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riverviewlogs2018-08-16 10:09 pm
- !mod post: exploration mingle,
- doctor who: jack harkness,
- imperial radch: breq,
- logan: laura,
- magnificent seven: billy rocks,
- marvel (616): cable,
- marvel (616): doreen green,
- marvel (mcu): natasha romanoff,
- marvel (mcu): peter parker,
- marvel (mcu): steve rogers,
- marvel (mcu): tony stark,
- marvel (mcu): wanda maximoff,
- original: athena parker,
- original: cameron waltz,
- original: jeff calhoun,
- ppz: elizabeth bennet,
- rivers of london: peter grant,
- stand still stay silent: sigrun eide,
- star wars: finn,
- star wars: poe dameron,
- the black tapes: richard strand,
- the terror (tv): harry goodsir,
- vikings: gyda ragnarsdottir,
- voltron: keith
exploration mingle: branching out
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 outOne 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Credit: image i: Daniel Gstir; image ii: Steven Cormann; image iii: Tom Nemeth
no subject
I know you will. You always do. You and the others.
[He's still got a long way to go, in being anything like the Avengers. So he hopes he's still okay to rely on them — like he's an elementary school student again, staring in awe at the screens while Iron Man sends a bomb into space. It's dumb and childish, but they're his heroes, and so he puts his faith in them as much as he can.]
You're not gonna be alone. I know they'll come through, too. Okay?
no subject
Don't worry about me. I always manage.
[ Somehow. But he suppresses a shudder and drops his forehead to rest against the top of Peter's head. The last thing he needs is to deal with Tony's issues any more than he absolutely has to. ]
I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just. Wanted to give you a chance to be happy here, to not have to worry about anything. You deserve that.
no subject
... I—it's okay. I probably honestly don't deserve that, anyway.
[His voice lowers, fingers curling in the fabric of Tony's shirt.]
The Guardians went home. I was too scared to tell them why I was avoiding them... and now they're gone, when they could've been safe here. And it's my fault. For not saying anything, for not warning them. It's on me.
[Hey, Tony, remember how you take the blame for all the shitty stuff that happens?
Cut from the same cloth, pal.]
no subject
[ That one's immediate. Taking all the blame is Tony's thing, find your own. ]
I could have said something to them too. Do you blame me?
[ It never occurred to him to say anything, honestly. Should that worry him? That he's been so wrapped up in his own bullshit that he never thought to try to help someone else?
So what else is new? ]
no subject
No, but —
But they — they trusted me. [He closes his eyes, feeling a little lost.] ... If I decided to leave here on my own, would you blame yourself for not warning me...? Stopping me from going back to die? I could have given them more time. I could've...
[He laughs humorlessly, voice crackling.]
Mr. Stark, this is all so fucked up.
no subject
[ It's really all he can say. If Peter goes back...Tony resists the urge to tighten his grip, or demand that Peter never leave the house or something. He knows he can't stop it, but god does he want to try. ]
But they had time here. You have time here. And maybe they'll end up back here too. I know it's happened to some people after.
[ He can't say it. Or maybe he just doesn't want to say it. ]
no subject
He licks his lips, tries to thing of anything — anything — to say to make this better.]
Do I at least graduate high school?
I don't wanna be a high school dropout.
[Oh, okay, a really stupid joke to plug up the rushing waters from Lake Hysteria. He can work around that.
Only it's not... as big a joke as it should feel.
This is surreal.
He's alive, isn't he? Right now? But not for Mr. Stark, at home. He's a freaking zombie. He's a ghost.
... Yeah, that makes sense, considering the, ah. The ghost.]
no subject
You're not a dropout.
[ Which isn't really the point here, but it is something Tony can speak to. This wasn't Peter giving up. This was him having everything taken from him. It isn't right and it isn't fair, but above all else, it isn't Peter's fault. ]
When we fix it, you can do whatever you want.
no subject
[The thing is, he doesn't wanna be a mess. He doesn't wanna put that on Mr. Stark, having to deal with a kid coming apart at the seams. It at least... helps that he feels like he's not even real right now? That none of this is real? Is that a bad emotional response to learning you're dead? He steps back, but his hand is still gripping Tony's arm.]
We should get out of here. This is kind of a... crappy place to be...
['Because it reminds you Parkers die young? Always knew you would, kiddo.'
Oh, not again. Peter looks beyond Tony's shoulder, where Uncle Ben stands with his hands tucked into his pockets. He'd been seeing Ben on and off — sometimes his parents, but his uncle? His uncle was tormenting him back there, which was shitty and unfair to Ben. He'd never do something like this; he reminds himself of that a lot, working here.
'You're never quite good enough, are you, Peter? If you're not failing me or disappointing Tony Stark, you're letting down your friends or the known universe. What would your parents say?']
no subject
[ Tony's voice is a little sharp, trying to catch Peter's attention. He's trying not too listen too hard to whatever's being said -- he's been through enough of this to know it'd probably private -- but even just a few snatches sound too horrifyingly close to what goes on in Tony's own head. Peter shouldn't have to deal with that. ]
It's not real, okay? It isn't. It's...something, someone trying to fuck with you, get in your head. You can't let it.
[ Easier said than done, the next time Howard or Yinsen show up to have words with him.But Tony's getting better at giving advice he knows damn well he probably isn't going to take. ]
no subject
... C'mon, Mr. Stark. I hate this place.
['Listen to your uncle, Peter.
Lord knows you should've when I was still breathing.'
It's not real, but it's also suspiciously true to form — not Ben, no, he's not this nasty, this cruel. But they're no doubt thoughts he's had before; and now, the ghosts have fuel. Crossing the streams on Tony and Peter's specters aren't helping, huh?
Ben sounds tired, like he's trying to get a teenager to listen to him.
Peter knows the tone, but it's not the right words-
'Isn't that why I ended up dead, kiddo? Think of the Ferry... Think of Liz's family. Think about how much you make May worry. And now you're haunting Iron Man. It isn't that you can't stop bad things happening; you are the bad thing that happens.'
He swallows, glancing at Tony.]
Uncle Ben'd never say things like that. I know it's not true.
[Shame creeps on his cheeks all the same, because it's a one-two punch, being served up some ugly news while being tormented by his own brain in ghost-format. Still — he has to push it away. Don't think about it, Peter. Just don't think about it.
Ben stares wistfully for a moment before fading away.
Peter breathes a sigh of relief.]
no subject
It isn't. [ If there was ever a point worth belaboring. ] It's just...someone trying to get into your head. It sucks, but you have to keep reminding yourself that none of it is real.
[ Tony's never been particularly good at that last part. Not when it was Wanda's fingers in his brain and not now. But there's more than one reason why Peter is better than he'll ever be. ]
Let's just keep moving. Or shoot at something. I find that helps.
no subject
[There's a wilting quality to the way his head hangs. He focuses on the path, and while he doesn't fall apart, there's something defeated in the way his voice catches and cracks.]
... I just wanna sleep.
[He feels so tired. Not the physical weariness that he gets from staying up too late — more like the kind of tired where there's so much to do, but you can't summon the energy to face it, right now.]
no subject
[ And he does, is the thing. That bone-deep exhaustion where you can barely keep your head up. Tony wouldn't wish that on anyone, but if nothing else he's had plenty of experience with finding ways to keep moving anyway. It's not something he's ever wanted to teach anyone, but if it will help...
Peter can't give up. He's not built for it. And Tony's going to make damn sure of it. ]
Trick is, you gotta find something to focus on. A plan or an idea or something you want to make. Something that makes it worth it.
no subject
Like — Like what?
[Mr. Stark'd know; he's an expert at just about everything in the hero business, after all.]
no subject
I don't know, kid. You've got to decide that for yourself. Decide you want to learn something, do something. Make something better. Anything that gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
no subject
... I've been, uh. Putting in as many hours as I can as Spider-Man.
It feels... better, at least helping that way. And it keeps me from thinking too much.