synflux | TRAVEL LOG #1

TRAVEL LOG #1

TRAVEL LOG #1

CONTENT WARNINGS: potential mentions of drugs, suspected mind-control, alcohol, and gambling, gore.

▶ 001. A RUDE AWAKENING.

On the morning of the 15th, the Outsiders will hear an alarm sound in the early hours. No matter what you’re doing, the alarm will not stop sounding, and it’s because they’re playing directly into your oculars. If one is sleeping, they may even be roused by the spark of colors on their oculars dictating an emergency. After a few minutes of this, the following message will appear:

PLEASE REPORT TO THE DATAPORTAL AT THE TOKYO BRANCH AND BE PREPARED FOR DEPARTURE.

"Captain Yamakawa speaking. You’ve done a great job in testing the data portals. Now that we are able to travel, we were sent a call for help in another city due to lack of personnel and resources abroad. You will be looking for evidence of a new kaiju around the rendezvous point. It may be a difficult journey, so prepare yourself. SYNTHIA will still be online to help you make it to the city. Report to the POD CHAMBER where we have installed an international dataportal and prepare for transportation."

Following the success of the dataportal testing, the engineering department was able to fine tune its abilities and widen the reach of the portals. The portals can connect even abroad now!

Despite their best efforts, however, they cannot guarantee that the same symptoms won’t appear, and ask all Outsiders who are utilizing them to practice caution. Additionally, through all their testing, they found that people who hold hands or make contact with others as they pass through will be hit with less issues.

▶ 002. WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS.

When one passes through the data portal, they will see the refuge city of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Similar to Neo Tokyo, it is also rich in life and known as the city that never sleeps. Incidentally, it is also famously noted as a place of endless vice. The city is built up around a strip of land of roughly 4.2 miles. A vast majority of the city was built up over the wreckage of the old, and some fixtures were simply made new with whatever was left preexisting. The Mojave Desert has expanded towards surrounding cities, though it will take a vehicle to get there in a timely manner.

The city has no shortage of hotels and with each hotel, a casino. While Outsiders here are on a mission, there’s no stating they couldn’t participate in the fun of Vegas while LILITH crew begin their investigation. While some hotels will be clearly abandoned or less traversed, there is no end to all card tables and slot machines, all asking for your KRYPTOS.

The hotel the Outsiders are slotted to stay over the course of the next few days is one where they built directly over the hotels of the old. While it offers a decent place to sleep, it’s not without a refurbished pirate themed bed, or the columns of what appears to have been from Caesars Palace. Is that a giant clown face staring at you in the room? Don’t worry about it. The hotel offers that this is the best place to depart into the desert from. For this mission, Outsiders may bunk up with whoever they would like, and each hotel provides two queen sized beds.

Excited to venture out into the city? Even under the threat of kaiju, the city doesn’t sleep. Outsiders may venture through the Las Vegas Strip and treat themselves to a fun night of drinking, gambling, shopping, partying and circle-style performances. The Grand Canal Shoppes, a Venetian-inspired high end mall, boasts a man-made canal with gondola rides for a fee, along with many retail outlets and restaurants. There are also numerous spas and carnival-style rides to enjoy. Las Vegas was once known as the ‘Marriage Capital of the World’, and in a world besieged by kaiju, the people don’t seem to think they have anything to lose. Outsiders may spot a few bride and grooms-to-be partying in the street.

(LILITH does not have a stance on whether or not Outsiders are permitted to get hitched as long as it does not affect their performance. )

▶ 003. TROUBLE BREWING.

It’s normal for fights to break out with so much alcohol being passed around, but something … isn’t quite right with some of the locals here. Outsiders who keep an eye open might notice people acting erratically, and not just from being intoxicated. There are people ready to pick a fight from just being looked at, people falling into despondent sadness and lethargy, people wandering mindlessly and people becoming distressed from seeing things that aren’t there. Ask the locals and they will tell you these cases seem to be popping up more often the past week.

The most concerning of all are the stories of people disappearing completely. One little girl will tell you she cried as she saw her mother mindlessly walk into the desert, as if called by a voice no one else can hear. There are many other accounts of this happening. In fact, all the people acting erratically seem to disappear within a few days …

Outsiders may interact with civilians who are acting erratic and aggressive, but asking questions they may receive answers that do not make sense, are perverse and inappropriate or may trigger aggression. Any Outsider to gets into a fight and is severely injured may report to a local hospital here and will find they are pretty packed with other civilians acting strange, hurting each other and themselves. Certainly, this was the main cause for concern that got LILITH's attention anyway.

▶ 004. FOUR FOR THE ROAD.

Within a day or two, the Outsiders will once again be called to action by a blaring notice in their implant.

YOUR VEHICLES ARE PREPARED. ASSEMBLE OUTSIDE THE CITY IMMEDIATELY.

When they gather at the location provided to them, they will find a fleet of armored campervans waiting for them. Each campervan comes equipped with beds, a kitchenette, and bathroom facilities, and will fit about 4 people. Within the campervans, they will find desert-appropriate attire designed to protect them from the scorching sun. These campervans also come with some basic artillery such as a mounted machine gun. There are also supplies in the form of water bottles and MRE ration packs.

Those who have driven large vehicles in the past are encouraged to take the driver’s seat. If the group does not have any driving experience, they will be given a crash course on driving recorded by the man himself, Seok Dang. (He probably shouldn’t be doing this with the stunts he’s pulled, but the Commander does not have any time to be teaching anyone driving, and Seok Dang volunteered so eagerly…)

"Listen. If you’ve ever handled a ▄▄ before, the joystick is exactly like that. You gotta tug it, but not too hard. Gently, yeah, like that, that’s the path to ecstasy … "

If it eases anyone’s worries, the campervans are armored and highly shock resistant, so they should withstand a crash or two.

(Those who finish his course and successfully drive 100km while supervised will receive an international driving license.)

▶ 005. THE HUNT IS ON.

With everyone settled into their campervan, the large scale road trip begins. LILITH has a general idea of where the biggest energy signal is located for the rift and they will feed the coordinates to the Outsiders. The journey will take about a few days into (and around as LILITH is searching for both people & the source of the rift energy) the Mojave Desert, and Outsiders will be permitted occasional rest stops to give drivers a break and to investigate the terrain. The terrain itself is a harsh desert, with cacti and small local fauna abundant. (Those not wanting to eat ration packs can take this time to hunt the local fauna such as birds, lizards and desert foxes.) While there is nothing else around, observant Outsiders may notice signs of human life - footprints in the sand, a shoe or torn piece of clothing being left behind, and even the odd human carcass being torn apart by vultures.

The logical conclusion would be that those missing humans have been here, and the only thing left to do is find them … but Outsiders and civilians aren't all that lurk here, and time will tell what lies beneath the desert surface ...

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our very first travel log! Each campervan will accommodate anywhere between 3-5 people, with 4 being the ideal and 5 being a squeeze. Players are encouraged to connect with each other to fill up a van but the mods will not be enforcing it. If you need help finding roommates, there is a FIND A ROOMMATE header below that you can make use of.

If you'd like to test your gambling luck, we also have an IC SLOTS HEADER for you to comment to for you to see how well your character does at the slot machines. This is entirely for fun, and of course you are always welcome to have your characters winning or losing at the slot machines as much as you want in your prompts so long as they aren't winning jackpots.

Following this log, all characters who have purchased style upgrades will receive an update to their chip enabling them access to desert attire and popular styles within Las Vegas.

All tags on this log are worth 2 points.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm surprised they wouldn't take it from you, something for the effort.

( He's still sore about being conscripted against his will, even if LILITH has quite literally saved his life. It's not even that Geto minds fighting monsters, it had almost been a relief to have something to take his frustrations out on. Kaiju and curses aren't all that different. But he doesn't like the illusion of free will, and he's more than a little frustrated about the housing situation. So even if they might be listening he'll allow himself a little bitchiness. )

Do you have a very good poker face? I hear that's important. I'm afraid I wouldn't and what I was thinking would be written all over my face.

( He says, lying, with an exquisite poker face. )

I've been told so before, I just hope it passes muster.

[She says with a completely impassive expression. She's used to being unreadable when the situation calls for it.]

The idea of having to turn over any winnings though...I'd hope they'd at least be put to good use if that's the case. I know that's wishful thinking.

[No, if they do seize any big payouts, she's pretty sure they wouldn't see any benefit from it.]

Oh?

( His head tips her direction, slightly curious. )

You mean our overlords don't have our best interests at heart? How shocking!

( He's already forming his own opinions, but it is very interesting to hear anyone else's. ) How long have you been here, if you don't mind me asking?

Yes, I know, it's quite the surprise.

[That poker face of hers stays up, but she is joking about the surprise.]

And I was part of the first group, so it's been about half a year now.

[Time flies when one's fighting kaiju or something like that.]

A year?

( Up goes a single eyebrow, though he isn't sure if he should truly be surprised. Geto himself is fairly sure he's in this for the long haul now, permanently at LILITH's beck and call. He wonders if anyone has ever tried to push back against them, but asking seems ... ill-advised. He probably shouldn't even have thoughts about it, considering the implant. )

Well, then you're certainly someone to know. ( Said with his most charming tone, his most winning smile, despite how little he believes it. ) Any advice for a newcommer, miss -?

[She'll stare at that smile for a moment or two, she does think she’s worth knowing for what it’s worth. But does she buy that he thinks so? No, not really. But that’s okay, she wouldn’t buy it from most people she’s just met. At least not under these sorts of circumstances, maybe in the field. That’s different.]

After missions you’ll get a bonus, so that’s useful, it comes in handy since the starting stipend is what it is.

[Not much, she knows.]

And our bosses will do things you will find annoying at best, putting people in costumes, making us sign up for dating services...actually, it’s really just one of them, but it’s best to just suffer through it. It’s not really worth fighting about.

[Now that she thinks is valuable information. Advance warning about Seok Dang's ways of amusing himself definitely seems like something to give a heads up on.]

I'd also suggest reading the briefings when we get them. The last one was a little late, but it's usually better to know what you're getting into than not.

Hang on.

( He was under the impression this was a serious operation, watch him try and valiantly adjust to this new fact. ) Costumes? Dating services? Nobody said anything about those.

( He would have noticed! )

Why? What good does that do?

That's unfortunate. At least you know now, so you're aware it can happen.

[This is not expressed in a way that makes it sound like that's better.]

I think someone could come up with a number of reasons, team-building, a distraction, stress relief, but ultimately I think it's mostly for amusement purposes.

Team building.

( Tone suddenly dripping with derision. )

I see. Well, I'll do my best to avoid that. I'm not much of a costume wearer.

( NOBODY TALK ABOUT HIS MONK ROBES. )

I'll wish you luck then. I couldn't avoid it last time, and he did suggest leather for the next one...

[Though hopefully there isn't a next time any time soon?]

He?

( Does he have to avoid some costume enforcing pervert now too? )

Isn't it a little counterintuitive? I'm sure that makes people resent more than it does make them feel bonded?

Seok Dang, I'm sure you'll hear from him sooner or later.

[Sooner if Geto's subjected to the driving instructions.]

It might still count as bonding if it's against a common enemy. But then you run into the issue of the enemy being staff, which is still counterproductive. It's not how I'd run things but they must feel it works well enough.

( Carefully filing the name under people to hate on sight. )

And I suppose there's no point complaing? We wouldn't want to rock the boat.

( He'll just be extra ... careful. )

How many costumes have been forced upon you, if you were one of the first?

[He's probably on a few of those lists at this point.]

I'm not sure it'd really rock the boat so much as it'd just be ignored. If you've ever worked in an office there's plenty of complaining that doesn't lead to any sort of real effect. Though it's usually not about being at the mercy of someone's costuming whims like that.

[No, that's definitely not something that happens often in her experience.]

And so far it was just the one, if we're not counting our work uniforms. Still, it's a little hard to have your outfit changed to a maid uniform with cat ears and tail and have it not make an impression.

[Those were technically two different things happening at the same time and not one thing, but still.]

Mm, I head a religious organisation, so I suppose that's close enough. A lot of people do come with grievances. A lot of it is undoubtedly not worth the time.

( And he kills them if they prove too annoying, so that's another point in favour of not complaining, he thinks. He knows that type of power too well. While Geto is reasonably assured of his own power, he's fundamentally at a disadvantage here. They have an implant in his brain and his impending death as a bargaining chip. As much as ... a maid costume turns his stomach it's the lesser evil. )

Interesting. Though I suppose most armies have hazing rituals.

I imagine that must come with its own unique set of challenges.

[Running a religious organization, not the army hazing. Though she imagines that does also have its own unique set of challenges especially when dealing with recruits from other worlds or timelines.]

Are you planning to start a chapter here?

[She's curious, not that it really matters to her either way.]

Probably not.

( An easy shrug of his shoulders, pleasant expression firmly in place. ) It was set up as a way to aid the people of my world with a problem not seen here. There wouldn't really be any point, I only ever did it to help. ( Besides, some nosy neighbours would absolutely give him shit for re-establishing his cult here. Still, Geto is all charm now, easy and amenable. ) Besides, the paperwork.

( He pulls a face, aiming at friendly. )

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Not too much of that thankfully.

[A little bit of a smile there. She understands, there's always paperwork for everything. For the most part, she doesn't mind it, but she does understand how it can plague others.]

But more than I think most of us thought. I know I was surprised to find out it still exists, you'd think it'd all be digital these days.

Especially when they can just pluck thoughts from our head.

( He's still sore about LILITH outing him as ... somewhat genocidal when he first arrived, but thankfully the people who saw it were few and far between. )

Maybe it's just another way to undermine the people here. ( Cheerfully. ) No rebellion when there are too many forms!

I'm guessing that's about whatever question they decided to use as an icebreaker.

[She didn't see it, but it probably wouldn't have made much difference as far as this conversation goes.]

Though it does happen on other occasions.

[The bearer of bad news again, sorry.]

Am I the only one deeply unnerved by that?

( Everyone he comes across has just said it so matter-of-fact. But he continues, blasé, like he hasn't been seething with anger ever since. )

An air of mystery does a man good. I can't have all my secrets revealed without thought.

I doubt it.

[She's not exactly a fan of it either, but she accepts that it happens. And that all she can really do is try her best to limit unwanted disclosure when she can.]

If it helps, it's not too often. And the usual one seems to be stray thoughts rather than anything targeted like the icebreakers are. So unless you're constantly thinking of your secrets, you'll probably be okay.

[Or not, who knows?]

( What do you mean other people aren't constantly ruminating on their own mistakes and past crimes? What do you mean they're not always debating future ones? Geto pulls a face, disquieted. )

Well, there's nothing for it now I suppose. It's not like we have a choice.

[She wouldn't know what that's like. Not a lot of ruminating going on here. Maybe occasionally, but it's pretty rare.]

Right, right. You have to pick your battles, and it's best to focus on the ones that are winnable. Or at least fightable.

Like the kaiju.

( He actually wouldn't mind having to deal with them now, it's the spaces in between fights that always get the better of him. )

I have to admit, I thought there'd be more fighting here. I saw the beasts in Kyoto, that was fairly simple enough. But here? Well, I'm not very good at mysteries.

▶ 001. A RUDE AWAKENING.

▶ 002. WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS.

▶ 003. TROUBLE BREWING.

▶ 004. FOUR FOR THE ROAD.

▶ 005. THE HUNT IS ON.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

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