synflux | TRAVEL LOG #5

TRAVEL LOG #5

CONTENT WARNINGS: death, nightmares, gun violence, survival scenario

▶ 001. EYES WIDE OPEN.

"Angels of Lilith, report for duty in the DISPATCH."

The day starts off with alarms blaring and oculars shining bright lights in the Outsiders' heads, waking them up early for an emergency dispatch. Although the current Rift at Mt. Fuji needs to be explored and examined, the Rifts continue to appear in different parts of the world, and this Rift is no different. Captain Yamakawa continues,

"We have received a distress call from EGYPT. Much of the region fell during the first kaiju crisis. Now it is a desolate land that survives with the help of a generator called an ESSENCE which is currently malfunctioning. We assume the cause is Rift energy—according to our radar, there is a heavy amount of Rift energy coming from that area. We will move out immediately. Pack all the things you may need, but each Outsider will be supplied with a care package of their own containing essentials."

Even though it is 4:00 AM Tokyo time, LILITH hopes you all have slept well. It could be the very last good sleep in awhile. While the dataportal to Egypt is operational on Japan's end, because of the malfunctioning generator, Outsiders are unable to come out on the other side. The old method of using the flying cruiser will be used once again.

There will not be assigned seating for this other than by teams. Everlights will sit with Everlights, Brimstones with Brimstones, and so on. The Outsiders will be encouraged to rest on the flight, and a few hours before landing, an in-flight meal will be provided. The meal is surprisingly delicious and consists of chicken or pork katsu cutlet, but with the warning that all Outsiders will know about: it contains high amount of cyber caffeine. This sort of newly innovative caffeine can keep Outsiders awake for several days, but sometimes it may cause restlessness or hyperactivity, causing characters to have a jittery amount of energy but razor sharp focus. Other times, it simply keeps characters awake and they feel no different. The cutlet will be served with KAIJU™ Energy Drink. Any Outsiders that require a different diet will be provided with what they need, and the cyber caffeine will be added to it if they would like.

Yamakawa gives instructions again:

"We have received more information about the kaiju. Civilians have died in their sleep from horrible nightmares, and we are encouraging Outsiders to sleep together in pairs or groups, or disregard sleeping at all until we obtain more information. We are still receiving facts about this monster, but this meal will help with keeping everyone awake as a safety measure."

Those who do not want to have the highly caffeinated meal can have everyone's favorite: a ration bar that isn't spiked with any energy, but it doesn't taste good at all. Outsiders may be more likely to fall asleep and be in danger by choosing this meal. The balance of a dystopian society.

▶ 002. ARRIVAL IN EGYPT.

When they finally arrive, the air is temperate and dry in Alexandria. The Outsiders might have to check their clocks once more to make sure everything is right; everyone is expected to land in the late afternoon and every clock says it should be close to evening, but the city is already growing dark with the sun setting quite early. Because of the ESSENCE disruption, Alexandria is running on back up energy, which makes for spotty lighting and loss of basic power.

LILITH will be greeted by a small group of researchers at the airport and they will help take the Outsiders to their base: the Alexandria Institute which was once the University of Alexandria. They will give the Outsiders a quick run down of the situation and some background.

1. LILITH does not have a strong defense branch in the region any more. Instead, the branch here seems more focused on research, especially on the origin of kaiju and rifts.
2. This region is extremely prone to spontaneous Rifts. Many of them are small and pass quickly but this most recent one is unprecedented.
3. One evening, in the final week of March, the Alexandria Institute received a corrupt file from their fellow researchers in Greece. It shut down much of their research facility (including their warp portal) and all they have been able to recover so far are the words, "Do Not Go To Sleep."
4. The next morning, they awoke to find the sun rising later and setting earlier. It feels like the days are getting significantly shorter.
5. Many locals developed a fear of the dark and going to sleep. They would then die in their sleep within the next few days.
6. The autopsy of these victims have shown no cause of death, puzzling coroners.

Progress has been slow because the corrupt file shut down many of their facilities. They have not been able to track the source of the Rift or identify the kaiju responsible for it. They believe the answers may be within the corrupt file and will be happy to receive any help they can get from the Outsiders.

When they arrive at the Institute, Outsiders will be set up in the old student dormitories. Each room has 2-4 beds depending on the room, with a common shared area on each floor. Given the current threat, there is also a supply of energy drinks and bars boosted with cyber caffeine. Outsiders have two options:

1. OPTION ONE: Stay in Alexandria and help the researchers with the generators, while keeping themselves and teammates awake during the night by playing games.
2. OPTION TWO: Go out into the Egyptian desert on camel-back, spending time getting to know their camel before heading out.

OOC NOTE: While players may write prompts for both options, we ask that you submit for a clue only once per player (not per character, as we have a lot of characters in game now!)

▶ 003. LEARN & EXPLORE. (ALEXANDRIA RESEARCH.)

Times are hard in Alexandria right now with their generators malfunctioning and efforts being split. The researchers are trying to get the generators back up and uncorrupt the data they received from Greece. LILITH will instruct the Outsiders to help with the research but also warn that they cannot afford to just sit around and wait to crack codes. The researchers also agree. Sometimes the best way to get research data is to go out into the field, but they haven't been able to do it due to not having much protection. The desert is vast, and there have been sightings of other small kaiju lurking beneath the sand and in some smaller cities.

Outsiders can decide to stay in the city of Alexandria to help crack the codes, or they can opt to go out into the field. For the latter, they can choose to stay close to home and investigate within Alexandria.

Those who wish to help with the ESSENCE generators and researchers will stay in Alexandria, using any downtime when not investigating to try and stay awake, slumber-party style. Two Truths and a Lie? Maybe Spin The Bottle? Perhaps some games can keep Outsiders enticed so they don't doze off.

▶ 004. FEELING SANDY (DESERT EXPLORATION.)

For those who wish to explore the desert and smaller cities, Alexandria Institute will supply what they need, such as water, food, essential tools for digging, sleeping bags (no sleeping, but maybe for resting!) and anything else. To conserve energy, the researchers supply camels for the Outsiders to use. The camels are mostly tame, but have their own distinct personalities, so they may need a little more handling and can be coaxed to behave with treats like artificial carrots and bananas. Outsiders can spend time getting to know their camel if they are going to explore the desert or cities. A camel can seat two people on its back comfortably, but also carry any essentials that travelers need to bring along.

In the distant small cities and across the desert, Outsiders will come across Sand Crocodiles, one of the smaller kaiju that have been inhabiting the desert. These monsters are basically crocodiles but with a twist: they can spit fire if angered and they can camouflage in the sand. They hide strategically, and one wrong step will cause them to push their jaws out of the ground, harming a person or camel. The stubby quills along their backs or rounds of their horns aren't entirely covered while hiding, so watch carefully. Fortunately, Outsiders will be supplied with a shotgun. Aiming between the eyes or in the mouth will kill it, but also beating it with the back of the shotgun will also do the trick. And yes, they also taste like crocodile too, if anyone is hungry.

After exploring, Outsiders are requested to report their findings back in Alexandria.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our fourth travel log!

Welcome to the new and improved Travel Log! Below, you will see the link to the MONSTER DEBRIEF SHEET post that has information about the kaiju below along with RIFT EFFECTS. Fill out the form for RNG Attacks and whether you would like to receive a RIFT EFFECT. This should give characters some ideas for the status of their character in the next log, which will have more action and monsters in it. Outsiders may use the CHAT to report and discuss any findings.

We thank you in advance for your patience as we try out this new format!

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

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. EYES WIDE OPEN: Outsiders travel to Egypt after receiving reports of their power generator, ESSENCE, being unstable and malfunctioning, leaving citizens in peril. They are instructed to "stay awake." They are supplied cyberpunk caffeine and told to try not to sleep or stay in pairs to be watchful of any danger.

2. ARRIVING IN EGYPT: Arriving in Alexandria, the Outsiders are confirmed that citizens have been dying in their sleep, with coroners unable to determine the cause. The days are mysteriously getting shorter and people are unable to stay awake.

3. LEARN & EXPLORE: Outsiders are given options to stay in Alexandria to help with the generator or find clues to assist the research team. Between researching, they are asked to continue to stay awake by any means possible. Those who will be exploring the desert and smaller cities for clues are given a camel for transportation. Outsiders are encouraged to get to know their camel before traveling.

4. FEELING SANDY: While looking for any clues out in the desert, Outsiders encounter smaller kaiju known as Sand Crocodiles. They hide in the sand and attack at the opportune time, snapping jaws and spitting fire. Shooting them between the eyes or in the mouth will K.O. them.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He'd seen the signs. Bleary eyes, normally steady hands shaking, a rising temper at needing to read something multiple times to pick up on the point. And even though it technically wasn't his place to stick his nose in, Muramasa had probably saved someone's life by stepping in and steering Rin away from an imminent Tohsaka-style bloodbath.

Just rest. I'll make sure nothing happens to you, was the promise he had made when she sat down on the couch in the one of the common rooms, and hugged her knees up to her chest. He'd stood over her, a rude imitation of Shirou in his LILITH-issued clothes, gently trying to pry the energy drink from her hand with a firm grip that brokered no argument. You might be the best mage here, but even the best have limits, was his argument, and based on how quickly she'd nodded off, he was right. She slept safely for a time, but when she wakes... things are different.

A white haori pours over her shoulders and curled knees, almost onto the floor. The smell of woodsmoke and something harder to identify, like the faint salty spray of the sea carried inland on a cold, autumn wind, clings to the silk fabric, enveloping her. Coupled with the solid, warm weight against her side, the feeling is safe, and almost homey. Almost enough to forget the danger of dying in one's sleep, or that they've been carted halfway across the world to slay a monster that nobody knows enough about, or even being summoned across universes away from home.

That is to say nothing about the haori's owner sleeping slumped against Rin's side, cheek pressed into the jut of her shoulder bone.

In his readiness to care for Rin, Muramasa had failed to correctly asses his own state. He hadn't realized the gravity of the situation—that in his homeland, he had been living off a double dose of renown, existing easily despite a mild expenditure of energy because of it. Nothing in comparison to the mana he could pull from the Foreign God to survive, but he had mistaken his good fortune for the truth of the matter, and not changed his behavior in the slightest. Always working, always moving.

So maybe it was a sudden reminder when holding her hand and feeling the power running along her circuits, that he hadn't been receiving new energy himself, just using it. Maybe it was something about the girl herself, affecting his vessel in a way that made vulnerabilities rise up when he'd never had to contend with them before. Whatever the reason, exhaustion had crept up on him and beaten him soundly over the head with a hammer minutes after Rin had fallen asleep herself: one moment he'd been checking her pulse to make sure her heartbeat was steady and healthy, and the next, he was nodding off in the direction of the nearest source of mana.

Now, Rin's hand rests on his thigh, trapped between rough, solid hands: one of Muramasa's thumbs is still in its original position against the soft skin on the inside of her wrist, a remnant from when he was properly keeping watch on her heartbeat. He's warm too, like banked coals ready to be brought to full heat with little more than a fresh batch of charcoal and a pump of the bellows. As she wakes, she can begin to feel his body's hungry pull on her excess mana, which is slowly slipping out through her hand into his where their skin touches.

For his part, he doesn't even stir, breathing softly and steadily. ]

Edited 2025-04-04 17:39 (UTC)

[ They had been told not to sleep, and Rin was nothing if not determined to make the best of this... situation. She tries to give herself grace with it — she'd been here a month, she still struggles with the ocular implant, she still doesn't know how to feel about her bodily autonomy being violated to implant it in the first place. But she's also not going to buck the rules, and if she's been asked to not sleep, then she'll stay awake.

Most mages have their own ways of keeping themselves up when need be, but all of them require more mana than Rin is willing to really part with when there are other, non-mage, ways to try and stay awake. While her mana isn't as limited as someone who doesn't carry her circuits, it's still a finite resource (albeit one she can replenish, given enough time). So. Monster energy drinks and coffee it is, which allows a person to stay awake, but... isn't exactly great for their temper. Especially if they're already on a short fuse.

She protests as he steers her towards the couch, but even to her own ears she can hear the exhaustion in it despite her efforts to keep it at bay. Well, she thinks as she settles, curling her knees up and closing her eyes. Maybe five minutes won't hurt.

It's that scent that wakes her. That scent of woodsmoke and something else, something nostalgic that she can't quite put her finger on but makes her think of happier days. The weight on her shoulders and legs comes next, followed by the heavier weight pressed into her side, the tactile roughness of skin against her wrist, and now she wakes all at once, the heat of his hands burning a brand into her palm and there's a distant part of her that thinks she's going to feel the heat of his thumb on her skin for the rest of her life. She's careful when she moves to get a better look at him, only just barely able to see his face pressed to her shoulder.

For one of the few times in her life, Rin doesn't know what to do. She doesn't dare disturb him, not with how peaceful he looks. And she can feel him absorbing her mana like a sponge — she's clearly not the only one who's needed the rest, and she's not going to deny him what he plainly needs to recover. And, perhaps, if she's allowing herself a little bit of honesty, it's nice. It's what she and Shirou would have done had she not been dragged here, right? Or at least something similar.

She knows it's not him. She knows. But, just for a moment, she lets herself pretend.

It can't last, though, at least not this way. Her legs are starting to cramp, and with a tinge of regret she slowly starts to move, trying her best to not disturb him while still stretching her legs out under the haori until her feet are resting on the floor. She only jostles him a couple of times, but at least her hand is still in his, and she tries to shift back to where he'd been resting previously but the movement is just a hair too much and before she can stop it he's slipping down her torso until his head rests in her lap, the haori sliding down to pool at her feet. It takes her another moment to compose herself, and she reaches down for the haori, doing her best to toss it over him like a blanket.

And then she picks his hand back up, and starts letting her mana flow back into him. ]

[ Sleep is a strange bedfellow — one he's never really taken the time to meet until this point. After all, why bother? As a Servant, he had no real need for it. His body generated more than enough magical energy on its own, and coupled with the mana he received as a Disciple of the Foreign God, there was no reason to ever use sleep as a mitigation effort. Even here, with dwindling reserves, he hadn't picked up the habit, finding a better use of his time in helping to do repairs, or watching over the group.

He'd meant to do more of the same once she'd rested, but once he'd taken Rin's hand in his, and felt her mana under her skin... Muramasa had sat there at her side, feeling that steady ththump-ththump, and was intoxicated. No better than the serpent, drunk on sake, and sleep felled him with a single stroke as he was drawn in to the single point of her pulse.

Now, on her lap, he radiates heat like a banked set of coals; his magic circuits constantly imitating the concept he embodies, a thing that makes swords. The forge itself, his Noble Phantasm with that burning field of blades. In the cooler night temperatures, and the longer darkness, Muramasa is constantly warm. It probably feels nice, to have him there, slumped over sideways on the couch. His shoulder burns warm against the side of her leg, his breath slowly sending a warm pool of heat through the fabric of her pants as he continues to slumber. Unconsciously, his fingers curl around her hand once more, spurred by upsetting dreams.

In a few minutes, he very may well wake up on his own, angered by the sight of her trapped, that dead hero, and the fake priest all in at one. For now, he's merely trapped in her memory, a witness to something that should never have been revealed to him, or his vessel. ]

Edited 2025-04-14 03:53 (UTC)

TRAVEL LOG #5