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

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.

Teleportation.

[ Yuji looks a little bit sheepish, at least, hands sliding into his pockets. ]

Gojo-sensei thinks that's the kind of thing I should've learned on my own.

( A snort at that. )

He would.

( He can't exactly blame Yuji for that though. A useful skill is a useful skill. Though Geto certainly won't be doing any experimentation on himself. )

Do you feel it was worth it?

If I learn it here, then my body can adapt, and I can keep honing the skill at home. That's what I'm hoping for.

[ Shaking his head, he tries not to be too pouty. ]

That one wasn't, because it really hurt aniki, so I'm not going to get any more.

You have a brother?

( He hasn't exactly put two and two about that together just yet, so of course he's asking. )

And that's probably for the best. You don't know what they might do with these implants. Even the one could be enough to control us. Giving them more chance of control might not be in your best interests.

Yeah. Choso.

[ They look similar if they're next to each other, but when they're not... Choso is more like his sleep paralysis demon. ]

We already have one, so what's a few more? It doesn't matter, either way I'm done.

Ah, the curse.

( Don't start hitting him, Yuji. He thinks he was very well behaved on that one. He only vaguely contemplated eating him, and they both managed to walk away unscathed. He thinks that's acceptable. )

What an interesting family you have.

( It makes him more and more curious. What kind of life is this boy living? )

Your brother mistook me for the same man you did. ( His tone remains conversational, but there's a tension that rises in him regardless. He tells himself he doesn't want to know, and yet. Is ignorance bliss, or is it a fool's game? ) Though we didn't fight. The kaiju interrupted. ( A smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. ) It's almost funny, really.

[ Yuji just gives him a look. He can't really argue, not when Choso is a curse, but the way he says it is a little annoying. ]

That's one way of putting it.

[ Glancing away from Geto, Yuji pauses to think. He and Choso had spoken about him, and they both have reasons to hate Kenjaku, both justified, but he's glad neither of them ended up hurting Geto-san. He thinks he might feel guilty about really whaling on someone who hadn't earned it, even if Choso doesn't. He's still learning about being human and having human feelings.

Finally, he looks back over. ]

Funny why?

I'm used to being hated.

( A shrug of one shoulder, idle. ) Your gojo-sensei is right about one thing. I am a notorious curse user. ( He punctuates that with another look, half bored. ) I make the hard decisions and do the terrible things because no one else will, and for that the jujutsu world at large sees me only as something villainous. Any one of them would have put a knife in my back if they had even the slightest chance of succeeding. But they couldn't. Because I was better than them.

( A hum, tuneless note. )

But you don't even know who I am. A year later and that legacy is all but swept under the carpet. You could have gotten close, and yet I'm not even the man you're angry at. You're angry at this body, you and your brother both, but it's not because of anything I've done. ( A humourless laugh. ) Like I said, it's hilarious.

Edited 2024-05-28 13:09 (UTC)

You make hard decisions that you think you have to, because you think no one else will. That's your motivation.

[ Yuji is doing something similar, but in a very different way. Yuji is putting himself in positions that might kill him, rip him to pieces, destroy him emotionally, all for the sake of trying to save Megumi and keep him safe. He's eating things, doing the unthinkable, pushing and pushing, because he has no other choice.

Is Geto-san like that, or is he truly evil? Yuji hasn't figured that out yet. He hasn't been able to make a decision on it, because he doesn't know enough about him to make that sort of conclusion alone. Maybe, given time, he'll be able to do that.

Hilarious, he says, and Yuji sighs. ]

Well, maybe that's for the best. If I did know you and you did do those kinds of horrible things, I definitely would've beaten you up more.

[ A smile. Stop being so morose around this literal ball of sunshine, Geto. ]

You got lucky.

( An almost smile, head titled ever so slightly Yuji's way. He has no interest in picking another fight but there's still something of the same person in him that had once been considered one of the strongest. A little bit of pride he can't quite demolish entirely. Oh, he has no doubt Yuji could beat him into the ground, but. )

What will you do now we're here?

( Idly, half curious. Maybe it would be in Geto's best interest to keep tabs on Gojo's students. )

Wait for more orders?

Maybe. Or I'm just good.

[ If there's one thing Yuji can believe in, it's his own strength. Even if not all of it is his own - a mixture of Sukuna's power moulded into his body, things he's eaten and consumed, his own fight to survive and push himself forward. He had believed in that, and the power of his friends, his classmates, the people he has left.

He keeps believing, so they can save what matters to him.

Looking around at the new landscape in front of him, Yuji shrugs. ]

I'll check in on my friends and stuff and see what's going on. Nothing that exciting.

▶ 001. A RUDE AWAKENING.

▶ 002. WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS.

▶ 003. TROUBLE BREWING.

▶ 004. FOUR FOR THE ROAD.

▶ 005. THE HUNT IS ON.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject