prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .007

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▶ TDM .007

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[By now, Ling has heard from Sizhui that there are others from their world here. Whether Jiang Cheng has been mentioned by name or not, Ling's reaction upon hearing that familiar voice is the same: his face lights up, making him look his age for once, and he immediately runs over.]

Uncle!

[Maybe he should be more worried about his uncle's reaction to seeing him, or his uncle's reaction in general: Ling knows better than most that Jiang Cheng is unpredictable at best and foul-tempered at worst. He also knows that that's only skin-deep, though, and his uncle is the only family worth mentioning that he has left: he really can't help feeling something shockingly close to happiness, knowing the man is here.]

[It was easy to compartmentalize events when it wasn't someone you knew going through them. Sure, it was bad, but still, it was someone you didn't know. To actually know that his nephew had been on the transport ship had been breached, crashed at a lake with sea lions (what the heck even?!), and now at a village of rabbit-people... that was something else entirely.

Why else would he be out here? If he had shown up before, he would be annoyed his nephew hadn't made himself known to him but given the circumstances, that was unlikely.

When Ling reached him, the first thing he was going to do was look him over. Face, hair, clothes, make sure there were no missing limbs... He wouldn't say it out loud and as much as he yelled at Jin Ling to have the best kill on a night hunt, but it would kill him to know something had happened to him and he had been unable to protect him - hence why YunmengJiang sect disciples usually trailed him at a safe distance on hunts. Seeing that he seemed to be in one piece, he finally stopped]

Are you all alright?

[Maybe Ling should be at least a little worried about his uncle in return, but that was next to impossible: even knowing his uncle's very human flaws, Ling could only consider the man something of a hero. Jiang Cheng was in many ways a great example to him; worrying just didn't occur to him.

So maybe he'd had very practical and selfless reasons for not calling in his uncle's help in protecting his own position as sect leader... There was also a personal angle: a desire to prove that he could do what his uncle had been able to do - running his sect from a young age - in order to become as great a man as his uncle was.]

Of course.

[He was a little dirtier than he would have liked, and he might have a bruise or scrape or two, but nothing worth mentioning. He should have really been able to heal from that much, but... well, that was where the Chroma came in - or so he'd heard. He'd wasted a little too much spiritual power fighting those sea lions, and no doubt he was running low.

That still didn't mean he was about to get indecent with anybody, though.]

Really, Uncle... I'm not a kid anymore.

[Not that he minded being treated as one just for the moment, if it meant Jiang Cheng showing he cared ~~for once~~.]

[If Jiang Cheng knew first-hand everything that happened so far, he'd understand completely Jin Ling's desire to prove himself as being capable of being a sect leader. He'd had to do that too and had been challenged because of WuXian. It was not fun being challenged at a young age.

But he didn't know this quite yet, though the fact that Jin Ling is the rightful sect leader over Jin Guangyao is no secret to him. It was something that he always held onto. Jin Guangyao may have won over Jin Guangshan, but he was still not the legitimate son.

Dirty can be forgiven given what he's heard they went through and bruised is just a normal thing that happened to a cultivator.

He scoffed]

I know you aren't. Really? How long have I known you now?

[But even so he still didn't seem like he had much interest in turning away from his nephew. No matter what age, Jin Ling would always be his nephew]

You did a lot of fighting out there?

[Trying to gauge if he might be running low on energy]

Only as long as I've known you.

[Which is literally his entire life, but logic won't keep him from talking back to his uncle just a little. Really just a little, though... He's not about to push his luck.

Which is why he considers which answer his uncle wants to hear to the next question before replying. He doesn't think there's much in terms of right and wrong there, though, so in the end he replies (mostly) truthfully.]

Some. Sea lions wanted to eat us, so I cut them down.

[They were attacked! Clearly if "yes" is the wrong answer, it's still not his fault!]

Very true.

[There was maybe a few weeks where he hadn't known Jin Ling, but that was the extent of it. Other than that, his life had partially revolved around him since then.

There wasn't a right or wrong answer there, though he might have been disappointed if Jin Ling were to say he hid in the bathroom and let others fight since that wasn't what cultivators were supposed to do. That wasn't even an answer he would have expected hear from him]

Good.

[But after a moment, he reached over to put his hand on Jin Ling's arm. The moonlacing would help Jin Ling regain energy and him too since he used it to fly here]

[... Oh. Ling knows what his uncle is doing, but he's still not that used to quasi-affectionate touches from the man (or... from anyone, let's face it), and moonlacing really does feel nice.

It's still awkward. He doesn't really know how to deal with these feelings. He's not sure he can talk to his uncle about that kind of thing.]

... Uncle, have you been here long?

[It was strange for him too. Jiang Cheng wasn't the most affectionate person out there on general principle. Though he had been more exposed to it recently. Not only because of how relaxed this world was but because he had Nie HuaiSang living with him and HuaiSang had little reservation against putting his arms around him so they could both take advantage of moonlacing.

He knew how moonlacing felt. Yes, it was awkward for it being his nephew, but he'd rather Jin Ling not be caught unaware if something else should happen in the morning]

A few months now. A group of us from home arrived all at the same time.

I see...

[Ling had heard that there were more people from their world here, but not that they'd arrived at the same time. It's an awkward feeling, like he's somehow "late" to the planet.]

What is this world like?

[He's heard about the moonlacing, sure, but there must be other (and less embarrassing!) things that are important to know. Like politics, perhaps, or in terms of unnatural creatures to hunt.]

We weren't the first though. There were others before us.

[So late, but not entirely so]

It is very different from our own. There are is a lot to learn here in terms of how they handle daily life. So much is... made more convenient than we are used to.

[It was hard to explain unknown technology to someone. It was better that he showed him when they went back to his apartment. Yes, he was expecting Jin Ling to live at his apartment, at least to start out]

There are four different levels to Lunatia. There are elements on level three that we are more familiar with but a self-respecting member of the gentry won't be alone there at night. Level four is not to be traveled to and I will break your legs if I find out you did.

[Yes, he probably just made it more enticing, but he was serious. No traveling to the prison level]

[Of course Ling will be happy to live in uncle's apartment! ... He may regret it, but he'll love it in theory!]

... Fine. No visiting level 4.

[Ling is 100% curious now, and he will absolutely do the thing if and when he can. You can't break his legs if you don't catch him doing it!]

How is level 3 familiar to us, but not respectable?

[Yes, he might regret it, but his uncle would at least try to be more discrete when his nephew was around. Still he might regret it anyone just because]

Good. It is a prison after all.

[There. Now you have the reason. Still, if he doesn't know you went...]

The Caihong district is similar to what we are familiar with in our world. However, it is not a secret that the third level hides a world of ill-repute which comes out more so at night than during the day.

A whole level as a prison?!

[Even apart from the fact that he is definitely no longer as curious about visiting (... but still a tiny bit curious, let's face it), that statement raises some real questions in terms of crime and punishment on the planet.]

Just how much crime is there?

[He takes note of the information on the third level, though. Ling may be handling this "different world" thing relatively well so far, but he'll want to feel more at home at some point, and Caihong sounds like it would fit the bill.]

I have not seen it to be widespread and while you are able to travel there, it is not safe. It seems to be more the theory it is better to keep them completely separated than among others.

[He's surprisingly not concerned at all by this. After all, it was safer for everyone to have violent criminals away from others]

That's the whole purpose of a prison, isn't it?

[... One day he will learn not to talk back to his uncle. (Nope, that's still a lie.)

It doesn't make sense, though, does it? Why would people go down there willingly? But if everyone there is a convicted criminal, then one whole level out of four designated to house only criminals definitely seems to be a lot...]

[He gave Jin Ling a look when said that]

Don't get smart with your uncle. You should know better than that.

[He never said it made sense, just that it was physically possible to go down there and it wasn't the best idea. He knew his nephew even if they had some time differences between them. It was quite likely he might get curious enough to see what was down there.

But they are not there yet]

Anymore questions you have?

[Ling flinches a little at the reprimand, shrinking in on himself, but apologizing would be admitting he's guilty, so he chooses not to do that. He loves his uncle, but the guy sure is intimidating...]

... No, Sir.

[That's good enough, right? He's being polite enough, right?! Leave him alooooone!!!]

[Sorry, it's still just the way he is. Even though SiZhui told him he was likely the new sect leader for Lanling Jin now... he's still his nephew]

If you think of others, I am here.

[He moved his hand away, figuring it had helped somewhat at least. He's only recently started to become used to physical contact. Which reminded him...]

I want you to move in with me and Sect Leader Nie. At least until you've had time to adjust to the world here.

[The touching did help, and Ling feels better in general. Even if he just got told off... at least it makes him fully realize that his uncle is truly here with him, and he does love the man, regardless of his personality. (Ling can't really comment on that, anyway!)]

You're living with Sect Leader Nie?!

[Welp, so much for his composure. It's not that he objects to Huaisang... much. But it seems strange to be living together - and why would they, anyway?

... These tiny shared living spaces are going to be annoying.]

Edited 2019-09-23 09:17 (UTC)

[He probably would have felt like he was in a parallel dimension if his uncle hadn't told him off. Besides, Jiang Cheng's bite is worse than his bite. He never had the intention of doing anything to harm Ling, his only family member]

I am. Is that so strange? We were friends when we were younger. And it is normal to want to be around someone who understands where you come from.

[Though he won't say it so blatantly, that is more than just the same world. Their first time had made them both understand they actually were more similar than either of them thought]

["You living with anybody is strange," Ling thinks, but doesn't say. And it's true that that is the main reason for his surprise, but more important still is his concern.

He doesn't think Huaisang would do anything... especially not to someone he's living with: that feels like the opposite of his MO. In that respect, everything's probably fine. Even so...

He's not sure how much he should say anything, though. If his uncle counts Huaisang as a friend, even in the past, that means a lot. And if Ling will be living in the same place, he can keep an eye on things, anyway.]

... Uncle, you know that the people from our world are from different times, right?

What is the last thing from our world that you remember?

I am aware that others do. It seems that most here are from further than I am.

[He kind of scoffed at that. He didn't like others knowing things that he did not]

Dafan Mountain.

[Probably seems like ages ago, doesn't it?]

[It feels like a lifetime ago, honestly. Back at Dafan Mountain, everything was simpler, yet felt far less complete. Somehow, in the scant time since then, Ling really feels like he's grown up.

It's not like he's done growing up, yet. But now, he certainly feels more aware of the growing he still needs to do, whereas he never considered that before - not in anything but his cultivation.]

I see...

[There is a lot he could say about that, and a lot, perhaps, that he should say. But he really doesn't know how much is right to say - and so he says nothing.]

I'm from later, too.

[Jiang Cheng had yet to know how complicated things were going to get. Ignorance may have been bliss really been the case except for the fact that having bonded with HuaiSang the way he had, he knew that it wasn't. He knew there were nefarious things beneath the surface, but he didn't know how far]

Are you? To be expected. I seem to be one of the earliest ones. As far as I have been able to figure out, Sect Leader Nie is even earlier.

[Even earlier, huh? ... Yeah, Ling really can't bring himself to say anything, then. He'll just have trust that Huaisang isn't evil yet(?), and keep an eye on him.

He just doesn't want to ruin his uncle's friendship. It's probably the only one he has - and Ling knows what that is like, more or less.]

... That's good.

[And that's about as much as he cares to say on the topic.]

▶ TDM .007

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