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

Lucy | Elfen Lied | Revelation

[saudadist]

Viva la ciudad!

[ They're here for a mission, sure, but Lucy's taking all the chances she can get to acclimatize herself to the locale. By which, of course, I mean she's indulging in the pleasure of the nightlife and culinary wonders La Ciudad de Mexico has to offer. All while listening to the vendors themselves talk freely about the goings-on of the city when they think their visitors aren't listening.

She's in the midst of cutting apart a gargantuan pupusa when she heads the faintest whisper of locals falling sick due to contact from the local flora and fauna. She makes a point to speak in Japanese, then, so her fellow Outsider can pick up what she's saying without alerting anyone else. ]

What do you think? Sounds like what Flores said...the wildlife could be transmitting that pollen.

[ She takes a bite of the luscious mixture of carnitas, beans, cheese, and tortilla, and instantly she wishes they were there just for relaxation purposes. Talking about a mission dampens the savory taste of such a meal!! ]


La isla de las muñecas

[ Now how did she convince you to get out on a boat with her on the city's many canals? She paid the owner of the boat, of course, but it's only for a little while. Past daybreak tomorrow, she'll be in some hot water for sure.

Lucy doesn't seem at all concerned about the kaiju they're supposed to find. This is more of a personal mission for her. ]

There's supposed to be an island around here with weird dolls on it. It was famous centuries ago...wonder if it's still around?


[ Wildcard!! ]

[ feel free to reach out to me for a custom starter, or tag in with your own! ]

doll island, let's goooo

[asagami]

[Truly, how did she convince one usually straight-laced girl to take just a kinda sorta maaaaaybe slight detour? It is a mystery! Not that she's too fussed either, seeing as how she's taking a glance at the surroundings with a fair bit of curiosity.]

If it's still there, it might have grown into a small forest by now.

[Her eyes light up at the idea because of course they do.]

it's terror time again!!! ...??? (maybe)

[saudadist]

[ Lucy is glad she can count on the taciturn purplette to tag along for whatever hare-brained detour she wants to go on. Two (mostly) rational souls can perceive the goings-on of the seemingly supernatural without any bias, right?

That's the thought propelling her and the boat she's steering, anyway. ]

You think the dolls will have vines growing out of them and stuff by now? Since it's been so long since they were first put there?

[asagami]

Mm-hmm, most likely. The older dolls for sure will be covered in them, but the others probably shouldn't be too hard to spot.

[Even if time does march on, spooky legends don't truly ever fade away. Who's to say if people don't still remember?

Although. One little worrying concern does bubble up to the surface of her thoughts...]

...you don't think kaiju may have passed here and destroyed it, do you?

ciudad!

[zauneyete]

[ He just happens to be next to her, leaning over a stall, speaking in hushed tones to the man across the stall about the quality of the catch he's trying to serve. Questioning the freshness, pointing out the hazyiness of the eyes, and the scent. Look, even a crimelord has to eat sometime, and though Silco normally isn't found at the food stands, it's not like it's an alien thing to him. (Also, convenient for the prompt.)

Which is how Lucy's observation reaches his ears, and he turns.

Food, forgotten. The pollen has been piquing his interest, after all. ]

Do you think so?

[ His eyes tip upward, as if he could find some. ]

That's how it normally works, after all.

[ He thinks, from what he read. It's not something he usually spends much time thinking about, but he's learning a lot about pollen right now, as he starts to think about ways it could be used. ]

[saudadist]

[ Ah, so he heard her. That's the guy who smoked on the plane, isn't it? The guy with the scar. ]

Seems new that people are getting sick off it. If it were a normal thing, animals bringing it in off their fur or people having it on their clothes wouldn't cause an issue.

[ She pauses to take a bite of her food. A perfect mixture of beans, cheese, and finely cooked meat in a fluffy, slightly charred flour cocoon. ]

Something must've changed in the jungle, with the flowers and plants. Something drastic.

[zauneyete]

Hm...

[ That he can't argue with.

He decides not to buy the fish, they're too far from the ocean to really get anything of his particular taste or standards, and Tokyo tended to match that as well. For what little he actually tended to eat. Silco looked the type that barely ate at all. ]

I don't disagree. This is new, or else people would have moved on, or they would have found ways to live with it by now.

[ Is there an opportunity here...? ]

Or perhaps they got sick of ceding territory to humans here, as well. Eventual progression, and this place is the last of what they need to eliminate.

If Kaiju are that...intelligent.

Heeelllloooooo Dolly!

[harboredfeelings]

[ Surprisingly Kaga's actually opted to sit in the boat with Lucy. Kiko, fox sized for the moment, sits in her master's lap, receiving much petting. ]

The water level here hasn't changed much from the reports we have. The island is likely still here, though possibly overgrown.

[ Kaga hums thoughtfully and fixes Lucy with a curious eye. Yeah, she's still rocking the whole "bandaged side of the head" look instead of getting a prosthetic. ]

Sounds rather esoteric though. I had no idea you were interested in such things.

[saudadist]

It's more fun than sitting around or visiting the more standard tourist spots.

[ That's her rationale, at least. Rather than focus on herself, however, she tilts her head at Kaga. ]

Surprised you agreed to tag along, actually. Didn't figure you the type to like ghost stories. ]

[harboredfeelings]

Mmm.

[ That's the most agreement she's going to get out of Kaga for the time being. Kaga takes a moment to scan their surroundings. ]

Is it truly that surprising? Naval tradition is full of ghost stories, my world has an entire nation of ghost ships that don't exist. Probably. [ She shrugs. ] I'll admit most of it is all likely nonsense, but on the off chance there is something out here I'm not about to let you stumble into it alone. You're not exactly equipped to deal with the supernatural, Lucy-san.

city

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou had tried to resist sight-seeing, not wanting to get too attached to another city on a mission that could suffer from a kaiju attack. Las Vegas, Seoul, Brasov... that's all he can think about when they visit a new locale. But this city is so fascinating and beautiful, and there's so much for him to learn that he can take back to Neo Tokyo. He couldn't resist coming to check things out.]

We don't think of it like that normally, we think of things like bees transmitting it. But really, anything can transmit pollen. A bird landing on a plant to eat some bugs, a deer passing through tall grasses... It's everywhere, really.

[saudadist]

[ She hums while chewing, thinking. Her metallic foot taps against the ground to match the tempo of her tapping her fork against the counter. ]

What could've caused such a change in the pollen, then? It's gotta be unusual if people are worried. Animals and clothing catch and carry pollen all the time. Something must've changed in the jungle itself, and now it's spreading here by way of that pollen. [ She swallows, having spoken with her food shoved into her cheek this whole time. ] But what could pose a threat to the jungle that the plant life's pollen would change so much? A change the next generation of plants would need to protect against...

[the_fourteenth]

Something so sudden, too. It has to be a rift, right?

[As, ostensibly, a former paranormal investigator, it'd be more exciting if this one time, it was something else. Something he was more familiar with, instead of the same culprit they don't know fully how to fight. He doubts it, though. Besides the Outsiders, Raidou's never encountered any supernatural anything in this world.]

Might be hard to track down in these dense jungles.

La isla de las muñecas

[makesascene]

[All Lucy had to do was ask, and Leonardo probably just got in with her with zero hesitation. He has no self preservation skills. A silly twink enjoys a good adventure.]

....wait, are the weird dolls haunted? [He would normally insists ghosts don't exist, but after meeting a few back home, he has no leg to stand on. Horrible.]

[saudadist]

[ As Donnie's brother, Lucy is obligated to keep an eye on him and also shoot the breeze with him, if you ask her. It helps that he's a pretty cool guy himself. Though that goes without saying since they're mutant turtles. Who are also shinobi? She can't think of a more incredible combination. ]

The dolls aren't. The island supposedly is haunted by a little girl. The guy who lived here way back when put the dolls up so she'd have toys to play with.

[makesascene]

Okay, little ghost girl. Classic trope, but also scary. If we go, should we bring like a doll to show we're cool. Cause, lemme tell you, we're so cool.

The coolest in fact. We practically have a 'Do Not Haunt' sign because of that. [Uh-oh, he's a talker.]

viva la ciudad!

[30storieshigh]

[ Goji is of course more than happy to accompany his better half on information gathering excursions that involve exploring the local forms of foodstuffs. He is, almost predictably, wearing an utterly ridiculous t-shirt, and much like her enjoying a pupusa.

Unlike her, he's eating it by hand and whole. Because he's Goji. The big guy hums thoughtfully while chewing his food, then nods once he swallows. ]

It is a thing of distinctive probability, yes. It is the natural order of things for creatures to spread the pollinating matter of plants throughout the world, seeds as well. Just as it is oft the nature of the Rift's corruption to twist such things to its own spreading.

[ Another pause as he bites into his food. ]

A statement of theoretical capacity. If one were to find the beings responsible for the spread and trace backwardly their movements, one would like to find the source of the illness causing plants. Your thoughts on this, Kaede-hime?

[saudadist]

[ Lucy gives her boyfriend a most pointed Look as he eats. The whole point of a pupusa is that it's big and takes some work to eat, isn't it? And here he is just eating it like it's a sad excuse for a half-quesadilla from a D-tier fast food restaurant.

Well, he is pretty tall. He's big in general, honestly. She's seen him snack on whole hamburgers like they're nothing but sliders. She really should be used to this by now. ]

Sounds about right. Something made the plants change the genes they spread. That's my guess. The pollen changed because the parent plants changed, and the humans here aren't used to it because it's such a sudden change.

[30storieshigh]

[ Uh-oh, she's giving him A Look, he's committed the foe's paw it seems. Whenever this happens and he's not entirely sure what he's doing wrong the smartest thing he's found is to take a moment and observe what she's doing that's different from him.

A utensil? Seems unnecessary, the food is the perfect size to eat by hand, but if this is the proper way... sigh, Goji sets the pupusa back down and takes up a fork, twirling the utensil between his fingers for a moment as he thinks. ]

Yet the plantlife already holds sign of rift influenced mutational traits, if those of the local LILITH garrison are correct. A new circumstance has arisen. [ A pause to take up a fork full of food, chew it, then a hum after he swallows. ] There was harmony in this place, even with the influenced nature, now it has turned. What has changed to cause such a thing? The longer the solar cycle goes on, the more questions seem to be raised.

this made me hungry -- viva la ciudad

[gilgamess]

[ Although the food is prepared for commoners, it is actually rather good. It is even comprehensibly good, unlike LILITH with the whole mystery meat business. No surprise Lucy or others are enjoying it.

So is Gilgamesh. Even he has to eat... probably. And it probably is good if he tries new foods. He can impress Saber by how great his tastes are. One thing he remembers/understands is she's fond of food. But okay, also, he probably does need to eat.

This whole land is kind of strange. It's not his kingdom at all. It's different. Everything is different from the last outing. ]

Tch, that seems rather obvious.

[ One need not be a Ratio-level intellect to suppose. ]

I suppose they want us to collect it...

[ So gross, vile, menial. Must we talk about this over delicious food? He's going to scowl even as he helps himself to something he procured from another vendor -- probably matches Lucy's meal. ]

same tbh

[saudadist]

You think?

[ Ah, this particular bite of pupusa has a very, very stringy piece of cheese in it. She was wanting to split the bite in two, but... well, thankfully her dignity is ironclad, as she shovels the rest of the bite into her mouth and off the fork the next second.

Sorry Goldilocks, she'll answer you in a second. ]

Collecting it is easy. They probably want to figure out why it's happening. Something happened on a primal level that the plants want their offspring to survive it, I think. A change in the genetics to survive something the parent deems terrible.

[gilgamess]

[ Ah. Well, from the description their group has been given, Gilgamesh supposes that Lucy's description holds a certain merit. ]

An adaptation to deal with Rift poisoning, I suppose you mean.

[ On the surface of it, that's not particularly mysterious, though it would seem there's more to discover here beyond the obvious. ]

dolls

[lostdestiny]

... what does that have to do with kaiju?

[ He should have paid more attention before he got in the boat. ]

[saudadist]

Nothing. I just wanted to do this in my downtime.

[ She pauses to guide the rudder of the boat, and then- ]

You're not scared, are you?

[lostdestiny]

I'm from an island, why would I be scared? [ he grouses. He's a ridiculously strong swimmer, actually -- although that line of thought thought sets off a flag in his mind, and his expression shifts to a sort of wary concern. ]

You can swim, right?

[ ... RIP cute crazy girl who danced off a cliff without being able to swim.... ]