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

On my own?

[ She doesn't have to think too hard here. ]

A facility of breached Abnormalities, a couple of Claws and an Arbiter.

[ Yes, at the same time. ]

[ record scratch ]

H-Hold on, an Arbiter and some Claws from the Head?

[ HELLO ]

Yeah.

[ Simply. I'm so sorry, Ishmael. ]

[ SHE'S SO STUNNED ]

But that means -- you're probably even higher in rank than I am. The only ones who can fend off Arbiters of the Head are Grade Ones and Colors, right?

[ Or other Arbiters, she thinks, but she's not going to do that to her.

Instead, with a bit of a gusty sigh because it's only fun to do this to watch folks like Roland panic-- ]

I'm not a Fixer anymore. But back when I was, yes, I held a Color grade.

[ free my man roland...... he's just a little guy it's literally his bday 2 days ago........... ]

That's beside the point.

[ but whoa, a color. ishmael's eyes are wide, her mouth slightly agape. she's no fixer stand, but even she has to know. ]

...What Color were you?

Red.

[ A pause and her sigh's a little louder. Please be chill about this, Ishmael. ]

Specifically, the Red Mist.

[ NO WAY.......

unlike don quixote, she isn't going to start whooping and hollering. but she is quite starstruck all the same. ]

I... thought you just vanished completely. Have you met Vergilius?

I have. Not in the City, though I'd heard of him while I was in the Library.

... Malkuth seems to want us to fight, but I don't really see a point in that. [ Not unless Vergilius comes skipping up to challenge her. ]

My... vanishing completely is a complicated story, but I more or less lost my memories of my original self for awhile and then got stuck working as a librarian not long after I remembered everything. Even now, I don't think I'll be walking the streets of the City ever again.

I... see.

[ it's more or less what malkuth went through... she has so much more to ask of the red mist, but with the sun beating down on them, ishmael's probably going to melt at this rate. ]

Do you... want to take this elsewhere? I was actually going to remind you of that fight you promised, but...

[ yeah there is no way she can fight the red mist in this state ]

Edited 2024-05-17 03:56 (UTC)

Let's find somewhere cooler.

[ WHEREVER THAT MAY BE. A rest station, maybe. One of the vans. But she'll start walking, a slightly amused glint entering her mismatched eyes. ]

If you still want to get it out of your system, I don't have a problem with fighting you. But I'm not in the habit of holding back.

[ Of course, she likes Ishmael enough to not actually go in with killing intent, but still. She hits hard, she knows that. ]

Trust me, I know just how capable Color Fixers are.

[ verg is so terrifying with his threats alone...

but yes, a rest station would be ideal. there's the remains of a gas station nearby whose store is still functional for the most part (though the gas pumps themselves don't work anymore). ishmael leads the way, sighing in relief as the AC hits them upon opening the doors. ]

It's not that... I have a grudge on the Library itself, though. [ she says as she makes her way down an aisle. ] I just find it so messed up that you were all taking in hapless people to be turned into books. They even roped someone like you in.

[ Gebura gives her head a quick shake, ponytail resettling instead of the thick strands of hair clinging to her neck. Ishmael was likely going through an equally rough time of it. ]

In the end, it all comes back to revenge. Someone's revenge after years upon years of being used as a means to an end, without acknowledgement. Someone's revenge after losing someone they loved. And that drew more people in, and then the ones seeking to avenge them, though there were also the ones who just wanted power.

[ ... There's a sense of weariness in her voice. ]

I've been through hell. I was unable to protect what I wanted to, almost completely, and that nearly destroyed me several times over. But I also never for a second believed we were right to have done what we did in the Library.

So all I can do now is take responsibility where I can and deal with anything else as it comes. Even here, I'm not intending to forget that.

[ ishmael stops in her tracks, taking in what the red mist -- no, gebura has to say. the fact that all of it rings true -- from the remark about revenge and failing to protect the people she loved -- and how she's aware that what she and the others were doing was wrong...

wow. what a stand-up gal. ]

...No wonder Don looks up to you so much. [ rip don. ] You sure are heroic. I don't think there's anyone else in the City who can back those words up and mean them.

[ fixers aren't heroes, after all. ]

[ who the hell is Don

And she grimaces a bit, shaking her head once again. ]

I'm not heroic. I'm just straightforward, because I don't see a point in being anything else. And I know that's not a common trait in the City, believe me.

You could try being one of the many dime-a-dozen Fixers in the City who just work for their own interests.

[ she resumes walking towards the very back, where the freezers are. ]

But you wouldn't have gotten a Color if you didn't stand out, would you?

Edited 2024-05-18 13:07 (UTC)

That's right. I didn't intend to become one, but I can't deny it had its perks. I could do the kind of work I wanted as a Color Fixer, instead of just being made to answer to the demands of an Office.

[ Which were not really her thing, back then. Probably still wouldn't be me, and she heaves a sigh as the cooler air from the freezer section greets them. ]

[ the air around the freezers feel so good... ishmael's opening one of them and pretending to look through the cold drinks as she takes it all in with a deep breath. ]

I'd say I'm jealous but... I'm still figuring out where I'm going from here, to be honest.

[ she grabs a can of root beer and... hmm. what else. ]

Any words of wisdom you could give to a lowly Fixer like me?

"Lowly", huh.

[ She'll wait for Ishmael to grab what she wants while glancing over the options herself. The canned coffee gets a quiet huff, under her breath. ]

I had a lot of anger at certain times... about my own inability to protect everyone, about being betrayed, about being used. And I know someone who also had an all-consuming wrath. So if I had to say something about that...

... Wrath is like a blade with the sharpest edge. [ Like she'd said to Roland. ]

If you're not careful with how you hold it, you'll cut yourself before anything or anyone else. So think about how you want to hold it... and then think about where you want to point it.

Get those down and you control it, not the other way around.

[ ishmael falls silent, the cold air coming from the open freezers enveloping her from behind like a ghost of a friend. then, she musters a light, self-deprecating chuckle. ]

...Guess I learned that the hard way.

[ well, better late than never. it only means that gebura's journey was similar to her own, and that alone has made her feel closer to the color fixer more than ever. if gebura would even allow her that is.

she digs her hand even deeper into one of the freezers and pulls out a big tub of chocolate ice cream. she would've preferred mermaid-flavored, but this'll have to do. ]

But... Thank you. And I hope you've healed since, Miss Gebura.

Edited 2024-05-20 05:44 (UTC)

[ Well, she's not talking about hugging or being besties or wanting to gossip or trying to change the expression on her face for entertainment value so she's already off to a good start. ]

There are some things that won't ever fully be healed.

[ Gebura's gaze is distant, though the frigid air from the freezers helps settle her; it hadn't been cold, back then. ]

A part of me will always be angry and I'll probably always regret the things I couldn't do. But I did do what I could. And similarly...

[ She looks over at Ishmael now. ]

Whether you learned it the hard way or not, you did learn it, and that's more than can be said for most people. You're still alive and able to move forward. Don't discount that.

[ no, she's right. just because everything has been said and done does not mean ishmael is healed. even when this place has become some sort of paradise for her after years of toiling and torment, the wounds - physical or otherwise - won't simply be covered up forever.

even now, whether or not ahab is still out there, ishmael still wants to kill her with her own two hands. ]

...Yeah. I'm glad. That I'm still alive. I wouldn't be here otherwise. [ and met all these okay people, in a marginally okay place. ] You really are as strong as they say. I get it now.

[ and well, since she feels indebted to gebura somehow, she fishes into the freezer and hands gebura an ice cream sandwich. ]

Here. As thanks. No takebacks. [ it's the least she can do, really. ]

Edited 2024-05-21 09:05 (UTC)

[ To go from being challenged to a fight to being given an ice cream sandwich. Both of Gebura's eyebrows raise, and then she lets out a snort, something like a faint smile appearing for probably the first time since she's arrived here. ]

I didn't do anything to be thanked for. What I told you was something you already knew.

[ And she's still a part of the Library that apparently caused her so much grief. ]

I know.

[ yet she's pressing the cold snack onto gebura's hands. just take it already. ]

And sometimes we need a little reminder every now again, before we go off-course.

[ especially now that ishmael knows where to point her harpoon at, next time. ]

[ Fine, fine, she'll take it. ]

Probably not something you want to do out where you came from.

[ Wryly, shoulders slowly rising and falling in a shrug. ]

If you ever seem like you're about to forget it, don't worry. I'll smack some sense into you. It'll hurt, though.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TRAVEL LOG #1

▶ 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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