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.

code

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ gojo doesn't sleep much, so outside of his usual 3-4 hours of sleep and a quick shower, he hasn't really stayed in his room at the aria.

with the city brimming with life late into the night, he has been returning to the hotel later and later with each passing day. tonight, he doesn't warp back until half past three. expecting to find an empty room, color him surprised when he finds that goldilocks has snuck into his bed.

interesting~

dumping a bag full of stuffed animals — one with a weird bust on its head — onto the unoccupied bed, gojo soon turns his attention to sleeping beauty. crouching down on the floor next to her, he considers for a moment what he should do in this situation.

if she had just been some stranger, he would have tossed her out, but they've already met once and she had even treated him. ]

Hey, you. [ he reaches out to give her a sharp flick on the forehead. ] You're in my bed.

( goldilocks in this case is certainly no dainty, picky child. but she is blonde and she is currently occupying someone else's bed. apparently. oops.

one that wakes her with a flick, interrupting dreamless sleep with a scrunch of brow as she makes some attempt to bat the hand away. squinting up at the familiar enough voice and the features of another outsider. what the fuck, man.

she'd certainly be on higher alert if she hadn't recognized it, but instead: )

No it's not.

( it definitely is. )

Even if it was, there's another one. Go there.

( it's like, 3am? she's going back to bed. )

[ sweeping his arm out towards the other bed, gojo angles his body to let her squint at the heap on top of the mattress. ]

It's occupied. [ he gives her another flick — this time right on the nose. ] How did you even wander into the wrong room? You don't smell like you drank. [ a beat. ] You aren't stalkin' me, are you? I know I'm handsome, but there should be a limit...

[ what if he just keeps flicking her until she gets up? ]

( ow - ?!

she still hasn't fully gotten up, but she's awake, and she's glancing at the pile atop the bed and snorts when he implies she's some kind of stalker.

which, she has been paid to be, but? not here, and most certainly not for him. )

Yeah, my idea of stalking includes falling asleep in the bed of my mark. It's all the rage these days.

( a roll of her eyes, finally sitting up to comb her fingers through her hair as she yawns. )

Front desk must've fucked up.

( annnnd she's already reaching for her zippo and her pack. first thing every morning! )

Can't you just move the shit off the other bed? There's like, four surfaces I can see from here where they could go.

[ since she's sitting up now, gojo rises from his crouch, his hands sliding into his pants' pockets as he looks down at her through his sunglasses. ]

Isn't that something a crazed fan would do? [ he isn't a celebrity though. ]

You should be more careful where you fall asleep. What if you had ended up in some psycho's room? He would have such an easy time killin' you. He wouldn't even break a sweat, haha.

[ yea, he's ignoring her suggestion. what can you do? 💁‍♂️ ]

( she just shrugs at that. look, she was just (rudely) woken up and he's already being a pain in the ass. )

By that logic, I just never sleep again. I'm still convinced that you're the one walking in my room. I got in somehow, didn't I?

( and because he's ignoring her suggestion, she'll let him deal with the smoky exhale blown in his direction. there's a little bit of a grin, mostly to be a shithead. )

Yeah. And yet, here I am.

( a glance up, gaze falling on dark sunglasses, her gloved hand reaching out to displace one of the pillows. her weapon of choice lies beneath it, but she's not reaching for it unless he gives her reason to. it's more so he knows it's there. courtesy. )

I'm generally alright.

( maybe not against him. but most others? certainly. )

Are you actually going to bed? With what fuckin' time it is, I'm surprised you're bothering to.

If you don't believe me, then you can check the room number.

[ he tosses his keycard at her, while simultaneously reaching out to pluck that cigarette from between her lips. ]

Oooh, how intimidating~ [ he shifts his gaze over to the now unconcealed gun as he takes a steady drag from the stolen cig and, in true gentleman's fashion, exhales a puff of smoke back her way. ] I guess that's better than nothin', hm? [ he doesn't sound very impressed negl ]

I don't need a lot of sleep, so I'm just trying to get a few hours in. [ 3:30am is a perfectly modest time to go to bed, tao, especially when you have nothing planned for the next day. ] But since I have company, I guess it can wait.

( the card smacks her right on the collarbone, mostly because she can't be assed to try to move at anything beyond the pace of molasses, plucking the card off her lap to glance over it for a second and - losing her cigarette to the menace.

he could have just asked, but now she's not sure if she's going to be getting that back any time soon.

whatever the case may be, she's tossing the gun (and card, and zippo) over to the bedside table instead in case he wanted to sit. apparently with no intentions of getting up or leaving. it's comfortable. she's in what she considers pjs and wandering out and potentially getting into another fight is not her idea of a good morning. )

Well, don't let me stop you.

( she's not really shy about the concept of sharing. it's just a bed, all told.

and speaking of sharing, she's holding her hand out expectantly for that cigarette back. you don't even smoke? bastard? )

But since you won't let me go back to sleep, I guess you might as well take responsibility for that.

[ he isn't shy about sharing a bed either; he just doesn't like to. ]

Yea? [ he appreciates the thoughtfulness, but he doesn't move to join her. ] How should I take responsibility? [ taking another drag of the cig, he releases a wisp of smoke into the air, before he finally returns it to her. he doesn't smoke, but it reminds him of someone important. that's all. ]

I'm open to suggestions, just as long as they're fun.

( more space for her, then. he can keep standing if he wants. but her eyes do follow his fingers, watching him take another drag with a soft flare of flame intently as if curious if he's going to bring it down to its last dregs.

he doesn't, and she carefully plucks it out of his hand to take a drag herself, leaning back against a propped up pillow and the headboard behind her. )

Besides your thing for sweets, and ( a glance back over to the other bed, ) .. games? I'm not really sure what your idea of fun is, admittedly.

( a tilt of her head, thoughtful. she's using an emptied can of coffee as an ashtray. )

Makes me a terrible stalker, don't it. Then again, I normally get paid for that kind of prying.

When did I say that you had to tailor the suggestions to what I find fun?

[ he wouldn't expect an actual stalker to know much about him, no less someone who he has only met once. ]

You're far too weak for us to have my kinda fun. [ the fight would be over before it even began. ] I'm also not the one who fell asleep on someone else's bed and then demanded compensation for it. You should at least contribute a little here.

[ not that there's a lot to do within the confines of a hotel room. ]

Nothin' that'll cost money though, unless you plan to pay for it.

( to dictate that it has to be fun, then clarifies that it doesn't necessarily have to be his definition of fun - what a curious man.

but the fact of the matter is, he hasn't kicked her out nor has he flicked her again. even she's cognizant that he's being pretty gracious, all told. most others that might be considered reasonable would've removed her by now. though he does make a slight about her abilities, and she's not egotistical enough to feel slighted by it in the least. that's more nei's thing.

the next glance is thoughtful, letting her gaze sweep over him before it settles back on his mouth. right where her cig sat just a beat prior. )

You could always join me in bed.

( a casual offer, implications and all. one he can take or leave, one made with the slightest bit of grins. wolfish, lazy. )

Unless you're shy.

( he wouldn't even come sit by her, so one could only assume. )

[ ahah. what a bold invitation.

he would have sooner expected for her to suggest watching a movie or even leaving the hotel room to seek a source of entertainment elsewhere, but—... at the same time, this level of directness seems fittin' for her, doesn't it? with a soft chuckle, he tilts his head slightly, almost thoughtful, as amusement arcs the corner of his lips to match hers. he isn't opposed to her proposition; in fact, he's more than open to it. they are, after all, limited in what they can do and fucking definitely beats a movie. ]

Sure, [ evidently, it isn't shyness that kept him from joining her in bed earlier by his willingness now. ] sounds fun.

[ pressing one knee down on the edge of the mattress, gojo sets one hand on top of the headboard, while he reaches down to pluck that cig out of her mouth again with the other. from the way she was looking at him earlier (and specifically where her gaze was directed), he has a good idea of what she would like to replace that cigarette with and, as courteous as ever, gojo acquiesces, soon leaning down to press his lips against the awaiting pair. she tastes succinctly like tobacco, smoky and bitter. ]

( the bed dips by her side at the addition of weight, and her eyes watch as fingers pluck her cigarette away once more. she'd have more of a complaint about it if it wasn't immediate occupied, drawn into a kiss in a way that she could almost call polite. for him, anyway.

he's sweet, comparatively, even when dulled by those taste buds of hers. contrasting that smile of his. it doesn't take long for her at all to reach for the collar of his shirt to curl her fingers into it, head tilting to better accommodate the angle in which he's perched atop the bed as the pink of her tongue licks a short strip along the inside of his mouth. her free hand smoothing its way down the line of his torso to settle over his hip, thumb sweeping over the jut of it languidly before she finally sinks her teeth into his lower lip to break away for a moment.

better than a movie indeed. she's not really one for shows, anyway, and he doesn't quite strike her as the type that'd make this more complicated than it needs to be. )

You're gonna want to put that out.

( the stolen cigarette. not that she's never been stung by the ashes before, but there's no sense in ruining perfectly good sheets when they're likely to already. it'd be insult to injury. )

[ despite his egregiously self-serving personality, gojo has grown accustomed to matching the pace of whoever he sleeps with. he likes to gauge their level of comfortability and receptiveness towards his advances and adjust accordingly. a seemingly unassuming kiss can tell him quite a lot.

but perhaps with tao, he doesn't need to show too much initial restraint after all. she isn't shy in her approach, forward and relaxed with a promising tinge of aggression in her kiss. it's pleasant and enthralling to find someone like-minded in this way, his own lips moving in tandem, mischievous one moment while unhurried the next. as she pulls away from him, he releases a low hum, his hand easily locating the makeshift ashtray to snuff out the cig. ]

Haha. Were you getting worried? [ a mild tease. he knows that isn't the case. ] It's out now. [ and with it, a freed hand that has now found its way to her slender neck, offering support as he bends down to press light kisses along its curvature. he only pauses once he reaches the dip between her neck and collarbone, his tongue sliding out to lick at the soft skin, before playfully pulling it into his mouth. his other hand moves away from its perch atop the headboard, finding its way to her waist, where his fingers begins to make the leisure journey up past the flimsy layer of her shirt, dancing across the warmth of her abdomen until they've brushed against her supple mound. ]

( well, isn't he considerate.

she doesn't so much as glance aside to figure out where he's decided to put her cigarette out, acquiescing in kind to tip her chin to allow him the room to make a home within the nook of her neck with his mouth and tongue. paired with the hand wandering up her belly, she can't exactly help the shiver that she'll be unable to excuse to the cold when she's barely left the warmth of his bed; arching into his palm with a soft huff as her nails claw into his hip in retaliation.

as far as she's concerned, if he's going to leave a mark, then so will she. )

Branding ain't on the table 'til the fifth go, I'm afraid.

( a jest. one she delivers with a vague gesture to the now disregarded cigarette off the side, threading her fingers into his hair proper so she might guide him fully onto the mattress proper, sliding her heel up some to bend her knee to let it settle by his hip. all the better to keep him between her thighs with. comfortable, but no less firm. not especially when she slips her fingertips beneath the band of his trousers, down just a little off the side of his thighs. nothing too indecent. )

Guess you'll have to settle for usin' your mouth.

( not that he hasn't, judging by the delightful sting on her throat. )

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.

002—

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject