prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .008

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▶ 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

Very well.

[Oh...right. Chroma. He’d almost forgotten about that. He pulls out his phone to check his chroma levels, and surprise surprise, he’d only gained a small amount from holding Ranpo’s hand earlier.]

...I could probably afford somewhere cheap.

[IS THERE A MCDONALD’S NEARBY...]

A candy shop might be more affordable...though I’d rather go to one that offers a normal selection of sweets and not...what we saw earlier.

Edited 2019-10-09 01:36 (UTC)

[Get a job u bum--]

[Thinks the one freeloading off of Yosano, shh.]

It looks like Caihong is just a short walk away -- that's the district I mentioned before. We can probably find a cheap food stall there selling pork buns or something.

[And honestly, it's a place that's worth the pain it took to get here. The sidewalks turn into bridges with waterways between them, the buildings are intricately detailed and painted bright red, and lanterns hang overhead, illuminating the many tiny shops and stalls that line the streets. There are even little gardens here and there, often set before large temples that stick out a bit amidst the urbanity around them. But that just makes Ranpo feel more at home here, even if nothing is immediately identifiable as distinctly Japanese or not.]

[Well, aside from the over-abundance of convenience stores, but that's pretty universal as far as he's concerned.]

[Excuse u he will!! But first he’s gotta treat Ranpo because he dry humped him on a train.]

That sounds like a good idea.

[He walks along beside Ranpo, eyeing his hand all the while. He feels the urge to hold it again, but he’s not so certain it would be welcome right now. Ranpo probably needs some Personal Space after that train fiasco, so Kunikida keeps his hands to himself as he admires the beautiful scenery around them.

It really does remind him of Japan, especially the temples and all the little shops, and while he’s enjoying himself now he can’t help but feel a little homesick.]

...I like this area much better than the others I’ve seen so far. I’m almost tempted to duck into each and every little shop just to browse.

[He’s a total cheapskate and low on funds so browsing is really all he can do. He’ll definitely buy Ranpo some food though, and when he spots a few stalls along one of the streets he points them out.]

Maybe one of them sells pork buns. Or other street fair...I just hope it’s not jellyfish.

Browse all you like-- but you're buying me a pork-bun first!

[But alas, as they walk up to the stalls, it seems jellyfish buns are all the rage.]

...I guess we'll have to keep looking, huh.

Alright.

[WOW REALLY the jellyfish cannot be escaped, apparently. Time to keep looking.]

Ranpo-san...just how many jellyfish attacked the city? You said you were attacked as well, didn’t you?

Hmm... probably a few hundred thousand? They came in all sizes, and the small ones were the most common. But they were really only an issue if a lot of them landed on you at once.

[He doesn't really feel like retelling the story of how he was almost killed by a bunch of jellyfish, so instead, he folds his arms behind his head and walks on ahead.]

Ah, but figuring out what to do with them all-- that's why everyone's serving jellyfish everything. I heard it's not too safe to eat in high amounts either, since they do sting.

That sounds...unpleasant.

[He might’ve been able to fend them off with a hand grenade or something, but he’s still kinda glad he arrived after the jellyfish horde.]

That makes sense.

[Kunikida follows along behind Ranpo, going quiet for a moment. There’s so many things he wants to talk about with Ranpo, but is now really the time? Any gloomy talk of events back home might just ruin this little outing between them.

...but wait. Is this...a date?? Surely not...Ranpo is just showing him around town is all. Clearly that’s the only thing going on here. Yup.]

Ah, Ranpo-san. I did have another question for you, if you don’t mind answering it.

[Since Ranpo explained Chroma to him he figured he might as well ask any other questions he can think of.]

Is it true that the different moons can influence the Moonblessed at different times during the month?

[What a question.]

[Ranpo will 100% catch a taxi back to his apartment alone if Kunikida calls this date.]

[In fact, he's already considering such an option when Kunikida mentions the moonblessings. Oh boy. Time to try and keep a straight face.]

...something like that. I don't know if there's a way to check otherwise, but all moonblessed have some sort of affinity with one of the moons. And when they're full, sometimes we change.

I actually just spent the past few days as a catboy while Cordis was full-- you really missed out by not running into me sooner.

[More like thank whatever gods exist that he didn't run into him sooner.]

[CATBOY RANPO...]

Ah...I see.

[YEAH HE SURE DID MISS OUT ALRIGHT...]

I guess it’ll be a surprise which moon I have an affinity with.

[Can you imagine catboy Kunikida though??]

But when you say catboy...do you mean just the tail and ears? Or a full transformation into a cat?

[Tries not to imagine Ranpo going full furry.]

Just ears and a tail! And I could purr, too. But I don't think it's always consistent.

[The number of weird-ass jellyfish people he saw that week certainly points to that.]

There were some other changes too... I guess it sort of changed my personality? It was still wearing off when I woke up this morning, and it was a little disorienting.

I see.

[Oh no Ranpo purring sounds too cute...]

Changed your personality...? That’s...a little concerning. Do you remember any of it?

[He doesn’t even consider the fact that being extra horny or giving off pheromones could be an effect.]

Mm, I remember everything. It wasn't anything bad... if anything, I was in a great mood the whole time.

[...]

[He doesn't mean for it to come out that way, but it sure says something that "being in a good mood all day" is something he'd consider an oddity here.]

That’s good. I suppose the moonblessings aren’t necessarily a bad thing then.

[Just wait until he finds out what Sanguis does to him...]

[He definitely is starting to catch on to the fact that Ranpo has been struggling under the weight of the past and being unable to speak about it with anyone else, and while he knows that now isn’t really the time to get into it, he has to make one thing known.]

Ranpo-san...I know I just arrived here, and I won’t say anything more about the topic we discussed earlier right now, but...

[He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. He really is no good at this.]

I’m here. To talk to, I mean. Whenever you might need it.

[Just has a heart to heart with Ranpo in front of a food stall it’s fine.]

[He's not expecting Kunikida to suddenly return to a more serious topic like that, but thinking over his own words more carefully, he supposes he can't really blame him. Even if it doesn't entirely make him feel better, to know what a mess he is right now. He takes a deep breath, and then sighs with a nod.]

...I must really look awful to be getting offers like that for you and Atsushi-kun. But I'll keep it in mind.

[He gives Kunikida a pat on the back, and then gestures over to a nearby stall.]

That's the first one I've seen not advertising jellyfish -- let's go check it out!

[It's a gyoza stand! The lack of jellyfish on the menu seems to be their selling point, actually -- bless.]

[To his credit Kunikida wouldn’t have guessed that anything was bothering him before they had that talk in the cafe. Maybe he would’ve caught on eventually, but it was seeing Ranpo so shaken up that really kickstarted his concern, and even now he worries that Ranpo would’ve been better off not hearing that Kunikida thought he was dead...

But that’s a thought best left for another time. After that little pat on the back (he’s not the one who needs reassuring here! Or maybe he does...hmm) he nods, following Ranpo over to the gyoza stand.

Oh sweet merciful Jesus, there’s no jellyfish on the menu here. Thank god. Just gonna head on over, his stomach rumbling loudly when he’s close enough to smell the food.]

Does gyoza sound good, Ranpo-san?

Edited 2019-10-09 05:07 (UTC)

Gyoza sounds perfect right now! Oh-- and a soda to wash it all down!

[Kunikida better get ready to turn out his chroma-wallet, because Ranpo will eat ten servings if he lets him.]

Of course, Ranpo-san.

[Ten servings??? Really?? But okay, he still owes Ranpo for that train fiasco, so he’ll pay for as many orders as he can afford without leaving himself nearly broke.]

Ramune? Or the closest equivalent to it? I remember how much you enjoyed them back home.

[Excuse him as he straight up orders a beer for himself though, yolo.]

Edited 2019-10-09 05:40 (UTC)

I haven't found a good dupe for ramune yet. The flavor is there, but without the marble, it's not as fun. I'll just take whatever they have that bubbles!

[And he will eat all ten servings of gyoza and probably still want desert after smh.]

[But hm. Kunikida may not notice it when he orders, but the soda he got Ranpo is more than just a soda -- it's alcoholic. And the flavor is so well-masked, Ranpo won't notice at first either.]

[Oops]

I suppose that’s half the appeal of drinking ramune.

[He doesn’t really drink any sugary drinks so he wouldn’t really know what to look for when it comes to soda, so he’ll just pick out a fruity one for Ranpo and hope that it’s good.

He munches on his gyoza, and somehow both it and the beer are the best goddamn thing he’s tasted in ages. Gonna try not to chug it like a frat boy but it’s Hard, especially when he’s been so stressed lately.]

I wasn’t expecting a cheap beer to be this good. Is the soda to your liking, Ranpo-san?

[Honestly, this is a pretty nice little moment for them. There's a bench nearby they can sit in, looking out into a nearby park with the city lights behind it. It's starting to get late, and the lanterns lining the streets are all coming to life. The streets are still bustling with life, but it's peaceful, in a way.]

[But it's strange... it all feels a little dreamy right now. Is that because of the scenery? Or maybe...]

It's delicious!

Ah, but incidentally-- did you know it was alcoholic when you gave it to me?

[HE FEELS SO GROWN-UP RN... Fukuzawa would be proud.]

[W H A T??]

Alcoholic??

[Nope, looks like he did not know that. Now he REALLY feels like a Bad Man, even if Ranpo is technically old enough to drink.]

I didn’t know. I should’ve checked the label. Should I get you something else?

[He looks Worried.]

What? Of course not! This is delicious! Way better than the sake Fukuzawa-san let me try when I turned 20. I couldn't even swallow that.

[HE'S BABY]

[But not so baby that he's going to be an epic lightweight. Kunikida is getting off easy this time.]

Besides-- I'm going to be 27 this month! Nothing wrong with a man my age drinking, is there?

Ah, I’ve heard that the Director has very...refined taste in alcohol.

[Kunikida can tolerate sake but give him a beer or whiskey over that any day tbh.

But wow, he almost forgot just how old Ranpo is...]

No, I suppose not...though it’s hard to believe you’re five years older than me.

[Oops did he just say that out loud?? Rude.]

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