riverviewlogs | exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

Entry tags:

exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: exploration mingle: rescue mission!
when: June 15 - August 15
where: The River Structure
warnings: violence and/or torture; please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

captivity

One of the major and most highly-valued cultural concepts in Riverview is that of exploration, expansion. Especially now that, with the recent influx of new arrivals, as the portal kicks into high gear for reasons not entirely known, the Inhabited City, already comfortably full, is rapidly becoming overpopulated. With all the refugees from other worlds pouring in from day to day, the city's safe space and resources are being taxed to their breaking point.

Right now, exploration and expansion is key, and each month, the government has decided to focus on a particular objective, in order to unite citizens in expanding, securing, and supplying the city for everyone's benefit.

the story so far

Exploration & Expansion Progress Report ● The Guardians of the Deep ● What Lies Beneath ● Plotting & Questions

After some serious flooding at the banks of the river, the cause was discovered to be the Guardians of the Deep, creatures protecting a circular labyrinthine structure underneath the river. Residents of the city explored and mapped the structure, and dealt with a good portion of the traps and other dangers, until they found a little piece of history in the Central Chamber of the structure, revealing that it was inhabited by the first people to live on the moon.

While this news has been exciting scholars and historians in the city, something a little more pressing has been bothering the average citizen - an ever-increasing number of missing persons. People have simply been disappearing all over the city, and only now are residents starting to realize why...

how it works

● Phases: Each prompt is a different phase of the operation. Characters may partake in whichever part of the operation they choose, whether it is a large and prominent part, or a more of a backseat or support role. Characters may participate in as many phases as they wish.

● Completion: When next month's exploration mingle goes up, the mission featured on this exploration mingle will be considered complete, and game canon, providing the entry has 200+ comments on it.

● Entry Reward: The reward for completion of this month's exploration objective will be...well, the safe return of everyone who was kidnapped. And some sweet hurt/comfort.

● IMPORTANT NOTE: Having observed how the pacing of exploration mingles has been going and how they are tagged, I have noticed that posting one exploration mingle each month has been a little hectic, both plotwise and for me as a mod (writing three mingles a month has been tough!). I have decided to space them out a bit further, and post an exploration mingle once every two months, starting with this one - the next exploration mingle will be posted in August!

phase i: the abducted

People don't simply go missing, they don't disappear into thin air, they have to be somewhere. And while those who are missing people keep frantically searching, those who have been kidnapped are the only ones besides the kidnappers who do know where they are.

Abducted by a group who have taken up residence in the structure under the city after last month's exploration died down, the missing are trapped in the Central Chamber, in fear of the kidnappers. Their abductors are a group of people that is starting to slowly take on cultist tendencies, believing that the remaining spirits of the First People still live in the structure, that it is a temple, and that those First People need offerings of host bodies to inhabit so they can return and bring their wisdom and magic back to the moon. Things are getting a little hairy - there's no agreement among the kidnappers as to how 'intact' the host bodies have to be and whether or not the sacrifice is in the form of alive or dead captives. Even worse, some of the kidnappers are only with the group to enjoy having power over others and using it to hurt them.

Captives are held in the Central Chamber of the structure, with next to no amenities. Blankets, food, water, and other necessities are in short supply, and they are kept huddled together, constantly guarded and either restrained, wearing or in the presence of a power suppressor to keep them subdued. But the captives haven't lost hope - they are working on getting a message out, finding a way to contact the outside world so their loved ones can rescue them...

This prompt is to play out interactions among the captives before they are rescued, and may include violence or other character suffering. It is also to enact plotted plans for the abductees to find connections with the outside world to summon help.

phase ii: distraction and infiltration

Once would-be rescuers become aware of where the captives are being held, they start making plans to rescue them - whether someone they love has been taken, they're just a good person, or they just want to feel like a big damn hero, there are lots of people willing to take the plunge and jump into the rescue. But the cult group has been in control of the structure for a while now, they definitely have the home team advantage. They know the lay of the land and where the traps are, and have used some of them to their own advantage.

It's not going to be as easy as storming the castle.

There are two parts to this phase of the rescue: a distraction and an infiltration. Distractions are planned to draw as many of the kidnappers away from the hostages being held in the Central Chamber as possible, while those who are stealthily infiltrating will try to find another entrance into the chamber so they can surprise and surround the remaining kidnappers.

This prompt is to play out any plans for distraction and infiltration. If you have plotted something out on the plotting post, feel free to post up a header for specific groups for threading rather than an individual character top-level.

phase iii: the brawl and after

Distractions only last so long, unfortunately, and so eventually the whole thing is going to break down into a big fight. Rescuers versus kidnappers, on the kidnappers' home turf, and surrounded by traps left over from the First People, while pieces of stationary tech throw out auras and waves of power suppression. It's going to be a doozy of a fight, so prepare for an epic throwdown!

And once the dust settles, there's going to be a lot of injuries to tend to, a lot of people traumatized and hurt and frightened. A lot of hungry, suffering people will need to be transported out, given medical care, and brought supplies.

This prompt is to play out the final fight between the kidnapping cult and the rescuers, as well as anything in the aftermath of the fight.

phase iv: wildcard

Have an idea for a mission-adjacent plot, or want to make up an unexpected plot twist or problem and solve it with your character? Just write up a starter, and don't forget to give yourself props by submitting it for the Progress Report.

navigation
[Asterion - Environment Art: Ariadne's Forest by Nicolas Mendoza]

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[She still isn't sure she completely understands, but to be fair, she had little taught to her in the way of metaphors. That's the life of a kid turned into a weapon. Still, it's a work in progress, and she curls up a little more on herself; someone had given her a blanket to stave off the shock. She could not remember who.]

What is it from? The song.

A child taught it to me on the planet Shis'urna. As I understand it, she made it herself.

[The current part gets set aside, and Breq rests her hands on her lap instead.]

Would you like to learn it?

[She's quiet for a moment, reminded of the times when they were allowed to sing in Transigen.

She clears her throat, voice low.]

There will come a soldier, who carries a mighty sword, she will tear your city down, oh lei oh lie oh lord...

[And it seems she's completely memorized what Breq has sang so far — a special gift of hers, one that she's not sure came from her father. She sings all the way until her interruption, and then sits back quietly, staring at the ground.]

[The smile Breq directs at Laura isn't so much in the way her mouth moves, though there's that to it as well. Mostly it comes through in the softening of her eyes. A special ability or not, it's pleasing to find that she cared enough to remember all of those lyrics.

Breq waits until the end of the tune before she tilts her head toward Laura again.]

Do you know any songs from your world?

Some nursery rhymes. The nurses taught us.

[Laura thinks of Gabriela and the other nurses often, especially when she looks into Linda's eyes. Women who were in over their head, who didn't realize the full extent of their jobs — women who just wanted to help care for children.]

I have a phone with some music from my world.

I would enjoy hearing either.

[It's the truth, though Breq's aware it might sound rather strange to a child. If she were still the ancillary in Ors who had learned that song from a child, she would have candy or tokens to trade for the music. Instead, she collects the pieces of her gun to the side, devoting her full attention to the prospect of music.]

I collect songs.

[She hesitates for a moment, but just a moment.

Really, anything is better than thinking about what had just happened. She's not exactly excitable, but she manages to start one of the few songs she's learned in her life among the other mutant children.]

♪ Los pollitos dicen Pio, pio, pio — Cuando tienen hambre, Cuando tienen frio. ♪

[It's a nursery rhyme song, one she knows well enough. She sings it all from start to finish, the memory of each word practically seared into her head. It's one of the first songs where she realized with clarity that she had no mother hen.]

[Breq listens through, just as intent as Laura had listened to her own singing, head slightly tilted as she takes it in, memorizing it. Then, when Laura finishes, she nods, with a slight smile beginning to turn up the corners of her mouth.]

Los pollitos dicen Pio, pio, pio...

[She copies a few more lines, humming in her slightly rough voice, then stops.]

I've never heard it before. Thank you.

De nada.

[She quiets for a moment, feeling particularly small and useless in the grand scheme of the rescue. It's not a typical feeling, but one she despises nonetheless... and with all these old feelings bubbling under the surface, as memories pass her thoughts...]

It is about a mother hen and her chicks.

Edited 2018-07-03 20:17 (UTC)

Is it one you sing often?

[Possibly often enough, since she remembers all the words, but better to ask. And she is genuinely curious about what meaning the song might hold to her. Knowing why and how they're sung is just as important as collecting them.

Besides, Breq gets the feeling this child should not be left alone right now.]

I know one about chicks and eggs, but it's different.

Sometimes, when things are too quiet.

[They had at least been allowed to sing a little, especially roaming the halls half-drugged. Of course, it brought a small sense of community that the children used to bond, but that was Transigen's own mistake at work.]

I was always curious. About the mother hen.

What about the mother hen?

[Breq wishes she had something to give to Laura, at the moment. A candy, or a toy, or something. Something that she might use to distract herself, other than talking to Breq, who will admit that she doesn't know how to treat children other than as very small adults.]

[She shrugs.]

I did not have a mother like the baby chicks.

It sounded nice, though.

[Breq's attention drifts, slightly, her gaze no longer focusing on Laura quite so much. Considering the topic of families and mothers is one she's only versed in secondhand, she couldn't begin to tell Laura what it's like.

But then again, maybe she doesn't want to hear that.]

Neither did I.

Does it bother you?

[The question comes easily, because it's one that she's reflect on. Many times.]

[Breq shrugs, making an indefinite gesture at the question. Hesitates, before speaking, but decides that honesty, if couched in human terms, is the best choice.]

No. I was never meant to have a mother, so it did not strike me as something I was missing, when I had a Captain instead.

[Ah. It's a distracting subject, but that's a good thing, considering what's happened here.]

Were you born, or were you made?

[If it's a sensitive kind of question, Laura wouldn't know.

She's still figuring out appropriate topics, anyway.]

[And a bit more of a difficult topic to navigate than Laura maybe understands, though not one Breq particularly faults her for.]

It's most accurate to say both. The implants I have would have me considered not human, in the place I originated.

[technically true, if an oversimplification.]

[It's an interesting thing to hear, but not shocking. She cocks her head to the side.]

I guess I am both, too. I started in a vial. And my claws were not always metal.

[There's a puzzle to this child, one that Breq knows she doesn't have all the pieces to, but the grander shape of it is coming together in a way that Breq suspects she would not like. In a way that she suspects the good citizens of her home would decry and refuse to believe ever existed.

And her instincts, here, are telling her that the cultists are just one more scar in a list on this child's mind.]

Do they hurt you?

[A pause, as she considers the question.]

The claws, or the people?

The claws.

[An answer like that makes her feel in her gut what the answer to 'the people' might be. Best not to revisit it, when she has the girl relatively distracted from whatever had her so tightly wound a few minutes ago.]

[She looks at her fist, letting the claws slide out again.]

... Every time.

[One learns to simply accept it.]

[The lack of a wince is what she notices the most, and it's what makes her discard any hope of a trite answer. Not to mention she can't imagine this child, or whoever her guardians are, would be particularly responsive to the idea of modifying herself, even to help ease that pain.]

I can give you something else to defend yourself with.

Edited 2018-07-18 02:09 (UTC)

[She shakes her head, thoughtful.]

It's okay.

These are me.

(no subject)

breqintopieces - 2018-07-22 15:32 (UTC) - Expand

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