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

[ Yor frowns, but the gesture comes more due to her own indecision. Would their employer really be the best option here? ]

I don't know if LILITH would know what to do. The local authorities, perhaps.

[ Though she's also not sure if they have the resources to take care of him given this has happened before. They'll at least be able to contact his extended family? ]

I can escort him to the nearest station, if you'd like to join us.

Yeah, that was my thought. I figure they gotta know more about how to contact the right people than we do...

[He trails off, frowning at the poor kid again as he considers Yor's offer.]

...Alright. I'll come with. Wouldn't feel right leaving a lady and a little kid walking through these streets on their own, with the way all these locals have been behaving, so. I'll be your backup.

Thank you! That'd be a wonderful help.

[ Yor turns her attention back to the child and offers her hand, which he takes with some hesitation. She then looks to Dearka again. ]

I'm sorry that I didn't catch your name though. What was it?

[Crap... Do they still have to use their cover names here in Vegas? He can't remember. Probably best to play it safe. He grins easily, waving off the apology.]

Ah, don't sweat it. Pretty sure I missed yours, too. Name's Derek.

[Though he sends a quick text through the ocular as well, to supplement:]

It's Dearka, actually. But the kid doesn't need to know that.

[ At least he remembered! She was about to give out her actual name for a second there. ]

Ah, it's nice to meet you. You can call me Rosamund. [ Though mentally, the message "Likewise, my name is Yor." goes back to him over the implant.

She turns toward the boy again with her smile still strong. ]

You too, okay? We're going to go to the station now where you'll be safe. We're going to help them find your parents.

[ The boy gives a nod and a soft "Okay Miss Rosie" as she straightens up. ]

Then let's be on our way, shall we?

[Yor, huh? He commits that to memory, and commits "Rosamund" to it as well. Luckily, Dearka's a coordinator, so he's got a leg-up on certain cognitive skills such as, "having a functioning memory".

He starts walking when prompted, chatting idly as they get moving.]

'Miss Rosie'... Sounds like you've already earned yourself a cute little nickname. [He glances down at the kid as they walk, grinning in a sort of overbearing way in an attempt to act friendly.] Hey, what about yours truly? Do I get to be "Mister" something?

[ The boy is, thankfully, entirely beyond his initial nervousness with the two of them to help him along to the station. So unafraid that he's bright-eyed and sincere as he comes up with a nickname for Dearka on the spot. ]

"Deedee!"

[ No sooner does the boy say that does Yor turn her head to purse her lips and hide the laugh trying to bubble its way out of her mouth. ]

[...INSTANT KO.

To Dearka's credit, he manages to maintain that smile, even though internally he's thinking Deedee? SERIOUSLY? How should he even respond to this? It's not like he can complain about it, he's pretty sure it's bad form to criticize a kid's nicknaming skills. But man, couldn't he have picked something more... Well. The word he was starting to think of was 'manly', but then he heard himself and realized how ridiculous that is to expect from a small child. So instead he just laughs and tries to roll with it.]

D...Deedee, huh? Yeah, alright. That works for me.

[STRAINED SMILE AS HE GLANCES AT YOR. PLEASE DON'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS.]

[ Honestly, Yor not looking at Dearka's face is the only reason she hasn't burst into laughter. Well, that and her sympathy for a nickname that one might find unflattering. She clears her throat to further dispel the laugh that wants to escape. ]

C-C'mon then! Let's not dawdle any longer, y-yes?

[ The child thankfully is content to walk alongside her, so there's some reprieve from the focus on Dearka's new moniker. ]

Edited 2024-06-08 00:18 (UTC)

[You know... He can tell that she's barely keeping the laughter in, but he does appreciate that she's at least trying.]

Hey, who's dawdling? Definitely not me.

[Dearka's back to looking smug and unruffled, but he does pick up the pace a little bit, marching with his hands shoved in his pockets. As laid back as his posture is, his gaze is sharp, and he's keeping an eye out for any danger. He can't trust that one of those jacked up locals won't try something...

He can multitask though. Might as well make some idle conversation.]

So... You work with kids a lot or something? You seem like you've got a knack.

[ Yor's taken aback, but her smile is gentle as she keeps her eyes forward. Good with children? She's not sure. She's only used to dealing with them because of her younger brother and, of course, Anya. ]

Oh, I...have a daughter. Back home. She's about this boy's age.

[Dearka's face registers mild surprise at that.]

No kidding... A nice young lady like you with a kid that old? Not sure I would've guessed that.

[Shut up Dearka.]

[ Her face turns almost the same shade of red as her eyes. ]

W-Well, she's my stepdaughter, but... [ But, does that really matter? The more she thinks about it, the less she thinks so. Anya was never shy about treating her as if she was her birth mother, and just thinking about her, she can only feel that same protectiveness she's certain any other person would feel toward their child. ] She calls me her mama without hesitation, so I can only think of her as my daughter.

Ahhhh, stepdaughter. Gotcha. That's cute of her; I'm betting not every kid warms up to a new parent that easily. Either she's very adaptable, or you're just extra charming, heh.

[He's completely just guessing here though, tbh. He really knows nothing about kids.

The next part, he keeps to the ocular, because he doesn't want the kid they're escorting to hear this.]

Does this bother you at all, though? Getting yanked away from your real daughter, being made to work here helping someone else's kids for LILITH? Not that I blame this squirt for it... It just feels kinda fucked up.

I think it might be the former. Anya's very strong for a young child.

[ And she couldn't ever see herself as charming, much less "extra" charming. Nah, it's gotta be that Anya's just a huge sweetie! That it!

Yor does grow quiet at the ocular question, but she keeps a smile on her face as she stares ahead of them. Briefly, she travels backward to months ago when this situation was all brand new to her. ]

It did, very much. But I asked LILITH when I came here what would happen to my family back home.
There's a version of me still there with them, and w- they lived well as far as I could see.
I've had time to make peace with it.

[Luckily the whole 'duplication' thing isn't ENTIRELY news to Dearka... Yzak had more or less explained it. Dearka hasn't really allowed himself to think too hard about it or process it fully, though.]

I guess there is that, but... I dunno. I mean, I'm glad you've made peace, at least. For me, the whole situation still smells fishy as hell. Like, you go and demand answers, and then they drop that information on you as if it doesn't bring up a whole bunch of brand new, existentially horrifying questions...? Come on...

[He has a bad habit of dumping his complaints sometimes, sorry Yor.]

Edited 2024-06-23 22:17 (UTC)

[ Yor is quiet a moment, pensive. The station's nearing, so hopefully that will ease some of this sudden awkwardness. ]

I'm sorry, Dearka. I didn't mean to brush over your concerns.

[Dearka already feels like maybe he did a blunder by mouthing off the way he just did, so the real relief is just hearing any kind of reply at all.]

...Nah, I'm the one who should apologize. You didn't do anything wrong, I just haven't managed to sort out how I feel about all of this. Pretty unbecoming of someone who claims to be a Cool Guy, heh.

[A cool guy who was just nicknamed "deedee" by a small child.

Considering they're approaching the station, Dearka also takes a second to check in with Yzak and finalize their plans to meet back up. As annoyed as he was to be implanted with all this tech crap, it IS pretty useful.]

It's alright. No one can tell you the right way to feel. You have to just
Hm, well, feel it out yourself
I suppose that's the right way to say it?

[ Yor turns back to the boy and her smile brightens just that much more. ]

There's the station there. The people inside will help you, okay?

"Kay!"

[...Dearka has already decided that Yor is a Real One. Yeah, he may not have a single clue about her combat capabilities, but at least as far as her personality goes, he's pretty confident he's gonna be glad to have her around. It's just a hunch.]

Hah. Nah, that makes sense to me.

Thanks ;)

[He also gets a reply from Yzak informing him that he's actually quite nearby. Which is convenient! Might as well convey that to Yor.]

My partner is supposed to meet me here soon, so I might be taking off with him after this. Think you can handle the rest?

Not a problem.

[ Meant for both their inner dialogue and the outer conversation at-hand. ]

I'll explain the situation to the officers and everything should be alright.

"Bye, Mister DeeDee!" [ The child says, grateful.

And it just so happens that Dearka's "partner" was closer than either of them had expected when he reached out to him. So Yzak simply went in a different direction from where he was heading, which leaves him turning the corner and putting him right within earshot of the three of them at the best possible time.

Guess who heard that. ]

[Luckily, Dearka hasn't noticed Yzak there yet, because if he had it might otherwise spoil this adorable goodbye. The nickname still hits weird, but he can shoulder it for the kid's sake. He actually reaches down and gently tousles his hair, grinning.]

Heh... Good luck, squirt. And take care. I'll catch you later, Rosamund.

[His steps falter only slightly as he turns to leave and spots Yzak standing there. Watching.

Fuck.]

[The alarm is only brief. After that, he immediately starts playing it off like a cat that just got caught doing something very silly, walking over with a sort of forced casualness, hands behind his head.]

Hey. All set over here.

[ Despite having little context to how he ended up with one of their teammates and a random child (though he can guess), he can't deny that Dearka's interaction with the kid is cute...

He sees Dearka's expression fall when he spots him, his own eyes making it clear that he knows exactly why he falters.

When he gathers himself and tries to play it off, Yzak says ... nothing of it. ]

Alright. [ He nods his head in the direction he came from. ] The place I mentioned is over this way.

[ Is it promising or ominous that he doesn't bring up the DeeDee thing? Who can say. :) Who can say. :) ]

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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