▶ 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

Cyrus Tistella | Steam Prison

[acquittals]

c

[If there’s one thing people should know about Cyrus, it’s that she’s an overly loving girl as is with any otome protagonist. She loves her family, she loves her friends, she loves her partner, though the actual ability to love someone romantically is a new idea for her. Still, when she drinks the water and looks back at her home, she’s horrified. People, loved ones frantically around her as they try to wake her. She understands she’s made a lot of enemies, but she at least thought she was cautious enough to not be killed in her own world.

Is she dead? She doesn’t look dead.

She runs her hands over the front of her clothes as if feeling for injuries she may not have noticed.]

I think I would have known if I died, right? What the hell…

d

[Okay, this technology is totally new. In the Heights, the technology wasn’t that expansive even if the medical care was known to be great. As well as the agriculture. In the Depths, she saw technology she’s never seen before. This comm device she’s noticing appears to be like that ‘radio’ that she saw before. A one way communication that projects one’s voice. So she starts playing with it and tapping it until she gets the music…

Huh… she actually likes this as she holds it up to her ear. The language is a bit weird, but she can still appreciate good music.]

What are all the instruments being played? I hear the piano, but everything else sounds different. I’m also impressed someone can make their voice sound this way. Whoever they are singing and playing are pretty talented.

[She’s also slightly dancing to the beat, caught up within it, not at all embarrassed that people could be watching her. She’s quite the free spirit.]

g

[Thanks to all that’s going down and how weak she felt, there was no need to feel to react violently to the strangers. However, she does side eye them as they choose to take care of her. At the drink, she looks at the person before saying…]

You drink it first so I know it’s not poisoned

[She watches to see the person take a drink and notes that the person is indeed telling the truth. Cyrus takes the drink and takes a little sip now that some of her fears have been relieved.]

h

Sexual activity? Of course I haven’t, I’m not married…

[Her cheeks are hot as they talk about her, uh, status. It’s still new to her that people have sex outside of marriage. Hell, unsanctioned love is still new to her as she’s trying to find the right man to marry one day. What is love? What does it feel like? Can you eat it? She’s never figured it out, but sex is definitely something she’s recently learned about. For as unfiltered as Cyrus is, she’s pretty innocent in quite a few regards.]

wildcard

[Hit me up if you’d like to do something else! She'll be around exploring because she's a very curious soul.]

g

[shortorders]

[ Before she has the chance to sip, Shorter just snatches up the cup for himself and downs the whole thing in a few big gulps, letting out a big sigh, as well as a small belch. ]

See? No poison! [ And she'd need to get another glass for herself... ]

[acquittals]

I... see.

[She was hoping an employee would drink it for her to prove it's safe, but this works too? Cyrus cants her head making sure he's okay before she's given another refreshment from an employee.

She takes a sip now, knowing that it's safe and thanks to him is a little more willing to participate in these... tests.

As much as she doesn't want to.]

[shortorders]

If I weren't a nicer guy, I'd probably pretend I was dying right about now for a laugh, but you're pretty tense, sister.

[ Shorter shook his head, letting out a low whistle. ] I know shit's wild right now. Trust me, I've had a hell of a day [ At least he thought it was a day ] myself. Let's take that drink and have a seat, right? Try to relax a little.

[acquittals]

It's a little difficult to relax right now.

[They've no idea where they are and her police officer instincts are kicking in hardcore. She wants to get to the bottom of this, to investigate, but it's clear it's something she can't force especially when they're outnumbered like so.]

Though you're right, we've all had a hell of a day. [She laughs a little, that causing her to relax even just a bit.]

[shortorders]

Exactly. You'll get wrinkles if you panic all the time. And more importantly, I guess, is you tend to lose sight of things. Taking some time to just breathe and re-center will work wonders. Maybe eat some good-ass food, too.

[acquittals]

I think I can handle a wrinkle or two.

[God, she hates when people treat her like she's some dainty girl who just cares about her looks, but at least she can still smile. She assumes he meant no harm by it and she's used to such comments.]

Keeping a clear mind is more important. After some rest, I'm sure we can figure things out accordingly. The one thing I'm fairly certain about is that they have no intentions of hurting us, even if I'm still apprehensive about this situation.

[shortorders]

If anything, they sound just as shocked that we're here as we are. No one was expecting us to pop up.

Hell, when I told them I drank some of the water out there, they seemed even more shocked. Apparently moon water is no-go up here, but I feel fine, and they didn't find anything wrong with me.

g

[yataghan]

[ Here's the catch girl. What if the person you asked to do that have always been poison resistant? Yeah, you're talking to the said guy. ]

Very well.

[ With one quick swoop, Jamil takes the drink and chugs it down like it's some sort of mineral water. And better, his expression is unchanged. ]

Drinkable. [ A pause. ] But I've always been immune to all sort of poison, for your information.

[acquittals]

Would you be able to tell if it was poisoned, though?

[She's not looking for a positive answer, but maybe his body can tell. After all, she wouldn't know since she's never met anyone that's had such resistance before. Her immediate reaction is to purse her lips, wondering if he is just pulling her leg, but...]

Maybe one of the employees could drink it in front of me to prove it's safe...

[After all, if they denied to drink it, then she'd know it's dangerous.]

[yataghan]

Assuming it's the type of the poison that I'm familiar with, it would be yes.

[ Jamil just grabs another handful in his hand and noms it again. ]

I'm going to vouch that it would be unnecessary, however. I think it won't do anything harmful even to normal people's stomach.

[ ..............Probably ]

[acquittals]

That's all I needed to know.

[What doesn't kill her and all that as the employee brings her a fresh cup of the refreshment and she downs it. Okay she was thirsty, but not thirsty enough to drink something suspicious.]

[yataghan]

I know it's need not to be unsaid that we need to keep our guards up, but there are times when we are required to be to not too paranoid.

[ In the back of his mind, he still casually thinks of whoever, or whatever could put the stuff in the crate. Who is even around in a place like this? Regardless- ]

Jamil. Fifteen. A [ -n assassin, or so what he would say, but then he remembered the captain's words to not to creep someone on their first encounter to leave a longing impression so... ] scout, or perhaps, an ex-scout considering the situation we're currently in.

[ He won't offer any handshakes or such, but he's doing this ASL stuff right, he swears. ]

[acquittals]

I don't think there's anything wrong with being paranoid in a situation like this.

[But yes, introductions are good as she smiles at him. Even it's a bit curt, she prefers that to the more flowery introductions she gets from people at times. It makes her feel more comfortable.]

Cyrus Tistella. I'm eighteen years old and a police officer. Though, like you said, maybe I'm an ex-police officer now.

[She doesn't offer handshakes either and simply bows her head a little politely at him.]

d

[skygaijin]

[ There is legit no embarrassment in reacting like that! Because Mirin, the other girl, is waaaayy to engrossed in the song herself. ]

It's a good song, gozaru!! This also sounds like something that came from my home! Who's singing this!? Who's singing this!?

[ Please excuse her as she's... for the lack of a better word, a weeb. ]

[acquittals]

I don't know who is.

[Though she does smile at the other girl and her excitement. Cyrus kindly hands the device to the girl so she can poke through it if she wants. After all, perhaps the blonde is more acquainted with these things and Cyrus is almost afraid she'd do something wrong or break it if she's not careful enough.]

Maybe you can tell.

[skygaijin]

[ That was




A Very Big Mistake, Cyrus. ]

Oh, um, sure, gozaru! [ Mirin gently grabs the weird device and. Um. Kinda just stares at it confusedly. While it's almost 100% guaranteed that she's not going to break it, but from the way she's just poking at it like she have absolutely no fucking idea (which she actually is), it definitely doesn't need a genius to tell that this girl doesn't know jack about it. ]

Um... Maybe there's an instruction on it's back- Oh, there isn't one. So maybe if I push this button here, de gozaru....

[ There is definitely not going any progress if Mirin keeps at it, Cyrus. ]

[acquittals]

[Truth be told? Mirin knows just as much as Cyrus since she only found the song by accident when she was fiddling with the device. They're stuck in the same boat of no one knows what the hell the device is.]

It seems you know just as much about it as I do.

[She laughs a little, not afraid to say what she's thinking at all.]

[skygaijin]

[ Ah, another day of Mirin making a fool of herself. Classic. She still kinda looks embarrassed a bit from that though as she makes a nervous laugh in return. ]

Huwe... Mirin is sorry that she doesn't really know much about things like this, gozaru... [ le a bit of sulking face. ] If Sir Rackam was here, he'd probably knows what to do with it.

[ Another second of fiddling around and nooope, she's just going to gently offer the stuff back to Cyrus. ]

But it does make me curious, de gozaru. Did someone drop it here? Does that mean that there are probably someone else beside us out there?

h

[faultfinds]

[ Van Helsing can't help but overhear it, even though he's busy keeping his mouth shut as the scientists poke and prod him for more information. Not a chance, he's not talking. Not that it's stopping them from making their estimates. Age, weight, height, their thoughts on his dick size - he doesn't bother to blush.

He finally breaks his silence from somewhere beside her - ]

You don't owe them any answers.

[acquittals]

[She looks to the man, her expression not really offended, even if she's still blushing a little. Nothing other than that indicates that her information being public is something that's so wrong. Even if she may have scoffed at her weight is above average. Listen, a girl's gotta eat! So what if she eats more than the average girl?

She just sighs.]

It's not really a big deal. I mean, it's the truth.

[This is a girl who still believes that babies come from the Temple as a gift from Saint Yune so... she doesn't even know the purpose of sex. Despite being actually pretty worldly in everything else.]

[faultfinds]

Truth or not, it's none of their business, unless you're actively seeking to share.

[ he doesn't see the value in giving up more information than he needs to, and honestly, doesn't see why anyone thinks giving up their details is a good idea. But he knows someone else who might say something similar, and he's not sure if he likes the idea of people like that being trapped here. ]

I also somehow doubt they care whether you're married or not.

[acquittals]

Not really.

[She has other things she feels she should be offended about, which is why it's not a big deal to her. That said, she does cant her head at the man about the 'married' part. Yeah it's... well when you grow up in a culture were people are assigned to be married and everything that married people do is kept hush hush...

Yeah.

Yeah...]

Well, no they may not, but still... I mean it's something only...

['...married people do.'

You know what? She's just going to shut up. Given a lot of things, she's learning very quickly that thanks to her culture she's very sheltered about love and sex.]

[faultfinds]

Hmph.

[ Maybe he'd say, no, it's not, if she'd finished the end of her sentence. But maybe not. Maybe he'd prefer to fall silent especially as one of the researchers or whatever they are lean in to touch the lapel of his coat, giving him a smile and asking if he'd mind taking off his clothes.

Of course, Van's answer is a glare, and he folds his arms across his chest to prove his point. That just makes the fellow shrug, a little disappointed, before turning to look at Cyrus. ]

[acquittals]

[Okay fine, she gets it. He's not talkative and she's not going to force it either. Still, until their examinations are done they are stuck together. Given that, she is watching the researcher and is amazed at how nonchalantly they're asking him to undress.

She giggles a little at his reaction, but when the same is asked of her by the researcher to take her clothes off, she shakes her head.]

N-no. Please let me keep them on.

[Something something, she can't undress in the presence of a man. Even if Fin has seen a lot of skin on her before, but Fin is different, something something, denial central because she's love-dumb.]