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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...

(He's pouring himself some tea first but gives Bakugo a curious sort of glance,)

Do you believe in spirits, Bakkun?

(Because he's taking this very well.)

[That glance isn't exactly surprising, but the question sets his back slightly. In his world? No, he's never really put any emphasis on that thought. But from what he's seen thanks to Neo Tokyo?]

Spirit, ghost, demon, doesn't fucking matter if you believe in them or not.

[He has little reason to believe Tsurumaru isn't anything but what he says he is.]

I'm talking to you.

(What an interesting answer. He really can't help but smile at how simple and direct it is... and so he chooses to raise his cup and smile into his drink. It's warm and feels good.)

In the world, there are phenomenon called "kami." There are many types of kami like the divine kami of the sun and moon or the humble kami of rocks or animals. Even humans can become kami if they become great enough. But in the same way that some humans can ascend and become kami... there are also stories of objects becoming kami.

(He sets down his cup, holding it with both hands and letting it warm him,)

When a "thing" reaches 100 years, it becomes alive. Upon what is both its hundredth and first birthday, it gains a soul and becomes aware. These are called "tsukumogami"; the kami of tools.

(And it's here that he gives a short break to let Bakugo take in the information. He waits to see if he's following or has any questions or comments before he continues.)

[Bakugo sips at his soup again before going for the side salad. If there's something going around and it's not allergies or weird tree things, he's gonna at least give his immune system some power rush to try and head the damn thing off.]

So you're a sword spirit.

[While it's a bit of a jump to immediately label him as a "sword" spirit, the hint about Tsurumaru's "other" self from before, the fact he always carries his sword with him, his prowess with his blade, a closed-topic master (or wielder in this case), the idea of being "granted" a corporeal form, and the reality there's no other object that the guy's frequented or associated with more than his sword, makes the sword an informed guess. Plus LILITH brings in warriors, so the kami of a hoe wouldn't be... ideal.

And they both know Tsurumaru's not the kami of a something in the damn kitchen. Maybe a ceremonial tea pot, but that wouldn't be running around with a sword carving up kaiju.]

You really are an old man.

(He handled that knife well in the kitchen. He could be a kitchen knife spirit.

His eyes and smile are warm and bright as he regards Bakugo for a moment. There's something a little playful under it all, like he's just shared an inside joke with him but more than that... he seems proud.)

You're sharp, Bakkun.

(He knows he hasn't been the most forthcoming about what he is, especially when they first arrived and he was still getting a feel for the people here but he feels like he's left enough clues since then. He's left the door open for the question to be asked and left enough crumbs that he's felt like people could figure out the answer on their own if they really thought about it. And despite being here for months--)

You're the first one to figure it out on your own.

(He takes a sip of tea. Everyone else who knows he's told directly. Everyone else had to stumble onto it at the right moment.)

Well done.

(Truly. Honestly.)

[Well he has had two other swordsmen work with him in the kitchen and neither of them have been an expert with a knife...

Bakugo pulls a slight face when Tsurumaru looks at him like that. Gross. Could you turn that grandfatherly smile somewhere else? He doesn't need the damn "well done son" look aimed at him. Compliment him! Don't make him feel like a fucking kid!]

It's not that damn hard to figure out!

[Actually it was an informed guess, but a guess all the same. Besides, Bakugo's dealt with a few other people who haven't said shit beyond a few hints and he had to work the rest out on his own via watching them, listening to them, and speculating until it clicked. Did that back home too... But Tsurumaru did plenty without outright saying the truth. Something Bakugo doesn't understand since it's not some ground-shattering revelation people would freak out over. Not in the negative way at least.]

Haa?! What kind of idiots do we have here?! [Thanks for stroking his ego and putting everyone else under his foot. Now he's disparaging them. Bakugo swallows down a cherry tomato.] Tell people directly, dammit. No one's gonna give a shit.

(He is a proud and old spirit, though and to him, whether he likes it or not, Bakugo is a child. And that's what makes his brightness so wonderful. )

Those same fools learned quite quickly.

(Granted, they may have had a combination of more help or luck, but they had found out sooner compared to Bakugo who had less help but figured it out on his own. He wonders success measures there. It's neither here nor there, though. The others don't need him to defend him and he moves on easily enough, helping himself to more of his dessert and tea,)

I don't care what others think.

(He doesn't. At least, he doesn't think he cares. He isn't sure. This is just how he is and he's never really thought about it. He's aware that he's difficult and he doesn't care if that makes it harder for others to understand him.)

I just like having fun.

[HE'S NOT A DAMN KID! He's forever going to react negatively if people call him one, screw the age difference that would make it truth. Tsurumaru's gonna have to deal with the "old man" name then.]

Duh. Most people learn shit when you tell them.

[In the "now it's in my head cause I heard you" manner. Information learn, not skill learn. Those are two very different kinds of learning. While he's all for learning something on his own, figuring it out, succeeding without someone outright giving him the solution, this is just being a shit tease with your own background... No one's going to figure out Tsurumaru's a sword spirit unless they come from a world where such a thing is common knowledge!]

If you have fun at someone else's expense, don't bitch about the results you get.

[Which can range from positive acceptance to angry revenge or even continued rejection. Granted, Bakugo doubts someone's going to punch Tsurumaru in the face for playing games with what he is, but the guy looks like he'd be a prankster... especially with that "i just like having fun" comment. Free spirit.]

(Good news for Bakugo... Tsurumaru Kuninaga has been punched several times back home for not explaining things and being an asshole.)

I think it's been fine so far. (Case in point... no one has punched him here yet.) I've managed to learn a lot from others because of it.

(Studying how they process things, what information they seem to prioritise, how much or how little they care. He's even gained some good insight about their worlds.)

But what about you, Bakkun? What are you back home?

[What a surprise. The real question is whether or not Tsurumaru Kuninaga knows why he got punched those times, or if he's still clueless about vexing other people. Or maybe he just ignores it....]

Like how they handle annoying people?

[That's a good way to find out more about people. Not sure it's the best place to start, but Tsurumaru's got that going for him. Bakugo starts on one of the rice balls.

Figured that kind of question was going to come...]

A human.

[Guess who can be annoying right back?]

(He's incredibly aware of why he was punched... it doesn't stop him, though.)

Exactly.

(Yes, knowing how they deal with menaces like him is very valuable information.)

... Hah! (No, even if he wanted to be, he couldn't be mad. ) Is that so?!

(He can play along.)

How wonderful!

[That makes it worse, Tsurumaru... especially when the guy agrees to that sarcastic note.]

What the hell did you expect? You can tell the difference, right?

[He better. Even if he's a sword spirit. Or perhaps because he's a sword spirit.]

Of course, I can.

(He could tell enough. Even if this boy has a lingering feeling of fire and heat around him that catches his attention whenever he's around.

There aren't many humans in this world that trigger his natural affinity for steel or fire but Bakugo lacks the familiar feeling of a spirit. Of course, hes' seen him fight and knows enough about his powers to know that's why he senses it. )

I just thought it was funny. You have a good sense of humor.

[Of course he can. Should've fucking figured. Bakugo rolls his eyes and bites into the rice ball again. Now that Tsurumaru looks, feels, and sounds better from the lack of outdoor affect and food, he's more sure than before the spring bloom is the cause. Great. Either allergies are a hell of a thing or the sakura must've absorbed the tainted water.]

That was sarcasm!

[He wasn't trying to be funny, dammit! Ugh, this guy's cruising for a beating the next time a training session comes around! Bakugo scowls at him around the rim of his drink.]

Why'd you become human? [He already knows Tsurumaru's master did it, and that's a topic off the table, but the reason for him to be given human form and a sword shouldn't be too bad a topic.] Swords are used to fight.

It was still funny.

(He insists. Ah, but Bakugo is asking the Question. The question they've been wondering since the moment they were summoned in these human forms...)

Where I'm from, there aren't many humans left. (This part is true.) They were gone when I awoke and we never learned what really happened...

(It's a mystery.)

Without many options, the humans left behind turned to the gods like in old times.

[This guy gives people headaches on the regular. No doubt about it. But Tsurumaru should've known the Question was going to come up at some point in time. Once he popped the bubble about his world and person, it's only natural.]

You're a fucking sword. Not some damn god.

[Not that Bakugo knows at least. Sounds like this guy's starting on some wild yarn and he does not need all that kind of information.]

...

(Have you ever seen such an obnoxious little smile? Like someone who is enjoying a nice little inside joke that you aren't apart of? That's it.
It's fine. He doesn't have to explain. It's just something to have more fun with later.

But he's finished with his tea and his pudding a la mode for now and just going to raise his hand to call the server over and get the check. He's paying.)

Well, this was fun, Bakkun.

[That smile tells him he's about to get trolled. How? He doesn't know. Just that there's this decidedly ungodly urge to slam an explosion into that obnoxious smiling imp like it's his last day alive.

And just like that, the topic's dropped unceremoniously and Bakugo's left floundering for a second. Before giving a short little snarl that says he's not pursuing the topic either. Be that way. He doesn't give a shit about your past, Jiji.

Finishing his own meal, he lets Tsurumaru pay for it.]

You've cleared up. That means it's probably the pollen or trees.

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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