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Pluviosa Mods ([personal profile] pluviosamods) wrote in [community profile] pluviooc2024-01-23 10:00 am
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Test Drive 01

TEST DRIVE

Hello, and welcome to the first Pluviosa Test Drive!

Rather than a series of prompts that are set after arrival to the game, this Test Drive is instead more of a soft open for the game. That is to say, not only are Test Drive threads game canon, but the Test Drive should be regarded as the "start" of the game chronologically and contains arrival-related events and information.

Or lack of information, as the case in fact is, because there is no greeting party waiting to reassure characters that everything is fine back in their worlds and that they'll get to go home again. (On the flip side, there's no one telling them that their worlds have been destroyed, either.) There is only the ship, the things inside it, the raging storm outside, and what characters can figure out for themselves.

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.

ARRIVAL

(cw: minor blood, visions, storm weather)

The first thing you become aware of is the sound of dripping. Your mind is fogged, as though woken from the wrong part of your sleep cycle. In your daze, you're convinced that the sound of dripping is blood. Yours? Someone else's? You can't be sure. It's dripping from somewhere. It's your fault, whichever it is.

Good. One way or another, you'll be free of this nightmare -


And then, in response to the sound of a crack of thunder outside, clarity returns.

Characters come around as though disturbed from a deep sleep. Once they have shaken off the (vision? impression?) of blood, they will find that the dripping sound, at least, was real. Fortunately, it's only water - rainwater, more than likely, judging from the occasional booms of thunder and flashes of lightning overhead. One hell of a storm, quite possibly the worst characters have ever experienced, is raging outside.

Outside where? Well, outside the ship, of course.

As a general rule, characters wake up in a random room of the first level of the ship below the main decks. Theoretically, this should be a relatively safe, dry place - but with the age of the ship, its state of disrepair, and the number of plants above that have dug their roots into the deck above, leaks are plentiful. Thus, the sound of dripping water is a constant even in enclosed areas - and, of course, the outside of the ship is being pounded by rain in shimmering sheets, adding to the cacophony of noise accented by the thunder.

Even the protective bubble over the deck itself and the balconies of the rooms is having trouble working to keep the rain out - the rain isn't terrifying hurricane levels, but it is steady and water floods steadily down the stairs and over the edges of the gap down the center of the ship. The worst of the wind, too, has been kept out, but occasional gusts send ripples through the rain.

There is no power inside the ship right now and barely any light besides the flash of lightning - although characters may arrive while it is nominally day, the clouds stretching from horizon to horizon have blocked out the sun almost completely. The motion of the ship is also far worse than usual due to the storm winds - it's easy to believe that you are in fact at sea, unless you manage to get close enough to the exterior windows or balconies to be able to see the ship's legs in motion through the cascade of water that runs down the exterior.


SEEING IS BELIEVING

(cw: hallucinations, thinking things that are real are hallucinations)

In the dark, you have to rely on your other senses - hearing, sound, smell. Smell is giving you the best information to start out with - rain, of course, but also mildew, plants, and old metal. (Is that a whiff of blood at the bottom? No, it's because of that bad dream you had messing with your head.)

No one comes to greet you. No one comes to find you. Instinctively, you know - no one is coming. You'll have to save yourself.


Characters will be fully convinced that they are alone until they actually run into another character. Even things that seem like they should be indicative of another person's presence, such as hearing voices or seeing someone shine a light down a hallway - your character will be convinced that that is just a hallucination until they can definitely lay eyes on another person, hear their voice clearly (ie: not half-drowned-out by the rain) or otherwise be certain of their presence.

That isn't to say that hallucinations aren't occurring. All characters, but especially those who are alone, will periodically hear murmuring voices, smell blood, smoke, and other scents reminiscent of destruction, and see what appear to be the flashes of flashlights, flickering lightbulbs, and the shadows of people walking around. These hallucinations fade in and out in intensity, but they always clear up for at least a little while when a character notices the sound of thunder. Given that the thunder is very frequent during the storm (every few minutes), most hallucinations won't last for long.

For most characters, the voices will be unintelligible murmurs. However, if your character has experienced an event of mass destruction at some point in their life (apocalypse or near-apocalypse, destruction of a city, volcano eruption, being the only survivor of a town that was slaughtered, etc), or has a connection to the dead, they will be able to pick out that the voices of the hallucinations are talking about either attempting to rescue people from something similar (eg: a distant voice shouting "there's someone still alive over here!") or, alternately, talking about how everything is lost, everyone is doomed now, etc. They may hear one type of voice or both at different times, at player discretion.


TO RUN ITS COURSE

(cw: dead loved ones, hallucinations/delusions, violence, potential death. THIS PROMPT CONTAINS PVP OPTIONS.)

You're not supposed to be alone. There was someone with you, only a few hours or years or minutes or lifetimes ago. You weren't always alone, and you have to find them.

You'll find them. You do. But not in any kind of condition to keep you company. This lump of flesh is empty now. The plants are already growing over it, reclaiming it. There's blood in the soil, and there's the sound of someone else coming up behind you.

Someone is coming. You'll have to save yourself.


There are various heaps of organic debris that characters can stumble across when wandering around in the dark - piled up leaves, rotted plants, heaps of ferns, moss, and so on. Even solid wood, sometimes - the trunks of small, twisted trees that took root where they might and have grown out from balconies to the exterior or inwards down the jungled crevasse between the two halves of the ship. In the low light, it's easy to literally stumble across them, or mistake them for something else in the brief light of a flash of lightning.

It's the mistaking them for something else that could be a problem. Characters may find themselves absolutely convinced that these heaps of leaves are the body of a loved one - especially if they were wandering around looking for someone in particular. They may or may not accurately perceive leaf cover on the outside of the "body," but unless they dig their hands in enough to be sure of the heap's contents - but who would want to go digging their hands into the body of someone they love? - or they see the shape in clear lighting (which would have to be provided by another character), it will be near impossible to convince them that the pile is just that, and not a corpse.

But that's not the really dangerous part. The dangerous part of all this is that if someone unexpected approaches while the character is in the same room as the 'body,' they may become convinced that the new arrival is responsible for their loved one's death. It doesn't matter how illogical it is on the surface - fear, or rage, or whatever it is that might fuel them will turn on the stranger. And whatever it is that convinces them of this has also turned their fight-or-flight reflex solidly to fight, whether it's for revenge or the last chance at survival for a cornered rat.

Characters so affected will fight until one of the following occurs: If they are led out of sight of the 'body,' they return to their senses (given that they may be inclined to chase the 'perpetrator,' this may be the best non-violent way to resolve the issue). If they are convinced that the 'body' is fake (through physical contact or clear lighting as above), they also return to their senses. And finally, if they kill the 'perpetrator' or are themselves killed or knocked unconscious, the effect ends. In all of these cases, it ends with the sharpness of a rubber band snapped against the skin, and the character is fully aware of their altered mental state and what occurred as a result.

If your character dies as a result of this prompt (and you want that thread to be game canon), please give the mods a heads-up if/when you are accepted into the game. Although this will not count as an 'official' death and will not consume a character's "freebie" revival, there may still be consequences for your character's death.

CONTENTS WORMING

(cw: worms. many worms. not parasitic. just worms.)

It's easy to take a wrong step in the dark. Of course, tripping and falling isn't the worst thing that can happen.

This isn't the worst thing that could happen, either. That doesn't make it any better in the moment - the split-second when the ground erupts and a writhing mass of something slimy doesn't so much crawl out as jump out - but maybe it will make it better later.


You know how worms come writhing up out of the ground during a rainstorm, when the soil is absolutely saturated?

Well, that's true of the soil on the ship as well, except the worms here aren't just common earthworms anymore. They've learned to climb, the slime that they use to wriggle through the soil modified such that they can cause it to turn sticky and squelch their way up walls, ceilings - and anyone they happen to come across. If you step in the wrong place, an entire cluster of them will respond, by clinging to your clothes and body, squirming upwards in a desperate bid to escape the wet soil and the continuous rivulets of water caused by the storm.

Or perhaps you sat down to rest somewhere and felt them creeping - or didn't, until there was suddenly something wet and cold on your bare skin. Or maybe you encountered the worms not through their climbing, but afterwards, when they drop off the ceiling and fall down on your head as the enzyme that renders their slime sticky wears out. However it happens... worms.

Fortunately, they're harmless - aside from being a bit larger than the earthworms a character is likely to be familiar with, and their strange ability to become sticky, these are largely indistinguishable from normal earthworms. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell that in the dark and the wet - this is their native environment, not yours, and anyone would panic at the sensation of worms trying to crawl up them or into dry places in their clothes.

There is an easy solution to this: Because the worms are fleeing the rain in the soil, they won't climb up anything that's just as wet as the dirt they left behind. All a character has to do to become worm-free is get thoroughly soaked, such as by stepping out into the reduced-but-still-pouring rain on a balcony or deck protected by the ship's bubbles. Unfortunately.... Well, then they're wet. And there doesn't seem to be anywhere to dry off any time soon...

FAQ
For information on the general shape and state of the ship, please see the setting page. Please note that mods will not be running investigations during the test drive period.

Q: Do our characters still have their powers/items?

Generally speaking, yes. Characters have their powers intact (with certain exceptions, largely for potential-gamebreak reasons) and whatever items they were carrying at their canonpoints. Please see the FAQ for more details.

Q: My character is dead and/or dying at their canonpoint!

Well... Now they aren't. Specifically, dead characters come back as their most recent 'healthy' state of being (unless they're a type of character that is playable while dead, such as a vampire or a Bleach shinigami, in which case they continue as normal for them); they also arrive already soaked through by the rain, regardless of the location they wake up. Characters who are mortally injured find that their wounds have healed; in place of whatever blood was soaking through their clothes/dripping from their bodies/in their mouth from a Cough of Death, they instead find pure water.

Q: Can my character(s) explore the ship?

Your characters are welcome to explore as much as they're willing and capable of doing in the wet and the rain! However, getting between floors is a challenge in the current weather - with the power off, the elevators do not work, and the stairs are consistently flooded by a cascade of rainwater. However, mods will not be running any official, guided explorations until after game opening.

Q: Is there anywhere dry to rest?

Nowhere is completely dry, but the aft portion of the ship is significantly drier than the middle and fore. The reason for this is that there is a series of partial decks (the residential decks) over roughly the last third of the ship. The rain is fully blocked by the roof overhead, in theory, but in practice the wind and the flooding leave this space only sort of dry. It's possible to find your way here on your own and find some place to sleep that doesn't blow mold spores into your face when you sit down, but it's also darker here, since the lightning's light is also blocked out by the roof.

Q: BATHROOMS?

Unfortunately, the lack of water in the pipes means that the toilets (which can be found relatively intact in most suites, though many are full of standing water) are also not running. Characters get to deal with this issue as they see fit, whether that's using the dilapidated toilets or using a more fertilizer-like strategy.

Q: Is there anything from the game's main info pages that doesn't apply to this Test Drive?

Given that the power is currently off, the Ship (as in the entity) cannot be interacted with on the Test Drive (and characters have no reason to think it's there). Anything else that would require power, such as the elevators or water from the faucets, also does not work.

Q: How long does the storm last?

ICly, it begins to lighten up on the evening of the second day after the first characters wake up, though it is still raining steadily with occasional thunder throughout that night. (Characters will continue to trickle in throughout the duration of the storm, though most arrive before the end of the first day.) The characters will be able to see the sun starting on the third morning - which is also planned to be the game's formal opening, so we won't say more until then!

Q: Do our characters receive anything upon arrival?

Not a thing! Nor do they encounter any kind of informational NPC or anything that gives them a solid idea what's going on. The only exception to this is that all characters experience the dripping-blood related vision/dream/impression detailed in the first prompt of the Test Drive. Additionally, characters who have a unique tie to their world (such as Aerith's connection to the Lifestream in FFVII) will be aware that they're not in their own world anymore.

Q: What are our characters eating?

Since the power hasn't come on yet... Whatever they're adventurous and/or knowledgeable enough to find that doesn't kill them! This can include edible plants and limited amounts of things brought from home (please don't have your character bring 99 casseroles even if your game's inventory system allows it), but mods are not tracking this specifically. Most characters will be expected to be hungry and unhappy but not literally starving come game open. At least there's plenty of water.

Q: I have some specific question I need to ask about my specific character on the test drive!

Please post your question in response to the header comment QUESTIONS below!


fauxcalors: (smile! smile!)

[personal profile] fauxcalors 2024-01-28 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Furina laughs, a highly strung thing that most who do not know her well would probably not pick up on. Her mask isn't--it isn't slipping, but there's no denying that in this situation, she's feeling the strain. Fear might be her constant companion, back home--but that is fear of discovery, of failure. The fear she's feeling here is...a little more focused on the actual physical danger she might be in.

"Yes, it is quite strange, is it not? I do not believe I have ever found myself in such a conundrum, and I've lived through five centuries!"
fauxcalors: (Default)

[personal profile] fauxcalors 2024-01-28 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Cautiously, after a moment to gauge the strength of the winds, Furina lets go of her hat, and steps out after her Iudex. He's correct; but she's ready to have to make a grab for it if a particularly sharp gust sends it flying anyway.]

Even so, Neuvillette...that does not look good.

[Furina can't pick up in the intimate details of the storm like he can, nor fully gauge just what awaits them in the distance...but she knows weather patterns, and she knows that the storm they are in is, perhaps, something beyond even the Electro Archon--she who had utterly terrified Furina when she had announced the Sakoku Decree and then physically shut down the borders of her nation with an unceasing storm that was far too dangerous for most to sail through. So many petitioners had made their way to Fontaine to beg her to calm the seas, and it had been with a heavy and quailing heart that Furina had to send them on their way, telling them a truth as farewell: Inazuma was the Raiden Shogun's territory, and she could not interfere with her fellow Archon's nation, even if she could understand their plight.

She'd had nightmares, in the weeks following the last of the petitioners, as word finally spread that Focalors would be of no use to them at all. Nightmares of finding herself trapped in a storm at sea, tossed around at the mercy of a god.

She swallows, and resists the urge to reach out and cling to Neuvillette's coattails.]


I'm guessing this isn't quite like what the Electro Archon had managed?
fauxcalors: (confident)

[personal profile] fauxcalors 2024-01-28 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
Sumeru and Fontaine have always stood closely as friends, Sir Scholar. Wisdom and justice often go hand in hand, after all. I am sure that, working together, us three can make some headway into figuring out where it is we have been summoned to.

[He's very polite--almost overly formal, given the current circumstances. It's a stressful enough situation that he could easily get away with acting a little more casual, but he's so controlled that Furina can't help but wonder how much of it is an act--if he, like her, is currently wearing a mask.

Well. It's not her place to question it, or him, so long as they are allies. And so long as they are allies, him having a healthy amount of respect for her position as Archon can only help. The ruse all falls apart, after all, the moment adoration fades and in its place is a knife in the ribs. Here, Furina's only defenses are Nevuillette and her own wits--and she cannot rely solely on Neuvillette. To cling to him scared would be to confirm she was weak. An easy target.]


Let us start with the basics, then. I know what you have discussed with Nevuillette, but I would hear what observations you have made of this place all the same. Your use of Anemo may grant you a differing perspective of what is going on here, after all.
helborn: (yeah okay not sure about this)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-01-28 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
"That makes sense. A zither is... an instrument, right?" It sounds like one, but he's not sure what it is other than 'not commonly found in a band'. "I'm not usually out here in this kind of rain either. Honestly I'd prefer if it was snow - that I know how to deal with."

Hm... "But then again, I can't really get cold. So it might not be as pleasant for other people. ... I'm... not a normal person." He says it bashfully, looking slightly away as he does. "But I'm not really sure how to do much other than basic camping. That stuff I've got down, not... uh. Crisis management."
helborn: (nope too cute to function)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-01-28 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Five centuries?" ... Huh. He'd try to sense what she is, but he has a strong feeling that no one here is from where he is so it wouldn't really matter. "I'm only eighteen, but it's a weird situation for me too - and I've been in plenty of weird situations before."

To... put it lightly. "But we should get you somewhere out of the rain as much as possible - I don't know if someone like you can get cold, but it's probably not best to tempt it."
luciacorina: a pale woman with wild curly black hair with leaves stuck in it (Default)

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-01-28 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, yes. A stringed one. I'd really rather not damage it, since I often play for my supper, though I suppose in these circumstances there doesn't seem to be anyone to play for. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to repair water damage to the wood." Lucia Corina shoves her wet hair out of her face again. "Snow would pose different problems, but they would be drier ones, in the main."

She cocks her head at his confession, but decides it would be rude to ask for more detail. "I can do basic camping as well--I prefer to find an inn to sleep on the floor or in the stables for the night when possible, but it isn't, always. And of course camping can have its own hazards, though most of the time it involves a negligible volume of ghosts, a feature this ship does not appear to provide. The whole place is twice as haunted as the graveyard around Gulda's tower."
Edited 2024-01-28 02:12 (UTC)
highjustice: (let me explain)

[personal profile] highjustice 2024-01-28 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Is it strange, that her direct question makes him almost cheerful - that the rain around them lightens a hair's breadth, about as much influence as Neuvillette's mood can exert being exerted?

To openly ask him a question about the elements and the powers of the other Archons, after all, is a powerful expression of trust on Furina's part.]


The Electro Archon's ability to generate such a storm is, in some ways, the inverse of mine - any rain she might summon is incidental. The lightning heeds her will, not any of the other elements.

[Rain is common in Fontaine, and it has on certain rare occasions reached a point like this, more aggression than sorrow - the anger of being able to do nothing but watch injustice continue to roll over someone. But genuine thunderstorms are rare, and purely natural when they do occur; the rainfall within one may increase or decrease in response to Neuvillette, but the element of Electro does as it wishes in their skies.]

Similarly, the wind - [Pause, wait for a particularly loud boom of thunder before continuing.] - would be under the control of a being of Anemo. I know you read the same reports from Mondstadt regarding the Stormterror incident that I have.

[Perhaps not in a s much detail initially, because Furina did not have as much of a vested interest in what happened to the only publicly known dragon on the eastern half of Teyvat, but certainly in retrospect, as it became clear that Mondstadt was the first place the Traveler visited.]

It would take all three elements - either working together or actively battling in the skies - to create a mixed storm such as this.

[Which is not a pleasant thought - but it does mean that even if he had the ability to quell the rain over them, the wind and lightning would continue, and, in all likelihood, the skies would remain dark.]
highjustice: (in authority)

[kaine voice] start making SENSE you rotten archon etc

[personal profile] highjustice 2024-01-28 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
[Clearly, Furina only has a reputation as a fickle and casual god because Mondstadt's is believed to be an absent recluse. Neuvillette huffs what is, in fact, his Furina Antics Sigh. Clearly anything of meaning he gets out of this encounter will be only via sorting the breezy nothing words from the rest.]

My apologies. [His voice is as dry as the environment isn't. This is an apology of politeness only.] I can dry them for you if you like.

[Which is, at least, not an entirely empty offer, and perhaps a bit of a peace offering, insofar as he has one of those for one of the original Seven. Gods surely thrive in the wet no more than their mortal counterparts.]

Though the oddity of the place I must grant you. The rage of the storm is impressive by any standard.
highjustice: (tldr in progress)

[personal profile] highjustice 2024-01-28 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
[If nuclear energy was a puzzle-solving mechanic, sure.

Neuvillette's eyebrows are clearly raised as Casper continues to speak.]


The cultures of the seven nations can differ wildly, but the Seven are all acknowledged even in other lands. 'Pantheon' is not a concept we have. The closest might be the adepti of Liyue, who are nominally servants of the Geo Archon and known individuals with storied histories in their own right, but they are not gods.

[The Electro Archon is the Electro Archon even in Fontaine. Knowledge of the stories about her is far less than it would be in Inazuma, but she would still be the Raiden Shogun. And so forth.

But at the introduction, Neuvillette is pulled off the track of his thoughts.]


It's of no great consequence. It's a pleasure, Casper.
astraldownpour: (nice)

Re: Contents Worming

[personal profile] astraldownpour 2024-01-28 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
[Childe's attention is drawn to a relatively dishevelled looking woman, with little leaves and twigs in her hair. She looks pale, ill, and a bit concerned.]

He swipes his hair away from his eyes, stepping out of the deluge of water he'd stepped into. Shaking loose rivulets of it off of his hands.]

No, yeah, I'm fine. There were just...

[He pauses. This was embarrassing, man.]

Worms. Big juicy ones, all over me. They started climbing up my legs. I think they're trying to get away from all this... Water.

[The Harbinger looks at her, fully expecting her to laugh, or think he's pathetic. He looks like a wet dog, hair clinging limply to his head. He just shrugs, resigned to his fate. Glad he wasn't covered in them OR their slime anymore.]

They kind of just burst out of the ground and startled me. I'm good.

[She'd been hearing things too. Glad he wasn't just completely losing his mind, then.]

What about you? You look like you ended up on the wrong side of every plant here.
Edited 2024-01-28 04:53 (UTC)
highjustice: (sideglance)

[personal profile] highjustice 2024-01-28 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
An... elephant?

[Okay so like. It's rude to listen in to someone mumbling to themselves, whatever. What the hell is an elephant.

Not important in the long run, probably.]


I spoke with a few others regarding their circumstances and worlds, but there was nothing that specifically stood out to me as a possible common element, nor did any of them recognize this place, if that's the intent of your question.

[If he were someone else, he would perhaps have observed that they all came from worlds in which the supernatural occurred... But that's just the natural to him, so he didn't. Oops. Normal observer bias in action!]
astraldownpour: (nice)

[personal profile] astraldownpour 2024-01-28 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
[This guy seemed to have a few demons. Childe could understand. He tries not to think about his own issues with his family after... Well. It didn't matter, now. A raven appears, something he hadn't noticed before, when he was trying to kill Casper. At least he had a friend of sorts here.]

Mother as in... Your mother is a deity?

[He broaches the subject, just a little. It wasn't too outlandish for him: The Archons of his world had once been... Well some of them had been normal people before the War. And some of them had been normal people chosen by their predecessors. One of them, not naming names, had faked his own death and was playing pretend with mortals right now.]

On one hand, cool. Divinity sounds pretty sweet. On another, oof. Would not wanna be at that family reunion.

[He's mostly joking, passing the time. Trying to play it cool. The guy didn't seem to think too fondly of it all. The wink seemed to catch Casper off-guard though. Maybe he'd been a little too friendly.]

My head hurts like a motherfucker, but I can walk. Been through worse. It'd be best if we kept moving anyways. I don't like the look of this place at all. There's gotta be something else here.

[Too dark and eerie, too much like a rainforest. Just because he hadn't run into some kind of monster yet didn't mean there weren't any. And as much as he wanted to believe that he was the worst monster in the area, Childe wasn't looking forward to finding out if that was true when he was still reeling from blunt force trauma.]
luciacorina: a pale woman with wild curly black hair with leaves stuck in it (Default)

Re: Contents Worming

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-01-28 05:17 am (UTC)(link)

“…Worms?” Lucia Corina looks down at the floor, like it will hold some kind of answers, but it’s wet enough near this balcony that no worms are visible. “There really is an entire ecosystem on this boat. How bizarre. I think it’s a boat, anyway, despite its astonishing size. Buildings don’t move this much, in my experience.” She blinks and brings herself back to the conversation. “I would certainly find myself startled if worms started climbing up my legs. Entirely understandable.”

“Wrong side of every plant?” She pats vaguely at her dripping hair and produces a twig with leaves coming off of it. “This—oh. That’s odd. I haven’t seen this type of tree since—“ She cuts herself off, not trying to hide anything so much as trying to avoid thinking about something. “I would have noticed if something this unpleasantly familiar was growing here. I haven’t recognized a single plant here. Or anything else here, for that matter. The walls, your clothing…” She gestures helplessly. “I am not usually so out of my depth. I make something of a profession of history, in fact.”
aureatefantasia: [temp] (pic#16970824)

[personal profile] aureatefantasia 2024-01-28 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
[ Behind the mask, John's gaze flicks up to consider the eavesdropper—not that it's anything he's going to be secretive about if asked directly, it's just a turn of phrase. And the question of it honestly doesn't register as not knowing what an elephant is, because that just seems absurd on first pass. That'll be a whole conversation considering John's knowledge is inherited.

The guess at his purpose in asking is a pleasant surprise, though the same can't be said of the assessment drawn.

...And there is a large, fat raindrop that lands square on top of his hooded head. In thought as he is, John half jumps back, half scrambles up the wall to brace himself, all while ducking in response with a sound almost like a grumbled bark of surprise. Tactile sensation is new again on this scale, okay!? The unexpected is basically doubly effective! The interruption prevents him from forming anything coherent in answer to that information, too, and...

After a moment of quiet seething at the discomfort, he eases himself back down, reaching up to swipe away what water he can from his hood without turning it down.
]

...Uh. [ He'll just. Clear his throat, pull the hood taut at either side, and. Settle. ]

Right, so that line of inquiry isn't useful. Currently. ... How much of this place have you seen, or been told about by others? [ You saw nothing. ]
deerlisteners: (do I know you?)

[personal profile] deerlisteners 2024-01-28 07:28 am (UTC)(link)
[One of his ear tufts twitches curiously and he cants his head slightly to one side. Sorry Ochako, he's still not following.

-- Until she activates some sort of super strength power (no... its not that. It looks more like the object is floating) and holds something that must way at least a ton over her head with ease.
]

Ohhhhh! [he claps politely and his soundtrack plays a round of applause from his invisible audience] I see! My, my. Everyone upstairs has powers - quirks - like these now? Used to be you had to die to get that kind of thing! I'm jealous! When did that start happening?
Edited 2024-01-28 07:29 (UTC)
deerlisteners: (and choke yourself to sleep)

[personal profile] deerlisteners 2024-01-28 07:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah. Bingo. Alastor's best subject in school wasn't necessarily geography, but he's fairly certain that there's no where on Earth called "Teyvat".

Well, if there's a plane of existence both above and below Earth, there's no reason why there can't be other worlds outside of that as well, right?
]

Mmmm. Not quite. Hell is a parallel dimension to Earth, along with Heaven. They're the final resting place of human souls. Earth is where the living reside.

[Alastor watches with an impassive expression that masks his true interest as the man tests out his own powers. So in his "Teyvat", the living have abilities... Well, that's not fair. He clears his throat]

But I've gone and gotten ahead of myself! We haven't even been properly introduced. The name's Alastor!
mamamias: Mario looks concerned. Or maybe upset. (what the f)

[personal profile] mamamias 2024-01-28 11:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeesh. She sounds like..." A real piece of work, Mario thinks, but decides maybe he better be polite. "...a real charmer!" His tone is tight, though, so it might be clear what he's really thinking.
helborn: (want to sleep more...)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-01-28 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"Understandable." He's no musician, but he knows that instruments can be damaged pretty easily. He's a little surprised that she doesn't ask for further information, but he's not going to complain. "Inns aren't really much of a thing where I'm from... though I suppose hotels are basically the same thing now that I consider it. As for the ghosts, I don't think they're going to hurt us."

Haunted? He's not inclined to think in those terms, but to be fair he's used to ghosts. "I grew up around them so they're normal for me. I know that's not really normal for most people though." He'd had to start hiding things early on...
helborn: (Default)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-01-28 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[Plot energy, then.]

Hm. I see. It's not so much where I am. The gods also change depending on what people believe. If enough people believe a god's personality is one thing and not the other, they start to change to reflect that. There are demigods and servants of the gods in different cultures too but... honestly you could fill several books with discussions about comparative mythology.

[He has to stop himself before he launches into a whole Thing. He's trying to keep it simple.]

... I suppose this might be a dumb question, but are you able to defend yourself? I don't know what we're going to find out here...
helborn: (you better not)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-01-28 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
She is. A goddess of death, specifically.

[He lets that hang in the air for a moment before sighing and rising to his feet, holding out a hand to Childe to help him up.]

The last meeting I had with her was incredibly awkward, yes. My father can use magic too - which isn't really a common thing in my world. So I've got weirdness from both sides. Most demigods have a normal parent.

[He got 'lucky', except his dad is also terrible.]

I haven't been able to hear or smell much of anything in the area in terms of other living beings, but Bob can scout for us if we need to. Unless the plants can move on their own, which honestly? I wouldn't put it past this place.
luciacorina: a pale woman with wild curly black hair with leaves stuck in it (Default)

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-01-28 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
“No inns? Do people not travel, or want a hot meal they don’t cook themself, or to listen to music?” Lucia Corina is mildly baffled. Practically everywhere with more than three houses together has some kind of inn.

“Usually ghosts hang around the location they were buried, in my experience, or sometimes the location where they died. Given the sounds of what they’re saying, this may be effectively both, if no one was able to recover the bodies. I wonder if we could put them to rest if we found them? But then, I’ve no idea what their burial rites would be, in a place this strange, and the wrong sort might just enrage them—I’d rather have present and uncommunicative but harmless, on the balance.”

“Can most people not see ghosts, where you’re from? I’m unusually sensitive to magical effects in general, but I’ve never met someone entirely unable to perceive a ghost that I could see. They’re either there or they aren’t. And they usually rest, or at least stay away from the living, provided the living aren’t foolish enough to go graverobbing.”
luciacorina: a pale woman with wild curly black hair with leaves stuck in it (Default)

a very wet place

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-01-28 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
“Oh!” Lucia Corina stumbles a step, startled by the glow, then turns it into a curtesy. “A pleasure to meet you, your honor. My name is Lucia Corina.” She pushes her hair out of her face and eyes his casual redirection of a stream of water with interest. “Do you know somewhere drier than this? I’d like to check that my zither hasn’t been damaged by the wet, but I’m certainly not going to risk unwrapping any of my things from the oilcloth in all this.” She gestures vaguely at the water everywhere.
featheradrift: (smug)

[personal profile] featheradrift 2024-01-28 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If Alastor expected the transformation to scare the the vagrant, on the contrary, he looks excited by the change in appearance, if the grin on his face is any indication. To encounter a monster on the ship, and one that looks like this... It reminds him of his days in the Abyss, fighting all sorts of strange and grotesque creatures. This is more his speed than the whiffs of smoke and the creaking, strange swaying of this rotten ship.

The sphere of wind energy only grows stronger as he settles into a lower, wider position—a sign that he's ready to fight.
]

And if I say no? What are you going to do?
mamamias: Mario slumped over with exhaustion. (i'ma tired)

[personal profile] mamamias 2024-01-28 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
It worked. It worked. It worked...

Her friend is not dead, but in the light, Mario sees how Mint's face crumples, how she falls to her knees. He drops to his knees as well, fire vanishing from his hands.

It worked, but this isn't as happy of a revelation as Mario wanted it to be.

"I'm so sorry," he says. "I'm'a so sorry..."
solardaybreak: Mint looking to one side, a sad expression on her face. (solemn)

[personal profile] solardaybreak 2024-01-28 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)

"It's." Mint takes a deep breath, letting out it very slowly. "It's fine. Just. Sometimes any news can be better than none." That was enough to explain all that away, probably. Most people probably weren't sad to hear someone dear wasn't dead, right?

Mint scrubs her face and that longing away, and takes in the other figure for the first time. He's... short. Not quite lalafellin short, he's like... the equivalent of of a roegadyn to a hyur. Maybe.

... Like if the dwarves were taller, but less obsessed with hitting full beard status.

Mostly though... he looks kind. Mint feels a bit bad about trying to fry him so hard.

"S. Sorry about all that." Mint stands up, and immediately feels like maybe she should have stayed sitting if she was going to apologize. "Are you okay? I have some potions?"

(It is a question. She made them herself, they were good...when she made them. A few weeks ago. Maybe. Probably.)

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