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

02. d.

[blastedass]

[Travel is dangerous, supply chains are damaged, and hunting can end up horribly wrong. He gets all that. But sometimes, now that they're traveling to other locations, Bakugo has to wonder how the fuck Neo Tokyo can run into food shortages? Other places seem to be doing fine enough. Not exuberant (Vegas is an exception) but not consisting on fucking ratios! Of course the answers to that irritable question come far too easily. But that won't stop him from sampling some of the fare here while he can.

Compared to Vegas, its American food a far cry from Japanese dishes, Seoul's food is far more agreeable. Bakugo's always liked Korean food, because plenty of it makes use of hot pepper and flavors. Being similar to Japanese meals is another bonus. The young man shifts his weight to the other leg at the pojangmacha counter, not bothering with the stool nearby. He's currently two pieces deep into a plate of spicy shrimp gimbap, having asked the server to sear the pieces before serving it. Hot and hot.

One nori-wrapped rice disc of vegetables and shrimp almost makes it to his mouth when he hears a familiar voice from the side. Bakugo glances to the corner of his vision before answering-]

Get some.

[-and putting the slice between his jaws. Do you need more than that, Know-it-All?]

[curingidiocy]

[ Hm. Well, good enough of an opinion he supposes. Though he would have preferred a more thorough review, he knows Bakugo well enough that he will not get one even if he asks.

Looking at the menu, he eventually settles on fish cakes and blood sausage, vocally requesting that they avoid adding spice to the dishes. Don't judge, Bakugo. He has the spice tolerance of a baby.

After a few minutes, he's handed his food and he steps off to the side, next to Bakugo. He takes a bite of the fish cake and chews thoughtfully. ]

Mm. Not bad.

[blastedass]

[He will not get one. If Bakugo says it's good enough to get, it's good enough to get. Though Ratio would behoove himself to avoid the exact order, as the explosive blonde added spicy things to his gimbap. Peppers and hot paste along with the flavorful kimchi and fish meat. It makes a pretty display, though his is rather fiery in looks all the same.

Ratio avoids the heat. Bakugo totally judges him. The scholar's got cats tongue. What a fucking surprise. He's curious about Ratio getting blood sausage. That has a pretty strong taste of iron and spices... It's not spicy hot, but it can be potent.]

Not a fan of spices?

[curingidiocy]

[ Ratio can handle the flavour of spices, but not the heat. Not spicy. That's what he's trying to avoid. He takes another small bite of the fish cake and swallows before replying. ]

Regrettably, my usual diet does not lend itself well to building a spice tolerance. I can only handle a very minor amount at best.

[ And a bunch of the stuff here looks like it'd match what Rover gave him during that dating show. He's not eager to repeat those experiences. He tries a bite of the blood sausage and pauses as the potent flavour overwhelms him. The expression on his face is a mix of surprise, curiosity and slight dismay. However, he takes his time to savour the food on his tongue. ]

This is different from the blood sausages I am familiar with.

[blastedass]

[Bakugo likes the heat along with the flavor. He's not the kind to make it so hot it erases everything but the heat. That's a waste of flavoring, dammit! But this place created a nice balance between both.]

Regrettably? Start working up a tolerance if you want to.

[How can that be complicated? Korea uses more peppers and spices than Japan in their cuisine, so Ratio might be in trouble during this mission. Bakugo eyes the man's sampling of the blood sausage. Yep, there's the reaction he was expecting. He picks up another piece of gimbap.]

You're probably used to the European kind. [Then indicates the fish cakes with a tilt of his head.] Eat a small piece of both at the same time. That'll mellow out the flavors.

[curingidiocy]

[ If he wants to. He does, on some level, but on the other hand, he is quite comfortable with his usual diet, which has been meticulously planned out to provide him with the necessary nutrition his body needs to function optimally, plus room for Aventurine's dinners when the man is around to invite him out. Here, he's had to recalibrate his usual food plan as the lack of selection means he can't always get what is best for him.

Building a tolerance for spice... perhaps it's worth it, if they will be traveling all over the world for their missions.

Mixing the two foods is a solid idea, so he does as Bakugo suggests and finds the blood sausage more palatable as a result. It's not bad, now that the sausage is no longer overwhelming his taste buds. ]

What are European blood sausages composed of?

[ Despite his usual appearance being reminiscent of Ancient Greek attire, he is in fact not an inhabitant of any variation of Earth. ]

[blastedass]

[To no one's surprise, Bakugo pays attention to his nutrition when he cooks, focusing on health and variety in his meals. Normal Japanese cuisine, plenty of rice and vegetables with fish and sauces to go with the flavors and spices. He tends to range between simple and complex meals depending on his time and wants. There are a few people he trusts in the kitchen with him, some he'll even eat what they make with little criticism. Going out to eat is rare on his own; usually has to be "kidnapped" into going with someone. It's just not as healthy... plus the awkward part of making conversation while waiting for your food.

Bakugo's picked up some Korean recipes during middle school and rather likes the flavors, particular the heat of kimchi and other dishes. As Ratio follows suggestion to mete the two items together, he picks up his glass for a drink.]

Blood, some kind of cereal or grain flour, and whatever spices or additions the country wants. Asian varieties use rice or noodles as their fillers. Some places even make sweet varieties. Gross.

[The recipes are pretty varied outside of the blood, obviously.]

[curingidiocy]

I see. That does sound more familiar to me.

[ It's curious how a planet completely disconnected from the greater interstellar community can at times have similarities with various cultures he knows of, but it might come down to the mystery of why all of humanity has evolved to be similar despite the environmental stressors of each planet varying greatly. It's nothing he can solve at the moment, only ponder about.

A sweet variety of blood sausage? That sounds intriguing, actually, but if he is to buy more food, he would prefer to try something entirely different. They don't have the luxury of browsing like tourists, so he wants to make the most of the downtime before they have to focus on the mission. ]

Is there anything else you would recommend? I am not against trying any dish with spice, though I will not be able to enjoy it to the fullest extent.

[blastedass]

I'm surprised you even have blood sausage where you're from.

[The things we research for RP... Humans are humans no matter where they are, finding food from whatever sources they can get it from. Bakugo picks up another piece of gimbap, then gets the eye of one of the cooks to order another round. This won't be enough to fill him up. The taste lingers in his mouth as he chews, worth getting a second order. There's the option of Ratio wanting to try it, if he can bring himself to indulge in the curiosity enough to ask.

For his part, Bakugo has no desire to try a sweet variety of blood sausage. He's not fond of sweet varieties of sushi either. Desserts become hit or miss, with overly-sweet ones never having a chance. Meat and vegetables sizzle on the grill as the cook works on the hero's next order, metal spatulas doubling as a chopper to dice up the food for easier cooking and rolling.]

If you like sushi, get what I got. It's called gimbap.

[curingidiocy]

[ The things we research for RP.... weeps. ]

I imagine it is not an uncommon dish in most cultures that eat meat. When food could not be as easily procured due to the lack of technology and sophisticated distribution systems, it would have been a waste to discard anything that is edible and nutritious.

[ And an animal's intestines would be the perfect way to package items for easier handling in consumption. Hence, blood sausage.

Gimbap... Bakugo's had spice on it, but that was an addition he requested, so it should be fine for Ratio. The scholar gestures with the food still in his hands. ]

I shall do so once I have consumed this.

[ He doesn't eat too quickly, so it'll take some time before he finishes with the fish cakes and blood sausage. ]

[blastedass]

I wasn't asking for a culinary history lesson.

[Though it's good to know humans are humans no matter what world they come from. There's the unnerving question of who thought "i'mma eat this" first when it came to any kind of food... to say nothing of the preparation, cooking, and serving.

Ratio's picking up on the blonde's preference for spicy foods apparently. Bakugo picks up his drink. Who knows what's going to happen to the city after the kaiju fight. Food could be in shorter supply, so it's best to have a night now.]

If this goes like the other kaiju, we'll be stuck with the cleanup too.

[Though Vegas was a rather quick departure after they finished off the damn worm. LILITH wanted to get the Outsiders out of there. Appreciated, considering the humiliating loss they suffered.]

[curingidiocy]

Without a question. Though we were summoned as a combat force against the kaiju, it would be an efficient use of our labour to have us assist with recovery efforts after, so long as we are not too exhausted to do so.

[ But the frequency of these appearances may not hold... if they started appearing more quickly, it would be better to allow the Outsiders to rest instead. ]

I hope our encounter will not be as disastrous as it was with the sand worm, but I am prepared for the worst.

[ The kaiju appearing in the middle of the city and wreaking havoc yet again. If only they could avoid that... ]

[blastedass]

We were brought here to fight, but now we're stuck doing every damn thing those bastards want us to do.

[He complains, but it's really no different than what heroes did in his own world. Battling villains, rescuing civilians, evacuating from disaster zones, handling problems great and small, with the celebrity status adding more options. Much of which the Outsiders are likewise doing in their efforts to help Neo Tokyo and this world.

Bakugo bristles at the mention of the worms, never going to get over that sore spot on his record.]

If those bastards don't have any fucking brainwashing abilities, it won't be.

[But Ratio's not wrong about wanting the kaiju to appear away from human civilization. Their defeat out in the desert, thus preventing them from ending the worm without civilian casualties, continues to haunt him in failure.]

[curingidiocy]

Such is the nature of our operation. We are here to save a dying planet. They will need all the assistance they can obtain.

[ Ratio gazes out to the scenery in front of him. Dilapidated buildings, the remnants of civilization trying their best to survive amidst the rubble...it is a melancholic sight, yet hopeful, at the same time. It's in moments like these, when humanity is at its lowest, that they learn to pick themselves back up.

That the Outsiders could even be summoned here is likely a feat of technology borne out of desperation. For that, Ratio commends them, even if they may be fumbling in many other areas. The struggle to live is not an easy road upwards. There will be failures, and for successes, casualties. Just like the sand worm in Las Vegas.

But they can always do better.

Bakugo speaks confidently again, as if there's no possibility it can't be worse. But Ratio knows better now, and doesn't comment on it. ]

Perhaps, but we ought to be prepared to encounter another disruptive ability that matches the sand worm's, if only so we aren't caught off guard this time.

ratio looks like dark pit from kid icarus in that icon

[blastedass]

More goes into saving than just killing off a bunch of monsters.

[It's not a comment to remind or inform Ratio, but rather Bakugo repeating the reality of their situation to himself. He used to think a hero was someone who beat the shit out of villains and threw them into jail. But there's more to it than that. Far more. Of course he knew that factually, but once the real world hit him in the face...

Desperation drove these people to reach out and steal others from their worlds, hoping to save their own with assistance they had no right to demand of. But so long as LILITH holds the keys to their return home, it's difficult to say rebelling is a good idea. Bakugo isn't willing to turn his back on the innocents here, even if he's grumpy about the circumstances that keep him here.

It helps that he has people he gives more than a shit about as well. Good luck getting him to admit it though.]

Aa. Sensory deprivation or something else screwing up our oculars. [Bare effort thrown into those two thoughts. There could be a host of other abilities. Yet the sheer widespread deliberation of the worm's brainwashing remains a currently un-topped feat, one Bakugo hopes will stay there. If only so they don't suffer and even more humiliating loss.] We'll only have half our forces this time as well.

[The Seoul group and the Busan group.]

Fjfkfkfjf oh my god...

[curingidiocy]

[ There's little point in guessing what abilities the Kaiju might have right now, considering they have no information on the creatures themselves. But mentally preparing for the possibility of such disruptive abilities would help them react faster.

And—right, their forces would be split up this time. Considering how few they are, it doesn't make Ratio feel at ease. He trusts in the strength of the Outsiders, but with so few Kaiju to compare to, he can't be sure the next one won't set a precedent in some way. ]

We will have to be cautious.

[ There's nothing else they can do for now. ]

[blastedass]

[Bakugo would argue there was a point. They know it has some relation to the weather, including acid rain. The damn thing could use clouds to obscure vision, the rain to make it harder to get footing, fucking lightning... Plus claws and scales for offense and defense. They can expect it to scale walls with those kinds of things.

He would prefer they had their entire force together, but between leaving one section open to attack and having to face two monsters at the same time, he'd pick the latter one. Even if it would end up dividing their forces naturally. They had to fight an entire pod of orca kaiju and a swarm of fucking geckos. Two big targets seems like a fucking Easy mode battle.]

No shit. We know enough to make a few educated guesses.