synflux | ▶ TEAM BUILDING EVENT #2

▶ TEAM BUILDING EVENT #2

TEAM BUILDING EVENT #2

CONTENT WARNINGS: forced scenarios, altered mood, illness, disaster aftermath, kidnapping, interrogation & torture, violence.

▶ 001. FLOWER VIEWING.

The Neo Tokyo Meteorological Agency is very excited to report that cherry blossom season has begun, and the cherry blossom (and plum blossom) trees are blooming right on schedule once again. It’s a rare time where the concrete jungle of Neo Tokyo blossoms in beautiful shades of pink and white, and due to past conservation efforts to protect the natural cherry blossom trees, there are natural trees in season all over the city. It’s a sight to behold, and the people are very excited about it, setting up picnic mats and enjoying the beauty of nature with their friends and family. Even with all the distractions of technology, even with the looming knowledge that the next Kaiju could advance at any second, Hanami continues to be a popular custom, still being practiced centuries after the world was first at siege.

Outsiders are free to do as they like during this period. Some of the city still needs to be rebuilt from the recent floods, but stall owners have organized themselves splendidly to capitalize on the season. Traditional foods and snacks to enjoy with your loved ones at Hanami include dango, cherry blossom cookies, sakura mochi, onigiri, and hanami bento sets including sushi rolls, kamaboko and tamagoyaki. Prepare your own, or grab one at the many stalls offering them on their menu. Lots of places are selling sake at half off.

For Outsiders who want to do more than sit at the picnic, they can break up fights between the locals over the best picnic spots (they are very intense about this), or help track when the trees are blooming throughout the city and report directly to the Neo Tokyo Meteorological Agency. They’re happy to pay. If Outsiders choose to report where trees are blooming, they will accept a small form on their ocular devices and encouraged to walk in a pair or group for accuracy when gathering information. The form will include date, location, the kinds of trees blooming and how well they are blooming. (Players are free to head canon any information about this.)

Those who stay too long amongst the flowers might find themselves coming down with an … interesting form of hay fever. Symptoms can include flu-like symptoms, or uncontrollable giggling and elation. Looks like the flood waters from before are affecting the trees in some way.

"Mrrow … The effects will wear off in a few days. I’m a busy cat. Drink water, get plenty of rest. Come back when there’s something to actually worry about. Now, Alex, where did you put my mousey – "

▶ 002. WHITE DAY.

Here in Neo Tokyo, LILITH wants all its Outsiders to be happy and bonded as a team. A team that cannot work together will crumble in the next Kaiju attack. While it’s a great sentiment, the organization is a little too fond of … coercive methods. Just as chocolate was provided last month for Valentine’s Day, Outsiders will be airdropped several boxes of chocolates on March 14th, also known as White Day. A brief is beamed to their implant:

█ █ █ MISSION OBJECTIVE:
✖ Return the chocolate previously handed out to you on Valentines’ Day.
✖ For new Outsiders and Outsiders with leftover boxes, hand them all out to other Outsiders by the end of the day.
✖ Failure to comply will be grounds for disciplinary action.

Just as before, a failure to comply with these requirements will result in Outsiders being saddled with cleaning duty of the cafeteria and communal showers for a week, or a house arrest of 24 hours in their rooms.

As a note, we are leaving it up to players to decide how many boxes they are saddled with and how much they need to do to avoid punishment.

▶ 003. BUDDY UP.

With new Outsiders arriving at the base, LILITH wants them to feel as welcome as possible. Older Outsiders will be tasked to take a newbie under their wing and buddy up with them for a number of days (to a few weeks). The newbie, meanwhile, will be ordered to shadow a more experienced Outsider throughout that whole time to learn as much as possible about life as a LILITH recruit. LILITH expects the oldbies to act as a true senpai, but will ultimately leave it up to them to decide how best to nurture the new arrivals. A Shutterstock image will appear in the implants along with suggestions. Some suggestions provided by the LILITH Outsider Management Committee include:

✖ Giving them a tour of the base and city.
✖ Training sessions in fighting, use of weaponry and use of technology.
✖ Welcome parties and dinners to make them feel included.
✖ Shadowing the older arrival throughout their daily routine.
✖ Heart to heart sharing sessions about their worries and anxieties.
✖ Physical and mental health check ins.
✖ Buddying up with them during upcoming missions, simulation training and even the Kaiju fight.

These team ups will be assigned by LILITH randomly, and one newbie can be buddied up with multiple older recruits (the system might glitch on occasion and pair older Outsiders together too). How long the pair ups last is up to player discretion. Non-compliance on the part of older or newer Outsiders will be punished with increased cleaning duties. LILITH hopes to foster a culture of mutual growth and support within its employees!

As for recruits who have not been getting along, old and new, LILITH has been hearing everything spoken between Outsiders. Some need exercises to get along. Outsiders will be asked one morning to meet in the Simulation Arena and line up in an orderly fashion. Captain Yamakawa will be going down the line, shuffling characters who need to get along together. She will place a small, metal device on their wrists.

With a push of a button, two characters will be linked together by the wrist by a pair of invisible handcuffs. They are asked to spend between 24 - 48 hours together and go about their day, encouraged to talk about their vulnerabilities or things they have in common. This is to encourage them to get along.

✖ Spend a day or two with someone you hate and find a common ground. Good luck!

▶ 004. AID & REBUILD.

LILITH is dedicated to protecting and flourishing the city of Neo Tokyo. That’s why it’s pulled in Outsiders with such a wide array of skill sets. Every Kaiju attack devastates the citizens in some way - whether it’s through physical hurt and pain, emotional grief and stress, or losing a home or livelihood. It doesn’t help that there was panic around animal hybrids being let loose in the city shortly after. That’s why Outsiders will receive a similar objective each time: Rebuild the city of Neo Tokyo. This general objective is broken down into many small missions that Outsiders will receive throughout the month.

█ █ █ ASSORTED MISSIONS:
✖ REBUILD THE CITY. Following the repeated flooding, many apartments and businesses have been destroyed. Outsiders are tasked with helping to rebuild homes and support the local businesses to recover. This can include aiding the construction work (particularly along the beach and near to the coast) and helping out at local shops. Many shops selling specialty Hanami treats are looking for help making their goods. Never made sakura mochi before? Today, you will learn. Outsiders are free to assume that their workplaces were affected and call out for help.
✖ AID THE PEOPLE. Outsiders with skill sets in healthcare or healing (or whoever wishes to help) will be tasked to support the clinics and hospitals manage their patient load. This can include cooking for hospital kitchens, changing linen and caring for the sick and wounded.
✖ CLEAN UP. Exactly as it says on the tin. Clean up any marine waste that’s been washed onto the shore or rubble that’s fallen in the wrong place. Hazmat suits in outrageous colours are provided on request.
✖ CAPTURE REMAINING HYBRIDS. Though most of LILITH’s specimens have been contained, Dr. Spim (who’s been saddled with inventory work) reports that there are some still missing - and this includes their most valuable specimen of all. Outsiders are tasked to go hunting for these hybrids and bringing them back to the base. They may need to scour the streets or look through social media to find them. They may also need to steal a beloved pet, if said pet looks more like a winged rabbit than a regular rabbit. (Outsiders who have smuggled hybrids for themselves should take care not to be found ❤)

▶ 005. LEVEL 000.

Later during the month, some Outsiders will be tasked with a very specific mission. Remember those auctioneers who were captured at The Sapphire Room? They’re currently in the custody of LILITH, and with most of LILITH’s staff focused on organizing and containing the hybrid specimens that have been captured as well, they are far too bogged down to conduct their usual interrogation processes. This is where the Outsiders come in. Some Outsiders will receive a special mission to interrogate the captives and retrieve information by any means necessary. It works out splendidly too, because it shows the organization just what their imported workforce is … morally capable of. Outsiders will be paired up and brought to LEVEL 000, a basement level within the main base that is restricted access only. Did we always have a basement level? Best not to think about it.

A guiding drone will lead them to the cell room and instruct them to keep their eyes forward. There’s no need to look at the other cells around you. There is no one of interest there. Within the cell is one of the captives from the raid, who’s bound to a chair by metal shackles.

█ █ █ MISSION OBJECTIVE:
✖ Extort information from the captive by any means necessary. LILITH requires information about the whereabouts of Dr. Tanaka Junichiro, the organization behind the kidnapping, how they managed to trip up LILITH’s systems, and information about the whereabouts of the remaining hybrids (including their most valuable specimen).
✖ Outsiders are permitted to use any method they see fit, including physical and psychological torture. Weapons of torture such as blades, pliers, tasers, whips and torches are available for use. Outsiders may not take any weapon with them when they leave the cell.

Following the interrogation, they will be escorted out of LEVEL 000 by the guiding drone, and they will not be able to access it again without special clearance. Successful extortion of information will be rewarded with 50,000 KRYPTO debited to their accounts.

NOTE: This mission will be shared with only certain Outsiders, so it is essentially opt-in. Players who want to receive interrogation clues about the Starlight X mini-plot can comment below and receive an RNG clue. We will leave it up to players to NPC their own captives. Most of them are small-time gang members looking to make an extra buck or mercenaries hired to guard the auction. For extra moral panic, there are one or two regular people down on their luck who ran into the wrong crowd. Please note that due to the limited number of captives and the information they may know, players may receive duplicate clues.

UPDATE 3/16: Players will have until the end of March to submit for interrogation clues.

▶ 006. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our second CR Building event! All prompts are highly encouraged but OOCly optional. Feel free to ask any event-related questions below!

As always, you are free to check out our main base and locations page and make up your own prompts!

Please note that all tags in this log will count for 2 reward points each. Have fun! The next log will feature the kaiju fight and will be posted on APRIL 1st in lieu of a TDM.

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[ Yuji wiggles until they're comfortable, letting his arm wrap gently around Raidou to tug him close. It's nice, to cuddle into him like this, to relax into his bed and hum a soft noise. He wonders if he'll get in trouble for going for the hat...

Leaning in, he kisses his cheek. ]

This is something we should definitely do more.

[If Yuji does try to go for the hat, Raidou's hand gets there first, reflexively. But he grabs the brim and slides it off, handing it to Yuji to set aside. A compromise for that cheek kiss is worth it.

This close, Raidou wonders if Yuji can feel the nervous anticipation coming from him, the quick beating of his heart... How embarrassing would that be. As often happens, words are lost to him right now. But, a sure sign his welcoming of this is the hand that takes Yuji's cheek, thumb gently caressing it, as he nods ever so lightly.]

[ As soon as the hat is in his hand he is leaning over to very carefully place it to one side, to let it rest carefully, no risk of it being accidentally rolled onto or crushed. The hat is important to Raidou, therefore it is important to Yuji, and he's not going to let it get crumpled on his bed.

It's... Really nice, Yuji thinks, to just spend a bit of time with Raidou in the quiet of his room, to be able to curl close and not worry about it. It's not an experience he's had much of, but he feels himself getting more and more comfortable the longer they sit together. Tilting his head into the touch to his cheek, he breathes out softly, drinking the other boy in.

He does owe him five kisses, but at the same time... ]

Would you tell me something about yourself? Anything. I want to know all about you.

[Yuji can probably already anticipate such a question stymieing Raidou, who does take a moment to think about it, but comes up short. He's not often asked such a thing. Besides that, his life is pretty far from normal. He knows that. But so is Yuji's...

The hand on his face slides down and comes to rest in the spot between Yuji's neck and shoulder.]

I wouldn't know where to start. What would you like to know?

[Normally he wouldn't much like having to talk about himself, always unsure of his words, what to tell people about his strange life. But if it's Yuji asking, he's finding himself much more willing to do so.]

[ Raidou moves closer and Yuji feels himself blush; but it's nice, too, despite the way his heart is racing in his chest. Can Raidou hear it? It could end up exploding out of him or something - or it won't, but Yuji has experience enough of losing his heart to be able to picture it. That's definitely not something he wants to be thinking about right now.

His hand lifts absently, hovering. He could play with Raidou's hair, but that seems a little presumptuous, so he lets it rest across him instead. ]

I'm not sure! Why don't you tell me... Something that made you happy, back home.

[ Something nice, rather than something sad. ]

Mm... [He has to think on this. Not because he doesn't have happy memories. They hurt a little more to reflect on, considering how things were left back home. But it's more than he wants to think of something that isn't related to his work. He figures that's what Yuji means by that question.]

When... when we would gather in Narumi's office, unrelated to any case. When we'd have a moment to relax and just... enjoy the moment. Narumi, Tae, Gouto, even Kushinada recently. When they got to just sit and talk.

[It almost seems like he removed himself from the answer, but that's not really the case. Their ability to enjoy themselves, safe and healthy, is really what makes him happy. It's why he's proud of the work he does.

Yuji might not have wanted to ask something happy, but a cloud of sadness does pass Raidou's expression when thinking about it, his eyes away from Yuji's briefly. He's thinking about if he wants to follow it up, afraid to ruin the moment.]

I hope they're well. I think about them a lot.

[ Yuji can, at least, understand the confusion of happy memories being mixed up with the sad, tainted by what’s happened and things that can’t be undone. Whenever he thinks about the people he’s lost he remembers their deaths so starkly that it’s like a knife in his heart, and only then do the happy memories come.

Listening to Raidou speak, he deliberately brushes his fingers across his shoulder, gentle and tender as he holds him close. He’s offering comfort as well as paying attention - he knows as well as anyone the way baggage can weigh you down and make you feel rough and heartbroken. ]

I understand that feeling. There were times when Megumi, Kugisaki and I would be able to go out and mess around or play a little. Those memories are really happy for me.

[ It might not be the same, but that’s okay. Yuji is empathising, not comparing.

Still… He holds Raidou a little closer, turning his body towards him more, seeking out more of his embrace just as much as he is offering comfort, being a little greedy with it. ]

I hope they’re okay too. I wish I could meet the people important to you, but I’ll settle for hearing your stories for now.

[Raidou worries about them every day, no way of knowing if he'll ever be able to go back to them, to the Capital. He only hopes that Nagi, Ayame, and the other summoners can pick up where he seemed to have lost it all.

When Yuji moves a little closer, it gives Raidou the courage to do the same. He'll never stop feeling like everything back home falling apart was his fault, but having others here he's been able to talk to about it has helped more than he realizes. It gives him the strength to do the same for Neo Tokyo as he would for the Capital. Comfort like that, like this, is never something he had before. With failure came strict punishment for a Kuzunoha.]

I'm glad you have them here, Yuji. Moments like that can be rare for people in our positions. I'm glad we get to have those moments here, despite everything. Seeing the others getting to enjoy themselves... it brings me relief, too. [Like cooking dinner for everyone, like planning hanami parties, like working at the shrine. Service to others isn't always in the form of fighting a battle.]

[ Yuji can really empathise. It doesn’t matter to him what the others say about who is to blame for what back him, he carries the weight of it. He had made choices that allowed these things to happen. Consuming the finger, dying, failing to kill Mahito before he was merged with Kenjaku, making the Binding Vow… How is he meant to avoid blaming himself for those things?

Raidou’s weight against his body keeps him calm, however, and he sinks into it, closing his eyes for a moment. A part of him questions whether or not he deserves something like this, if he’s even allowed to like someone and have it returned the way he does right now. His hands are stained with blood, and Raidou doesn’t know enough of it to make a judgement.

The idea of telling him makes him hurt, so he keeps his mouth shut. ]

I like to see their happiness. That’s what I always wanted for them, so if I can contribute a little then I’m really glad. [ A pause, and his hand strokes through the back of Raidou’s hair gently. ] I want the same thing for you as well.

[A contented noise escapes him when Yuji touches his hair, when he says he wants to see him happy.]

I was going to say the same about you. [Yuji is chief among the people he wants to see happy. That energy, his enthusiasm of life in general - something Raidou want to make sure Yuji doesn't lose. It's not to say Raidou hasn't had positive forces in his life, but there's a difference between this and anything else he's experienced before.]

Being with you is-- [He stops for a moment, Raidou's usual bluntness taking over for a moment before he realized what he was saying. He smiles to himself as he finishes his words.]

Being with you is something that makes me really happy.

[ The fondness that Yuji feels swells inside of him, a warmth that settles around him when he's with Raidou. It's wonderful, to know that his feelings are returned, that his wants are shared, mirrored with what his partner wants with him, even if they haven't really confirmed the nature of their relationship yet. They're finding such happiness, and Yuji doesn't want to lose that.

His fingers keep stroking, gentle and tender, and he leans his head against the other boy, eyes closing. ]

I'm glad to hear that, Johei. I feel the same.

[ He nuzzles a little closer, squeezing him gently. ]

You make me really happy, too. Every single time we're together.

[Raidou takes his arm and wraps it around Yuji's back, holding him ever closer.]

I'm glad. [His voice is quiet as ever, but filled with warmth. When Yuji says his name like that, it makes his heart flutter every time.]

You know you're the only one here who calls me that? I've told only a few people about my title, but... you were the only one who asked what my name really was. [A soft, amused noise escapes him.] I think I like it that way, though. [Something special reserved only for Yuji.]

[ He's definitely getting a little bit more giddy now; they're cuddling, and it feels really nice, to just be able to curl up with someone he likes in this way. He's never done it before, but it's natural to do, as if his arms were meant to hold someone like this.

It's really wonderful, being warm and soft rather than hurting. ]

Really? That's kind of surprising... [ But it's nice, too. It does feel a little bit special. ] Not that many people call me 'Yuji', but I suppose it's not the same thing.

Once you earn your title, that becomes your identity. Yours is discarded to fully devote yourself to the will of the people.

[The idea of getting close like this, laying in each other's arms, speaking about such things seemed so foreign, difficult for Raidou to consider previously. But now that he's here, that they're here, it felt so easy.]

I haven't felt much like a summoner since I arrived. A summoner would never be allowed... this. But maybe... maybe it's okay to be something else, for a little while.

[Bakugo has told him he'd always be a summoner, to not let LILITH take that from him. He appreciated the pep talk, the sentiment, even if Raidou didn't agree. It's wasn't entirely LILITH's fault he felt this way.]

I think I can understand that, a little... I know it isn't the same, but at home a lot of people just saw me as "Sukuna's Vessel", not "Itadori Yuji", so it was difficult. It was a role I picked when I ate his finger, but it's still a bit weird sometimes.

[ His fingers keep stroking through Raidou's hair absently, distracted as he speaks. It feels a little easier to say these things - he thinks Raidou understands, maybe more than other people might. ]

... You can be whatever you want here. If you wanted to focus on being the Summoner Raidou, I'd understand that, even if I'd miss Johei too.

[ Closing his eyes, he breathes out. ]

I know I have a role to play too. I'm not forgetting about it, but... I know that it'll be there when I get back. I can't change things for now, but I can make the most of the time I have here with the people I care about. That includes you.

A summoner with no demons to summon nor slay, and an empty vessel. I think that just leaves us to be Johei and Yuji.

[He gives Yuji and encouraging little smile before gently pressing his head against Yuji's chest, closing his eyes as well.]

We both have terrible things waiting for us back home. There are terrible things waiting for us here, too. So let's be those people before we no longer can.

[ The strange swell of emotion that Yuji feels is a little overpowering, and he can feel the tears prickling at his eyes. An empty vessel... It should hurt more than it does, with the scars still on his face, but it doesn't. It's a little bit of a relief. ]

Just Johei and Yuji. That sounds good to me.

[ His hands keep stroking, petting absently, as he closes his eyes. He hopes he doesn't sound too stupidly emotional. ]

Hey, I asked you a question, didn't I? Did you want to ask me anything?

[He thinks about it for a moment, content to just lie quietly for awhile, but he does have something he'd like to ask.]

Do you have any other family, besides your brother?

[Choso was... interesting. But Raidou liked him already. He spoke to him like a peer, not a teenager, as some others here do. That will gain someone points with Raidou much faster.]

I think I do, technically? But Choso is the only one I can talk to.

[ This isn’t even a topic he can even explain! ]

Choso says we’re brothers and… I think we are, but I don’t really know how it is or how to explain it. I never knew my parents, so I can’t say for sure either way.

[Raidou mulls that over silently. He really had no idea what he was asking.] I see. [He sort of does. But, the "only one he can talk to" remark is puzzling.]

Choso told me he's a curse. Does that mean you are too? [Many people here in the base register to Raidou as magical, Yuji included, but it's all in unfamiliar ways he's still trying to sort out. None of it is like what he know of from back home. Similar, but very different. Didn't that have to do with consuming Sukuna's fingers?]

... I never knew mine, either. It's great that you have your brother then, that he's here too.

[ Yuji’s hand pauses briefly, hesitating, before it goes back to the gentle motions. ]

I don’t know what I am. A curse, a vessel, a person… All I know is that being Sukuna’s vessel was a one in a million chance and I did it, somehow. It wasn’t meant to be something that could be done.

[ He closes his eyes, tilting his head back. ]

I still don’t know how or why we’re brothers, but he feels it so strongly and his whole thing is blood manipulation… I feel that connection too. I don’t understand it all, but I want to believe in him.

Feeling that connection might be all it takes. [Raidou doesn't understand either; how could he? Maybe there is something connecting curses, connecting demons, or even connecting families that's unseen but felt.

Raidou looks up at him now, a hand taking Yuji's cheek in his hand to tilt his head so their eyes meet. He feels just as unsure and disconnected from himself as Yuji does, but there's resoluteness in his gaze.]

You're Yuji, and whatever Yuji wants to be here. Just as I'm... whatever it is I want to be here. We'll figure it out, right?

[Together.]

I think so. I like him a lot, so I don't mind calling him my brother until I understand it all. [ He's been so bereft of family for so long, just him and his grandfather, that the idea of having more family makes him happy. It opens his world a touch more, which is nice.

Instinct has him leaning into the touch, his gaze dragged to Raidou, expression warm as he squeezes him a little. They're both a little adrift here, aren't they? Trying to find something to anchor them, something to help with their confused thoughts. ]

... Yeah. We'll figure it out. [ He leans in to kiss the top of Raidou's head. ] We can do it together.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

▶ TEAM BUILDING EVENT #2

▶ 001. FLOWER VIEWING.

▶ 002. WHITE DAY.

▶ 003. BUDDY UP.

▶ 004. AID & REBUILD.

▶ 005. LEVEL 000.

▶ 006. AFTERWORD.

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