March Intro: Head First

[subnauticmods]

≡U.R.S.U.L.A. NAVIGATION

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Arrival!

It was supposed to be a routine mission. Maybe you think you’ve been here for a bit or maybe you just arrived. Either way, you know there was supposed to be a completely normal underwater mission, probably just gathering resources, unless you just arrived, in which case welcome!

Unfortunately, somehow you’ve been dumped somewhere you shouldn’t be. A woman’s voice can be heard, robotic in tone with hints of emotion. That emotion mostly seems to be mild surprise.

"Life signs detected. Life forms are non-native to this planet. They... oh. Oh dear, I wasn’t prepared after all. Please refrain from dying for a moment. Your things are incoming."

Your eyes open underwater. At least you're near the surface. But the moment you break through you'll notice one thing: the ocean, stretching out for miles around you in all directions with no end in sight and only a very distant gleaming metal structure in the far distance. You're not alone but this surely isn't what you expected. In fact, you really can't understand how you managed to get from where you were to underwater so fast.

None of your belongings are with you save the clothing on your body. And the depths below you offer no comfort, the light engulfed before it can reach wherever the sea bottom is.

Somewhere, you hear a sound shaking through the water, like something between a whale and a foghorn.

No turning back now.

Prompts!

A: WHALE OF A TALE
As it turns out, there is hope for those who can't swim or get help from someone who can. Something emerges from the depths, a massive bed of coral that makes that strange sound, allowing people to climb on top of it. Of course, that bed of coral is actually the back of a massive creature that moves how it pleases and occasionally dives back down underwater.

There is a pod of them around the area calling to each other. They're friendly, or at least they don't seem to mind any poking or hangers on. But one of their long tendrils may still give you a good whack on accident.

If you’re really lucky you can probably ride one all the way back to the base. Wouldn’t that be a fantastic entrance?

B: HELP ARRIVES
At least, some assistance arrives. Strange little robots on propellers arrive fifteen or so minutes later, rushing to the scene carrying a floating bin of some sort. They drop it into the ocean and buzz excitedly around it in the hopes of luring people over.

Inside the bin are goggles, breathing devices and knives enough for the new arrivals. The knives have a compass on the hilt that has a marker for the direction of the base. One robot will play a helpful recording from the robotic woman for those getting their gear:

"Please deposit any articles of clothing getting in the way of swimming in the bin. We will be sure they arrive safely at the base. Do not try to swim in anything that will bog you down."

A pause.

"Swimming nude is not recommended. There can be... unpleasant issues. For future reference, please consult me before going on missions like this."

C: UNDER THE SEA
Of course, there's no reason to rush right to the base. This place is certainly beautiful in its own right and has a few caves to explore - watch those stingers hanging from the ceilings - with an abundance of strange and wonderful fish eager to either play with you or dart away as fast as possible. Of course there's plenty of Reefbacks still calling to each other and a large amount of floating rocks with Floaters attached.

D: MATING SEASON
On second thought, maybe heading to the base is a good idea. Occasionally you might see plumes of dust near the ocean floor. Exploring these is a very bad idea. The moment you get close, a Sand Shark will explode out of the sand, ready to attack. They range from five to eight feet in length and will pursue you without mercy. At least they give up if you get near the surface or hide in the right caves.

Unfortunately, it's mating season. That means dozens of them can appear at any time trying to court a female with acts of aggression and skill. And you really don't want to be in the middle of that.

E: HOME SWEET HOME
You did it! You made it to the base. You are probably dead tired by now having swam quite a long distance—or somehow riding a Reefback all the way here—and the sun is beginning to set. Upon arrival, URSULA will welcome you and give you a quick rundown of the lockers (where your personal items can be found, as safe as if you stored them there yourself) and the base's layout if you’re new. She will also recommend that you put on your communication device and settling in. She will then just as quickly apologise by saying that she must finish preparing the base for the others.

"Please give me a few days to finish retooling the base. Oh, I'm so excited. We're going to make a great team, I promise. And don't go back to that biome yet until mating season is over. Sand Sharks are... troublesome."

F: WILDCARD
The ocean is yours to explore! Maybe your characters will find places to take breaks. Maybe they'll start gathering things. Maybe they'll murder fish! Or maybe they'll get lost in the dark and take a rather long time to find the base. Or just crash the kitchen for some of that delicious fish, more fish and seaweed! It's all up to you!

See the Biomes page for the currently accessible areas or details on current wildlife and the Base page for all your base needs. Direct any questions and plotting to the OOC post and have fun!

BASED ON CODE BY TESSISAMESS AND SUPERSUITS

Comments

[oneandmikleonly]

A: WHALE OF A TALE
[Mikleo's seen the ocean before, but he's never been in it. Honestly, he can think of a hundred better introductions to it than this. None of them include the pounding headache he woke up with when he hit the water, or the sheer amount of salt in the stuff, or the way that as far out as he can feel, the ocean doesn't...seem to have...an end...?

The Reefback's appearance doesn't help his confusion, though the beast itself doesn't feel bad, and he's grateful enough not to have to try and swim in this state. While it's hanging about at the surface, he'll boost himself up and brace himself on hands and knees on its back, coughing and wiping seawater out of his eyes until he can have a look around.

Maybe you're up there with him, and want to say hi to your new strange...well, whalefellow, if you're able to tell he's there? Or maybe you're flailing around nearby, and need some assistance getting fished out of the water yourself -- he has a way to manage that well enough, even if you can't see where the help is coming from.]


C: UNDER THE SEA
[One way or another (probably Sorey's fault), he's gotten coaxed off the relative safety of the Reefback and back into the water, paddling awkwardly over the entrance to one of the lovely-looking undersea caves. It does look pretty tempting to explore down there, but...]

Look, isn't it better to wait until we've found that -- that base that person was talking about, before we go jumping into things?

[It's perfectly reasonable!]


E: HOME SWEET HOME?
[Well, that trip was embarrassing, educational and exhausting -- and he's now pretty ragged at the edges from Sand Sharks getting snappy -- but at least the promised base is real. The moment he's out of the water he's wringing it out of his clothes with a twist of magic, tossing it back into the ocean behind him. Not the best move when he's tired, but he just really, really wants to be dry right now.

There's a glittering flurry of salt crystals left behind, which looks sort of weird as they cascade off his clothes into the air. If you can't sense him, things will get even weirder -- one of the lockers slams of its own accord, and Ursula starts giving the rundown to nobody in particular...? What the heck?

...if you CAN sense him, well, he's leaned against the locker door he banged once her spiel is done, arms folded, quietly and obviously fuming.]

None of that answered my question, though! Why are we even here?

E

[bluespearmanofthewind]

[Lancer does notice him for quite a while now. He does what Lancer does a few moments ago, except this boy does it longer. Lancer crosses his arms as well while leaning on his own locker.]

Slamming the locker ain't gonna help ya kid. Y'know we're kinda stuck here.

[At least Lancer is a bit more calmer. Instead of putting his energy on his anger, let's just see what these people has to offer.]

Re: E

[oneandmikleonly]

[He twitches a bit when Lancer speaks up. Not human...? Not seraph, either, but able to see him. Well, all right. Maybe he'll be more helpful than that strange disembodied voice; Mikleo's tone is politer when he answers, anyway, if not exactly friendly.]

The last I remember, I was nowhere near the ocean, much less ready to settle in here. It's a bit of a scene change.

[bluespearmanofthewind]

[The change of tone. This boy is...]

Same goes for me. I swam all over the place but found nothing aside of this place. At least we got a place to settle down and rethink the situation.

a.

[upcard]

[She's definitely flailing around uselessly nearby, that was her true calling in life.

See, the unfortunate thing about being dumped into the ocean is that...Mai can't swim. She somehow managed to flail herself to the surface, coughing and gasping, but she looks about ready to slide right back beneath the waves at any moment, eyes wide and terrified.

Pls help.]

Re: a.

[oneandmikleonly]

[Oh jeez, he's not the only one who got thrown out here?! She's clearly human, but -- whatever, he's not going to let someone drown right in front of him. He'll reach out a hand without hesitation, trying to focus past the pain in his head, calling his staff to him.]

Hang on...!

[Catapulting her onto the Reefback with Twin Flow? No, that's going to hurt, and might make the thing dive. Instead, he hauls his staff back and drags with his magic at the same time. Mai will feel herself pulled forward in a strange small bubble of air and water that keeps her from sinking further, rolling her towards the Reefback's side.]

[upcard]

[It's... really hard to say what just happened. One second she's pretty sure that's the end for her, she's going to drown, and it feels strangely familiar--and in the next, she's pulled towards this giant whale. Beggars can't be choosers, and as soon as she's close enough, she's dragging herself onto said Reefback, coughing and gasping, dripping water everywhere.

But eventually she does manage to get a hold of herself, looking up at her savior with a weak, but undeniably grateful smile.]

Oh... t-thank you...for saving me.

E

[logdate]

To make the planet suitable for human habitation. Duh.

[ Peridot is squeezing water out of her hair. It's a bit unpleasant. However, she's found a past-time in mocking the clearly oblivious human. ]

This is for the sake of you humans, so I don't know why you're so confused!

Re: E

[oneandmikleonly]

[There are immediately so many questions to be asked here. Why is small green person? What is small green person? Why is he being called a human by a nonhuman, that's new.]

I'm not a human, and I was on a pretty different mission from this less than a day ago. I'm not really in the mood to be given a runaround like this, either.

[Not that he's opposed to helping out the humans here, and with Sorey around he'll probably wind up doing just that anyway, but. It's been a long day.]

[logdate]

You look human.

[ Peridot sounds nonplussed. She does not want to deal with people being impossible after the day she's had (of course, she's also guilty of that, but she has a giant blind spot about herself). ]

If you're not here to do the job, why are you here?

e.

[leftinme]

[Brett isn't in a much better state (or any happier, for that matter), as he wrings the water out of his ponytail. His clothes aren't likely to dry off anytime soon, seeing as how his uniform isn't made of the best material to swim in, alas.

He opens one of his lockers to put his things in; or rather, a shadowy tendril emerges from the darkness surrounding his feet to open the locker, since his hands are busy, again, wringing the water from his hair and what part of his clothes he can manage. In response to Mikleo's fuming, Brett shoots him a glance, and then, with some irritation in his voice (albeit not completely directed towards him):]

Tch. As if I know.

Re: e.

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo looks up and over at that, and then...goes very still, eyes widening. There's some malevolence there, and...solid darkness around this person, which is not a good sign. (Did he just use it for something as mundane as opening a locker, though? Mikleo's never seen that before.)

Brett also doesn't feel quite like anything he's ever encountered before, which is not helping the confusion.]

You're...

[leftinme]

[Someone reacting like that to him when he hasn't even done anything isn't a good sign. Brett likewise tenses up as he bristles, and perhaps a bit more venomously than needed, he bites out:]

I'm what? You might as well finish that sentence, you know!

E

[tentaculled]

Nyuaaah!!

[ despite being completely inhuman looking, Korosensei... can't see Mikleo at all. What he does see is a locker slamming shut by itself. In an abandoned base. An abandoned base where all the former inhabitants died...

Oh lord. He knows where this is going. He puts his tentacles to his head in fear. ]

Ursula! T-t-this base -- is it haunted?! It looks haunted!! I didn't sign up for this!

Re: E

[oneandmikleonly]

[He's just as alarmed for a moment when he sees Korosensei -- a new kind of octopus hellion? Here, indoors?! -- but he's flabbergasted by the reaction.

And also the fact that. The giant yellow octopus feels pretty much like a human, and is reacting like a human. What?

...after a moment he'll bang the locker door again experimentally, just to make sure.]

Hello?

[tentaculled]

[ on cue, Sensei screams girlishly once again, jumping back several feet in an instant. No mach speed, maybe, but adrenaline is apparently working pretty well for him.

He knows a lot of things. He doesn't know how to deal with a ghost. That never really came up in assassination. ]

S-stay back!! I'm not afraid of you! [ he says, fearfully, with fear in his voice ]

C

[ateaist]

[He makes a valid point, but it's more interesting to her if they sidetrack for a little while. When has following the group ever been a good idea?]

Come on, come on! Where's your sense of adventure, lad?

Re: C

[oneandmikleonly]

[He pulls a little bit of a face, but -- fine. Fine.]

As long as we don't take too long. I'd hate to find out there's a time limit on these weird breath masks while we're down in a cave.

[ateaist]

Then it'll be a mad dash for survival! All the more exciting.

[Depending on your definition of the word...but there's no time to argue, assuming he'll still follow, because she starts swimming on down.]

C

[twifork]

[There could be item drops, Mikleo. You don't move on until you've explored an entire area. Especially if access is limited!

He does hear the voice. It's just that when he looks, he sees someone—and he doesn't? It startles him. Is it something to do with divergences? He doesn't his chest, but he doesn't have his watch or Elle (thankfully) so if there's anything to react to, he's not sure he actually would.

After a moment, he swims over and... tries to touch it? them? this person he can definitely hear and sort of wonders if he's seeing?]

Re: C

[oneandmikleonly]

[What the -- okay, the problem with being embarrassingly not great in the water is that it's harder to get away from people swimming up and poking you suddenly. He shies away as best as he can, but he can't really jump back from it or anything.]

Hey! What are you doing?

[He's mostly just surprised, at least.]

[twifork]

[Oh. THE BLUR IS MAD AT HIM? Now Ludger feels kind of bad. But mostly confused? It's mostly human shaped. It sounds like a human boy, he thinks?

Ludger draws back and shakes his head in an apology to the—person? Either way, he's contrite.

He points down to the cave and lifts a shoulder—the blur doesn't have to come, but Ludger feels like he should check it out—and then, in case the blur doesn't want to come, he makes a wave that is either 'come along' or 'goodbye,' depending on the blur's feelings on what should happen next.

And then Ludger swims on down.]

c.

[pseudoll]

We could. [Yin's fine either way... Fittingly enough given all the water, she's mostly just going with the flow here. When she saw a number of people head towards the caves, she followed suit easily. As strange as it was being here, there's always safety in numbers.]

Re: c.

[oneandmikleonly]

[He resists the urge to rub the bridge of his nose a bit -- it's a useless gesture with the goggles and breath mask on, anyway.]

What do you want to do? If you dive, I'll do my best to watch your back.

[pseudoll]

[It's very rare that Yin actually gets asked what she wants to do, and it's honestly kind of hard for her to answer every time she's asked. She's not even supposed to be able to want anything to begin with.

It takes her a while to answer, giving a long enough silence to be noticed, before she finally replies.]

... I'm going to dive.