synflux | TRAVEL LOG #2

TRAVEL LOG #2

TRAVEL LOG #2

CONTENT WARNINGS: natural disaster, acid rain, vehicle crash.

▶ 001. WINGING IT.

In the early morning hours of the 1st, Outsiders will receive a rude awakening blaring through their implants. No matter what they do, the alarm will not stop sounding until they are forced to get up. A message will flash through their vision:

ALL OUTSIDERS ARE TO REPORT TO THE HANGAR IMMEDIATELY FOR DEPARTURE

Get up, get dressed in your plugsuit, and it’s time to go! Once they report at the hangar, they will be met with a huge spacecraft, large enough to fit at least 80 people. This will be their mode of transport to their next location.

"My Angels of Lilith. You are needed once again. We have received distress signals from the neighbouring country of South Korea. Unfortunately, since we have not established data portals in that country, we require you to embark via air. Your aircraft is ready for you and your seats have been assigned. I bid you a safe journey."

True enough, there are more than enough seats on the LILITH SKY CRUISER to accommodate every Outsider, and to get everyone organized quickly for departure, all Outsiders will receive a seat number. Like any plane, seats are rather cramped and there isn’t much leg room. Once the seatbelt sign is off, Outsiders are free to stand up and move around the cruiser, but they might have to climb over other people or make the whole row stand up to give them room. The aircraft is serviced by robotic stewards serving light snacks of nuts and crackers, and coconut crab kimbap and seaweed soup at meal time. Any characters who use a cloaking device will be instructed to use it during the flight to accommodate the aircraft. Also, any characters who rely on a weapon or anything else (such as a Gundam), it will be loaded onto the cargo of the aircraft.

The flight will take about 2-3 hours. Outsiders may take a nap, chat or try the inflight entertainment available. This inflight entertainment is delivered through a virtual reality headset. Outsiders may pick a selection of AI movies of questionable quality, along with several virtual reality games. There are single player or multiplayer options available for every game.

Available games include:

The Sims 30: One player gets to become the ‘god’ of a world and build houses or dictate the lives of other players and NPCs within the game as they see fit.
Farm Crossing: A farming simulator game where players get to build and manage their own farms. Harvest your crops and tend to your animals! Impress the friendly villagers in the town with your beautiful ranch!
Tales of Heroes: A fantasy game where players are reborn into a world of monsters and magic and have to level up by fighting monsters and slaying demons.
And many more … (Feel free to design your own VR games.)

Eventually, the sky cruiser will touch down on Incheon Airport. There’s no need to be stuck waiting in line at immigration... it appears as if the Incheon Airport has not been used in decades and seems completely abandoned with the exception of the Outsiders. The old scanning machines and luggage belts are simply collecting dust. Outsiders will be ushered immediately to the nearest train station, where they will continue their journey by train.

▶ 002. WELCOME TO SEOUL.

Once descended from the train ride, they will have arrived in the city of Seoul, South Korea. Similar to Neo Tokyo, a lot of the people on the outskirts moved to this area in order to receive shelter and the benefits of being amongst civilization, rather than fending for themselves. As such, there is a certain hustle and bustle, but considering the state of their dilapidated airports and most of the other cities falling to ruin, there definitely is a more somber vibe to the city. Despite that, the residents carry on and there is no shortage of shopping, food stalls (mostly with foods that are not easy to perish), cafes, pojangmacha to have a late night food or drink at, and many more smaller businesses. The people are resilient and have every single desire to continue making a living. As such the prices here are competitive and Outsiders will find if they look hard enough, there are some fairly good deals to be made. Currency exchange is no issue, as KRYPTOS is the universal currency.

Since a lot of efforts were made to keep Seoul intact, there are still some important sights that were kept up and can be visited if desired. While LILITH urges people to keep their eyes peeled out for any clues to the next kaiju’s whereabouts, Seok Dang may or may not have sent each Outsider a map of the best sightseeing amongst many other not-so-innocent suggestions. He calls it the difference of experiences and “doesn’t want anyone missing out!” If people check back on the message a day later, they will find it was almost as if it didn’t exist at all. On the list, however, includes sights like the Gyeongbokgung Palace, COEX mall and aquarium, Seoul Sky, and many others. However, some of them may or may not exist anymore. How long was he out of the country for? For an extra “freebie” he throws in, Outsiders will find an odd message on their style upgrade saying there is a new outfit available, when opened, it will download a hanbok that they can wear at any time.

"Well, well. Unfortunately, whatever fun could have been planned will need to be halted just a mere two and a half days to get settled. Once again, a message will be produced on everyone’s oculars suggesting an emergency is on the horizon. Guess we better get to that instead of showing you my home country!"

And Seok Dang wonders why he is the Commander's least favorite.

Beep! An alert pops up on the Outsiders' ocular devices. According to the information LILITH just received, there is not just one large kaiju occupying this region, but two. In order to chase both of these leads, Outsiders are split into two groups in order to chase these two kaiju. They have described these kaiju as being very agile and fast, but resembling a serpent from the few sightings that have been spotted. As for the rift that it originated from, there is no sign of a rift in South Korea. Did it migrate here from somewhere else? More details will pour into the Outsider's devices as soon as possible, but for now, Outsiders are called to pursue the hunt.

▶ 003. TEAM SEOUL.
_EVERLIGHT_&_REDEMPTION

Within the next hour, rain will begin to fall upon the city, but this is far from the average summer shower. The precipitation doesn’t seem weather-related as much as it does seem to be a proponent of the kaiju’s abilities. They find this when studying the rain itself, which is acidic to the touch. While the buildings and other structures will remain sound, the people will need to evacuate quickly in order to avoid any lingering effects to the skin. Skin contact with the acid rain will cause both minor and severe burning, depending on how quickly it is rinsed off with normal water. At the first discovery of the acid rain's danger, Outsiders will be commanded to press a button on their plugsuit on the left shoulder, activating an invisible helmet to keep their heads and faces safe.

The Outsiders’ plug suits prevent them from receiving any damages from the rain, but that’s certainly not the case for everyone else. The first team, made up of the members of Everlight and Redemption are to prioritize the initial evacuation of the people, especially those who live slightly outside of the city limits of Seoul. They are the most vulnerable during crises like these and will need to be pulled from their homes, and those who live in the basement shelters will need to be pulled to one higher ground in case of potential flooding with the acid rain. Individuals who have skills in healing will also be called forth in order to tend to the injuries of those who are saved.

Between evacuation, there will also be tidbits of information provided to those on the team that remains in Seoul to check out specific locations in order to figure out more about this kaiju. The first location listed is Gyeongbokgung Palace. Outsiders that remain in Seoul will be utilizing that as their base. They are set to look at any remains the kaiju may have left behind. Any findings are commanded to be surrendered to LILITH. Emergency response of South Korea will use this palace as a safe haven, providing cots for sleeping overnight and other emergency supplies.

▶ 004. TEAM BUSAN.
_BRIMSTONE_&_REVELATION

The second team will depart via train on a journey to the city of Busan. The journey is expected to take 2 hours, and while there are comfortable seats available on the train, any luxuries beyond that are minimal. At least LILITH has brought along a few VR headsets for whoever wants to kill time with games or bad movies? Anyone can sit where they'd like for this ride.

An hour into the trip, a loud crash is suddenly heard, with the entire train rocking and falling to its side. This causes a complete blackout throughout the train and it stops functioning completely, leaving Outsiders stranded within the pitch black tunnel. The train system is completely inoperable in this condition. Outsiders will need to make their own journey to the city, following the rails by foot and helping any Outsiders who happened to be injured in the crash. It’ll be dark within the tunnel, but light will soon emerge once they exit it, and they will find themselves at the foot of Mount Geumjeong.

From then on, they’ll need to put their trekking skills to the test and cross the mountainous, forested region, where they will encounter various local fauna such as snakes, deer and black bears. They will also spot many destroyed villages and temples on their way to Busan. However, evidence of the Kaiju can be found in both the subway tunnel and throughout the mountain trek, suggesting that the kaiju has moved through here. This encourages LILITH to keep Outsiders in this area. The Outsiders will need to make a campsite in one of the destroyed villages, though emergency response will also pay them a visit several days later with sleeping cots and emergency supplies. In the meantime, hopefully they brought enough food with them or know how to forage and hunt for food in the wilderness. Some of those berries out there are poisonous....

The team here will be encouraged to explore the area to find further traces of the kaiju and help any villagers who are still alive.

▶ 005. STATUS REPORT.

Promptly, at the same time, all Outsiders will receive a text message and be put in an encrypted chat-room: OPERATION: RED/BLUE
CODENAME:
LOCATION:
STATUS:
FINDINGS:
Outsiders are instructed to fill out this information and send it into the chat to communicate with one another.

▶ 006. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our second travel log!

Characters do have ASSIGNED SEATS for the duration of their flight to Incheon airport, though there are just enough empty seats that some characters can move around if they really don't like their seat buddies. Teams BRIMSTONE and REVELATION will be traveling to Busan, while teams EVERLIGHT and REDEMPTION will be staying in Seoul.

RNG below to discover what your character will find in both Seoul and Busan respectively. For the STATUS REPORT Prompt, treat it as an open chat room for all Outsiders and respond to the HEADER COMMENT. Feel free to threadjack and discuss among yourselves. You may also include this as a text prompt in your top level if you would like for people just to reply to you instead of using the header comment.

All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards August AC.

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. WINGING IT: Characters are told to head to the hangar for DISPATCH to SOUTH KOREA where reports of a kaiju have been seen. Characters sit in their assigned seats for a short air travel ride.

2. WELCOME TO SEOUL: We arrive in Seoul and are given orders to split into two teams: Everlight & Redemption in Seoul, Brimstone & Revelation in Busan. Seok Dang has tried to sneak in some sight seeing in between mission briefs, but it looks like there won't be much time for that, as two kaiju have been found in South Korea.

3. TEAM SEOUL: Everlight & Redemption deal with acid rain in Seoul, ushering civilians to refuge, tending to acidic burns and using Gyeongbokgung Palace as a makeshift base. Investigation hints at the kaiju being somewhere in this area as Outsiders find claws, teeth, droppings and other things that belong to a dragon-like creature.

4. TEAM BUSAN: Brimstone & Revelation board a train to Busan which has an outage, trapping them to travel along the tunnel in the dark. They arrive at the end of the tunnel at the foot of Mount Geumjeong and create a makeshift base in the village there. Investigation hints at the kaiju being somewhere in this area as Outsiders find claws, teeth, droppings and other things that belong to a dragon-like creature.

5. STATUS REPORT: Outsiders are encouraged to share their findings and speculations on the kaiju in an encrypted chat room.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ me asking that everyday of my life. also me falling to my knees that he doesn't know tsuru's a sword to ask him to turn into one to save them leg space… elysium could cradle him in his arms… it'll be cozy… jk. that's harassment.

anyway ]

That's human ingenuity for you.

[ Oh, so he's just enthused about flying itself? That's cute. Elysium's curiosity subsides, but he decides to peer over anyway with Tsurumaru's accommodation. It's always fun to look at at cities from as high up above as possible—little birdie things. ]

Come from a time that it hasn't been invented? I'm surprised they're sticking to something that's considerably antiquated, myself. At least compared to what else they've come up with.

[ warp portals… ]

(Can't believe we're missing out on Tsurumaru Kuninaga asking Elysium if he wants to hold grasp him... hold him tight... keep him close in his arms and cherish him to the end of his days............... and then say no way, jose.)

Haha! I heard humans achieved flight many centuries ago. (He is, technically, from a time where flight is a thing.) But I never had a chance to see it for myself. These airships don't fly over the citadel.

(They kind of exist in their own little bubbles.)

So this is what it's like.

(And he cranes his neck to look out again. The cities are getting smaller and he can see clouds on the same level as the plane,)

I like this way better.

(Warp portals are practically the same as time traveling as far as he's concerned... they're not cool.)

[ all to be eventually hit with the classic odoroitaka? damn. ]

I come from a different world entirely, so I wouldn't exactly be able to corroborate that. … still, there is always something novel about a journey by itself. So, I get it if you mean it in that sense.

[ Leaning back into his seat, his interest is more attuned to Tsurumaru than whatever out might be out there.

On the note of journeys ——he looks contemplative. ]

But considering it's a mere three hour flight, I would've much preferred if we could go on foot. It's a bit of a shame.

[ literally only Elysium thinks this, probably. ]

(In some ways, disappointment is also a type of surprise.)

Despite my name, I spend most of my time on the ground.

(He might be particularly acrobatic when he fights, but he always comes back down. He can't fly. That last point gets him to look over at his neighbor, though,)

Japan is an island.

(You can't walk to Korea!!!)

"Despite your name"? Is there a particular meaning ascribed to it?

[ He tips his head in tandem with Tsurumaru's glance. ]

Haha. That's what voyages are for. [ obviously!! it counts!! ] But as I understand it, we don't really have the luxury of time. ——And, it leaves us far more vulnerable to attack. So… I suppose I'll have to forgive them for now.

It means "crane."

(And he holds up a hand and sort of... waves it in the air? The way his fingers are fanned out, it's almost like he's trying to make a "wing" and flap it in the air.)

I wouldn't mind going on another journey. But walking for too long is tiring, especially in the heat.

(And he is prone to melting. He can't do it. He's too old and spoiled to be out under the sun like this. He'll become more like a roast chicken than a crane.)

This has been my favorite way so far, though. I wonder how high we can go...

A bird's first flight would be an unforgettable experience.

[ From one bird to another. Even if they aren't quite capable of flight themselves, the sentiment remains the same if Tsurumaru's excitement is any indication. Seeing as cloaking on the plane isn't a strict rule as so much to keep whatever needs to be contained, contained within the aircraft—Elysium's own feathers are probably on display.

tmw they're a handful of pixels from having the same hairstyle ]

And isn't that just an excuse for poor stamina? [ pfft. ] But I wonder, too. Bet it'd be more fun if we could fly one of these ourselves.

(Not their matching mullets............)

Imagine, if we could go higher, we wouldn't even have to cry for the heavens to hear us!

(They'd be close enough they could just knock on the doors of the gods. Or throw a rock in their window. Whatever they need to do to get their attention when they need it.

Ah, but now that he's been able to work off some of his excitement, he'll settle into his seat properly again. Stretching his legs out, he might be sorry for whoever is in front of him. He might have kicked the back a little bit....... just a little. He pulls his legs back immediately and tries to look innocent by turning to Elysium. Of course, he never kicked that chair. He was having a pleasant conversation with his neighbor.)

Can you fly?

(Eyes darting to the feathers in his hair and then back at his face. He's not rude... he wont' stare.)

[ bleach elysium's hair and they could be twins if not siblings. for real for real. ]

Aren't we above the clouds right now? What if we're already in heaven and we just don't know it?

[ Perhaps, gods from other worlds given corporeal forms by LILITH are one matter, with gods from their own another. Elysium doesn't know. He's just going along with it. ]

Hellooooo? Gods? Can you hear me?

[ predictably.

Nothing answers back.

Poor Vergilius having to contend with this right next to him. It's fine. They're staying in their lanes, technically, it's not their faults their voices carry so far. And if Elysium sees Tsurumaru accidentally kicking the seat in front of him, he merely smiles beatifically for reasons. That telltale red-hair is unmistakable, but accidents happen, especially as they're trying to acclimate to their cramped as hell seats. He doesn't imagine it getting on her nerves? Maybe. Anyway. ]

Oof. [ crickets… if there could be. ] Tough crowd. And, no. Would be great if I could. What you see is what you get—— [ tsuru is free to stare… elysium will even wink if his gaze lingers… don't look at me. ] but the maintenance for a set of wings large and powerful enough to accommodate a person would probably be crazy.

…

Being able to transform would be fun, though.

Ah! They're as deaf as ever. (And he lets out the loudest and most dramatic sigh he can sigh. He looks unsurprised but disappointed. ) How useless.

(Yeah, he'll slander a god. There's nothing they can do about it if they're going to ignore everyone!!! But before the topic gets weird, he rolls with the conversation.

Wink at him, Elysium... Tsurumaru Kuninaga will just smile back and lean in a little closer. What is personal space?)

Eh? So you aren't hiding anything?

(No secret wings hidden with their fancy disguise tech? He looks over him as if expecting him to be like, "Sike!" and show off some pretty awesome wings but nothing happens so he'll just lean back into his seat,)

What would you be?

(If he could transform?)

[ What is personal space? They're already strapped for it as is, so what's a few centimetres less between them? No big. Whenever he eases from the wink, he's back to smiling blithely. why are they like this. instead of the topic getting weird, they're just weird in general. ]

It's not like I have any reason to be. [ He tilts his head and hums. ] Besides, I wouldn't want to be anything I'm not. A born hottie doesn't just deny his heritage like that.

Don't you think it's rather admirable that terns hold records for longest migration routes? [ heheh. ] Would you want to be anything other than a crane?

(Oh, that makes him laugh. A born hottie, huh? He gets it. Game recognizes game and all that. But Tsurumaru Kuninaga will always hide things. Being impossible to understand is one of his charm points (maybe).)

Do they? They're so small! Going back home every year no matter how far you are... of course it's impressive.

(As for himself? He holds his head up,)

I can't imagine being anything else. They're loyal and auspicious symbols. That's why I was named after them!

[ Now live: two impossible to understand individuals coming together to reach some kind of understanding incomprehensible to most… maybe they only think they understand each other? Not that it really matters. Anyway. ]

It's never really about size, is it? [ fucking help ] Anyone making excuses for that ought to recheck their performance.

[ But hey. A clasp of his hands for his fellow fine-feathered friend. ]

And I suppose that auspiciousness of yours is why you're here, hm? It's good to have you.

Of course, size matters! A dagger and a longsword perform differently. A tern being so small but mighty is surprising!

(Ah, they're holding hands... you know what. This is fine. He'd usually be against it but it's clear they are two birdkin spirits.)

That's right! It's fortune that's brought us together. I didn't think I would meet someone who would get me on this journey!

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[ There is absolutely a two-hued glare coming from over the seat.

No words. Just a glare. ]

It was him.

(He's pointing to Elysium. Or Vergilius. Theyre both in the same direction and their legs are long.)

[ just. this expression. a small, casual wave in Gebura's direction.

hi! ]

You can do a better job of throwing someone under the bus than that.

There aren't even any buses to throw people under.

(THEREFORE HE IS NOT DOING ANYTHING????)

So you're implying you would if you could?

(Not a single hesitation:)

If I had to.

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[ Elysium's wave gets a glance, but. ]

One of them isn't that stupid and the other one isn't the type. If you don't want to take responsibility, don't do it in the first place.

I wasn't aware you thought so highly of me, Miss Gebura. [ hand to heart ] I'm touched.

[ his takeaway ]

I'm not above punching you if you get annoying about it.

[ he laughs and throws his hands up in resignation ]

Yeah, yeah. [ sorry tsuru he'll be slinging an arm around your shoulder ] I'll keep watch for you from hereon, don't worry.

[ isn't he so, so reliable? sniffs. ]

(Was he just called stupid...

Yikes.)

Sorry, sorry. ( Look, he'll even move his legs closer to him. No more stretching. He'll suffer.) There's no room here to move.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TRAVEL LOG #2

▶ 001. WINGING IT.

▶ 002. WELCOME TO SEOUL.

▶ 003. TEAM SEOUL.EVERLIGHT & REDEMPTION

▶ 004. TEAM BUSAN.BRIMSTONE & REVELATION

▶ 005. STATUS REPORT.

▶ 006. AFTERWORD.

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▶ 003. TEAM SEOUL.
_EVERLIGHT_&_REDEMPTION

▶ 004. TEAM BUSAN.
_BRIMSTONE_&_REVELATION