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

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!


helborn: (the dark is scary)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-02-21 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
"No, no, I - it's me who was - I just... I barely know you and I'm asking for hugs and I don't know what kind of relationships you have and it's... I'm just kind of a disaster." His shoulders slump a little. "I... I hope you don't get killed by him. I've... I've been hurt - no, I've been killed - by someone I trusted. And so I... I get it. I get the fear."

He'd been suspicious of Caspian but wanted to hope for the best from their drug-addled thief. And then the whole Incident happened and his whole existence was thrown into even further disarray and he's still not sure what the right thing to do there was but it got him nothing but grief and guilt.

"I don't... get touched. Like my dad wasn't one for physical punishment, just... fear? And so the most touching I got was from ghosts or from Bob -" Yes, the raven had escaped before The Huggening and is just staring down at them. "... And I couldn't even feel the ghosts until recently? Like I could see and hear them but... no touching. And my best non-bird friend was the ghost of a serial killer? So like... I'm kind of a freak. I... I get it if you don't want anything to do with me. It's probably safer that way, given how Fate tends to fuck over anyone within striking range of a Scion. ... And I don't want you to get hurt."
airplaneskyward: (wet)

[personal profile] airplaneskyward 2024-02-21 05:20 am (UTC)(link)

“Bro if you’re a disaster I am way more of one. You’re like— still figuring yourself out age! I’m like. Way old enough that it’s just. Like I should have my shit sorted by now you would think but I really kind of don’t and I probably never will because I’m stuck being Shang fucking Qinghua! But you— fuck, I just died because I was stupid and clumsy, you— you shouldn’t have been hurt like that, that’s—awful. I—I’ve always known was I was in for, with my king. You— didn’t have warning.” His hands twitch, he wants to reach out again, to ineptly try and comfort, but Casper stepped back, he doesn’t want it.

“You— this probably sounds stupid and patronizing especially coming from me but like— you shouldn’t call yourself a freak, you’re not— different in a bad way, you’re just… special. Good special. I’m sorry you didn’t get to have… better friends, but that doesn’t mean anything bad about you, I don’t think, like, you did your best with the hand you were dealt or whatever?” He huffs a little at the mention of fate. “Fate can fight with my system about which of them is allowed to kill me, I guess. If I’m killed by something other than my king, at least that’s— novel. And I’m not… that fragile. I mean, if you would rather I fuck off and you’re just trying to be nice about it, I can do that, I understand, I wouldn’t want me around either! Just say the word and I’ll go… some other direction!” That actually hurt more to say than when he’s tried to ask Mobei-Jun if he finds him useful, wow. He’ll go if Casper wants, but he really will not enjoy it, and it is probably more obvious on his face than he wants it to be.
mamamias: Mario crouching down to examine something. (shaped)

SSORRY TO DO THIS TO YOU (NOT REALLY)

[personal profile] mamamias 2024-02-21 09:19 am (UTC)(link)
Well, that's a cat for you, isn't it. Mario crouches and reaches his hand out, close enough the cat could come approach and sniff, but not too close. He's not paying attention to the shadows at all.

"Hey there kitty kitty... Are you all by yourself?"

Surely a single cat did not show up on its own. Unless it has been with the ship this whole time, somehow? Unless the cat decides it can talk, Mario guesses he won't get an answer on that one.

"Hmm? Is there someone with you? Here, kitty kitty." He keeps beckoning to it, hoping.
helborn: (huh wha i didn't do it)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-02-21 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately he's from before the meme, so he can't point it out. But he takes the berry and chomps into it. ... Not bad. He's eaten far worse. The 'apple' gets a wary eye cast over them before he bites into it.]

[It's pretty decent. He whistles to Bob who flies over and lands on the branch with some of them, clipping a few of the stems with his beak. Casper catches them easily and hands two to Childe, tucking the other one into his pocket.]


Here. For later. We should leave the rest for other people.
helborn: (why would you do that?)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-02-21 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's... it's not like... I don't want to push you away. I just... I don't want to make you leave, it's just... I don't know how to handle this shit?" He doesn't swear a lot but right now it feels appropriate. "I don't want you to go. I don't want this feeling to leave but I don't know what to do with my feelings since I... I guess 'emotionally stunted' is a good description?"

Given his family life it's not surprising. "Please... don't leave. I don't... I don't want to be alone. I can be if you want me to it's just... I'm - fuck, I feel like a disaster. How is it that I can explain to a ghost that they're dead but I can't explain what I'm feeling?" This has turned into a trainwreck and he's not sure how to stop it. "... I just know that I don't want to be alone."

Has he seriously fallen for a cute guy he's only just met? He's not sure. And an older man, too. Gods is he a walking stereotype or something? He feels like it, even if he knows that no, it's just how it is. ... For him, at least. He's been scared before, but this... this is a situation where he is utterly lost. He has no idea how to react or what he should do.

"You're... too nice to me. I get shit on by the universe so I clearly did something wrong. I just... I don't understand how you can be so nice..." Fuck, is he going to start crying again? He doesn't want to cry again, not in front of Shang Qinghua.
airplaneskyward: (wet)

[personal profile] airplaneskyward 2024-02-21 03:29 pm (UTC)(link)

Oh. Self-loathing panic on both sides. Shang Qinghua is… not exactly competent to deal with that, but at least he’s figured out what’s going on. “Maybe the crying is good, then? Not repressing emotions? I don’t know, I— mostly end up using emotions as like, a shield. It’s not like anyone cares about— that’s not the point, I’m not the point. The point is, is that sometimes the universe is just fucking mean to people for no reason? Like, maybe I wasn’t a very good author, but that’s not usually a crime punished by horrible murder! And you were born your mother’s son, right? So it’s not like you did something wrong before you were conceived, unless you subscribe to some kind of reincarnation karma theory, which I don’t, and anyway if your past life did something fuck that guy he’s not you what does it matter, and… I think I lost track of my point. I— I don’t want to be alone, either, and you’re—a good person to not be alone with. I like you.” Oh god, did he just say that out loud with his mouth? “I mean, in a… normal way? I— um. Sorry, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, I’m not used to people being nice to me either, and you’re so nice, and you hugged me I haven’t been hugged in decades, and…” Shut up, Airplane. “Sorry, I know I talk too much, I’ll shut up.” Would it be weird to hug him again? It would probably be weird.
luciacorina: (nervous)

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-02-21 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Lucia Corina peers around him at the staircase. “That’s… a lot of water. I don’t think I can get through that.” She really doesn’t want to lose her footing and end up falling down the stairs and drowning or breaking herself or her zither. There’s a handrail, but…
luciacorina: a pale woman with wild curly black hair with leaves stuck in it (Default)

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-02-21 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)
He steps back, and she can tell he’s made him uncomfortable somehow. She’ll drop it.

“I’m just a wandering storyteller and musician. I’d like to think of myself as a historian and poet, but the former two are what keep me fed. Just my zither and the road, mostly. I can usually get space to sleep on the floor or in the stables of an inn in exchange for entertainment.”
luciacorina: (2)

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-02-21 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
“But then you’d be cold! I’ll be all right.” She is quite chilly, but her cloak is in her pack, and she’s still avoiding opening it to try and keep her things dry.

“It might be difficult for it to spread right now, or indeed to get anything to light, with the wet like this. I suspect we would have more trouble keeping a fire alive than anything else.”
helborn: (even while distressed i have pretty hair)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-02-21 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"I -" Oh. He likes... Casper. That's. Um. Well. He can't really blush much more than he already is so it's - it's fine and... he's so bad at this. "No, no, it's... it's fine. I - I like you too." Totally in a normal way. Yep. Absolutely normal person Casper LeBlanc Junior here. "I... I think I get what you're saying. I just... um."

He realizes he hasn't been breathing much and tries to do so normally. It's... only partially successful. "You're a good person. ... Even if you don't think so. I... I don't know what to do with... this. With myself. I'm just... I'm trying? I don't - people don't like me. It just doesn't happen. But you're not lying." He can tell that at least Shang Qinghua thinks that he's not lying, so... "I don't... I don't know. It's... um. ... Kind of scary." And as much as he wants to ask to be held, that's not really appropriate at the moment.

"I just... I don't care about like... being 'manly' or whatever it's just that I'm so used to being forced to be stoic or pleasant. Complex emotions are... aren't something I've been encouraged to feel. But like..." He feels bad bringing this up, but... "But you've died, too. You know how scared you are in those last moments before everything closes in. When everything goes numb and you're just... trying to feel anything and wishing you could ever feel something again." His mouth twitches and he tries to keep tears back. They're not going to help at the moment. "I... after I came back I vowed to become stronger. I started training. I shut out feeling anything that I didn't think was helpful. ... I basically killed my own emotions despite knowing how much I wanted to feel them."

"So... so now I'm not... I don't know what to do with them. How to feel. What to feel. I'm... I'm just a piece on the game board for too many people. I just want to do the right thing, but it's... hard when I'm not sure that the people jerking me around are good people."

They're not. And yet... he can't bring himself to hate his family despite a whole mountain of evidence that he should. He's supposed to care about them. He has to. ... Right?
helborn: (Default)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-02-21 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"The cold doesn't affect me." That doesn't mean he doesn't feel it or that it's not unpleasant, but he's not going to get frostbite or anything.

Hm. "True. I uh. I've been around too many people with fire-based magic, I guess." Not hard for them to get anything to light... but he's got almost the opposite abilities.
astraldownpour: (nice)

[personal profile] astraldownpour 2024-02-22 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
A storyteller and musician... Historian and poet... The idea of a life like that was almost romantic. It brings him back to when he was a kid, stories from his father, a retired adventurer. Years of childlike wonder at the world around him, a longing for adventure.

His desire for adventure had not been ruined by his own first foray into it himself, only changed, morphed, like he himself had. Now his desires tended to linger somewhere around violence and other means of getting his energy out.

He still wished he could move so freely, on quieter nights, when he missed the warmth of his childhood home, somewhere permanent to return to. Childe had told the Traveler once, that if he ever did leave the Fatui.... he'd like to join them on their adventures.

"That sounds really nice, actually."

He means it. It sounded like a good life, to him.

"My dad was an adventurer. He did odd jobs for a living. Explored the world. He always did have some kind of story to tell."
alkahests: (тнe ғιaмe oғ тнeιr υndyιng ιιveѕ)

neither of us is sorry it's fine www

[personal profile] alkahests 2024-02-22 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
... That is probably not an overly friendly hallucination, huh. In any case, the cat does not seem inclined to reveal any heretofore unseen ability to talk, but it does flick its ears again, not quite yet willing to approach... save for a quick hit and run brush by sniff of that hand, anyway (huh. tangible after all. what do you know). Sulpher doesn't stick around long enough to invite any real petting, retreating to a short distance away to watch and assess the man's reaction, a low mrrrr rumbling briefly in his throat.

A white tipped tail lashes slowly back and forth through the air in an arc a few times before settling, carving out the tall, question-mark shape of a cat at attention.

(So, what do Mario's hands or gloves reasonably smell like.)
airplaneskyward: via https://www.tumblr.com/shanuraru/739074921521692672/your-shang-qinghua-art-is-like-a-balm-to-my-soul (blushu)

[personal profile] airplaneskyward 2024-02-22 12:48 am (UTC)(link)

Shang Qinghua gives in to the urge to cover his face, and lacking a fan, this just means he sort of plasters his hands over his eyes and burning cheeks. Casper likes him. He’s sure he doesn’t mean like— but god, he— “I’m not sure anyone has ever said they liked me in either of my lives?” His voice squeaks again and yep he’s just out here humiliating himself.

“People liking me doesn’t… happen either. I mean I barely spoke to anyone in my first life and my parents didn’t like me, and now I’m stuck with, being Shang Qinghua, and why would anyone like him, he’s a spy and a traitor and— I can’t afford to have, like, integrity or anything, because I’d just get executed for all my horrible traitor crimes! And it’s not like— I tried to mitigate things at the conference and it made it worse somehow! Fuck, sorry, I’m— talking about myself too much again, I’m—“ He rubs impatiently at his face.

“Dying was horrible. And I thought it would be like, over? Like, it hurt a lot and I knew I’d fucked up and it was my own fault but then at least I wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore, and then there’s a mechanical voice in my head giving me orders and I just have to do that forever! It’s on standby right now, I guess it doesn’t have power away from that world, but it could wake up any time, and there goes me being able to like, decide anything!”

“And I’m talking too much about myself again and you don’t deserve to be used as a chess piece you should get to make your own choices and… and I think if you think someone isn’t a good person you’re probably right.” When you decide I’m not a good person, you’ll be right. “You… you shouldn’t have to just dedicate everything to other people. You’re a person too. A good person. I’m sorry, I can’t— say things in a useful way, I just, things just come out of my mouth, I, can I give you a hug again? Maybe I was better at that? If that’s— if you wanted?” He’s still hiding behind his hands, he can’t bear to look at Casper while he asks that. God, he feels like he’s in a high school romance drama, there should be flower petals or something instead of rain and lightning. He’s certainly enough of an immature idiot to play a teenager. Otome did not prepare him for the mortifying ordeal of A Cute Boy Is Nice To Him. He’s not even sure what he wants other than for Casper to not be sad, and for Casper to not leave. It just… feels nice being around him.
helborn: (you're kind of cute)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-02-22 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
He's stuck in a role, much like Casper. He's being shoved around by forces beyond his control. What sort of good thing did he ever do in order to get delivered to a place with so many people who understand.

Casper's not sure why he starts walking towards the other but he gently takes the other's face in his hands. "Shh." It's not a 'shut up', it's a 'knock it off, anxiety'. "You're fine. More... more than fine." And he's up close and he's so warm and Casper feels like he's going to cry again. And good gods is this man beautiful. Even if he's stringy and a little weird Casper likes that far better than some perfect being. "It's okay. It's..."

... He trails off for a moment as he looks at what little he can see of the other's eyes through his hands. ... Oh. He... his brain shuts down for a moment. Casper.exe must reboot.
airplaneskyward: via https://www.tumblr.com/shanuraru/739074921521692672/your-shang-qinghua-art-is-like-a-balm-to-my-soul (blushu)

[personal profile] airplaneskyward 2024-02-22 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
Casper cups his face and… oh. He. Oh. Shang Qinghua isn’t sure if he’s having any thoughts right now or if his entire brain has just been replaced by warm goo. Casper says he’s fine and… no one has really ever put up with him for this long without getting annoyed, maybe Casper really isn’t going to? He… his hands are so warm and he’s right in front of him and Shang Qinghua peeks through his fingers at him and he… Casper’s cheeks are still pink and there’s affection in his face and he’s handsome in a regular human way instead of an untouchable jade-skinned cultivator way and… Shang Qinghua is frozen, this is too perfect a moment to be happening to him, he doesn’t know how to, what to, he’s not even sure if he’s breathing, he… Airplane is offline.
astraldownpour: (contemplative)

[personal profile] astraldownpour 2024-02-22 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
[The Harbinger watches the bird--- Man, maybe he should get a pet. A little friend. But then the fatuus thinks of all the battles he likes to get into. And the fact that he was near-constantly on the move with a new mission, and. Yeah. Not wholly feasible, ultimately.

Childe takes the offered fruits happily, tucking them away into his own pockets. They were... Probably safe.]

Thanks.

[If anything, it'd be a good reference point of what not to eat.]

Yeah. No doubt everyone else is hungry, too.

[It leaves him wondering exactly how long it'll take for those fruits to grow back. Eh... With the rest of the plants thriving here, he's sure it won't be an issue.]

I'm surprised there hasn't been... Anything else. No animals at all. Monsters? Nothing? It's weird.
whydoyoushine: (Bored)

[personal profile] whydoyoushine 2024-02-22 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
"It's just not exciting." Woe. There is powerful 'bored rich person' energy here in addition to all that powerful darkness energy.
helborn: (huh wha i didn't do it)

[personal profile] helborn 2024-02-22 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
... Right. Right, he remembers where he is. He lowers his hands slightly so he can take the other's. "Hey. It's okay. You're okay. We're going to be fine."

They have to be. They will be. He'll make sure of it. He's not sure how, but he will. And if anyone tries to hurt the people he's already grown to care about they're going to have a serious problem. Bob squawks and Casper looks up.

"I... I know. We should get moving, we don't know if there's anything here other than people and plants. And worms." He doesn't want to move, though. "... Come on. I'll stick with you until we can find somewhere safe for you to stay." He's not worried about himself getting hurt, just the other.
luciacorina: (angelmaker)

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-02-22 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
“I miss having somewhere to return to, but it’s not a bad life, at least when the weather is fine. On days like this, a roof holds considerably more appeal than the road. But travel does bring fresh stories to tell, or ideas to put into song. And new things to study and learn about—I wish I could learn everything.”
airplaneskyward: via https://www.tumblr.com/shanuraru/739074921521692672/your-shang-qinghua-art-is-like-a-balm-to-my-soul (blushu)

[personal profile] airplaneskyward 2024-02-22 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
The moment breaks and Casper takes Shang Qinghua’s hands in his. He’s pretty sure his face is still hot and his breathing unsteady but… it’s okay. Casper says it’s okay, and somehow he feels like the demigod is going to make it okay by sheer force of will if anything threatens to be otherwise. And it will work.

The raven startles him out of staring at Casper’s face like an idiot, for which he is almost grateful. And the offer of making sure he’s somewhere safe is… he hates danger, of course he hates danger, his main combat strategy is pretending to faint, but… he sort of wants to be more impressive. He sort of wants Casper to think he’s strong, but also the idea of Casper standing between him and any danger is both reassuring and alarmingly appealing, and…

And Casper was talking to him and he should answer instead of just standing here like an idiot. “I, yeah. We could— see if we can find somewhere dry? I have sealing talismans that could keep the water out of somewhere if there’s a reasonably intact roof, but they won’t do anything for the water that’s already there.” He sort of wants to sulk at the idea that Casper is going to put him somewhere and then leave, but he’s not going to be a clingy weirdo. Even if he is currently holding hands with Casper, and it’s a good thing that he’s already blushing he guesses because thinking about that definitely would have done it. He absolutely understands why people hold hands now, and may be attempting to memorize the callouses of Casper’s palm against his.
mamamias: Mario bent down to fondly pat a goomba on the head. (kind mario)

[personal profile] mamamias 2024-02-22 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
(Unfortunately, Mario's been handling all the plants with reckless abandon, nevermind touching wall slime, so his hand probably doesn't smell much different than the rest of the ship... But underneath that smell, if a cat could make it out, it'd just be normal dirt and human sweat.)

"Well, whadya know! Real kitty!!" Mario seems excited - talking just so the cat can hear him, as one tends to do with cats. He echos a mrrr back, just to do it.

"Hey, if you want to stick with me, you can! I'm not sure this is a good place for cats to be alone. I just'a wish I had any treats for you..."

All he has in his pockets is mushrooms, unfortunately.
mamamias: Mario looking on in concern. (concern)

[personal profile] mamamias 2024-02-22 07:33 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Mario's still shaken by it, to be honest, and not real eager to talk anymore about it. Mario reaches a hand out, but doesn't quite touch. His smile is sad, but still kind.

"No need to apologize! You weren't yourself..." What else can he say? All he can do is laugh, reassuring. "No, no, I'm alright! I've been through worse!" A winning grin - likely means nothing if you don't know his reputation. "I, uh- I didn't hurt you, did I?"
mamamias: Mario scowling, hand to his chin. (thinkio (REAL))

[personal profile] mamamias 2024-02-22 10:22 am (UTC)(link)
Fair enough, Casper. Fair enough.

"Hmmm... I-a suppose I could try hitting them with fire, but I'm not even sure it'll take, given how wet everything is."
luciacorina: (angelmaker)

[personal profile] luciacorina 2024-02-22 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
She levels him with a look. “You don’t feel it, or it just won’t make you sick?”

Lucia Corina sighs. “Fire magic sounds useful about now. Unfortunately, I have no magical skill.” She misses even Rue’s sparks right now—at least they cast light.

Page 35 of 43