synflux | TRAVEL LOG #5

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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

When I got the style upgrade! It stuck me in one for an entire forty-eight hours. And that was when Wolfwood showed up, so I was just bawling and in a big poofy skirt for the whole thing.

( He thought he had a fairly good caffeine tolerance, but energy drinks? Not so much. Just give him coffee thick enough to stand a spoon in and he'll be fine from there. )

I felt like I was going to implode. Both physically and emotionally.

Tch, that fucking thing. [Bakugo rolls his eyes as he ducks his head slightly, moving his hood to keep the sun out of his face.] I don't trust it.

[So he never got it. Bakugo's one of the few who hasn't gotten a single internal upgrade from LILITH. His only requests have been external things, like his car, his motorcycle, and two pairs of tracker rings.]

Last year they stuck everyone who had one in maid outfits. [Which was a deliberate choice by that damn SD guy running the chips.

Ew. That strong a coffee? Vash'll be up for days.]

You're not gonna have to deal with that for now.

( Maid outfits! )

I probably wouldn't have minded that. The dress just had really huge skirts. I mean more skirt than was strictly necessary. I couldn't move. ( That might have been the real issue, that he'd been restricted in that particular way. New to Neo Tokyo and still actively thinking of fleeing at all times. ) At least with a maid outfit you only have the one layer? I think, anyway. I haven't actually seen any maids.

( Some dirty posters, once. On a garage wall. Bakugo doesn't need to know about those. )

So do you have any thoughts about what we're dealing with here?

Che, cause that kinda crap doesn't bother you much, Undercut. [Almost always cheerful and happy, taking even bad things with an easy stride. Something as stupid as maid outfits would be nothing more than initial embarrassed awkward, then accepted smiles. Vash is that kind of person.]

There's a few themed cafes in the city. [How does Bakugo know this? Because other people who think said cafes are cute have told him or tried to drag him there. Much to his heel-digging chagrin.]

We're gonna need to find a way to sleep despite the risk, or else it'll kill us when it shows up and we're sleep deprived.

( TAKE HIM TO THE MAID CAFE. )

I wonder how long it takes. Like if we had to be asleep for a certain amount of time couldn't we just have some kind of spotter? Someone to wake us up. Or at least not that, then warning signs? But nobody knows anything about it. And I'd rather not risk anyone.

( Could Vash take a nap just to see? Maybe. He'd do it. )

It feels like the one in Transylvania. I know possessing people is different from sleeping, but it's the same scale.

[LIKE HELL HE WILL!! ASK SOMEONE ELSE!!]

Know-it-All was working on those questions already. He's running experiments on volunteers. [Experiments likely being guarded sleep, timed sleep, deep sleep, and so forth. Bakugo trusts Ratio to handle the participating Outsiders intelligently and safely.] We're gonna have to take the risk. Most of us can't stay awake for two damn weeks without going insane or breaking down.

[Bakugo intends to sleep tonight, with someone watching over his sleep when they regroup.]

Aa. And the damn worm in Vegas. When the fuck did these things start messing with our brains?

( Know-It-All? Vash has no idea who that is, but he'll trust Bakugo and his assessment on other people. Maybe he could offer his help? But for now, the desert. ) You're probably right. Jeeze, they really are getting worse, huh?

( Each one, some different kind of phsychological effect. But are the kaiju getting stronger? Or are they just moving further into discovering more about the creatures they're fighting? Have they proven their mettle to LILITH and are now being sent up against worse kinds? Is there any real meaning to it all? )

Well, if you need to nap you should tell me. So I can keep watch.

[Ratio. Vash will eventually start to get used to and suss out Bakugo's nicknames. It's rare he ever changes them. They usually have something to do with a person's physical appearance or a quickly-realized character trait. Mostly childish insults. Go figure. Undercut.]

Aa. They're either getting smarter or realizing they're being hunted down.

[Which makes him wonder, if they are coming from the rifts, how long any one kaiju has been in this world at a given encounter. Years? A few months? Weeks? If they keep dying, and they're more intelligent than they seem, shouldn't that send a message back "home" not to come here?! Bastards.]

Hmph. Fine. You probably don't need as much sleep?

[Being a plant and all.]

Not as much as humans do, no.

( Rem used to tell them it was all right that he did, that his eight hours of rest against Nai's few didn't really mean anything. It had been a tiny splinter of conflict in amongst many. The same with food, water, his failings as a plant right from the beginning. )

Not that I think I'll have much issue here! So hopefully I can be useful in keeping an eye out. We'll definitely have to work together this time, I really hope we can figure out how to stick it out as teams.

( You know no beefing. )

I'm not surprised.

[Vash isn't human despite his appearance. Staying awake for long periods of time seems like something a plant would be capable of. And yet, he still sleeps, he eats, he drinks, things normal humans do anyways. So why not consider him human with his extra abilities? Just like Bakugo's not "human" in that he can blow shit up with his hands.]

I'll take a shift when you're feeling tired. Don't push yourself. [Added because he's pretty damn sure Vash would run himself to the edges so as to not burden his friends and allies.] The more well rested we are, the easier we'll wake up.

[As for working together... that goes without saying.]

I won't, I won't! ( He'll try very hard not to, and that has to count for something. ) You're right, either way. If we rest we're not likely to just drop. That'd make things easier for what's out there.

( A tuneless hum. )

Do people have quirks like this back home? Like are their any psychological powers going on?

Hmph. [Bakugo can't give him A Look from his position, not wanting to twist around and snap his neck in the desert heat. But Vash can hear it in his tone. That silent "you better" not make him worry.]

Aa. Some of our group's going to be stretched when it does attack. [Likely the ones who are guarding the others' sleep. They'll need to be ready to go with some energy shots and extra protection. But if they routinely switch up their sleeping schedules, no one should be too fucked over.]

About 80% of my world's population has a quirk. Some Quirks are psychological. My classmate's Quirk lets him brainwash people.

Yikes.

( As someone who has been very much brainwashed in the past, that gets a little shiver of feeling. It's fine, and he's fine, absolutely 100% over it, no more nightmares thank you very much, but -. )

They use it for good, right? If they're your classmate?

[Relax. Shinsou's Brainwashing isn't as intense as you think it is, Vash.]

Uh-huh. He was determined to be a hero even if everyone else thought his Quirk was more suited to a villain.

[Bakugo can understand where Shinsou came from on that. His Quirk was also thought of as villainous, but unlike Shinsou, he was far more vocal about his intentions and never let anyone think otherwise about him!

More people think Bakugo's a villain due to his attitude and language than his Quirk...]

Man, actually that must be pretty rough. People just assuming.

( Sympathetic, he gets it. )

So wait, is there a villain school too?

Aa. People can be assholes.

[Vash would know, wouldn't he.]

Hell no! People don't train to be villains!

Well, you never know! Some people join gangs to work their way up in the ranks, and that's pretty much like doing school things, right? Passing tests. Except it's less like, math and more how many kneecaps you can break.

( He's convinced many a poor child out of ganghood. )

I bet some world has a villain school.

Villains train to get stronger so they can do whatever the fuck they want. No one trains to be a villain.

[Well, maybe All for One could've been considered to do that, since apparently he was inspired to be a villain from way back when, but Bakugo wouldn't know that.]

Not my world. A lot of villains could've been prevented if one moment in their lives had been different.

Yeah?

( He hums. )

I guess that's the same for most worlds. Usually when someone's giving me an evil monologue they bring up something specific. I always thought it was funny. Like you never give big speeches on something that made you decide to be good, right? ( Well, maybe he hasn't. He doesn't know. He thinks of his brother either way, and the sweeping statements he makes. There's never one moment, though Vash can guess. Tesla. The turning point for both of them. ) Ah well, I'm glad there's no villain school.

Because most heroes don't waste their time going on stupid motive rants. Villains always try to justify their crimes and actions, because they know they're fucking wrong and wanna make it seem like they're right.

[Some villains have legitimate concerns, and he regrets the missing aspect of each villain's backstory which could've been avoided "if only-" fill in the blank, had been addressed. But it doesn't give them an excuse to be fucking criminals.]

It's rare a group of villains gang up into something large enough to rival the heroes set up around the nation.

That's good! That you're not usually outnumbered, I mean. And I guess you might be right, I don't know anyone who sets out to be a bad guy, things just -- happen?

( He's been sympathetic for most of the "villains" he comes across. Whether or not they give him the backstory as it comes. But there are more interesting things. )

Wait, the whole planet has heroes? Not just where you're from?

Usually. [What happened in his world before he came here was an unprecedented alliance between villains his world had never seen before. And the clash was...]

Some people do. They're messed up in the head, they like seeing people suffer. [Some men just want to watch the world burn. Doesn't excuse them. But in rare cases, a villain will be a villain for no other reason than to be a villain.]

Aa. 80% of my world's population have Quirks, so ever nation has heroes and villains.

[The world's a superhero society.]

Oh! That's real fun.

( Listen, if he could be anything else other than a plant shaped nuke that would have worked really well for him. Maybe he'd have liked something to do with speed. Running. )

I wonder if there's any overlap? Do people have the same ones? Is it like one per nation? Or are they all different?

[He's talking to a guy who's a walking bomb. Vash being a plant-shaped nuke doesn't determine who he is or what he can do. Use both plant and nuke facets to help people and he's as much a hero as Bakugo and the others in the blonde's world. At least that's how Bakugo will look at it.

Even if Vash having a running Quirk would be kinda hilarious, given how gangly he can look while running.]

Quirks are individual. Some families can pass down similar or the same Quirk. My classmate's Quirk gives him engines in his calves; his brother's Quirk is the same, but his engines are in his elbows.

[For example.]

( Vash leans around Bakugo to peer down the endless sound, which means his resulting laugh is a burst of noise just slightly off from his eardrum, sorry. )

In his calves? What does that do? Faster? More powerful? Does it hurt? Does he have to use gas? Man, expensive.

▶ 001. EYES WIDE OPEN.

▶ 002. ARRIVAL IN EGYPT.

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

▶ 004. FEELING SANDY (DESERT EXPLORATION.)

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

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