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.

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His chest is rising and falling, his muscles tensed and his shoulders down with his hands open at the ready. He knows he's playing with fire and he knows that fire burns. He lets Dirk stand right there, right in front of him, almost chest to chest if their height wasn't just that bit of difference and he looks nothing close to as scared as he is.

"Or?" he asks, standing his ground where he's at. "What?" He swallows and stands his ground as best he can. This is how much he doesn't want Dirk to go, but there are just some things he can't deal with Dirk if he stays. "You gonna try to rail on me? Think you'll get your answer that way? I'll step aside if you promise."

"I ain't playin' fuckin' games," he spits, suddenly, in an oddly visceral way. And it's weird, because he's usually all about fucking headgames.

Loves them.

Remember how he said he thinks something is wrong with him now?

"You think I'd only try? You think you can beat me now that you're grown?" Who the fuck do you think you are, his tone says, in not so many words. "Get back in the apartment. Take your piss. Do whatever you want. Just don't get in my goddamn way. I already told you I'll be back, I ain't gonna tack an 'I promise' at the end just because you think I'm a liar."

In fact, he reaches out, too fast to be stopped, and scruffs Dave again, this time to deposit him back inside.

Dave's jaw clenches, the cold fear is in his veins and it's a valid thing to feel when Dirk starts talking like this. This is every bad memory of him and this is the Dirk that Dave is more used to. "Yes." he answers to the first question, "No." to the second, if Dirk was upset that he wasn't giving him straight answers, well now he is.

He stands no chance when Dirk wants to do something, Dave is a lot faster than he used to be but not as fast as Dirk. No one is. He might be able to out speed him through time, but he'd have to be ready for it and he wasn't ready for it. Being grabbed and set back into the apartment is fine, that means there's a connection there and Dave reaches back to grab his wrist and jump them both back in, closer to the kitchen window. "I didn't call you a liar, I said I don't believe you. You're the one sayin' I did." he's let go of Dirk's wrist as soon as they're back in. He's using future timelines so he doesn't end up making clones. "I'm not askin' for the world on a platter and I'm not askin' for a fight."

He tries to steel himself again and takes a deep breath, "Just say you're gonna and I'll get out of your way." Otherwise he won't and they can fight it out like they were destined to from the start.

Oh, now he's just even more pissed. It isn't even that Dave bested him in this small way, with the jump. He's not sure what it is, but for a second he practically sees white. He doesn't say anything for a long moment. Nothing at all. Just fucking looks at him.

"The fuck's the difference? Callin' me a liar or sayin' you don't believe me? Why you need a blood oath all of a sudden?" He always came back, eventually.

Until he didn't.

Shit.

Dave's not asking for the world on a fucking platter, but he's too goddamn stubborn to admit it. Being forced to make a promise is like pulling teeth without numbing your mouth beforehand. He... takes a breath, and it sounds strange, because he's thinking about how he died again, and it's a lot. It's a bad breath.

His shoulders slump, but only for a second.

"You're stuck with me," he finally says, low and even again. "You get me? Ain't nothin' in this place, even you acting a goddamn fool, that'll change it."

Dave knows he's taking a huge risk, not only with Dirk's ire but with his literal body not hurting if Dirk decides it's fight time. "Because liars ain't worth my time and I think you might be worth my time. I think you already know why I wanna hear it from your own lips." he says gently, his voice deeper and more to the point of what his problem was. It's Dirk leaving.

While waiting for Dirk to calm down enough to finish what he's saying, Dave tries to calm down. He can't get upset and if he gets upset, that'll escalate Dirk and right now that doesn't benefit either of them. Dave is quiet and he's barely looking over his shoulder, but he's looking in a small way. A glance here or there. As soon as Dirk tells him that, even without the word 'promise' he at least takes that at face value and sits down on the couch. He grabs his glasses to put them up into his hair and then the remote to turn the TV on. "Door sticks at the bottom sometimes. Gotta give it a good pull, just don't rip it off the door frame."

And like, fuck. If he still had Cal, this would have gone way goddamn differently. Way more violently. He would have dragged Dave up to the fucking roof by the ear if he had to, silent and furious and vicious.

But this is muted. He's still pissed off, sure, but not like he was earlier, and his emotions always kind of slide off him anyway. The anger is fading.

He moves back to the door, looking at it, and considers.

"Get off your ass," he finally says, "we're going out." He's not explaining where. This is probably familiar: it's how he'd often act the rare times they left the apartment together in Houston. Not say where, just time to go. Those times came less and less the older Dave got, though. So this is... a blast from the past.

At least he's not saying "roof."

A beat passes.

"If you ever pull that shit on me when we're not strifing again I'll whoop your ass so hard you'll forget how to use it."

Blunt. Does he mean forget how to use his ass or forget how to use his time powers? It's not clear.

Dave is, by all accounts, just flipping through shows until Dirk leaves. Otherwise he's going to head to bed and maybe text Karkat about anything other than Dirk being there. Oh. Or not. He's just heard he's supposed to get off his ass. Dirk doesn't know his way around the city and so Dave knows they'll get "there" when they get "there" because "there" doesn't exist yet.

Getting up, Dave takes his sword from in front of the doorway and hoists it over his shoulder. His intentions on getting his sylladex back from home are priority. He hates hauling this thing around but he doesn't doubt him and Dirk are going to end up tussling one day and he won't be without it. There's no excuse for not catching a blade, but if you catch it wrong your hand stings for days. You know, because of the deep cuts.

"My ass or the classpect powers?" he's not letting Dirk get away with that one as he walks out the door first, waiting on Dirk to follow. This is the precarious dance that he and his guardian did for thirteen years with each year getting more and more violent and less damns given.

He doesn't say "you ain't gonna need that," because who knows if he will? Dirk's not volatile at this very second, but he could be soon, and maybe there are freaks out there that attack strangers.

Anyway, it's good to have it with him. That's fine. Useful.

He trails out of the apartment, closing the door behind him and giving Dave a look. "Both," he says, immediately, which is both clarifying and unsettling. That said, he grips Dave's shoulder one more time, brief, then starts off down the hall, expecting Dave to follow. Either he kind of does know where he's going already, or he intends to find out. It's a toss up.

Dave feels better with it, despite that it's heavy on his wrist, in a way that's more familiar than cumbersome. He trusts his brother not to be an animal enough that he won't close the door so it can lock and sighs. Both is acceptable. "Alright. I'll make sure to shit before you kick my memory out of me."

Dirk's hand on his shoulder is met with a glance to it and then the flipping down of his glasses onto the bridge of his nose as he's led out. He's not convinced he isn't about to have his ass handed to him in the street, too, but Dirk is a fickle man. "How long you been here before you realized I was here, too?"

"Good plan. Better plan is to just not do it and not get your ass beat." He has a point. Not that it's excusable to beat his brotherson's ass for any reason. But just don't time power him, dude.

Dirk keeps heading out, walking until they're outside, and takes a sharp right turn. He seems contemplative. When he finally speaks it's back to something less accented, more flat, because they're out in public. "Not long. Woke up in the wilderness, spent a few days out there, traveled here, started looking for you because I knew you'd be here."

He doesn't know how he knew, but he did.

He tilts his head, shrugging his opposite shoulder, the one he's slung his sword on and the one farthest from Dirk so he doesn't accidentally hit him with it. "See, this is all pending that you can still beat me." He can. Dave knows it, Dirk knows it, but Dave is trying to take the conversation to normalcy. Bring Dirk back to the trash talk not the trash his brother talk.

Other than that, Dave is quiet and follows Dirk's lead into the open and also into the lack of their relaxed manner of speaking. "Maternal instinct, I get it." Have that trash talky fun as well. Wait until he hits him with the 'You're not my mom' technicality.

"Think you're hot shit now, huh?" He says it conversationally, like he hasn't beaten the shit out of Dave before for less. Or just because. "We'll see, next time. You do your worst, Dave Strider, and we'll see how it goes for you." It's banter, kind of, sort of, but mostly shit talking.

"You calling me feminine?" There's something odd there, borderline dangerous again, because he's so fucking tightly wound and repressed about that kind of shit that it's one of the few things that gets under his skin. But then he just rolls his eyes, unseen, and lifts a hand to plant it atop Dave's head and steer him into a diner they're about to pass. "Never had paternal instincts, either, but I'm about to parent the shit out of you, kid."

Here's Dave, shrugging his shoulders again. "Might be." He isn't in comparison to Dirk but he, but he tries. "You might just be surprised, Bro." Surprised that he still wins even against an immortal god.

"No." because he prefers not to have his ass kicked right then, even if on a dime Dirk turns his emotional upset into parenting. Parenting sounds more frightening than getting his ass kicked, but Dave lets him pilot him into this diner. "Parenting me in what? I already know where babies come from. Meteors."

"You getting stronger wouldn't be a surprise, but you still can't beat me." He's acting like no one can, like usual, when actually he was definitely murdered, so really, it's half posturing. Dave could well beat him now. They'll see.

Parenting is more frightening. "Not all babies," he says, almost-joking, "makes you real special. Meteor baby? Cool as shit." But he rolls his eyes, waiting at the 'please wait to be seated' sign for a hostess. "Family dinner, smartass."

That's what families do, right? Dirk's not exactly a fucking expert. Like, he didn't even ask if Dave was hungry, but it's... a gesture? "You know that Norman Rockwell shit where people are sitting at the table bonding and eating? True Americana? That's about to be us."

God, is he serious? It's impossible to tell.

Another shrug of a single shoulder. He probably will get ass whupped but he'll give him just as bad as he gets. Their first fight here is going to have to be somewhere safe for everyone else, too. While they both won't kill each other, if someone accidentally gets in the way or they accidentally destroy a building...

Dave likes being told he's special. He knows Dirk is half joking half serious so he'll take the half serious part as he's being told he's headed for a family dinner. Fuck. He's no good at these. "American Dream right here in kidnapped central." Dave is waiting, politely as he could be standing around with a sword on his shoulder. He drops it tip down toward the floor but not on it as not to dull it.

"So what are we going to be talking about? I don't go to school but I hear there is a school here. I don't have a job yet. Uh. What else do normal people talk about?"

"No Stockholm for the place, yet? Thought you wanted to stay here. Doesn't take away that it's kidnap, I suppose, but that kind of dedication usually ignores that part."

It's not as mean as it could be, but he's still salty that Dave's being weird about staying. The hostess arrives, and eyes Dave's sword, but directs them to a booth anyway. Dirk nods to her as he slips into his seat, contemplating Dave's wary question.

"You planning on going to school here?" It's an interesting thought. Dirk never went to school. He taught himself everything. And his track record with Dave and school was...well. Yikes.

But anyway. "Hell if I know, like either of us are normal. Wanna people-watch and shit-talk? We don't have to delve real deep."

"It's not like that." Dave answers smoothly. Him and Karkat had a nice talk and now that Dirk is here, too... But how does he even come around saying stuff like that? Not to Dirk that's for sure and not without forethought, that's even more for sure.

It doesn't even register to him that someone's having a second look at his sword and he slips the item into the booth beside him, carefully butting it up against where he knows it won't fall and slip under the booth. He's taken the booth seat opposite to Dirk's so he can halfass face him. Which means look primarily out of the window and not make eye-contact. Eye-contact is the easiest way to start a fight. Again a tiny shrug is his answer-starter to the school thing. "Dunno. It seems boring. Shit that everyone else learned or like hearing shit on the net? What the fuck am I going to do with the geography of the United States now? Or even this place? Plus I think maybe it'd get in the way of the guild which sounds cooler."

"I thought you might've had a plan in mind, but I'm down to watch people." it meant that he could have more reason not to stare Dirk in the face. "Like. I guess to answer your earlier question, it's not so bad here, so I guess even if it's kidnap central, doesn't mean I don't gotta at least have fun. I can't go nowhere and I can't jump out of here with you or with my friend. Not safely anyway. Small jumps like earlier I can do pretty easy, just got to be sure not to make clones."

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▶ TDM .007

No but you can't say I didn't try.

alas

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