I think we need to re-do the Renaissance carve all those Greco-Roman style nude statues in Marble, but this time give them just absolutely huge hanging dongs
When stranded on an uncharted underwater planet, alone and surrounded by hostile lifeforms, there are only two possible outcomes: adapt and survive, or die trying.
Spoilers: For the game Subnautica
Content Warnings: Mentions of death and violence. Mentions of drowning and suffocation. Referring to someone as 'it'. Mentions of dehumanization.
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David should’ve known it was a trap.
The moment he was nearly killed by something bigger than anything he’d ever seen, something that’s not even alive, he knew it was going to happen all over again.
Because even though he might be too young to have seen it for himself, there’s no denying the evidence left behind of creatures that had once come to this ocean. Ones that thought everything in it was theirs for the taking. Who not only depleted resources and permanently modified the landscape, but trapped and killed leviathans.
David is old enough to remember the beginning of a truce between leviathans, and the few smaller predators that understood them even if they couldn’t reply back. It wasn’t much, mostly just an agreement guppies were off limits and there would be an equal divide of the food that remained. They didn’t go so far as to go out of their way to help raise and protect a species that’s still considered a competitor.
Well, most of them just kept to the promise of ensuring no one went completely extinct. Certain leviathans took it a little more seriously than the others. Something David absolutely loathes considering his territory is constantly getting invaded by everything except other reapers wanting to challenge him.
But it’s fine, it's not like he wants absolutely nothing to do with them. Just because he agrees not to kill any leviathan doesn’t mean him biting and thrashing them around with just enough care to not be fatal should be considered friendly.
He hates how much he wants a ‘surprise visit’ right now. After having an encounter with an artificial fish that was so loud he effortlessly pinpointed its exact location. After having different species of fish, all looking like they swam too close to a thermal vent, just appear beside where he left what was obviously a weapon.
After what should have been a metal coffin for a creature that doesn’t belong here just up and disappeared.
David swam for hours trying to find it when he realized what happened. He almost second guessed himself, thinking he didn’t remember correctly. Went up and down the trench’s walls in case sand had shifted and sent the decoy, weapon, whatever it was tumbling deep into his territory.
He couldn’t find it. It just disappeared. And that meant it was only a matter of time before David did too.
The worst part is he has a feeling when it happened, that being when he found multiple peepers falling down into the trench in which he gratefully snatched them up and returned to patrolling his territory without investigating the top of the ridge. Like an absolute idiot.
It’s too late to take back his mistakes. Whatever it is, the same monster from before or a completely different one, it knows how to deter reapers from attacking. If he gives it too much time, it’ll realize the same method can be used for all leviathans. Can even use it to draw them in.
As much as he would back up in case things go south, he can’t afford to leave it completely unsupervised. Not when it could be planning anything. It doesn’t help the fact it came for its odd contraption after it certainly looked damaged beyond repair. It didn’t produce any light or sound when David was done with it, that’s for sure.
That means he finds himself swimming in large circles a lot closer to the surface then he usually does in order to keep an eye out for the creature. Out of everything he knows, it had stayed up on the ridge for quite a while until David saw an opportunity to strike. He doesn’t know if it only came back to that spot due to the abomination it made being there, therefore he’s going to make rounds over the ridge as far as his territory spans.
Even as he roars consistently, nothing out of place sends backs a soundwave.
That is, until he hears something distinctly metal and much too high off the ground to be one of the unfamiliar items that have been on the seafloor ever since the creature's bigger abomination crashed into the ocean.
With another roar to lock into its location, he swims as quickly as possible to try and catch it. Hears that annoying hum that proves the metal object has been rebuilt. Almost freezes in place when it suddenly gets quieter. Then silence.
David roars again as he slows down. Makes out a few metal pings, but they’re all on the ground now. Nothing in open water. The worst part is when he finally reaches the place he knows he heard it, the same spot where he first attacked it, there’s several peepers falling down into the trench.
No matter how much he knows this is a trap, the leviathan has no choice but to dive after them. And as soon as he eats them, his anger simmers down. It’s still there, and his suspicion only increases, but the need to attack the creature and whatever it built glides off his back like water.
David growls in frustration as he dives deeper into the trench, not wanting to face the fact he’s being treated like some mindless stalker. Goes completely still when he suddenly hears the low hum again as it gets louder. And then a tiny shadow trails past him along the seafloor.
Who does it think it is?
There’s no want to swim up as fast as possible to grab the loud whatever it is in order to bang it against the ground until it’s nothing but pieces. But he does slowly follow after it, keeping an eye on the tiny thing zipping through the water close to the surface. Watches as it goes directly to the hunk of metal that has made his scales itch ever since it exploded.
Suddenly, there’s a splash, and David is staring at a guppy of all things.
...no, not a guppy. He hadn’t even noticed himself carefully swimming up as to not startle it, but David stops only a few feet underneath it for a better view. One that lets him say that, while the size is correct, it has too many fins to be a reaper or ghost, and not enough fins to be a dragon. It has hair, but it’s too bright, the color of blood kelp and just begging for predators to attack it.
He never thought to ask what the creatures from before looked like. Had they been this miniscule? How could something that small ever stand against a leviathan?
And what kind of scales are those? What is on its face? What is it carrying?
David nearly calls for it to come back as it completely exits the water. He manages to keep his mouth shut, flicking his tail in annoyance it’s once against out of reach. Needs to remind himself it’s a threat. Most likely planning how to kill everything in this ocean right now, and that’s why it’s been trying to get onto the burning hunk of metal.
Something David allowed to happen. Which means it’s his responsibility to stop it.
...he will give it credit. There must be a lot of grit stored in such a miniscule body to go this deep into a reaper’s territory that’s attacked it already. It’d be cute how hard it’s worked to survive this long if he didn’t know its true intentions.
Hopefully it isn’t smart enough to think David’s waiting for it to return.
Today, we received a donation of the original sign from The David, which was once a gay bar in Elmira. You can read our archivist's history blog post about it here: Elmira's Gay Bars. I am so glad that the donor thought of us! There are so few tangible artifacts of the lgbtq+ history here. I am thrilled to add this to our collection.
