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

[ Yzak is on his way back from being snapped out of his own little mental fuckery thanks to Dearka and some nice swings to the face. One eye of his is twisted shut and he's nice small trail of blood coming out of his nose.

Or, Yzak was on his way back until he spots Raidou heading in the direction Yzak would like to get far away from

Fuck. ]

Not you, now! [ He groans, but every bit of that groan is very urgently concerned. He quickly turns heel and chases after Raidou ]

Get back here! I'm not letting you wander into that storm!

And I'm not leaving her out there.

[He keeps running. Raidou's foremost skill is his speed, and he's going to be hard to catch. Luckily for Yzak, he's not in much better shape than him at this moment. He's already tired and run down from being out in the elements for so long, but he refuses to let it slow him down. He has a duty to protect Kushinada, who would be almost helpless out in this storm, near the kaiju.

But the further he gets in, the harder it is to see, to shield himself from flying debris. He slows to a trot, looking around, trying to shield his face from the dust. Could she really have gone this far out?]

Kushinada!

[ Yzak is quick, too, but he's not used to the erratically bad weather that can form planetside. But as a soldier, he pushes through it for the sake of following Raidou to try and stop him. Yzak himself hadn't made it this far when he tried following those phantoms, so now he's getting a firsthand experience of just how huge and harsh this storm is.

He squints, trying to make out Raidou in the swirling sands - which is hard with all of this movement, tricks of the eye, Yzak's own mind still raw from his own mental intrusion so he wonders for a moment if he's going to end up falling victim to it again and then they'll both be fucked.

But he sees him, somehow. ]

Whoever that is, she's not out here! You're going to get yourself killed, you idiot!

[He's slowing down himself, the air getting more dangerous the further they go. Why would this person try to stop him from saving her? The Capital's summoner is meant to be the one to place himself in danger for others, and Kushinada was his most recent and precious ward. Sword in one hand, the other arm is raised to try and protect his face.]

If I leave her out here, I may as well turn in my title tomorrow. I will find her!

You keep running out there and you won't make it to tomorrow!

And then this Kushinada woman? She's going to have to live with the fact that you died out here chasing a phantom of her!

[ Perk of being genetically enhanced, is that he's just hardy enough to not get as slowed down by the storm, so that gives him his opening. The sands serve as enough of a veil that he can get close enough to Raidou that he just flings himself at the other man, both arms grabbing around his waist to try and tackle him to the ground. ]

Snap out of it! You're hallucinating!

[Yzak's words make sense, he knows this, but something is tugging at him, telling him to keep going. That she can't be left alone out there much longer.

Was he not already dead? Didn't he already fail her? Things are different here, though, where many Outsiders were now alive once again, and there's no reason to think she couldn't be brought here as he was.

How can a hallucination recreate that signature of magical energy that could only be her? So incredibly powerful and unmistakable.

Raidou hesitates, looking around the area, squinting and coughing in the dust storm, when Yzak tackles him. His sword clatters to the ground nearby.]

Stop! I can feel it-- I don't want to fail her again!

[He makes a reach for his sword, and while it's too far out of reach, he makes his way toward it despite Yzak holding him down. He's surprisingly strong for someone his size.]

[ Again.

Yzak feels a pang of sympathy. This monster's influence is truly tapping into their most vulnerable places, an easy way to get its hooks into someone and draw them in, making it that much more difficult to break out of. It took some hard words and an even harder punch to the face to knock Yzak out of it. ]

I don't know what it is you're "feeling," but if you take a second and focus you'll realize that you're just imagining it, too!

Oh— don't you dare...! [ He sees him trying to reach for his sword, so one of his OWN hands is going to try and scramble ahead to beat him to that while the other yanks at his hair - if he somehow has his hat on he WILL knock that off of his head first! ]

[That hat perseveres, okay. Though it's easy enough to knock off, and lucky for Yzak, the hair hiding under it is longer than one would expect. Plenty to get a hold of, and Raidou growls in frustration and pain when he does. Yzak only barely beats him to the sword, which inspires a feat of anger-fueled strength from him. Raidou tries to flip Yzak off of himself with a strong shove, attempting to get back on his feet before him and making a dive to get his precious weapon back.]

Grrgh—!

[ He grunts, landing on his back when Raidou flips him off of him - and it hurts because he's already sore, so he takes an extra moment to recover, enough for Raidou to grab at his sword. ]

You cut me with that thing and I'm shoving it straight up your ass!

[ He still hasn't given up on trying to stop this guy with force, so as Raidou reclaims his treasure, Yzak also scrambles back to his feet, and he aims a kick to his side, just under his ribs. He doesn't hold back on it, either, hoping to knock the air out of him - though it'd be nice to knock the stupid mind control out of him along with it. ]

[Raidou doesn't want to hurt Yzak either. Why hurt one person when all he wants to do is rescue another who might also be hurt? No sense causing two problems. That kick hits him harder than he expects, and he stumbles. Those sharp gray eyes of his are showing more fury than the rest of his expression is, and he swings the sword at him with deadly precision - using the dull side. His aim is to get Yzak off his feet again, aiming for his knees, so he can finally make a break for it.

A break to where? That impression of Kushinada's energy he got from out in the storm seems to have faded, and he doesn't get far before he slows down, looking around, squinting through the dust.

Was he really hallucinating?]

Son of a bitch...!

[ He moves quick enough to avoid one knee getting hit, but the other gets hit on the side, enough to get him to stumble in the sand which he ALREADY hates having to plod through.

He's about to dive right back in and lurch at Raidou again ... but he pauses when he notes the other man's hesitation. ]

[Raidou looks around frantically for a moment, trying to keep an eye on Yzak while also trying to feel out Kushinada's energy signature in the distance. It's gone now. So either he was hallucinating, or something terrible has happened.

He stands there, looking into the distance, trying to catch his breath in the heavy wind and spraying sand. Raidou hesitantly raises his sword in a defensive pose between he and Yzak, in case he gets any ideas while he's trying to sort this out, but it's obvious he's starting to doubt this.]

[ Yzak blinks through the sand, eyes growing more and more irritated in the storm - god damn he HATES THE SAND AND THE DESERT SO MUCH!

But he keeps his sights on Raidou, the confused looking around, the lack in desperation that was there moments ago... ]

Are you finally snapping out of it?

[Raidou spends a few more moments staring through the storm, making out the dark shape of the giant worm that waits there for them. It's a sobering sight, and he takes a few steps back.

His head hurts so much now, and he rubs at his forehead and eyes.]

I-- I could have sworn--

[The feeling was so strong, so real. He had been so sure she was out there, and absolutely would have risked his life to save her. It's what he's supposed to do.

He turns to Yzak, emotion turning his usually stoic expression into something troubled and confused. As if Yzak will have an explanation for all this.]

[ A promising enough question and response that it prompts Yzak to untense a little, looking less ready to jump right into a round two of a tussle. Instead, he takes a couple of steps toward Raidou - a ghost of a limp on the leg that got whacked by the blunt end of his sword. ]

The thing's got some kind of psychic mind control bullshit going on. You probably looked at it at the exact wrong time, just like I did.

That's how it's been drawing in all of those missing people.

[He sees Yzak limping, and those tentative steps, and sheathes his sword.

It had all seemed very real, just a second ago, and now it's gone. Not that he could help it, but he's left feeling defeated and embarrassed.

He's never good with words, and he definitely doesn't know what to say now.]

I... I'm sorry. It seemed so... real.

[ Same hat, bro. This whole thing is one giant embarrassment that also serves to rip open old wounds, all in the name of avoiding being lured into death.

Despite the eye irritation, his eyesight is still very good, so he notes the way Raidou looks down to where he hit him, and he waves a hand, dismissive. ]

It's fine, so long as you're not trying to run out there and get yourself killed anymore.

[ A beat, and Yzak frowns, a look of understanding on his face. ]

But it did feel real. A testament to that thing's power—

Which we'll have to consider later, but for now, let's get out of here!

[Raidou only nods before following after Yzak. Part of him really wanted Kushinada to be out there, to be scooped up to safety. Many people here had people they knew from back home with them, but Raidou isn't one of those. Seeing a familiar face after all these months here would have been a relief, even if Kushinada wasn't exactly the best choice to face off against kaiju.

He's silent on their trip back to the caravans, though he does keep a close on on not just their surroundings, but on Yzak too, making sure he can keep up with that bruised knee he gave him.]

[ Thankfully, Yzak doesn't seem to be too hindered by it. Truth be told, his eye smarts something more, so his limp is light, and he's still keeping up pace.

And ... he knows perhaps that he shouldn't. That all it may do is further dig a knife into an already reopened wound. But despite himself, Yzak still asks. ]

Who is she?

[It's always a long story, isn't it? Raidou is quiet as he considers the best way to explain it.]

Someone I was charged with protecting. She would have been a sitting duck out there, practically a lighthouse to something like a kaiju. Ah. Though perhaps not. Kaiju are not the same as demons from my world.

[If only. Then he'd be able to hurt them better.]

With the size and unique power of of thing, a lot of us stand chance to become a sitting duck. And nearly were.

A lot of the citizens from Vegas ... probably weren't as lucky.

[ A grim admittance, but something Yzak is all too familiar with having to face. ]

That's all the more reason I'm glad we're getting the hell out of here now! I think most of the others have gathered back together so we can head back soon and figure out what the hell to do next.

[ He feels his throat itching, his eyes still irritated from the sands, the sun blaring down on what little parts of him that are exposed to it after that scuffle. ]

We should grab some water. Is your camper van nearby?

Yes. You can stay in ours until this calms down a little.

[Their camper had five people in it, but they might not even all be in it at the moment, and it would just be for a little while anyway. they can get inside for some water, and, just as importantly, knock loose some of this sand that is now in every crevice.]

I guess all we can do is wait. Unless someone else gets affected an we have to go after them.

[Please no.]

Thank you.

[ In that case, Yzak slows his step just enough to allow Raidou to take the lead to his camper van. ]

Let's hope the worst of it is over. I don't want to go back out there again unless it's with a more solid plan to take that bastard down!

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.

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