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.

code

Comments

March 7th | Honkai Star Rail | Redemption

[bowtography]

A. AIR ASTRAL

[ March 7th is no stranger to the sky. Though she's used to being well beyond the atmosphere, but still! She's here to vibe! If you're Denji or Gojo, expect to be greeted with a chipper hand extended for a shake and a request for a photo. If you're in front of her or behind her, she's probably trying to engage you in conversation. If you're just on the plane (and you should be??), she'll be bouncing over at some point to-- ]

So? So?? How's it going? Doing okay?

[ ... Say hello. ]

B. ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE

[ Seoul! This is not a place March has been before and you know what that means! It means she has to be anywhere and everywhere, eyes large with excitement. But also, it means she doesn't want to be exploring alone, so in the 2.5 days that they have here, she'll be approaching you! Does she know you? Who knows? ]

So, about that map! I think we should try to find some of these spots. What do you think? They'd be pretty amazing photo opps if they're still standing!

... I mean, aside from some of these suggestions... [ Some of them seem a little questionable? ]

C. HEART AND SEOUL

[ March is better suited as support, so don't mind her as she tosses up a shield to take the brunt of the rain from the civilian she's supporting (or maybe it's being tossed up for you instead, if you forgot to make your invisible helmet happen). So if you needed shielding, that's a thing. If you or someone you're supporting also needs healing, she's your girl, set up in a corner of the nearest shelter and making grabby hands at you.

Or you can catch her at the established base of the palace, pushing two cots together and offering you a grin. ]

It kind of feels more like a sleepover this way, right? Wanna share?

(OOC: If you want a custom starter, shoot me a PM! Wildcards also welcome.)

A

[queenofkur]

[ Ereshkigal appears to be absorbed in one of those virtual reality games when March comes over. She removes the visor and looks visibly bothered by something, though it is not March's presence. ]

Oh um, greetings March. [She puts the visor aside very nervously.] I am doing "okay" I suppose. You appear to be in good mood.

[bowtography]

I like going to new places! Even though the situation is never just "for fun", but I'm more than used to that.

[ It's more surprising if there's no other reason behind it, honestly. ]

... You're making a face, though.

[queenofkur]

[ So extroverted... She'll never cease being amazed buy that energy March radiates. But she should be honest with her. Not like she can change anything about it. ]

A villain has killed all of my characters in this game. [She looks down at the VR set.] Now he's laughing about it...

[ And she has no way to punish him for it! The lack of justice is what stings the most. ]

a.

[wheft]

[ ishmael just... keeps herself throughout this entire flight, which is typical for her. but when march comes a little closer it's apparent that she looks a little... ill? ]

I'm fine, just-- Don't talk so loud, jeez.

[bowtography]

... Airsick?

[ She at least remembers to ask this slightly quieter. She can take instruction! ]

[wheft]

Mm. Already took meds for it, so I'm just waiting for it to kick in.

[ she melts further into her cramped seat. ]

This is also my first time in an aircraft, so...

date time

[ignoreher]

[ with what time they have here, there's really only one thing to do before they might be split upon the field--

and that's enjoy the fruits of the city for as long as they can!!!!!! while the street food has mostly been the non-perishable, securing two sweet cups of ice cream has been the goal at the aquarium cafe and secured they are. refreshing pineapple flavors.

anyway, the dimness of the exhibits really highlights the beauty of the water... and how weird fish look. ]

This one has a nose.

[ well. the unicorn fish is named such because of the horn-like protrusion on its face, but it really does look more like a nose. when they go through the romance of the jellyfish room and can't take pictures worth a damn because of the lightlessness... they'll miss these oddballs. ]

Hey, Marmar? I think it's looking at you.

[bowtography]

You think so?

[ March peers at the fish (and what a fish it is). It's true, the positioning is a little too low for it to seem like a unicorn and it really seems like it has an impressive nose, but she hums in thoughtful consideration and reaches for her camera. It has Earned the Right. ]

I guess even fish know the eye-catching power of cute girls, then! That's pretty commendable, right?

[ignoreher]

Totally! They're better than some of the people we've met on land!

[ all hail fish, the better species. where is her merman. ]

Let's see... "The naso unicornis, known as the unicorn fish, fights off competing males with the sharp scalpels by their tails rather than the horn-like protrusion on their face."

[ ...

it's Earned the Right for march, but malkuth's looking disappointedly at it now. ]

I thought it'd be like the swordfish.

B.

[gundemn]

Everything's a photo opp with you.

[ He's being grouchy again, not only because she's talking photos but because of their mission in general. Hunting down kaiju had turned out so great last time. He looks though the list's more questionable suggestions with dry amusement. This is Seok Dang's work alright. ]

[bowtography]

We never know if we'll come back this way again, so I want to record the memories while I can!

[ March is used to the grumpiness at this point, even if Elan never lets her point the camera in his direction. She'll get him yet. ]

For now, what sounds good to you? Food or one of the other spots?

[ He's not getting away with this. Unfortunately. He's stuck with her. ]

[gundemn]

You mean we don't know if Seoul will still be standing the next time we come here.

[ Sure, why don't they go capture some iconic photos taken moments before disaster. Things will never be the same once the kaiju have their way with it.

It's not like he doesn't want to get out and see the world. As long as she's not trying to take his photo, he's fine with it. His appearance still bothers him as much as he hates to let that guy hang over his head. He runs a hand through his hair, which has gotten longer, and gives a short sigh. ]

Let's check out the food scene. I heard they eat live octopus.

B

[leveling]

[ Finally, it's webtoons time to shine. How come most of them are from Seoul... it is a mystery. ]

Just some? We can try all of them. [ The power of nyooming is on his side still. And he's excited to check out Neo Seoul. It's such a relief that it still exists, to be honest. ] We can start from Gyeongbokgung Palace. But what places do you mean...?

[ He might have zoned out a bit when Seok Dang gave them his recommendations. ]

[bowtography]

[ Ah, Seoul, cradle of the webtoons... ]

Oh, well...

[ ... She doesn't really want to explain this? To him?? Like, she's not like that, but--!! ]

You know, um. Like. [ uuuuugh. ] ... Sexy... places...

[leveling]

Ah...

[ He should have known better... Seok Dang, why are you like this? Maybe it wasn't a bad decision to zone out during that part. ]

I had no idea there'd be places like that... let's skip those, yeah. But if you want something that's not on the list, we can check out Ihwa Mural Village. It still exists for the most part, so you don't have to worry about wasting time.

[ He's done his share of running around and checking out locations at least. ]

air astral

[nutkick]

[ ... oh. okay, the quick snap of a photo came out of nowhere and denji might've ended up looking confused in the picture, eyes closed or with a funny face, but— he, at least, shakes her hand afterward with an awkward smile.

heh. she's so bubbly. ]

Hi. I'm Denji ...

[bowtography]

Nice to meet you, Denji! I'm March 7th!

[ The bubbly smile continues, and the grip is firm in a brief shake before she releases his hand. ]

I'm not really into assigned seating, but you do get to meet new people that way.

[nutkick]

[ ... interesting name. ]

yeah, I figured they wanted us to make new buddies along the way, which I don't mind. [ at least his company, so far, is a super friendly girl and— gojo. he knows gojo. he might not be as friendly with her, though. ]

Is it your first time flying?

c

[peoplewatch]

[ Because i wanted to bullshit a reason to make Kabru's life harder, let's say his plugsuit settings have malfunctioned and he isn't receiving as much protection as he should...

Kabru sensed that something was wrong shortly after the rain had started. For him, it stung to be under it, but it didn't seem to bother anyone else. It didn't take much deduction to conclude that there was something wrong with the suit they had given him, but there wasn't exactly much time to hunt down a LILITH engineer and ask them to resolve the problem. While it certainly wasn't enough to kill him or cause any lasting damage, he does feel worn down after several hours of assisting the evacuations, his skin now reddened with first degree burns. It doesn't help that he's used up a lot of mana trying to tend to others. As someone who doesn't practice very often, using just a bit of magic is more than enough to tire him out. It's a relief when they can finally find some reprieve within the palace. Kabru should probably find some help for himself, but he isn't familiar enough with everyone's skillsets yet to know who to ask.

When he sees March, he's in the middle of soothing his skin with a cold cloth. ] March. It's good to see you're doing fine.

[bowtography]

I wish I could say the same, but...

[ She looks at him, eyebrows furrowing. ]

What happened? Did you forget to suit up or something? [ They let him out to help like that? ]

Come here, geez--

[ She's definitely beckoning him closer. ]

A

[eyescar]

I'm fine!

[ There is, however, a blob of aniki curled up next to Yuji who is looking less fine, and Yuji is absently patting his hair and holding him close as he tries to stretch his legs out as much as he can. He's been poking at the inflight computor too, but he brightens when he sees March. ]

Are you? Have you flown like this before?

[bowtography]

Not exactly like this... it's a lot more cramped than what I'm used to.

[ She misses the Express every day. ]

... Is he okay?

[ Your brother is wilting, Yuji? ]

A

[30storieshigh]

[ The look Godzilla is giving March right now. It's like his eyebrows are attempting to retreat to his hair-line. Where did she even come from? ]

We are wingless beings packed into a metal tube which we possess no control over, traveling at an unknown height and speed for an unknown period of time. I am alive, that is the best one can hope for in this situation. As far as how it is going, I believe the territory we go towards was called "South Korea."

[ Okay so that's not what "how's it going?" means but at least he's being honest. ]

You are in good spirits. Do you take to the skies under others' control frequently?

[bowtography]

... [ Well, that's one way of answering. ]

Um, sort of! Not here, so much, but I used to fly around a lot back in my own... ... universe.

[ world is too small. ]