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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Aki had been looking for Tsurumaru.

It takes him a while, with all the survivors, the nature of the storm, the confusion - they have no way of finding one another beyond searching, so it takes him longer than he'd care to admit. When he spots the other man, he's quick to make his way to his side, almost reaching out to try and hold his hand, to link their fingers, before he hears it.

Master. Sadayasu.

Tsurumaru starts to run, and Aki frowns, darting forward with that strange, confusing speed that comes hand in hand with being a Devil Hunter, reaching out to grab at his sleeve and try and pull him back. ]

Tsuru! You can't go out there, it's not safe!

(Lacking grace, fumbling over the sands and rocks as he tries to run into the storm. He's not nearly as quick as he should be and he jerks back when he feels something grab a fistful of cloth and he looks back but doesn't pull away. Not yet.)

Let go.

(He won't beg. He still has his pride.)

I have to protect him. He's all alone.

[ There's a strange pang in his heart, and Aki frowns, shaking his head. Fingers grip at him a little tighter, and he has to force himself not to let go, to let Tsurumaru rush off. It's far too dangerous, and his stomach is in knots as he leans forward. ]

Tsuru. You can't.

[ He tries to pull him back, expression tight, hurting. ]

It's not safe to go out there, and people have been hearing things. Don't you think you'd really know if he was here?

(Bristling, digging his heels into the sand stubbornly as he speaks, practically petulant. Where does he get off telling him what he can and can't do, he seems to think and his hand balls into a fist,)

Of course, I know! I always know! (Raising his voice, uncharacteristically frustrated,) He's always here!

(And his free hand reaches for his own chest, right over his heart, and grabbing a fistful of his robes and twisting,)

Always. That's why I can't leave him. Not again.

[ Oh.

Aki blinks, gazing at Tsurumaru for a moment. It's difficult, watching him yearn for a man out in the desert when the two of them have been - well, no, it doesn't matter. Whatever they were doing together, whatever they were sharing, it clearly doesn't matter in comparison.

He knew that.

His grip remains tight, though, and he swallows back the strange discomfort inside of him, the roaring beast of jealousy, and shakes his head. ]

You can't go alone. Let me go with you.

...

(Quiet, considering... the gears are turning in his head and some of that desperate frenzy seems to give way for something that may even be mistaken for rationalization as he studies that clenched hand on his sleeve, to his wrist, up his arm, higher until--

"Tsurumaru."

Attention called, he turns away, back towards the storm,)

Keep up.

(All he says before he presses forward.)

[ Aki hears nothing, but Tsurumaru clearly does.

Maybe it's because the only person who would be calling for him is here, and the other person - Power, lost to the world - he knows is gone for good. There's nothing the physic resonance can do to bully a man who has nothing left to lose.

Wanting to hold his hand, wanting to cling to him, Aki forces himself to shrug off the disappointment and discontent, walking alongside Tsurumaru as he keeps an eye on him, watching.

Frustrated, aching - but pushing on. ]

Hold onto me, so we don't get lost.

(He turns his arm, grabbing onto Aki's wrist impatiently and presses on. He goes forward into the storm and at times, he suddenly changes direction, chasing after a figure, a voice, following his heart without a second thought in his mind. It's disorienting in the storm, they must be going around in circles but he pays no mind.

At times, he pulls Aki along forcefully, his hold slipping a little more each time as he gets more and more distracted.

"Tsurumaru, where did you go?")

I'm sorry.

(Sometimes he can only apologize to the wind.

"Why did you leave?")

I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay.

(Pulling harder, picking up his pace.

"Stay with me forever.")

Forever... forever. Until I rust.

(He agrees too quickly. Too desperately.)

[ Following is easy, with the two of them joined together, and he wonders what the point of this is. To keep Tsurumaru safe, of course, but at what cost? The ache in his heart, the frustration -

he has to keep reminding themselves. It's fun. It's just fun.

Forever, he says, and Aki blinks, swallowing. He understands that urge, at least, since he wanted the same with Denji and Power: to stay at their side, to make them happy, to be happy with them...

He empathises. ]

What... [ No. He doesn't want to ask what happened. He's a little afraid to. ] How much further, Tsuru?

(Further. How far have they wandered from safety? The sand is blinding at times but the wind begins to die down. The worm that had appeared earlier is no where to be seen as far as they can tell and the spirit stumbles, losing his fitting on an uneven slip. To catch himself from falling, he pulls his hand away and braces himself on the ground.

Staring at the ground, his hands run across the sand as if searching for something in the grit,)

Sadayasu? Are you here?

(He speaks to the earth quietly, as if he's speaking to a sleeping child. Like he's careful to not wake someone,)

I can't hear you.

(Fingers bend, nails digging into the sand,)

You're far away again.

[ Aki is able to move, and see, just because of the work of the Future Devil contract: it makes him shift, stepping ahead in the briefest of seconds to make sure that Tsurumaru is supported, even with the wind and sand whipping against his face. It stings, but not as much as the weird ache in his chest.

Pausing, gazing forward, Aki sighs softly. ]

Let's keep looking, Tsurumaru.

[ A change. A distance. Tsurumaru. Not Tsuru.

Leaning down, he wraps an arm around his shoulders. ]

Half an hour more. Then we can go back.

(He doesn't get up. He makes no effort to. Grabbing a fistful of sand, he reaches for another and another, digging and digging into the sand,)

There should be... something here...

(Deeper, deeper, even if the sand shifts and refills the hole. It's a pointless task but he doesn't relent.)

Come back, come back.

(Voice shaking, barely above a whisper as he cries out,)

I miss you.

Tsurumaru...

[ Aki leans down, drawing him closer, hand lifting to stroke through his hair. It's too tender, too soft for the moment, and he stops himself, letting it drop to his back instead.

Seeing him this upset... It hurts. ]

We should head back. Maybe he found his way to the vans, with the other survivors.

... There are no survivors.

(He stops digging, hands clenched around fistfuls of dirt and rock,)

Nothing remains. Not a thing.

(Lowering himself down onto his elbows, kneeling low to the ground,)

Not even a grave... not even... a grave to remember...

Then you can make a grave.

[ Aki's hand is rubbing over his back, shifting closer, the sand making him wrinkle his nose. He aches, for various reasons, but he doesn't know what else he can do.

He doesn't know how to fix this. To make it better. ]

Let's go back. We can make something. Go to the shrine.

(Still to the touch, unmoving as if he were a gravestone, he stays quiet for a long time,)

I don't want to go.

I know you don't.

[ Soft, quiet, almost inaudible over the sound of the desert. ]

... But he wouldn't want you to rust here, alone. Let's go back.

(He sure is just... staying in the dirt. No, he doesn't want to get up and go. He's fine here in this shallow little hole he's dug for himself.)

[ Aki gives him a few more moments, gives him a little time, but... They can't stay out here, with the risk of the worm and the danger of the desert. Sorry, Tsurumaru.

Reaching out, he lifts the other man into his arms, curling him against his body and turning to head back towards the camp, grip tight and strong. ]

We're going back.

(He doesn't make easy. He twists and turns and tries to fall free like water through his fingers. He truly wants to stay but after awhile. he can only relent. Body going lax, he'll eventually let Aki scoop him up.

There's a far off look in his eyes, pale gold eyes unfocused and just watching the horizon. If Aki looks closely he might even notice the way his eyes seem bright, wet with held back tears before he closes his eyes and looks away altogether.

He doesn't want to be seen. Not like this.)

[ As soon as Tsurumaru is lax, allowing Aki to carry him, he begins to walk back towards the safety of the vans and the rest of the Outsiders. It's not that difficult, not with a metal arm that doesn't feel the same ache as a flesh one, but that doesn't make it easier for him.

Looking at Tsurumaru this upset...

He ignores it, walking slowly until they're back towards safety, and then he's heading to their camper van to step inside and place him down on one of the beds, lifting his hand to touch his forehead. ]

You should rest.

(It's quieter now, away from the elements and tucked away in a sheltered place. Still, he feels like his ears are ringing and his head spins from everything. There's a pressure behind his eyes and he can only assume it's the tension and stress from whatever he's feeling now that has him reeling.

He keeps his eyes closed and his brows knit together at his touch. Even if he means to be reassuring... he frowns. Instead, he raises his own hand over his head, covering his face with his sleeve.)

I won't.

(He can't. He doesn't deserve it.)

I know you don't want to, but you should.

[ Aki shakes his head, drawing his hand back. When he hesitates, it's to shift, to sit down so that Tsurumaru can put his head in Aki's lap and rest there that way, so that Aki can gaze off into the distance.

When he speaks, his voice is low, quiet. Soft, almost afraid. ]

Just watch me. Look at me. I'll make sure you're safe.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

▶ 001. STORM CHASERS.

▶ 002. THE STORM CALLS.

▶ 003. CITY OF DREAMS.

▶ 004. REST & RECOVERY

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

that day i looked for you

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