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pluviooc2024-03-18 02:45 pm
pluviosamods) wrote in pluviooc2024-03-18 02:45 pm
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE 02
TEST DRIVE
Hello, and welcome to the second Pluviosa Test Drive!
This Test Drive corresponds to Days 4-12 in the ship calendar, and will run until around the game's next major event. You can get a better idea what's going on in the most recent Game Update which covers Days 5-8. Currently, character IC housing is not in operation yet; it is expected to open on Day 9 (part of the way through the Test Drive period). Otherwise, the ship is largely in the state described on the Setting page and in other game information.
Test Drive threads involving characters who are accepted are considered canon to the events of the game unless otherwise agreed by players/mods. Pluviosa does not do welcome mingle logs nor does it have any kind of in-character welcome information, making your test drive threads your character's arrival to the game setting. That said, mod-run interactions such as formal exploration and/or interactions with the Ship as an NPC are not available on the Test Drive.
It is advised that potential players familiarize themselves with the Premise page, the Rules/Session Zero page, and at least the first few paragraphs of the Setting page. As Pluviosa is a horror game, we especially encourage players to be aware of the content warnings that will be major themes of the game. If you have any further questions, you can ask them on the QUESTIONS header in the comments!
If you're test driving a character, you're welcome to join the game Discord and hang out and meet your fellow players!
You wake up. You remember waking up, right? In another place, another time...
There's blood running down your fingers. Outside, the rain isn't pounding, yet, just a gentle patter...
Or is it?
As characters gain fuller awareness of their surroundings, they will realize that there is, in fact, no blood on their hands (save any that might have already been there). It feels as though they lost focus for a moment and hallucinated, but the hallucination ended with them somewhere else entirely.
There is not actually the sound of rain. If characters are near enough to a window, balcony, or even a hole in the ceiling, they will find that it is cloudless, beaming sunlight outside. The emptiness in the distance rolls on and on, completely absent any signs of life.
That being, of course, because the signs of life are all in here. Characters might wake up on any of the decks on the upper side of the ship - anywhere that isn't the cafeteria or lounge where previous arrivals spend most of their time is free game. This also means, of course, that they have the jungle of plants to contend with...
Most areas in the ship are dark when characters arrive. That doesn't mean that they stay dark. Occasionally, lights overhead flicker on and off for a few minutes at a time.
The problem with this isn't the lights themselves (cool white and kind of industrial). It's the reaction that the addition of the extra light causes the plants in the dark areas of the ship that's cause for alarm. To describe the growth as explosive isn't an understatement - vines, saplings, and even thicker branches surge with growth, pushing outwards towards the distant sunlight and upwards towards the flickering bulbs.
The growth is sudden enough to take all but the most aware characters by surprise, and if they're in the wrong corner of the room, it's very easy to get tangled up, wedged in by a tree trunk, or otherwise trapped against some corner or wall. If you're lucky and skilled, you might be able to cut yourself out from there (or break down the wall you're shoved up against), but otherwise, there's only one solution left.
Yell like your life depends on it, and hope somebody out there can hear you. And that whoever hears is someone who is inclined to help, rather than leaving you there. Or worse.
Oh, and the lights flicker back off after a few minutes, of course. Hopefully you're not waiting for rescue in the dark (with the smell of mold and the general faint dampness of the forest) for too long.
Occasionally, the whole ship tilts.
This is not simply the side to side motion of a ship on the water (or the equivalent motion brought on by the way this particular ship moves); it's an extremely forward or backward tilt that sends things sliding across the floor if they aren't secured by roots or something else. Unlike storm-tossed ships, the tilt is somewhat prolonged - rather than everything sliding back and forth a couple times a minute, the tilt lasts for five, ten, maybe as much as twenty minutes.
Although it's not enough to knock a well-balanced character off their feet, it's quite likely that new arrivals will not be particularly on-balance. And attempting to traverse the ship with the tilt is a tall order... especially when the ship's angle does unexpectedly change... to the exact opposite direction. All that goes up the mountain must go back down, and a glance out the windows reveals that that's exactly what's going on, as the ship progresses across a mountainous landscape without real regard for the concept of mountain passes.
And for characters who have managed to make their way to the "civilized" parts of the ship, namely the cafeteria and the lounge above it... None of the furniture in these areas is secured. The cafeteria carts under the direct control of the Ship don't seem as inclined to go anywhere, but the tables and chairs in the cafeteria and the couches and armchairs upstairs... Well, it's a good thing both spaces are surrounded by railings. Large chunks of tree trunk also still littler the lounge, sliding back and forth and occasionally rolling with great force across the floor.
Better hold on tight.
While wandering around the ship's interior, characters might occasionally hear a person whistling.
The sound always seems to be coming from just around the corner, but it sounds alive in a way that other sounds don't. Maybe more alive, even, than the rustle of leaves, the occasional drip of water, and the sounds of things sliding back and forth across the grimy, leaf-covered floors. The whistler, whoever they are, doesn't actively respond if called out to - but the whistling does pause, as though indicating that the call was heard, before starting up again.
If characters choose to follow the whistling, they're inevitably led to the same place - somewhere overlooking the great gap down the middle of the ship, whether an internal suite's balcony, one of the bridges crossing between the two halves, or one of the hallways that runs alongside it. Once they're there, there's no whistler in sight; however, characters will be filled with the overwhelming urge to look over the edge of the railing and down into the lower parts of the ship.
Exactly what they experience after looking down varies. Some will hallucinate that they've fallen over the side, feeling their balance go haywire and seeing the floor rushing up to them right up until the moment of "impact," at which everything returns to normal. Some will feel a stranger's hands on their shoulders, threatening to push them over with a great shove that goes through them with incorporeal fingers. Some will just hear unidentifiable laughter right up close to their ears, and experience the distinct sensation that there's someone laughing at them, in a haha-made-you-look kind of way.
But whatever happens, when they look up, there's no one there - or at least not anyone that physically close to them. The one good thing about being drawn to the middle section of the ship by whatever prankster this is is that it makes it a lot easier to run into people if you're all drawn to the same, highly visible place.
And at least the other person is flesh and blood, right? Probably.
This Test Drive corresponds to Days 4-12 in the ship calendar, and will run until around the game's next major event. You can get a better idea what's going on in the most recent Game Update which covers Days 5-8. Currently, character IC housing is not in operation yet; it is expected to open on Day 9 (part of the way through the Test Drive period). Otherwise, the ship is largely in the state described on the Setting page and in other game information.
Test Drive threads involving characters who are accepted are considered canon to the events of the game unless otherwise agreed by players/mods. Pluviosa does not do welcome mingle logs nor does it have any kind of in-character welcome information, making your test drive threads your character's arrival to the game setting. That said, mod-run interactions such as formal exploration and/or interactions with the Ship as an NPC are not available on the Test Drive.
It is advised that potential players familiarize themselves with the Premise page, the Rules/Session Zero page, and at least the first few paragraphs of the Setting page. As Pluviosa is a horror game, we especially encourage players to be aware of the content warnings that will be major themes of the game. If you have any further questions, you can ask them on the QUESTIONS header in the comments!
If you're test driving a character, you're welcome to join the game Discord and hang out and meet your fellow players!
ARRIVAL - LIKE THE RAIN
You wake up. You remember waking up, right? In another place, another time...
There's blood running down your fingers. Outside, the rain isn't pounding, yet, just a gentle patter...
Or is it?
As characters gain fuller awareness of their surroundings, they will realize that there is, in fact, no blood on their hands (save any that might have already been there). It feels as though they lost focus for a moment and hallucinated, but the hallucination ended with them somewhere else entirely.
There is not actually the sound of rain. If characters are near enough to a window, balcony, or even a hole in the ceiling, they will find that it is cloudless, beaming sunlight outside. The emptiness in the distance rolls on and on, completely absent any signs of life.
That being, of course, because the signs of life are all in here. Characters might wake up on any of the decks on the upper side of the ship - anywhere that isn't the cafeteria or lounge where previous arrivals spend most of their time is free game. This also means, of course, that they have the jungle of plants to contend with...
LIGHTS ON, SHOW START
Most areas in the ship are dark when characters arrive. That doesn't mean that they stay dark. Occasionally, lights overhead flicker on and off for a few minutes at a time.
The problem with this isn't the lights themselves (cool white and kind of industrial). It's the reaction that the addition of the extra light causes the plants in the dark areas of the ship that's cause for alarm. To describe the growth as explosive isn't an understatement - vines, saplings, and even thicker branches surge with growth, pushing outwards towards the distant sunlight and upwards towards the flickering bulbs.
The growth is sudden enough to take all but the most aware characters by surprise, and if they're in the wrong corner of the room, it's very easy to get tangled up, wedged in by a tree trunk, or otherwise trapped against some corner or wall. If you're lucky and skilled, you might be able to cut yourself out from there (or break down the wall you're shoved up against), but otherwise, there's only one solution left.
Yell like your life depends on it, and hope somebody out there can hear you. And that whoever hears is someone who is inclined to help, rather than leaving you there. Or worse.
Oh, and the lights flicker back off after a few minutes, of course. Hopefully you're not waiting for rescue in the dark (with the smell of mold and the general faint dampness of the forest) for too long.
TILT-A-WORLD
Occasionally, the whole ship tilts.
This is not simply the side to side motion of a ship on the water (or the equivalent motion brought on by the way this particular ship moves); it's an extremely forward or backward tilt that sends things sliding across the floor if they aren't secured by roots or something else. Unlike storm-tossed ships, the tilt is somewhat prolonged - rather than everything sliding back and forth a couple times a minute, the tilt lasts for five, ten, maybe as much as twenty minutes.
Although it's not enough to knock a well-balanced character off their feet, it's quite likely that new arrivals will not be particularly on-balance. And attempting to traverse the ship with the tilt is a tall order... especially when the ship's angle does unexpectedly change... to the exact opposite direction. All that goes up the mountain must go back down, and a glance out the windows reveals that that's exactly what's going on, as the ship progresses across a mountainous landscape without real regard for the concept of mountain passes.
And for characters who have managed to make their way to the "civilized" parts of the ship, namely the cafeteria and the lounge above it... None of the furniture in these areas is secured. The cafeteria carts under the direct control of the Ship don't seem as inclined to go anywhere, but the tables and chairs in the cafeteria and the couches and armchairs upstairs... Well, it's a good thing both spaces are surrounded by railings. Large chunks of tree trunk also still littler the lounge, sliding back and forth and occasionally rolling with great force across the floor.
Better hold on tight.
SOMETHING WHISTLING
While wandering around the ship's interior, characters might occasionally hear a person whistling.
The sound always seems to be coming from just around the corner, but it sounds alive in a way that other sounds don't. Maybe more alive, even, than the rustle of leaves, the occasional drip of water, and the sounds of things sliding back and forth across the grimy, leaf-covered floors. The whistler, whoever they are, doesn't actively respond if called out to - but the whistling does pause, as though indicating that the call was heard, before starting up again.
If characters choose to follow the whistling, they're inevitably led to the same place - somewhere overlooking the great gap down the middle of the ship, whether an internal suite's balcony, one of the bridges crossing between the two halves, or one of the hallways that runs alongside it. Once they're there, there's no whistler in sight; however, characters will be filled with the overwhelming urge to look over the edge of the railing and down into the lower parts of the ship.
Exactly what they experience after looking down varies. Some will hallucinate that they've fallen over the side, feeling their balance go haywire and seeing the floor rushing up to them right up until the moment of "impact," at which everything returns to normal. Some will feel a stranger's hands on their shoulders, threatening to push them over with a great shove that goes through them with incorporeal fingers. Some will just hear unidentifiable laughter right up close to their ears, and experience the distinct sensation that there's someone laughing at them, in a haha-made-you-look kind of way.
But whatever happens, when they look up, there's no one there - or at least not anyone that physically close to them. The one good thing about being drawn to the middle section of the ship by whatever prankster this is is that it makes it a lot easier to run into people if you're all drawn to the same, highly visible place.
And at least the other person is flesh and blood, right? Probably.
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Clearly just trying to reassure him isn't going to do the trick - it just seems to be digging him a deeper hole to grovel in. Well, Wriothesley has more than one tactic up his sleeve and if being nice isn't going to get his new friend to calm down, he's going to have to try something else. He draws himself up a little taller, crossing his arms. Did the air temperature just drop? The little puff of frosted air as he breathes out suggests it did. "It's 'Your Grace', actually. And if you want to make up for it, you can take me to the cafeteria without all this pointless babbling and maybe I'll let you off the hook."
He doesn't really like doing things this way, but he has to admit it's sometimes more effective. Hopefully it'll get this guy going in the right direction at least.
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"Ah, apologies, your grace! Th-this way." He visibly bites back further 'pointless babbling' and turns to lead Wriothesley towards the staircase, both cowering and on alert, all of his senses poised for if he's going to need to suddenly dodge an attack from behind--but showing vulnerability gets some kinds of people less angry! (Not that fucking flying asshole, but some people!)
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This kind of behaviour makes him worried about how other people treat this guy. If this is how he's accustomed to behaving, what are the rest of the people like on this ship? Are they like his new friend, or are they the reason he's acting like this?
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It really is unfortunate how many people want him to shut up, which is the thing he is demonstrably worst at. He bites his tongue and leads the way to the cafeteria, with its waiting tea cart, and gestures wordlessly at it before slinking off towards a wall to cower more unobtrusively. Police. Nobility police??? He has no idea why police would be called your grace but he's not questioning it. He's not questioning anything he is Being Quiet.
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... But he notices Shang Beida coming in with... someone new? He gets up and heads towards him to greet the both of them, but then his boyfriend just goes off to slink towards a corner. He opens his mouth and then closes it before turning to look at the new person. "... Hello there. Did. Ah. Did something happen?"
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Wriothesley relaxes from his power stance and shrugs. "I may have misstepped a little. I was trying to make a joke and he... took it a bit too seriously." Not everyone gets Wriothesley's sense of humour, that's fine. It doesn't usually go this badly, though. "Is he normally this jumpy?"
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But he just chuckles and waves it off. "He's a little... nervous. And uh... from a society that puts a lot of importance on social standing and titles, from what I know of it. He also rambles when he's nervous, which I guess we kind of have in common? ... Anyway, I'm Casper." There's a croaking caw and a raven flutters down onto the boy's outstretched arm. "And this is Bob."
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He smiles as the bird flutters down. "Nice to meet you, Casper and Bob. I'm Wriothesley. I didn't have a chance to get your friend's name - pretty sure it's not 'this lowly one'. Do you think he'd like a cup of tea?"
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"No, it's not. His name's Shang Qinghua." It's too complicated to explain the 'he's fictional and that's not his real name' - technically that is his name now. Or at least what most people call him. "I think he'd like some tea, yes. ... I'll go with you if you want - maybe it'll make him less nervous." Moderately. As much as he could be.
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He's not going to delay any longer. It is tea time and he is going to make himself and Shang Qinghua - and Casper, if he wants some - some tea.
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"Anyway, I'm not actually with the police." He's not sure explaining that he's a prison warden is going to go over any better, so he'll table actually explaining the handcuffs for now unless they ask. "I'm really sorry for upsetting you, Shang Qinghua - and for pulling rank on you to get you up here. You don't have anything to worry about from me. I can tell that Casper's right and we're all going to need to be on the same side here, so I hope we can start over."
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Shang Beida edges closer to Casper. "Um. Sure?" He's not going to like, stop being wary of him, but he can assume that this is another Teyvat person who wants him to stop being annoying, like that flying asshole. "Nice to... meet you?" Given the choice between ice men, he's definitely going with his boyfriend being superior company. "I don't really know anything about why we're here or--" he cuts himself off and takes a drink of tea. Not babbling. Not babbling. Having his mouth busy is a great way to make himself not talk.
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Anyway. He takes a sip of tea himself and nods. "As far as events to catch you up on - we all woke up in the ship in a horrible storm with some hallucinations and possibly ghosts present. That lasted a few days, and then the ship seemed to power on and addressed us - told us to call it 'Ship'. Then food started to come out, though on the fourth day the lights came on and several of us belowdecks were caught in a wild explosion of plant growth. There's been periodic plant growth when the lights flicker on, though not as widespread. Other than that... I'm not sure. I did find an old body in the mud belowdecks, but without tools it's impossible for me to really figure out how old it was."
He looks sidelong at Shang Beida. "... Feel free to add anything I'm missing?"
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"So it sounds like I've missed most of the fun so far... though I definitely met the plants." Ghosts and/or hallucinations and old dead bodies all sounds. Awful. More exciting than your average day at Meropide, but he likes average days in Meropide.
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"Ah, yes, the Iudex and Lady Furina are here as well. It's odd, that there's another from the same nation--As far as I know, the rest of us are from much more disparate worlds. Though Casper and I have commonalities between--" Wait, he was shutting up. He takes a drink of tea to remind himself.
"I'm sure there will be... other fun to come." Pessimistically. Some goddamn thing is sure to happen. He drinks more tea and Doesn't Talk. Why does everyone want him to be quiet it's so hard. He is very visibly Being Quiet, fidgeting with the cup and biting his lip.
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Or at least it's not acting like it? Maybe? He's not sure. Tech isn't really his Thing. "I've noticed that a lot of people here seem to have superhuman abilities - or at least they seem so from my perspective. Normal humans in my world don't have control over any sort of element, for example."
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Wriothesley sips his tea, looking thoughtful. "Most people in Teyvat don't have elemental powers either. Pretty much everyone who manipulates elemental energy directly has a Vision - a stone granted by the gods, like this." He points to the pale blue gem on his cloak. "But Lady Furina and Monsieur Neuvillette fall into the small category of people who don't need one to use Hydro, since Lady Furina's an Archon and Neuvillette is... unique." He has his guesses about what's up with Neuvillette, but he keeps them to himself. "It's definitely strange that the two most powerful people in Fontaine have been brought here. And me."
He might be third in actual power in the country, considering his mostly-benevolent dictatorship of Meropide, but he knows that in raw strength he lags far behind the other two. It's important to keep things in perspective.
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He would like to know why he’s here. He’s not so sure about the leaving part, anymore, since that would mean no Casper.
It’s also weird just how many people there are from Teyvat compared to anything else, but that may or may not mean anything. “From Teyvat there’s also, um, Childe and that guy with the hat.” Does that count as babbling? He’s Not Babbling.
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He has no idea what kind of magic bullshittery Shang Beida has gone through to get his powers. Or what Shang Qinghua did, rather.
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The phrase 'children of the gods' makes him gain a slightly bemused expression briefly, then he shakes his head. "Sorry, I'm just trying to imagine the gods I'm familiar with as parents." Lady Furina as a mother? Terrible idea. "But I suppose relics could be similar to Visions - they say if a Vision holder becomes strong enough, they ascend to Celestia and become a god themselves. There's not many stories of it actually happening, though, so it could just be a rumour."
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As for the rest of that... he'd cheerfully tell Casper exactly how he gained his powers, but this dude simply does not need to know! He hides behind his teacup again, probably looking shifty.
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