TRAVEL LOG #2

[synfluxmods]

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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Comments

003a

[30storieshigh]

[ This is how Yato ends up with a very firm hand on his shoulder as Godzilla leans down to meet him eye to eye. Sure he's not his usual height, being cloaked and all, he still has the aura though. ]

You speak reasonable action, packmate, however do not assume to be giving commands. We are equals here. [ And that's just a little bit more pressure on the grip to Yato's shoulder to get the point across. ] I would strongly recommend not forgetting this. In the future I shall respond to such attempts with challenge.

[intertwinedfates]

[Okay, that's-- one hell of a grip on his shoulder. It's enough to cause Yato to immediately cease what he's doing in order to look over at whoever's got a hold on him, though his look of surprise doesn't leave when he sees what appears to be a fairly normal-looking guy. There's definitely something off about him, though, and it makes Yato wary. He's never met anyone who was cloaked before, so this is a first.]

Hey, I'm just trying to make sure everybody's on the same page. [Even if his old self would've protested that a god is above almost all others. He's not that person now, so all he does is try to poke the hand from his shoulder.] But if you wanna be the one trying to get everybody organized, that's fine by me!

[30storieshigh]

[ That's a satisfying enough answer for him. The poke sees Yato's shoulder released from that iron grip so Godzilla can instead cross his arms and grunt. ]

Apologies then, I have mistaken your intent. [ It takes a lot to admit that actually! But being that he's the bigger lizard person it's important to admit his small mistakes. ] Many claws make for lightened burdens, as they say. Organize, I shall cooperate.

[intertwinedfates]

[Whew! For a moment there he thought he was in for a beating or being twisted into a pretzel for his efforts. There's no small amount of relief in his sigh, too.]

No problem~ It would be kinda brazen for a newbie to try ordering around people who've been at this longer and know the ropes as it were. [But hey, so long as they can start off on the right foot, he's content enough. Though he's still puzzled by the odd expressions this guy is using.] Heh, sounds like a plan. As long as everybody has an idea of what we should focus on first, then I'd say we're good to go. You seem plenty strong, so maybe you could help those who are injured or struggling to walk get to safety?

[30storieshigh]

[ The odd expressions are going to keep coming. Complimenting his power? That makes him happy, when you're happy you smile, when Godzilla smiles he hasn't figured out how to not show all of his teeth in the process. ]

You are correct, even in this form I am very strong. Civil denizens are not so heavy, I can carry many in one trip if need be. [ A tilt of his head, a thoughtful grumble in his throat. He's not just muscle, sometimes thoughts get through that lizard brain. ] Simple shelter will not be enough. The civil denizens will be confused and afraid even if unharmed, food and warmth will be important while sorting through them. A tree aged should be established, I think.

[... Triage. He means triage. Bless him. ]

[intertwinedfates]

[O-kay, yeah, definitely a bit strange, this one, but hey, who is Yato to judge? He's been deemed a weirdo, a creep, and a cult all by himself, so he has no room to talk.]

Oh? So this isn't how you normally are? [Vaguely he recalls the talk of cloaking devices, and it finally occurs to him that this may be one of those cases here.] But yeah, I kinda got the feeling you have some impressive strength behind your muscles. I'm pretty good at telling that from a brief encounter. [Meaning that that grip was plenty to convince him that this guy isn't in his true form after all.] Ah, you're right about that though, we gotta take care of their mental well-being as well as their physical.

[For a moment or two he remains seemingly puzzled by what a "tree aged" is, until finally he fits the pieces together with a nod.] --gotcha! That's a great idea, too. I've got a friend who works in medicine who can probably help organize an effective workflow to gauge civilians as they come in. From there she can send them to others who can help them with what they need.

[30storieshigh]

You are clever, to gather much from so little. [ Hey a compliment! There you go, that's a good sign.

But it's not all about compliments and enthusiasm! There's a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it, he's especially disliking the look of the clouds. No breaks, no remote sign of light, it's not pretty. ]

Reading shelter shall be the first priority. I will assist with the heavy work there, then venture to search for the denizens. Many will work fine in these conditions, however if the rain water does not recede I shall be at my most useful in rescue. I am a good swimmer, it will be useful.

[intertwinedfates]

Heh, well, I have been at this for a while. [He'll take it, gladly!

And it's a fair assessment of the clouds, for sure. Given they have to deal with acid rain here, it's better they don't linger too long without accomplishing anything of note. They can always rest and ponder things once everyone is safely inside and they've secured the premises.]

Sounds to me like we've got ourselves a plan sorted out, then. I can cut through any debris that's in the way, though I'd like to keep the damage to property to a minimum if at all possible. These people have to continue living here once we're finished, after all. Though if we find anyone in need of a water rescue, I'll be counting on you specifically, okay?

[30storieshigh]

I am not capable of disappointing.

[ Well at least he's confident. Just an easy smile and a hearty pound of his fist against his chest. ]

I am Godzilla. Call on me and I shall arrive within moments, then make quick work of what obstacles arise.

[intertwinedfates]

You betcha!

[Out of instinct Yato reacts with a naturally chipper response before the meaning of Godzilla's words finally sink in. Especially the name. For a moment he merely responds with an open mouth flapping in the breeze like a fish out of water. Eventually, he kicks his brain into gear and gets words to come out instead of just air.]

Wait, you mean like, King of Monsters Godzilla? Super tall lizard with the notoriously bad breath? [Okay, so maybe his brain isn't fully engaged yet...]

[30storieshigh]

The quality of my breath is not that bad I thought. I have taken the ritual of the teeth polishing, I was told this would remedy it...

[ Maybe he needs to do it more than twice a day? Four times perhaps, he'll have to start on that.

That little set back aside he's still in a better mood! Recognizing him as King right away has greatly improved his opinion of Yato. ]

Otherwise you are correct. This is good, it is gratifying to meet another who's world knows of me.

[intertwinedfates]

Nooooot quite what I meant, but don't worry about it, okay?

[Last thing they need to worry about is getting a monster toothbrush for a building-sized teammate. Maybe they have industrial quantities of gum somewhere instead...

Still, it's almost hard to believe that this seemingly (fairly) normal guy is really the famous monster king. Then again, he's been world-hopping twice, so what's one more bit of craziness?]

Oh yeah, you're famous where I come from! The most popular and well-known of your kind. Though I can't say I ever expected to meet you in person as it were, that's for sure!

[30storieshigh]

[ Popular? Well known? The flattery just keeps coming and he is eating it up. If more people were this aware of his greatness surely there'd be less worrying over fighting the enemy kaiju. ]

Then it is an honor for you to have the opportunity. [ He laughs, a weird halting chuckle in his throat, and slaps his compatriot on the back in the way comrades do. And he's even holding back his strength, he doesn't want to send the poor guy flying. ] I am learning many worlds hold myself as a legendary, it is interesting to learn of the differences between them.

[intertwinedfates]

[That's a sentiment Yato wouldn't be able to argue with. Having a famous kaiju of their own helping out is bound to make battles a little smoother if not more so. And really, doesn't Godzilla always save the day? It's like having a hero all their own on this side!]

Sure is! Maybe I'll have to get your autograph at some point. [He could probably sell if for big bucks! ...if people believed it was real. Hm. Oh well. And while Yato may not go flying he does have to take an extra step to remain upright. But the gesture gets a friendly laugh out of him. There's definitely a lot of strength in that body.] Oh really? That's got to be really cool! One day I'd like to be as famous, myself. Or at least partially well-known.

[30storieshigh]

It is something I shall gladly provide, once I learn the methods of writing. [ With everything digital he's been consuming plenty of knowledge, but he hasn't really learned to write yet. That'll be fun! ]

Mile's thousand travel starts with the beginning footfall. [ Journey of a thousand mile begins with the first step. It's like he does this intentionally... ] If recognition is your wish then work hard, fight harder. You will build your own legend in time.

[intertwinedfates]

Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn't have picked that up anywhere, huh? Maybe a paw print would suffice? [More people might believe him that way, too. Godzilla isn't exactly known for his calligraphy skills.]

I've been at it for a while now so it's hard to tell where on my journey I'm at, but all you can do is keep going, right? [He nods in agreement, grinning. Whether or not Godzilla does it on purpose or not, it's pretty charming.] I've already got one follower, so there's a start!

[30storieshigh]

You shall have both, if that is your wish. Calligraphy is an important skill for any warrior, so the old wisdom says. I shall master it in time. [ Well the old wisdom is conflicted but most of the people he's read about who thought warriors shouldn't practice arts seemed kind of like really unlikable people??? So he's going with "art is good" himself. ]

You are correct. Continue to put yourself into it and you shall succeed. Who is to know, you may gain more followers in our efforts here. [ A smile, a nod. ] Grateful civil denizens will spread that legend wide.

[ damn if he only knew how this was all going to shake out... ]

[intertwinedfates]

Awesome! Both would be even better! But yeah, you can't go wrong with having the ability to write beautifully. [It never hurts to be a more well-rounded person - or lizard - and it can only open up more avenues to him on top of giving an appreciation for more aspects of humanity, which Yato considers a good thing in itself.]

Hehe, that would be nice. Being an international hit would be amazing! And that's help ensure that I'll never fade away... [Which is still one of his biggest fears.] I'll probably become even more known for standing alongside the King of Monsters, too!

[They're gonna end up famous in all the wrong ways...]