edible” that can be safely consumed. Although the powder tastes as bland as you’d expect, it’s oddly filling, sating either hunger or thirst. But who will be the first — and the bravest — to try eating them?

F ⬤ A strange, pointed instrument is among the effects found in the cavern. It's silver, long, and thin with a curved end and a light. When you grip it with warm hands, it seems to vibrate enthusiastically and comes in three settings indicated by a frowny face, a neutral face, and a happy face. What could it mean exactly? No one knows, but you can fiddle with it to your heart's desire. Just don't ask yourself where it's been before. You don't want to know.

▶ Interstellar Action Force Assemble
prisma, iris | top

Over a day has passed when a group of people find you worse for wear. Some are full of uncertainty and fear while some are full of curiosity and excitement. They claim that they are scientists from the planet Prismatica here to investigate the sudden appearances of rainbow crystals in the skies. That means you and the others they’ve located within the area. You are all a surprising find to them, and they are quick to load everyone in their transport vehicles for examination and questioning.

You all may have your usual inquiries — Where are we? Who are you? What's going on? Why are the pegasi so ill-tempered? — and the Prismals are almost too eager to answer. They do have questions on their own, so it’s only fair to trade. They tell you about their world as they poke and prod you, trying to understand what you are and how you came into their land. If they’re not trembling in fear, some of them may ask you odd and invasive questions in return, such as what the rate at which your body achieves thermoregulation is, how long your refractory period is, and if you would be willing to submit various kinds of body fluids to them. It's up to whether you wish to comply or protest.

G ⬤ If you react violently, you will be restrained and nerfed with a specialized neurotransmitting gun that releases a numbing agent through the top of your spine. They came prepared, so have fun with that! In any case, conscious or not, you’ll be brought into one of the transport vehicles. If you choose to peacefully cooperate, you’ll be provided any necessary first aid and a refreshing drink to help you recuperate after the rough time you had for the past few days. Each transport vehicle has a few small rooms to rest in, but due to the limited space, you’ll have to snuggle up with someone else on that bunk bed. Unfortunately, the moonshine fruit the ship is also carrying in its cargo has an extremely sweet smell that’s been permeating through certain areas of the ventilation system… Taking a whiff of it may inebriate you for the rest of the trip.

H ⬤ It’s a bumpy ride as terrain vehicles draw over various crystal formations until you see a large dome-like structure up ahead. Within its confines lies the seat of the Prismatica's government, Prisma. It’s a bureaucratic wet dream: skyscrapers practically touch the upper surface of the dome, windows glimmer with a prismatic sheen as daylight hits them, and small ships can be seen flying to and from its spaceport. The scientists, members of the Lunar Scientia, usher you into their facilities for tests. Arrivals are likely to twitch, tremble, and panic as Lunar Scientia fellows take and broadcast every embarrassing, unfiltered detail about you — height, weight, age, strange odors, estimated frequency of sexual activity —- to one another. These scientists will ask you politely to undress, too, but understand if you don't want to. They're especially fascinated by the readings of pure Chroma inside you, whispering among one another excitedly about the possibility of the new arrivals being a new moon species. What should they call them? Moonborne? Moonblessed?

I ⬤ At long last, the questions and physical examinations are done. They’ve decided to call the arrivals as the Moonblessed. They’ll take you under their care until they understand more about you. You're allowed a very refreshing hot shower and a warm meal for your efforts. Don’t worry, the meal was imported from their planet. “Planet?” you might ask, but you won’t need to wonder for too long. The ships are preparing for their next destination: the nearby planet Prismatica, where you will be dwelling for the time being. You're free to explore the government center until then.

▶ Wildcard
Lunatia, Prismatica | top

It only takes a couple hours for the ships to reach their home planet. The ships drop the characters off at the city of Lunatia, where they will be given their communication devices and a plastic card they can present to certain landlords at any residential district for their subsidized (read: absolutely free) lodging. Officials at Prisma instructed the newcomers to await further instructions from the government, but you have a lot of time to kill before then. Why not explore in the meantime? Learn the ins and outs of the world, get a job, transform under the full moon, and discover the many mysteries of planet Prismatica!

TDM OVERFLOW can be found here!

Comments

[princessascended]

[On the one hand, oh thank the light, he figured it out. On the other, she recognizes the mischief on that face, and now she's really wondering what thoughts they might have put in his head because she knows there's some.

But whatever devious little plans are going on in that mind of his, they can wait. For now, they have more important things to think about.

She steps aside for the moment, though not too far away. She's had her heartfelt reunion with Sora, and her relieved embrace with Riku. Now it's their turn. Standing to the side, she smiles at the both of them, waiting.

And then chuckles at Sora's comment.]

Be fair now. Carrying a couple things like that is hardly the reunion he was expecting.

I mean, unless there's something you two want to tell me.

[Because of course she couldn't resist a little tease.]

[oncebrokenway]

[Riku was all ready to snipe playfully back with some kind of smart comment - but then Kairi says that and suddenly his brain is out of commission entirely.

The prospect of having to explain sex toys to Sora was terrifying enough! He is not emotionally prepared to deal with the prospect of thinking about what he might like Sora to do with sex toys!]

K--Kairi?!

[Also, has he been that obvious?!]

W, when would--

[He can't even think of the right rebuttal, he should be reassuring Kairi that he's not going to interfere with what she and Sora obviously have starting, but all he can think of to object to is the logistics?!]

[keythatconnects]

[Sora laughs softly, because Riku's face is even better now. He reaches out and puts a hand on Riku's arm, mostly as a way to help him center his mind.

Sora takes Kairi's comment as a light jab more than implying anything, though if he had taken it that way he wouldn't mind that implication.]

Hey, don't have a heart attack now. We're finally all back together, I don't want to end up having to go looking for you again.

[princessascended]

[Sora's not the only one to immediately get handsy, as Kairi leans in to hug Riku from the side.

Because pressing her body, including her breasts, into his arm isn't going to make him feel more awkward at all.]

Relax, Riku, I'm only joking.

[oncebrokenway]

[Thanks, guys. Thanks. Helpers, both of you.]

I--

I knew that!

[there it is, the best and most unassailable retort of all time.

you know what let's just pretend the last 30 seconds didn't happen! you can't prove he was uncool if he acts like he wasn't!]

Looking for me... Look who's talking, Sora! You took so long, you almost had me worried.

should i mark this for spoilers again just to give people a chance to look away? XD

[keythatconnects]

[Sora still thinks you're cool, Riku.

At the mention of his disappearance though, he makes a kind of 'phhft' sound, as if it hadn't been one of the most harrowing experiences of his life.

He can't make a big deal about it. Not where they can hear.]

I said I'd be back. And here I am! [He says it as if he had meant any of this, like showing up in a world that looks like the bi pride flag had been on purpose. He acts like he had had any plan whatsoever on how to get back to them and it wasn't just his usual bout of pure dumb luck that he was solid and real again.]

I mean I guess you just did!

[princessascended]

[To be fair, the three of them meeting up again on bi pride flag world is the most appropriate thing ever.]

Nobody doubted you, Sora.

[Says the girl who was dead at the time because she wasn't strong enough to- no, she has to stop that. It's not helping.]

[oncebrokenway]

[no, Kairi, it's not helping. besides, we're apparently on a working vacation now, so we can work on that.]

I did say "almost".

But I'm glad to see you again. It was too quiet without you around.

[keythatconnects]

Yeah, I bet. [Which opens him up to being called 'loud' so let's move past that.]

How is everyone else back home?

[He wants to make sure that everyone else was able to be happy and together. It had felt like a huge effort to reunite them all. He wants to make sure it sticks this time.

Though that won't work if a bunch of them end up here.]

[princessascended]

Can't really say. I'd just come back when we woke up here.

[So, yeah, basically no chance to catch up. Also all those wounds are still kinda fresh, which might explain some things.]

[oncebrokenway]

Everyone's fine. We actually had a big reunion thing going on the beach, even Isa was there.

That was actually right when you were getting back, Kairi.

[And then, yes, we woke up on bi pride moon.]

[keythatconnects]

That's good to hear. [The fact that everyone, including Kairi, was safe and sound made everything worth it.]

Of course, now we're here, so now everyone back there gets to worry about us.

[princessascended]

Well, we've already run into some people from there. I've seen Aqua so far. So... maybe we all got pulled in here now?

[Weird place for a reunion, but maybe Sora was here and all their hearts just got dragged in to meet him? Makes as much sense as most things in their lives.]

[oncebrokenway]

Starting to look that way.

I hope that whatever we're here for, it's a little lighter than our last mission. I'd like at least a decade before we have to deal with another war.

[keythatconnects]

I knooow. I'm kind of ready to sleep for a week.

[Nevermind that he was literally just lost in the realm of sleep and death, he'll just pretend that didn't happen.]

For that to happen, we'd have to find a bed somewhere.

[princessascended]

I don't want to sleep, I want to sit on the beach and stare out at the sunset for like... way longer than a sunset actually lasts.

[Literal hours.]

With you guys next to me.

[oncebrokenway]

[ok well Riku might have had a little butterfly flutter at that thought.]

... Too bad we didn't get dragged to Twilight Town instead, then.

Scenery's not too bad here, though.

[keythatconnects]

[Sora feels the butterflies too.]

It's much better now.

[He means because Riku's here with them, of course.]

[princessascended]

Well of course it is. As long as we're together, everything's alright.

[Which of course is why they keep getting split up. But not this time.

Not this time.

Also just gonna add to the dokis there.]

[oncebrokenway]

[Not this time.]

Not letting you two out of my sight again.

[keythatconnects]

Well, that's a relief.

[Things seem to go better for him when Riku is looking out for him.]

We really should figure out what we're going to do here, though. It's not like we can just stand around forever.

[princessascended]

We need to look for the others. I've already found Aqua, so really, there should be at least some of the others around. I guess it could just be us and her, but... that doesn't really make any sense to me.

[The three of them alone, sure. But the three of them and Aqua? Now that just seemed random.

Maybe if Ven and Terra showed up.]

[oncebrokenway]

Oh, yeah, I ran into Aqua too...

[there was an issue with a very bad lying pool of water. and a weird mark. but we're good now.]

How climbable do you figure these crystals are? If we can get up to a high point, we might be able to see if there's a place where people are gathering.

[keythatconnects]

I could probably climb them no problem...

[Sora answers thoughtfully. He has climbed up or jumped over more difficult things before. He sounds exactly the right amount of boastful about it too.]

[princessascended]

I don't see any obvious handholds. They're pretty smooth. I can't run straight up things the way you guys can.

[Seriously, what keyblade power just lets you say "screw gravity" and when does she get it?]