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

( There's very little for him back home. Gojo has told him his fate, and as much as he wants to push back against the idea Geto knows he wouldn't lie. So unless he can make some sort of deal with LILITH for his servitude then returning home means the end for him. Not for the first time since coming here he thinks of Mimiko and Nanako. He hopes they're safe. That whatever grief has come their way is at least eased by the family. He hopes he picked right, in the end. Still, as quick as the thought occurs he banishes it again, glancing back to Yuji and away again.

The city stretches before them, shiny, bright. )

Doesn't that worry you? Or I guess in the grand scheme of things being thrown out like trash probably isn't high on that list.

( He has opinions on being here, but as with all of his opinions they're Not Good. )

It would worry me more, but I didn't remember this place when I went back home.

[ And it's not as if he has to worry about what Nanami is doing back home, all things considered.

He was more worried about what Nanami was up to when he was here. ]

Someone told me that they learned that time doesn't pass back home, or we're different versions of ourselves, or something like that. When I went back, it was as if I had never left, so that seems to make sense to me. I'm worried about what being here means in the end, but right now...

[ Yuji sighs a little, fingers flexing. ]

There's a lot of happiness here.

( Just when you think you have control of your life, you almost get killed and then end up in some sort of alternate Tokyo. The headache that's been mostly lingering since he got here makes itself known by pulsing at his temples. But he listens to everything Yuji has to say, internally chewing over the details. )

It makes you wonder who would have that power.

( It's half murmured, as though Geto has forgotten who he's talking to in his attempt to puzzle out the truth. But the focus sharpens, again. )

Is there? ( It's Geto's own personal hell, but to each their own or something. ) I could have used a better vacation. ( And then. ) You're not the only one here from Jujutsu High, are you? Satoru mentioned students. Plural.

With all the technology here, I just assumed it was something like that. I've never thought about it more than that.

[ If you hadn't noticed, Geto, he's a little bit on the dim side...

He'd definitely rather get back to talking about the things he does know, though, and his hands flex a little before he hums softly. ]

Compared to what's happening at home, this place is like a break. My friends are here, my sensei is here, Nanamin was here... I don't think I could've asked for more than that.

[ Yuji throws him a sly little glance... More fishing, huh... ]

Yeah, the other first years are here too. Kugisaki and Fushiguro.

( He's just showing friendly interest. But he recognises at least one of those names so he doesn't feel quite as wrong-footed as he had his first few days here. )

Ah, the boba girl. We've spoken.

( It's another thing he'd like to puzzle out. He's been asking around, trying to suss out people's situations as subtly as he can. Most of the people he's communicated with so far are all alone, but from similar enough worlds as the one they've all been dumped in. A few, like Geto, have no other choice but to stay here, nothing to return them to were LILITH to get bored of them. It doesn't sound that way with Yuji, but it also doesn't sound like it might be pleasant either. )

Why did you help me before? Really? I know you don't like me. And I'm sure your Gojo-sensei has at least told you I'm not a very good person to know. You're strong, but you're - ( A pause, thoughtful. How does one politely say "obviously painfully naïve"? ) - well. You'd do better to avoid me anyway. So why?

Boba girl...

[ That sounds like Kugisaki, since she does like boba a lot... He should take her out sometime soon.

He wants to spend as much time with her as he can.

The question makes Yuji pause for a moment, looking over at Geto before he shrugs his shoulders. ]

Sure, Gojo-sensei told me you were a notorious curse user, and a cult leader, but mostly he seemed proud of me for doing it in the first place.

[ Because Gojo-sensei is weird like that, isn't he... Yuji sighs deeply. This is the life he's leading; as much as he loves Gojo, he can admit that he's a unique teacher, for sure. ]

I think the answer is... 'Why not'? You're definitely a jerk, but right now we're all in this together, and I felt bad, for beating you like I did. You're not trying to hurt me right now, so it's not like we're enemies or anything.

( A deep, dramatic sigh. ) I'm not a cult leader.

( He hasn't even begun to make overtures in gathering followers here, so it's technically not a lie. His family back home will no doubt continue to move along with his good word, but he'll be dead. No leadership duties required there. And also, very little point in the here and now. He can't amass curses here like he would have back home, and gathering funds doesn't hold the same appeal when it's just himself he has to care for. Former cult leader, sure. But of course Gojo would spread that around.

The rest of Yuji's explanation is equally as baffling. He tries to pick through it as best he can, but the conclusion really just feels like "here is a boy who is easily led" which isn't exactly kind. Useful, maybe. If he were feeling scheme-y, probably. )

I'm sure LILITH has rules against infighting. ( Is what he settles on eventually. ) I don't have any interest in jeopardising my time here. I'll behave.

( The for now goes unsaid. )

I'm just telling you what Gojo-sensei said.

[ Cult leader and curse user... And he's not denying the curse user part. Yuji prickles at that, but he's right - they're probably not meant to fight each other, and he's someone else from Yuji's world, and he's Gojo-sensei's friend. That means something to him, even if it feels a little weird to say it. That awkward tension still thrums under Yuji's skin, but he can push it aside for now.

Choso had been an enemy at first too, hadn't he?

It depends on what Gojo-sensei says, what he does. Yuji trusts him on this front. ]

Me too. All of us are doing our best, I mean.

[ He shrugs his shoulders absently. ]

And there'll be kaiju to fight soon either way.

Satoru says a lot of things. ( Because it doesn't matter how much time has passed, he knows some parts of life remain constant. He can only imagine a mouth that likes to run getting no better with age. But there's little point arguing, especially against the truth - even if he'll deny it with a smile - he knows the kind of loyalty Gojo inspires either way. He used to feel the same way. ) It's fine, I don't care.

( He hums, at the mention of Kaiju, thoughtful again. )

I've seen some of them. The boar ones back in Kyoto. I'm lead to believe they're not all like that? Docile? Easy counteracted?

( There hadn't been much of a fight anyway. It had certainly gone better than the rest of Geto's time. ) How bad are they?

Yeah, he's that kind of person. [ He says a lot of things, but he also means a lot of things. Gojo wouldn't say things or share them with Yuji if they weren't important to know, or at least worth knowing, so he listens - even if Geto-san says he's not a cult leader any more, he was at one point, so that's something to keep in mind. Shady, dangerous, someone to make sure that he doesn't end up being taken advantage of. That's the kind of thing that's too easy with someone as naive as Yuji can be.

Walking along, Yuji shrugs his shoulders. ]

The first ones were giant whales, and they weren't too bad, other than the tsunamis. The last ones we fought were like lizards, but they had electricity running through them, and it was hard to keep using my techniques.

[ The electrics had fried the healing upgrade inside of him and messed with his RCT, so he was left bleeding out for Choso to find. ]

They're as bad as big curses, probably.

Oh, like Heliolisk?

( Would a genocidal cult leader know about Pokémon? Checkmate, doubters. )

I had wondered if they followed the same rules as curses. Someone told me some of the things here were manmade, a science experiment. Though I'm not sure if they meant the kaiju in general or the ... corpses in the lab. ( He certainly hasn't tried to act like they're curses, hasn't attempted consuming one. It almost makes him giddy, the sudden thrilling freedom from near-constant gorging. He knows he should be more concerned, how will he get stronger if his technique is suffering, if his supply is so limited? But a part of him is just so relieved. He hasn't been ill in days. )

Does that happen often? Your technique being interrupted?

( He tries to keep his tone even there too, as though to not seem too interested. )

Huh? Yeah, like that, but scarier...

[ How does this guy know about Pokemon... That's weird. ]

I think there might be some that the scientists have made, since we saw some kidnapped animals that looked like some mixed up together, but I don't know if all the kaiju are like that. [ He's not really the kind of person to ask those sorts of questions to, given his poor track record with science subjects. They're lucky he's able to figure out half the technology here without getting himself into more and more trouble.

Raising his head, Yuji watches for a moment before he huffs. Trying to spot a weakness now, Geto-san? ]

Megumi said it was because of the electric bite. It messed with my body. It's the only time that's happened.

( He's twenty-seven, not a hundred and five. He knows Pokémon. But he nods in response to Yuji's summation of any impact this place has had. No help there then, he still doesn't know why his own technique has changed so drastically. Long exorcised ones are back, but different, and his supply is ... limited.

He's still keeping that to himself though. )

That's good.

( Not that he ... cares? Or maybe he does. It's hard to figure that out these days. )

This place already does enough against your will. A few more wouldn't be surprising.

[ He's basically an old man...

Yuji's technique wasn't massively affected by LILITH - he just had a natural strength to him, and then the blood manipulation was brand new, so he wasn't that good at it either way. He's just been fighting the way he was most used to, with hands and fists, and trying to throw in a sword or club here and there. He's not an expert by any means, but he's doing the best he can, and he thinks that's enough for now.

Most of the time, anyway. ]

Some of it I chose to do, so it's not all like that.

[ Voluntary surgery ahoy. ]

The doctor here is nice, especially for a cat.

( ...

...

... )

A cat.

( You know what, maybe he is old because he thinks his hearing is going. )

Pardon?

A cat!

[ Yuji nods, as if this is perfectly normal and usual and not weird at all. ]

His name is Doctor Spim and he's really nice. He let me pet him after my surgery.

( An exhale, Completely Defeated. )

I think I'd rather Shoko's distinct lack of bedside manner than a cat, actually.

( Do their paws have the dexterity for it? )

Why were you having surgery?

Shoko-san is good too!

[ She doesn't purr, though.

Yuji shifts awkwardly. At least Geto probably won't scold him... ]

I got a healing upgrade.

She still works at the school?

( Oh look, a genuine spark of interest, maybe a little bit of fondness. He laughs, shakes his head. ) You poor fucking kids.

( Said with ALL THE LOVE IN HIS HEART. He misses her, more than he'd thought he might have all those years ago. She'd been his friend too, and he'd left her behind as well. A choice he'd had to make, but one he still thinks about. )

An upgrade? Like the implants?

I like Shoko-san.

[ He's almost pouting about it, actually, because she's pretty nice, other than the time she almost dissected him alive. That wasn't her fault, though. ]

Yeah, an implant. I wanted to be able to heal people like that, so I signed up for it.

[ And then he went home and got RCT. The power of this place... ]

I like her too.

( Distracted, but there's a wealth of affection in his words. ) I just remember how often she'd beg to do weird experiments on us. And how terrible her bedside manner was. Once I broke my arm so bad you could see the bone and she ate all my candy before she fixed it. ( Admittedly he'd broken it trying to stop her stealing the sweets, had swerved the sting ray wrong and taken a hilariously bad dive, but still. It makes him smile now though, a little bittersweet. ) She's terrible, but she's also really great. Everyone should like her.

( Another pause, another glance Yuji's way. )

You got an implant to help other people? They don't have anaesthetic here, right? Or very little. And you got a surgery? An elective surgery?

I think at one point she was going to do a weird experiment on me, too. That was the time I died, and she was going to do an autopsy or dissection or something when I woke up...

[ That had been a weird experience, waking up to Shoko-san leaning over him with her gloves and mask on, ready to cut him into pieces... At least he'd woken up in time? It could've ended up being a thousand times worse, honestly.

Sighing, he shrugs his shoulders. ]

Sure, I was awake the whole time, but it was worth it. It's not the worst pain I've ever felt.

You really are a jujutsu sorcerer.

( Half-muttered, kind of bitter about it. He really shouldn't like Itadori Yuji - he especially doesn't want to. The boy wasn't born into this life and is therefore part of the problem. But Geto is not so mired in his idealism that he can't see suffering for what it is. The kid's talking about dying in a way so cavalier that he kind of wants to start shaking him. )

Worth it to help your friends? ( He inclines his head a little. ) Not bad. But you're not made of infinite strength, no matter how hard you punch. You should probably keep yourself in mind too. ( ... Veering a little too close to advice there. ) I'm sure your sensei's told you as much.

Yeah? I told you that.

[ Obviously!!

Yuji might not quite understand the things going on in Geto's mind right now, or the reasons why he's finally come to that conclusion, but it doesn't bother him. He likes the almost-there acceptance, in the same way he had liked hearing it from Nanamin, way back when. He's worked hard enough that he feels as though he's earned the right to be given the title of sorcerer.

No matter what other people might think. No matter that he's less than human now. ]

Sensei was mostly mad about the second surgery, not the first one. [ Yuji shrugs absently, sighing. ] I still say it was worth it. Healing people is rare, so being able to do it is helpful.

What was the other one?

( Is it fishing for information if you're genuinely curious? Probably. He doesn't actually think he's going to find out anything useful. )

If he was mad about one but not the other.

▶ 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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