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

Last time...

[ Yuji knows, consciously, that Gojo-sensei is okay, he saw him in Las Vegas, but at the same time there's a strange uncertainty inside of him. What forces him to try and rationalise is what Geto says next, because it makes sense. Kenjaku really isn't looking at Geto at all, when surely he should be reacting to the fact that the host of his body is right there, a duplicate in front of him, which has Yuji... Breathing out.

It's a skilful, obvious thing to point out, and he rubs at his face as he realises the blood... Isn't really there?

A nightmare come to life, something he can't escape, and Yuji blinks as he turns to look at Geto beside him, as if he's seeing him properly for the first time. It's all coming back to him - Neo Tokyo, Las Vegas, walking hand in hand through the portal to make sure he was alright - and it hits him like a lead weight, slamming into him and making him wheeze out a noise. ]

How... Are you here?

( Something clearly possesses Geto, because he lifts a hand, sleeve rustling in the breeze, and not-so-gently flicks Itadori across the forehead. )

Do I look like I know?

( The anger cools a little if he just keeps his eyes on the boy, if he doesn't let his own gaze wander too close to the version of him with a stitched up forehead. Half of him thinks maybe he should be facing it, but there's something about the whole affair that leaves him queasy, that hollows out his inside and leaves room for more rot. So he's avoiding it for better or worse. ) If I could be anywhere else I would be. This has nothing to do with me.

( Except -.

Except. )

LILITH, maybe? Unless this is a technique you have?

[ Ah! Yuji's eyes widen, and his fingers lift to touch the mark.

It's very... Gojo-sensei, enough that it startles him into blinking up at the man in front of him. ]

I didn't ask for this, either. I don't know why it would do this.

[ Yuji shifts his body, turning a little, so that Geto-san doesn't even have to consider looking at Kenjaku - painfully conscious and considerate of the man in front of him, even if perhaps he doesn't need to be... or that he shouldn't be.

Nodding, he lifts his shoulders, breathing in and then breathing out, forcing himself to calm down. ]

LILITH... The implants were being weird before, so... [ Crossing his arms, he hesitates. ] Are you alright?

I'm fine.

( Short, abrupt, distracted. He's very much not, but if Geto is honest with himself he hasn't been for a long time and so his unravelling here isn't anything new or novel. He keeps reminding himself that he has to breathe, even, measured inhales that are counted rather than natural. )

As fine as I can be when that's my body standing there.

( He'd thought maybe all the confusion would be explained by something else, someone close to but not quite. But Geto knows now that the man who haunts other people's memories is wearing his skin. There's a clicking noise in his throat as he swallows. Another breath, one, two, three, four. )

Does he ever stop talking?

( Hands curling in the sleeves of his robes, hidden away. ) All right, Itadori. What do you think? If something's happening with LILITH and this is a memory, then there has to be some kind of trick to stopping it? What is it? Do we have to play it through? Do we leave? What if we just started walking, would he follow? ( Hypothesising out loud, gaze flickering over his shoulder and back. ) Can we impact it any way?

[ Yuji's not sure about that, Geto being fine, but now doesn't seem like the time to question him.

He's also finding it hard to breathe, a little difficult to deal with, but he has something to focus on now. It should be odd, or confusing, to find such solace in someone who was supposedly such a threat, so damn dangerous, but right now Geto is the only thing Yuji can cling to in this strange, painful wilderness, his own memories agonising.

Yuji swallows, shaking his head. ]

He wants to tell us his plan. His reasoning. I... I just wanted to get him. Get Gojo-sensei.

[ He takes a step closer to Geto, uncomfortable and unsure. ]

The memory is already different, since I'm standing up... Maybe we need to wait for aniki to come and save me, like he did last time, or Yuki-san and the others.

( He stops hiding his hands long enough to dig the meat of his thumb between his brows, the careful edges of his control fraying. )

What if I don't care what his plan is?

( But the memory continues around them, frantic even now that Itadori's paying less attention to it. The other him, the imposter, talks as though the boy is still a captive audience, doesn't seem to notice that things have moved away from it. There is something, when Geto hears the gunshot, a quick spasm that flickers across his face before it goes ever-carefully blank again. )

( Something nags at him, gnaws at his thoughts. If it was this man then was it this face? Did Satoru know? Things spiral around them, and Geto breathes out. )

Were you there? When he was sealed?

I don't think that's something he cares about...

[ Since he must like the sound of his own voice - or... Geto's voice?

Yuji tilts his head up, jumping a little as he hears Mei-san's shot and the Kyoto students appear out of nowhere. He knows what's coming, and he reaches out, almost without thinking, to grab at Geto's sleeve, to try and find some kind of comfort, even if he shouldn't.

It's instinct, wanting comfort; he's just a teenager, after all. ]

Gojo-sensei...? No, I heard about it after. I didn't see it.

( If he's bothered by Itadori reaching for his sleeve he doesn't seem to show it. Most of his thoughts are too busy trying to keep up to shrug off the touch, and besides, he doesn't know what upsetting the memory user might do. Geto doesn't particularly want to risk scrambling his own mind if he can help it, and no matter how unwitting a passenger he is on this show he finds himself drawn back in. )

Ah, your brother.

( Sympathetic, almost. Who knew he still had it in him. If Geto angles himself a little to keep Itadori behind one shoulder, if he's quiet and watchful and defensive with the boy in that sphere, then he doesn't notice it. Why would he? He doesn't care. He shouldn't. )

It must have been something very clever, to seal Satoru Gojo. ( Idly, almost to himself, brows furrowing. ) But it doesn't last. I need you to focus on that. You'll ... wake up, I think? And he'll be fine.

[ Yuji clings, just a little, lets himself do that almost without thinking, breathing out a soft sigh. It's hard, hearing Kenjaku talk again, knowing the consequences of this one singular event. With Gojo-sensei trapped away, with the Culling Game beginning, and there's no fixing it. There's nothing that he can do to make it 'better', and...

And. ]

Aniki, yeah.

[ Shifting, tucked behind Geto, watching his memory develop and unfold, and Yuji shakes his head. ]

It - Choso would know more about that than me. I didn't ask him a lot about it, because we weren't together the whole time. [ Blinking, he bows his head. ] I... I have a headache. Maybe it's ending.

( Would it be a terrible idea to hunt down Choso after all of this is over? Probably. Geto has been doing his best to avoid that since their first run in. What good would it do him? Does he even really need to know? Probably not. Gojo Satoru has very little to do with him these days. And yet -.

Geto bites the inside of his cheek, aware that he's doing a little bit more to shield Itadori than he should. The memory cannot harm him, not really, and the boy is a sore spot. Human, but not quite. More jujutsu sorcerer than the rest. Still something he should be railing against, after all of his choices. It doesn't matter that he's keeping his true nature on the down low, he should not be helping. He doesn't want to help.

Maybe it's just because he hates this more, the man wearing his body like a suit. )

Do you defeat him? ( Quiet, faux calm. ) Whatever you called him? The man with my face. Is he still out there?

Edited 2024-06-04 16:36 (UTC)

Yuta-senpai is going to.

[ Yuji breathes out.

He's not going to lie, not going to try and dance around this, because Kenjaku is something that he can talk about. It's simple enough to answer with a 'yes', because that might, at least, give Geto some sense of comfort, something that might ease this strange, twisted binding moment between them.

His fingers flex. ]

Gojo-sensei arranged for the fight to be in December, so we were training for that. Right now, we're dealing with Sukuna, so Yuta-senpai is handling Kenjaku.

[ Maybe... He could ask Maki-senpai about it.

She's ahead of him, so she might know. ]

Ha.

( It's a short, sharp bark, a little unhinged. It's still only been a handful of weeks for Geto, and though LILITH patched him back up he still remembers the feeling of his arm being torn from him. Funny, that the man before him has both of his. Regenerative, maybe? ) Well, of course Okkotsu is going to. He's very powerful.

( When all of this is over he's going to get spectacularly drunk, he's just decided. )

A shame I can't see that instead.

If I could...

[ Choso arrives, the memory shifts, and suddenly there's a Yuji in front of them, shouting at Choso, and things fracture and shatter around them, almost like an explosion of light. He's still gripping at Geto as it shifts, and then suddenly the scene in front of them isn't the blast of Uraume's ice, it's... The heat, burning heat of Jogo's volcano domain expansion.

In front of them, Gojo is preparing his speech, explaining things to the Yuji flailing and flipping around in his arms, and the Yuji holding on to this strange man's sleeve groans, covering his face.

He's... Embarrassed...? ]

Man, this... Of all of the memories?

( The change in Geto is instantaneous. Maybe it's the father-figure in him, but he knows that stiff teenage embarrassment pretty well, and when Yuji covers his face his interest piques, stiffened shoulders relaxing. There's a difference between fear and shame, and he's fairly good at differentiating. He still spares the cowering boy a glance before his gaze drags, unbidden, to Gojo Satoru and lingers there. He never gets to look at him without being seen, he thinks he can be forgiven for doing so now, brows knitted together. But he does keep most of his attention on Itadori, body still half angled towards him. )

Mm? Is something the matter? What's wrong with this one?

( He's fairly sure he knows it's not dangerous. It's enough that he feels his heartrate steadying, the nightmare of the other one loosening its grip. )

It's just a little embarrassing to see myself before I knew how to use cursed energy properly.

[ It's awkward, seeing Gojo in front of him and his own body flailing around..

As the scene unfolds, Gojo lifts his hands up, fingers in formation, blindfold off, and Yuji is stuck by how strong his teacher was - is. His own domain expands, overcoming Jogo's, and Yuji swallows. ]

This was how Gojo-sensei taught me about some of the key things about sorcery.

Trial by fire? How very Satoru.

( He means it to come out as bland, uncaring. But there's something about the scene that Geto cannot look away from, that easy power, the surety of it. )

He was always more fond of practical application than he was theoretical. But things always came easier to him than the rest of the us.

( He crosses his arms over his chest, glancing back to Itadori. )

You clearly like having him as a teacher. But then again, so do all of his students.

He said it would be a fun way to learn.

[ To experience things first hand, when he'd barely learned how to use his cursed energy - to see all of this in front of him when he had no cursed technique of his own at the time. The unobtainable, the inability for him to ever reach this kind of peak.

Yuji doesn't know if he'll ever be able to use domain expansion, even with his technique now.

Still close to Geto, unable to resist the comfort of another body and the desire to protect and be protected. ]

Of course I like it. Gojo-sensei is just... The best.

( There is something wrong with him, he thinks. He wants to move away from the memory the same way he did for the one with Kenjaku, wishes fervently that he could turn his back on this version of Gojo Satoru's confident explanation and just ignore it. He doesn't care anymore, that's what he's been telling himself for nearly ten years, and whoever the man is now Geto has no part of it.

So why is he watching?

Absentmindedly, he responds to Itadori, half-rolling his eyes. )

He's a pain in the ass.

( ... It could be worse. But he saves his vitriol for the man himself, that's always the way. )

None of this should be fun, that's not how the world works.

[ Yuji understands, at least a little.

There are people he can't turn away from, can't look away from, even if he knows he should. The reason he's fighting so hard is to make sure those people are safe, are able to flourish and grow and strength, to find their own happiness... That's why he was fighting so hard. For Megumi, for the people that were left, for himself last of all.

His own death was a fair trade, but he's growing, now. ]

I thought it was fun, at first. I liked being able to fight curses and help people.

[ Yuji blinks, staring at the younger version of himself - less scars, less haunted, happier, relaxed with Gojo-sensei at his side. ]

... It's not fun any more.

Why do it then?

( It is a genuine question, Geto's voice even and without the usual snarl of snide dislike that accompanies it most days. He doesn't give Itadori much room for an answer, instead he continues, gaze trained on the scene unfolding. )

Most jujutsu sorcerers die early. Those who don't hide behind their rules and their laws and their traditions and use the rest of us up like nothing. We're just weapons. We fight, and we die, and nothing changes. It's never-ending. So why keep at it? What good is it doing?

( If it were just the monkeys who suffered the consequences, Geto isn't sure he'd care all that much. Let their curses eat them up, leave them to it. Maybe it's something he should have considered more strongly. But ah, hubris. )

Because I have people I want to save.

[ Yuji frowns, looking up at Geto with a tilted head. ]

I think... I lost a lot of faith in my ideals along the way. I came into this wanting to be strong to protect others, to try and have some kind of good death, but I don't really know what that means to me any more. I'm ready to die to make sure that I kill the guy I need to.

[ It's an easy enough sacrifice to make, in the end. ]

I knew from the start that I was going to die sooner rather than later, since I was Sukuna's vessel. I've been ready for that since the very start.

( He finally turns away from the image of Satoru ruining a curse's very existence to look at the boy, arms lifting to cross across his chest. For a moment he doesn't speak, just searches Itadori's face for answers to questions he's not even sure he has. Eventually, he sighs. )

It doesn't matter what you want, you know that, right? It'll eat you up either way. You don't even get to decide how much of you is spat out afterwards.

( He reminds Geto a little of himself in a way that is wildly frustrating, teeth aching along the edges. He'd wanted so badly to change the world too. He'd wanted to save people. He'd wanted to be better. And it ruined him. )

Who knows if it will be worth it.

I know that.

[ Lifting his head up to Geto, he scowls, immediately a little more on edge, a touch frustrated. ]

It hasn't mattered what I wanted since the moment that I told Gojo-sensei that I'd die to make sure Sukuna did as well. I know I'm a cog in that machine now, and that's fine with me. I made that decision a long time ago.

[ Six months is a long time for a teenager, after all. ]

If it means I can save him, then it'll be worth it to me.

Don't give me that look.

( A huff, less arrogant. There's something so bitterly confusing about Itadori Yuji. Geto knows what his beliefs tell him, he knows how he should be acting. And yet, it is harder than he thought when faced with such a suicidal idiot child. )

What I'm saying is you shouldn't be. You're what, fifteen? Sixteen? Why does it have to be you? Why does it have to be any of us? A curse like that shouldn't even exist in the first place. And you blame yourself rather than who is rightfully responsible.

It is my fault. I'm the one who screwed up my Binding Vow.

[ That's just how Yuji feels - he blames himself, he takes the mantle of his own suffering and carries it on his head. He thinks it is his fault; for eating the finger to begin with, for dying, for letting Sukuna take control, for agreeing to the Vow even if he forgot it.

It's all his fault. ]

I'm old enough to own up to my mistakes, and that's fine. I'm sixteen, not six. Maybe Sukuna shouldn't exist, but he does, so I'm not just going to let him destroy everything. Not if I'm still alive.

PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

▶ 001. STORM CHASERS.

▶ 002. THE STORM CALLS.

▶ 003. CITY OF DREAMS.

▶ 004. REST & RECOVERY

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

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