anonymous text post

[peerlesscucumber]

Chroma, Moonlacing, and You

a breakdown by Anonymous for the Moonblessed
Congratulations! You're now on the planet Prismatica, in the city of Lunatia, population: Prismals and Moonblessed. (That's you!) What do you want to know about Chroma, Moonlacing, and your survival in this place?

What is Chroma?

To recap what the Lunar Scientia should have said when you were processed, Chroma is a form of energy that we, the Moonblessed, generate. In Prismatica's history, Chroma was also produced through various means on world, but since the Calamity, Prismatica has only been processing energy crystals for demichroma to keep things working. Demichroma is both a less powerful form of energy and the standard currency throughout Lunatia, and is what any person working in the city will be paid in. Weird enough yet? It gets weirder.

Why should I care about Chroma?

You should care because if your body's Chroma levels fall too low, you'll begin crystalising. You need direct infusions of Chroma to reverse the process, and the only way of getting that Chroma is through moonlacing.

If your body loses all Chroma, you will completely crystalise and die. This should be difficult. Should be! If you're feeling horrible, take at least one hand held out to you so you don't get to this point. See What happens when we die? for more information.

What the fuck?! Why do I lose Chroma?

Chroma is a form of energy. It seems like it may be linked with your life energy here on Prismatica. Living your life means burning energy, and now you don't only use the energy of food or whatever the fuck usually keeps you functioning, but also use Chroma in order to stay functional on this world.

You lose Chroma because you burn it up like any other energy source by existing. Which is why you need to moonlace for more Chroma to stay active and healthy.

Be warned, Moonblessed! You can burn through Chroma faster by doing any of the following:

• participating in any non-moonlacing related physical activities that take a lot of normal energy;
• using any special or advanced abilities you may have (magic, superpowers, energy manipulation, psychic abilities, any and everything, even whatever you're thinking about now, probably);
• or being under the influence of outside forces. Are you influenced by the Cordis moon? Sorry, Moonblessed, but you may find your Chroma consumption goes up whenever your moon's in phase! Have you been drugged with Glow? Welcome to your new energy vampire urges!

It's fucked, we know.

Then what is Moonlacing?

When one Moonblessed and another Moonblessed come into physical contact, they generate Chroma. Think of it as a reaction that naturally occurs when two Moonblessed come into contact and maintain that contact, though it does not appear to work well or at all in instances of senseless violence or force. Sparring is a different matter, but punching someone for no reason or choking them for Chroma if they're not into breath-play and haven't given consent is not going to work.

Moonlacing is the name for this process of Chroma generation between two Moonblessed. No one knows what the fuck is up with it, only that it happens, and can be measured for how much Chroma-energy is generated at a time. Chroma is weird, because you need it to live, and yet it also is credited as "energy" you've added to Prismatica... and since energy is money here, it's money you've earned.

Now, Chroma that you naturally lose seems like it's absorbed by the world around us, or by some technology the Prismals in Lunar Scientia use, or maybe both or something else, which is how it's out there getting measured by Lunatia. Chroma you consume directly to use any abilities you have does not get released out into the world, but still appears to be counted as currency "earned" at time of moonlacing. This Anon doesn't understand it either. Financial records are visible and yet still mysterious.

How do you Moonlace?

Any way you can imagine that isn't rejected by one or more people involved. Two things of importance to note:

1. Moonlacing does not require direct skin contact.
2. Moonlacing will always feel good, but that does not mean all moonlacing will feel arousing. (Arousing can be of any associated emotion, okay! Any emotion! Any emotion!)

Addendum: While moonlacing is necessary, we advise you only moonlace with people you find tolerable. We advise against forcing yourself to moonlace with people you can't stand.

Forms of moonlacing contact can include, but are not limited to:

• Napping on or in physical contact with someone. (Also ideal when you have a full animal moonphase form.)
• Clasping a shoulder or upper arm.
• Holding hands.
• Brushing each other's hair.
• Shoulder massages.
• Wrestling.
• Supporting your drunk friend home. Or at least out of the bar.
• Carrying someone.
• Hugging.
• Cuddling.
• Snuggling. (Is there a difference between this and cuddling? This Anon just does not know.)
• Leaning shoulder to shoulder.
• Kissing foreheads, cheeks, hands, anywhere really.
• Everything remotely sexual does too. I'm not making that list for you. Sexy Anons out there can make that list for you!

The take away point is this: moonlacing is necessary to keep your chroma levels high enough so that you don't crystalise and die. So don't be a fool: moonlace. Survive. Those who want to go home under their own choice are only going to have that chance if they don't kill themselves along the way.

Can Moonlacing help heal?

For those who participated in recent tournament events, the answer appears to point toward "yes." However, it should be noted that increasingly more intimate levels of moonlacing were better at helping bodies recover quickly: kissing provided more than hands held over wounds, but massaging helped muscle aches, embraces helped generate enough Chroma for people's natural abilities to take control, and so on.

Short of something incredibly ill advised with someone suffering fatal injuries, moonlacing is not enough to save you when you're already dying. Talk to Prismals, and they'll tell you even in their general knowledge, "healing" was for minor injuries. It's what all those kisses exchanged before people swaggered out onto the arena were about, and all the hugs from Daddy Dearest before we went down. Moonblessed seem to be able to heal more than minor injuries with enough moonlacing, but it is not! Enough! To prevent you from dying if you've lost all your chroma already. Understood?! Don't go testing this out!

What happens when we die?

When you die, either because you used all your Chroma or because you managed to kill yourself or get yourself killed... your corpse is encased in crystal. Just your corpse. You're movable by anyone who can manipulate the crystal sculpture you've turned into, and as this Anon has been assured, the Prismals will take care of the crystal body if your friends don't want to.

But wait! There's more! Like everything else here, it gets weirder. After enough chroma has slowly seeped back into your body... you resurrect. Not entirely okay, but at least you're not fucking dead because you fucking died.

Prismals find nothing weird about this. Crystalising when you die is normal here. The not normal part is coming back out of the crystal, which if you remember waking up on the moon? Sounds like the same fucking process.

What happens when we disappear?

Great question. No idea. Does anyone have an answer from Lunar Scientia about this?

---

This is "as accurate as it can be right now," which means if you have information to add, comment for Anon to update. If you have questions, ask and this Anon or any of the other people reading can speak up and try to answer.

A question for anyone who knows: is there any noted increase in overall moonlacing if more than two people are involved in an act of moonlacing?

[ What follows is an audio version of this post with a big, green play arrow for anyone who doesn't read; it will narrate this post and replies in a voice oddly similar to Samuel L. Jackson. ]

Comments

good because i'm laughing too, get wrecked shizun, get smoked sessho

[barkonthetree]

What's this about dying?! You didn't bite it at the casino did you?

he's like DO I LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF GUY WHO DOES THAT (yeah) (you do)

[peerlesscucumber]

[ Oh please when in the world has he been the guy constantly biting it?!

Ignoring that he is, in fact, someone who often gets injured! And might get into trouble! But he's only died... ... ... twice? And definitely not here!

As much as he's frustrated on some level, he's not blind to the fact asking is not something anyone has to do, and Inuyasha's concern does touch him. He makes an effort to ensure his tone is softened just enough to show he's aware and thankful, because his general conversational tone is fairly cool. ]

I assure you, I didn't die at the casino or in any of the ensuing events. Thank you for your concern, Inuyasha. It's kind of you to ask.

[ yeah this doesn't explain why he knows anything about death or pouring chroma into someone dying does it :) ]

he super does

[barkonthetree]

[Look you never know with mortals they've got bodies like tissue paper, it's more a miracle that any of them survived past the middle ages. And this guy was a stranger but he was also a kind of nice one, sort of. And also, he stands by his words here:]

Good. That'd be a really pathetic way to die.

So who was it then?

yeah everyone's calling him out it's so appropriate

[peerlesscucumber]

[ While this is a fair point, Inuyasha, it's also a miracle that Shen Qingqiu has managed to survive the last oh, six years? He didn't live past twenty the first time! (Wow he's not ever going to be able to build a case to defend himself with the actual facts.) ]

... It would have been an avoidable one.

[ He agrees, with a note in his voice that sensitive ears will hear as a hurt mixed with a cold kind of anger that's being very, very tightly controlled right now. Then he's saying who was it, and Shen Qingqiu sighs. ]

That's not a discussion to have over these devices. Or more, it's not one I'll have over these.

[ Binghe deserves so much better than to overhear any vague story his Shizun shares, because he sure as hell won't name who it was anyway, but yeah. It's easier to handle in person.

... Please ignore the fact your half brother is on his way to haunt his window sill... ]

what if both brothers showed up at the same time....jk i don't hate sqq's landlord that much

[barkonthetree]

[Buddy you might want to find a new lifestyle if you can't even hit your second decade without kicking the bucket. So speaks the guy who got skewered on a tree for fifty years as a teenager BUT REGARDLESS

Inuyasha is not well versed in delicate matters. He can hear the slight squeeze of the throat (even through the sieve of the glass bangle, this thing works some real fucking miracles doesn't it?) and he can tell it's a sore spot. What should he have expected? It's death. Even if what he claims is true, such things are never felt lightly.

Should he back off? This was important to everyone, though. Wouldn't keeping everything a secret be selfish? Didn't they all deserve to know everything about what dying here might entail?

Inuyasha has been quiet for more than five seconds. Yet another modern miracle.]

Well if you want to be mysterious then go ahead. [He'll leave him alone. It's better to not prod fresh wounds.] Tell me later sometime.

i'd laugh, sqq would cry, and the building would have had Regrets

[peerlesscucumber]

[ Look it's not his fault that binge eating after rage finishing a story led to acute food poisoning! Those odds didn't even have statistics! No one dies like that! (Except for Shen Qingqiu. Who may no longer believe in leftovers...)

Inuyasha's quiet and the following words are appreciated, in a way he almost doesn't have words for in return. Partly because he's knowing Sesshomaru is heading over (some things are proving to be surprisingly predictable), partly because pressing wouldn't make him talk; it never has. If anything, it shuts him up faster. Silence is golden.

Like this? He has room to move, which is why he can say, gratitude present to some degree in his voice: ]

I will.

[ It's not what he's hiding, but who he's protecting, and how he needs to know what story he can share: just his, or the mystery of Luo Binghe's.

Somehow he suspects it's always going to just be his, even if he knows. ]

we all would have regrets...pours some out for the neighbourhood

[barkonthetree]

[food poisoning

wow

It seems that he's made the right choice. Okay. That wasn't so hard. Let's attribute it to growing wisdom and not the fact that physically the two are at least a few miles apart. If this was in person Inuyasha would have pressed much harder, and he'd have to be swatted off like a fly.]

Don't let anything happen before then. Maybe people can come back from the dead but that's a stupid thing to count on.

at least the neighbourhood would be too drunk to care afterward right, right

[peerlesscucumber]

[ Look... look! His best friend died plugging in his laptop after spilling his drink, so there are even stupider ways! Probably!

This old man might not have an osuwari waiting in his back pocket, but he does have a peak full of disciples, so he probably would have been a decent stone-faced swatter, all things considered. It's much easier not needing to be.

And almost amusing, and again touching, to hear Inuyasha's words. Sesshomaru, your brother already cares about things enough to defend them if his first reaction to a relative stranger is tell them don't die. ]

This one couldn't agree more. [ Considering he did a whole write up just to harp on that exact point. ] Thank you for your concern, Inuyasha. It's appreciated.

[ He should know that much, too. ]

one would hope

[barkonthetree]

[That's nice can you please tell Sesshomaru that to his face por favor

And look, expecting Inuyasha to do much more than skim the post and yell at whoever he knows in the comments is really reaching for the stars. Maybe you made that exact point, he doesn't know! Or care! He's got shit to do!

Which is why he spits in the face of all those kind words with a sharp:]

Keh!

[Then the line goes dead. Smell ya later SQQ.]