TEST DRIVE 02

[pluviosamods]

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!

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.

Comments

[helborn]

Do not power stance at him sir, he can and will run from the police.

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."

[chainedcerberus]

"Huh. Yeah, that makes sense." It definitely puts the way he was talking into context. He looks over to where Shang Qinghua went, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "I hope he calms down enough an apology will do some good. I try to only scare people who deserve it."

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?"

[airplaneskyward]

How does Shang Beida convey 'run away it's the police' to his boyfriend? He settles for attempting to make eye contact and making a gesture that's intended to convey 'handcuffs', snapping one curled hand over the other wrist, once he does. Casper be careful!!

[helborn]

He catches sight of the other making... ah. Police, then? He isn't afraid of handcuffs - he's fairly sure none of them could hold him unless they're like... magic or something.

"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.

[chainedcerberus]

"I'd really appreciate that." He's just going to ignore that little interplay between the other two with the handcuff gesture. There's no plans to use the handcuffs in the future - even if he became aware of any crimes these two committed it's not actually his job to arrest anyone. He lets the Maison Gardiennage do all that. "I hate getting off on the wrong foot with people, I'm usually a lot better at this. I guess getting kidnapped unexpectedly threw me off my game."

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.

[airplaneskyward]

Casper approaches with Ice Cop and a cup of tea, and Shang Beida gives up on trying to be unobtrusive in a corner and settles for lurking halfway behind his boyfriend's shoulder and trying to look small and nonthreatening instead. He will take the tea, though. "Um. Thank you? For the tea?" He forcibly stops himself from saying anything else by taking a drink. Ice Cop wanted him to be quiet so he's Being Quiet! He's very bad at being quiet but he's trying! Casper wouldn't let him be arrested and he only saw one set of handcuffs and they outnumber him, it's probably fine, but... he really doesn't like what handcuffs symbolize. Like prisons. Like the Water Prison. He is fully aware how lucky he is not to have ended up there like Cucumber-bro did. He doesn't trust anyone with handcuffs unless they're definitely a sex thing.

[helborn]

He sits his boyfriend down and sits next to Wriothesley. See, he's keeping an eye on the new person. It's going to be okay, okay? "We're all going to need to work together in this place. Why don't you tell us a little bit about where you're from? Shang Qinghua and I have a bit in common in terms of worlds."

[chainedcerberus]

Wriothesley smiles at Shang Qinghua and offers him the tea. "Sure. Well, like I told your friend Casper, my name is Wriothesley. I'm from Fontaine, in Teyvat. the nation of Hydro?" He looks at either of them for any indication of recognition.

"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."

[airplaneskyward]

"Oh, with Wet--this one means, Iudex Neuvillette and Lady Furina?" He very much recognizes the name 'Fontaine' and the word 'Hydro', yes!

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.

[helborn]

"You can use first person, you know. You don't have to be formal with him." He's not going to let anything happen. "But hm. I see. It seems like a lot of people are from there. Not so many people from my corner of the world, but that's okay." To be fair as much as he loves Canada he's aware most people find it boring - and he doesn't consider Colorado 'home'.

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?"

[chainedcerberus]

"Wet...?" That sounded like the start of a nickname and that makes Wriothesley very curious. Shang Qinghua doesn't seem audacious enough to be much of a nicknamer, but he could be one of those people who's a lot braver behind people's backs. "You know the Iudex and Lady Furina? Are they here?" If all three of them have been scooped up to this derelict ship, who exactly is running Fontaine?

"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.

[airplaneskyward]

That was not a real question and Shang Beida is ignoring it. He is not telling someone who knows them that he calls the Iudex Wet Justice. Or that he calls Archon Furina 'Scary Ouji Lawyer'. Nope!

"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.

[helborn]

"- Between our worlds." He'll finish the sentence for you, Shang Beida. "But I wonder if there are others who are from the same worlds as each other. As for 'fun', I'm certain there will be more. It might take us some time to figure out a way back... though at least the ship doesn't seem to be desperate for supplies."

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."

[chainedcerberus]

"Might be time to do a little fact-finding among the populace here, see if we can sort out any commonalities. The sooner we know why we're here, the sooner we can... do whatever it is and hopefully leave." They have to leave at some point, right? He has so much paperwork waiting.

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.

[airplaneskyward]

“Most everyone here has some kind of powers, I think,” Shang Beida says, and then bites his tongue on further speculation. And he’s definitely not telling Ice Cop he thinks Teyvat might be an anime or video game.

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.

[helborn]

"It's certainly helpful. I would hate to be stuck in a place like this without some kind of ability to fight back." He shakes his head and tilts his head towards Wriothesley. "Interesting. My world has... well. It has some monsters with powers beyond human abilities and people who have tapped into powers beyond mortal imagination... but most people don't know they exist. That's changing a bit now - we're reaching a bit of a crisis point. There are children of the gods such as myself who are blessed with superhuman abilities but we're secret as well. We tend to get our powers from relics, at least at the start. Not too dissimilar an idea from this 'Vision', I think?"

He has no idea what kind of magic bullshittery Shang Beida has gone through to get his powers. Or what Shang Qinghua did, rather.

[chainedcerberus]

"Childe? As in Tartaglia?" Wriothesley rubs his forehead briefly, then takes a sip of his tea, trying not to look too exasperated. He has no idea what kind of reputation the Harbinger has here, and he knows the guy's capable of being charming, he doesn't want to stay wrong-footed here. "That'll be interesting. I don't know who the guy with the hat is, though."

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."

[airplaneskyward]

"I have no idea if he's also called Tartaglia? Wait, no, I think I remember We-- um, the Iudex calling him that..." Ice Cop looks sort of annoyed at the entire concept of Childe, which... he didn't seem that bad? It was mostly the guy with the hat instigating the altercation in the cafeteria, he thinks?

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.

[helborn]

"I didn't know that either, but that's not my business. If he has a different name, that's for him to know and tell me as he wants. He seems... fine." He smiles at the expression on Wriothesley's face. "I mean, I used to be just kind of at 'human with powers' level. And now I'm at 'demigod' level."

He taps his fingers on the table for a moment and then nods. "Eventually I'll get to godhood. If only to show my pantheon what a god that isn't a total asshole is." At least he hopes he's not a total asshole!

[chainedcerberus]

"Oh, it's not exactly a name, it's more of a title from the organization he's in. If it was a name he didn't use anymore I wouldn't have brought it up." Wriothesley isn't familiar with the term deadname, but he definitely understands the concept. Intimately, one might say. He wants to make a crack about Childe being fine as long as he behaves himself but he doesn't need Shang Qinghua thinking of him as an authority figure any more than he already does. "Huh, so it really does work that way for you."

He tilts his head. "What are the gods of your world like? You've already met one from mine, so I have to say I'm curious."

[airplaneskyward]

It certainly sounds closer in mechanics than xianxia cultivation does, anyway. "You'll definitely be a better, more non-asshole god than any of those fuckers." Does he know anything about any of the other gods except that he hates Casper's mom? Not really! Does he need to to be confident of this? He does not!

Wait, now he's swearing in front of Ice Cop. He edges closer to Casper and tries to look smaller. Whyyyy did his boyfriend have to bring the guy back over to himmmmm. Baobei he doesn't deserve scary men with handcuffs!!

[helborn]

"I... um. Appreciate that." He blushes slightly at Shang Beida and tries to regain his composure in front of the other guy - okay. Um. Well. He should... explain. "Pretty much every culture has their own set of gods. My pantheon comes from a group of peoples in one of the more northern parts of my world. They're known for being both terrifying fighters and very focused on individual honor. Practically the entire pantheon is fated to die horribly in a world-ending battle where the other pantheons don't have that hanging over their heads."

He looks pointedly at his boyfriend. Yes, the entire pantheon. He's not excluded. "So we have that to take care of after this current crisis. As for the gods themselves... I've only met my mother in person from my pantheon. She's..." How to describe her without being totally disrespectful?

"She's a goddess of the dead who weren't carried off to an honorable afterlife, so while she gets some people who were just fine in life she also has to deal with terrible people a lot. I think that's made her somewhat bitter. ... But that's no excuse for treating her children like pawns. I don't know if she got that from her father - Loki, god of mischief - or if she just does that on her own. She also punishes failure extremely harshly and barely gives second chances. I uh."

... Yeah okay. Here we go. "I had to convince her to let me out of the Underworld. To... uh. Not... I wasn't exactly visiting. ... You get the point."

[chainedcerberus]

Wriothesley can't help a bit of a smile at the interplay between Shang Qinghua and Casper. It's pretty damn cute. But since they both seem to want it ignored he won't call attention to it.

"That sounds... complicated." Each culture with not just their own god, but their own set? "Though I'm not sure I understand how it works. Your pantheon is going to die in a world-ending battle, but the rest of the pantheons - in the same world - will be fine?" He just wants to clarify. Although he supposes it's something like the prophecy in Fontaine, which is on a high plateau above much of the rest of Teyvat and yet is fated to be drowned by its rising waters, a prophecy which no other country seems to have heard of.

Wriothesley frowns at that description of Casper's mother. "I don't think there's an excuse for treating your children like tools, no matter who you are. A mother should be... better than that." Shame so many aren't. "So you're..." Dead. He can get the drift. "...well, you seem to have made it out okay."

[airplaneskyward]

Oh he does not like that significant look right after 'entire pantheon fated to die horribly'. He really does not want Casper to go back to that world. If they end up sent back to their homes he is doing absolutely everything in his power to get Luo Binghe to cut him a portal to wherever Casper is so he can try to protect his boyfriend. Including from himself, if need be. "You're not dying." This is probably the most normal Ice Cop has heard him sound the entire time, 'oh fuck it's the law' forgotten in the face of Danger To Boyfriend. "You're not. I'm not letting you die again."

...why is Casper telling all of this to random stranger, though! Stranger danger, baobei! He frowns at his boyfriend. Protective instincts overriding cowardice, he grumbles, "I don't think the cops need to know your life story, baobei." Or your weaknesses.

...Ice Cop is right about Casper's mom, though. "...Mothers should be better than that, though, yeah." Not that he has personal experience on the subject, since neither of his were really much attached to him, but.

[helborn]

"It is complicated, and I just - I know, schatzi, I was just making the point that she's terrible and I..." He looks down at his hands. "I get why she is the way she is. Not that it excuses her behavior, only explains it, which isn't the same. I managed to climb my way back to the living world on the World Tree over the course of a few days." Which was a lot harder than he's making it sound, but he's... used to underplaying things.

He looks up at the other two, avoiding their gazes as he does. "I only really know what good parents are like from... stories from other people." And a little bit of direct observation - Hades seemed better to Aiden than Hel was to him, for example. "But - ah... sorry. I didn't mean to bring the mood down... though yes, the prophecy about the pantheons is confusing and no one's sure if it means just the Norse pantheon will end or something is going to happen to the other pantheons, but the other ones don't seem concerned. Only mine does. ... So it's a bit of a mystery as to what's going to happen." In any case.

"But life aboard this place isn't so bad if you can steer clear of the plants. It can get a little boring at times but with more people showing up hopefully it'll liven up a little?"