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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.
no subject
Veritas blinks at the sound of a monotone voice. A voice? Not quite an organic voice box. Was he facing an intelligent mechanical life form? If so, was he dealing with Screwllum's followers or... an Emperor Rubert sympathizer? However, not even Screwllum's mechanical body made him sound synthetic — most likely a matter of choice to fit the well spoken disposition he has chosen to adopt. Has someone's Synesthesia Beacon malfunctioned? That wouldn't do. He's not from the Synesthesia school, but he can at least make sure he and this other individual are on conversational terms—
He looks up at the direction of the voice and realize that he has gotten far too ahead of himself when he sees a young girl with long, messy pigtails, white blouse and skirt that looks like she dragged herself through the dirt staining it dark grey, and walking around barefoot with only a sock on one leg. Veritas bristles at the sight. And it's not helped when he sees eyes that remind him of another person's eyes. Two toned, turquoise and pink, heterochromic (it's not the same, Aventurine didn't have heterochromatic eyes but instead a vivid pattern of magenta and cyan that he shared on both eyes).
Was this girl also Sigonian?
What was she doing here in a place like this? And possibly with a damaged Synesthesia Beacon?
Veritas curses under his breath as he detects the creeping movements of the growth and flicks his eyes to the light above him. he calls out, carefully stepping on her side of the foliage, putting himself between her and the light seeking growth. He warns just before he turns and throws a projectile at the light fixture, shattering it and letting their surroundings dim.
He turns back to face the young girl in front of him. He let a sliver of concern leave his voice as he spoke.
no subject
It's in the way he's older, too--far older than most people who end up in a SEKAI. Adults who have both the need, the creative drive, and the sheer belief needed to form a SEKAI are rare; for most adults, they lack in one or more of those things, and the seed withers before it can bloom.
She watches him summon up something that he then throws at the light, stilling the movement and growth of the plants. Her eyes widen in surprise; the rest of her face almost certainly does not move in concert. She's not very good at expression yet. "What...was that?" The question slips out automatically. Feeling embarrassed at her lack of manners, she then immediately bows in greeting. "I am Hatsune Miku. It is nice to meet you...and thank you for the help. I am alright."
She tilts her head back, to peer up at him intently. "Are you alright..." What would be a polite way to end the sentence? She doesn't know his name. "...sir?"
no subject
Veritas's stern look softens at the initial question, finding himself speaking before she finished her bashful gesture. "Nothing more than a trustworthy tool I can use to alleviate the situation at hand." He answers, giving a straightforward answer without going into a heady spiel about the topic and the theories surrounding it. That can be reserved for another time and place if she wishes.
"I am glad to hear that." Despite himself, he finds a strange sense of comfort in answering someone's curiosity about an observation they found novel. "I am Dr. Ratio." His head tips down to meet her gaze. He's relieved that despite his concerns about her damaged Synesthesia Beacon, they can communicate with each other comfortably with no inconvenience.
When she asks if he's alright, he pauses and mentally runs through everything that just happened. He admits, he was shaken for a moment there seeing her, and before then he was irritated at the offensive elements surrounding them. He still finds the telltale signs of a migraine settling in. But ultimately, he tells her, "I am alright, Miss Hatsune. Thank you for asking."
He means it. Having a conversation helps keep the discomfort at bay.
"However, I recall you saying another name before seeing me." His expression turns inquisitive. Judging from her mere presence and the fact she mistaken him for another, there might be others here too in this strange place. And seeing just how dangerous these plants are, it wouldn't do to leave them alone. At the very least, he should get her to safety before setting out to search for others. "Do you require assistance in finding this Kaito fellow? Were you together before," he waves a hand to their surroundings, "this?" He inquires with a set of gentle, leading questions to avoid overwhelming her.
no subject
Ratio-sensei scans her up and down in a way that does feel very doctor-like; should she reassure him that she's VIRTUAL? But then he calls her Miss Hatsune--which is the correct way to be polite, but is so jarring to Miku that she takes a moment to comprehend it. She's just...really not used to adults.
"Ah," she says, and shakes her head. "Kaito was not with me...exactly?" She frowns. They'd both been in the SEKAI, of course, but the SEKAI was vast. Miku had been as alone as she could be. "You just looked like you could be a variant of him from behind, Ratio-sensei. You have the same hair colour."
no subject
He nods along to Miku's answer, humming in acknowledgement. If they weren't together, then probably it's just her alone that arrived here like he did, but he can't eliminate the possibility entirely just from that statement alone. But more importantly...
"If you can enlighten me, are you not cold?" He wonders if the damp chill of their surroundings is affecting the young girl. Especially since she didn't have shoes to keep the soles of her feet safe from the no doubt hazardous and equally as chilling as the stagnant air around them. He purses his lips when he thinks about the horrific thought of walking this place barefoot. Perhaps that was a personal matter for him since he sorely regretted only wearing sandals here....
"It wouldn't be pleasant if your feet got scraped up here." There was a risk for an infection going undetected if the cold distracted her from taking proper care to navigate the overgrown floors properly.
He offers his hand to her, "I can accompany you to a safer place if that is alright by you, Miss Hastune."
He had intended on getting familiar with the area around him more since he's fairly confident he can handle what most would consider dangerous to a degree with his brain and brawn — no matter how unpleasant the area was to him, he was also in a position to gather information whenever he could — but faced with a lost young girl who probably shouldn't have even been here in the first place, his priorities are going to change.
He starts picking away at the growth on the floor, essentially pushing them out of the way with the soles of his sandals to make a path for the two of them to venture forward. "And do tell me more about Kaito. He sounds important to you if you approached me thinking he was here. It would help to know a bit more about him on the off chance I run into him later here."
Admittedly, his questions, while full of genuine concern and obligation to help, are also to a degree probing. With the Beacon oddity and mention of "a variant of Kaito", he's speculative and looking forward to see how she describes thoughts, feelings, and sensations in a mock intra-cognition examination. Not necessarily out of suspicion but more so curious on if the young girl before him and the person she mentioned are organic or inorganic life or not. Regardless, it doesn't change how more than his own scholarly curiosity, he cares more about the safety and wellness of the individual in front of him he intends on helping.