synflux | TRAVEL LOG #6

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TRAVEL LOG #6

TRAVEL LOG #6

CONTENT WARNINGS: sickness, insects/bugs, rift poisoning, mutated animals, poison (and poisonous creatures), blood offerings.

▶ 001. ¡Vamos!

As much as one might want to take things easy and continue to recover from an eventful summer, LILITH's objective continues. Early in August, an alarm blares and everyone will get a call through their implants to come for debriefing. Yamakawa will explain they have received a request from Mexico City for support. Unusual rift activity has been confirmed in the region and they are asking for support to prepare for imminent conflict. Who knows what could await here?

Fortunately, the request is from their LILITH branch and all facilities are operational. It will be easy to use a data portal for easy access. As with all data portals, the Outsiders will be warned of potential side effects that may come from traveling great distances. Side effects include nausea, headaches, dizziness, and occasional glitching with their cybertech. All effects should wear off within 24 to 48 hours. If symptoms last longer, they are urged to seek meditech assistance in Mexico City to receive stabilizers. Like before, Outsiders will be told that making physical contact with one another by any means during transportation can reduce the risk of feeling any side effects, whether it be an embrace or holding hands... or attempting to strangle someone if you're a hater (looking at you, Silco.)

Due to warping, they will be limited to taking only what they can carry. Those who wish to take larger items will have to wait a few days for them to be gradually transported by air or industrial warp portals. Yamakawa and the rest of the staff in Tokyo will tell everyone not to worry because Mexico City has excellent infrastructure to facilitate their transportation needs.

Everyone will be given 24 hours to pack and prepare for departure. Before they leave, Dr. Spim and Alex will inform them of a promising research opportunity under the guidance of a colleague, Dr. Flores. Dr. Spim will share a verification code with them to show to Dr. Flores if they are interested in assisting.

After 24 hours, everyone will be ordered to warp to Mexico City. In an instant, the Outsiders will find themselves at the LILITH base in Mexico City.

▶ 002. SKYSCRAPERS AND TREES.

An officer by the name of Morales will greet them and introduce herself as their point of contact. She'll give everyone a debrief file to download through their implants to instantly get them up to speed. Along with the unusual rift activity, the population has started to show symptoms that have given them cause for concern. Many people are falling ill, becoming lethargic, and demonstrating explosively angry, violent, and otherwise acting out. The longer it goes on, the more people are affected, and it’s starting to cause more trouble in the city itself as infrastructure fails.

When they leave the base, they will find themselves in the warm, humid, and very green metropolis of Mexico City. Over the years, the forests and jungles of the region have swallowed up many towns and cities, leaving the city completely surrounded by forest. The locals have embraced their environment over many years while modernizing, resulting in the city having a mix of cyber technology and nature. Mexico City and the rainforest around it almost seems to be one living, thriving being. The plants naturally shade the hot sidewalks, and people have created a large number of filtered reservoirs that the rainforest thrives from. The large canopies are half as high as the remaining skyscrapers, but most buildings are built underneath the treeline, leaving most thriving underneath the shady canopy.

Outsiders may see some "new" animals such as real hummingbirds, butterflies, macaws, and iguanas with unique traits like neon designs and unusual sizes. They say there are even more animals and variants in the jungle. Beware of certain birds and insects that make locals sick when they come in contact with their dropped pollen. In the same vein, some of the flowers and plant life seem to also show rift mutations, but for the most part, most locals seem unbothered by these, and if Outsiders ask, they’ll be informed that they’ve been like that for a long time, and were never of any concern.

Outsiders can also meet with Dr. Flores, a LILITH researcher who is studying the effects of Rift poisoning and how to counter them. He theorizes that some plants may have evolved to purify the air or treat Rift sickness. In fact, his team has been treating some of these new rift poisoning cases with a trial drug that has had promising results. However, supplies are very limited and he needs help collecting more plants from the forest. In addition, he needs help catching some of the animal carriers so he can understand the nature of the poison they are carrying. He will ask for help capturing butterflies, bees, beetles, and hummingbirds.

▶ 003. THE FUTURE WILL BE GREEN.

The Outsiders will be given orders to visit areas that have unusual Rift readings. By now, anyone with large items from Tokyo should have them but for those who do not have vehicles, LILITH Mexico will supply them with jeeps to navigate the dense jungles. LILITH Japan will assist local agents who are exploring the south of the city. Outsiders will also be given an additional file to download that will give them a run-down of the area, including the plants, animals, known paths, and key landmarks.

The journey through the jungle is not easy. While there are access roads, they have suddenly become overgrown with plantlife, and it is increasingly hostile. They will have to get out and clear the path in some places. As they head deeper into the jungle, the plant life becomes more wild and shows signs of mutation. They will find vines that grow quickly in front of their eyes, blocking their paths as quickly as they had cleared them, and they are becoming increasingly dangerous with spined, poisonous vines, wild roving carnivores like jaguars, and large predatory birds that will divebomb outsiders as they progress deeper into the forests. Luckily, if they make it deep enough, the locals will help them find the easiest and safest routes to travel.

Some of these roads might lead them to former cities and towns. These towns have been completely overgrown by plantlife and are largely abandoned save for some stubborn families that refused to leave their homelands and some researchers. They are largely friendly and will help the Outsiders and agents who decide to rest on their journeys.

They may be able to scavenge for supplies like old emergency rations, blankets, and pieces of technology that were left behind decades ago. But be careful! Since these areas have been taken over by nature, they may run into common regional kaiju like mutated wild dogs, monkeys, and even jaguars.

▶ 004. NATURE FINDS A WAY.

The kaiju and mutated plants aren't the only thing they need to watch out for in the forest. While traveling, some outsiders might find a regular jaguar attacking a mutated macaw kaiju and winning. It seems that while some animals have mutated into kaiju to survive, other animals have simply evolved to compete with them. As outsiders progress into the forest, at first the local fauna will attack if anyone gets close to them, but the deeper outsiders go, the more the creatures give them a wider berth, and won’t attack. If you see a local, non-corrupted creature deep in the woods, chances are it will watch or flee, rather than attack.

Outsiders will be warned to be careful of poisonous frogs both regular and mutated. These frogs are often a sign that pitcher plants are nearby. These plants have evolved to be large enough to swallow a large animal or person if one gets too close. For the most part, these pitcher plants are stationary but some may use their leaves or nearby wild vines to trip unsuspecting prey into their flower.

These aren’t the only plants that outsiders can encounter as they venture deeper into the forest. The deeper they go, the more frequently rift-corrupted pollinators are found swarming some of the large, rift-corrupted flowers, and as soon as their legs or beaks are laden, they fly off, only to be replaced by more. They aren’t great carriers, so pollen drifts on the wind. Outsiders should keep their rift-protection up, because the pollen causes rift-corruption along with other side effects such as: violent tendencies, explosive anger, and insatiable appetites (of any kind). The pollinators will escape deeper into the forest. If an outsider follows, please let the mod team know!

▶ 005. THERE WERE ONCE CITIES.

As Outsiders travel further into the jungle where civilization has a harder and harder time taking root, they instead find remnants of those that came before. There are buildings in the lush jungles, but they’re truly ancient. Sometimes, the stonework stands out and is easy to find, but at other times, the buildings are completely overgrown with vines and flowers that will take extra effort to explore. Regardless of which kind they find, the carved, geometric artwork makes it clear that these are ruins from Aztec and Mayan cultures.

Exploring the ruins will reveal very little in the way of ancient treasures (or rolling boulder traps), since anything that could be taken was already looted long ago. They’ll make suitable shelter for the forest, at least, since curiously, the more dangerous elements don’t seem to enter. In fact, they very specifically stay away.

Each set of ruins also includes one building that stands above all others. Ascending the tall pyramids will lead to a central, round room at the apex that are all united in its details, even if they’re clearly done at different times. The ceiling is dotted as a starscape, and at the center is a painted, black circle. Underneath this lays what’s clearly an altar. The altar has a depression in its center and a channel that leads down its side, as if it’s expecting liquid.

OFFERING: THE BLOOD OF OUTSIDERS AND HUMANS:

No matter the amount, characters immediately feel lightheaded, as if they’d given a large portion of blood (even if they’re not giving their own).

Within 24 hours, an unusually patterned bruise will appear somewhere on their body.

Characters who make this sacrifice will swap abilities with each other, but will notice that their newfound abilities are notably weaker than if the original owner still had them.

OFFERING: THE BLOOD OF ANIMALS:

Characters become more connected to the animals of the forest.

They will take on one feature of a local animal, such as lightly poisonous skin, improved night vision, or ears/tail.

They’ll also find they can talk to their related animal.

OFFERING: ... OTHER BODILY FLUIDS...?:

The altar is disappointed in you.

There is no other effect.

OFFERING: WATER/PLANT SAP:

Characters become more connected to the forest.

Skin takes on a greenish tint, and they’re able to minorly control plants.

They’ll feel like they can commune with the forest, and will be able to telepathically talk with any others who make this offering.

OFFERING: ANYTHING ELSE (ANY OTHER MATERIALS):

There is no effect.

▶ 006. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our sixth travel log! Below, you will see the link to the MONSTER DEBRIEF SHEET post that has information about the kaiju below along with OFFERING EFFECTS. Fill out the form for RNG Attacks and whether you would like to receive an OFFERING 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.

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

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. VAMOS!: Outsiders travel to Mexico after receiving a request for support as there has been unusual rift activity in the area. A portal is avaliable to take Outsiders to the location, but are advisted to travel light.

2. SKYSCRAPERS AND TREES: LILITH officer Morales greets outsiders and explains the situation: civillians have begun to grow sick and strange animals have begun to appear. A LILITH researcher is theorising that plants have evolved to purify the air. He requests help catching creatures for research.

3. THE FUTURE WILL BE GREEN: Outsiders are tasked with visiting areas with odd Rift readings. They will be required to journey through the jungle, finding overgrown towns and cities, scavenge supplies, while being wary of native creatures.

4. NATURE FINDS A WAY: Regular animals are fighting against kaiju and winning; local fauna attacks anyone who gets close, and poisonous frogs attack. The deeper Outsiders go, the more dangerous it becomes.

5. THERE WERE ONCE CITIES: Deep in the jungle, an ancient ruin can be found. Outsiders are able to make "offerings" at an altar for various effects, depending on the offering.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ no warning, no nothing, just entering with no preamble (but a quick greeting to any choso-shaped person in the vicinity, if there are any)— ]

I know you said weapons. What else? No mission brief packets? Data files? Do we bring our own medkits? Who's our support contact, do we have the equivalent of windows coming with us?

—I brought you chips, too. Here.

[ gently handed over! because they are fragile! megumi doesn't hesitate to sit himself on yuji's bed once it's done. ]

Hey, thanks!

[ Yuji shifts to make space for him, no hesitation, even as he opens that bag of chips without second guessing it. ]

We get all that stuff in our implants, so it's not like we have anything to bring. I've never brought medical supplies since I can heal other people, and...

[ He tilts his head, gazing at Megumi. ]

I haven't got a clue about the rest.

[ megumi rests his chin on one hand, that same hand's arm resting an elbow on his thigh as he squints at yuji. ]

I usually go through the mission brief with Ijichi-san or Nitta-san at least the night before. On the drive over if it's a surprise mission.

Mexico City is new, right? It's in North America?

[ he hasn't been outside of asia, unlike gojo-sensei. the farthest he's gotten was ride-along with gojo to mainland china when he was much younger. he's a little excited, truthfully, even if it's not the same mexico city from his home. ]

Hey. Did you ever read the mission info back home?

Yeah, you had the iPad that one time, didn't you?

[ Yuji leans back, comfortable, as he munches on his offering. ]

North America sounds right. [ Yuji has been to a lot of places now, thanks to LILITH, even if some of them have been better than others. Hearing the edge of something in his friend's voice, he looks over, frowning. ]

I didn't go on that many missions, Megumi.

Yeah, they let me borrow the iPad sometimes, they trust me to get it back in one piece.

[ megumi reaches into the chip bag and takes a few for himself as well. ]

But you went on them with sensei, right? When— After the detention centre. When he was training you?

[ Why does Yuji feel like he wasn't trusted with the iPad...

Anyway. ]

There wasn't anything to read for those, though. Gojo-sensei took me to see a domain and teleported me there, and the other mission was with Nanamin and I was told what to do by him and Ijichi-san.

[ considering what happened to slaughter demon... ]

So they just— do they just throw you into the fray and called it a day??? Yuji.

[ he's a bit alarmed. scratch that, he's a lot alarmed. what the hell was the point of their mission prep classes, then? megumi grabs yuji by the shoulders. ]

We're doing things a bit different from sensei. Sensei is insane, please don't use him as a role model.

I was meant to be dead! They couldn't make it official, or the higher ups would've found out!

[ It's totally fine and normal, right? Maybe this explains a little bit of his recklessness... Either way, he reaches up, grabbing Megumi's hands with a laugh. ]

It's not that big of a deal! We can handle whatever the kaiju is, no problem.

Doesn't mean he couldn't have shared information! Who were you going tell back then? Like you said, you were supposed to be dead.

[ he stutters on dead, gets the word stuck somewhere between his heart and his mouth. he still remembers how grief-stricken he was at the time; even kugisaki had shed tears. a heart ripped out and left to bleed, literally. megumi eases his grip, sits back more sedately. ]

It can't hurt to prepare, that's all. [ megumi gets a bit quiet, then. ] I'm... I think I'm a little scared.

Oh.

[ Yuji remembers, suddenly, that this is Megumi's first mission here - and the first serious mission since he was freed from Sukuna's control. Shifting a little, he nudges his friend gently, his smile softening but still bright. ]

We'll get more information about the kaiju when we get there, and then we can make a plan. We can do this together, can't we?

I don't doubt we can do it. You guys got me back despite all odds, didn't you? We have Okkotsu-senpai and sensei and everyone with us. And all of the Outsiders too, with all sorts of abilities.

I'm not worried about that part.

[ so what is he worried about? ]

He's not in here anymore, right? He's... If I fight and I lose control, he's not— He won't be there. He won't be able to hurt anyone anymore.

It can be tough sometimes, but we deal with the kaiju. The only time we didn't was because we made a bad decision.

[ The less said about Korea the better.

But... It does all make sense, and Yuji leans in, getting up to kneel and reach out to hold Megumi's face. ]

He's gone. I know it.

I know, [ he says weakly, the words trailing off into a soft sigh. megumi's hands reach out for yuji's own, sliding his hands to yuji's wrists and taking hold there. ] I know.

But I'm still scared about about what could happen. I still have nightmares about it.

I thought it was bad when you died. I thought it couldn't get any worse, but thinking Sukuna could've used my body to kill you and I couldn't have stopped it—

[ he leans in, pressing his forehead to yuji's own. ]

It haunts me, okay?

[ Yuji breathes out shakily.

He's had a few months, now, to process what happened. To deal with the strange, unyielding grief. To try and push it all into a box and not think about it, to let the breakdowns come even when he fights against them. It's so fresh for his friend, so painfully new, and he doesn't want to ignore that - but he doesn't want to feed the hurt either.

It might be a lose-lose, but...

He closes his eyes. ]

I'm here. I won't let that happen. I beat him once, and I'd do it again. I'd do it a thousand times for you, Megumi.

[ Start by saving me, Itadori. ]

[ it'll be so lonely without you. ]

I know you would. So that's why you can't let yourself get hurt. If you die, I'm going to bring you back and kill you myself, and then bring you back again. I don't know how that works, but I'll figure it out. Even if I have to rope Okkotsu-senpai and everyone else in.

[ a watery threat; not so effective when megumi's cross-eyed and teary-eyed and so close to yuji like this. ]

I never regretted you. It was true that first time we fought together, and it's still true even now. So you have to prepare for this fight, even a little.

You have to come back safe.

Edited 2025-08-01 14:29 (UTC)

I might get hurt, Megumi. We're fighting a kaiju.

[ But he knows what his friend means. He can't go out of his way to get hurt, he can't be reckless, he can't be stupid. If Yuji had told Megumi a bit more depth about what had happened in June, he'd definitely be in a lot more trouble, but he bites his tongue on that.

Instead, he sighs, nodding his head. ]

We'll both come back safe. As soon as we get the information from LILITH, we can make a real plan of action. How about that?

Mahoraga's like a kaiju, when you think about it. Maybe I'll just let him out and wreck things until he's tired.

[ too glib, too light — megumi doesn't even know if the shikigami will listen to him, even if he knows with certainty that it'll answer his call now. sukuna had gifted him the shikigami, the way a crazed animal gifts its a hostaged prey its dead pack. ]

But your plan works too. Probably that's safer for everyone, including me.

[ see? he's trying. he worries his lip a bit, too, as something else comes up. a reminder from his conversation with geto-san earlier. ]

Can I... I have something else to tell you, too. Don't be mad.

No way! You're definitely not doing anything like that!

[ The immediate defensiveness might be from the fact that Yuji has seen that particular shikigami in action, and while he's mostly fond of all the things that Megumi can summon... He can't find it in himself to have any fondness for that one.

Not after everything that it's done. Not after the violence, the death, who...

Yeah. ]

Right. [ Leaning back on his haunches, he nods. ] What's up?

[ megumi gets it, nods grimly in response. mahoraga was always his backpocket emergency card, his last-ditch effort to protect people at the cost of his own well-being. to have that corrupted and twisted from his hands, by his own hands — megumi doesn't know if he can ever forgive himself for it. ]

Not until it's necessary. And even then, not if there are other ways to fight. I promise.

[ he sits back far enough so he can look yuji properly in the eyes, but doing so feels too intense only seconds in. megumi looks away instead, pins his gaze somewhere around yuji's knee. ]

I think it's fine to say this now. Uhm. You and Kuzunoha-san are together, and I'm supportive of you. I'm not saying any of this to cause a problem, or mess things up. I just want to be honest with you.

[ moment of truth. deep breaths. ]

Itadori Yuji. I like you.

[ Huh. ]

[ It shouldn't come as a surprise, but it is still, a little. He had wondered, before, and it feels weird to get it again, and it's a little bit confusing and all, but...

Doesn't this prove that Megumi's feelings are genuine?

It's a shame, though, to confess twice and not get a good response... It's like they're in some kind of shojo manga or something. Yuji wonders, absently, if Gojo-sensei would find this funny or not...

In the end, he just blinks at his friend. ]

[ And he holds a thumbs up. ]

I knew that already.

[ wait, what- ]

—Huh?

[ what does this— did his previous self already confess? why did nobody tell him? why didn't yuji tell him? he knew all this time and just let megumi continue on like nothing's happened? he's been sleeping over! in the same bed!!! they've been doing things no differently from before and megumi's grateful for the lack of judgement but he would've like to know and this is starting to spiral very quickly oh no does yuji think he's desperate or does he think megumi's having a trauma-related anxiety response and is confused he's pretty sure he's not confused whatishesupposedtodothisissoembarrassingwhydidheevensayanthing——— ]

[ in the end megumi doesn't think anything at all and whacks yuji with full force right on the face with a pillow. ]

▶ 001. ¡Vamos!

▶ 002. SKYSCRAPERS AND TREES.

▶ 003. THE FUTURE WILL BE GREEN.

▶ 004. NATURE FINDS A WAY.

▶ 005. THERE WERE ONCE CITIES.

▶ 006. AFTERWORD.

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uses the exact same panel icon hehe

ipad kid fr

hehehe

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1/3

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done

1/3

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