exploration mingle: branching out

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: exploration mingle: branching out
when: August 15 - October 15
where: the quarantine, the delta, the jungle, and the forest
warnings: threads may contain violence, body horror, and discussion of injuries and illness; please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

branching out

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 the government is really focusing on exploration objectives, in order to unite citizens in expanding, securing, and supplying the city for everyone's benefit.

the story so far

Exploration & Expansion Progress Report ● Plotting & Questions ● Reward Submissions ● First Teams

It's normal to see drop-ships hovering in the sky over the Quarantine, of course, since the city is not self-sufficient just yet, and receives regular shipments of supplies, technology, merchandise, food, books, movies, and all sorts of other things from the Capital World. However, the number of drop-ships coming down has recently started to triple in frequency.

On August 10th, an announcement started being run on the Quarantine's networks, television stations, and on digital display boards throughout the city explaining the situation - Mayor Dichard explained in an official mayoral address that the Quarantine is in the process of taking in refugees from a planet in the solar system which recently became uninhabitable due to a massive natural disaster. Hundreds of people are flooding the city, and many of them are wounded, sick, or otherwise in acute distress.

How is a city already stretched to the limit for population capacity going to handle all these new arrivals...?

how it works

● ADDITIONAL OOC INFO: The refugee aliens are called the Frysh; they are humanoid mammalian and have a similar internal physiology to humans, however, they look somewhat insectoid, with mandibles, slightly shiny skin that is smoother and harder to the touch than human skin, and delicate wings that aren't capable of carrying the weight of the body (they cannot fly). Their skin ranges from pale to dark gray, and they have mottled or spotted/freckled markings in a wide variety of warm earth tones on their faces, necks, backs, and the outside of the thighs; their blood is dark rusty brown and slightly more viscous than human blood; eye colors are very widely varied. Average height is 6 feet, and doesn't vary based on sex (the species has male/female/neutral). The aging process is similar to that of humans, and refugees come in all ages. The species is very high-tech, but the tech is mostly related to entertainment rather than weaponry, medical, etc. as the planet the species lived on was quite utopian and basic needs were always taken care of by tech that was left on the planet when it was destroyed.

● 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 the next 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.

● Thread Rewards: For this mingle, I have created five different items as rewards - two for the first prompt, and three for the remaining three. Any character participating in a completed thread with at least one other character, for any phase prompt by October 15 will be able to pick a keyword corresponding to one of these rewards when they submit the thread at the link above. Every character participating in a completed thread will be eligible to receive an item. Completed threads must take place on this entry.
ETA August 20th: New characters who complete a thread on August's Test Drive meme with the Tent City prompt, and who are accepted into the game are also eligible for a thread reward for Phase I only.

● Entry Reward: The reward for completion of this month's exploration objective will be expansion of the City, a more reliable electrical and power grid, and some new setting features as the Inhabited City grows in size.

phase i: tent cities

Unfortunately, this influx of refugees is going to be causing a serious overpopulation problem - for now, since it is summer, the new arrivals will be housed in makeshift tent cities set up in Riverview Central Park as well as other smaller parks around the city, any spare empty lots, along the banks of the river, and in a few of the sports fields. The resources of the city are going to be taxed to their limit, and while the Capital World will be contributing funds and helping to get together building supplies, Riverview's intrepid citizens are going to have to find ways to supply more space to build shelters for the refugees, and more power to supply the electrical grid in the city.

However, it's not just the explorers that are able to help out with this particular problem. Any citizen who wishes is more than welcome to attend the tent cities where makeshift field hospitals have been set up with as many medical amenities as possible. While serious and life-threatening injuries or illnesses are taken to the Riverview Hospital, people who need first aid or more minor or moderate tending can attend the field hospitals and recover in their temporary homes. Volunteers are requested to help with many different tasks - medical staff to help heal the injured and ill, anyone capable to cook and serve at soup kitchens, members of the Perimeter Guard, police, or other capable fighters to secure the tent cities and make sure there's no violence or theft happening, and drivers and laborers to help bring supplies from the drop-ships and other parts of the city to keep the tent cities supplied. Of course, there are going to be a lot of other jobs that come up on the fly, so everyone is welcome.

phase ii: the delta

With fall rapidly approaching, and with it the colder weather, it's urgent that housing is set up for these new arrivals, and with new housing comes a need for more electricity. The electrical grid is already stretched to its limits with the current population in the city, and is essentially being held together with duct tape and hope - with all these new arrivals and their needs, there's no way the current grid can handle it.

Thankfully, during a recent exploratory fly-over, an electrical installation set in one of the massive waterfalls near the edge of the Abandoned City was noted. While at the time it seemed too far away from established civilization to risk a large expedition, things have changed with the new influx of refugees, and the installation seems like the best hope to bring more energy into the city. Characters who participate in Phase II will be taking watercraft down the river to the delta just above the waterfalls, finding the installation, and checking to see if it can be restored to functionality so the power it generates from the waterfall can be used in the city.

The dangers faced by people taking on Phase II will be primarily related to the long trek needed to get to the installation, down the river - a relatively straight-forward, old fashioned adventurous exploration mission. While using watercraft will help speed up the process, the river is heavily populated by monsters and predators who have flourished in the absence of civilization. Expect mutated piranhas, crocodiles, carnivorous fish, and just about anything else that lives in or near a river to try to take a swipe at the teams making their way to the installation. Once inside the installation, there will be the hazards associated with a damp building that hasn't been used by people in over a decade - it's in poor repair, will have structural damage, and the likely-malfunctioning tech means that electricity and water are almost guaranteed to meet at some point. This prompt would be well-suited to engineers, skilled laborers/construction workers, and fighters; people who can fix the damage to the installation and those who can protect everyone along the way.

For any thread completed under this prompt, whether or not characters made it to the delta, all participating characters will receive rewards.

phase iii: the jungle

The second line of exploration will be into the jungle north of the city, where fly-overs have located a series of skyscrapers and flat ground, overgrown with plant life and obviously left empty since quite a while before the Abandoned City was left behind. Despite being long abandoned, however, the buildings and land seem to be pretty well-preserved and would be usable with a bit of work and maybe a touch of magic. With the flat area cleared out, it would make a perfect helipad for transport and with a temporary fence that could be easily built up after the area is cleared, this could be the start of a smaller city that could eventually be connected by transit or cleared land and fences with the Quarantine proper! Adding this extra space would easily house all the refugees and some of the excess population from the Quarantine, which would be a major advantage for everyone in the city.The government wastes no time in dispatching teams from the Perimeter Guard and welcoming the inclusion of regular citizens with a taste for exploration, to head out into the jungle and see whether this could be a viable solution.

But why would what looks like such an easy area to inhabit have been left alone and outside city walls for so long?

Well, exploratory teams will soon find out - as they make their way through the jungle toward the buildings, characters will start to notice that the animals and monsters in the jungle are getting increasingly...strange. Rather than otherworldly creatures that still make sense, they look like weird, mutated combinations of animals, a mashup of teeth and eyes and fur and scales and claws that don't belong together. As the teams move further, they'll start to notice that some of these creatures are taking on plant-like qualities as well, vines winding into flesh and extending like tentacled appendages from monsters that are increasingly larger and more misshapen. After a point, they're almost incomprehensible blobs of melded flesh and plant life that can't move, can only sit and snap or swipe or grasp for prey.

It isn't just the monsters either. The trip out to the skyscrapers will take at least four days on foot for the fastest and fittest people in the Quarantine, and going by foot is the only way to get there, considering there's no cleared space large enough to land craft, and due to the unknown nature of the area around the skyscrapers, magic is not to be used to travel there. Day One of the trip will be pretty normal, aside from the surroundings starting to get weird, but on Day Two, characters will start to feel and see changes. Whether they're taking on physical traits of other members of their teams, or the creatures and plants around them, they will start to subtly change, whether it's eye or hair color, scales or claws or even superpowers or abilities, they'll start to 'trade' traits with people and creatures around them. On Day Three, it gets significantly worse, with characters starting to meld together with animals and plants around them, becoming more and more amalgamated with the world around them, whether it's vines under their skin or growing a tail, or any combination. By Day Four, characters will be experiencing intense changes to the very fabric of themselves, their physical bodies morphing and twisting into things that are completely alien while their minds stay mostly the same.

The level of transformation experienced and the amount of physical pain and damage that the transformation causes to individual characters is up to player discretion, and characters that feel unable to handle the effects of the jungle route are more than welcome to turn back whenever they want. However, if any teams make it to the skyscrapers they will find that the buildings are inhabitable and the area would be easily cordoned off with fences, though the buildings are covered with mosses, fungi, and leafy herbs that seem unaffected by the mutations. Teams will find that as they turn back toward the city, the effects wear off as they leave the area, in exact reverse to how they appeared.

For any thread completed under this prompt, whether or not characters made it to the skyscrapers, all participating characters will receive rewards. The first team that makes it to the skyscrapers, collects samples of the fungi and moss, and makes it back to the city should respond in this thread to receive the "solution" to what is happening in the area and how the area can become inhabitable.

phase iv: the forest

The jungle isn't the only option for new areas to inhabit. The same fly-over expedition covered the deciduous forest to the south of the Quarantine, and discovered a sprawling, walled compound, overgrown with thick, lush vegetation. The compound seems to have its own water sources, an orchard, garden areas, and places to keep farm animals, as well as ample space where wild game can roam - just about any herbivorous creature you can imagine seems to have found a home here.

The most important part? Despite looking like plain old tall, thick stone walls that could easily be stomped down by some of the bigger predators in the woods, they are obviously doing their job. There isn't a single break in the walls and despite being in ill repair, the whole area looks pretty safe. On top of that, it's big enough to house the refugees and then some in relative comfort and self-sufficiency, enough that they could easily survive long enough to build a safe method of transport out to the compound so residents there could access the city with ease.

Just like the jungle skyscrapers, though, one wonders why no one is living there anymore. Unlike the jungle, however, the day-long trip out to the compound is relatively uneventful. Besides the usual predators in the area, there's nothing untoward, no unspeakable horror like what's going on in the jungle. At least, not until the team makes their way to the compound and opens the heavy gate to let themselves inside. Once they're there and exploring to make sure the area is safe to inhabit (a task that will take at least four days considering the amount of ground covered by the compound) is when strange things start happening.

It starts on Day One, with team members noticing strange apparitions out of the corners of their eyes. Like ghosts, they flit in and out of peripheral vision, make the sound of footsteps behind the person on night watch, touch an explorer's shoulder from behind when they're not looking, and immediately disappear when looked at directly. On Day Two, the apparitions will start to stick around longer, and look familiar, with explorers seeing things that trigger bad feelings, like fear or anger or grief. By Day Three the apparitions will be an almost constant presence, hovering around, visible to everyone, exposing the worst of every member of the team - images of dead loved ones, the scent of perfume or death, the sounds of an explorer's most guilty memory, all of it is there, ready to expose their darkest secrets to everyone around them. On Day Four, the apparitions will start to become more than that, physically attacking characters, enticing them blindly into dangerous places, and otherwise trying to kill them.

The types of apparitions experienced and the amount of exposure of dark secrets is up to player discretion, and characters who are unable to handle the events unfolding are more than welcome to leave and go back to the city. Teams that remain in the compound and explore for the full four days will eventually find a building near the center of the compound, with heavily riveted metal doors that have the words "Central Hub" spray paint stenciled on them and complicated electronic deadbolt locks.

For any thread completed under this prompt, whether or not characters made it to the Central Hub, all participating characters will receive rewards. The first team that makes it to the Central Hub and gets the doors open (in whatever way possible) should respond in this thread to receive the "solution" to what is happening in the area and how the area can become inhabitable.

phase v: 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 credit by submitting it for the Progress Report.

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Daniel Gstir; image ii: Steven Cormann; image iii: Tom Nemeth

navigation

Comments

QUESTIONS

[riverviewmod]

Any questions for the mod can be asked here.

[11calls]

Forgive the lateness of the question, but can the ghosts/voices/etc be captured on the devices? I'm thinking specifically of day two and day three!

REWARD SUBMISSIONS

[riverviewmod]

how it works

● All submitted threads must be complete by October 15th, giving players two months to complete them.
● Once you have completed a thread in any phase of this month's mission, fill out the textbox below with all of the requested information to receive a reward.
● There are five different types of rewards, each identified with a keyword, that will be further customized with specifics so each reward is slightly different. Two of the items will be only for participation in the first phase; the other three items will be only for characters participating in any of the other three phases.
● Each character can receive only one reward from each set, for a maximum of two per character. If a character participates in the first phase as well as any of the other three phases, and completes a thread for each, they may receive one reward from each set.

rewards

phase i
Characters participating in taking care of the refugees, who complete a thread on this entry, will receive a gift from a grateful Frysh refugee. The devices seem to be common hand-held items from their home world.

● Healthy: A small device that looks something like a laser pointer with a diffused beam.
● Happy: A small electronic device that looks like a worry stone, which starts to glow when the indentation is rubbed.

phase ii, iii, iv
Characters participating in any of the exploration expeditions should pick one keyword from this list: Natura, Transformation, or Spectre. Along with the rest of the information provided in the submission form, this keyword will be used by the mod to personalize the character's reward.

submit

Fill in the information in the appropriate text box below and post in response to this comment in order to receive your character's personalized reward.

phase i completed
● <b>Character Name:</b> ● <b>Link to Thread:</b> <a href="LINK">here</a> ● <b>Summary of Events:</b> (quick summary of what happened) ● <b>Keyword:</b> ● <b>Character's Favorite Color:</b>

phase ii, iii, or iv completed
● <b>Character Name:</b> ● <b>Link to Thread:</b> <a href="LINK">here</a> ● <b>Summary of Events:</b> (quick summary of what happened) ● <b>Phase Completed:</b> ● <b>Keyword:</b> ● <b>Character's Favorite Activity:</b> ● <b>Character's Favorite Color:</b> ● <b>Character's Worst Fear:</b> ● <b>Character's Elemental Affiliation:</b> (air, water, earth, fire, etc.)

EXAMPLE SUBMISSIONS

[riverviewmod]

phase i

● Character Name: John Doe
● Link to Thread: fake link
● Summary of Events: John, who's a pretty decent cook, made a huge batch of spaghetti with veggie sauce for the Frysh, and he and Jane Doe handed it out while bantering.
● Keyword: Happy
● Character's Favorite Color: purple

phase ii, iii, iv

● Character Name: Jane Doe
● Link to Thread: fake link
● Summary of Events: Jane and her team of John Doe, Alice Doe, and Mike Doe went into the jungle, and Jane slowly melded with a cheetah and a tree. It was pretty traumatic.
● Phase Completed: Phase II
● Keyword: Natura
● Character's Favorite Activity: Going to the gym.
● Character's Favorite Color: blue
● Character's Worst Fear: spiders
● Character's Elemental Affiliation: earth

FIRST TEAMS

[riverviewmod]

submit

If your team is the first to complete a phase to the point specified in the entry, please fill out the textbox below.

● <b>Character Name:</b> ● <b>Link to Thread:</b> <a href="LINK">here</a>

phase i | OTA ⚚

[bestsir]

Harry Goodsir may not be one of the chief organisers of the medical response to the refugee crisis, but he is certainly one of the most enthusiastic participants. (And when someone tries to get him to take time off, he ends up getting into one of the exploration parties, but that's another story.) For the duration of the crisis (bar the time off occasioned by the exploration, and a couple of days after that to recover), he may be found attending to refugee patients, either in their own tents or in one of the hastily-rigged infirmary tents.

[ Doctors and doctor-adjacent folks and people who just want to lend a helping hand, please feel free to use this thread to mingle amongst yourselves if you like! ]

[breqintopieces]

Breq's limited knowledge of first aid doesn't give her quite enough experience to help out any of the Frysh refugees. Light wounds, scrapes, and bruises, she can deal with those with or without correctives, but insectoid features have stymied her.

There are plenty of things around a refugee camp, even the medical areas, that anyone can do, however, and part of that is what takes her up to Harry right at the moment. Her jacket is neat but not fancy, as she strides toward Harry with a purpose.]

Is there any more space in this tent? [She gestures with one hand toward the one behind Harry.] Another ship arrived, and the inhabitants have some sort of chronic illness they're recovering from. Non-contagious.

phase iv | doreen, padme, peter, thor

[partiallysquirrelblood]

[The heavy gate, rusty and worn due to long lack of use, opens slowly. It creaks and whines as Doreen pushes it open. She and Tippy-Toe scan the compound, the squirrel sniffing the air. Nothing besides the fact that it's been abandoned seems off so far. She waves the others in.]

Chukk chukk chtt chrrt.

Me either Tippy. So far so good pals. I don't think anybody should drop their guard, because this place has horror movie written all over it. In big bright glowing neon letters. But it seems fine right now, even if it is probably totally haunted.

[Many people would consider Doreen's automatic assumption that the place was haunted ridiculous. These people were not friends with an Angel of Death or the ex-wife of the not-quite-literal Son of Satan And they definitely hadn't teamed up with Loki to fight the Dread Dormammu with ghost squirrels.]

[madeupnames]

[Peter's been kind of on edge, the closer they get to the compound. Maybe it's just — the weird senses he gets sometimes, but he can't help but feel they're on concerning territory. Still, he's out here and Spider-Man, so that garners a little more courage in facing his gnawing spider-induced anxiety. Though make no mistake, he doesn't remotely consider Doreen's words ridiculous.

Especially when he knows there have been ghosts in Riverview before. It makes the hairs on his neck wanna stand on end, under his mask. Instead he just walks along, looking all around and taking in the totally maybe possibly haunted sights.]

I wouldn't mind a Casper. But not a Amityville Horror.

[..........

He looks back at Padme and Thor.]

Sorry, stupid earth references; silly me.

[As far as he's concerned, neither know he's Peter. And Doreen either (though she's got him on that one for sure, sorry Pete). He plans to keep it that way, and will absolutely not give away how he can possibly stop for pee breaks in that thing.]

Breq | OTA

[breqintopieces]

Phase II

[This early in the preparations for expansion, as far as Breq is aware, there isn't a solid team yet set up for forging out all the way to clear out the electrical installation and the waterfall. She isn't letting that stop her, though. Part of her work as a Perimeter Guard means knowing the wilderness, and in the months since she arrived in the Quarantine, the river has been a particular source of danger. She spent her first month fighting off giant crocodiles and carnivorous toads, and she's sure there are more out there.

So she's recruited anyone willing, to travel about a half-day from the city and set into clearing away some of the more dangerous wildlife, to speed on the travel of the engineers and workers making their way to the waterfall itself.

At the moment, that means crouching on the muddy bank, her gun in hand and her armor a silvery sheen around her as she watches the water with sharp eyes.]

There. [She says it quietly to her companion.] To the left of the log. It's blinking.

Phase IV - Day 1

[It starts off-- dramatically.

Not the little flashes themselves. Those are still subdued, seeming little more than a trick of the light, at the moment. Enough to make one twitchy, but not outright disturbing. Not even overly suspicious, really.

It happens toward the end of the day, when the light is beginning to fade to dusk below the trees. Breq is walking as silently as she can manage on the loose leaf litter of the ground when a sound echoes out from nearby, vague but distinguishable-- it's the sound of a gun being cocked.]

Get down!

[Breq snaps it as soon as she hears it, and she's immediately turning, pulling her own gun as she does, already starting to aim.]

Phase IV - Closed to buildsomething

There's something up ahead.

[The further the two of them have traveled into this forest, the more wooden Breq's voice and expression have become. She looks more like an android than most of Riverview's androids, at this point, to take in her face.

That doesn't mean she's emotionless, though. The set of her shoulders is far too tense for that, and the way her gaze darts around the forest, like she expects every tree to be harboring an enemy behind it, gives her away. It's a sign of her discipline as a soldier that she hasn't fired on anything yet as they travel. Now, though, her attention is fixed ahead of them, as she speaks in a quiet tone to Tony.]

It's darting in and out, but we're gaining on it.

Wildcard/Other

[Have an idea for a thread that's not one of the starters here? I'd love to do it! You can PM me here or at needslineface to work out the details, or simply respond with a starter of your own.]

iv

[seeingscarlet]

[Something weird is going on, but Wanda can't quite put her finger on it. Everything is new enough that it doesn't seem odd that she keeps thinking she saw or heard something strange - just the forest playing tricks on her or too little sleep. Certainly nothing worth worrying about.

Nothing, that is, until they both hear the sound of a gun cocking. Instead of getting down, Wanda spins, power flaring to life in her hands, but--]

No one's there.

[Or more specifically: no one she can sense. But although Wanda lowers her arms, she doesn't dismiss the scarlet energy.]

--but I heard that too.

Gyda: OTA

[like_quicksilver]

Phase 1

With school having already started, Gyda couldn't spend the whole day in the tent city. There wasn't even much she could do, given she didn't have what others considered official training. The hours she could work after school were regulated to helping to fetch supplies for the medical tent or assisting at the soup kitchen though.

Her teacher did say something about 'service hours' and extra credit, whatever those were. She couldn't sit around the mansion while others were in need.

Gyda rotated her days between the make-shift medical tents or the soup kitchen, fetching, cleaning or more likely than not cooking and helping serve trays for anyone that's hungry. This was the easiest for her to do, as she always had to help cook large amounts of food back home, and there was nothing more comforting to someone lost then knowing that there was something hot about to be served.

She was serving lasagna to those in line, her hair pulled back with a scarf. "We also have meat free, if that's your preference."

[dancingmd]

Beverly recognizes the young girl from the med tent, though she never got a chance to catch her name, busy as they were with all the refugees coming in. Today, however, the girl is in the kitchens, so maybe now is an opportunity for them to meet properly, in this break between patients and at the end of the lunch rush.

"I'm fine with either, thank you." She smiles as she holds out her plate. "What about you? Have you had a chance to eat yet?"

Dante | OTA

[massivesword]

phase i

[No one is really sure how Dante got there. Maybe he was just ducking his increasingly persistent modeling agent, who has started to get used to the man's lassez-faire attitude to anything involving work. Or maybe he wandered over to check out the ships and ended up being shuffled to the tent camp by miscommunication. With all the bustling, it's possible. But even then they probably didn't mean to assign the half-devil to the soup kitchen. Dante is standing in front of one of the organizers as they try to explain how to prepare mass meals for the refugees, that importance of getting out as many good, but efficient plates as possible to feed the largest number of people, and that because of this they need a vast quantity of items prepped as soon as they can get them. Dante spins an oversized handgun in his hand while they talk, waiting and whistling absently while the instructions are laid out. He seems to consider the weapon, then the large containers of vegetables around him, clearly opting against it when he puts it away. Then out comes the broadsword, which he somehow manages to brandish even while surrounded by supplies and cooking equipment.]

All right! You just need all these chopped, right? I think I can do that.

phase ii

Well, this is gross.

[He's complaining, because of course he is, but Dante volunteered for this helpful excursion on his own. Unprompted, with no one really pushing him to do it. Thankfully no one that knows him is around to comment on his essentially payless job, but seeing how rough things are for the refugees coming in prompted him to decide that the city does need more energy to support it. They all just need more space and resources. So he's excusing this all under his own selfish actions, because he has to live in the city too. It's not like seeing families in need has anything to do with it. Nope.

Now he's on a boat with whoever also opted to check out the installation and see if repairs can be made, lazing around like he doesn't really care at all. The quiet splashes off to the side wouldn't even be a concern, but they keep happening. A stretch of quiet, then a splash. More quiet. A ripple. It's almost like there's a pattern to it. Someone really should check things out.]

ii

[thisisamazing]

[Hiccup volunteers wherever he can, generally speaking. This little mission is well-suited to his skill set; he's learned a fair amount about engineering, at least enough to check some electrical installations with a set of basic instructions. Not to mention, he and Toothless are able to defend themselves for the most part.

Toothless lands on the deck of the boat with a thud, Hiccup sliding out of the saddle and rubbing between his scaly ear fins.]

It could be worse. At least it's not raining. [He's a little damp, but only from river spray, thank the gods.] The delta's just up ahead, maybe a mile or two. We're almost there.

phase iv — closed: cassian, jyn, robbie, skye

[evite]

[ two women and their devoted manfriends walk into the forest.

it should be the set-up for a bad joke, but it's all too real this week as jyn and skye drag their home world sidekicks along for a woodland adventure. as it turns out, the perimeter guard is offering a stipend to guardsmen and women who volunteer for exploration duty; when jyn proposes the offer to her newfound orphan soul sister, it's all too easy for skye to vote for the one day trek. as for the gents? well, who's to blame the girls if they don't feel like carrying all the gear themselves?

while day one is minimally exhausting — divvying up the gear is definitely a smart move — there is the whole concept of will-o-wisps in the rear view to consider moving forward. will they be friendly ghosts? or does casper have something much more menacing up his sleeve? ]

— dawn of the second day

[realists]

[ the trek into the forest is easy, aside from the seemingly dancing lights just out of the corner of her eyes. watch is an irritating things because she's certain she keeps hearing someone approach, but there is never anyone there but her companions in various stages of sleep. is she going crazy? it doesn't seem likely since the rest of their group seems just as twitchy and fidgety.

it's not until day two that she really... starts noticing that something is wrong. the will'o'wisps aren't wispy anymore. they linger, no longer content in her periphery, no longer fleeting lights like the tail of a comet. they have form, familiar forms, that make jyn's chest seize up with grief that she tries to shove away as she steadfastly attempts to ignore the new apparitions.

she's snappish and sharp as they inspect the new building, losing some of the ease she finds in the woods, and occasionally snapping at the half-unseen ghosts when she's had enough. ]

Go away!

[ this is not the worst camping trip, yet. but it's Getting There. ]

phase i | ota

[goblinemperor]

i. helping out

[ Maia loves to help people. As emperor, he had done everything he could, to alleviate suffering and make the world a little better than it had been the day before, but it was a hard, complex, slow, and distant process. He understands the importance and power of that, but at the same time, he cannot resist the opportunity to help in a more immediate, more concrete way.

So he turns up to the refugee tent cities, and quickly starts to provide aid for the injured and suffering. He is no doctor, but he has a gentle touch, and no qualms at running errands. He fetches supplies for the doctors, distributes medicine, ensures that the elderly have received their food and water and are comfortable as they can be.

(He also, once or twice, comes across a child who has gotten lost, and gently shepherds them back to their families, though it is a lengthy and nerve-wracking process.)

If nothing else, it is certainly a crash course in not feeling awkward addressing strangers. There's no time to feel self-conscious, here. When Maia sees someone else who is clearly a Guard member or fellow volunteer, he reaches out to touch their arm and get their attention, asking: ]

Do you know where the doctor is?

ii. trouble right here in tent city (closed to Geralt)

[ Tempers are short. Quarters are tight and the Frysh have all been through a great deal. It's only to be expected, that some fights would break out. Squabbling, territorial aggression, all of that.

But when Maia hears from one of the elderly aliens that someone has been stealing pain medicine from others's tents in the night, Maia is furious at such selfishness and cruelty. Whoever it is must have access to the medical charts, to know which tents to sneak into. So Maia, in a moment of deviousness, comes up with a scheme. And all he needs for the scheme is a willing perimeter guard member.

Fortunately, before he can even think about approaching some stranger, he spots a familiar head of white hair. ]

Geralt! Is that you?

ii. trouble right here in tent city

[anhonorableman]

Maia! Why aren't—

[ A familiar crash of relief under his breastbone; and he lengthened his stride to come to Maia more swiftly, his craggy face creased into a pensive frown. He came up to face the other man, and rocked back onto his heels a little, and crossed his arms, looking Maia up and down. ]

Shouldn't you have a guard or something? Or at least a weapon of some kind?

Spider-Man / Peter Parker | The Tents

[madeupnames]

SPIDER-MAN

A. Lost Toy

[Spider-Man is of course gonna be on extra duty this August. Heck, he throws himself headlong into it, right when the school bells ring and he has a chance to get out there to the overcrowded parks and little apartment buildings they've managed to fit people in. There's certainly some hostilities and fights he breaks up without too much issue. It's not as bad as it could be, for how many new mouths there are. And how many fiery attitudes could potentially clash.

Anyways, the most important thing here is he found a toy that had been accidentally left on a bench at said park. It's a little worn down, and the name written on the bottom foot is too worn to read — and not in a language he can read anyway — so he calls a time-out on his usual activity to go jogging around the camp to whoever's eyes are available. He may come down from a tree on his web, or just run over, or wave new faces down.]

Hey! Excuse me! You know who this belongs to? Someone left it behind on accident!

B. Fast Trip (Is More than Just a Gas Station)

[At some point, the trams and cars are getting a little backed up. No problem! This is what Spider-Man's for, you know?

So there he is, holding up a little sign — upon closer inspection, it reads:]



C. NIGHT WATCH (♪ I'm working on my night moves ♪)

[When night settles and the camp is (or should be) calming down and all going to sleep, Spider-Man has taken up residence on the lower rooftop of a nearby building. And... yeah, admittedly, he's kind of nodding off, if he's not pulling his mask and shoving gummy bears into his face. If you're getting into any trouble, though, or there's any crimes goin' on, don't worry! His spider senses'll tingle and he'll hop right on down to help with whatever. Or just find him up here.]

PETER PARKER

D. Volunteer Work



[Spider-Man isn't the only person helping out! Peter's been taking up the mantle on some occasions as being an errand boy for those working in the camps. Whether you're in the food kitchens, at the medical tents, or are helping with building camps, he's been running in-between with a clipboard, scribbling down things that are super needed. Where he gets them kind of depends — mostly, he's rushing to whatever government aid hub there is and reporting in.

So don't be surprised by the sweaty kid huffing, scribbling with intense focus on the paper.]

Whatcha' need? What're we low on?

E. Magic School Bus Tent

Alright, awesome. You totally got it, yeah.

[If he's not on errand boy duty, he's doing some extra work as a tutor. Most of the kids here haven't enrolled yet into the schools, and even then, there's a sore lack of space and supplies, at least until everyone's more properly back on their feet. So he chills in some of the tents that are dedicated to the children from this place continuing with their schooling.

It seriously breaks his heart, how many of the teenagers he's working with are scabbed up, bruised and battered and still healing from getting thrashed around by this natural disaster. But many of them are making the most of it; they're laughing or focusing so intensely on their work, and it really just... makes him feel stupid for his own ugly thoughts, sometimes. Yeah, home is bad, in a few years. Home is really bad. But he's trying not to let it weigh him down.

Maybe you're some of the extra help, with tutoring?]

F. Raging Bull, Simmering Calf

[Okay, so. A couple weeks before this, Peter had punched someone in the nose and broke it. It was a hot mess, and even if the bully was a dick, he knew better than to hit him. He had just — had so much bottled up, and when that asshole had dropped stuff all over shoes a friend gave him? He lost it, yeah.

So maybe this is sort of karmaic, even if Len the Tollbooth bully had deserved a punch.

There's a fight breaking out between a very large alien man, maybe eight or nine foot tall. He's a native of the quarantine, Peter knows that much. The other guy is a six foot refugee, mandibles clawing angrily at the dude. They're about to get into a pretty big beef, hissing and spitting and getting closer and closer to each other with hands up and ready to duke it out. It's something to do with a makeshift tent put up in the native guy's favorite sleeping spot?

Peter's not sure. He's also not in his suit, and the moment just. Kinda happens, as he's walking by to get to the tutor tents. He hops between the two tall men, the eight-foot guy towering over him as he faces him with his hands up.]

Heyheyhey, no fighting! C'mon fellas, can't we all just—!

[And that's when the tall, super muscular, super threatening native guy sends a fist riiiight into his face. Peter goes backwards, hitting the refugee and knocking him over, too, as the two flop painfully onto the grass. Twin rivulets of blood immediately start from his nose, which is thankfully not broken thanks to his superhuman spider powers, but —



But ow? Owowowow. He puts a hand over his throbbing nose, squinting tears out of the corners of his eyes as he tries to look at the angrily approaching giant. This was not how he envisioned this going. His bad. And hey, man, that's some nice inhuman strength! Cool! Lesson learned!]

Aw, shit.

F

[spellslots]

Alright, shitdick, that's enough of that.

[This isn't his usual kind of idea of a fun time, but there'd been calls for people who could cook and like - he can? So he thought he'd help out for a little, no one needs to know. But it means he's passing through as the fight escalates and when some dumb kid gets himself in the middle of it only to end up on his ass, it reminds Taako too much of Magnus for him to not step in.

So now there's a large, translucent hand wrapped around the guy that hit Peter, keeping him still.]

As much as I would love to see you idiots beat the shit outta each other, let's save it for another day, huh? So you can kindly fuck off.

[The dude looks at him, clearly deciding if he wants to add another element into this scuffle, so Taako holds up a hand wreathed in fire, just to help with the decision making. That seems to swing things in the right direction, and after a handful more heated words, the guy stalks off. He's probably just going to go find somewhere more private to duke it out later but that's someone else's problem, not Taako's.

Right now, Taako's problem is heading over to Peter and offering him a hand up.]

You good, bubbale?

Teddy Altman | Marvel 616 | open

[analienprince]

phase i

[While Teddy doesn't really have any medical expertise beyond patching up some minor cuts and stuff, he does offer out at the makeshift soup kitchens when he can, or patrolling to make sure everyone is safe or to break up any violence that breaks out. He can also do a fair bit of heavy lifting, carrying containers of supplies for people beyond what a guy of his size really should be able to.]

Hey, you need any help with that? I can definitely lend a hand.

phase iv

Day One
[Teddy isn't really that worried about being outside in the forest. He's been out to the jungle and dragged off by crazy cultists that he feels mostly secure in being able to guard himself, and others.

That said, the compound is creepy. It reminds him of a horror movie, like something is watching them. It doesn't help that Teddy can see stuff out of the cornerof his eye. Just glimpses really, and what feels like a brush of a hand on his shoulder occasionally. He bites at the inside of his cheek, looking back absently.]

... Okay, this might sound strange, but did you just feel something? Or see something odd? I could have sworn I did.

Day Two-Three
[Okay, this place is officially creepy. He could have handled things flashing from the corner of his eye or brushing up against him. He could brush it off as nerves or just creepy surroundings. But then he saw his mom, all blonde hair and friendly smiles at first, at least until she starts to burn, leaving behind the stench of charred skin and death. It's something that catches him so off guard-- and he feels like there's a hollow pit in his stomach at first.

The sounds of her screams have him covering his ears occasionally.

Teddy will continue exploring though, determined to see things through though, but he's noticeably bothered by it all. He'll start feeling irritable by the time he starts to see apparitions that resemble Mar-Vell, followed by the confessions of feeling alone, of always being alone int he universe no matter what he does.

It's not something Teddy can handle easily. He's used to keeping his emotions close at hand, not out in the open. People seeing some of his worst memories on display, seeing everyone he's lost or never really even had to begin with--

He doesn't run away, but he'd be lyng if the thought of going home wasn't at least a little tempting..]

... So. Do you think punching a ghost makes it shut up or go away?

wildcard
[Do you have something specific you'd like to do with Teddy? Is there another prompt you'd like to do? Leave a starter here or hit me up through PMs or at noassgardian and I can put something up!]

phase i

[partiallysquirrelblood]

Nope! I've got it.

[Doreen peers past the heavy container of supplies she's carrying, and he face immediately brightens.]

Teddy! Billy said you were here.

[She adjusts her burden so that she's carrying it one-handed, and puts out her other one to shake.]

I'm Squirrel Girl, but Doreen's fine. We were on the New Avengers together, or I guess will be from your perspective. Hi.

gabby kinney | marvel 616 | ota

[honeybadgerer]

[ phase one ]

[ it takes a great deal to make gabby feel awkward. she has a tendency to power through and not get bogged down by the baggage. no time for it and macho nonsense. that's a logan thing and she's not — she's not that kind of wolverine. it's not the kind of person she wants to be. but this struck a little close to home, in ways she hasn't fully dwelt on before. so she kind of hovers nearby, piping up when someone glances her way. ]

I can help! I have blood! And body parts! Unlimited kidneys! Orrr I can just carry stuff. That works too.

[ phase two ]

[ gabby takes a good long look at the monster-infested waters. she could probably get through, no problem but she takes a good long look at her team. Yeah, this will take planning. she puts her hands on her hips, her tough image offset by the fact that she's doodled unicorns all over her clothes. ]

Okay, we need a plan. Because my plan of swimming and fighting crocodiles probably won't work for you guys.

[ phase four ]

( day two )

[ okay. ghost hauntings. that — that one was new. gabby tugs her backpack straps closer to her body as she watches her sisters follow her footsteps. they don't seem mad and gabby knew that they loved her. love her still. but she can't shake the feeling that maybe she had just been lucky — lucky in a way they never could be. in a way they deserved. she got the healing factor. why didn't they?

so she walks on, with ten other teenage girls who look exactly like her dog her footsteps. every once in a while she stops to talk to them. ]

Look, I get the spooky thing is to be silent and sort of stalk me, but could you make a little noise? Even a oooo would be cool!

( day three )

[ she takes it back. gabby is willing to trade on the noises. because she's never heard her sisters so angry, so spiteful, so upset. and there's nothing quite like hearing versions of you hate you. finally gabby can't take it, sitting down and covering her ears briefly to shut it out. she's not one to cry. crying requires a proper understanding of pain, after all. but this might be close, hearing zelda and her other sisters degrade her for having a healing factor, for being the one to survive, for not killing chandler — how could you, gabby, we loved you, we protected you, how could you keep this from us — it's too much. ]

I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!

[ wildcard ]

[ got a scenario in mind? drop it here or PM me / ping me on captainkink ]

Phase IV; Day 2

[billyrocks]

[At present, the only apparition following Billy around is a man dressed in cowboy attire like himself, but two golden fleur-de-lis pins can be seen glinting in the light if one looks past the apparition's grey coat, placed on the navy blue vest beneath.

Though Billy tried not to let it show, it was hard on him to have something with Goody's face around. A part of him wanted to believe it was the real Goody, but his rational side kept telling him that it couldn't be. Still, that small part of himself wanting to believe found it strangely comforting to have the ghost around since he hadn't seen Goody's face in nine months. Sometimes he'd try to ignore the ghost, other times he'd say something to it out of old habit.

As he's halfway walking down a flight of stairs, with the ghost following, he catches sight of a teenaged girl... with a bunch of other teenage girls who look identical to her. Huh.]

They're all you?

[He's not sure what he's looking at.]

Exploration Team 6 - Elizabeth Bennet, Harry Goodsir, Steve Rogers (616) - phase iv

[bestsir]

Harry was unsure about volunteering for an exploration mission, particularly since he had more than enough to keep busy on the medical front, but he did want to see what the new areas had to offer, and was also wondering if he might find anything that could be repurposed to suit the humanitarian needs of the refugees.

He's relieved to be in the company of two people who he was already acquainted with and who are more physically able than himself: Miss Bennet and Captain Rogers. He tries not to get in their way or to slow their progress by getting distracted by the flora and fauna inhabiting the forest compound, and overall the whole thing seems to be going well.

He puts down the initial glimpses of things and the feelings of unease to his own bad memories. He makes sure to inform his companions of certain details of his story that they may or may not have already known: that he had been a surgeon and naturalist on a mission of exploration that came to grief in the Arctic; that the men had starved and grown desperate; and that he himself had endured hardship and painful decisions toward the end. But he leaves out the worst details, hoping that he won't have to reveal more than that.

Re: Exploration Team 6 - Elizabeth Bennet, Harry Goodsir, Steve Rogers (616) - phase iv

[wit_and_sword]

To say there was such an area in the jungle was rather fortuitous. With the new arrivals coming in droves rather than phases, Elizabeth could understand and even agree with the need to find other places to live within this world. She was glad to be traveling with the companions she had; Dr. Goodsir surely had more experience in these ventures, and Captain Rogers was part of the guard, even if he wasn't part of the regular Patrol. Hearing of the doctor's past, well, she knew not all expeditions were glorious and they all came with risk, but she found it commendable that he was willing to embark on such a journey once more.

To be in such company certainly helped ease her own misgivings about the place they were exploring. Armed with a short sword and the rifle gifted by Cable, along with gear for camping, she explored the exterior of the compound. Though they were covered in clinging vines and overgrown trees, the walls themselves were sturdy and seemed to lack any signs of being breached. Even the gates themselves were still locked, though it was a simple matter of breaking the mechanism that had rotted from rust and age.

She kept an eye on the other two, rifle in hand, looking for any sign of movement by a possible attacker.

Phase IV: A Series of Unfortunate Events [Closed: Cameron Waltz & Athena Parker]

[bardish]

DAY 2: Here comes the cavalry
[ Jeff had absolutely no-- ZERO!-- intention of going out with any of the expeditions beyond the wall. Look, he's got a pretty healthy sense of self, an understanding of his own strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities that tell him-- without any self-pity-- that he's totally not suited to go forth and deal with the dangers this moon has to offer. He can't fight, he doesn't have any survivalist training, and he's not exactly the best at keeping a clear head under pressure.

For Jeff, life's usually a constant state of PANIC and AN OVERABUNDANCE OF CHILL, with very little room for anything in between. Definitely doesn't make him explorer material! Really, all he wanted was to do some volunteer work to help the refugees out. Unfortunately, Hank had other ideas.

Wait-- Hank?

Oh. Yeah. So that's what Jeff calls his new, uh, friend (???), a member of the Perimeter Guard that can't really tell one human apart from another. Jeff can't really pronounce the guy's real name, but it sounds close enough to Hank that they've come to an agreement that that's what he can call him. Anyway, Jeff figured Hank was there to direct him, as a volunteer, to whatever he was supposed to be doing for the refugees. Meanwhile, Hank totally mistook Jeff for his expedition partner, Geoff-- with a G-- and, so. Yeah. It was like the face-blind leading the face-blind.

By the time things started to click together for Jeff, Hank was dead-set on continuing the expedition. They were too far to turn back now, and besides! As far as Hank was concerned, Jeff's a tall human male in optimal physical condition (note to self: include that in his Friendr profile, if he survives this…), so it's fine! Totally fine!

Spoilers: it was not fine.

Sure, they got to the compound without getting eaten by any predators-- just chased by some angry rhino-dinosaur-thing, which was so much better!-- but that's when shit started to get weird. Hank started seeing things, but he still wouldn't turn back. They got this far; they needed to check out the compound in its entirety. So he shot a quick message to Athena and kept on.

At first, Jeff stuck with Hank because he had no idea if he could even find his way back to the city on his own-- honestly, if he could even make it five miles before something ate him. That was kind of up in the air. But then it became more of an issue of concern. Look, Jeff gets attached to people (and aliens) pretty easily. The weirder Hank got, the less Jeff wanted to leave him behind to whatever budding psychosis was afoot. Even if he felt confident in his ability to trek back to the city by himself, Jeff couldn't ditch the guy.

It turns out, Jeff didn't have to concern himself so much with leaving Hank behind, after all. Instead, Hank wound up ditching him, wandering off on his own, deeper into the compound, while Jeff was asleep.

Well. ]

Fuck!

[ Hey-- what's that in the corner of his eye? ]

DAY 3: In the backwater swirling
[ At first, he sees visions Mel. Sometimes, she hates him; others, she's indifferent. Mostly, she's hurt, and it takes his everything not to go chasing after her. The thing is: Jeff's used to hallucinations. Fucked up as it is, this is kind of old hat to him. Something just out of his line of sight, phantom touches tickling up his spine, whispers giving voice to everything he hates about himself. Been there, done that, enjoyed a stint in rehab and years of therapy to get through it.

It's totally easy!

(It's not easy at all; it's seriously fucking with him, and he could really use a drink or-- better yet-- something way harder to get through this.)

At least Athena and Cam are here, even though the last thing he wanted was for them to haul ass out past the wall and put themselves in danger. ]

All because you can't say 'no' to people.

[ Oh, that voice is new and familiar at the same time. Don't turn around, don't turn around, don't-- ]

How did we get here? It's fucking sad. [ A short laugh; he can practically see the teasing smile on its face. There's a playful drawl in its voice. ] You know what I'm talking about, man.

[ Movement in the corner of his eye. He tells himself not to look; whatever it is-- a ghost, a phantom, a demon-- he knows better than to give it what it wants. You've been down this road before, Jeff, and it didn't take you anywhere good.

Where's Cam? Athena? When did he wander away from them?

He shuts his eyes, presses them with the heels of his hands, and tries to take a series of slow, steadying breaths. It's not real, it's not real, it's not real...

When he opens his eyes again, he's face-to-face with himself. Well, not himself, exactly. Younger, brighter, a spark of meanness burning in his eyes, but there's something more there. At 20 years old, that Jeff's standing tall and unburdened, brimming with big dreams and unlimited potential. ]

Washed up. Loser. Scared of your own fucking shadow. When did I become you?

DAY 4: ???
[ WHO KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS! ]

DAY THREE

[citharede]

[ Jeff's day three is Athena's day two, and she hates it, thanks. It was bad enough when she thought she was just being a jumpy idiot over footsteps in the woods when there's probably ten thousand animals around to make the noises she was hearing. Even the whispers. There's probably something here that makes those kinds of whispers, right?

Except now she's definitely seeing things. Michael, Nicky, Bev. Taylor. A loneliness and guilt she can't talk herself out of.

Robbie, staying just ahead of her. Robbie, disappearing every time she gets close.

She's been staying close to the men, or trying to--trying to, but as she looked up a minute ago she saw Jeff's back disappearing into mist. She ran after him, shouting to Cam, but now she's not sure if he heard.

It takes longer than it should to catch up to Jeff, and she hears whispering the whole time. ]

Jeff?

[ There, she hears his voice. Or she thinks it's his voice. God, she's losing her mind. ]

Jeff!

[ There he is. She starts toward him, then kind of staggers to a halt, looking back and forth between him and the tall, bright, mean-looking version of himself standing there staring the real Jeff down.

Athena doesn't think. She runs forward, anger and fear flaring up in equal measure. ] Hey, fuck off! Go on, do your spook thing!

Laura Howlett | Logan | Tent Cities

[shoplifter]

A. En La Cafetería

[Laura has decided to try and be — more 'heroic'. Not superheroic, mind, but enough to at least not always be this defensive, violent kid who causes more trouble than not. Her father was a member of the X-Men, and she should try to follow they're example, yes? Besides, she knows what if feels like, running away from death and finding a new home. There are a lot of children here in the camps.

She spends a good deal of time in the kitchens, helping make meals for the people in the park. Of course, she doesn't really know the social norms or how to properly work in said kitchen, so, like. Don't mind her occasionally taking a biscuit off a sheet, or a spoonful of green beans, or what have you. She's new to this...! And she's getting hungry.

But she does continue to keep making plates as she does it, bless.]

B. ¿Cuánto cuesta?

["GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BRAT."

Listen, though. It's not actually directed at her this time! She hasn't stolen anything! In this case, she's sitting and eating some grapes that were willingly given to her by a cafeteria worker who said "please god, stop putting your hands in the food and take this as payment" — maybe not said exactly like that, but you know how it works.

Laura wiggles a little on the bench with her cupcake sunglasses firmly in place at the bridge of her nose, watching the scene nearby go down: a little boy about nine or ten, getting chased down by an angry man with one of those small shops along the sidewalk. In his arms appears to be some kind of stuffed toy.

She quickly intervenes, but not to attack; instead she puts herself in front of the rushing man, and when he skids to a stop in front of the cool-headed kid, she reaches into her pocket, pulls out her tap card, and holds it out.]

¿Cuánto cuesta?

["Huh??"]

How much?

[Behold, as she does The Right Thing (???) and pays for the toy.]

C. Mi casa es tu casa.

SNICKT!

[Don't panic at the blade sound effects, she's being nice. She's actually over in the construction area where people are working on temporary housing. As it turns out, having claws sharp enough to sheer through metal is helpful; she can be found shaving chunks off metal poles and wooden beams, occasionally helping carry them with her grown-man-strength. Yes, to any new friends, the claws are indeed bursting from her knuckles. It's not too bad once you're used to the pain. And it's nice to help, isn't it?

Even if it's still all a mess in the process.

She likes it.]

natasha romanov / marvel 616 / ota

[latrodectus]

ON THE ROAD—

i.

[ Natasha has basic first aid training but little bedside manner, and an ability to boil water with a preference for ordering takeout. That meant the best option was transport, and she's volunteered to drive supply trucks to the refugee camp. It's mundane work, but it gives her a chance to scope out the situation and familiarize herself with the geography.

The first transport run goes off without a hitch, but on her second pass there are unexpected complications. A tree falls, blocking the normal route, and Natasha swerves hard to avoid crashing. ]

Hang on!

[ Hope you fastened your seatbelt, unfortunate convoy partner. ]

ii.

[ Or maybe instead of a fork in the road, the road just disappears altogether, a wrong turn taken some ways back. ]

Oh, damn. [ Natasha says, expression unperturbed. ] We must have gotten turned around.

[ She definitely didn't do that on purpose. ]

IN THE CITY—

[ Natasha had been a refugee once, a little orphan girl in a camp full of people with no place. At least, she thinks she was. That's the story Ivan always told, of how he'd found her crying and lonely in the rubble of Stalingrad. Natasha can almost remember it, but when she tries she feels a familiar twist in her stomach and bile biting at the back of her throat. This is a relic of the crude mental blocks left to her by the Red Room. Whenever she tries to reach beyond the memories they made for her, she feels nauseous and has to sit down.

Which she does, as discreetly as she can manage. The feeling will pass if she waits for a few minutes, which Natasha intends to do alone. But maybe one of the medical team sees her queasy expression and rushes over, concerned. Or maybe someone's just the type to intrude upon a private moment. ]

GHOSTS—

[ Natasha believes her past is hers— hers to atone for, hers to carry, and hers to keep. Hers alone.

Natasha accompanies a mission to the forest as an experienced climber with some first aid experience, not a spy or a soldier, and she keeps to the back of the group. Soon she hears the noises— cold wind rushing in the distance, the sound of distant gunfire. A baby crying. She thinks it must be sleep deprivation, at first, which only sets her on edge. Later she wonders if she might be drugged. She might snap out at someone in frustration, not immediately realizing that they're seeing things too.

Of course, as the days wear on, it becomes impossible to deny. Other people start seeing her hallucinations too. A dark-haired woman with short bangs turns to stare at her with wide eyes. "Brave Nat doesn't get nervous, she says." Or maybe instead it's a tall blond man— wearing, of all things, purple chainmail— saying "Lady, don't ever pinch me! This is a dream I don't ever want to wake up from!"

Before shooting an arrow directly at her from a bow he wasn't holding a second before.]

( I'm also at lightfellows if you want to plot something else!)

i. on the road

[anhonorableman]

[ He looked up, as the tree cracked, in the moments before it fell with a groaning sigh, branches and leaves hissing as the collapse dragged them through the area. It's somehow almost comically familiar in this strange place, and his stomach dropped as the vehicle decelerated faster than his thoughts could keep up—

What was a seatbelt?—

And the car swerved sharply. It cast him mostly out of his seat, arm, shoulder, and head all impacting the side of the car with a hard thud. The noise he made wasn't so much a curse as a snarl of pain ]

Fuck!!

tony stark | mcu | ota

[buildsomething]

PHASE II
a. the trip

[ So it turns out that Tony? Not a huge fan of boats. Which is something he hadn't even known about, but apparently this trip is all about new things. He's not going to freak out or anything, but apparently after you've gotten nearly drowned a couple of times, you get a little suspicious about large bodies of water.

Especially when there are strange shapes he can see not-quite breaking the water around them every so often. They don't make a ton of noise, and if Tony hadn't already been eyeing the passing water like that alone might jump up and bite him, he might not have noticed.

It's a bit harder to mistake, though, when leaning over a little too far prompts a sudden explosion from out of the water, in the form of something massive and scaly with entirely too many teeth. And Tony promptly jerks backwards and nearly falls right over onto the deck, because he still has some healthy self-preservation instincts. ]

Jesus.

[ He's got one hand up with metal flowing down it to form a gauntlet even before the word has finished, but whatever just tried to take a nibble has already vanished again. So that's fun. ]

Please tell me someone else saw that.

b. the facility

[ Of course, actually getting there isn't much better. Tony's already exhausted from the trip, a little bit edgy and very low on patience. So walking into something that's less power and more actual plant is not exactly encouraging. He knew it was probably going to be on the run-down side, but still.

With a sigh, Tony walks in a bit more and twists to get a better look around. If they manage to clear out most of the vines, he can at least get a sense of what parts need to be replaced to get the place working again, so that's somewhere to start. He reaches up to tug on once experimentally, only to freeze when he catches something sparking out of the corners of his eyes. Staying right where he is might be a good idea right this moment.]

So hey. Anyone want to tell me if there's any pools of water on the floor?

PHASE IV
a. Day One

[ Tony wouldn't consider himself a paranoid person. Worried about things that might happen, yes, but generally with very good reason. He anticipates, he expects, but he's never been the type to jump at shadows.

Until now, apparently. Because there are things flickering at the edges of his vision, the feeling of someone right behind him even though he knows for a fact no one is there. He even pulls out the helmet at one point, just to check for lifesigns, and feels a little ridiculous when it pretty definitively shows nothing there. It's making him antsy and a little snappish, more sharply sarcastic with anyone who crosses his path than he probably should be. He'll apologize later.

It's not until he swears he feels a hand come down right over the arc reactor on his chest that he starts back, staring with wild eyes at the nothing around him. ]

Okay, you've made your point. Very funny.

[ Because someone just has to be fucking with him. Right? ]

b. Day Three

[ But as the days wear on, even the sharp tension has faded into something quiet and run down. He sees them now, a handful of familiar faces and whole lot more unfamiliar ones. A tall, disappointed-looking white haired man and tired-seeming blonde woman. A smaller, thinner man in a pair of round wire rimmed glasses that shakes his head sadly. Maybe hundreds of different faces that whisper something that sounds like Merchant of Death as he passes.

He doesn't try to argue with them. Doesn't fight back. Just hunches in on himself as the murmurs start.

For god's sake, Tony.

Say something. If you don't, you'll regret it.

Don't waste your life, Stark.

The worst part, maybe, isn't the the fact that they're here. No, the worst is how disappointed they all sound. Other whispers start too, why didn't you do more. You could have saved us. Over and over. Why didn't you do more.

Tony keeps moving. Until he catches the briefest glimpse of a figure in red and blue that makes him stop and open his mouth -- right up until the figure dissolves into dust. That's when Tony's legs give out from under him and his knees hit the ground. ]

lemme know if this works for ya oops

[madeupnames]

[Peter had to help. Once the ghost situation became very real and obvious and a problem that needed to be solved. He had been white-knuckling it through his own specters — his parents and Uncle Ben, and — and maybe the faintest shimmers of green-skinned women or leather-jacketed heroes. It's worn him down enough to almost get him to turn back and try to find others in need another day. But that's not how being a teammate or friend works. Or a hero. So he sticks around as Spider-Man despite the danger of his real name getting out there, looking for anyone in distress.

Ghosts are super uncool, man. They really... take a lot out of you.

These aren't the ones Alex was talking about, on bad movie night at her place.

He takes off his mask and is about to call out to Tony where he stands in solitude, when he sees him struggling — about to stomp into the scene and tell the ghosts to pipe down and get in their lane, or something really stupid. But then he's stopped dead in his tracks by the new ghost that appears between him and Tony.

It's himself.

It's himself?

"Mr. Stark. I — I don't want to go. Do something, please... How could you let this happen?"

He stares for a moment, baffled; the ghost looks back at him for a just a passing beat in time, pale, sweating, afraid —

And then it crumbles into dust and drifts on the air. He's acutely aware that he shouldn't step any closer, should just slink back into the shadows — but suddenly he feels cold all over. He shakily walks through the slow-drifting ash that seems to stick all around like dust mites, looking at Tony where he's on his knees.

He opens his mouth. Closes it. Feels a little sick.

Y'know, ghosts here are supposed to be of dead people. And he's... not dead.

He's not dead.

He's not... dead?

... Right?

He says weakly, feeling out of breath, voice bubbling up a nearly manic nervous chuckle:]

Mr. Stark?

phase 1

[wingedman]

[There's a reason why the term soup kitchens exists - even in the summer, soup is the easiest thing to create for large numbers of refugees. Sam's in his element overseeing a few different bubbling pots - vegetable, something with poultry, and a heartier, thicker stew. He's got a small crew of sous chefs helping out with varying degrees of skill, and when one batch is done, it's time to start another. Which means-]

No, you want the dumplings to be smaller, not the size of your fist. They won't cook if you make them too big.

[Or maybe he's directing your character in chopping vegetables or preparing meat. The Guard has brought them some of the meat, but they don't do much beyond removing the skin (or scales, or occasionally feathers).]

[shoplifter]

[Laura is over in the corner, cutting carrots for the noodle soup.

With her claws.

It's very precise and clean-cut, the cleanest goddamn cut you'll ever see in your life.]

Phase III - Peter Grant, Sigrun Eide, Steve Rogers (MCU)

[thestarling]

[ Peter's seen his share of weird bollocks since joining the Folly, on top the the regular terrible things a person would get inured to as a police officer in a major city. He would have liked to have said nothing much could surprise him anymore.

At least until he comes up against what clearly used to be some kind of dog only it's now got half a bush growing out of where it's face should be. And that's only the beginning of it. The -- animals? Maybe? just get stranger and stranger looking as they keep going until he can't even pick out what they should be, let alone are. It's unsettling, yeah, not just the general misshapen nature but the fact that everything about the area is just subtly wrong.

They keep going. Because that's what they said they'd do. Eventually you can even get used seeing to those...things, though it never doesn't feel off. You can get used to anything, really, even the worst of it.

Though an absent glance down to find that the back of one of his hands has taken on a strange almost rainbow sheen makes him pause. The skin is rough, now that he looks, almost like snakeskin? And Peter is fairly sure that wasn't there before. ]

[themostbest]

[It starts out pretty normal but it gets really weird really quickly, at least as far as Sigrun is concerned - then again, she's used to wilderness treks a lot longer than a few days after all. The first few glimpses of animals starting to kind of...meld together into weird misshapen blobs with claws and fangs in all the wrong places is pretty unnerving. Hits kind of close to home, because it reminds her of trolls, of giants.

It's about that point that her teammates will start to notice her constant bubbly chatter dying down, her brow furrowing, her hand hovering near the dagger at her waist, her mouth set in a tight line. Every move has her head snapping to the side to look at it, her startle reflex is doing double-time. Sigrun's never exactly been a closed book, but it's beyond easy to tell this is not sitting well with her.

When she sees Peter pause and look at his hand, she sucks in a breath through her teeth, tromping through some mossy mud to peer at it.]

What is that?

Beverly Crusher | OTA

[dancingmd]

phase one; medical alert

[Perhaps the desire to explore once more will strike her again in the future, but for now, Beverly has had more than enough adventuring and danger for a lifetime. She will leave that to others. Her focus is all on tending to the medical needs of those in the refugee camp, particularly the families. She knows all too well, after all, what it's like to be a child who has lost your homeworld. It’s something she knows will stay with them for the rest of their lives, but she wants to help ease their transition as much as possible. This particular morning, she’s making rounds among the camps within the tent city, following up with patients who visited the field hospital, when a little boy comes running up to her. She recognizes him from the other day, when he came with his very pregnant mother to the hospital. His mandibles clicking anxiously, he tugs on her lab coat. She kneels to listen to him and finds out that his mother is in pain, though it’s hard to say, based on the boy’s limited knowledge, if she’s actually in labor or not. Beverly stands back up and turns to you.]

Do you have time? I could use some help.

phase one; art time

[Even when she’s not actually on medical duty, Beverly enjoys spending time with the Frysh, getting to know them and learning about their culture. In many ways, they remind her of the Betazoids in their love of the arts and music and in their peaceful, utopian mindset - and in the sudden disaster that struck their world, though of course, coming from very different causes.

At the moment, she’s sitting with that same little boy from earlier outside his family’s tent, where they’ve set up a sort of table using whatever scrap boards they could find lying around and are now playing a game. Or at least that’s what it looks like from afar. Look closer, however, and it becomes clear they’re actually telling one another stories. Contrasting with the makeshift nature of their furniture, the device they’re using with is sleekly elegant, with some sort of iridescent metal casing. From what Beverly can tell, it’s a kind of portable holographic projector, though not quite like any she’s seen before. With it, they can draw in mid-air, leaving trails of light in their wake to form animals and vehicles and flowers and all sorts of things. Beverly points at one of the animals.]

This one looks a little bit like an animal we have at home called a fox!

[The boy clacks his mandibles together thoughtfully before trying to repeat the word. The “x” sound seems to be causing a bit of trouble for him, but it’s easy enough to decipher what he’s trying to say.]

Here, I’ll draw you one!

[As she starts to draw, she notices someone watching them and waves them over.]

Would you like to try too?

[ 1 ]

[honeybadgerer]

What do you need?

[ blood? organs???

that's usually what people need right? ]

iv. [closed to Poe, Finn, John, and Roy]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe doesn't trust the quiet on their way out for a second.

He's been in Riverview too long, he's seen too many weird things, to just assume that a place like this would be uninhabited for no reason. They all sense it, really. They're all on edge, even as they set up camp and plan out how they're going to do recon tomorrow. They're outside the city limits, and that could mean anything.

Maybe it's paranoia, when they start to hear whispers. Maybe it's just their imaginations, when they hear footsteps and turn to find no one there. The sound of their own steps bounding back at them off some unseen surface. It's probably nothing.

It's totally nothing, right? ]

[shootsoff]

[Roy might not have been in Riverview for as long as any of his companions, but he's seen enough weird crap even at home to be a little on edge out in the woods, outside the wall. He's seen the monsters, seen the other dangers that can catch a person off-guard, so he's definitely keeping his eyes open for things.

At first he thinks the flashes of figures in the trees, slightly glowing, are his imagination. It's not like he's never seen imaginary stuff out of the corner of his eye before, he's done enough drugs to know better than to believe every little peripheral vision flicker. But when he starts to hear the sounds of a motorcycle revving in the distance, in the middle of freakin' nowhere in the forest, that's when he figures something's going down.

Doesn't mention it though. He really, really doesn't want to look like a crazy person in front of the guy he's starting to think of as a friend (or, okay, maybe more) and his friend from home and John Sheppard, who he knows he made a total crap impression on before and who is running the recon team he kind of wants to be part of. Nope. No way. Not gonna do it.

But when they all settle down outside their tents in camp, and he's squatting by the fire, poking it with a stick, he hears it again. And he sees how jumpy and on edge everyone looks. And he can't help it.]

Uhhhh, so I'm gonna bring up the elephant in the room. Are you guys also seeing and hearing weird shit out here?

Jack Harkness | Doctor Who / Torchwood | OTA

[fixedpointintime]

phase i
A great number of things can be said about Jack. A few of them are even kind. Only a few. Still, better than nothing. For example, Jack is an excellent cook. He's not horrible as a trauma medic, but there are those far more qualified to take charge of the actual healing. He's good in a fight, but there are also plenty of people available for that. Gorgeous, dangerous, and damaged people. So far, that's the main theme he's noticed in the city's inhabitants. So it's easy to find people willing to protect those who have chosen to stay in the city, or who are resting and recovering from an attempt beyond the walls. Feeding them, that's where he noticed the gap to fill, and so he's filling it.

Jack is making pasta. Soup is all well and good, and plenty of people will tell you that pasta is a horrible food to serve a large crowd because of how easy it is to overcook. Those people are probably talking about dried pasta in a heavy sauce. Those people have never been fed by Jack.

What he has in mind will hold up well enough - thick fettuccine noodles from scratch with a 'sauce' made up mostly of hard cheese and fresh vegetables, with some flavourful local sausage donated by a butcher shop. Jack is pretty sure the meat is a monstrous acquisition from beyond the perimeter, but it's delicious, and he's not going to look a gift horror in the mouth.

After prepping a huge batch of noodles and starting the sauce, he's got himself set up with a helper for the assembly, three pots, and several smaller pans. Noodles go in one of many wire baskets hung off the side of a pot of boiling water, three minutes later they're in one of the pans with a generous scoop of veggies, and another of sausage (if it's wanted) to mingle the flavours and have grated cheese sprinkled on top. Made to order. Just because this is all horrible experience for just about everyone doesn't mean they can't eat well. So Jack just keeps on smiling, trying not to think of home - any of them, they all come to an end like this sooner or later.

When things get even slower, Jack takes his show on the road. Well, on the makeshift path between tents. Doctors, he has noticed, are generally kind of horrible at taking care of themselves. Which has always amused him. As though they only have a certain amount of 'concern for well being' and give it all to their patients, sparing none for themselves. There are also people who don't want to deal with canteen style crowds, or those who just can't bring themselves to get up and get moving. So, Jack's got a little trolley, and if you look unsteady on your feet, like you need something to brighten you up just a little, or even if you just turn and respond to the delicious smells with interest, he's going to pick you out. He's got food, he's got drinks, and some of them are alcoholic. Let him help you perk up a little.

phase ii
When Jack isn't feeding refugees and volunteers, when he can't stand just waiting around for something to happen, when it starts to make his skin itch, he decides to do something a little more proactive. He's going to the delta. He's going to see if he can help. A few teams have set off already. No one has come back yet. Which doesn't necessarily mean anything's gone wrong. It just means they aren't back yet. It's a long journey, rough terrain, and once they get there there's still a problem that needs fixing. Maybe he can help.

So he packs up some gear, finds someone else feeling just as restless as he is, and sets out. Space ship, ship-ship. A ship is a ship, right? Well, fine, a boat. It's a boat. But it's sturdy, and it'll get them where they need to go. Once they get there, of course, the real fun begins.

[[OOC: Anyone else who doesn't already have a team and would be up for an attempt at changing the fuse (ok, not really, but what if it ended up being that easy?) can just jump in and we'll make it up as we go along, or you can message me first to set up something more concrete.

Also, I don't mind getting tags in action-spam if you don't mind replies that will come back in prose.]]

Natasha Romanoff | MCU | OTA

[unmakeme]

phase i
Natasha is a passable field medic. She can perform triage style medicine, remove foreign objects, stop bleeds, stitch open wounds. She’s not the neatest, but she’s quick. It’s draining, though, and there are actual doctors doing much better work than she could ever hope to.

So she leans into her strengths. She takes shifts guarding the camps, sometimes by herself and sometimes with a partner, protecting both refugees and volunteers from outside threats, but mostly from one another. On most of her patrols,there isn’t much to do. She breaks up petty squabbles, which are inevitable with tensions rising so high and so many people in such a small space. The days are surprisingly quiet, though, most of the time. So she finds herself just offering help, full stop. She moves cots and small tables in the tents, and she’s started just carrying around rolls of tape, a few cans of spray paint, finding that people feel better about having nothing much of their own when they’re able to showcase and personalize what little is left. Children, in particular.

She approaches it with the patience and understanding of someone who has been there, who has lost everything and had to start again. More than once. She knows this despair, and the thin thread of hope.

phase iii
The jungle is almost a relief. At least the problems here all have the same solutions. Run away, or kill it, with very few exceptions. The trek is exhausting. It clears her mind. It gives her a focus. A simple goal. Point A to point B, and stay alive to make it back.

It isn’t until the second day that things start getting dicey, that her body begins changing, senses heightened, reflexes sharper, and no real cause she can find. It doesn’t bother her much, though, because this place is tucked up and magic and shit happens, the environment is unpredictable and can mess with your mind.

It’s not until the third day that she realizes it’s not the environment. It’s her. She’s changing. It’s painful. Her skin dries and cracks, bleeds, reforms as scales. She can feel her body growing extra components, nictitating membranes coming in like sandpaper against her eye before it calms, settled, feels like it’s always been a part of her. Her eyes change. She sees more colours, greater contrast. Her sense of small sharpens, accompanied by a blinging headache as the structure of her nasal passages changes. But she can handle it. She can keep the body horrid away from her mind.

Then day four dawns, and she realizes it’s happened again. She’s been unmade, and she doesn’t recognize what’s left of her. Her limbs are wrong, her whole body is wrong, the way she sees the world is wrong. Only her mind is still hers, trapped in something she’s been made to become. Again.

[[OOC: Anyone else who doesn't already have a team and feels like taking part in one hell of an acid trip come to life can just jump in and we'll make it up as we go along, or you can message me first to set up something more concrete.

Also, I don't mind getting tags in action-spam if you don't mind replies that will come back in prose.]]

[nobasisinfact]

When Alex came home to proclaim that she was trecking off into the woods for a story, there was no hesitation in Richard's answer. He was going with. There was no room for questions, complaints, or argument in his statement; there was no way he was about to let her go trecking off into the woods by herself. Especially woods that were more dangerous than anywhere that they had already been (and she had been in Turkey with a murderer and escaped mental patient). Ghosts and phantoms of the mind were nothing compared to an animal that wanted to eat you.

The apparitions, impossibly tall and seemingly pulled from memories long ignored, were easy to pass without a thought. Richard knew the figures well, after all, and had grown accustomed to dismissing them as a trick of the shadows and light. And the disbelief was like an old friend come to greet him here in the woods. He was more concerned for Alex. She wasn't used to this sort of thing. The constant presence of things that couldn't be explained if you didn't try hard enough.

When she started to not sleep on the second day, he kept a close watch over her. He'd waited too long to address the issue back home and planned not to make the same mistake a second time. Of course, this also meant taking her hand during the day. While he knew it wouldn't send the apparitions away, it would at least lend her comfort. Which was all the more reason for him to ignore them. To give her a form of comfort that they really weren't there. Better to think you were too sleep deprived than to believe that they really existed.

As the second day turned to the third, the shadows, 'Tall Pauls' as they were called by those who saw them, seemed to grow in number. It was as if they were everywhere. Shadows of a world they had tried so much to forget and leave behind them while they were here. However, when the Helvetian appeared, dark and terrifying and directly in front of them, Alex tried to cover him, but fell back in fear. He stepped in, blocking the way between them and staring the demon down as if daring it to come any closer to her. Of course, to anyone else, it looked as if he saw nothing. He was good at pretending that something was nothing after all.

"Alex, are you alright?" His words were even, questioning even, and yet, his eyes never left the Helvetian. Staring the demon down as if daring it to try and get past him.