synflux | PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

CONTENT WARNINGS: natural disaster, PTSD, mind-control, psychological trauma, violence, delirium from heat, temporary blindness, hallucinations, dead bodies.

▶ 001. STORM CHASERS.

After weeks of searching for clues on the kaiju and missing people, the desert landscape begins to blend together. Didn’t you pass that cactus earlier today? That rock formation looks exactly like the one you passed the other day. It’s natural to loop back around when conducting a search but doesn’t it feel like everyone has been going in circles more frequently?

The heat isn’t helping either. Temperatures start to rise and continue to rise to all time highs. The sun is unrelenting and the only reliable shelter they have are their campers. Prolonged exposure outside will result in heat exhaustion, dehydration, and delirium.

Warnings will be sent to the Outsiders via their implants to keep them up to date with the weather as well as providing health tips such as reminders to stay hydrated or seek shelter during the hottest parts of the day. They will also receive warnings for sand storms and tornadoes called dust devils. The storms start of short and relatively weak but gradually begin to last longer and become more powerful. Pretty soon, Outsiders will not be able to see ahead from the dense sand and wind.

Outsiders will be told to chase after the storms and if they progress far enough, they will begin to find traces of people. They will find random belongings, articles of clothing, and occasionally, human remains in varying states of decomposition. Eventually, however, they will start to find survivors suffering from extreme fatigue and dehydration. They speak incoherently to themselves and as soon as they regain their strength, they try to run into storms while calling out to things that people can’t see.

Outsiders can wait for emergency caravans to arrive from Vegas to take survivors back to the city or they can take back the survivors themselves and use the opportunity to restock on supplies.

▶ 002. THE STORM CALLS.

The sandstorms increase and grow stronger until eventually, they last entire days. The sands shift, the grounds shake, and something thunderous can be heard in the dust. It becomes harder to see out in the desert and it’s almost like the storms are trying to hide something. At the edge of a storm, sharp eyed Outsiders may catch sight of a great shadowy serpent in the heart of the storm. Messages to their implants will urge them to get closer and investigate but be careful.

The storm grows stronger as they approach and the camper vans may slow down or get stuck in the shifting sands forcing some of them to proceed on foot to make visuals. Eventually, they will get close enough to finally establish clear visuals on their target: A giant sand worm. It’s size is not immediately clear due to the poor visibility and it being partially underground. However, the worm also sees them and when it does, it glows. The light catches on and reflects against the sand particles and that’s when it hits some of the Outsiders: A sudden splitting headache followed by an inability to look away.

Some outsiders may suddenly find themselves entranced by the worm; hypnotized. They will begin to see mirages and hear voices calling out to them in the storm. Captivated Outsiders will find themselves wanting to run into the storm to chase after the phantoms, some of them images and figures of people from their past and present back home. If anyone attempts to stop them, they will become irrational, violent, and turn on their friends and allies. Some Outsiders may begin to view their allies as enemies and attack, turning on one another in a gruesome frenzy. Some of the hypnotic beams will effect those still in their campers, turning on their friends and other Outsiders.

Outsiders will have to restrain each other to keep them from running into the desert or harming each other. In the chaos, the worm disappears into the storm. The psychic effects of the monster will weaken after the worm disappears and the storm dies down but it may leave some characters feeling overwhelmed and confused in the aftermath. Some will remain in an erratic state for several days, occasionally acting normal. In the insanity of all of this, Outsiders may have picked up another Outsider into their camper van for their protection or camper parties remain shuffled. It's up to the ones unaffected by the psychic attacks to watch over the others while retreating from the desert.

▶ 003. CITY OF DREAMS.

Following the disaster of the first sighting, LILITH will order characters to return to Vegas so they can assess what happened. En route to Vegas, some Outsiders may notice some side effects from the prolonged exposure to the sandstorm. They may experience shortness of breath and coughing as a result of breathing in so much dust. Furthermore, they may experience a splitting headache or pain behind their eyes. Their implants may lag, glitch, or go completely offline which will render them temporarily blind in one or both eyes. It seems that the fine sand and dust combined with whatever psychic damage the worm did may have messed with their implants and crossed some sensors which is all the more reason to return to Vegas for treatment.

Outsiders may become lethargic and experience vivid daydreams while they are awake or regular dreams while sleeping. In these dreams, they may relive memories. Some of these memories may be pleasant but others may be traumatic or things characters would rather keep secret. Unfortunately, being in close proximity to someone suffering from these effects will force a link through a glitch in their implants and drag other characters into the dream.

These links will function similarly to how simulation training works. The dreams they visit appear to be very realistic and characters can experience pain and be hurt within the memory. They will be able to interact with the memories. While in these memories, they can try to wake up the memory holder to bring them back to reality. Who knows, maybe helping each other understand what is real and a dream may even make them more resilient to the worm’s attacks the next time they go into the desert...

▶ 004. REST & RECOVERY

As characters recover from the psychic effects and implant glitches, LILITH will try to assess everyone’s biometrics to understand what happened. Characters who need therapy or counseling after reliving some horrible memories of theirs will be provided sessions via their implants. They now understand that the worm has some sort of psychic mind control power that it can use on victims. It is currently too dangerous to go back into the desert until they can come up with a proper defense against it.

Outsiders will be ordered to stay in Vegas and focus on recovery, given two queen side bed hotel rooms again OR if they would prefer to stay in the camper vans, that is also fine, with their same room mates or new ones. They are confident that they can fix the implants with the right upgrade but they aren’t sure what to do to stop people from following the call of the desert and making them act erratically. What is important is that LILITH sticks together.

In the meantime, those who have recovered, and even those who are experiencing these issues are ordered to remain close to one another; a buddy system of sorts. Each Outsider will be given designated groups to keep tight watch over one another while in Vegas. They will be responsible for physically checking on those in their groups and making sure one another’s whereabouts are properly tracked in order to avoid losing anyone to the desert.

LILITH encourages Outsiders to hang tight and wait for instructions before adventuring back out into the desert.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

In light of the results of the scheduling poll, here is our first event with a preview of the kaiju. All side effects from either the sandstorms or the worm kaiju can last for as short or as long as players would like.

For the daydreams/memory share, players can decide how they would like characters to experience the memories, whether it plays out in front of them like a movie or if they're reliving it by acting out the scene all over again or a mix of both. We encourage you guys to have fun with it and use whatever format feels most comfortable.

As always, feel free to leave questions under the QUESTIONS thread. All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards June AC.

EVENT BREAKDOWN (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. STORM CHASERS: Outsiders, still in the now expanded Mojave Desert, face problems with heat and sandstorms, resulting in dehydration and delirium. Still, LILITH encourages them to press onward in their camper vans and desert approved attire. Many dead bodies are found, but those that survive, Outsiders can keep an eye on survivors until emergency care can come pick them up.

2. STORM CALLS: A glimpse of the creature causing the problems is seen beneath the sands surface: a giant sandworm. It attacks LILITH recruits with psychological damage, causing Outsiders to hallucinate memories of their past, act erratic and violent and turn on LILITH crew. Outsiders are tasked to wrangle in one another and retreat back to Las Vegas to recover.

3. CITY OF DREAMS: Seeking refuge back in Las Vegas, character's implants go haywire from the psychic attacks, causing a memory share between characters that are close enough to one another.

4. REST & RECOVERY: Outsiders are placed in hotels again, or if they prefer to stay in the camper vans. They are tasked to keep an eye out on one another and sit tight for further instructions while LILITH assesses their data and next move to wrangle in the sandworm. Outsiders are to wait until given instructions.

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[ The memory opens with Yuji... Not looking like himself. There are tattoos over his face, and there's an edge to it, as if it's been reshaped, twisted - it's him, his body, but the voice that comes out of it is so clearly not the person that March knows, not the person that she's befriended. It's deeper, darker - something evil to it.

It lifts it's head, this thing inside Yuji's body, and it speaks: ]

Brat... Take a good look.

[ The tattoos fade away, and it's as if Yuji's memories are hitting him like punches to the gut, actions that his body did without his control, his consent, as he stares at a wide, open hole in the world. Memories swirl, as if in a montage in front of his head, slamming, pulsing - and March gets to witness them all, a secondary protagonist in the horrors of what Sukuna did in Yuji's body, burning, breaking him - two girls dying, fire, the death of a strange voclano-like creature, more death, thousands of people, Sukuna using his domain to expand, to a 140-meter radius of death.

Yuji collapses to the ground and vomits, digging his nails into the pavement as he shakes, and cries, blood under his nails as he digs and digs. ]

Die... Only I should die...

Edited 2024-06-01 13:13 (UTC)

[ What... is this?

She doesn't know that voice, not at all, and that's his body, but...

It's like something else is speaking through him and to him, all at the same time, and before she can ponder what that even means, she gets that good look. Far more clear than she would like, and it's not like she hasn't seen people dying before, unfortunately, she's had to kill some of them herself, but--

She was aware. She'd did it only because she had to, but this... this thing is using Yuji's body to perpetuate so much death and violence on a humongous scale and she claps both hands over her mouth in horror, unable to look away.

She hears, more than sees, Yuji collapse--and March takes a deep breath, closes her eyes briefly... and crouches down beside him. ]

Yuji...

[ It takes a moment for her voice to register to Yuji, as if he's so stuck in his own grief and torment that he doesn't register another voice. He shifts, and when he turns - crying, tears staining his face, blood on his hands, torn to shreds by the dirt he'd been digging into - he stares at her, unseeing. For a moment, it's as if he doesn't recognise her at all, and then his face twists in confusion.

It doesn't... Make sense to him. It's clear that he's baffled, lost, gazing at her with a tilted head before he swallows.

He didn't want her to see this.

He didn't want anyone to see this.

Blinking at her, his head tilts. ]

March-chan, how...

[ Reaching out, he takes her hand in his wrist, careful, gentle. ]

You have to get out of here. It's not safe.

What, and leave you here?

[ March is perhaps paler than she's ever been, but she's frowning fiercely at that and gripping his hand. ]

No way. Definitely not in the creed of the Nameless.

[ Well, it probably has no mention of "what to do if you just saw your friend got body-hijacked and forced to commit terrible atrocities", but it's fine, she's not going to leave. Or, at the very least-- ]

You're coming with me.

Edited 2024-06-02 02:47 (UTC)

I can't, the others...

[ Sometimes, atrocities happen because you can't keep control - as if being force-fed ten fingers was somehow within Yuji's control, when he was half-dead and trying to cling to some kind of survival.

Looking around, he strokes his fingers over her skin gently, breathing out softly. ]

I have to go and find Nanamin, and Kugisaki and Fushiguro are around here somewhere - no, Megumi is, isn't he?

[ He does almost sink into her, though, clearly desperate for comfort despite the discomfort of his appearance, his wounds, the aches that are breaking him from the inside out. ]

Yuji--

[ March studies his face, the mess that he is despite how heartbreakingly careful he is with the way he brushes his fingers over her hand. And isn't that just like him? Trying to do so much while worrying over everyone else?

She exhales but then steps forward, her free arm going around him in as tight a hug as she can manage. She can only hope it doesn't hurt him more. ]

I... this really happened to you, huh? Before I knew you.

But there's a lot of people waiting for you, past this. Beyond just me.

[ The hug is a... relief, almost.

In the last hour, Yuji has been through the wringer, almost died, had the man that admits to being his brother almost tear him to shreds, has lost control of his body and had himself bear witness to the mass murder of innocent people. He can't help but blame himself for it, hate himself for it, but...

As March's arms wrap around him, he blinks back the tears that have him prickling, and he breathes out softly. ]

I know, there are, but... But if I don't go, then Nanamin...

[ He leans down, pressing his head against her shoulder. It's as if, in his heart, he already knows: it's too late. ]

[ She has no idea who "Nanamin" is, but from the heavy way he says it, mentions that name... ]

I know. [ Maybe she at least understands it, a little. There are people she wasn't able to save, even while doing her best as a Trailblazer. ]

But I feel like you need this right now. Am I wrong?

[ He's leaning on her like she is somehow the one holding him up. Even though she knows that's not necessarily correct. ]

No, you’re not… Wrong, but it shouldn’t - I can’t stay here. I can’t leave them.

[ Yuji keeps shaking, keeps shivering with his pain, leaning into her even as he doesn’t want to soil her with his blood. It hurts, it all hurts - his hands, his body, his head, his heart, agony that has tears rolling down his face again.

He’s not in control. Was he ever in control…? How could he let this happen? ]

March-chan… I want to save him, more than anything… I want to save him and Kugisaki… I really want that.

I'm... not sure what happened, exactly, but...

Can they be saved?

[ She says this as gently as she can. It would, of course, be great if that were the case, but...

Sometimes, at a certain point, there's nothing you can do, and she lifts a hand to gently run it over his hair. ]

If I'm fast enough, I might be able to stop him. Mahito.

[ The anger, the pure rage that comes out of Yuji's mouth when he says that name is visceral, dark and dangerous, the kind of thing that he cannot stop himself from giving out. His expression tightens, and he has to force himself not to squeeze her harder.

Swallowing instead, he turns to look towards the direction of Nanami, knowing in his heart it's fruitless. ]

When I get there... It's already too late.

[ So that's... probably a no.

March would probably understand if Yuji used her as a squeeze toy in that exact minute, but he doesn't, and her expression falls slightly. Okay, so whoever this Mahito is, he's on her shitlist. Like. Maybe after Ayin. Girl can hold grudges against people she's never met, no problem.

For now, though... ]

Hey, when we're... out of here-- [ Wherever "here" is-- ]

Will you do me a favor?

[ Even in his anger, Yuji is careful with his friends. He always will be.

It’s getting easier to focus on her and not the grief and pain coiling inside him, the way it gnaws at him and makes him want to collapse. Her solid weight is enough to keep him going, coming back to himself slowly but surely.

He’s starting to realise this might not be real, and it burns, that reminder of failure. ]

A favour…? What kind?

Tell me about him when we're out of this. How you met, what you went through, what you think of him.

[ And she laughs a little, somewhat watery. ]

I'm kind of empty on memories right now, but I think that makes me the perfect sponge! So I'll remember what you tell me and that'll be one more person who can carry that. He won't ever be lost, between you and me and whoever else remembers him.

March-chan…

[ It’s impossible to resist the tears now, the way they roll down his face. Yuji tries so often to resist the urge to cry, to force himself to be as strong as possible, but it’s too much. Behind him, another version of him is going down to watch someone they love die.

It’s impossible to forget.

Sinking into her, he sobs as he nods his head, fingers twisting gently in her clothes. ]

I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything I can.

Got it. Then I'll listen.

[ And she hums a little in acknowledgement. She wishes she had anything she could fork over to help dry his tears, but she's also not entirely willing to let go of him to even bother looking.

He needs someone to support him right now, and she thinks, at the very least, she can do that. ]

I'll tell you everything. Anything you want.

[ It's enough. March is holding him up, and around him the memory goes fuzzy, breaks a little around the edges, as if shattering - as if he's waking up from the nightmare of it.

Yuji doesn't move away from her, though. He keeps basking in her comfort, seeking it out and allowing himself to have it, at least for now. ]

I'll hug you outside of this too, I promise.

[ Because it seems like this... is going to end, soon. But that doesn't necessarily mean his mental state's going to be much better than it is now. ]

[ A shift, a silence, and then it's over, Shibuya disappearing into the hot, too-hot heat of Las Vegas, Yuji still clinging to her with all that he has. ]

... Thank you.

... I just heard you out, you know?

[ Typical friend behavior, Yuji! ]

Yeah, but... You saw a lot, too.

[ There might not be blood on his hands now, but at the time...

Yuji is still trying, blinking as he tries to stop it. ]

[ March smiles crookedly, reaching up to rub at his eyes with her sleeve. ]

And you experienced it. I'm not happy you had to go through all that, but I do think I understand the situation a little more.

The situation, huh?

[ It makes Yuji laugh, just a little, a choked off, sad little sound. ]

It... Only got worse.

... Oh.

[ Yikes. ]

Um, is it still going...?

The memory? No, I think that's over.

[ Unless she means... The General Horrors (tm) ]

PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

▶ 001. STORM CHASERS.

▶ 002. THE STORM CALLS.

▶ 003. CITY OF DREAMS.

▶ 004. REST & RECOVERY

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

memshare - yuji's mems (cw for emeto ref and blood)

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