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subnauticmods ([personal profile] subnauticmods) wrote in [community profile] fishesoutofwater2016-04-14 11:53 pm
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TEST DIVE #2








≡U.R.S.U.L.A. NAVIGATION
TEST DIVE MEME


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

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: 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: Almost, but not quite, Entirely Unlike Tea
The droids, URSULA promises, will do their best to make anything you want. Go on! Ask them anything! She’s excited. This seems like a great way to test out their capacities.

Of course, you need to be very careful what you wish for. Maybe you ask for Hamlet by William Shakespeare, and they do their best but only know so much, giving you a book with some… creative changes. Maybe you ask for a puzzle box, but you weren’t specific enough and things went awry.

Maybe you made the mistake of asking for tea..

No matter what, you were given something that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike what you asked for. Now what do you do with it?

E: CREATURE FEATURES (possible body horror)
As more data is collected on the creatures of the deep, DNA can also be gathered to allow URSULA to research how to integrate it into her crew members in useful and hopefully unintrusive ways, unless of course permission is given first for more obvious or exhausting additions.

Well, that's the idea, anyway.

Unfortunately, something malfunctioned while URSULA was researching. Her incomplete serum was injected into you through your devices while you slept (or maybe you were knocked unconscious by the sudden change to your body). Now maybe you have the temperament of a Stalker or the thirst of a Bleeder or Gasopod pods on your back that trigger when you're startled. How this genetic malfunction works and what it is can be up to you but while URSULA assures you it's only temporary, you're stuck like this for now.

Have fun?

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


dirtharama: (Default)

D

[personal profile] dirtharama 2016-04-15 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Merrill has a brush at home. It doesn't look like this, exactly, but it does remind her of a brush.]

Well, it could be, couldn't it? It has the pointy bits that go through your hair. Maybe it's just a special design for... special hair? It might feel nice on your ears!
maserannas: (ask | since you've awakened her again)

[personal profile] maserannas 2016-04-15 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ That... is a detail about the alienages that she's not heard put in quite that fashion before. A little wince of distaste crosses her features, but she doesn't linger over the thought. If anything, she's learning a whole new palate living here, and so very thankful for the more inspired cooks amoung them who're given to sharing. ]

I've found she's more... distractable. If rambling was all you were guilty of, da'len, she's capable of doing the same if she finds inspiration in a topic of conversation. Right now her silence might be meant as encouragement.

[ Encouragement to find... missions. She sighs inwardly, giving a shake of her head before settling herself against the transparent walls, feeling the chill of the ocean beyond. Not terribly cold, but notable, nonetheless. ]

So how do you feel about gathering missions?
tentaculled: (tentacute)

D

[personal profile] tentaculled 2016-04-15 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
Oh! That's a hair sponge, my furry friend.

[ Korosensei is there. Of course he's there...! He's nosy as all get-out, and how could he not be curious about this unusual-looking man with the fuzzy ears and fluffy tail? They're odd, they're fascinating, they're... pretty adorable, actually. His beady eyes are gazing at Kaden's ears with something between admiration and childish eagerness. He totally wants to touch them. But he won't. Because that's rude.

Nothing weird about a nine-foot-tall tentacle monster gawking at you, right? Fortunately, he's also knowledgeable about beauty products. Because, again, of course he is. ]


You can use it to make your hair longer and curlier... Hypothetically. Sensei has to say he doesn't think it will work on hair as straight as yours.
splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (its sports)

[personal profile] splinten 2016-04-15 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
[The golem connection makes sense, so he'll roll with it.]

All computer programs have a body in the sense that the data has to have a physical location to exist. Some programs are capable of replicating themselves, so they're less bound to their physical starting point. I don't know if URSULA is bound to this base or if she has another starting point. Either way, her programming seems to give her control over the entire base.
parodeity: (UH 🎧 pass)

d-ish

[personal profile] parodeity 2016-04-15 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
Will those skills involve getting fresh AJ? Because if so, I am all kinds of about handing you stuff.

[ He'd offer to actually help with the tinkering, but Dave knows exactly where his skills are at, and in this scenario? His skills are at handing Dirk whatever the hell he asks for. Regardless of what answer he gets, Dave will generally make a nuisance of himself by clearing enough space on the desk to sit on it, legs dangling, as he sets down a bottle of something near to but not exactly apple juice beside the not-quite orange soda.

SOMEDAY, HE WILL TASTE APPLE JUICE AGAIN.

Today isn't that day. Dave, you're in the way, how is sitting there kicking your heels being remotely helpful? ]


That your vice? Orange soda isn't so bad even though I don't really like it, though the only pop we've had for ages is that shitty troll stuff you couldn't pay me to touch. Well, maybe you could pay me to touch it if money had any meaning whatsoever, but considering I had the crocodile stock market on lockdown and there's no actual economy any more beyond "yo Rose I'll trade you a shitty comic for a hand-knit sweater"..

[ Words. There are so many words happening. Words without a point, not that this is a rare thing for a bored Dave. ]
Edited (extra "any more" wtf) 2016-04-15 06:12 (UTC)
maserannas: (ask | since you've awakened her again)

[personal profile] maserannas 2016-04-15 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ She does find the miming of motion somewhat amusing. The point isn't lost on her, but... one doesn't need to be an infant in reality to have a steep learning curve. ]

True enough. We all start somewhere. [ Followed by a brief pause before: ] One relies on the teachings of those around them for more than how to take those first few steps. Is what you're doing assisting with that as well, or is it more increasing the capacity for him to learn and adapt on his own, based on feedback from those around him?

[ Is this metal golem going to get more complex in its interactions, or simply able to do more while remaining a simple creature itself? ]
splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (its sports)

D WHERE THE D-STRIDES BELONG

[personal profile] splinten 2016-04-15 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Adding to the list of things that Dirk didn't manage to imagine about Dave: that loquaciousness.]

The other version of you left me a lifetime supply of orange juice in the high rise I ended up living in. I thought, I'm in the middle of an ocean full of alien fish, so I might as well complete the experience. Could you pass the tiny wrench on the right?

[Dirk could stretch for it himself... But he's sort of indulging in the novelty of having a brother around to call on for this. Way better than building bots on his own.]

In this case, I'll be installing more processors and a voice box. The droids should be able to ask for clarification, learn from correction, and rap.
restorer: (is on the way)

[personal profile] restorer 2016-04-15 06:19 am (UTC)(link)
I don't think they can want. They don't have feelings; they're given orders and they do them. [a brief pause, and then he adds;]

I think. I'm not sure about that, though. Have you tried asking it for something?

[hiro would... in fact, he will if she doesn't, but he also doesn't know what he wants. conveniently, deflecting this back onto her will give him enough time to come up with something clever.]
splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (I can't wait to be)

[personal profile] splinten 2016-04-15 06:20 am (UTC)(link)
[But baby bots are cute.

He gives a little nod.]
The droids are pretty simple right now because they lack the hardware to do more, but they're also programmed to only do so much. In terms of golems, I'd say it's like they only have so much magic to work with, and the runes they use are basic. I'm upgrading their processing power so that they'll have more energy, and I intend on getting into their programming so they'll be able to learn and adapt. I'll also be giving them voice boxes. They'll be able to communicate to ask for clarification and learn from corrections they're given.

[...And may give out replies in rap.]
parodeity: (HEH 🎧 sure thing)

BASICALLY

[personal profile] parodeity 2016-04-15 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
Wait, what? Why didn't I leave you a lifetime supply of apple juice instead? What kind of bro leaves a dude with orange soda for life when there are so many other options. Especially apple juice related options? I should have drunk that shit in my closet, I swear to god John has never trolled anyone as hard as he did his thirteenth birthday.

[ But really, what kind of terrible parent was he? Dave honestly looks entirely too offended about this revelation for what it deserves, but he immediately picks up and passes the tiny wrench. While continuing to talk, because that is apparently a thing that isn't going to be stopping anytime soon.

He brightens when Dirk clarifies what he's up to, though. ]


Rap? Oh my god a robo rap battle, sign me up for beta testing, holy shit. [ This sounds like something Rose might be into, sans the rap, he realizes. Well, maybe plus it? It isn't like she hasn't spouted poetry at him before. But AI stuff learning sounds like something she'd like.

It's weird to be able to look at something like that and go maybe that's where she got it, so Dave only spends half a second thinking about it before deeming it entirely too weird to contemplate further. ]


Please tell me there were rapping robots in our horrendous post-scratch watery future. There has to be at least one bright shining star on the horizon beyond awesome movies that were tragically defaced. I mean, shit, something had to offset Ben Stiller's untimely demise.
Edited (soda, not juice. i can type, i swear.) 2016-04-15 06:25 (UTC)
splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (a useless piece of shit all day)

[personal profile] splinten 2016-04-15 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Is Dave.... seriously bothered by that? Sure, Dirk might've appreciated a bit of variety over the course of sixteen years, but at least it wasn't a lifetime supply of alcohol. He's still not entirely certain why Roxy's mom did that, and even less so now that he's met Rose.

Doesn't feel like a thing to ask Dave.]


Did John... sendificate apple juice to your closet? [Dave.... what happens in your life...

He can, at least, talk about robots. He gives a little shrug of his shoulders. As he's said to Jake, he isn't exactly proud of his work in robotics, relative to what was contemporary robotechnology for his era, but with Dave it's a little different.

Also, one can't be too happy after one is reminded of Stiller's tragic, heroic death.]
I built a couple. Sawtooth's skills were so without peer that I never once defeated him in rap battle. He travelled the world, schooling all who crossed words with him. [A pause] Squarewave was easy to defeat, but he was a really sweet bot.
chataclysmic: (pic#9935474)

c-c-combo breaker! f;

[personal profile] chataclysmic 2016-04-15 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Adrien is a lot less comfortable around sea creatures than Dirk, an obvious fact from the way he shies away from the Gasopods uncertainly. Yet here he still is, clad similarly and trying to sort out why exactly he was drawn to the ocean and aforementioned creatures after waking up in a start.]

[Dirk, at least, seems welcoming enough, and after a bit more uncertainty he makes his way to the adjacent Gasopod and follows the Strider's example, patting it as he finds his way onto it.]

[He raises a hand in silent greeting once there, continuing to pat the creature with his other hand.]
parodeity: feastings @ tumblr (WAIT 🎧 hold up)

[personal profile] parodeity 2016-04-15 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ Dave's life makes little sense on a day to day basis (case in point: this entire situation) and his semi-dramatic ramblings don't really help to put things in perspective usually. He's probably the only person who would find the idea of not giving someone a lifetime supply of apple juice, given the chance, to be cruel and unusual. ]

Nah. I found some - last time I saw any, since this was the day the world ended, you know? - in my closet, which was pretty normal since that's where I kept anything I wanted to eat or drink, but John. [ Let's just ignore how that's a weird place to keep food and concentrate on the main issue here: ] John. I told him about it before I went to drink it, and he had to bring up Howie Mandel and Little Monsters? And I was going to ignore it but then I just kept thinking about it. Though obviously you should never tell him this because I'm pretty sure he doesn't know he won that one, come to think of it. His prankster's gambit needs no help.

[ Literally nothing cool happens in his life, ever. This is the tip of a very large ice berg. More importantly: Dirk apparently had actually cool things happening to him. He built rap robots? One of whom was basically a travelling rap ninja.

How is this even real life. ]


You built a world-travelling rap robot. [ He just. Has to peer over the top of his shades at Dirk, because holy shit. ] Oh my god, you're an anime character. The truth of my lineage has been unearthed. I better start running around with toast in my mouth and checking things off the animu bucket list. Do you think I get a freebie on my eyes? But seriously, world-travelling rap robot. Unironically radical.
roundoff: (☉ six)

[personal profile] roundoff 2016-04-15 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah.... Well he's still jittery, because there's a lot going on all at once. There's still something that leaves him on edge, waiting to see if maybe he should go out and take a swim - even though the water is a very mysterious and unfamiliar place to him indeed. Maybe he ground himself.

He glances toward her shorter arm for a moment before looking at her properly, one of his ears twitching in mild curiosity. At least his expression heads toward something a little bit more apologetic than antsy.]


Kaden! My name's Kaden and - I didn't mean to be startled, if that helps?

It's kinda just... a lot right now, you know? And I think I ate something bad before bed 'cause I woke up not feeling too hot either.
roundoff: (☉ two)

[personal profile] roundoff 2016-04-15 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ . . . . . hmmmmmm.

Solid suggestion.

Kaden continues to look at the brush rather suspiciously before looking back up at the stranger. Then at the brush. Stranger. Brush. Stranger.]


Do you have any experience with brushes or petting?

[are you getting at something here, Kaden]
roundoff: (☉ is there anyone prettier?)

[personal profile] roundoff 2016-04-15 07:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ . . . . okay but like-]

Whoa.... Thanks for the explanation but... what're you, though?!

[SUDDENLY MORE INTERESTED IN THIS GUY THAN THE BRUSH THING. He's so tall?! Kaden's just going to wander up to him, his tail swaying behind him as he super obviously looks Korosensei up and down. Where are his manners....]

And how do you know so much about hair care? I'm the best groomer of all the kitsune but even I've never seen something like this before.
splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (I'M FALLING DOWN ALL THESE STAIRS)

[personal profile] splinten 2016-04-15 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
[That actually does explain it: pranking. Dirk gives a sage nod.] Jane's grandfather was a famous prankster in his day. I'm not surprised that it is one of the things kept constant across timelines. [Because their frankly bullshit universe loves that kind of nonsense.

Wait. The peering. Dirk blinks back from behind his own opaque, impenetrable shades. Is Dave impressed with him? Sure, he doesn't idolize Dave per se, but it's still pretty gratifying to be appreciated—and Dave continues.

...Holy shit, Dave.

Dirk actually pops a little smile for the brother. Tiniest smile. Near-unspottable upward slant of the line that is his mouth.]


Does that mean you're going to tell me what your magical transformation chant is? You better have some really good rhymes ready. These little robot rappers are going to need more than one Strider to teach them their stuff.
splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (its sports)

[personal profile] splinten 2016-04-15 07:16 am (UTC)(link)
[There we go. Nothing to be afraid of, little blond fashion prince. Dirk gives a reassuring thumbs up.

He knows some people can be iffy about telepathy, so he reaches out gently over it. He is trying not to be an overbearing jackass as he goes through life. It's a hard skill to learn, but he's working on it.]


You don't have to worry about them. These guys are just a pair of peaceful sea cows.

[As long as Adrien doesn't agitate him but—well. Don't startle Adrien any more than he has to. That's the point.]

a...........

[personal profile] venerations 2016-04-15 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ there's a lot of things going on in this top level that mozu doesn't really know how to react to. actually, she's still trying to grasp the fact that they are underwater and still alive somehow. like, okay, everyone knows corrin's got a thing for water and stuff, but this is an entirely different situation. she's mainly simply thankful for the fact that kaden is here and he's a familiar face, which does a lot to at least ease the panic a little. she grew up on a goddamn farm, okay, hoshido isn't exactly surrounded by water.

in any case, she's partly listening to kaden's ideas and partly trying not to freak out, but she does manage to catch some points here and there.
]

... I think we're gonna need a lot more soil if you wanna plant trees.

[ god, isn't silas the one who comes up with ideas? ]
dirtharama: (pic#10128787)

[personal profile] dirtharama 2016-04-15 07:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Merrill blinks, then she gets it. She brightens up.]

Oh, yes! Not a whole lot, but I used to help brush the halla sometimes when I was little. Do you mind if I...? I mean I need the brush.

[She really has no idea what species he is but he's fluffy and that means he must need a lot of hair care! Brushing only seems fair.]
dirtharama: (Default)

[personal profile] dirtharama 2016-04-15 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Brightening up, she plays with the water bottle she set between her legs.]

Oh, gathering is something we do all the time. We travel a lot around Kirkwall and there's so many resources to pick up everywhere. You'd be surprised. [She certainly was after living in Lowtown for a while to discover that plants grew even there in the alleys.

Though thinking on that, she scratches the back of her head.]


I've never gathered anything underwater before... There's... clams and fish, things like that? And... bigger fish. [Okay she can talk your ear off about Dalish rites but she can't about what's in the ocean.] My clan never really went close enough to the ocean.
dirtharama: (Default)

[personal profile] dirtharama 2016-04-15 07:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, she was supposed to ask them to do something. Merrill folds her arms, swaying slightly as she thinks.]

...Do you want something to eat? We could ask them for food, couldn't we?
chataclysmic: (pic#9915579)

[personal profile] chataclysmic 2016-04-15 07:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Little blonde fashion Disney Princess, more like. He returns the gesture, moving carefully like he's afraid to jostle the creature he's sitting on.]

[Thankfully, he's not especially iffy about the telepathy. It's odd, that's for sure, but after a moment's start when he realizes this guy's voice was in his head (of course it was, they were both wearing masks so they could breathe, those certainly didn't allow for verbal communication!), he scrunches his nose like he's concentrating to respond.]


Peaceful sea cows.

[Another gentle pat to the Gasopod.]

Man, even manatees can be scary, though.
dirtharama: (Default)

[personal profile] dirtharama 2016-04-15 07:52 am (UTC)(link)
[That's so interesting to her. If anything, the fact that this technology is so close to magic really makes her wonder how possible it would be to replicate it. If it has uses and applications that could help.]

I guess we should be nice to her, a little like a spirit of the hearth. [Not that she planned to be rude to URSULA unless it really, really called for it.]

You know so much about these things. Is this normal for you?
splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (its sports)

[personal profile] splinten 2016-04-15 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
[It takes him a moment. Manatees? They're definitely extinct, and come up less frequently than cows in Dirk's ancient histories research. But he does remember this one film. He thinks he's got it. Enough to realize that he didn't actually need to work out what they are, but Dirk sure does love to overthink things.

That said:]
Gasopods can be fairly dangerous themselves when they're threatened. I'm going to assume that you're not planning on giving the mysterious alien mammals a big scare.

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