Test Dive #1

[subnauticmods]

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TEST DIVE MEME


For information about the animals and locations, be sure to check out the BIOME and BASE pages!

A1: Go Fish
You! Yes, you! Your friendly neighbourhood AI has a task she would like to encourage YOU to do! After all, you can’t forget the most important fact: you’re here to make the planet habitable. Which means cataloguing, capturing and studying potential threats to anyone’s life. That includes a swarm of Stalkers that have been hanging around the waters awfully near the base, which presents a perfect research opportunity! At least, URSULA seems to think so.

Don’t go in willy-nilly waving your knife around, though. URSULA doesn’t want you to bring in tonight’s Sashimi Surprise™, she wants you to bring in a Stalker that’s still kicking. Which means you have to capture a live one. So hold back your crazy power or trigger-happy instincts!

How will you take one in alive without ending up dead yourself? You could go in the brute-force way, slamming its jaws shut and bagging it, though it’s pretty strong itself… or you could be a bit more cunning, taming it with bait or giving it shiny metal salvage to play with before luring it into a tank to bring it into the base. You might want to get a helping hand with this task, since it’s not exactly an easy one-man job.

A2: Go With Fish
So, now you’ve got a live and very disgruntled Stalker on your hands! Hopefully, said hands don’t have to be amputated (it’s okay if they have to though, URSULA will fix it. Try not to watch the nanites go). What do you do with it? You could keep it as a pet and observe its growth! You could dissect it and study its anatomy! Or you could… eat it. (After going through all the effort to bring it in alive?!)

B: The Abysmal Sea
You’re stranded.

One of the planet’s troublesome signal-interfering pulses has just made your communication devices 100% nonfunctional. No matter how you try to call URSULA for help, she isn’t able to respond. The database strapped to your wrist is just a useless chunk of metal now, leaving you without a useful library of knowledge to survive off. If you were driving any underwater vehicle prior to this point, it’s broken down. And unless you’re a mechanic, it’ll be pretty hard to get it jumpstarted again.

Don’t fret! The communication systems always come online eventually, so if you stay put, it’ll boot back up and give you directions straight back to base so you can finally get home. But can you really afford to stay put? The sunlight’s slowly streaming out of the sky, leaving the waters darker and darker with each passing second. Soon, you won’t be able to see five feet in front of you, and the only warning you’ll get of any approaching threat is through sound, if they even make any.

You have a few choices: take a daring risk and try swimming back to base, but on the off-chance you don’t remember the directions correctly from before you were cut off, you’re going to get even more lost, in the darkness of the night no less. Or, you could huddle in, with any friends if they were unfortunate enough to be with you, and start focusing on getting warm. Because spending the night out here in the vast oceans with the entire world against you is becoming a very, very real possibility.

C: It’s dangerous to go alone. Take them!
URSULA’s technology is breathtaking. With enough materials, she could make practically anything: weapons, vehicles, all those human comforts and entertainments she forgot to build... or perhaps she could expand the base to give everyone even more leg room. But there’s a catch: you need to get those materials to her in the first place, and scavenging can be a monumental task.

The planet Iniidae has a plethora of materials to provide, but you’ve got to go find them first. Some are easy enough to get, by plucking off the ground or breaking a rock. But some are a bit more challenging, such as Crash Powder, seeing that the Crash defending it will literally explode in your face if you get too close. And then there’s materials such as Blood Oil, only harvestable within the Blood Kelp Caves several hundred meters underwater in the pitch-black darkness… remember, you have to gather resources with your two bare hands. No such thing as driving around and conveniently collecting them within the somewhat-relative safety of an armored vehicle.

Since it’s so dangerous to go alone, URSULA will encourage you all to leave the base in pairs or groups if you’re going to try collecting some of the more precarious materials to harvest. She has heard that most lifeforms find being reconstituted from nanites traumatic, so try not to die in front of each other!

D: Hide and Seek Help
URSULA knows that everyone needs downtime, and no one can go salvaging or gathering specimens all the time. So what do you do for fun on an alien ocean planet when the AI who made your base forgot to make any kind of entertainment room?

Why, play hide-and-seek, of course! There’s a lot of places to hide away from others, and it’s challenging to find anyone. (Sometimes, too challenging to find them… ever… but that’s not the point.) The area around the base and submarine is relatively safe, so anyone can hide away in a coral structure or a cave, and telepathy makes it easy to taunt your seekers without revealing where you are.

Of course, you may encounter a Bone Shark or even a stray Stalker, and you won’t have time to get away or even scream as it attacks you, but hey. What other way to make hide-and-seek more thrilling than to turn it into hide-and-hope-you-get-found-as-you-shout-for-help-to-anyone-who-can-hear-your-telepathy?

E: Toilet Humor
Really, it was bound to happen eventually. Someone's in the bathroom observatory, doing their 'business', and someone is trying very hard to catch a fish for dinner outside. Your eyes meet. Someone has literally been caught with their pants down.

And in that moment your telepathy goes a little wonky, because it's good to have open communication about this incident.

F: The Caverns of Dream
The ocean calls you. Of course, it's much easier to dismiss it as nightmares. You'll probably think that's all it is after you have them. Flashes of screaming sea creatures writhing in agony, pleading for help, but these creatures can't ask for help, can they? Something huge, beyond the scope of imagination, moves in the ocean of your dreams and calls out to you to go deeper into the darkness. It pleads and begs but not with a voice you can hear or words you can understand.

You wake up in a sweat with the unrelenting desire to take a swim, even though it's late and everyone is asleep. Or maybe someone else just had the same nightmare as you? Are you willing to take a swim and try to understand the dream?

BASED ON CODE BY TESSISAMESS AND SUPERSUITS

Comments

[undyingly]

No, I suppose not. We're here now. And if nothing else, we can make new friends here, right?

[Not that that's a meaningful thing at all. Of course. Except well, Shiro already finds Fukami interesting, even if he's definitely getting the sense he's not the casually chatty type. That's okay. Quiet types are interesting too.

And if Fukami is here alone, that's all the more reason.

Of course it also doesn't hurt that Fukami clearly knows what he's doing in the ocean.]

[ruffledup]

[She nods. Such a loss... Even if she didn't know them well, that can't have been easy.]

I am glad he did. No one should have had to die there.

This Captain Antilles does sound quite impressive though.

[ruffledup]

[Oh... No. Josephine revises her opinion. She's not malicious at all, as far as she's concerned. Just... young, perhaps?

She can't really be mad though. Just try very hard not to laugh.]

Certainly. Humans aren't quite as good at surviving these situations as other races.

You need not worry though. There is no danger of that if I do not go in the water tonight. But I do thank you for your concern.

[yubyubcommander]

Wedge simply nods and tries to drop himself a little lower in the water, matching Ibtisam's 'altitude.' He hovers for a moment, then sets off in her wake, lazily kicking his finned feet to propel himself through the water. It's different than zero-gee in that, at least. You can actually move without thrusters. A thin trail of bubbles drifts after him, dripping free of his rebreather as he goes.

"Hopefully we don't look like dinner to anyone."

[sunsetundersea]

No. They sacrificed themselves, but it shouldn't have been necessary.

[Ibtisam's fleshy barbels twitch. After a moment she turns the corners of her mouth upwards.] Of course! He's the pride of the Human species. One of them, anyway.

[sunsetundersea]

Moving underwater and moving in null gravity are similar. The impulse to swim is there in either case. Still, there is pressure and drag in the water, and perception of the currents.

Better not to race, to move unhurriedly. The base is a good distance away and sharp panicking movements are hard for many predators to resist.

"Try not to worry! Just keep an eye out. You look down, I'll cover the sides." Humans have eyes very like Quarren, better for scanning the deeps while swimming, while the Cala's eyes are far larger and more widely set.

[octoroom]

...People can, yes.

[He says it in such a way it just sounds like he's admitting it as a general possibility rather than one that's going to happen with him. Fukami has plenty of friends okay lots of friends.

(Rather, he has an older brother-position to Dolphi, Memoca and Wadanohara (to his slight dismay) going on rather than plenty of friends.)]

[dissevered]

( Miller's never been a dog person - or one for any other animal, really. DD had been well-received on base, but the subcommander himself rarely spent very much time with the mutt to begin with; that he left to Venom and DD's handlers. Still, indifference is hardly disdain, and when the silence is broken by the tapping of nails against ground, Teddy's presence raises no immediate alarm - well, not until the dog deigns to talk, anyway.

He doesn't jump - he can't - but despite the sound having an unmistakable directional source Miller can't help but glance around all the same, and it's a solid couple of seconds before he finally looks back to his only companion in the area. All things considered, this probably isn't the most extraordinary encounter he's had since arriving here, and Miller's tone betrays no caution when he finally speaks. )

I've been worse. Trouble sleeping?

[undyingly]

What a strange way to put it.

[Shiro informs him with a lift of his eyebrows now. Because he's pretty sure there's a great deal that's unsaid. Fukami seems the type -- at least from what little Shiro can tell in just meeting him.]

Does that mean you aren't counting yourself in that specifically?

[fallingangel]

[It's debatable whether or not trying to kill someone is perfectly healthy, but maybe it is for a fish. Especially a very large sharp-looking fish.]

Thank goodness...Your quick thinking saved the day!

[octoroom]

It isn't what I am here to do.

[He's here on Wadanohara's behalf-- and he's okay with how things are for him already, even if that means that he's alone here.]

I suppose if it happens, it will happen.

[leftinme]

[He could elect not to answer this as well, but honestly, he finds it pretty self-explanatory, so he might as well.]

... I'm a dragon. It's my natural ability.

[He doesn't know how to explain it better than that. It's simply a part of whom he is, and most people, where he's from, would likely accept that as soon as he mentioned being a dragon—which isn't something he feels the need to hide, for all the harm that his species has inflicted. He's never had the sort of carefree cheer that those like Efina do over being a dragon, and thus it might be a lie to say that he's happy being one, but this is the life he's been given and so he'll stand tall about what he is.]

[undyingly]

Aaaah, so you're that type.

[Shiro remarks thoughtfully, but his expression grows somewhat more serious.] I suppose we're all here for our own reasons. But you're right. If things happen they happen. Still, I think some sorts of things, it's better if those things do happen.

[Even if it might be harder in the long run. Goodbyes are hard; they always have been.]

[maserannas]

[ She barely bites back on dumbly parroting the word dragon. She's fought dragons, at all stages of maturity, both because it has been necessary, or because she was under attack by controlled dragons. Brett Graves has an odd power, but that has no relationship to dragons that she knows. Sure, they're more resistant to the Blight, which makes Archdemons something more of a curiosity, but this?

He's a young man. Not human, she wouldn't mistake him for that with those ears and his overall build, but not a dragon. ]

I... might need you to explain what a dragon is on your world. You look nothing like the ones we have on mine. You're also a better conversationalist.

[ Attempt at levity made, the slight confusion on her face has her resting another tray against her hip, evaluating Brett all over again. Shapeshifting? It could be possible, but she's never heard of a dragon gaining the ability. Only others gaining shapeshifting abilities, and amoung those, dragon shifting was not common. Morrigan, Flemeth... two people she could name, and both women of a certain amount of influence and power, however behind the scenes. ]

[leftinme]

[Brett's expression twitches into a (deeper) frown, as he's not sure what that last bit is supposed to mean, especially since he's well aware that he's not a good conversationalist—even around other dragons.

It's strange, having to keep in mind that things are different across worlds. As rare as dragons are in his country, people tend to know what they are. As he tenses underneath her gaze, his shadows continue to swirl around him.]

... What's a dragon on your world?

[maserannas]

[ Her tolerance for dodging answers has gone down over time, particularly when it may be relevant to what she needs to know. What it mostly means is she gears herself up for an exchange, asking Brett in turn: ]

If I answer your question, will you answer my question to you as well?

[ She's not supporting this as a one sided exchange. Both ways? Ellana is more than happy to comply for now. ]

[leftinme]

[In this case, Brett isn't even being evasive to be rude as so much as he's doing it out of defence. Ellana may consider his answer relevant to what she needs to know; to Brett, his well-being is potentially at stake here depending on how he responds. She hasn't given any indication that she thinks fondly of dragons, and while, again, he won't shy away from hi nature, he sees no reason to elaborate on it if it means potentially giving her any weaknesses.

He's learned the hard way that the more people know about his species, the worse it can be for him, after all.]

If I deem you to not be dangerous, then fine.

[maserannas]

[ There's a certain irony that what makes his species targeted is something elves have been targeted and used for, though in some empires, it's for the sake of performing blood magic with them as a central sacrifice. The price of being more sensitive to the Fade even amoung those who aren't mages by birthright.

It's not an unreasonable answer, as it were; granted, the divergences between Brett and the dragons she knows are so large that he'd need to be an active threat in turn to garner her desire to kill. So to her, it's still more evasion: he's already shown he can get away, and she's not planning on hitting so fast that his shadows can't pull him into his own safety-net. Or can't attack her, she supposes. All things are possible. ]

Hm... hard to say what you deem dangerous or not, but fine. It's worth trying, I suppose.

[ She turns and sets down the tray on a metal table, lifting her feet up high as she moves toward a collection of strewn about instruments. A flick of her foot dislodges water droplets for no grand purpose, considering she steps back down against a wet surface once more, but it felt like some form of release either way. ]

The dragons I'm familiar with are at minimum, soon after hatching, both ravenous and as large as a horse. They're flightless at that point, and the drakes remain that way from what the scholars on the subject have told me. The females who live past a hundred years or so are the truly impressive creatures, shoulder three or so of my height at minimum, length more than double or triple that. They fly, and they've elemental breath attacks of their own.

[ They're beautiful, frightening for sheer power, and to be respected. A few were also, unfortunately, prone to attacking people, and made themselves nuisances that had to be handled. That they're also Blight resistant... she shakes her head, sounding almost regretful. ]

It's unfortunate, but when they cross over and start attacking people's settlements, they have to be driven off or killed. They don't reason. They're exceptional creatures, but not intelligent. Cunning, though. Very cunning, and awe inspiring to see in person. Also entirely likely to devour you.

[maserannas]

She opens her mouth, trailing off in surprise. "..." What is she really supposed to say to that? She has to admit, it's only the very young who can ask these things an have no sense of stories about what any of the major players on Thedas and surrounding regions are like; one might not see a dwarf, or a qunari, or even a human all that often, but they all knew what they were told about them all.

How to explain these things?

"Elves are a... race of people on Thedas. I'm not sure what you mean by Earth. I don't know of any region with that name. Dwarves and the qunari are also races you'd find in Thedas, if not so commonly as humans. Elves tend to be built like me. If nothing else, our ears tend to give us away."

She gestures, faintly outlining the sharp point of her ear. There were so many details that defined them culturally, in their fractured, seeking ways, but for someone who had no concept of them in the first place, would that even register? It's patently strange to have to explain what an elf is for practical reasons, not even philosophical ones. "The rest probably aren't relevant. If that changes, I'd be glad to discuss them with you." For now, she feels like it will make even less sense to a 'gem' who didn't even understand how 'humans' healed.

[leftinme]

[Brett listens, his expression a mixture of deeply curious and tense (and it may or may not start twitching into a frown towards the end, when she talks about about them attacking people's settlements and being driven off or killed). Even knowing that these seem to be a different species than his, from what she's said about them, it still sits poorly with him when he intuitively associates "dragons" with, well, his kind.

After a long pause, with his shadows swirling around him lest he need to get away, he reluctantly replies:]

... Where I'm from, we're born from eggs as well, though we tend to be the size of a human child. At the end of our growth, we're not likely to be any taller than what's normal for a human. It's said that the lifespan of a dragon is two hundred years, and all of us can fly—it's just a matter of being able to properly being able to manifest your wings.

[So he supposes that, theoretically, a dragon could be capable of flight after birth, but generally, they lack the necessary control at that point.]

Not all of us have elemental breath attacks, though some do. One of the things that primarily sets us apart from human is that we have unique powers. [...] You've already seen mine.

[It's here that his face takes on a sharper edge, his voice sounding a little indignant almost as if it's somehow Ellana's fault that dragons are what they are in her world.]

And we don't randomly attack people or eat them! If anything, seeing as how most of the police force is made up of dragons, we're the ones protecting the peace in the country.

[Largely thanks to the Captain, since from what Brett knows, dragons weren't so common on the police force when Neil's master was alive (not so much out of prejudice towards dragons, but realizing the internal conflict it would bring considering the poor relationship between the two species—for better or for worse, the presence of dragons has driven out numerous humans from the force who didn't care for being surrounded by beings who didn't like them. Brett can't bring himself to feel sorry, when humans have elsewhere they can be; for the dragons, this is the only place they'll ever be relatively safe).]

[maserannas]

Well. Count me as glad to hear that.

[ A simple statement, without humour or sarcasm. It's better to hear that his kind of dragon isn't prone to random attacks or devouring people. That'd be highly inconvenient.

"Police" doesn't mean anything as a force, but the action, that she can understand. So the dragons served on a guard of some kind, as a peacekeeping force. She's been listening the whole time with a look of quiet attentiveness and concentration: forcing herself to hear what it is he's saying, juggling her own preconceptions the whole time.

We're born from eggs as well, though we tend to be the size of a human child. Curious, and different from how most people are born on her world. There's a niggling curiosity for if his birth can be more comparable to the emergence of a spirit in the Fade... particularly when she looks him over.

Humans don't lay eggs. Anything sporting a child-sized individual wouldn't pass through a human system, even taking into account some of the larger humans in her experience. They're not so different from elves that she really needs to imagine a human woman in labour over an egg, but as most races running around on Thedas go, even the Qunari didn't give birth to small children. ]

Are you widely accepted in your roles as peacekeepers?

[ Is his world more accepting of magic? He calls it unique powers, and she believes that: as unique magical abilities. It's not so strange from that standpoint in the end. ]

Where do your eggs come from? I can't imagine anyone of the size you indicate laying them, for various... [ she moved her hand, rolling her wrist to make a small, encompassing gesture — "physically impossible" ] ... reasons.

[leftinme]

We do our job well. For the most part, no one can complain.

[Generally, people are okay with having them as the police, yes, especially seeing as how they're best equipped to deal with abnormal cases such as that vampire one; however, Brett feels it would be inaccurate to say that they're widely accepted in general.

If they were, dragons wouldn't have to live in fear of being kidnapped and sold. If they were, the dragons that didn't want to be part of the police force wouldn't have to have their identity rewritten to be human in order to live a normal life, even if most of those who chose that option were content.

The captain dreamed of creating a world where it didn't matter if you were a human or a dragon. Brett's torn between supporting him in that—because it's an admirable goal—and feeling, on an intuitive level, that it's a dream that will never come true.]

... No one knows. They simply appear out of the blue. We don't have biological parents like your kind do.

[Oh, one could wax poetic and theorize that they came from God, or some such, but at the end of the day, it's all still up in the air. And he supposes that technically, their master is their "parent" and often seen as such, but it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth to think of the man whom he was born for as anything but a scumbag that he's not sorry about killing.]

[maserannas]

[ She finds his admission surprising. People usually resented those who were different, those who had powers they couldn't control, and placing those people as the protectors? Did not always earn favour, and often had the opposite reaction. Then again, she knows so little of his world or context, perhaps there are other factors that allow for an acceptance she'd find believable on her own world only under extenuating circumstances, or after successful revolutions. Or rebellions. Changing political structures is a necessity, no matter how one looks at it.

Something she and her Keeper agreed on, operating distantly from one another. ]

You mean to say you simply... manifest? For no reason whatsoever?

[ Not disbelieving: surprised, however. For a creature to simply manifest... wouldn't there be a catalyst? Even with spirits, and to an extent, demons, it was a reflection of what was going on in the waking world, creating in the realm of the Fade the echoes of the waking world's preoccupations. ]