riverviewlogs | 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]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Is everyone here stubborn as shit? Magnus gives her an unimpressed look, missing the recognition in her face -- attributing her expression to general confusion over, you know, being kidnapped and beat to shit -- and going straight to worrying over her rather than himself.

He's exhausted, sure, and he's taken a few hits, but he's definitely better off than someone who's been beaten and starving for the past while. He grits his teeth in refreshed anger against the cultists, but he places a firm, gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Hey -- I get it, you're concerned about the others. We'll get to them, don't worry. But you're important, too."

Yes. Yes they are. Well, those that Iona knows, anyway. His words catch her by surprise, and she goes still under the gentle hand on her shoulder, something flickering across her face. An all-too-recent pain that she hasn’t yet dealt with, hasn’t yet spoken about. And she’s too exhausted, too pushed to the ends of her limits, to hide it as well as she usually can.

“I shouldn’t be. I’m not.” Not for any good reason, anyway. Wrong place, wrong time, she literally stumbled her way into being the only bloody woman capable of stopping Corypheus. Stumbled her way into no longer being expendable. So others have to make the sacrifices she can’t. The sacrifices she's not allowed to. And she'd chosen them. The words slip out before she can stop them, and she silently curses her exhaustion. It’s why she decides to concede, in the hopes that he will ignore... what she’s said in favour of taking advantage of her agreeing.

“But if you refuse to listen to reason and insist that I see the medics.... Lead on.”

Edited 2018-06-29 13:32 (UTC)

Magnus doesn't know this woman. He doesn't know what she's thinking of when she insists she's not important, exhaustion getting the better of her and letting the words slip. He just hears someone saying they shouldn't matter, and there's no better way to get him riled up. He's about to launch into some rant about the importance of self-love, but she switches gears on him. She concedes, allows him to lead her to the medics.

So he turns to walk with her, patting her on the back as he does so, and keeping his palm there as a reassurance. But as he does so, he doesn't let her off that easy.

"That's dumb. Everyone's important. Especially you right now! You've been kept in a cage for like, days, excuse me for caring about you." He says this in a huff, but he doesn't get too excited about it just yet, largely because she has been hurt pretty bad.

"But you're probably not thinking straight right now, so as long as you forgive yourself for being so rude I'll forgive you, too. So, do you?"

His hand on her back is warmly reassuring, to a degree that is startling. It’s grounding, too, and she finds she... doesn’t actually much mind it. And he’s somehow managed to avoid hitting a bruise, so she appreciates that, too.

She stares, just a little, incredulously. She doesn’t know what to make of him. But she thinks she suddenly sees what Dorian saw in him. She’d never gotten much of a chance to get to know him terribly well when he was here the first time. She huffs and exhausted laugh and shakes her head. “I forgive myself for being rude.”

This is terribly surreal. And more than a little bit amusing.

He ruffles her hair in response, a small, proud smile tugging at his mouth. Magnus won't stand for anyone neglecting themselves on his watch. Self love or bust.

"Good. Forgiveness all around. Now that we agree how important you are, let's get you out of this shit place, huh?" He gestures behind him, in the direction of the medics stationed just outside the entrance.

Without asking, he snakes an arm beneath hers, being incredibly careful not to harm her any more as he props her up on his shoulder and starts leading her towards the exit.

"Keep an eye out for baddies, yeah? You get first dibs."

Iona can’t remember the last time someone had ruffled her hair. And here Magnus is... ruffling her hair with a proud little smile, all because she forgave herself. Even if she hadn’t... exactly. Not for what had started this whole line of conversation, anyway. But for being rude to herself, sure.

He’s so careful as he props her up in his shoulder, and she appreciates it, because for all her insistence that she’s fine and doesn’t need medical attention... she is feeling every little thing that has been done to her since she’d gotten kidnapped. And his support is very, very welcome.

She smirks at him. “I should hope so. I do owe them a taste of their own treatment.”

"Yeah, you do," Magnus says with a smirk. "You can be real nasty with the first guy we see."

In this direction, though, most of the caves have been cleared out. There's been a lot of confusion and fighting all around, but they've been careful to make paths for rescues of those kidnapped and hurt straight towards the exit. After as much chaos as there has been, things should start winding down soon.

And then they can make sure to hunt down every last cultist there is. Make sure this doesn't happen again.

"Magnus, by the way," he mentions as they walk.

exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

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