TEST DIVE #6

[subnauticmods]

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TEST DIVE MEME


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Applications are OPEN
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For information about the animals and locations, be sure to check out the BIOME and BASE pages! Note that TDM threads can be used for game canon and AC.

A: There’s a Storm on the Horizon
A brainstorm. On advice about the ingenuity of multi person parties, and from admitted lack of understanding of many needs of organics, URSULA has selected you and a partner (or partners) to go to one of the observatories with food, beds, and recording devices to have a jam session for ideas about missions.

You are not to leave the room until you have some good ones. So get cracking! Start suggesting to one another what the base needs to do.

Or get horribly, horribly sidetracked and possibly a little crazy at being locked up together with the ocean staring at you. Judging.

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: Birdnip
The crew has become very friendly with the local population of birdogs, even going as far as moving a bunch of them to the base. Birdogs are pretty friendly creatures for the most part, and are some of the more tamable ones of the planet. That's why there is surely nothing that might go wrong with these arrangements!

Well. Except for the fact a new fauna that was found in a biome seems to have... well, really excite the birdogs. They're completely running amok, everyone from the kitchen to the swimming pool. URSULA would really appreciate it if you could help calm the poor creatures down before they end up hurting themselves or another crew member.

You probably shouldn't use that plant though.

D: Hunting Trip
The crew has been given a special mission on Mountain Island. While visiting, you were approached by Aurora survivor and fast-food worker Jenn, owner of the adorable tabby cat Glitter. She asks you to hunt a horrorsloth down for her. This particular horrorsloth has a scar across its face in the form of several cat marks which explains why Jenn wants it dead. It has a personal vendetta against Glitter and has already tried to kill her several times. Jenn has been able to heal the injuries so far but she’s worried that next time she won’t be so lucky.

So Jenn gives you anything you want from fellow survivor and Lead Programmer Naoko’s gun supplies and points you into the dangerous jungle forests where the Catkiller spends its time. Do you have what it takes to avoid poisonous tree pods and deadly Shrubbacks? Can you find your way through the dark and twisted woods? Or will you find yourselves hunted by the very creature you are trying to take out?

Do it for Glitter.

E: THE AURORA
Quiet except for the creaks and rumbles as the ship settles and shifts, the sound of Reapers screaming in the distance every so often, the Aurora is a creepy place to visit for a mission. The remains of those crew members not buried, and the belongings of many others, still litter the ship's halls. It might be nice to remove any skeletons you find.

Of course, their misfortune is your opportunity to catch up on some reading, browse whatever video games they left, get medical supplies and enjoy the comforts they no longer need.

But is it possible the Aurora is haunted? Surely not. Except sometimes you might hear voices from far away. It might just be the people you came on board with, unless they're with you. Or it might be a Cave Crawler knocking over some recording device. You're not too scared to check, right?

F: RAINY SEASON
When it rains, it pours. Rainy days tend to be the worst. Although you can go swimming in them, the intense storms of Iniidae stir up shallower waters making them murky and difficult to see through. And what if lightning hit? No one wants the first death to be lightning. Are you going to risk that? Probably. If you do, take care of yourself and bring a buddy!

But if you're the type to hole up in a storm, either by choice or because you were unlucky enough to be out in it, now is a good chance to get creative with your use of time! Maybe a game of charades will brighten up the rainy day? If you're on the base it might be extra crowded today so get to know your neighbors! If you're on an island, you could build a mud castle! Just don't go stircrazy.

BASED ON CODE BY TESSISAMESS AND SUPERSUITS

Comments

Terezi Pyrope | Homestuck

[iustitia]

A
[ughhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhHhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It's not that Terezi doesn't want to help out. It's not that she doesn't have any ideas to contribute. It's not even that URSULA has locked them in here with no escape in sight (H3H) until they've come up with several good missions.

It's the constant sidetracking.]

For the last time! [She slams her hands down on the table and rolls her eyes -- not that anyone can tell, but it's the thought that counts.] Crocs are not ugly! They are comfortable and delicious and it's not my fault if you are completely jealous of my podiatrist bliss, just stop taking it out on me! Crocs are super rad. Deal with it! Now can we please get back to work?

---
D

[If there's one thing Terezi's learned after years of friendship with Nepeta, it's that cat harassment is a serious crime. What kind of horrible animial would repeatedly target poor, dear, sweet, precious Glitter??? It's time to take this thing down.

Which is why Terezi is making her way through the interior of Mountain Island. She taps her her cane on the ground as she makes a show of stumbling through the jungle underbrush. She places a single, delicate wrist on her forehead and yells:]

OH NO! I AM BUT A POOR LITTLE BLIND GIRL LOST IN THESE TREACHEROUS WOODS! IT SURE WOULD BE TERRIBLE IF A MONSTER WITH A TASTE FOR CATS WERE TO ATTACK ME RIGHT NOW! WHATEVER WOULD I DO??

[It's not at all subtle or elegant, but Terezi really doesn't want to spend the next three weeks painstakingly flushing the horrorsloth out of the dense jungle. Better -- well, faster, at least -- to offer herself up as bait.]

Any sign of it yet? [she quietly asks her (significantly more well hidden) hunting partner. If/when the horrorsloth shows itself, it'll soon find she's not alone.]

[parodeity]

Not yet.

[ the reply is through the mental-telepathic...whatever it is network. dave doesn't use it on the regular unless he's underwater, but stealth is a good case for using it and terezi is one of the people he doesn't mind getting some telepathic bleed through or whatever. it's not like she did not watch 13 years of his life, or anything.

god sburb was so weird ]

Maybe the thing is a good judge of character and realizes you will eat it alive?

[ the telepathic bleed through is mostly heavy amusement because the idea of terezi being a poor little blind girl who didn't know what to do is possibly the most absurd thing he has heard all year. or all decade. or all his life? ]

[iustitia]

Please. Give me a little more credit! If I'm going to devour the flesh of my enemies, it will be with at least a little bit of class. [this is a lie. terezi has never done anything classy in her entire life.] Maybe work in a nice little spice rub and let it sit overnight before throwing it on the grill.

[She knows she's talking nonsense fun, but if there's anyone who would just roll with that kind of silliness, it's Dave. It's nice to get back into the bantering swing of things.

She scans the area with quick, cautious sniffs -- they've tracked the sloth this far, so it has to be around here somewhere in this hell jungle. It's ten feet tall. Why does it have to be so hard to find?? She cups her hands around her mouth and hollers:]

I'M STILL HERE! ALONE AND VULNERABLE! I HOPE NOTHING SUDDENLY ATTACKS ME OUT OF NOWHERE!

[Terezi pauses, as though that would have made any kind of difference.]

Maybe it's just not hungry right-- [She cuts herself off abruptly as she catches a whiff of something distinctly sloth-y.] Wait wait wait wait wait? I think it's coming.

AND THEN I GOT SWAMPED I'M SORRY

[parodeity]

Ready when you are, Pyrope.

[ his sword is in his hand, at least, although there are good odds terezi doesn't need too much backup. that is in fact the thing he is here to be, so he will do his best to provide? ]

Though I gotta say, if you're gonna try to spice rub it up after we kill it, you might just be on your own. Or Dirk can help. He gets weird about spices, and also cooking things.

[ dave doesn't see the sloth yet - there. the sound of a twig cracking in that direction, and he's ready to flashstep in an instant, but he's going by terezi's game plan. ]

a

[alienates]

They look like torture devices for your walk stumps. Why can't you see-- oh.

[ a two second pause before he just. starts arguing again. ]

Anyway, they are a menace to trollkind, mankind, and all the other levels of -kinds out there and I refuse to drop this topic until you finally admit to this universal fact, Pyrope.

[iustitia]

[Terezi flings her hands up in the air, a look of wild desperation on her face. She is trapped in argument hell with Karkat Vantas. There will be no escape.]

Oh my god. No! I will not let your shoe prejudice go unchallenged! How many times have we been over this? There is nothing wrong with Crocs. Have you even tried wearing them?

[alienates]

Why? And subject myself to a Just death? Because anyone wearing one of those abominations would literally deserve any freak accident that would occur to them at that moment.

[ he isn't going to let this drop until she admits that she is wrong. and then apologize for being wrong. ]

[iustitia]

[There are several things Terezi Pyrope is passionate about. Dragons. Justice. Crocs.

She will never give up. She will never surrender.]

Objection!

[She reaches down, pulls off one of her own shoes, and waves it in Karkat's face.]

Feast your working eyes upon this. Observe the gentle plastic curves, the bright cherry color, the friendly scalebeast logo. Does this gentle, toothy smile belong to a killer, Karkat? Is this truly the face of a creature that could cast down the gods themselves?

[alienates]

[ karkat grabs the shoe and then very, very calmly, throws it to the other side of the room. ]

Well it just got casted down by me. Say goodbye to your hideous monstrosity, Terezi. Listen to it as it meets its ghastly fate.

[ there is a thunk! sound as it hits a wall then another, smaller one as it falls to the ground. ]

That was satisfying.

[iustitia]

[Terezi stands there defiantly, one ugly-socked foot open to the cold. Retreating from her position to grab her shoe right now would be a mistake. She must stand her ground.]

You can take away my shoe. You can take away my freedom. But you can't take away my love. You are wasting your breath and everyone's time. I will never recant.

[alienates]

I'm just saving you from future pain and discomfort. You should be thanking me! There is no fucking way that those are safe to do... whatever the fuck it is that you get up to. Maim defenseless stuffed animals or whatever.

[ because that is obviously dangerous. ]

You probably have a shit ton of blisters.

[iustitia]

Okay, first of all? Those stuffed animals had it coming. I never maim anything that doesn't deserve it. And secondly? That's why you wear socks with Crocs. Protects your feet while looking fun and fashionable! Everyone knows that.

[alienates]

Not one single thing that has come out of your word yapper has helped your case at all. In fact, now I am somehow even more repulsed by them then I was before?

[ he places a comforting hand on terezi's shoulder. ]

Get better taste.

[iustitia]

[Terezi baps Karkat's hand away.]

You know what? We could have Kanaya come in and decide between us, and I would accept whatever judgment she handed down! But first we need to get out of here, and that means we temporarily dropping the matter so we can focus on work!

[Hopefully an appeal to the possibility of being proved right will have some appeal to Karkat. She's genuinely starting to worry they'll never get out of here otherwise.]

[alienates]

[ he actually stops to consider this option. terezi is right, because someone else backing him up does in fact have its appeal, because karkat sure does love being proven right. ]

Fine. But as soon as we're out of here we are finding her and she is going to settle this matter in my favor. Got it?

[iustitia]

Come on, Karkat. Since when have I been known to go back on my word?

[alienates]

Is this a trick question?

[ he pretends to pull out an imaginary list. ]

Should I read out your crimes?

[iustitia]

What?!

[It comes out as an undignified squawk, but it's not like Terezi has never done anything in a dignified manner in her entire life.]

I am not a liar! Sometimes I will tell very technical truths, but they aren't anywhere near the same thing.

[alienates]

I don't know, it sounds like the same thing to me. You say "weird human vegetable" and I say "weird human vegetable but with a slight pronunciation difference."

[ there'a a pause. ]

Or is it a fruit...

[iustitia]

There's a major difference! Lies are what tell when you can't come up with anything better. They are the cheap, inelegant hammer option in the toolbox of manipulation tactics. It is morally wrong, and if you tell enough, no one will trust you, and then what's the point? Telling the exact truth is way better. Still a deception, but factually correct and much more believable.

[alienates]

Pyrope, that entire explanation you just gave me makes you less trustworthy than any lie you could have told. Only someone who manipulates people would put so much thought into that.

[ he already forgot that they were talking about crocs ]

[iustitia]

Well, yeah. Manipulation was sort of -- [finger quotes] -- "my thing" for a while! I used to be really competitive back in Team Scourge, and then I had my whole smarmy know-it-all Seer of Mind thing going when we were all in the game. Of course I'd give it some thought and consideration!

[alienates]

[ he knows all this already, he's just being difficult for the sake of being difficult. ]

So how can I trust that you have not gone back to your ways, and that you're going to double cross me here? I need you to put this agreement to writing.

A

[fictile]

[Enkidu takes this outburst with a smile.]

But I like crocs, they just have to be real ones. I always wanted to wrestle a crocodile to see if it would win.

[iustitia]

[Terezi cocks her head and considers that. That wasn't the direction she was expecting that sentence to go.]

Iiiiiinteresting plot twist! Most people would wrestle something ill advised to see if they would win, not the animal.