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

[thisisamazing]

That isn't how weather works. It's been sunny all morning. [Hiccup laughs a little, giving Toothless another pat before he heads to the railing of the deck.] And I don't think Thor is angry about anything, so!

I don't think it should be too hard. If there are some, uh, difficulties when we get there, we can radio in an expert. [Of which Hiccup is not, but he's passable.] We did see some ripples in the water, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything...

[massivesword]

Eh, weather's like people. Fickle on the good days. You never know when it's gonna rain out of nowhere.

[He says that lightly, like it's just an offhand observation of the sky, grinning at the young man and his dragon like they're all on a casual trip out rather than being sent on an important mission.]

We'll figure it out. How hard can it be to beat a machine into working?

[At least he's being supportive? Dante doesn't seem worried about the report of movement in the water, but he does grin when he hears it. Maybe that's not a great sign. He leans back, closing his eyes, apparently shrugging the trip off. But in the quiet, he's listening for the ripples Hiccup just mentioned. That's a sign of something big. Whether it will take interest in them just remains to be seen.]

Just tell me when we get close.

[As if they'll really get that far without problems.]

[thisisamazing]

[Hiccup snorts at that, leaning a little farther over the railing to watch the water below the boat. He remarks with a hint of dry sarcasm,] There's a positive view of both weather and people. Don't jinx it, rain is the last thing we need right now.

[He looks up, slightly suspicious when Dante only grins, and... he might be eyeing that huge sword. What kind of guy is this? Is he looking forward to some trouble? Hiccup isn't, really. He wants to just fix what they're here to fix and head back to the city proper.] I- I mean, it'll probably be more complicated than- Please don't beat the equipment into submission when we get there. [Please.]

It shouldn't be too much longer- [And that's about when something big hits the side of the boat, sending it rocking. Hiccup yelps, close to toppling over the rail, and Toothless lets out a bark of alarm, eyes narrowing.] Oh, oh no, that's not good-

[massivesword]

Eh, a little rain never hurt anyone. Unless you're worried about it raining people. Now that might be hard to catch.

[Everything is a joke for him. It has to be, because when the jokes stop, things get too dark. He doesn't really want to think about the serious side that seems to haunt everything. Even the quiet city on the moon they all ended up on. He's about to make another joke about beating the equipment back to life, just to give Hiccup a hard time, because the kid seems too serious to him, when the boat jerks sharply, throwing all three of them off balance. Dante, sitting and leaning on one side, at least doesn't get knocked off of his feet, but he does have to catch himself from being sent flat on the boat floor. He climbs to his feet, giving the water a hard look.]

Guess we hit something-

[There's another hard impact before he's finished saying that. This time, the thing in the water hits them harder, trying to capsize the boat. Dante frowns, tilts his head slightly, and waits until the third hit, which he lets knock him to the edge of the boat until he's hanging off, red coat trailing in the water while he holds onto the railing. Jaws snap around the leather and dive down, trying to drag him in, and the half-devil holds onto the boat, calling out to Hiccup and Toothless.]

Hey! I think I got it!

[thisisamazing]

More like something hit us-! [Damp from river spray, Hiccup tries to scramble to his feet, clutching at the railing. Toothless is growling now, teeth bared, and the boat rocks again to the side as he bounds toward the railing as well. Dante nearly goes overboard, and Hiccup's eyes widen in alarm, watching something's massive jaws trying to drag him down. He rushes over, boot slipping on the wet deck, and starts trying to pull Dante back up onto the boat.] Toothless!

[With a threatening bark of sound, Toothless just dives overboard to tussle with the creature. As you do. The water churns and lights up with purple light as the Night Fury attacks whatever is trying to capsize the boat, with teeth, claws, and plasma blasts underwater.] Get up here before it gets you! We need to scare it away from the boat- [This is already a disaster.]

[massivesword]

[Despite hanging onto the side of the boat, Dante laughs. He's struggling to keep his grip while not letting his jacket tear, because that's clearly a priority here. He can't lose the coat.

But even with the laugh, he's gritting his teeth. It's not so easy to hang on with what has to be a water monster attached to him, using its weight to drag him down. He's pulling the boat along with him, bringing it dangerously close to actually turning over, but Dante is leaning forward just enough to stop the boat from over-balancing. At least long enough. There's a splash behind him when Toothless dives in, distracting the creature enough to release its hold on Dante, who hops over the railing effortlessly as the boat rocks violently back in the other direction and starts to right itself.]

You wanna scare it, huh?

[He narrows his eyes toward the purple flashes and foaming water, making sure to mark where the dragon is. The guns he unholsters are too large, probably not appropriate for most situations, but he fires some loud shots, sending a stream of bullets down into the chaos with more accuracy than he should have. It drives the creature up toward the surface. Between the bullets and the dragon, the huge creature comes screaming up, teeth bared as it breaks the water.]

H'oh... Big guy. You know, I didn't think they came this big.

[thisisamazing]

[He's laughing. Why in Hel is this man laughing. Oh, he's getting Thorston twins flashbacks. Thor help him. (Really, he wouldn't turn down some Thor help right now. Or Loki's.) The ship rocks dangerously, but Hiccup manages to keep his footing now; vikings are seafarers, after all, and it's not his first time on the water, even if he prefers the air. Gripping onto the wet railing, Hiccup grits his teeth, slightly reassured when Dante is back on the deck.] It's just doing what predators do, if it's anything like the crocodiles, we should be able to deter it-!

[Any reassurance he gained is gone the moment he pulls out some large guns. Oh, Thor. Green eyes widen, and he scrambles closer to Dante, panic rising up in his throat, wondering if he's insane, if he doesn't care that Toothless might be a possible casualty-] Wait, Toothless- don't hit him! [When the creature surfaces, so does his dragon, momentarily, gasping in air and snarling viciously, wings and legs working furiously. He fires off another plasma blast at the creature's side before the churning water sucks him under again.

His fear is almost palpable. This is too much like the other times.] Well, now we know. I'm coming, bud! [He shouts, breathless with his panic, and then... he dives over the side into the middle of things.]

[massivesword]

["Scare" is a broad opening for action and Dante is unfortunately the type to skip straight to twelve when it comes to responses. Luckily, he has good enough aim to specifically only scare the monster under the boat and manages to avoid getting Toothless, although he certainly doesn't give off the impression of paying attention. He watches the two wrestle when they leave the water, leaning back so he can take in the scale of the fight. The most surprising things for him is when Hiccup, seemingly in a panic, jumps into the water after his dragon. That one he wasn't expecting.]

Huh. You sure you want to go in there?

[Yes, he is in fact calling to Hiccup while he's under water. Whether the Viking can hear him or not, he assumes that everything is as reasonably okay as it can be when fighting a giant sea monster.]

Man... I didn't want to get the coat wet.

[And that is Dante's comment before he jumps in after the other boat defenders. Without the firearms, he ends up grabbing onto the creature's body, holding it down while Hiccup and Toothless tackle it with more range. At least he can say it wasn't a boring ride now, although it is no less soggy and gross. When the thrashing beast comes up to the surface, snapping and snarling, Dante looks for the other two.]

You'd better not drown before we even get there.

[thisisamazing]

[Sorry Dante, he can't hear you over the commotion and with water in his ears. This was a fantastic idea. (It wasn't a fantastic idea.) At one point, he has to kick off from the creature's side to propel himself away from its thrashing. There is an actual goal here, though, and that is getting to Toothless and getting into the saddle. Everything will work out if he can just get back into the saddle.

It definitely makes that goal easier to reach when Dante leaps in after him and tackles the creature head-on, managing to hold it back long enough for Hiccup to catch up to Toothless and wedge his prosthetic foot into the stirrup. With control over the tailfin again, Toothless shoots toward the surface, breaking out of the water with a massive splash, wings spreading to take them into the air. Soaking wet and panting for breath, Hiccup scans the river for Dante.]

Are you okay?! [The creature's fins lash out at them, trying to swat the much smaller dragon like a fly, and Toothless barks out an angry noise, firing off another plasma blast that scorches its skin.] We're just making it angrier-! [Please don't die, friend.]

[massivesword]

[He's not used to working with people that can't handle daily monsters. Demon hunters and demons are his routine, so Hiccup's panic is a bit out of Dante's usual territory. But he seems to be holding up just fine, so the half-devil keeps going, wrestling with the water creature as it tries to bite him and snag Toothless and Hiccup in alternating, furious attempts. When they come up, Dante is still holding onto the side of the animal, clothes waterlogged and hair hanging down over his face. So much like a drowned white and red rat that it would be funny. If they weren't facing a raging monster.]

Oh, great. Now I'm gonna have to dry it out.

[He sounds irritated, but it's the tone of a man that just took a dunk in the mud wearing a nice suit rather than a man that is literally dodging the jaws of a river beast, which he has to do as the creature turns its attention to the extra weight sitting on it now that they are above water. He gets up and leaps out of the way of a bite, still standing on the monster's back, and damply gives Hiccup and Toothless a salute. He's not happy about the whole situation, which is probably the first sign he's actually taking the attack seriously, but he refuses to let that get his mood down.]

If it's mad, then it can be scared. Give 'im a good hit. That sound get his attention.

[thisisamazing]

[You shot in the general vicinity of his dragon, Dante. He's less freaked out by the monster (though it's big enough that he is in fact a little freaked out, he kind of has some past traumas relating to massive creatures). He has no idea how Dante is so calm right now because even he seems very small in comparison to a huge river monster.]

I'd rather be alive in wet leather than dead and dry! [He calls down, similarly soaked. He doesn't want to know what this is going to do to his saddle and flight apparati. His leg, also, might need to be re-oiled. They can bitch about it later.

Toothless sweeps in close, and fires off another plasma blast when Hiccup gives the cue. It hits the thing square beneath the jaw, and it rears back, roaring in pain, the spot smoking and a little singed. They wheel back out of reach, and hit it with another blast to distract it; when they get close enough, Hiccup is leaning almost out of the saddle, holding out a hand to Dante.] Come on! We're better off in the air!