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

[Dearka was fortunately able to escape the worm's influence, but that does mean he's now on protection duty trying to wrangle all his fellow Outsiders and keep them from sprinting into harm's way.

Luckily, he has a 10ft tall robot to assist him in these efforts. Unluckily, a lot of these outsiders are super powered, so it's kind of a crapshoot as to whether having a mech actually makes much of a difference? That's not going to stop him from piloting the SD Buster around to physically put a big metal hand in Raidou's path, though. The mech's green eyes flash as it turns it's head down towards him, and an amplified voice emanates from the outboard speakers.]

Hold it right there pal. I don't know what you think you see out there, but whatever it is? It's not real! You need to turn around!

[If you think this is the first time Raidou has gone after a mecha with his sword, you'd be wrong twice over. Though last time, he did have his demons to summon on him, which is another point in Dearka's favor.

He takes an offensive stance against the machine in front of him, sword at the ready.]

I'm not leaving her out there. That demon has called her and will kill her if I don't get to her now. This is your only warning.

[Point in Raidou's favor: Dearka is definitely underestimating him a little, seeing that his primary weapon is a sword. Like, his guard isn't ENTIRELY down, but he is kinda mentally going 'srsly??' about it.]

"Demon"? You mean the big worm?

[The mech's hand doesn't move, but inside the cockpit Dearka flips a few switches to check one of the outboard cameras, getting a proper look at the direction Raidou is trying to head without actually physically turning the Buster to look.]

...Sorry, I don't see anyone out there. Buster's not picking up any life signals either, which means you're chasing a hallucination. So...

[He is actually gonna move that hand to try and bodily scoop Raidou up, intent on carrying him back to the rest of the team.]

[Raidou looks to Dearka and the mech, and the expanse of the desert storm. Hallucination? No, feeling her power that strongly couldn't be a hallucination. There was no mistaking who it was.

He ignores the warning, and as soon as that hand starts moving, he too is on the move. Speed is Raidou's greatest asset as a sword fighter, but he doesn't want to waste time fighting this if Kushinada is trapped out there. He feints, and slips past the hand to try and run past the mech and further out into the desert without a word.]

What--!? Dammit, come onnnn...!

[Seriously, why can't this just be easy for once!? This guy is freakishly fast, and since Dearka is (obviously) limited to non-lethal means here, his options for countering are pretty limited. This unit isn't even equipped for close combat, all he has are giant guns.

Neither the original Lightning Buster nor the SD mini version that's been produced here by LILITH are capable of atmospheric flight, either... But they do both have little jump jets used for maneuvering in open space. Dearka kicks a few of those on now, urging the mech into a fancy little backwards jump that has him slamming down into the sand several feet ahead of where Raidou is trying to run. Dearka's voice comes on over the outboard speakers again, his tone more urgent now.]

Seriously pal, use your head! Do you not remember the dozens of bodies we found on the way out here!? What do you think drew THEM in?

[Raidou skids to a halt, and there's a moment where it seems like maybe those words are getting through. That made sense, of course, and he blinks in confusion. But the worm's hold is too strong, and it's not enough.

After that brief hesitation, he raises his sword and comes right at the mech, aiming for any open joint in the leg he can get his sword into.]

[...See, this is why he's annoyed that LILITH couldn't just get him the regular sized deal for a mobile suit. This miniature height variation??? WAY too vulnerable to swords.

The most obvious and reachable joint at sword-level is the knee. Which is protected by a chassis, but that armor isn't without any chinks and gaps that something long flat and sharp could wedge itself into. It's not like Dearka doesn't try to dodge, either... But Raidou is fast, and the armor is heavy.

An alarm starts to beep in the cockpit, the display coming up to indicate that the primary hydraulics in the lower left leg have been compromised. So that's going to hobble him pretty severely... But, in exchange, Dearka cusses and uses what motion is left in that joint to bend it, and try and keep the sword wedged in there between the plating. And then he's going to swivel and use the machine's grip to try and wrench the weapon right out of Raidou's hands.]

[Dearka has accidentally stumbled into a way to distract Raidou, and that's the threat of his precious heirloom sword breaking. It comes loose from his grip, and he momentarily looks horrified seeing it stuck in the mechanisms of the mecha. He'll internally curse himself for the shortsightedness of his attack plan, aiming to get that back before the blade gets snapped.

He darts around the machine after it to try and wrench the sword free, but not if it's too stuck in there, not willing to risk it.]

[A the momentary pause in movement trips some sensors, and a sort of picture-in-picture display pops up on the mech's internal systems, spotlighting Raidou's horrified expression. Coordinators are fast thinking douchebags, so that's more than enough for Dearka to reach a conclusion and come up with an on-the-spot strategy to test.]

Gonna be kind of hard to protect anyone without this, huh?! [He whips the buster around in a silly looking pirouette on the leg that doesn't have the sword wedged in it, trying to keep the weapon out of Raidou's reach.] Better follow me if you want it back!

[3, 2, 1-- Kicking on the jets, he does a clumsy, one-legged long jump back in the direction of the campers, praying his instincts are on the money.]

[Raidou's sense of humor isn't great on a good day, so he's definitely not enjoying this chase, and he's not going to respond to such taunts.

He spares only a moment to look over his shoulder, to where is brain is telling him Kushinada is lost in the desert, her energy becoming more faint. But Dearka's right. Trying to aim with his pistol in this weather is never going to work well, and he doesn't have his demons to help. He needs that sword, the only precious thing he has left of his old life.

Raidou is fast, luckily, though maybe not as fast as a mech. So instead, he's going to try and predict where Dearka's going to land, and get ahead of him so he can make another dive for his weapon.]

[This actually sort of works, although maybe not in the way that Raidou is predicting. See, getting ahead of the mech is risky, because there's every chance that the mech might land on you if the pilot isn't careful enough. Which is exactly what Dearka does NOT want to do; he's obviously not out to hurt his fellow outsiders here, he's actually trying to do quite the opposite! So when the sensors indicate that there's something moving beneath him, Dearka swears and veers the Buster off hard to one side.

It's a tricky maneuver, one that a non-coordinator probably wouldn't have the reaction time or dexterity to pull off. Unfortunately, those coordinator reflexes of his also make him aware just a scant few seconds before impact that he is not going to stick this landing. He's been practicing operating his gundam in the sand since they got here, out of a desire to improve from past operations; he's MUCH better at this now. But that's also how he knows that landing on a dune with only one fully functioning leg is basically going to be impossible, at the angle he's coming in on.

And now Raidou gets to see a 10ft tall mech windmilling its arms wildly as it tries to land on a shifting dune with just that one good leg. The leg with the sword still lodged in it dangles uselessly... Raidou better get in there quick and pull that thing out before Dearka tries to force it to move out of desperation.]

[Well, that was quite a show. As both an excellent swordsman and marksman, Raidou has an uncanny sense of timing to go with that speed. It might be annoying to have to continually dodge them, but he's always out of the way in enough time.

He's right there when the mech faceplants, diving at his sword. He does take an extra few seconds to not only withdraw it carefully, but to look at the blade and make sure it's intact. A little scraped, but nothing he can't get fixed.

Without a word to check on Dearka - a very out of character move for Raidou - he turns to take off back into the desert. But thanks to the little tousle they just went through, it was enough to distract Raidou from the worm's influence. After running a few yards back towards the storm, he slows to a stop. That unmistakable energy signature is gone; was Kushinada gone, or was she never actually there to begin with?

His head really starts to hurt, and he squints through the pain and windblown sand.]

Edited (well that icon will just not do) 2024-06-24 00:39 (UTC)

[As Raidou’s squinting through the sand, there comes a noise from the mech… The hiss and whir of the cockpit opening up, a whisper under the roar of the wind.

Dearka could get the Buster back up on its feet, but at this point it’s becoming fairly clear that using his mobile suit in this kind of situation is more of a hindrance than a boon. He emerges from the prone mech with all the vim and concern befitting the situation, still doggedly determined to intervene in Raidou’s departure if necessary. He even has his gun out, which… He can probably use for some kind of creatively non-lethal purpose, if he really needs to.

However, seeing that Raidou has stopped, he pulls up short, frowning. After a beat, he begins to approach again cautiously, calling out:]

Hey, pal. You come to your senses yet, or do we have to keep this tango going?

[Cuz like… He will, if he gotta.]

[One arm up to shield his face from the sand, he turns to Dearka, looking back one towards where the kaiju lies in the heart of the storm. After a moment, he sheathes the sword that was in his other hand, despite seeing the gun Dearka was holding.]

I... don't know what happened. I'm-- sorry.

Edited (i swear i know how to write a tag) 2024-07-03 18:46 (UTC)

[That's... Not the reaction he was expecting, but it is the one he was hoping for. Despite his soldier's instincts, Dearka immediately turns off the aggro, lowering his gun and taking a less action-ready stance. He scratches the back of his neck and sighs uncomfortably.]

Well, this is a relief, at least... [He raises his voice a little so it carries better over the wind:] Don't worry about it! You're not the first person I've had to fight today to keep from running out after that thing... It's messing with everyone's heads.

[It really is like a switch was flipped in Raidou, from steely, determined fighter, to the lost-looking kid standing here now.

He's embarrassed and ashamed to have fallen for such an attack, and to attempt to hurt others in the process. He seriously thought Kushinada was out there, even though thinking on it now, the idea seemed absurd.

He walks back towards Dearka, towards his mech. They really should get out of here.]

... Let's go. Before things get worse out here.

[Dearka turns and watches Raidou as he walks past, hesitating a moment before following.]

Yeah, alright. Don't have to tell me twice. [...] You sure you're alright, though?

[Well, his head hurts, and he's embarrassed to boot, but otherwise?]]

... I'm alright.

[Debatable. But with Raidou's usual deadpan delivery, it's very hard to tell what he might actually be feeling at any given moment.]

...Okay. I'll take your word for it.

[Even if he can't exactly read it in Raidou's tone or from his expression, Dearka can still imagine that he's probably feeling a bit embarrassed right about now. Maybe he shouldn't address that directly, but... Sometimes bluntness works best.

After a beat of silence, he chimes in again, this time more quietly:]

My best friend got tricked by that giant prick too. And he's just about the smartest and most stubborn bastard I know... So don't worry; I'll keep my mouth shut about it.

[And he ain't judging.]

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.

the storm calls

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yo sorry i lost this notif!

No worries!

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My turn to apologize for the delay haha v_v

<3

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