𝚂𝚢𝚗𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚡 𝙼𝚘𝚍𝚜 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
synfluxmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
synflux2025-07-30 01:11 am
synfluxmods) wrote in synflux2025-07-30 01:11 am
TRAVEL LOG #6
TRAVEL LOG #6
▶ 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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
03
Family squabble, I see.
[ With a wave a hand blue flames appear and hit the ground, not striking the rats but rather herding them out of the door so Kaga can safely step inside. She keeps Silco fixed with her single eye, where her right eye should be is still covered by medical wrappings. She's being stubborn about that. ]
You should consider yourself lucky, you know. Most Outsiders are completely alone here, you're spoiled for familial bonds everywhere we go.
no subject
[ He doesn't turn his back on her, but he crouches back down to use the barrel of his gun to start leafing through the items in front of him. ]
If you're looking for clever turns of phrase, might I suggest something with more wit than what drunk enforcers call us when they can't see straight?
[ The box is empty, so he stands, and gently kicks it in her direction. ]
As empty as your insults, apparently.
no subject
[ She shrugs nonchalantly and retrieves the flask from inside clothes. After a moment to drink she eyes the box, clicking her tongue. ]
I don't know what you expected. Anything of material value was likely taken by scavengers years ago, the wildlife would've eaten the rest. Although...
[ A pause as she takes another draw from her flask. ]
We have a box now. That's not nothing, technically.
no subject
[ He concedes, easily. ]
However, most scavengers are lazy. The wildlife has readily available food, so they will only go for what is accessible.
[ He moves further into the room. He shifts a table. Nothing. Opens a cupboard, nothing. However... As he rounds the bed, his eye more an indicator of where he is than anything else, his foot hits something. It's metal, and it hits the metal of his steel-toed boot. ]
Aha.
[ He looks her in the eye as he bends down to pick up a small first aid kit. ] Or what can be found isn't all that useful to scavengers who come with their own supplies, and wildlife who want nothing to do with antiseptics.
[ It's small, but... it's something. ]
no subject
[ She could point out that people with ready access to magic don't have much use for antiseptics, but she's not a complete bitch. She'll let him have this win.
A thoughtful hum indicates her thinking as she steps into the room proper, each foot fall slow and deliberate, probing even. She's testing the floor boards. ]
If there's something like that out here the former resident had to have filled it from somewhere. The city is most likely, but maybe there's an old clinic or general store somewhere in this mess of ruins. Like you said, scavengers aren't likely to have taken everything of use from such places.
no subject
[ He says, tucking it under his arm.
He isn't exactly going to be going to those with healing magics, after all. For him, this is the pragmatic choice.
His head tipped, and he watched her tapping against the floorboards. It's not a bad strategy, trying to see if anyone concealed something. After all, it's what he would do, if he were new to concealing items. ]
It's possible there are. All likely mostly tapped, but what isn't could be of use. We might even be able to find food if it was sealed in another crate like this. [ He taps the metal first aid kit. ]
Surprisingly, the rats can't get into them. Shocking, I know.
no subject
Don't be so quick to say that. Next thing you know we'll be dealing with kaiju rats that eat metal.
[ Kaga's exploration reveals results, a board squeaks notably differently from the other. The claws at the end of her metallic fingers deploy as she grips the edge of it and effortlessly yanks the board out, flinging it to the side, crouching down to examine her find.
She sighs. ]
Useless...
[ Reaching down she pulls out something bundled in cloth, uncovering it reveals an old revolver that's seen better days, much better days. The old weapon is rusted to hell, the moving components so far gone they're likely none functional. A few speed loaders rest in the cloth next to it, loaded with bullets, but whether they're any good or not after who knows how long exposed to the elements? Who knows. ]
Wouldn't be much good even if it wasn't ruined though, kaiju don't care much about normal bullets.
no subject
[ Not many, but...some. With his pistol. He points to it for a moment, before he looks them over. ]
The bullets could be melted down, but what would be the point? At best, it's scrap.
[ Not a bad thing, but it's hardly going to help them with the Kaiju.
Silco moves deeper, further. He gives the kitchen a glance, but really, he's more interested in how the cooking was fueled. He starts to open up the chamber in the cooking space, looking for — ah. He pulls out a canister. ]
Fuel.
That's more useful.
no subject
His next discovery has her ears twitching and eye narrowed. ]
Right... that kind of energy source is still pretty common in this world.
[ Which bothers her for various reasons. She rests her hands on her hips as she turns and wanders off to another section of the house, musing out-loud as she goes. ]
I'm reminded of our conversation back in Egypt. LILITH's pulled in magic users and two of my kind, between us there's plenty of alternative energy sources. Not being capable to replicate it themselves I understand, sure, but why haven't they put forth any effort to study it?
[ With minimal effort Kaga lifts up an overturned cabinet. Not much inside besides broken dishes, any sliverware was taken years ago as something remotely valuable. She clicks her tongue. ]
With Neo-Tokyo's constant blackouts, you'd think an energy solution would be right up there alongside fighting the kaiju.
no subject
[ Hardly true, but Silco has Opinions about alternative energy sources and the joys that they can bring to society. After all, Hextech had left him and his in the dust, and the prospect of changing that was...difficult. Fraught.
Silco watches her simply pick up a cabinet. Of course she could. His lips twitch, a slight sneer of annoyance, but he simply hauls the fuel to his little stash he's created. ]
Or perhaps they can't be bothered to. Why invest in something new when survival is all that is on their mind? It is short-sighted, and foolish, but...
[ he thinks most of their efforts go into Outsiders themselves. It likely takes a great deal of energy to do what they do by summoning them here. ]
no subject
[ Silco and Kaga pretty much share that thought. With how power seems to get the most fucked in Neo-Tokyo around whenever new Outsiders arrive Kaga's had a hunch for awhile whatever process is used is one that takes a lot of effort.
If she notices his annoyance she doesn't let on, if she did she probably doesn't care. KAN-SEN are stronger than humans, that's their job, get over it old man. ]
The results can't be argued with I suppose, for the most part. Before LILITH started bringing in Outsiders there wasn't exactly a lot of instances of anyone here winning against the kaiju.
[ Disappointed and bored she proceeds to gently (for her) kick the cabinet out of her way, making it skid across the floor and bump against a far wall. Sighing she retrieves her kiseru pipe from a fold of her robes and begins to fill it from the tobacco pouch tied to her belt. ]
Doesn't feel like there's been a lot of progress though. Next month I'll have been here a year, you know. Besides a nicer base back in Tokyo, nothing much seems different.
no subject
[ Well. There are some things. He knows of them. The underworld is slowly, slowly falling in line, after all. But that's a personal project, and Silco is hardly going to advertise his efforts there. Not with people who might potentially pick up the truth of his plans. At least not the ones he's vetted.
Jinx knows, of course, as do a few others who he expects to not... spread the word. Though everyone else can see it as a LILITH-supported venture that is eliminating crime.
He thinks Kaga could see through it. So he doesn't share. ]
Far be it from me to defend them. I'm about as useless toward this cause as they come, but even I participate.
[ As much as he complains about it... he isn't as much lately. He doesn't know if he wants to go back yet. Before, it had felt like the only thing he wants, but now...
Now Jinx is here, and — he doesn't want to die. ]
Then again, we have all these geniuses amongst the outsiders. Perhaps that is a project they should take on.
no subject
[ Kaga would certainly see through him, used to subterfuge and conspiracy as she is. Hell even at the moment she has Silco pegged as having a lot more going than he lets on. The man makes her... uncomfortable, to an extent. She knows the type, she's aware of how little you can trust this kind of person. But Creator damn it if she hasn't been starting to like him a little?! Which next to her liaison with Sukuna has got to be one of the most ill-advised things she's ever had going on in her head. The prospect of getting along with Silco to any degree means a necessity in always being on guard, she's sure, unless you want to get burned really bad.
Outwardly she remains bored. Once her pipe is full she lights it, a split second of concentration causing a tiny spark of blue fire that catches the tobacco aflame with little effort. ]
Take those "geniuses", as you call them. Most of them are so painfully aware of their specific talents that they let it blind them to other things. [coughratiocough] I doubt any of them have applied their brain power to anything outside of the immediate kaiju problem.
[ She takes a long draw off the pipe and lets the smoke out with an air of almost disgust. ]
Give us a couple more like that and this world will really be doomed.
no subject
[ It's played up, of course. Silco knows where his talents lie, how dangerous he is. How much trouble he can and will cause. How much he can do and how much he can shake things up. He's smarter than a lot of them, and certainly smarter than they think he is. That's the point of it, playing up the thuggish exterior, playing up the acerbic, confrontational persona. In Zaun, Silco didn't need to, He had Sevika and his entire crew. He had people for that, but here? He has some people, sure. Not enough to get what he wants, though. Not enough to run a full operation.
So he does it himself. He plays distraction. Watch what he's doing here, while he works in secret there.
She's wise to question it, to worry about it. That's the smart thing to do, because Silco is dangerous, despite his shortcomings.
And even those, he professes openly because others will only be able to see that, instead of everything else. ]
They do like to work themselves up, don't they? I don't disagree, that they are so focused on that, and they fail to see the larger problem for the one in front of them.
Ah, but for all that geniuses are able to solve problems, that doesn't mean that they are talented with logistics, or long-term planning, hm?
That's what people like me are for, after all.