GAME OPENING LOG

[pluviosamods]

GAME OPENING

There's still dripping everywhere, and the gurgle of standing water shifting and draining to somewhere further down...

... But the sound of the rain outside has stopped. And you haven't heard the thunder in a while.

Take a moment. Look out the windows, the glass doors leading out to the balconies - the world beyond is lighting up. Mountains stand out against the distant eastern horizon, breaking up the first of the sunlight into scattered beams. The ship chases that light, running eastward towards the glow of dawn. Its motion is easier to bear now that the storm is over - the wind no longer tries to blow it off course.

You've survived the night - survived the storm. You get the feeling it won't be the last.

The storm abates over the course of the night - by midnight, it's dropped back enough that water and wind are no longer forcing their way through the bubble barriers, and by about an hour before sunrise - just when the sky is starting to get light - the rain has stopped completely. The clouds persist a bit longer, giving characters a spectacular sunrise to look at. When the first rays of the sun are visible over the mountains, any characters still affected by hallucinations feel their minds clear.

Fifteen minutes after dawn - about when it's getting to be a pain to look directly in the direction the ship is travelling because of the sun directly in the eyeballs - characters who are sensitive to electricity may sense the power kick back on. It's just in the wires and cables spread throughout the ship, however - the lights don't turn on, although the elevators do.

Five minutes after that, there's a crackle that is audible to all characters, from speakers spread throughout the hallways and rooms of the ship. Not every speaker is functional - some of them just continue to emit static instead of the message that follows - but enough of them are that every character will be able to hear a single piercing beep, followed by an artificial voice in an androgynous tenor:

"ALL PASSENGERS, PLEASE REPORT TO THE AFT LOUNGE ON DECK R-ZERO FOR A HEADCOUNT."

There's silence for a moment, and then another, quieter alert beep, and the same voice adds, almost as an afterthought,

"Please follow the emergency lighting in the hallways for guidance."

After that announcement, strips of lighting on the ceiling of the hallways - the lights are also on the floor, but even after the rain has washed so much dirt away, you're unlikely to see them anywhere except close enough to the stairs that you don't need them - light up. They begin to move in a pattern of diodes that leads characters to the staircases and elevators near the back of the ship, in the somewhat drier part of it that has more decks above the one where characters woke up.

The stairs are now navigable - even if there's still a decent amount of water flowing down them, not entirely contained by the channels cut into the outside of the turns of the staircase - and the elevators are now powered. Well, sort of. Although the elevators have power, the buttons inside do not - all of them are dark. Instead, the elevators automatically move characters upwards after they enter, depositing them on deck R0 for the indicated headcount.

Other than the increasingly large number of confused "passengers," however, there doesn't seem to be anything here. Some furniture in varying states of decay, sure, and puddles and debris from the storm's flooding, but no indication of humans or any other form of sapient life. The space is wide and open, and decently well-lit even with the overhead lights off, since the majority of the walls to either side appear to be made of glass.

AT THE CAFETERIA

Once everyone has assembled - or at least everyone who is willing to come, as nothing forces characters do follow instructions from a strange voice - there is another crackle of speaker feedback. At least there's no blaring alert tone to start this message.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION."

The voice is the same as before - and anyone from a semi-modern world would be able to tell, from the pattern of speech, that this is a synthesized voice, not a real person, or at least not a real person willing to reveal themselves to be such. It speaks entirely in the language characters discovered knowing when they woke up here. The volume of the voice decreases somewhat after the initial announcement gets everyone's attention, but it is still audible to everyone.

"Please excuse the inadequate accommodations. Your arrival was unexpected. This ship has not entertained new passengers in 317 years, 6 months, and 19 days."

"We will do our best to prepare appropriate accommodations as quickly as possible. However, the immediate priority is to supply passengers with meals and other appropriate provisions. Please accept this with our sincerest apologies."

At the close of those words, the elevator doors to either side of the lounge area open, and self-propelled carts - the kind you might see in industrial kitchens - roll out. Their lower shelves are stacked with bowls, cups, and those plastic utensil holders filled with spoons, while the upper halves are full of food and drink. Specifically, the majority are full of cafeteria pans of oatmeal, the kind with the metal lids that keep the heat in. In addition to the oatmeal, there's a wide variety of raw fruits and vegetables, and some additional options for throwing in your oatmeal such as cinnamon, honey, both brown and white sugar, shaved almonds, and other things that can be made from plants and stored for a long time. There are also two carts at either end full of hot drinks - one of tea, one of coffee - and one each of cold drinks such as fruit juice. There do not appear to be any meat or dairy offerings, although there's both almond and soy milk for your coffee if you can tolerate the substitutes. (It tastes somewhat metallic, like it was dehydrated for a long time, but the coffee and tea themselves taste quite fresh.)

Once the carts have wheeled themselves out, the voice continues from the speakers.

"In order to better serve our passengers, we would like to ask you a few questions. First: What is your locale of origin? Second: Why have you come?"

OOC INFO

For OOC questions about this event, please use the OOC Questions header in the comments below. To respond to the Ship's questions, or ask it some of your own, please use the Talk to the Ship header. Otherwise, this post is a mingle, and players are encouraged to post their own top-level comments for their characters and reply to each other.

Following this post, simple food will be available in this area during "active" hours, starting from around dawn to two hours after sunset (the ship's days, at least at present, are about evenly divided). At night, the food carts roll away into one of the restaurants around the edges of this area. Instead, wheeled dumpsters with grabbing attachments collect up the old furniture and cram it into themselves, and starting the second night, 'new' furniture takes its place, mostly dining tables and chairs of various sizes.

Characters now have theoretically full access to the ship; however, the elevators are only mostly functional as debris is cleared from them. The rear elevators go all the way up the residential levels, but only as far down as deck 3. The front elevators only move between decks R0, 0, and 1.

More information on the schedule of shipwide upgrades will be available on the event plotting post in a few days. Until then - at least it's dry weather and smooth sailing for a while?

Comments

OOC QUESTIONS

[pluviosamods]

TALK TO THE SHIP

[pluviosamods]

And perhaps it will answer?

[featheradrift]

"That's what I want to ask you," the drifter retorts with a scoff at the ship's questions. "None of us boarded this ship willingly. Something or someone brought us here. Are you claiming you or whoever's behind this ship isn't the one to do it?"

[astraldownpour]

The voice seemed to be... just as confused as the drenched, exhausted passengers were about suddenly ending up here in this situation.

The whole idea was making the fatuus' head spin. What was going on here?

"I'm from Teyvat, and er. I'd like to know why I'm here too. I kind of just woke up here-- I was supposed to be on strict bed rest, actually. But I feel fine."

So. What was up with that.

"This is great and all, uh. Thank you, weird mysterious voice, but I'd like to go home at some point. I have a job and a family?"

Re: TALK TO THE SHIP

[luciacorina]

"I-- I'm from Vankrik. I don't know how I got here. I was rather hoping you would, once I heard some kind of... official voice." 317 years. She commits the number to memory. Whatever happened to the echoes of the people here, it was at least 317 years ago. "What happened here? To the previous passengers?"

Re: TALK TO THE SHIP

[mamamias]

"Hey, Ship. Got a name? Who made you?"

Mario has given up on his quest for finding any branding under all the plants and grime. He might as well ask the ship itself.

[alzarian]

Adric is definitely paying very close attention to the announcements being made. Since no one appears to have any clue what's going on, it seems like the best source of information, and a very welcome surprise.

Once there's a lull in people asking questions, he definitely wants to ask some of his own. He also has no problem sharing some basic information.

"My name is Adric," he tells the Ship, standing near one of the speakers, both to be able to hear well, and because it feels the most like talking back. "I'm from the planet Alzarius in E-space, though most recently I was travelling N-space. I don't know how or why I arrived."

He pauses, making sure that's been registered.

"Please provide information about our current location, including name of planet and solar system," he requests. There's clearly a lot of things this ship has no clue about, so it's nice to get down to the very basics. Who knows, maybe Adric or someone else has heard of it?

[airplaneskyward]

Cool, he loves sourceless mechanical voices that manage his life, those are his favorite fucking thing. But it's probably listening to everything anyway now that it's--awake, so it's not like it wouldn't get his information eventually anyway, when he talked to someone.

He prods his system mentally, just for the sake of thoroughness, and gets the same standby screen. Right. He can still do whatever, at least until the goddamn boat starts issuing missions.

"My name is Shang Qinghua," he informs the nearest speaker. "Family name Shang, courtesy name Qinghua. I don't know how I got here. I'm from..." he trails off. That's a great question. He never really named the world that Proud Immortal Demon Way took place in. "Cang Qiong Shan," he decides on. Probably more specific than it wanted, but he doubts it knows anything about his world anyway, if it's telling the truth about being mystified by places called 'Teyvat' and 'Vankrik' that he's heard other people report.

[aureatefantasia]

"I didn't fucking come here by my own fucking choice." John's voice darkens with each word, indignant, and twists into something snarling behind the mask, the air almost seeming to fray them. A shadow too thick and solid to just be a shadow, more a tentacle in its own right, hits the deck harder than necessary as John contemplates the merits of tearing out the nearest speaker.

Things that will not help him: that. It's still very tempting.

(The first question is soundly ignored in favour of this, because it's easier to lash out than to try to make sense of how to answer.)

[vermillionpledge]

How specific does it want her to be? “I come from Eorzea. I don’t know why I’m here. Can you send us back?” The place is intriguing, for sure, and maybe there’s a way she can help here. But Alphinaud is sure to be worried sick, to say nothing of the others.

[whydoyoushine]

Come on, ship, Zed knows what's really going on here. "Gritta swallowed me." And he crosses his arms and looks surly like he is expecting some sort of apology from the ship that has been inside Gritta for an implausibly long time. Nothing about this makes any sense, and Zed lacks the imagination to put things together in a way that would. Not that a strong imagination would help here.

Wanderer | Genshin Impact

[featheradrift]

i. The Ship Wakes
 And he decides he needs everyone alive to be useful to him—

[ The Wanderer is in the air when the rain lessens to a drizzle, and then eventually stops and parts. He's spent the past few days actively scouting the ship—memorizing its layout, searching for other unwilling passengers, and looking for anything that might resemble food for the more mortal among them.

Of course he would notice when the rain and thundering stopped. Of everything going on on this strange boat, that had been the most unpleasant aspect for him. Not the water drenching his clothes and causing them to cling to him, no. Lightning and thunder have never been good omens, and storms only brought back unpleasant memories.

The barrier is still there even after the storm abates. Unfortunate. He'd hoped it might have existed only to protect the ship from the raging storm. The sunrise, though, is beautiful. Even he could admit that. And with the light, his mind feels even clearer than it ever has been since he first arrived here.

He spends a moment basking in the warmth of the sun—surprisingly finding himself missing the warm rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves of the Divine Tree that supports Sumeru City—which is abruptly interrupted by the blaring of alarms as the speakers come to life.

Immediately, his first instinct is to doubt the announcement. He knows where the aft lounge is, having committed a good chunk of the ship's layout to memory already, so he flies himself over to the general area of the lounge to watch as people slowly start to filter in. Idiots, he thinks, why would you comply with such a suspicious command?

But these people would be invaluable if he wanted to get out. There was no telling if the ship would get new passengers any time soon, and if they all got wiped out here... It would be annoying to have to break out on his lonesome. That, and also he doesn't want to have to explain to Fontaine what happened to their beloved Archon and Iudex. He would be immune to any poison-based attempts at harming the passengers, at least. He would be more useful to everyone down there with the group instead of up in the air.

So he floats down and lands on the ship, making his way into the lounge after a majority of the passengers have already arrived. Just in time to catch the food appearing and the announcer indicating their willingness to answer questions. ]

Oh, how lovely. As if we'd believe anything you say.

[ He's mostly talking to himself here, as he's parked himself by the back of the lounge, furthest away from the food and speakers. ]

ii. Food Testing
 Are any of you fools even checking for poison?

[ After it becomes abundantly clear that they are not, in fact, going to be murdered immediately, he decides to check on the food. Perhaps if not by some sort of gas or powder in the air, maybe the food has been tampered with...

It's along this line of thought that the Wanderer finds himself with a plate of a little bit of everything being offered on it. Even the sugar, honey and cinnamon (bleh), though with those, he merely sampled each container and bottle to ensure there was no funny business.

The oatmeal looked fine as well, from a glance. He stirred through each pan just to make sure. Fruits weren't moldy or bad, and neither were the vegetables...

Other passengers are free to watch the Wanderer play with the food and comment on his actions, because it definitely doesn't look like he simply intends on just eating what was provided. ]

iii. Of the Ship Itself (Closed to Neuvillette and Furina)
 He's got allies after all—

[ After he's asked his fill of questions, to which the ship answers loudly for everyone to hear, he separates himself from the crowd and makes his way out of the lounge. As he leaves though, he makes eye contact with Neuvillette for a brief, but intentional moment, before he exits the shaded area to wander across the deck.

Whenever the pair exit the lounge, be that a few minutes later, or even an hour from now, they'll find their wandering friend waiting for them patiently a few paces away, leaning against a railing and hat tilted down to hide his face. It almost seems like he's decided to take a nap right then and there.

But he shifts when they step out, and he looks up at them. ]

Well? A Mora for your thoughts?

iv. Wildcard!
 [ I'm down for anything! Feel free to plot with me on discord if you have an idea! ]

Food Testing

[astraldownpour]

[Childe's eyes catch that floaty stranger, seemingly testing the food. He still remembers their exchange from the other day, the way his blood had boiled as his little brother had been parroted and mocked by the quick little bastard.

Whatever he knew about the Harbinger's family was way too much. There was no way the drifter was a family friend-- his own parents could hardly handle him visiting for more than a day or two.

Childe... wasn't going to think about that.

What he was going to do, was eat. The lack of food, the constant drizzle, the bone-deep exhaustion of dodging worms and starting fights, well. He was just happy to have a warm meal. The fatuus had been feeling pretty miserable in these last few hours.

He'd deal with the Wanderer after he'd eaten. Be that here, or elsewhere.

Childe scoops oatmeal into a bowl and tops it with some honey and fresh fruit. He also grabs a coffee, black. It's meant to perk him up moreso than taste good.

The Harbinger makes it a point to sit across from the drifter. He glowers at Wanderer intensely between spoonfuls.]

Fancy seeing you here. You never did give me your name.

[This rotten situation. Forcing him to take care of himself before starting a fight in public.]

of the ship itself

[fauxcalors]

[Having made her way cautiously down the eerily lit halls to meet up with Neuvillette at this bizarre gathering has Furina deeply on edge--at least in that, she sees, she is not alone.

And that is not all she sees. She sees the scholar from Sumeru, who knows so much that Neuvillette felt it prudent to warn her of him, who yet is currently their ally. He is also currently not a threat because of that last fact--to them, at least.

More pressing is...this ship. And whoever had been speaking; and wherever they had been speaking from.

(She tries ardently to not let Zhang Qinghua's positing of ghosts get to her.)]

Neuvillette, did you catch that?

[Because she is of course standing right by his side.]

He was signalling us, I believe. We should follow.

[There's a benefit, right now, to establishing their alliance in front of all those gathered here--an alliance struck with the first to step forward and speak to whatever force is behind all this.

Marching on, head held high, Furina feels assured that Neuvillette is with her.

Stepping out, she spots their wandering friend, clearly waiting for them. At the polite greeting she gives, he looks at them in acknowledgement, and asks for their thoughts.]

I doubt the mora would do us much good, alas. More's the pity. That timeframe they gave, and what they said about there being no crew...I don't think getting out of here will be as simple as a bribe. Nor, alas, will be collecting information. Do the two of you concur?

Food Testing

[luciacorina]

Lucia Corina hesitates, watching a man she hasn't encountered before take some of everything from the provided food. "Do you trust the food? I... I've encountered enchanted food before, I wouldn't want to... I don't think any of us would want to be enthralled. Though usually that sort of thing is... fancier than porridge." The very mundanity of the food is almost reassuring, but she's been abducted before, enthralled before. She'd rather be hungry and able to think.

Food Testing

[solardaybreak]

[ Mint can't help but side eye the food herself. Actually, she's side eying the way he's clearly giving the food his own suspicious looks, and yet. Still ingesting it? Maybe he's immune to poison? But even if he is, its not like he's going to get that much information from it by eating it.

(Either way, its not she can judge. After as many close encounters with poison as she's had, its better safe than sorry. Again.)

...Anyway, that said, Mint (after giving hat guy a long, very noticible look), just starts unpacking some alchemy tools. For now, she's just going to put some of the oatmeal itself into a couple solutions to check some common poisons.

After that, Mint grabs a random fruit, and sets up her alembic properly. Severian (in attempt to foist work off, as always) taught her this treatment for checking fields. Fruits can get contaminated sometimes by mine run off, and the royal fields often need checking. An honor, if you aren't allergic to doing anything but your research. ]

food testing

[mamamias]

[ Mario, for his part, also filled up his plate with a little bit of everything, though he has much more fruit mixed into his oatmeal, as well as some honey and sugar. (Cinammon is nice, but not so much with honey. When he gets seconds, he'll put cinammon in his oatmeal.) ]

Oh, hey! I haven't'a seen you around, yet. Nice hat.

[ A Knowing nod from a fellow Hat-Wearer.

...he doesn't seem to notice or care about Wanderer's suspicion regarding the food. ]

It's'a nice to finally get something to eat, isn't it?

[luciacorina]

i. Onwards and Upwards
She doesn't entirely trust mysterious instructions from unseen voices, but if the others follow them, she'd rather congregate where the people are. She follows the lights to a staircase--entirely bypassing any elevators, as she doesn't recognize the strange metal boxes as anything but an odd cupboard--and up, thoroughly relieved to see the sun.

The voice thanks them for their cooperation--she doesn't quite like that word. It apologizes, and seems confused at their presence, like perhaps it isn't what abducted them, or at least it wants them to think that it isn't.

Appropriate accomodations. All she can think of is a ballroom and a swing. She needs to know what kind of cage this is.

ii. Song

It's dry, and there's light. Lucia Corina drifts over to a reasonably intact chair and sits down, taking off her pack. She carefully takes out her zither, unwrapping the protective oilcloth and checking it over for damage. Once she's satisfied that it survived the rain, she starts absently putting it back in tune, humming and then quietly singing as testing strings slowly turns into a melody.

Music may be particularly fraught when she's been abducted, but she is... what she is. She was taken as a songbird for a reason. She'll always be a musician at the core.

iii. Wildcard

(Up for any other ideas! Feel free to poke me on discord for plotting.)

song

[mamamias]

When Mario hears music begin playing, he immediately gravitates towards the source. Oh!! It's Lucia Corina!! A grin is already stretching across his face as he approaches her, bouncing a little to the tune - whether the tune is lively enough for that or not.

"Hello! I'm glad to see your instrument is okay... what did you call it again?" Despite everything, Mario has never seen a zither in his life.

Childe | Genshin Impact

[astraldownpour]

⟨ Hallucinations Fade ⟩

[Childe can practically hear the storm slowly begin to die down through the night. After a few more hours of trudging around, with light slowly spilling into the parts of the ship with glass windows, the faint, garbled voices of the dead slipped away into an uncomfortable silence. The electricity soon kicks on, the walls thrumming gently with the sound. Small strips of light on the ceiling illuminate, guiding him forth. It was all. Weird. He's not sure how to feel about it at all.

Why now? What had changed, versus the last few days they'd spent here? Was it he storm? Something else?

As the ship speaks, the Harbinger is apprehensive at first, guarded. He knows this is the best shot he has at getting answers, but his first thought is that it could be a trap. He had a general idea of where that aft lounge was, at least.

Whatever it is, the fatuus is prepared to handle it. Childe makes his way towards the nearest stairwell, listening out for any others that could be lost, or would like to buddy up, in case of danger. He'd made a promise, after all.]

Hey, anyone still here?

⟨ Morning Coffee ⟩

[Childe had filed into the cafeteria like everyone else, and after the initial discussion with the weird... voice over the PA system, he'd decided he needed another coffee. He was up now, at least, and glad that everything was starting to dry.

He's not sure he would have been able to handle being soaked through like that for another few days. Everyone looked pretty rough. Dirty and dingy and tired. He was no exception, bags under his eyes and crusty old blood in his hair. Childe wanted a good long hot shower and to nap for the next ten years, but he's not going to get any answers if he's cooped up in bed somewhere.

So instead, the Harbinger sits alone at a table, just sipping on a coffee. He's not overly committed to finishing it, he's mostly just drinking it for the comfort, holding it in a scarred hand, his gloves laid on the seat next to him, rings on the table.

Childe's other hand idly manipulates a whale created out of hydro energy, his eyes watching it intently, trying to focus on it so it retains its form, as it wavers and drips onto the table, the energy fighting with him.

The fatuus isn't trying to be unapproachable, not really. He's just using this little bit of downtime to processing the chaos of the last few days. Having a quiet little moment to himself for a bit.]

⟨ Loser in a Corner ⟩

[The redhead is more than a little apprehensive of the situation, lingering near the back of the room itself, leaned up against a wall. Childe's eyes flit between the people who have come here, those still asking questions, those eating. He's sizing them up, for the most part. Who seemed capable enough on their own. Who might need protection. He'd made a promise, after all.

The Harbinger was also idly looking for familiar faces, both from this place and Teyvat--- most of them were people he'd met previously, it seemed.

The question still lingered in the air: Why them? Why here? What did any of this mean?

The voice they'd heard previously didn't seem to know, either. The situation was confusing, frustrating. The redhead's face is set in a sort of frown, brows knitted together as he tries to put together a puzzle without all of its pieces.

Childe figures he could let it go for now, reaching his arms up above his shoulders and stretching out his back muscles, exposing a little more of his midriff, before leaning against the wall with his hands folded behind his head. Ultimately just glad the worst of it was over. So far.

The redhead wasn't going to discount worse happening so quickly.]

coffee

[highjustice]

[Neuvillette - typically to those who know him - has eschewed all of the food offerings in favor of a glass of clean water. He's stepped away from Furina for a moment, his attention caught by the prickle of someone else manipulating Hydro in his general vicinity -

...Ah. That is an unmistakable presence, and one close enough to his own time to be a concern, if he's paid any attention to the news coming out of Fontaine. Tartaglia, in addition to the Hydro Vision at his waist (Snezhnayan, of course), still feels, however faintly, of the Primordial Sea from the time he spent soaking in it. No doubt the water his body absorbed will take months to disappear entirely, if it ever does. Not enough to notice from across the ship in the heavily Hydro-aspected weather of the storm, but enough to pin down up close.]

Mr. Tartaglia.

[Neuvillette approaches the table the young man sits at a touch awkwardly, unsure how to proceed. When in doubt, fall back on formality.]

Although these are hardly the sort of circumstances in which I expected that we might encounter each other again, it would be remiss of me to not take the opportunity to both thank you and apologize in person. Despite your unjust treatment, your altercation with the All-Devouring Narwhal in the Primordial Sea proved to be of great service to Fontaine; we owe you a debt.

[Pause.]

Are you recovering well? Your injuries were quite severe.

MARIO (MARIO)

[mamamias]

[ oatmeal ]

Everyone else is asking the ship questions, and Mario is content to just stand around and listen. He figures some of the smarter, more organized types are bound to ask better questions than him, anyway. No need to crowd. That guy in the hat - Mario hasn't seen him before, but he looks like he has it handled.

So, Mario waves at anyone he's met before, a nod, a greeting (feel free to stop him for a lengthier interaction!), but otherwise he's making a beeline for the oatmeal. Exploring and fighting for your life is tiring work! He needs the fuel!!

☆☆☆

[ you good bro? ]

Oatmeal inhaled, Mario starts looking around the room. He's checking under tables. He's wiping away grime. He lifts a chair. Checks under the oatmeal trays. He even ground pounds a suspicious mark on the ground in the middle of the room.

What is he doing? Whatever he's looking for, he clearly hasn't found it.

☆☆☆

[ ima tired ]

Mario has fallen asleep in his second bowl of oatmeal. Will you wake him?

☆☆☆

[ wildcard! ]

You know the drill.

[ ima tired ]

[aureatefantasia]

Look, being face down in a bowl of anything that looks like that can't be good for anyone's health. But how to, uh... hm. It. Er. ... John just. Pushes this guy up a little. Can he m—is it possible to get this guy at least sitting up? Maybe? Just. Tendrils and tentacles to get this guy to sit up enough to reach over and move the bowl of ... unknown out of the way.

Assuming the guy doesn't manage to wake up partway through that, anyhow—who falls asleep while eating?? Who does that?

Wet Justice (that's it that's his name now)

[highjustice]

1. Arrival.

Given the current circumstances, it would be a surprise to see anyone arrive to the gathering after the announcement looking less than bedraggled... Which is, of course, exactly why the two Fontainians must arrive in pristine condition. There's no starch-press or any of the other high-level clothing care available, but being clean, put-together, and most of all, dry certainly sets the duo in blue clothes apart.

Fontainians - both the human people and their dragon - are incredibly aware of the power of appearances, after all. Accordingly, Neuvillette's robes are dry (for the first time anyone will have seen them so) and clean (thus far, he hasn't encountered anything that wouldn't wash out with water and some scrubbing). His hair is likewise clean and dry, pulled back from his face on the one side by his usual hairpin, the length of it in his usual loose braid (perhaps a bit more tightly woven than usual, to avoid catching on the plants) secured at the bottom by a black ribbon.

He stays half a step back, at Furina's shoulder, until they're both well within the gathering, neither early nor late. Only at that point does he step away from the young woman who comes barely to his chest, making passing eye contact with some of the people he recognizes from the storm.

(In the better lighting of the morning, it is much more apparent that his eys are slit-pupiled and a shade of almost-glowing lavender few, if any, normal humans can claim.)

2. Drying services

After his talk with Childe - because the Fatui Harbinger does take priority over most other concerns at the moment - there isn't much point in hiding his command over Hydro, not that he had any plans to do so.

So, that task is checked off, and he's done his own form of ensuring that the food is safe - those nearby might see a faint blue light under his hand as he passes it over the offerings, though he only takes a few pieces of fruit to stow in his pockets and a glass of water of all things to sip on as he walks. Now it's going over to the particularly wet-looking and trying to not look too intimidating.

"Forgive me for interrupting - would you like me to banish the water from your person?"

After being visible doing so for Childe, after all, it would be rude not to offer.

3. Taking it in

Once he's reached his present limit for socializing, Neuvillette wanders to the edge of the lounge, looking out over the view on the other side of the glass wall. Dawn has faded by this point; while the lounge itself is in the shade, the ship as a whole is fully in the sunlight under a sky free of clouds. You'd never know that there was such a raging storm only twelve hours ago.

Neuvillette, still carrying his water and occasionally sipping on it, watches the horizon with trepidation. It's clear that the world beyond the ship is lifeless enough to make Sumeru's desert look bountiful. Much as he might dislike the idea of paying that dry locale a visit, the oases and the warren of caverns beneath the sands retain some water even in the driest, sandiest parts. Here, there is some heat haze distorting the reddish flatlands, but that is the only sign of motion aside from the slight bounce of the view as the ship progresses, the legs in clear enough view if one were to look down.

If the storm passed this way, the ground and the sun have already consumed the rain. There's no signs of anything but dust.

Neuvillette, of all people, has little cause to enjoy the view. But he remains here, watching the horizon and thinking, for some time.

3

[helborn]

Casper has been flying, as is probably evident by the fact that he swoops down onto the deck right outside the lounge. His black wings stretch for a moment and then disappear. Bob likewise flutters down onto his outstretched arm, working his way onto Casper's shoulder.

He finally looks up and - oh. It's the... judge guy. Neuvillette, that's right. He knew it was French - or 'French', as the case might be. He heads inside and nods to him. "... Small amount of applicable currency for your thoughts?"

Zed | Ressha Sentai ToQGer | will match format

[whydoyoushine]

[Light Show]
Zed would have ignored the ship's messages--he does what he wants when he wants, and what he wants doesn't often involve listening to others, thank you very much. It's just that the ship started in on that light show, with those diodes leading him into an elevator. He's entranced with the lights and follows them readily enough, almost but not quite in a trance, he's so focused on the things. They do such a good job of distracting him--and leading him--that he seems almost surprised to end up in the same place as everyone else.

[At the Cafeteria]
Zed, as just the sort of spoiled royalty who's never had to lift a finger for himself in his life and comes from a species that isn't exactly known for eating oatmeal. Darkness created by negative emotions, sure. Oatmeal? Not so much.

He has never seen such slop before, and he stands there in front of one of the serving bowls in confusion, sort of slapping at the oatmeal with the serving spoon like he's just going to go play in everyone's food without eating any of it. The look on his face strongly suggests he has no idea what this stuff even is...because he doesn't.

At the cafeteria

[alzarian]

Meanwhile, Adric is back for his third helping. He's perfectly happy with oatmeal, as long as there's lots of it. Certainly better than worm soup.

Stepping next to Zed to grab some more, he notices the taller man being a lot more doubtful. "Don't like oatmeal?" he asks curiously, leaning forward a little to catch the man's eye. He's much more cheerful now he's dry and fed.

Furina | Genshin Impact

[fauxcalors]

Furina is with Neuvillette, when the ship comes to life. With the rain abating, Furina allows him to dry her once more--since there's actually a point to it, now that they're not existing in a state of perpetual damp.

Exiting the bathroom they'd taken shelter and privacy in, Furina finds the halls outside the door eerily lit; the lights of the ship have come to life, and where plant matter clings, they shine down in a shade of green that makes her think of the waters around Meropide.

Well. There's little else to do but march forward--and hope that answers lie at the end of the road.


laissez-faire
The ship's answers are not answers, and bring only more questions. Still, even as those questions burn as she buries them, resisting the urge to march up there herself and start a--well, a cross-examination, she supposes--because now that there is something more here than simply an empty, creepy boat?

There is a game afoot. And for all her bluster onstage, Furina has ever been one to play cautiously.

Subtly letting Neuvillette know she was content to fade into the background for the moment, Furina takes a seat just a ways out from the crowd, and settles in to listen; to what answers the ship may give, to anyone careless enough to converse within her earshot...or to anyone who might find themselves wandering over to sit beside her.


soup of the day (it's oatmeal)
Furina is ever so grateful for the noise of the ship, because when the food carts roll out, her stomach growls. Quite loudly, for her!

With the practice of five centuries, she doesn't react; doesn't so much as blush. Still, there's now no escaping the truth she's been ignoring for hours at this point, due to her inability to do anything about it at the time:

She's starving.

The food...doesn't smell bad. And she's watched others partake without keeling over shortly thereafter...but Furina is very aware she is, perhaps, one of the only truly human people on this boat, given the colourful backgrounds of those she's conversed with before this moment. If there's poison...

Eventually, the hunger wins out. She approaches warily, not without hesitation, and serves herself up a portion of porridge. Maybe I should ask Neuvillette if he can tell what's in here, she thinks, and turns to do just that--only to walk directly into someone she hadn't seen coming up behind her.


wildcard (hit me with anything!)

soup of the day

[mamamias]

You know what, fair that she didn't see him coming. He's much shorter than her - and everyone else, as it is. Mario yelps, laughs nervously. His own bowl was empty (he's here for seconds), but if he made her drop hers...

"Sorry, I'm'a so sorry. Are you okay?"

(Mario is like 4'5....)

Shang Qinghua (Scum Villain's Self Saving System)

[airplaneskyward]

i. U CAN U UP

Shang Qinghua nearly has a heart attack when the speakers start talking. It's not the same sourceless mechanical voice as the google translate-style tones of his system, but he doesn't even begin to calm down until he's verified that his system is still on standby mode.

The lights start scrolling to lead him to a cafeteria--god, are those LEDs? he remembers LEDs!--and he... hesitates.

Nothing is forcing him to obey the voice of the ship. And he doesn't need to eat--indeed, he probably won't, at least at first--there's no telling if this ship is going to provide rations that aren't inimical to life in some way, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Or aphrodisiac, though he admits that he would probably have run afoul of that by now if this place was as bad as PIDW on that front.

In the end, what decides him is that other people are likely to follow the lights, and he wants to see what kind of company he's working with. He's always done better in situations that he's prepared for, and he doesn't have the background knowledge of having written this setting, so he needs all the information he can get.

ii. lurk moar

Shang Qinghua slinks into the cafeteria, trying to time it so that he's not crossing paths with anyone. He angles for the most unassuming corner he can find and attempts to blend into the background, studiously avoiding the eyes of the terrifying--fuck, Scary Ouji Lawyer is leading Wet Justice, like she's his boss?? are lawyers in charge of judges in their setting??--and maybe trying to catch Casper's eye, if he can.

He was right about them mostly looking human--except that guy in the tattered robe with something writhing under it, wonder what his deal is, wow he's tall, wonder what he looks like under the mask--and he still doesn't know what, if anything, that means.

Literally Super Mario What The Fuck is the shortest one, but he's not the only short one. And Writhing Robe Guy is the tallest, but not the only tall one. Shang Qinghua himself isn't even the only one who looks Asian.

He answers the ship's questions quietly to the nearest speaker, in case there are penalties for noncompliance and because he doesn't see the point in avoiding it, and then does his best imitation of someone very boring.

lurk moar

[fauxcalors]

When Furina makes the decision to linger on the edges of the group to see what information may be gleaned simply from listening, when she sees someone--a familiar someone--doing what she assumes must be the same thing.

And so, she approaches him--if nothing else, Shang Qinghua had seemed deeply intimidated by her when last they met, and that's useable. He's one of the few people here Furina feels certain won't attack her without reason because of it.

"Ah, monsieur," she says, smiling brightly, "I see you've kept your good health about you since we parted."

Casper LeBlanc Jr. | Tabletop OC

[helborn]

On the Way

Casper isn't looking too bothered by the sudden random voice. The only thing he really dislikes is the fact that it's loud. Some people have sensitive hearing - whoever it is that's suddenly woken up and chosen auditory violence is going to get some Words from him. ... Maybe. If he can do it without being rude.

Anyway it's easy enough to follow the lights, but he's keeping an eye out for anyone who might need some help getting up to the deck.


Chow Time

Casper is fond of oatmeal. He's had it a lot, but there's so many ways to have it. The fruit immediately goes into his oatmeal and he starts chomping through a bowl of it. And a second. And he wants a third, but he's hesitant to keep eating because other people need to get food. He's keeping an eye out for people he knows, especially those who look more hesitant to eat.

And at this point he really just wants to make sure that people are doing what they can to survive. He doesn't trust this Ship, no matter if it seems nice. He's seen and read way too much science fiction to do that, thanks. Still... he's not sure what to do about this place. He greets everyone with a small smile, trying not to be too assertive... but he mostly just looks awkward.


Flight

Casper can't fly for long, but at least it's dry and there's enough air to do it. He leaps into the air and black feathered wings spring from his back. He swoops and dives around the trees, passing them in figure eights and loops, kicking off one to get some air before narrowly missing another. He spends a little time doing this before he finally settles down, perching on a high branch to watch the people below.

Can anyone else fly or climb up high? He's not sure. They're welcome to try.


Wildcard

[Don't like any of these options? Grab me on Discord at artematthew or on Plurk at atrypical.]