▶ TDM .001

[prismods]

Cybernetic dream, something like you've never seen

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▶ 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

G because idk

[darkcharge]

[ You know who isn't a fan of peacefully cooperating? This guy right here. He's sort of paid the price for it too, honestly.

Because while Riku does plop down on the bunk, there's already an unconscious body just laying there. ]

oh good I was having trouble thinking of how to tag your toplevel

[oncebrokenway]

[Riku hadn't been paying too much attention when he sat down - it had quickly become obvious that there were not enough bunks and he was going to be getting close with someone no matter what, and there are enough different mingling scents that he didn't initially pick out that one of them was literally pure darkness.

but after a few long moments, it suddenly occurs to him that his new bunkmate looks familiar.

he turns around quickly for a second look, and, yup. that certainly matches what he'd heard from Sora and Ven back before the battle.]

... Vanitas, too?

ha. I got to you first friend

[darkcharge]

[ Yupp. Vanitas too. Probably is a little strange to see your bestie's face on someone that's very much not him.

Probably why Vanitas prefers his helmet. But the whole gun to top of spine thing wouldn't work with it on am I right? Though where it's ended up at this point is anyone's guess.

Riku should probably be prepared to say something. The lump is starting to move. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[that is, yes, exceedingly weird and kind of hot.

... well. if the guardians are showing up here for a reason, then Vanitas must be here for a reason too. surely. he can be civil.]

Well, good morning, bunkmate.

[... he can try harder than that to be civil.]

[darkcharge]

[ Probably should get used to it. It's not going to get any better. Someone has a complex.

Hearing the voice, two yellow eyes peer at Riku over his shoulder. ]

Hmph.

[ And then he promptly shifts so he can use a foot to kick Riku off the bunk. Then maybe roll over again. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[well that's rude.

gets back up onto the bunk and purposely lies on top of Vanitas.]

There's no empty bunks. Deal.

[darkcharge]

[ That's not how this works! Vanitas struggles, of course, whatever numbing agent that had been used not entirely out of his system yet. ]

Get off.

[ Which comes out muffled. Gee, Riku, have you put on some weight recently? ]

[oncebrokenway]

[maybe an extra few pounds of muscle.

Riku stays where he is for another few seconds, just to drive his point home, then slides off to squeeze in next to Vanitas instead.]

[darkcharge]

[ And Vanitas struggles some more. Probably muttering some choice insults under his breath too. Though he just gives up after a while - not yet really strong enough to shove all of Riku's dead body weight off of his person. ]

Augh... Can't you find somewhere else?

[ Don't squeeze in there! ]

[oncebrokenway]

I told you, everything's occupied. There's more of us than there are beds.

[darkcharge]

Then use the floor.

[ He doesn't want to share. Definitely not with some silver-haired Xehanort reject. ]

[oncebrokenway]

I'd really rather not.

You're gonna have to share with someone eventually. Might as well be someone who's not a complete stranger.

[darkcharge]

If that's the way you want it.

[ See, here's the thing. It may look like Vanitas is just going to leave it at that. Riku might actually get to think for a second that he's won this round.

That is until Vanitas decides to execute his plan. If Riku thinks he can just curl up next to Vanitas while he's recovering and not be an annoying pest... Think again. Because Vanitas is going to suddenly become very clingy. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[wow that's obnoxious. and also, makes Riku recall a little too acutely that Vanitas does, in fact, look like Sora.

he jabs his elbow back into Vanitas's ribs. like, not hard, just a clear nonverbal "back off".]

[darkcharge]

[ That's what Vanitas is banking on. He looks too much like Sora and that probably isn't going to sit well with Riku. Might be enough to encourage Riku to take the floor after all.

So sorry, now. A little jab to the ribs won't serve as enough of a deterrent. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[Okay, you know what? Two can play at that game.

Riku deliberately entwines his legs with Vanitas's, as if they were for-real cuddling. If Vanitas wants to play gay chicken, they'll play gay chicken.]

[darkcharge]

[ :/ Now he might expect something like this from Sora or Ventus, but not from this guy. Truthfully Vanitas doesn't know much about Riku. Doesn't care to. All he really knows is this is the moron that would do pretty much anything for Sora or Kairi.

But fine. They can play. And Vanitas can just lock his legs with Riku's - as if he doesn't mind the contact at all - and throws an arm over the tree's waist. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[the arm over his waist, he has to admit, is a little bit discomfiting.

maybe if he just pretends...

no. nope, that's just sort of a gross idea. it would be much nicer if it was actually Sora doing this, but it just seems wrong to imagine Sora while adversarially cuddling with his weird darkness doppelganger. Riku just forces himself to relax instead, even letting out a sleepy sigh.

after some thought, he moves one hand to rest softly atop Vanitas's.]

[darkcharge]

[ Please don't pretend he's Sora. He's already very un-Sora like and that just might ruin it for Riku if Sora ever does engage in a cuddle session like this.

But don't pretend you're not tense either. Vanitas is, even if the sweet scent hitting his nose every now and then makes things a little less unpleasant.

That hand on top of his makes Vanitas twitch and very nearly pull back. He's not going to lose though. Far too competitive now so he just wiggles a bit so he can shove his nose into the back of Riku's neck. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[That gets a twitch and a weird little noise out of Riku, almost making him wriggle away. turns out he's a little ticklish there.

but no way is he going to show weakness now - and, yeah, he's starting to notice that sweet scent too, and it does seem to help him relax a bit; makes him feel a little sleepy and warm.

he laces his fingers with Vanitas's, just to make it a little harder for him to pull back.]

[darkcharge]

[ Even if he does, Vanitas is just going to chase after him. All because he thinks he's found something that makes Riku squirm. Maybe he'll even edge closer and closer to falling off the bunk in that case.

Although he might actually smell Riku next. A mix of the sweetness in the air and something not quite pure about this keyblade wielder... And maybe to make him even more uncomfortable. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[and squirm Riku does, though not as severely as he had at first. the longer Vanitas's face is by his neck, the more he can get accustomed to the tickling feeling.

the smelling thing? that's just uncouth. Riku would never smell someone so obviously. he snorts his disdain and resolutely ignores the sniffing.]

[darkcharge]

[ Look it's just to get on Riku's nerves. Surely he can understand and maybe appreciate that a little. It's not like Vanitas is hurting anyone in the process right?

But also maybe hugging Riku a little closer. Now he is starting to get a little sleepy. ]

[oncebrokenway]

[he does admit, Vanitas is quite effective at being annoying.

but that sweet scent is also being very effective at making him sleepy and pleasantly relaxed, so... this is fine. it is kind of nice to have somebody else's body warmth beside him, even if that body warmth belongs to someone of uncertain 'enemy' status.]

[darkcharge]

[ Just wait until he start putting barbs into your heart, Riku. Then he's going to really be annoying.

But that's not right now. If anything Vanitas has settled a bit. Of course pushing Riku off could be pretty easy right now, but effort. ]