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riverviewlogs2018-06-15 09:35 pm
- !mod post: exploration mingle,
- almost human: dorian,
- critical role: mollymauk tealeaf,
- dragon age: iona lavellan,
- dragon age: relm hawke,
- halo: forward unto dawn: chyler silva,
- imperial radch: breq,
- logan: laura,
- magnificent seven: billy rocks,
- marvel (616): billy kaplan,
- marvel (616): cable,
- marvel (616): loki laufeyson,
- marvel (616): teddy altman,
- marvel (616): tommy shepherd,
- marvel (mcu): gamora,
- marvel (mcu): loki,
- marvel (mcu): mantis,
- marvel (mcu): peter parker,
- marvel (mcu): peter quill,
- marvel (mcu): steve rogers,
- marvel (mcu): tony stark,
- marvel (mcu): wanda maximoff,
- marvel (tv): skye,
- once upon a time: victor frankenstein,
- original: jeff calhoun,
- original: shigeru miyata,
- osomatsu-san: jyushimatsu matsuno,
- rivers of london: peter grant,
- star trek (aos): james kirk,
- star wars: finn,
- star wars: poe dameron,
- the adventure zone: taako taaco,
- the black tapes: alex reagan,
- the black tapes: richard strand,
- the terror (tv): harry goodsir,
- voltron: keith,
- ✖ dc comics (rebirth): damian wayne,
- ✖ marvel (616): thor,
- ✖ original: sage abernathy,
- ✖ osomatsu-san: osomatsu matsuno,
- ✖ shadowhunter chronicles: alec lightwoo,
- ✖ stargate atlantis: carson beckett,
- ✖ stargate atlantis: elizabeth weir,
- ✖ the adventure zone: lucretia,
- ✖ the adventure zone: lup taaco,
- ✖ the adventure zone: magnus burnsides,
- ✖ the covenant: chase collins,
- ✖ the witcher: keira metz
exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY
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
captivityOne 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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
no subject
Shit.
[ That's all he's got to say, once it's safe to actually get a better look at Poe. Jeff's moving over to his side, thankfully unhindered for the most part. He's only just gotten captured, so he hasn't managed to make any waves, nothing to warrant any attention more than the goddamn suppression collar they got around his neck (which is wholly unnecessary, far as he's concerned).
But it could be worse. Case in point: ]
Please tell me you're not dead.
[ HE WANTS TO HELP YOU UP, POE. But he's also kind of in "WHAT HELP THIS IS ALL TOO MUCH" mode. ]
no subject
Not yet. Hey. Jeff, right?
[ He shifts, trying to get up on his knees, pushing off the ground with one shoulder and gritting his teeth against the pain. He's gotten pretty good at maneuvering without his arms over the past couple of weeks, not that he knows it's been weeks. ]
I'd say it's good to see you but down here, definitely not.
no subject
[ Now Jeff's putting his hands on Poe, trying to ease him up into a sitting position without aggravating his injuries too badly. The problem is, he's not really sure about the extent of them. But he's trying! ]
Yeah? I'm gonna agree with you there. A resounding no, this is not good! [ He's speaking in a hushed whisper, like, just in case any of their captors attempts to eaves drop or anything. Luckily, they don't seem too interested at the moment. So he tries to look Poe over, even though he's got no real way of meting out first aid. ] You okay? I know, I know, you're not okay, but I mean-- is anything broken? And what the fuck's going on here?
[ HE'S FREAKING OUT, MAN. ]
no subject
Pretty sure they cracked a rib somewhere along the line. Concussed me a while back, but they stitched that one up. I've had worse. This is not actually the first time I've gotten dragged through something like this. Only last time the cultists and the torture were two separate, y'know, things, and the cultists only wanted to kill me not...
[ He sighs and closes his eyes, gritting his teeth again as pain shoots down his arms and across his neck and shoulders. ]
They think the spirits of the First People are down here in these caves, and that they need vessels--us. Don't know how much of it is bullshit and how much isn't. You can never tell with this place.
no subject
Oh.
[ ....................... ]
We're gonna be vessels.
[ ................. ]
Like possession.
[ THIS IS FINE. ]
Neat!
[ That's the FORCED SMILE AND PERKINESS OF A MAN WHO'S TRYING NOT TO TOTALLY LOSE HIS SHIT. That's Jeff Calhoun for you, always cool under stress. ]
no subject
[ A pause. ] You okay?
[ Another pause. ] You're not okay.
no subject
I'm okay!
[ Pause. ] I'm not okay.
But it's gonna be fine, everything's gonna be fine, we're not gonna get possessed, because that shit doesn't happen to people who have jobs and pay their bills and never do anything even adjacent to demon summoning!
no subject
Poe looks at Jeff blankly for a few seconds, sorting through the logic of that. He supposes that people who have jobs and pay their bills and go about their lives without doing anything even adjacent to demon summoning would probably not get possessed. Anywhere else.
What is this poor dude doing in Riverview. ]
Like I said, I don't really even know if the First People are real. Cults. Sometimes they're full of crap, sometimes their giant holy egg hatches into two giant monster-things fight it out in the sky over the cult's village. Kind of hard to say which one it's going to be sometimes.
no subject
Come on, universe, why are you screwing him like this? ]
Oh. Thank you. That's a helpful mental image. [ On the plus side, Jeff seems distracted from his rising panic-- ]
What're we gonna do about this, man? I am not about to become some dead guy's meat puppet! We need to come up with a plan and--
[ --nevermind. ]
I'm sorry, you're injured, I'm putting a lot of pressure on you.
no subject
God, he's tired. He's so tired. They're breaking him into submission, he can feel it at the crumbling edges of his mind. Not because they're brutal. Just because he wants so badly to rest.
It's not the hopeless desperation of the Finalizer, but there have been moments, however long he's been here, where he's woken up thinking he's still on that ship. Still in those halls.
He rests his head back against the wall and tells Jeff what he's been telling himself for... it feels like weeks. It has to be weeks. ]
Finn's gonna find me. I know him. He's going to find us and get us out of here.
no subject
Yeah? [ He's not skeptical in his questioning, just curious. ] Who's Finn?
no subject
He's my best friend. [ It doesn't even occur to him that it might be a weird thing for an adult to say. Finn is his best friend. ] Saved my life before. Saved my life a couple of times, actually. ...A few times.
[ He will just casually not say that several of those times were, in fact, in Riverview. He's pretty sure that won't help Jeff relax. ] He's smart, driven. Sinks his teeth into things and doesn't let go.
[ A laugh, a cough. ] Even stupid things. Right before I got taken I broke this little egg rolling--doesn't matter, I broke something in the kitchen, using it wrong, knowing I was using it wrong, and he kept going on about 'why did I put cookie dough in something for eggs' all day. We live together. He knows I'm gone, there's no way he doesn't. Even if he wasn't sure, BB-8 would convince him, but by now he has to know. He's a good man. Doesn't think he's a hero, but he is. He's one of the... one of the best people we've got left.
[ He's far gone enough that it doesn't occur to him that Jeff has no context for the we, or for why there aren't many of them still around. ] Trust me, he'll come in here and bring hell with him.
no subject
(Jeff really needs more adult friends. His daughter would agree, if she were here.)
In any case, he finds himself smiling as he listens to Poe wax poetic about the great Finn. Like Poe's affection for the guy is contagious.
EXCEPT... ]
'We'? [ There's an obvious note of confusion in his voice. Then, after a beat, he adds: ] He sounds like a great guy to have at your back.
no subject
[ No he also didn't really notice what he was saying himself. HE'S A LITTLE FRAYED, the past few days.
Also, I just realized: he totally has a beard at this point. Not that it's particularly relevant, it's just a thing I remembered.
He shakes his head, locking back on to the last thing Jeff said. ] He is. He really is.
no subject
Oh. Uh. Nothing. You just said he's 'one of the best guys we've got left.' [ Well, technically Poe said people, not guys. Get it right, Jeff. ] I didn't know if you meant... 'we' the people here, or 'we' somebody else. Or the royal 'we'...
[ Focus, Calhoun! ]
Anyway. I, uh. Hope I get to meet Finn.
[ That's a nice way of saying 'I sure hope we don't die in here.' ]
no subject
[ He twists to rub his face against his shoulder. ] Us, we, the Resistance. The Rebellion.
[ Is he going to see any of them again? Will he just disappear out of their lives, just vanish, is that how this place works when someone dies here?
Finn's coming. Finn's going to come. ]
We're freedom fighters. Where I'm from.