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[prismods]

SHOOTING SHARK

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"Blue Oyster Cult - Shooting Shark" (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.

▶ Keep all Hands and Feet inside the Burning Vehicle at all Times
Iris Moon, Government Center (Arrival) and Outer Space | 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 mix tequila with xanax last night? — 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 that makes frequent trips back and forth between the moons and the planet. Faces onboard vary from both old and new Moonblessed as well as Prismal locals. The next destination: Prismatica.

A. After settling into the ship and selecting the current in-flight movie, Back Door Slugs 9, you and those around you may eventually feel a bit of turbulence during the movie’s highly anticipated climax. Did anyone notice it, or is everyone too focused on the hot characters?

At first, it’s a small jitter that’s easy to miss or brush off. But as the transport vessel travels on, the shaking progressively escalates to erratic tremors strong enough to cause severe nausea. A minute later, a voice over the speaker announces the ship will have to make an emergency landing, citing technical difficulties.

Sparks can be seen overhead as more ship parts malfunction. This is a good time to hold your neighbor’s hand, say your last goodbyes, and apologize for that horrible thing you did in the sixth grade. Grip your seat with the might of every god you can think of.

B. Another minute later, a follow-up announcement states that external entities have breached the transport vessel. Everyone is warned to be careful and watch out for each other. Small fires will have to be put out before they worsen with either magic or emergency equipment onboard such as extinguishers. In-flight robotic attendants will be scuttling around to perform immediate repairs.

Eventually, an entire power panel bursts, and prismatic jellyfish unnaturally spill out. The jellyfish will try to latch and suction onto any technological devices close by such as the television screens on the seats or communicators and will show preference to Iris Moonblessed over the rest. Be ready to help and pull numerous jellyfish off both the faces of Moonblessed and Prismals!

▶ Jaws IV: Jaws Harder
Planet Prismatica, Outer Lunatia | top

The emergency landing successfully completes and the transport vessel will safely land on top of a gorgeous lake filled with tiny glaciers floating by. When reached out and touched, you’ll find out that the “glaciers” are surprisingly cool crystals and not ice.

The ship will be left hovering idly on the water surface while passengers are ferried to solid ground using portable emergency boats. However, civilization is still a distance away.

A. You’ve probably heard of flying sharks from a veteran Moonblessed. But how about sea lions? These aquatic lions are born with scaly skin and gills outside of their crystallized manes. Unfortunately, they haven’t tasted fresh meat in quite some time. If there are any injured onboard or near your boat, the chances of the sea lions detecting people will be higher as they are drawn to the scent of blood. Growling hungrily, they will be quick to latch onto the boats, biting the edges, and trying to knock everyone overboard for dinner.

After surviving through so far, the Prismals guide everyone to a nearby encampment run by humanoid rabbits. They are tall, built, and have a habit of mentioning their virility an awkward amount of times. They are also generous and will share their game meat and fresh crops while allowing everyone to rest for the night at the only inn in their village.

B. There is no running water all the way out here, so if anyone wants a bath, they’ll have to do it traditionally. The village protects a natural spring, which is a good place to bathe away the sea water. Around the spring, the rabbit folk’s friends — little scintilla chinchillas — will shock away any predators that dare to approach their sanctuary! Be at ease and feel free to offer your friends shampoo massages.

The next day, the rabbits can be seen hacking away at some of the wilder-looking plants for an easier pathway. If you wake up early enough, you can ask some of them for a tour of the beautiful greenery. They mention that it’s thanks to the Moonblessed that their crops have been doing so well lately — the result of all the chroma influx. The rest of the journey to the city will be smooth sailing.





▶ It’s Free Real-Estate
Level 2, 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. 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. A new high-end boutique, Prissy Polyp, has opened in Level 2. As compensation for what happened, both Moonblessed and Prismals that were affected in yesterday’s flight will receive 50% off their total purchase. Those unaffected will receive 30% discount coupons as a promotional gift. All are encouraged to visit with their friends or special someone, try on some things together, enjoy each other in the fitting rooms, and deal with the loud, ear-blistering background pop music.

Their clothing collections are characterized by bright iridescent designs, some features such as design patterns may glow ethereally in the dark. One of their signature dresses features a one piece (also available on their trench coats) that can amplify the appearance of one’s decolletage, gluteal muscles, and/or bulge with the press of a neon button. Another item among their collection is the maiden sweater: a sleek, backless sweater that shocks those who attempt unwanted touches. Others include skin-tight leggings (also available on their shorts or pants) which produce pleasant and relaxing vibrations on all lower extremities and fashionable polyp-shaped hats for all kinds of people. It’s a huge shop, you never know what else to find in there.

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

▶ IMPORTANT! By request, we've uploaded image samples for the Prissy Polyp clothing collections! Note these are merely samples for a visual guide and we will leave more selections to players.

▶ 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

[coasts]

[ Samatoki doesn't know if he should feel bad or he should laugh at Ichiro. He suddenly feels uncomfortable too, because the lady's cleavage is there for all to see??? Goddamn it. He doesn't wanna be part of this! ]

You gonna help her out or what?

[ It's said lowly so the lady won't hear. What Samatoki will decide on doing will depend on how Ichiro responds. ]

[steelo]

[ well...

look. ichiro yamada is nothing if not a man, goddammit. he's not going to disrespect someone or chicken out of this ridiculous situation in front of samatoki, either...but he's definitely not getting dragged into this more than he wants to.

his eyes flick to samatoki for a minute, and the stupid part of him that says "bet" to the stupidest kind of challenges combines nicely with the manly Good Guy part, and he clears his throat. with that, he's going to step around this very giggly woman, and zip her right into her outfit, which eliminates some of the cleavage problem. she makes a disappointed noise and ichiro steps back-- ] See. Fits great. You should get it.

[ his ears are bright red. in fact, so is the back of his neck, underneath his headphones. this was some weird test of courage (?) ]

[coasts]

Heh, guess with a job like this, you can keep lyin' to people all you like.

[ That's definitely said with some malice, but it's only audible enough for Ichiro to hear. The... dress looks good on the lady, but Samatoki doesn't care about her. And hey- guess he didn't need help after all. Samatoki was gonna try and be nice, but looks like Ichiro could take care of his own problem on his own.

He heads back to his own dressing room to put on his shirt. He'll get a different size of the one shirt he wants if Ichiro won't fetch it for him. He's a big guy, he can get it on his own.

It's definitely not his problem if the lady harasses Ichiro again... :' )! Seeya, sucker. ]

[steelo]

You-- [ oh, like hell ichiro's letting samatoki get away from him. he's not about to take that kind of a shitty insult from such a shitty person for helping people. his stupid pride and his rage blinders both click into place, and when the woman goes back to her room, defeated (temporarily), ichiro's already ignoring her.

he grabs the curtain on the dressing room samatoki stepped back into before he can pull it all the way shut, expression thunderous, grip tight enough to keep him from shutting it entirely. yeah, ichiro is all about helping people and saving people but also, samatoki exists and therefore he has to get pissed about it. ] Talk shit like that about me again. That's fucking rich coming from you.

[ YOU'RE AT WORK!!!! STOP. ]

[coasts]

Comin' from me?

[ His voice is low when he says it, an added growl to punctuate his sentence. That's funny. A liar is calling him a liar.

His blood begins to boil, but it's not enough for him to punch Ichiro in the face just yet. He can take care of the younger boy easily enough, and he's not even one to talk to smooth things over, but he knows that being called a liar himself ain't worth decking someone in the face over. Not yet, anyway. ]

I'll talk shit about you all I want. [ The murderous glint in his eyes is only focused on Ichiro for a few seconds. Samatoki turns to look back at the mirror so he can put his own shirt back on. ] You got guts sayin' somethin' like that, traitor. Wants me to teach you a lesson you won't ever forget.

[steelo]

You've never taught me anything worth shit. [ ichiro's quick to spit it back, his hairtrigger temper at its absolute worst when samatoki's involved. maybe they're lucky the dressing room doesn't seem to be too crowded; much like samatoki, ichiro's only got eyes for one person at the moment. (it's unfortunate, maybe, that it's always been that way--but nowadays, it's much less sweet than samatoki-san.)

he keeps his grip on that stupid dressing room curtain, and feels his blood boil when samatoki turns his back on him. it brings back memories--ichiro, desperately holding onto samatoki's ankle, practically begging him to listen, and the cold look in his former mentor's eyes when he stepped away. and he thinks he has the right to call ichiro a traitor?

ichiro's hand comes off of the curtain to grab his shoulder, instead, iron tight and pulling backwards. he's not going for a punch, but there's no fucking way he's letting him turn his back on him like that again. ] Look at me when I'm talking to you, you asshole, unless you're too much of a fucking coward to face me!

[ the tension in here is rising, and fast. without babysitters this could very well end in a fistfight. ]

[coasts]

[ It's one thing to call him by his name without an ounce of respect. He's very particular with being shown respect, which was why back in The Dirty Dawg, it felt pretty good to be called Samatoki-san by Ichiro. At the same time, he showed the younger boy respect, too. There was no namecalling, unless it was for fun. Being called asshole is another thing. It's already disrespectful, and it pisses Samatoki the hell off. What sends him over the edge is being pulled backwards to face him, though. ]

I'm putting my shirt on. Pretty sure you can see that.

[ Though his hands are to his sides now that he's been rudely interrupted. It doesn't last long though, because one hand grabs Ichiro by the wrist—the one he's used to hold the curtain open. It's done to keep Ichiro still. The other might start a fistfight, but Samatoki starts it off with a knee in the gut. ]

i love when i don't get notifs until an hour later

[steelo]

[ there's no reason to be this incensed, really, but for ichiro, it's that same feeling of disrespect that sticks hard in his gut. fucking samatoki, who ichiro thought was different, for so long, reminding him that the person he used to know's gone, replaced by a filthy liar who's lost every moral he ever had. the irony in ichiro's rise from delinquent to darling was that it was this person who taught him he was better than every terrible thing he ever did. that's why he admired him, adored him, wanted to be just like him. samatoki was a symbol that his life could be better than where it was.

now, he's just a representation of every mistake ichiro refuses to make again.

he's expecting some kind of retaliation, whether verbal or physical, and he's not disappointed. samatoki's knee connects with his gut and ichiro chokes, the noise startled out of him; it's only his sheer bulk and his same tight hand on the curtain that keeps him from getting knocked backwards from the force of it. but, like always, he's stubborn and stupid, and he's not going to back off after one hit, even if it smarts enough to knock him breathless.

he's quick on the draw as ever, though, never the type to lay back and take anything. though his hand jerks with the reaction, making the curtain screech against the rings holding it on the bar, ichiro uses it to propel himself back forwards to more or less tackle samatoki into the dressing room behind them. there's a cacophony of noise--the curtain swings shut, probably a good thing, and ichiro doesn't just go down to take him out. he's throwing an elbow at his jaw the minute he gets momentum going, far less graceful but certainly effective.

fuck it, he doesn't need his mic. giving him a black eye is going to be way more satisfying. ]

[coasts]

[ Okay. Fucking ow. Samatoki's hit square in the jaw, but he's grinning at Ichiro, anyway. His eyes are wide, running on adrenaline. While he shouldn't really be starting fights at a mall or something, there's something thrilling about it regardless.

Of course, this attracts noise. Some people from outside have become suspicious, one of them even going to the counter to tell the staff there's something going on in one of the dressing rooms.

Meanwhile, the kerfuffle's definitely getting louder. ]

Guess you really wanna start a scene, huh? [ Not a problem. Samatoki will gladly start something. He shoves Ichiro off him, the enclosed space making it difficult to do so, so Ichiro's gonna get squeezed against the wall and him. Samatoki pushes himself up, then grabs Ichiro by his hair. He doesn't give a shit anymore whether or not he's in a public place or if he's gonna get arrested again for starting trouble. Whatever - the Prismals let him go after twenty-four hours, anyway. There's wi-fi in the cells, too. Whatever punishment this city will give him is nothing compared to the exhilarating feeling he gets when he slams Ichiro's face against the mirror. ]

[steelo]

[ his elbow hits with a satisfying noise, but ichiro's not dumb enough to think he's won just from that. no, he knows samatoki. he doesn't need a mic to be formidable, just like ichiro doesn't--he might not have any respect for samatoki as a person nowadays, but his abilities in a battle are second to none, and he knows it from experience. from taking his hits when they first met (refusing to fall down completely) to being defeated in the division battle, the sting of losing to samatoki digs deep into his pride and taught him a lesson about being cocky.

he backs off of him only enough to try and keep out of the way, jerking his head back to snap his response - ] You started it! [ - which makes him sound even more like a five year old, but he doesn't care. he's not quite fast enough to dodge him, either, because samatoki's hand fists in his hair (and oh, isn't that familiar). he rears back to try and headbutt him before he gets the chance to move him, but momentum isn't in his favor, and his cheek connects with the mirror. the surface is cold compared to the radiating pain that comes from the mirror's surface in his face, at his nose, his red eye. he'll be nursing a black eye tomorrow.

there's no space. he can't get past him, can't get free of the fucking grip in his hair, though he reaches up to grab at his wrist and try and force it out, he's pinned there by mercy of the tiny dressing room. his other arm shoots out to grab samatoki's hair and yank, too, pulling backwards the best he can from this terrible angle. ichiro can't turn to look at him or punch him or do anything--he's effectively trapped, and the animal-in-a-cage expression on his face, snarling and furious, exhaling out of his nose, looks like it belongs back on the delinquent who haunted ikebukuro instead of the easygoing shopkeeper of yorozuya yamada. god fucking damn it--

--it's probably in his favor that samatoki looks like the aggressor here. it doesn't take long for security to come running, banging on the wall next to the door. maybe it's just an amorous couple who got busy with the specialty items in the shop, but the bang and the yell of the security team is distracting enough to snap him back to the reality of where they're currently brawling. his grip tightens harder on samatoki's wrist, jerking backwards; it pulls his own hair, but maybe the shock of both will get him to let go. ] Get off of me!

[ it is only the fact that he's still wearing a work apron that will keep ichiro from turning and swinging on him again if he lets go. he'll own up to being involved, too--if ichiro yamada is one thing, he's honest. ]

[coasts]

[ The curtains to the dressing room are pushed to the side in one swift motion by security. Samatoki's let go of Ichiro by then, but with the younger boy holding onto his wrist, they're still pretty damn attached to each other. Red eyes narrow and stare at Ichiro's hand on him. Shit - who does this guy think he is?

Before he can yell at Ichiro, though, the guards who have come to the scene to stop what's happening call the yakuza's attention. "Samatoki", they say. Ichiro will then learn that these guys? They know who Samatoki is. Even in Lunatia, Samatoki's gained notoriety. ]

Quit touchin' me. [ Samatoki's voice is low when he says it, addressing Ichiro and Ichiro alone. As for security? They're free to detain just him or both of them. At this point, he couldn't care less. What's one more night in a detention cell, anyway?

Though it looks like security wants to bring Ichiro down to their office for questioning, too. Whatever. Samatoki doesn't give a shit. ]