prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .008

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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.

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? Is sexorcism a legitimate profession? — 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 transportation, you may freely roam around the government center.

▶ When There’s Something Strange in the Neighborhood
Iris Moon, Government Center (Arrival) and The Glory, Tower of Whispers | top

After the Viergean invasion weeks ago, the Iris government center has been repaired! The staff is hard at work now that the Iris moon base is fully operational once again. Many of them are still recovering from the attack, but they still managed to prepare something special for the Moonblessed. They happily declare the results of their research and compiled excavation efforts from the Glory, all of which are available to view at the Tower of Whispers. The tower is the largest and most well-preserved locations from the excavations, composed of spiral staircases and seashell designs. Its walls and columns filled from top to bottom with shelves upon shelves of old-world scrolls containing information about ancient Prismals. Little is known about the language used here, so like the machine translations of the Glory’s ruins, the texts remain largely indecipherable.

The Prismals warn the Moonblessed that the tower is haunted; they say if you close your eyes and listen to the silence of the tower, you will hear whispers of the ancients, unintelligible to Moonblessed and Prismal alike… For those daring enough to explore, you sense something amiss. A shiver runs down the back of your neck. A chill passes through your spine. Good thing you have the Lunar Scientia’s librarian droids to keep you company —- they will watch over and protect the archives, quick to ward off any theft or anyone mishandling the ancient scrolls.

As you peer into the scrolls, you find crude drawings in place of where you would expect ancient writings. There are illustrations of a three-headed dragon, a giant boar wearing a crown, a seraphim clad in a lion mask, a naked woman covered in snakes, a basilisk skewered by multiple boat masts, a sleeping one-eyed giant, and a beautiful satyr with flowing, flaxen locks.

A Stare at the contents of the scrolls long enough and the illustrations will soon transform on the parchment. The dragon may start breathing fire, the seraphim’s closed mouth might open and scream, and the basilisk might even start bleeding past the margins… But once you blink or look away, it’s as if nothing ever happened. On some pages, readers may find a disturbing ocular symbol fading in and out. “I told you this place was haunted!” you overhear some of the staff say. Other staff members mention seeing white figures and feeling something cold touching their heads or shoulders. Too spooky.

B After staying in the tower for a while, you might find yourself behaving a bit strangely. You’ll have the urge to knock scrolls to the ground, pull down the pants and skirts of neighboring Moonblessed or Prismals, kick over librarian droids, and generally cause chaos. You don’t know what’s making you do this, but you swear that you’re innocent. The librarian droids will be having none of this! They will send everyone out of the tower to be horrible geese somewhere else. These urges will continue for about an hour, so make sure you don’t steal someone’s lunch, sneak into rooms you shouldn’t be in, or do anything that will get you on TV!

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. The passengers on board include both old and new Moonblessed as well as Prismals. The next destination: Prismatica.

▶ Hail Hydra
Planet Prismatica, 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 Settle in your new home at Level 2 to 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 As part of the maintenance done after the invasion, broken public toilets were upgraded to what Lunar Scientia calls the Raging Hydra 5000, fresh from the factory and ready for use. Aside from its reliable auto-flushing and sanitizing features, these toilets are equipped with a vigorous pair of hydraulic AI-powered snakeheads that will sprout outwards from inside the water tank to give you a cleansing spray with a delightful little encouraging slap on the bottom at the end. They’re capable of intimate massages too should you ask nicely.

Designed to discourage poor eating habits, the AI will also give you unwarranted comments about your dietary intake. Its voice is reminiscent of the shrill nagging of a caretaker. One can simply walk by the public restrooms to overhear their incessant screeching. Some AIs may even go so far as to complain about your grades, your job, or how you never spend time at home anymore...

If you are impressed with the Raging Hydra 5000, you may purchase them at KRABBA: Lunatia’s most popular flat-packed furniture store! Local Lunatian testimonies mention feeling as fresh and new as the day they were born! You’re encouraged to submit feedback before you leave the restroom by tapping the mirror to access the survey. Yes, it doubles as a touch screen! If you leave the restroom without submitting feedback, the survey will keep popping up on your communication device until you answer it. How annoying!

▶ I Don’t Think You’re Ready for This Jelly
Lunatia | top

The scent of paranormal activity and pumpkin spice lattes is in the air! That only means Geistnacht is around the corner. According to local myths, Geistnacht is the night when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead will be at its thinnest. It’s all the media ever talks about around this time of the year!

Activities like masquerades, bonfires, and communal seances are encouraged every single day for the rest of the month. One way of celebrating is to dress up as a deceased ancestor, friend, loved one, or any figure from history or myth they want to celebrate, and wear a colorful mask while taking part in the dancing and merriment.

A During the day, Prismal children will be going door-to-door, partaking in a custom known as Ainfeil’s Feast. They will be in cute costumes while wearing boar masks and crowns, requesting to be fed as much candy, pastries, or confections as possible. Take care not to be deceived by any naughty children returning with a different outfit. Refuse their request and they’ll run in your apartment or house to steal any eye-catching item from you or your roommates!

Though it is popular with children, adults also take part in the festivities. The Moonblessed are welcome to join in. Simply download the “A-FEAST” app to get started! The goal is to eat the most amount of confections before the night of Geistnacht falls. Using A-FEAST, scan each candy wrapper you have to earn points. Wrappers that have already been scanned don't count! You must be in costume or you won’t be given any treats!

Lunatians may occasionally give out other “treats” such as condoms, intimate apparel, edible undergarments, and/or flavored lubricants. When questioned, they will encourage the Moonblessed to make the most of their lovely costumes together. Winners will be given the hottest and most luxurious Geistnacht treat this year: crystal candy, a gourmet dessert platter crafted by celebrity chef, Sheldon Romsay. Tastes like a billion Chroma gem: you're an idiot sandwich to let this chance pass.

B Lunatia’s food industry is booming with fresh jellyfish meat because of last month’s incident. Vierge jellies are a rare delicacy, so get them while supplies last! Huge meat bargains are slapped all over the fronts of supermarkets, and butcher shops and restaurants are taking full advantage! Considering the festive season, it’s the best chance to grab your party grub for the month!

Food blogs on the internet frequently post about jellyfish sushi, watercress and nettle salad, stinger soup (extra spicy!), jell-ato, jell-atin pudding, peanut butter jellyfish sandwich, and the electric punisher cocktail. Comments left by Lunatians often mention enjoying their vengeance on these critters. Be careful: jellyfish may be tasty but eat in moderation! Overindulging may cause side effects such as indigestion, heartburn, and diarrhea.

Mages like to collect this meat for other shocking uses. Consuming Vierge jelly meat may slightly and temporarily increase the power of your electric magic or energize your body’s electrolytes (perhaps a little too much)! Shaking hands with others is not recommended while this is in effect! Unfortunately, this kind of jellyfish meat expires in a few days, so stockpiling it is impossible.

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

▶ 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

A. Crystal Wilderness

[The sensation of being someplace new hasn't happened for two years, White thinks. This time, however, she wakes someplace far higher, far colder and dark than the floating city of Empatheias, and she clutches a crystal that's strikingly different than the ones surrounding her now. Breathing in, breathing out, White presses her hand habitually to her heart and then sets to see if she can't find someone else.]

Hello? ... Is there anyone out there? [She's willing her voice to be strong, but there's a sort of waver to it.

Which becomes apparent when she stumbles and catches herself on a crystal, coughing harshly. One, two, in and out. Okay. Okay.] Ugh, talk about bad timing... Just hang in a little bit, okay? I'll be fine.

[Just like this, with a slow step, she'll look to see if she can find someone else.]

b. Tower of Whispers

[Someone with a heart condition should definitely not go into a haunted house, but White is dying for something normal after... After space travel! Which is new, even for someone who interacted frequently with a pink plesiosaurus!

And haunted house? Boy, if she is not dying (haha) for that.

The scrolls are something White's just staying and staring at even once they start transforming, laughing at anyone who jumps or screams.]

Come on, they're just illusions! Smoke and mirrors! Don't be such a scaredy cat~.

[And White'll be doing some scaring herself, because she's been called a "ghost" once too many times in her life and slips off her shoes for ultimate silence, shuffling quietly and feeling a few years younger as she sneaks up on anyone she can--]

Boo!

c. Jellyfish Taste Testing

I've never even tried jellyfish before... I wonder if it's chewy.

[But White is dedicatedly looking at the bargains without a single issue otherwise, because as someone who spent a good deal of her later life in Hellsalem's Lot you saw some shit. Just because Empatheias had normal food doesn't mean she lost a taste for the oddities given in life.]

If this post says you can make it into sushi, that means you can eat it raw, right? I wonder if you'd treat it like squid...

[Zed's so absorbed in going through the old scrolls that White gets enough of an opening to actually startle him. And with his hood up, the only telling factor that it's the fishman himself are his hands. When he does get spooked, his shoulders jolt before he turns on the "ghost" with an initial scowl because obviously they need to be told off with a long lecture he's already running in his head--

Oh...Oh no.

Even though they were only acquaintances through Leo, Zed doesn't forget a face. He also knows vaguely enough that White should not be here. His eyes go impossibly wide as he looks to her, clearly shocked in a completely different way by this encounter. And Leo had just recently disappeared from the world...]

...White? [Her name is an incredulous half-whisper.] How are you here?

[He definitely wouldn't be out of place on the streets of Hellsalem's Lot, is her first thought, followed up by Wait, how does he know my name?

There's a sort of nigging feeling that she knows why, and White clasps her hands behind her back as old habits die hard and she falls back into them. She grins.]

How are any of us here, Mister Fish? I don't know how you got here, but I rose from the grave~!

[Which isn't untrue anyway but it's more playing into her role as a ghost here.]

[...Did she forget his name? Well, they only met briefly, so he doesn't think much of it. Forgetting names happens.]

It's Zed. [After gently correcting her, Zed seems to relax a little. Or as much as one can when having this sort of conversation.]

I woke up on the moon several months back, but anyways... [Wow, is it rude to ask if someone is basically undead?] Er, you certainly were not someone I would have expected to arrive here from Hellsalem's Lot.

[~~Okay, he chickened out.~~]

[Mmmm. It probably hasn't been that long to him, but it definitely takes her a moment to confirm it in her memory -- but she does remember him, and the unintentionally guilt-inducing words he had for her at the time.]

Oh, right. You're... Leo's friend. The one that fights with that "pervy jerk" a lot of the time.

[She relaxes a bit, looking around for a moment to see if Leo'd miraculously appear too. It'd been just her and her brother for so long, it'd almost -- almost -- felt like those hospital-bound years were a dream. White knows they weren't, considering the Tree of Memories was fond of showing them, but still... Outside of that.]

Who would you expect? I get what you mean though, last time you saw me I was... pretty much stuck in the hospital, huh?

[The "pervy jerk" comment gets a chuckle:] Someone needs to berate Zapp or else he'll never learn.

[...Not that it's actually worked with helping that trash fire turn over a new leaf. As for White's questions, Zed lapses into silence as he rolls up the scroll he's been looking over, and he hands it off to the droid hovering nearby. He turns back to her, his expression quite serious.]

...That's when I last saw you, yes. But some time had passed after our meeting, and the city almost experienced a second Collapse. [Another pause.] Our timelines may not match up. I would not want to reveal more than that if you have not experienced the event.

Edited 2019-10-10 04:17 (UTC)

[Black, on the other hand, is totally new to finding himself in a parallel universe... Well, at least in this way. He isn't exactly a stranger to waking up in a strange place without memories of how exactly he got there, but it's been so long since he had successfully escaped that control over his body though. Even after everything that has happened to the world, and to him personally, he still isn't sure how to handle waking up in a weird, strange place after being encased in crystal.

Everything about his world is strange, but this feels like taking it to a whole new level.

Then he hears his sister calling and any hint of confusion is overridden by a desire to get to her. He should be more worried - Does this mean he's dead and has joined her in the after life? - but he doesn't care right now.

He's missed her so much and all he wants is to find her and be with her. Her cough reaches his ears and causes a panic, causing him to slip his footing and slide against a crystal in a truly awkward and embarrassing way. He's event scrapped his hand on one of the sharp edges. At least that probably means she's heard his arrival.]

White! [He calls, needing her to know that it's him.]

[It definitely means she hears someone's arrival, and then she knows who it is by the familiar call of her name, and relief spreads through her so fast she nearly stumbles herself, trying to figure out where it'd come from.]

Black! Black, where--

[And then he's there, with a stupid bloody hand, and White is very much going to throw herself at him. Please catch your sister and try not to fall on your butt.]

Found you!

[He's expecting the hug so he's able to brace himself. When she's in his arms he laughs, unable to stop the sound of pure relief. She's here and so solid and real. He will probably have to worry about what that means later, but for now he's just so happy to have her back. She feels so solid and warm in his arms.

He takes a moment just to enjoy her presence and how it feels to have her there with him before asking the thing that's on his mind.]

How-how are you here?

▶ TDM .008

White | Kekkai Sensen | Empatheias CRAU

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Crystal Wilderness

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