TRAVEL LOG #6

[synfluxmods]

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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Comments

[shadowban]

Healing... but don't you already have RCT?

[ he's not too concerned, but he does wonder. why get a healing implant if you can already heal yourself with your own abilities? but megumi supposes if it's choosing between a healing boost versus sending pain down a psychic connection, he'd choose the implant too.

depending on who's on the other end, anyway. ]

Teleportation sounds cool, though. I think if I tried hard enough, I could probably do something similar to that.

I can move things through the shadows now. It's pretty cool.

[eyescar]

I didn't have the RCT when I got the upgrade, and I can only heal myself, not other people.

[ Despite body swapping with Yuta, he hasn't quite figured that part out yet... Maybe it'll come with time, or maybe it won't, but either way - the upgrade means he can take care of other people, too. It's good enough for Yuji, and has helped out a lot in a pinch.

All he has to do is hold hands, which he'd do anyway. ]

Really? You should show me one day!

[shadowban]

[ megumi grins at yuji this time, genuinely proud of himself for something he figured out for himself, albeit by accident. ]

We don't have to wait that long. Here.

[ he raises himself up on his elbows, turning around so that he's belly-down on the bed. megumi flexes the fingers of one hand, more for show than any practical function, then tents the fingers over a patch of the bed. the ambient lighting in yuji's room creates a small pool of shadows under his palm. megumi calls the shadows to obey him, and slowly his fingers disappear into the small pool, until he's wrist deep, then elbow deep — altogether, nothing too different from what he does.

but then megumi reaches yuji's own shadow, and like a horror movie from the early 2000s he reaches out and slides his hand through yuji's hair on the back of his head, pulling gently. ]

[eyescar]

[ Yuji immediately jumps, head whipping around to look. ]

Woah!

[ This is so cool - this is the kind of power that he knew Megumi was always able to reach, and his excitement is obvious as he tries to grab at his friend, bubbling with it. ]

This is incredible!

[shadowban]

[ megumi scrambles to pull his hand back out to his side of the bed, closing the shadow connection out of fear yuji might fall in. he can travel through the shadows easily enough, but he doesn't know how it'll affect someone else, especially without a domain expansion. yuji could get lost in there. ]

Yeah, it is pretty cool, [ he agrees at least. ] I figured it out when we were looking for Hakari-senpai and Kirara-senpai, I had to find a way around the CCTV cameras somehow. Shadows were a great way to do it.

I can, in theory, swallows things into the void this way too. I feel every shadow in any room, up to a hundred meters if I'm paying attention. Maybe further too, if I try, but it gets exhausting really quickly.

I could make the shadows swallow the bed if I wanted. I tested this on a truck. Also a house. ...It's a long story.

[eyescar]

[ Yuji would, unfortunately, be more than happy to explore the shadow realm later - but he doesn't imagine that Megumi is keen for him to throw himself into it like that. He'd just get himself in trouble, and he's trying to be more careful and cautious... ]

All the way back then? Woah... We didn't have a lot of time to talk about that stuff before everything happened, so it makes sense that I didn't know.

[ Seeing as they had to separate and go and find their way to other people, eventually getting back to each other... ]

This will be super cool against the kaiju!

[shadowban]

...What if I sent a kaiju in there.

[ oh no. he's seriously considering it now. but— ]

Probably a smaller kaiju, though. I can't store what my cursed energy can't carry, though I'm not sure what the limit is for me. Sukuna had a larger capacity, and he pushed my limits along with him too, but...

Well. I guess we'll find out soon enough. I also still need to see where I'm going to end up when I travel through the shadows. Maybe if I can plan...?

[ megumi, uncharacteristically, buries his face into yuji's pillows. this is too much thinking. he stays laid flat this way for what is probably too long a stretch of time. is he breathing? who knows. ]

[eyescar]

... You could try.

[ He had pulled Sukuna's leg in, so maybe that could happen, but... The smaller ones, Megumi is right, might be more susceptible to the threat of that particular technique. It's interesting, and something to think about.

What are the limits to shadows? Yuji knows nothing about the Ten Shadows beyond what he's learned from Megumi and seeing the fights with Sukuna, so... ]

If you're going to plan the missions, that's something you can do too.

[ Reaching out, he rubs his back. ]

Don't worry about it for now. Let's just focus on defeating your first one.

[shadowban]

[ megumi whines. ]

Mmfff mmfmfffmf mmmff ghhh fffff.

[ translation: what if i just stay on base and feign ignorance?

he's not serious about it, of course. idle considerations, wishful thinking. yuji's pseudo-back-massage feels really nice, on the other hand, and when megumi whines a second time it's of an encouraging nature.

megumi blindly reaches out to slap yuji, encouraging him to continue. ]

[eyescar]

Megumi!

[ Yuji laughs softly and then just...

... Collapses on top of him. No more massage. ]

Stop pouting! It's just a kaiju!

[shadowban]

[ this is the opposite of continuing! megumi grumbles and whines louder this time, worm-wriggling under yuji until yuji's weight on his back balances out the way megumi prefers. ]

It's my first kaiju! I prepared for a whole week for my first exorcism, I only get less than one day here!

[eyescar]

[ He remains flopped into place, in his paper-boy form now. There's no moving this weight. ]

But you have me at your side this time! I'll make sure to protect you.

paper-yuji vs dumpling-gumi

[shadowban]

[ megumi starfishes on the bed a little. he's never getting up. he doesn't have to. if he wills it, it will be so. ]

We're supposed to protect other people, you don't have to stick close to me all the time!

Ugh.

Can I sleep here tonight?

[eyescar]

I won't be there the whole time!

[ Megumi is growing up... Is this how a senpai feels, since he's older now... ]

Sure you can. Do you need clothes?

[shadowban]

Well, I'll find out when we get started. I'm going to catastrophise over everything that could go wrong tomorrow for now.

[ he'll burn through his bad thoughts for now. run through them, then question them, then destroy them one by one like he'd read in some books. cognitive behavioural therapy, or something like that. gaslighting oneself into thinking better of the self. ]

Ah, can I borrow yours for now? I could go back to my room and see what I can bring over, if not.

[eyescar]

It'll be no big deal, I'm sure of that.

[ Yuji gets up, heading over to the small dresser and digging inside for a spare shirt and pair of sweats, turning to throw them at his friend's face. Oops. ]

I'll look away!

[shadowban]

—Hey!

[ he gets hit in the face twice, and it's proof of yuji's unbelievable strength that it feels like getting whacked in the face with a pillow when the garments hit. karmic revenge for his thoughtlessness, megumi supposes. still. ]

Let me shower first. I don't want to get old sweat on your sheets. Give me a few minutes? I'll summon Kon or the rabbits after, we can all sleep in a pile together.

[eyescar]

I don't care, but go ahead.

[ Washing machines exist. ]

I'll get some of the old photos out while you go, yeah?

[shadowban]

[ gonna hose u down sometime ]

I don't want to get in bed smelling like sweat, either, [ megumi responds, swatting yuji on the ass on his way off the bed as he climbs over the other teen. hop, skip, and a jump, taking yuji's clothes with him—— ]

And put the chips away!

[ true to his word, megumi showers quickly, though not so quickly that his fastidious hygiene habits are neglected. when he gets back, he's fully dressed and smelling like soap, toweling his ears dry with a handtowel. yuji's clothes, while technically still in megumi's size, are noticeably looser on his frame. ]

Hey.

[eyescar]

[ Yuji rolls his eyes, but does as he's told.

Stepping over, he puts the chips away and gets his box of photos out, placing it on the bed before he gets changed himself. A pair of loose shorts and a vest are all he has, and he flops back to wait for Megumi, waving when he comes back in. ]

Hey! Come and have a look.

[shadowban]

[ megumi wastes no time climbing back onto the bed, kneeing yuji to make more space for him and pulling a pillow to himself. in consideration for his host, megumi calls up a pair of rabbits, both hopping to the task and themselves climbing up onto yuji's shoulders. one starts eating his hair. ]

Is that Maki? When was this?

[eyescar]

Ah, Maki-senpai?

[ Yuji settles, grabbing one of the rabbits and cuddling it absently, like it's some kind of plushie. ]

She was here about a year ago, I think.

[shadowban]

With Fushiguro-san? Did they meet? What was she like while she was here?

[ megumi was never quite so close with his same-aged aunt, but in the aftermath of sukuna, they were both orphans by their own hands. family without choice, both surviving their sisters. ]

You guys look good in this one.

[eyescar]

[ Who the fuck is Fushiguro-san --- oh, right. ]

I think they got along well. They both have that strength, you know? But she seemed okay.

[ Leaning forward, he checks out the picture. ]

You can keep that one, if you want it.

[shadowban]

Maki would be okay with a lot of things. She's stronger than I am.

[ true in many ways. in physical strength, in fighting prowess, in martial instinct.

megumi sighs, tucks his chin against yuji's shoulder as he plucks the photo from yuji's fingers. ]

She looks so intimidating like this. Not that she wasn't, but now... I see the family resemblance more. It's a little jarring.