riverviewmod: (Default)
Riverview Moderator ([personal profile] riverviewmod) wrote in [community profile] riverviewlogs2018-06-15 09:35 pm

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 ReportThe Guardians of the DeepWhat Lies BeneathPlotting & 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]

chumpelstiltskin: (pic#11780474)

[personal profile] chumpelstiltskin 2018-06-26 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
[It is a truth universally acknowledged that being kidnapped fucking bones. Dave is tired, dirty and humiliated among other things. The collar around him means he can't do any sick tricks to help himself or anyone else, so he's been sitting, talking to himself or talking the ear off the people around him.

When all hell starts to break loose, he is painfully aware of the fact that he's mostly useless with a collar on. He can throw a kick and a punch, but he's unarmed and the cultists are very armed. Some of them even have more than two arms.

He's not running away, but he's trying to find somewhere a little sheltered to try bashing this collar off his neck. He's not making much progress by the time the fight really starts to come to him.

He hears a voice that's vaguely familiar, so he peers out of the crevice he's hidden himself in to confirm his suspicions. At that moment, the cultists fall to the ground and start to convulse and writhe around and Dave can see the back of a very familiar head.]


Aoba?
bottombitch: (pic#11770110)

1.2

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-06-26 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ Aoba looks different. His demeanor is more intense, his eyes pale yellow. But his voice has the most dramatic change, seeming normal and yet some small persistent sensation that something wasn't right about it either. Like it's supposed to sound normal, but it's distorted in ways most normal ears can't pick up. The brain can tell the difference, though, because that's exactly what it's impacting.

Those people convulsing on the floor or staring off into space? They'll be fine, eventually. They'll be like this for a bit and then they'll come to once their brain decides to reset back to factory defaults. Or, well... whatever they were before Aoba did a quick number on it.

Yellow eyes track to where the voice comes from, and then they find him. Recognition flickers over his face. ]


D̙̫̻̗a̲̾ve...?
bottombitch: (pic#11942678)

2.2

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-06-26 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ The odd distortion in Aoba's voice fades, as does the pale yellow in his eyes. They return to their usual hazel, which looks dull by comparison. But at least he doesn't have that spooky voice effect or intensely impassive expression on his face. He's back to relative normalcy. ]

Uwah! You were caught too?!

[ He's just going to... carefully step over one passed out cultist and trot right on over to Dave. ]

Are you okay?
chumpelstiltskin: (pic#11539183)

[personal profile] chumpelstiltskin 2018-06-26 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Although Dave initially called out to Aoba, the voice gives him pause. It's as if he momentarily doubts his mind and his memories and wonders if he got the right guy here. Despite being a little perturbed, he isn't particularly afraid of Aoba's powers. It's the uncertainty in the other man's expression, like he doesn't know who he is, let alone who Dave is.

But it all flashes past so quickly that Dave struggles to figure out what the hell just happened. He glances down at the unconscious cultist, then back up at Aoba as he approaches.]


Yeah, little old me. The true embodiment of everything organised religion craves. [He pulls at his collar, idly.]

I’ve literally just been on vacation for the past few days. I was given the true, Amish experience with all the comfort that no power, minimal food and overcrowding can provide.

[He shrugs.] Nah, I’m actually fine. Tired but fine. Are you on the SWAT team now or something?
bottombitch: (pic#11445336)

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-06-26 10:45 am (UTC)(link)
I'm sorry. [ Aoba genuinely feels terrible that he's had to go through all this. He knows he's kidding around, but to be held against one's will, collared and shoved together like animals. Stripped of their social interactions, comfort... And no distractions either. ]

At least we know these guys have good taste. [ Laughing nervously, the sound dies quickly on his lips when he realizes he should really keep the jokes to someone who is actually good at them. He blushes and focuses instead on inspecting the collar around his neck for signs of irritation or injury. And also to see if there aren't any suspicious attachments. ]

What's a SWAT team? [ Because the mental image there is of a bunch of cats swiping at stuff, and he's pretty sure that's nowhere close to the mark. Pulling out a camp bottle he takes with him on missions, he hands it to Dave to drink from as he nods to this collar. ] ...I don't know if it's safe to remove this. Have you seen it done?
chumpelstiltskin: (pic#11780526)

[personal profile] chumpelstiltskin 2018-06-26 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[Truth be told, it's up there with some of the most shit experiences Dave has lived through. It doesn't win, mostly because it middles with being stranded on a meteor with trolls for so long.

But it's over now, and although he's not really a positive person, he allows himself to enjoy the feeling of relief now that he's out of the woods and here with someone familiar. Aoba, in particular, has the sort of calming demeanor that makes Dave ease up in a situation where his hackles would normally be raised. Except for when he's giving people seizures, he should really ask what the hell that's about.]


I dunno, like a team of elite police who run into bad situations and make them better by hitting things? [Dave shrugs. He's grateful for the water and he takes a swig, tilting his head up to give Aoba a better view of what's around his neck.]

No. But I've seen youtube videos that lead me to believe this can only end well.
Edited 2018-06-26 12:07 (UTC)
bottombitch: (pic#11445320)

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-06-27 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
Is that what it means...

[ Aoba laughs, but it's that self-conscious kind that seems keenly aware of what he's done...despite that, he glances behind him, and his expression falls. He didn't want to hurt anyone, even if it wasn't permanent. Granny warned him after he'd used it on Mizuki, informed him as to what it really did and how he had fucked it up before. Now he tries to weaponize it with more purposeful focus...

But he hasn't practiced and he's not the 'Other Aoba', who has a masterful control over it. Who also lacks any sort of moral compass to stop going overboard, too. Instead it's just him and his limited experience, and way too much desperation. It's a deadly cocktail even when sipped, but running into Dave likely saves him for the moment from making that dull throb behind his eyes worse and worse until it's too late.

Dave, in particular, has the sort of distracting personality that distances him from the pain that's a close companion of his in moments like these, when his stress is high... or it diffuses his own awkwardness to tolerable levels. While he's grateful he doesn't point out the pile of convulsing or comatose bodies in his wake, he still feels it's presence, the elephant in the room. He instead focuses on the neck that's presented to him, inspecting it for signs of injury. ]


It looks uncomfortable. Do you want me to try to remove it? Or can you endure this a bit longer?

[ He could try to tinker with it, but it's hardly safe here, is it? ]
chumpelstiltskin: (pic#11539176)

[personal profile] chumpelstiltskin 2018-06-28 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
It's about as close to a serious answer as either of us are going to get, but I'm only saying that because my cryptic asshole powers have been stifled thanks to this collar.

[Dave looks worse for wear, but not necessarily around the collar. He's bruised and battered, his hair is tousled and his lips are chapped. He's forcing himself to be sassy in lieu of actually admitting that he feels like shit and he wants to curl up somewhere for a bit and sleep it all off.]

I feel like our chances of getting out of here safely go up by at least twenty-five percent when I can open up a fresh can of whoop-ass on these sons of bitches alongside you like some sort of buddy-cop duo only with weird-ass powers. Only it’s not fresh because it’s canned. And also this is making me feel kind of fetishy in a bad way so the sooner it’s off, the better.
bottombitch: (pic#11438240)

I have no idea if they can remove them...

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-06-28 10:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ Seeing Dave at his worst makes Aoba feel bad that he'd initially came in here thinking of others who needed help, but here Dave is... hair a mess, looking like he'd been worked over once or twice and appearing very much in need of rest and care. Or maybe some therapeutic shit-kicking with those aforementioned powers Dave was talking about.

Aoba searches himself for a small tool kit, the kind he uses for more delicate work on Ren. Finding it, he tries to see if he can locate a seam or weak point to exploit and therefore remove the collar, or disable it somehow. ]


So you have superpowers now? [ HE THINKS YOU'RE JOKING, DAVE... ] But if you want to join the fight, I'll back you up. I think you might want to think about fighting your way out, though.

[ Fetishy in a bad way. Yeah, Aoba absolutely didn't want his mind to go there, but here we are. And now it's stupidly distracting trying to find and fiddle with the locking mechanism with too many mental images. THANKS HE HATES IT ]

D...don't make this weird, Dave. But yeah, I'm on it. [ Now he's just going to awkwardly lean in on his personal space while he works, trying not to let this get any weirder for Dave. ] Hold still.
chumpelstiltskin: (pic#11780463)

Pretty sure they can yeah

[personal profile] chumpelstiltskin 2018-06-29 09:10 am (UTC)(link)
When you say superpowers it makes me sound like a cartoon character. Just call it enhancements. Actually that makes it sound like I got a boob job. Whatever. I've had superpowers for years now, dude. How'd we make it this far knowing each other without knowing this about us?

[Dave raises a curious brow at Aoba, studying his face for a moment. He wonders if this is what having normal friendships is like. Was like. No powers or saving the world, just two guys shootong the shit about childhood trauma.

But the line of questions reminds him of what he saw, and he's curious.]


Can't you just sing it off? Give it what for like the cultists over there? You give me shit for not telling you all the little tidbits about you and meanwhile you're sitting on the fact that you've got some voodoo voice shit going on.

[Oddly, he doesn't feel compelled to really lean away from Aoba when he works on the collar.]
Edited 2018-06-29 09:13 (UTC)
bottombitch: (pic#11445336)

OH GOOD

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-06-29 11:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ That was kind of the point. Make something sound ridiculous so approaching this vaguely terrifying development is a lot easier. Aoba's actually pretty anxious about Dave seeing him like that. His head feeling ready to burst from a headache as he used Scrap again and again, knocking out some, commanding others to turn on their allies. Aoba wonders if this is going to change how he sees him -- wait, no it definitely will. And wondering if he's going to lose someone because of it is not helping to steady his hands. ]

Sing? Ah, that's...not really how it works. [ Aoba's eyes flicker up to Dave's face and then back to his work. ]

Sorry for not revealing my freaky side sooner. I guess I was just enjoying being normal. Truth is, I really don't like using it.

[ Aoba pries at a piece that seems loose and starts to work it open. The mechanism falls apart and the collar loosens, prompting Aoba to push it off his shoulder as if it's radioactive and kick it away. ]

Besides, sometimes normal works just fine.
chumpelstiltskin: (pic#11551110)

[personal profile] chumpelstiltskin 2018-07-07 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[There is something very familiar in Aoba's response, it feels like something Dave could have said word for word about his own freakshow qualities.

When Aoba's eyes flick up to look at him, Dave looks back down at him. They lock eyes for a moment, but Dave is about ready to glance away by the time Aoba looks down at his work.]


God, yes. [Dave doesn't care how tangible the pleasure in his voice is, he lets out a groan of relief as he rolls his shoulders and gives his neck a scratch.

His relief flows through him, enough to give him the tenacity to step forward and through his arms around Aoba for a hug. Briefly. He steps back as quickly as he stepped in fidgeting before he glances upward with a face like he's doing advanced calculus.

He glances back down at Aoba, brows furrowed, unaware of the sword that falls from the sky above him until the hilt donks him on the top of his head.]


Fuck's sake.
bottombitch: (pic#11444476)

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-07-07 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[ YOU'RE RUBBING OFF ON HIM, DAVE. Also - oh, that sure was some unintentional, locking eyes moment. He's pretty sure if there was a sound track, there might be some kind of swell meant to capitalize on how meaningful those gazes were until looking away breaks it up with a jarring record scratch. Oh god, Aoba thinks, I just made it awkward, didn't I?

It's a miracle he even got the lock open, maybe his panic somehow contributed, but he got it off somehow. They both look relieved when it's off, but just as Aoba offers him a lopsided, pleased-with-himself smile that probably isn't nearly as reassuring as he hopes it looks, Dave collides into him. ]


Uwah!? [ It's a hug. A brief and startling hug, and a somewhat up close and personal reminder that this man needs a shower and a change of clothes. Oh right, and he's grateful too. Aoba's red-faced by the time he breaks it off, and all that fidgeting makes him fidget and it probably would have continued on like this if the sword didn't suddenly make it's appearance, clocking him on the top of the head. Aoba flips right the hell out. ]

What the hell?! [ Are they under attack?! He's just going to look up as if somehow he's going to see something bearing down on them, but... nope. ]
chumpelstiltskin: (Default)

[personal profile] chumpelstiltskin 2018-07-07 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[The hug could have gone on longer if Dave weren't painfully aware of how he smells. He can push past crippling social anxiety, but he can't push past the fact that he smells like soggy doritos right now.

Dave rubs where the sword hit him, crouching to pick it up. He holds a hand out to try halt Aoba's panic, like he's a horse that's been spooked.]


Don't freak out, it's just one of the things that I can do. [He twirls the sword around, idly, totally not showing off for Aoba in this moment.]

If you don't want to use your shit again, I can probably get us out of here. I have some hard-done by, grizzled lead actor frustration that I could stand to take out on these sons of bitches.
bottombitch: (pic#11438240)

[personal profile] bottombitch 2018-07-08 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ Even considering the smell, Aoba... probably... wouldn't have paid it much mind. If anything, the reality of it -- and a whiff of it he did indeed get -- would only serve to ground him more. His mind floated over a sea of ragged shards of glass -- his head hurt tremendously, more than it has for over a year...

But the pain was nothing compared to the grief he knew he could have endured if he did nothing. If he let his friends languish in captivity without doing anything.

This pain that threatened to sicken and leave him deranged with agony, it was a small price to pay when you're used to this. He only wished he had some of Granny's medicine to take the sharp edges off. But for now... for now he'll endure it.

He can't lose anyone else. He can't. ]


What, summon rude bladed weapons that try to knock you out?! [ But a moment later, let off the hook, Aoba lets his shoulders sag a bit. He looks tired. He's always pale, but does he always look this much like... reflective tape? ]

If you insist. [ He almost refused, but just one look on Dave's face told him everything he needed to know, and banished any idea that Dave could never benefit from anything BUT a therapeutic shit-kicking. ]

Do you really know how to fight with that thing? [ CAN YOU BLAME HIM FOR ASKING? You just summoned it to hit you on the head??? ]