PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

[synfluxmods]

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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Comments

ren amamiya | persona 5 | everlight

[1797]

1 | STORM CHASERS —

[There's a certain thrill to diving through one side of the storms and out the other, but the excitement dries up like the arid weather once the corpses and survivors begin to crop up in the wastes. It's absurd they got so far on foot in the first place; how long did it take to drive?

They've managed to recover a small gaggle of survivors in the makeshift shade of a camper when one of them makes a break for it, rushing back towards the sandstorm. Ren, effectively on guard duty (how did this happen?), immediately calls Black Frost to burst gnarled trees of ice from the sand. It's dual purpose: effectively cutting off the escape route and also providing a much-needed rush of cold air, even as the ice immediately begins to melt.

It's only belatedly he realizes he might've caught an Outsider with the edge of the ice skill. Black Frost snickers nearby.]

...That was a little too close.

[Only a little???]

2 | THE STORM CALLS —

[He has a brief, visceral moment where he's reminded of Yaldabaoth in the depths of Mementos, and then it just doesn't matter. It's a flash of black-and-white fur, a glimpse of a red t-shirt or wavy blonde hair; the inexplicable sight of a Shujin uniform. Someone calls his name—Ren or Joker, it doesn't matter—and he answers by turning right towards the strongest part of the sandstorm. The way he moves is quick, purposeful; he doesn't leap right to violence, but he responds to escalation in kind.

So if you'd like to stop him, but don't want to fight him, that's doable (someone who blocks his way might just get a curt "move"). Likewise, feel free to assume you knocked him on his ass (idc if your character is a normie or w/e, he will lose bc i said so).

As for escalation: It starts simply enough, with a dagger held straight out at a point—or worse, to the throat. It's only after that he'll summon Arsène and start taking any obstacles more seriously. Alternatively, if you want to go in medias res and have scored a few hits, he may very well call Ishtar and cast a healing skill on himself.]

3 | REST & RECOVERY —

[So someone actually won the jackpot. And, regardless of how he feels, he's committed to following through on a dare, even if it is belated. Which is why he's standing in an aisle of hair products, staring at the odd collection of hair gel. This is so much...

Sorry if you're trapped in his buddy system and got dragged along. Or maybe it's just coincidence!]

There are way too many options.

[Biggest, longest exhale. But he straightens up and holds out a jar.]

Do you know anything about this kind of thing?

[This prompt is very dumb.]

4 | WILDCARD —

[For everything else there's wildcard. If you'd like a memory (I'm doing custom starters bc I'm ill) or want to plot a little first, hmu here!]

get ratioed;

[1797]

[Ren sits across from a man in a white lab coat, in what is unmistakably a spacious school nurse's office, neat and sterile and a kind of weird place to have lunch. The conversation might start innocuously, but...let's be real. It's also weird he's thanking a kid half his age for help with a paper titled something as ostentatious as "Interpreting reality through cognitive psience and the alteration of reality via external influence". And, y'know, casually mentioning that the kid is a phantom thief.

This man is a therapist.]

I like to think of myself as someone who wouldn't sell out a person to whom I owe so much. If you don't believe what I'm saying, you're free to change my heart as you like.

[Ren starts to shake his head, but stalls halfway through the motion, a frown flickering across his face.]

...You're not Maruki.

[It's a touch terse. The look he fixes on Ratio matches.]

[curingidiocy]

[ Ratio is thrown into this conversation without even so much as a hint of prior context, so he has to use his intellect to figure what is happening, even as the dream controls the body he's currently occupying to spit out words that he doesn't quite understand yet.

Cognitive psience? Phantom Thieves, permanently altering someone's cognition? His mind races, trying to connect the times with what he knows. Perhaps a memory bubble? Are they altering cognition by tampering with memories? He knows there's been research done about the effects of memoria on emotion, but he had neglected to read it before setting off to Penacony...

And then he is directly addressed, and he realizes he's finally gained control of himself. How had the teen noticed. ]

Astute observation. And a curious conversation—the ability to influence one's cognition without their knowledge is quite... alarming.

[ He crosses his arms, sitting up straight to gaze down at the young man with the discerning eye of a skeptic. ]

[1797]

[The skepticism brings to mind Sae Niijima, rather than Maruki. Maybe a little ironic in its way, when they've laid out the plan to deliver her calling card later this evening. Assuming everything goes as planned, Ren will be sitting across from her like this soon enough.

Assuming he didn't just...ruin their cover? What is going on here?

He leans back in his own seat, chin tipping up in wordless defiance.]

No one said anything about that. Who are you?

[curingidiocy]

[ So he was going to deny the conversation that just took place? How amusing. ]

Do you think knowing that will help your predicament? I could easily give you a false name, and you will be no better off than before you asked. If a question is of no help, don't ask it.

However, I will clarify some things. You do not know me, nor I you. I have no desire to interfere with your operations. You may consider me... a curious observer, if you will. It is not often I encounter a subject I have no knowledge on.

[ He leans in, curiosity evident in his eyes. ]

Will you indulge me?

3, sorry, I have to

[busternaut]

[Having made a very dumb network post about this exact topic, Dearka actually has an answer for this! He leans forward and squints at the jar, reads the label, and wrinkles his nose thoughtfully.]

Never heard of that one... You should give Brosh a try. It's had good reviews since 2015, and now I can say from experience that it's earned every single one of them.

[Look at him, with his blonde hair finally, blessedly slicked back and holding. This fucker won 500 bucks at the slots and IMMEDIATELY hit the hair care aisle.]

please, this is so funny

[1797]

2015???

[You can hear those extra question marks. Apparently he's been here long enough for Brosh's 263 year legacy to really hit him.

He reshelves the jar to look for the aforementioned brand.]

Do you know if it holds up while you're fighting a kaiju?

[The important questions...]

[busternaut]

[That IS the important question, isn't it? Unfortunately, that's one thing Dea can't answer, because...]

Hah. Dunno about that, cuz I haven't fought one yet myself. But it holds up to being stuffed under my pilot's helmet for hours on end, so... Eh?

[Maybe??? Shrug???]

[1797]

[He gives Dearka an overly long look, just really absorbing the delivery of that information before he nods.]

A helmet does sound deadlier to a hairdo than a kaiju. [...] Well, no. It could be bad if this stuff is flammable and we fight something that breathes fire. We've already gone through ice, water, and electric. And earth, I guess.

[And slug and bug, but maybe that's a little too Pokémon.]

gimme a meme!!!!!

[newphew]

[ dealer's choice but anything with Rotten Authority Figures would be stellar ]

1

[bowtography]

[ Just because she's used to being an ice user doesn't mean she's automatically okay with ice trees almost smacking into her, and March shoots Ren a Look.

She's fine, obviously, but still! ]

A little?

[1797]

It didn't make contact?

[Except he immediately relents because, yeah, he is totes culpable.]

Sorry, I'll work on my aim.

[Black Frost, meanwhile, takes advantage of the temporary corporeality to pick up the wayward survivor and unceremoniously dump them back with the others. These poor people.]

[bowtography]

... I had no idea he could go solid.

[ She's learning so much. ]

[1797]

I mean the ice he made was also pretty solid.

[Welcome to Ren's life, where he beats up and makes contracts with constructs of the mind on a regular basis.]

gotta go fast (sanic);

[1797]

[The space Sonic finds himself in is dark and cramped and neatly arranged with notebooks and pencils. There's a strip of light at one end, giving him a lovely view of some kid's waist and part of a desk and another student behind him. Coupled with a voice lecturing about politics in an educational drone...it's pretty obvious he is also in a desk. Somehow. Despite definitely not fitting into a desk in his usual dimensions.

The lecture will carry on, dull and maybe even repetitive in the way dreams sometimes loop, until Sonic decides to disturb the peace; to say Ren looks alarmed at the sight of a hedgehog poking his nose into the light—even if a hedgehog is much smaller than a cat—would be an understatement.

More confusing is when Mr. Ushimaru takes note:]

Did I just hear a cat just now?

[Ren's brow creases and he shoots a quick, furtive look around the class as they mumble a denial. Clearly this is about Sonic? But Sonic is...not a cat? What?]

SORRY FOR THE DELAY...!

[fastpaced]

Hey! Who're you calling a cat?

[ in a move that is almost certainly the exact opposite of what he should be doing, Sonic protests the question - cat is somehow worse than rat, if only because it's so far off base - and starts doing his best to wiggle out of that little opening. He's not a huge fan of being shoved into a confined space, either. What's going on, exactly? Well, he's not so sure... but it sounds boring, and he's very obviously being kept here against his will. Why else would he be stuck in here?!

In the dreamlike state of things, he hasn't quite noticed that he's got paws instead of hands or that everything is way bigger than it used to be. Priority number one is escaping from this desk. ]

now it's my turn to be very sorry, yikes

[1797]

[Oh god.

Ren instinctively tries to block the opening of his desk; failing that, he has to figure out how to navigate a handful of squirming, spiky hedgehog... This is not awkward or embarrassing or weird for either of them, except it's all of those things. Help.]

Could you not?

[He practically hisses the words as his classmates deny culpability. How is he supposed to handle a hedgehog??? Sonic might not be nearly as spiky as a porcupine, but that doesn't make him easy to handle and oh god oh shit oh fuck, the teacher is starting to patrol down the aisles of desks. So Ren does the only sensible thing: he hastily drops Sonic into his schoolbag.]

pats you...

[fastpaced]

[ something is off, for sure. It takes him being manhandled by a giant teenager to notice, mostly because he's never seen such a huge teenager in his life and it makes him question everything a second time. This is clearly not an evil machine base or some kidnapping ploy; in the brief few moments between desk and bag, it's plain to see he's in a classroom filled with other enormous teenagers, and that confuses him enough to shut him up. Briefly.

Not enough for him not to go woooahh! when Ren drops him into his schoolbag, though, or not go ow! when he hits his toe on the corner of a book inside. Wait, toe? Why isn't he wearing shoes?? Laying on his back in the dark bag, he tries to reach down, and realizes he hasn't got a chance of touching his feet without curling up entirely into a ball. ]

What's going on?!

[ apparently the "could you not" did not manage to sink into his brain... ]

(r)yuji;

[1797]

[They spawn into a safe room near a pair of elaborately pattered doors, embellished with peacock feathers and blocked by a crackling red security system. It's a waiting game at first; almost boring if it weren't for the expectant tension in the air, any skeptical back-and-forth chatter giving way to silence as they idle nearby. It's only when there's a sudden rumble that rattles the whole garden that the security system shorts out, doors lurching open through some invisible force.

Ren grins as he turns to face his partner-in-crime. He's itching to move, even without the threat of security hanging over them, and it shows.]

Ready?

[He asks with calm, cocky certainty, even if it'll just be the two of them until they secure their way into the palace, and rendezvous with Mona and Panther.]

[eyescar]

[ This is... Different.

Ren is in front of him, grinning at him, and Yuji shifts a little, stepping forward - but he feels weird. He doesn't feel his usual strength, his usual cursed energy, and it's as if his body isn't his own - a hand lifts, and he touches his face, feeling the shape of a skull masque there before he shakes his head.

He's not a witness to this dream, this memory, then. He's going to be a player.

Lips curling into a grin, he nods. ]

Alright! Lead the way!

a lil feral w fern;

[1797]

[More than anything else, there's rage. It's unmistakable, overpowering the fear and panic, aimed at both the man in front of him and his own helplessness. It echoes the almost familiar voice that interrogates him, mocking and driving him to action, which it then accepts: "Very well... I have heeded your resolve." And then everything dissolves into the kind of gut-wrenching pain that leaves him drooling, white spots in his vision and tears streaming down his face.

But it comes with the promise of power and Ren moves with it, because he can't let Ryuji die.

Kamoshida's knight slugs the glasses right off him, with a strike that should have shattered something. And there is something breaking inside of Ren, tearing like the skin on his face as he yanks off the mask that's appeared in a splatter of blood.

Arsène engulfs him in blue flame and Ren doesn't know what the hell is happening, but he grins wildly with the high of it, gladly—recklessly—taking what's offered as Kamoshida orders the shadows forward. Arsène answers him.]

Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!

Re: a lil feral w fern;

[elfsufficient]

[ Fern is not awake, far from it, and yet it feels very much like awakening, when she finds herself suddenly in another’s dream, seemingly lurking within the shadows, undetected. This has been happening quite a bit lately, has it not? She’s seen visitors in her own dreams, too, though this time it seems she plays the role of visitor. As expected, nothing about this scene feels familiar to her, with the exception of the one whose dream she suspects this is - Ren, struggling against the power of a man who seems truly deplorable, despicable, lowest than the low.

A voice fills the air, disembodied, yet one that it seems cannot be heard by anyone other than Ren and herself, as a guest. It’s alarming, to say the least, sending a chill down her spine, her hands twitching at her sides as if to intervene, though something stays her hand, a morbid curiosity at what should unfold next.

But what does unfold next is… horrifying, to say the least. One after another, as a mask forms on his face, as he bloodily tears it off, as he’s engulfed in flames, she bears witness to a transformation that feels, to her, like foul magic - and the creature that is called forth feeling much too close to a demon. ]

T..This is…

[ The power of summoning a Persona…? Not a demon as she knows it, but something else entirely… As Ren is swept in to battle, Fern shifts in the shadows, calling her staff into her grasp for good measure - mostly to keep the crowned scum from escaping. This may be a dream, but something tells her that this man holds the key (hehe) to waking Ren from it. ]

it is time to be bakugone;

[1797]

[It's a chase. Through the casino backrooms, up the stairs, climbing higher and higher as the other Phantom Thieves chatter in the background, guiding him. It's part improv and part script the Phantom Thieves engineered from the start, but it'd be a lie to say Ren isn't enjoying the chance to lead the guards around by the nose.

This doesn't keep the voices over his earpiece from dissolving into panic when he lands squarely in front of the police outside, lined up with riot shields and cars. All this for him, huh? He laughs a little, only to climb right into a SAT team. It's unceremonious in the end, really, when they knock him off the ladder and into the waiting men below, ready to drag him back to the real world.]

Didn't expect to find some kid. You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out.

[It's only when they wrench his arms back to cuff him that his eyes drift past the nearest cops; even half-blinded by the spotlights, there's an obvious silhouette that doesn't belong. He might not say a word as he's hauled to his feet, but the way his eyes lock onto Bakugo's make the question obvious: What are you doing here?]

and ren they were together...

[blastedass]

[What is he doing here? Apparently getting dragged along by the fucking police. Perhaps that's how it is. Heroes work with the police to take down criminals. Whether it's a villain rampaging through the streets or flooding the area with a river of seltzer water. Whether it's a criminal holding a civilian at knife point in order to get away.

Or whether it's a thief running amok through a casino. Each of them are villains, people who break the law for their own gain at the expense of others. They don't care, they make all the excuses they want for their actions, ever ready to shove the blame onto other people rather than suck it up and accept responsibility for their own stupid choices.

And yet...

He recognizes him. Backlit by the lights, the telltale bulge of his Grenadier Bracers and the wild explosion of spikes from his mask, Dynamight watches Joker get hauled up from the floor, red eyes narrowing in the blackness of his mask. What the hell...? You've gotta be fucking with me. He's fought alongside Joker. He's spent time with him! They've protected each other!

The ground grits beneath his boots as Dynamight walks forward, arms swinging by his side in that tell-tale sway due to his gauntlets. He doesn't give a shit about the cops for a moment, expression serious despite the emotions inside at this reveal.]

What the fuck? Joker!

[His normally rough voice is a growl, daring him to say one thing out of line. All this time- without saying a single thing. There's a flashback, a moment where he noticed his friend's face flicker when he revealed he was a police officer in Neo Tokyo. Is this why? Because Joker is a fucking criminal?!]

What the hell are you doing?!

[A hero and a thief.]

[1797]

[A part of him registers the use of his code name, appreciates it even if it's reflex and not meant to mask his identity—it's not like there's anything he can do to protect that, anyway, something he accepted the moment he took up this role. But more of him is confused, angry; what if this blows up their plan?

There's an odd ripple through the crowd at the disruption in the memory, like the static of a paused videotape. "Do you know him?" one of the men demands, as Ren cocks his head. His earpiece has gone silent, the other Thieves fleeing while there's still time, to flit back to their real lives before anyone can put eyes on them. It's just him and the police and Bakugo now, though he swivels to check if there's another familiar silhouette nearby. But no, Akechi isn't here.

That's good. Even if that swivel makes the man holding him by the wrists wrench one of his arms at an odd angle, and Ren makes a strangled sound as they shove him forward. This is the plan, he reminds himself. No Personas, no excuse for them to shoot him—these are real people.]

What's it look like?

[It's an awful cheeky response for someone in handcuffs, though his voice (soft as it is) is serious when the cops march him right past Bakugo.]