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

@Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight

[blastedass]

Maybe cause you're tiny now.

[Welcome to humanity lesson 284: trolling your companions.]

[30storieshigh]

[ And this lesson like anything else involving humor goes right over his head. ]

I have considered this 😐. If I were not diminished I would at the least be able to rebalance the clouds, it might force the enemy into the open. Instead we must hunt, a skill I am beginning to believe humans have lost mastery over.

[blastedass]

Rebalance the clouds?

Yeah, domestication made hunting obsolete.

[Worker smarter, not harder.]

[30storieshigh]

The best way I can term it. I have faced enemies that attempted to change the world with storms more than once. Sending my inner fire into the sky has returned the balance, but now I am as you say "tiny"🤏. That solution is no longer viable.

The humans I lived amongst long ago had their fields and their aurochs, yet they still could hunt as needed. Domestication is not the issue, I suspect the blame lays at the feet of being able to exchange 💰 in return for goods precured by others with less 💰. There is a lack of shared responsibility, important skills are forgotten, survivability drops as excess distracts humans from their plight. It is concerning 😤.

[ please lord nobody let him get ahold of anything by Marx... ]

[blastedass]

I see. All Might was able to change the weather with a single punch. And this freak named Nine could control the weather at the cost of his health.

[Granted, "weather" meant a localized storm. It wasn't like either of those two were controlling hurricanes the size of fucking Japan. Still, he bore witness to All Might's punch dispelling the storm clouds right over his own head. The idea of Godzilla doing the same is not even hard to imagine. Too bad he is indeed, tiny.]

Humans have almost always had a form of wealth. Currency's existed since the start, whether it's meat, salt, spices, shells, stones, metal. Not everyone, even in the past, could or would hunt. Even in the stone age, some people sat in their caves and traded shit for meat others brought back. Or just took it.

People can still learn survival skills in the modern world. A lot of countries have youth programs that teach kids that kind of stuff. But most modern countries never have to use those skills unless they want to.

[30storieshigh]

You make good points. I feel I am still unused thinking in terms of such large populations 🤔.

[ Were they really always like this? Maybe so, he had such little interaction with humans outside of the lair they built for him Humans have made this system work this long, maybe they're onto something. ]

This "All Might" sounds impressive. They must be of significant scale to be able to reach the clouds with their fists.

[blastedass]

Huh? People aren't living in cities and shit where you're from?

[Because all the movies showed Godzilla stomping around populated modern cities with tons of people! ... Unless the kaiju's referring to himself trying to think like a human. That makes more sense.]

All Might was over 7ft tall. His power made him the greatest hero in the world.

[30storieshigh]

They live in many 🏙🗽🏛🏢, though I do not live alongside them. This manner of thinking is alien to me 👽.

[What isn't alien is his constant disappointment! 7 foot? Godzilla's taller than that now even, isn't he? Human standards for what's "great" are so very small. But it's probably rude to just flat out say that. ]

To earn that praise is no small feat. If he is the strongest your world has to offer I would like to meet him one day 🤝.

[ And beat him in combat to show how "small" that feat really is. 7 foot tall human out there trying to show mastery over the very weather, the nerve of some people... ]

[blastedass]

Ah. You're getting used to living as a human.

[Seeing them up close, learning how they think, acknowledging their good points and bad points. That'll be an eye opener for the King of Kaiju.

WOW! Definitely do not sleight All Might in front of Bakugo. He will get very angry. Not his childish kind either. All Might could punch Godzilla right through a damn city! (So his belief is.) But the King of Kaiju isn't being rude to his hero. Which is good, because Bakugo has a high opinion of Godzilla too.]

If we can get rid of these damn monsters and stabilize this world, we'll be able to go back home. Some people want to see if we can come back on our own accord later.

[30storieshigh]

That does not seem entirely unpleasant 🤔. Perhaps they would allow me to bring my mate here. Being able to move amongst your kind in secret is an experience she would enjoy, I think.

[blastedass]

[... mate?]

You're married?

[Okay, no, he knows monsters and beasts don't "marry" like humans do, but still- when the hell does Godzilla settle down with someone?! He's never seen Godzilletta!]

[30storieshigh]

[ Ah yes, married! Spouse, that's the word people use. He has got to remember that. ]

From my understanding of human terms, I am 🤵👰‍♀.

[blastedass]

[In this case, no matter what word he'd use, Bakugo's response would've been the same. Trying to get his head around it...]

I've never seen a female Godzilla in any media.

[30storieshigh]

This is correct 👍. There has not been a female of my kind in a very long time.

[ Which is kind of a bummer, as people say, but let's not dwell on that. ]

My spouse, as your kind say, is called Mothra 🦋. She is very different from myself, we are mated by the soul rather than by physical compatibility.

[blastedass]

[Sorry, big guy.]

YOU'RE MATED WITH THAT GIANT BUG?!

[Feel free to swat him later for his insolence. Just don't ask what images are in his head right now.

KINKY]

[30storieshigh]

[ Bakugo being technically correct is what saves him from insulting Godzilla. Mothra is, in fact, a large insect. ]

Ah, then she is a subject of legend too. This is fitting, a god of Mothra's caliber should be recognized 💯.

[ yup Godzilla is a wife guy. Add that to your mental theater. ]

[blastedass]

[He's just gonna... sit here for a minute and try to process this. If he doesn't think about it physically, then the idea of two sentient beings being together, regardless of the bodies they're in... isn't the hardest thing to believe.

Mental note: never ask about starting a family.]

Yeah, people know her in my world too. Sometimes she's an enemy; sometimes she's an ally.

[He's closing his goddamn mental theater right now.]

[30storieshigh]

[ Come on reopen that theater. Nature is beautiful! And it doesn't get more beautiful than the relationship between a giant dinosaur and a giant moth! ]

The difference between worlds is interesting 🤔. I myself would never have reason to conflict with her. We have only ever been in accord.

[ Except for when she's had to smack him upside the head for hyperfixating on stomping Kong into gravy. But that's not important! What is important is being polite and not letting a conversation turn into the rambles of an old lizard. ]

What of you, Spiked-fur? Have you found a partner to share life with?

[blastedass]

[He's not gonna think about a lizard and a moth getting it on! Except he already did, what with his reaction a moment ago. So thanks a lot, dammit!]

You're not always a shining hero in the movies either. Sometimes she had to stop your rampages.

[Though this could also stem from Godzilla getting too close to the young she left in the city. It's a weird cycle in some of those films. Bakugo inserted the "movies" comment just to start introducing Godzilla to the fictional aspect of himself in his world. Mostly so the kaiju wouldn't take offense and get pissed. Much.

Instead, Godzilla has to ask THAT question and you should see his face on this side.]

WHAT?! URUSEI! That's my business!

[Not back home, but he's dating here.]

[30storieshigh]

[ Stopping his rampages tracks though he's not going to admit that. Granted he has no idea how antagonistic those films make him and it's probably best he never finds out. nobody tell him about GMK he'll, blow a gasket.. ]

Ah. I did not intend to strike a collection of sores. I shall not inquire further, rest assured 🫡.

[ That's the second time he's upset a human asking about their mating life! The last one took it better and explained their disinterest though, Bakugo is a lot more defensive. Clearly he is still searching for someone!

If Godzilla had to guess, that sometimes abrasive but admirable fiery temperament chases mates away. Poor Spiked-fur needs to find his own Mothra or deheat his plane engines a bit, as the saying goes.

Bakugo has created this misunderstanding himself. ]

[blastedass]

[At the very least, Godzilla does at as a hero in many of those films, though there's the case to be made on whether he's actively protecting people and Japan, or his own interests that happen to overlap with the nation. Not a conversation Bakugo intends to have with the kaiju.]

You normally ask people if they're dating?

[Grousing over the apology, Bakugo rubs the side of his head, awkward and irked. Some people find the query charming and are happy to answer. Others, like Bakugo, get unnerved and embarrassed over it. But Godzilla might pick up over time the blonde's naturally overreactive to shit like that.

And yeah, girls definitely stayed away from Bakugo during his youth and middle school. For obvious reasons. He never thought much of dating until high school started. Always thought it was a distraction or pointless. Go figure.]

Apart from Mothra, what other kaiju have you faced?

[30storieshigh]

I have been lead to believe it is proper and polite to inquire into a conversational partner's affairs, least a conversation stay one-sided. I am starting to discern the topic of dating is not on the list of things one asks about, I am learning 🎓.

[ And he's doing really well! Kinda! But now Bakugo has to go and ask the interesting question. Do all the Titans he knows populated other world's myths? He's pretty eager to find out actually! ]

In battle? Countless. Though most recently were the kin killers, Mutos, and their ancient progenitor 🦟. The fire flyer, Rodan 🌋. The invader, Ghidorah 🐲🐲🐲. Amhuluk, the walking tree 🌳. The dissidents Tiamat 🐉🌊 and Scylla 🦀🦑. Shimo the ice bringer ❄️, through no fault of her own, and the Skar King who held her in bondage 🦧.

And Kong I suppose, though he is nothing without his tools 🦍🪓. His kind are of little threat, confrontation with them hardly count as battles.

[ And now the humans have been giving him metal limbs! Where else would he have gotten something that was in hindsight clearly technology. Straight up cheated in their last battle, there's going to have to be a rematch. ]

[blastedass]

Great, you're learning how to talk to people. Didn't you talk to your kaiju friends? [Probably not like this, considering Godzilla said he kept them in line, not chatted them up.] You wanna ask about dating, go for it! But some people don't like talking about it!

[He doesn't want to cut off the King of Kaiju's curiosity and potential topic offerings when he's getting to know people. But fair warning, not everyone has the same response to a topic. Ugh, it's like teaching a kid how to talk to people.

AND WHO THE HELL TAUGHT THIS GUY HOW TO USE EMOJIS?! Look at this littering!!]

I know Rodan and Ghidorah; they were your enemies. I don't recognize any of those others.

King Kong's there?! You better have kicked that monkey's fucking ass!!

[He's a Japanese guy alright. Loyalties!]

i am so sorry.

[30storieshigh]

[ He was going to answer that question but, well. Bakugo hit a button finally. ]

💢🦍=♔❓❓💢😡💢🤬💢🤬
💢😡💢🤬❗️❗️❗️
💢🦍=♔❌🚫💢
💢🦍=♟🐕🤏💀☠️⚰️⚱️❗️❗️❗️❗️👎💢🤬💢🤬💢

🐉=♚💪💪🗺️♚🏋️💯🎖️🥇

[ Literally too angry for words. KING Kong?! Since when was that upstart ape king!

okay so technically bakugo prolly wouldn't have referred to him as 'king' ... being japanese ...

[blastedass]

USE YOUR FUCKING WORDS!!
YOU'RE NOT A GODDAMN EGYPTIAN!!

[Not to mention Americans go crazy with "king" in their titles. Burger King. Sky King Fireworks. Tire King. King Doughnut. King me, when playing checkers.]