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𝚂𝚢𝚗𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚡 𝙼𝚘𝚍𝚜 ([personal profile] synfluxmods) wrote in [community profile] synflux2024-06-01 12:01 am

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.

eyescar: (pic#17147218)

iv. sugar mommy

[personal profile] eyescar 2024-06-02 12:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yuji had felt pretty good after winning a simple, low amount, and had been prepared to go out of his way to buy something nice - maybe for Raidou, or for Choso, something like a little souvenir to show off just how much he cares about them. It seemed like a good idea, especially after all the strange and horrible events. It just seemed like a nice thing to do.

Stumbling into the same store as Lae'zel, he blinks up at her - not because she looks different, but because she's so clearly an Outsider, and he brightens as he lifts a hand to wave. In his hand is a little rabbit keychain of some kind, and he glances down at it before looking back up at her. ]


... Yeah? As a gift, for my brother.
bruisehaver: (pic#16950290)

[personal profile] bruisehaver 2024-06-03 07:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Brother?

[ She questions, brow immediately raising. The bunny charm in her own hand gets turned this way and that, with Lae'zel looking for the purpose of such an item. It's... cute, but she's expecting it store small items, or light up, or something. ]

Is he among the Outsiders? Or, do you mean to hold onto it until your return?
eyescar: (pic#16894185)

[personal profile] eyescar 2024-06-03 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah! His name is Choso, if you've seen him.

[ Yuji holds his hand up, a little taller than him, as if that gives away just who Choso is. ]

He's here, with us. Taller than me, dark hair, tattoo over his face?
bruisehaver: (pic#16950263)

[personal profile] bruisehaver 2024-06-04 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"Curse," on the network. He mentioned bearing an ability related to his blood.

[ She recalls the name, as well as his otherworldly origins. So... this must mean this kid is cut from the same cloth, right? Or, that's what she assumes. ]

I've not yet met him in person. There are several Outsiders like that for me, personally — it is not always simple to put code names to faces.

[ She busies herself with looking through the other keychains, sifting through some that have names printed on them. ]

Shall I assume you are of the same kind as he?
eyescar: (pic#16241835)

[personal profile] eyescar 2024-06-05 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
That's him.

[ It's safe to assume it's like that, even if their relationship to each other is... Debatable, at best.

It's complicated, and Yuji rarely feels like trying to explain the oddness of a brother appearing out of nowhere and claiming him as his own, especially when he adores Choso so much. ]


The same kind...? Oh, no, I'm not a curse. Not really.

[ Again. Complicated... Awkwardly. ]

I'm a sorcerer, though.
bruisehaver: (pic#16950286)

[personal profile] bruisehaver 2024-06-07 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
A sorcerer.

[ She repeats, the word clearly meaning something specific to her. Yuji doesn't look like most sorcerers she knows, who all seem quite gangly and bookish, but maybe he's about to expand her horizons. Being here with all the Outsiders has already done that quite a bit — it doesn't escape her imagination that sorcerer could mean something completely different to him. ]

I prefer the blade to a lightning bolt conjured by magic — but I respect a sorcerer's value all the same on the battlefield. A competent one, that is.

[ a beat. ]

What is your — "code name," as they call it? I may have spoken to you before, obscured by my own. "Lizard of Oz."

[ which is said with some open disdain........... ]
eyescar: (pic#16931759)

[personal profile] eyescar 2024-06-07 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I don't use magic. I just my fists and my cursed energy.

[ He's definitely not a sorcerer - under the hoodie he's wearing there's definitely muscle, and when he shifts it's not exactly shown off, but it's clear that there's a sign of strength there. Yuji is strong - painfully so, actually.

Lifting his head, his eyes widen. ]


We've spoken before! I'm 'vessel'!

[ Your code name is cute, Lae'zel... ]

It's nice to meet you in person.
bruisehaver: (pic#16940417)

[personal profile] bruisehaver 2024-06-08 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Her brows arch with recognition. ]

Yes. The surgery patient.

[ It's a dry, sarcastic description, her gaze shifting to something more appraising as she gets a peek at his strength and remembers his determination to get stronger. She's still firmly in the camp that he's got to be gullible, reckless, or both to put his life in the hands of LILITH multiple times, but he's got something she thinks several Outsiders don't, and that's true motivation. ]

Still alive, I see. You've survived another round under their knife — what did you say it was for, again?
eyescar: (pic#16907815)

[personal profile] eyescar 2024-06-09 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, yeah! That's me!

[ It doesn't bother him. He's used to it.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he laughs softly. ]


Teleportation, this time. It will probably be useful later.

[ Because Yuji wants to get as strong as possible, he wants to be the best that he can be, so he pushed himself as hard as he can. Knowing that he doesn't get to take this home with him, though, makes him feel a little... Frustrated.

What was the point of all that pain? ]