DOWNTIME MINGLE #3

[synfluxmods]

DOWNTIME MINGLE #3

CONTENT WARNINGS: natural disaster, forced scenarios.

▶ 001. A JOB WELL DONE.

As Outsiders head back from Okinawa (or, perhaps they are already back, characters were able to leave Okinawa through the dataportal whenever) with plenty of coconut crab and mutated fish, Outsiders can expect to have the cafeteria filled with crab and fish food for the next.. well, undetermined amount of time. The power outages have been restored on the LILITH base, and while Outsiders have been enjoying their change of pace in Okinawa, there has been some celebratory news across the Outsider's ocular implants. It looks like it is a message from the big guy himself! Whoever that is. Wasn't his name.. Eiji something? Elijah?

"I'm not going to waste my time with introductions, because we have more important matters to discuss. First of all, good work. Second, while we have been met with several successes, don't let it get to your head. Third, continue following the lead of Yamakawa. ... This is why I don't do celebratory speeches. CODENAMES MONEYBAGS, DUELWIELD, BUSTERMOVE, CHAINSAW MAN and CURSE... great work. You'll see the rewards of your hard work momentarily. Report to me for a payout."

The announcement won't leave an Outsider's implant until it has been read, but just as the voice said, Outsiders will find a Sampo themed pachinko machine installed by the cafeteria near the vending machines. It looks like it's ready to be played! Why not give it a go? Because who wouldn't want to see this charm willingly.

A lot of toy companies are also wanting their skin in this game and have introduced the set of several actions figures based off Yzak and Dearka's gundams, which can be seen distributed on base. The caveat, however, is that you will need to build them piece-by-piece. Alongside this, there will also be Denji-themed plushies, even if it looks like a cross between a dog and human.

Thanks to Choso, hair care on the base has also gotten a lot better. Due to sponsorships, Outsiders are readily able to access more shampoo and conditioner options. Though, maybe thanks to the pictures on the bottle— buns are now trending.

Maybe give the pachinko machine a spin? Or try Choso's brand of shampoo your team's wing communal shower?

▶ 002. TRADITIONAL TANABATA.

The sun is hot but summer is traditionally festival season in Neo Tokyo; these old traditions have managed to hold up in this gritty society in attempts to keep a positive morale, so some citizens and organizers try to keep the tradition going and lift spirits by celebrating local festivals. Many districts and neighborhoods have their own festivals as well. One day, you might stumble onto a shopping district’s wind chime festival and the next day, you might find flyers for a neighborhood’s morning glory festival.

The largest festival of the month is the Tanabata festival. Since the holiday falls in an odd weekday this year, the main celebration is held the next weekend. Civilians and Outsiders can find various shrines, shopping centers, and community buildings with bamboo branches on display with holographic slips of paper that alternate colors. Characters that pass by may submit their wishes on their implants; a new way to keep the old tradition.

On the weekend, some stalls have been set up for people to celebrate. Attendance is low because of the heat and due to a food shortage, the options are lacking. However, there are plenty of games such as a toy shooting range with laser guns and kaiju targets. There are also goldfish catching games where people can catch a cheap goldfish drone that can “swim” in the air and water and shoot bubbles. As a bonus, LILITH will provide Outsiders with an outfit upgrade to help lift spirits. The outfit consists of a traditional summer yukata or jinbei.

Fireworks have gone out of style due to attracting kaiju attention. However, at the festival’s end, there is a drone light show. Hundreds of customized hummingbird drones take to the sky and create elaborate illuminations and shapes in the sky while music plays.

▶ 003. DR. RATIO'S RENOVATIONS.

Festival season means LILITH also has to get in on the action, and while a certain Outsider named Dr. Ratio has raised concerns over the stated of the LILITH base Library, LILITH has actually listened to his desperate plea to renovate the library. What a perfect opportunity for LILITH to use the festival as a way of raising funds so they don't have to dip into their kaiju payout funds (and pizza party fund.) It's time for LILITH's annual SUMMER FESTA. Every year, LILITH comes together with local organizations like fire stations, police stations, clinics, and nonprofits to promote public safety and awareness. It's a one day festival where people can get information about what to do to stay safe not only during kaiju attacks but in their daily lives. The funds raised at the festival will go to training, supplies, research, and maintaining services.

As usual, LILITH is raising money for disaster relief supplies and renovation projects across Neo Tokyo. Per request, LILITH has agreed to set aside some funds to help renovate the facilities on base, including the library. However, they will task the Outsiders with raising the money.

It's a festival so how they raise the money is both up up to them or they may take the suggestions according to their team placement below. Either way, Outsiders are required to work with other people on their same team but they're encouraged to make it fun. Set up game stalls, sell food, do performances, and ask for donations to raise as much money as possible for their projects. The team that raises the most money is promised a prize while the losers will be punished. Here are the team suggestions below and some of them may have some new, modern twists:

Everlight: Kingyo-sukui, which is goldfish catching with a paper scoop. Managing the takoyaki stands.
Revelation: Yoyo-tsuri, fishing for water-filled balloons with a “fishing pole” with a paper string. Managing the mask stands.
Brimstone: Shateki, shooting at targets for prizes. Managing the sparklers stands.. sparklers shouldn't catch kaiju attention, right?
Redemption: Wanage, ring toss. Managing the onigiri stands.

Outsiders will be given a week to prepare for the festival and they only have a single day to raise funds. In the evening, the winning team is announced: Revelation. All team members will receive can badges and a pizza party. A special donation will also be made to the library on their behalf: A stack full of self help books, yes, REAL books and not holograms or digital books, such as "Overcoming Your Depression for Dummies" and "How to Make Friends 101." Thank you for your effort, Team Revelation!

As for the losers, they will be given options: Sign up or the final fundraising event of the night or help clean up at the end of the festival. The final fundraiser is a punishment game where volunteers from each organization are dunked in tubs of water or pied in the face. It seems like a certain person (Seok Dang) was supposed to be LILITH’s tribute but he is nowhere to be found… maybe one of the other losers will step up and take his place to be dunked in water or pied in the face? Characters may also sign up a loser character without their consent. Come on, be a good sport!

▶ 004. MONSOON SEASON.

Despite the celebrations and attempts to raise morale, the heatwave persists in Neo Tokyo and with it, the problems from the beginning of the month. Food continues to go bad quickly and while fundraising attempts have provided some relief, the city is huge and shelf stable supplies begin to run low again. The energy crisis improves slightly with blackouts occurring less frequently as emergency personnel attempt to intervene. Though the weather is dreary, the renovations must press on! Fortunately, most of the things to do around the Library consist of staying inside. Dr. Ratio has given the following orders which Outsiders may help with in the Library:

- Install better lighting.
- Organize and add more books.
- Set up and secure tables and chairs.
- Add couches to once section of the library to convert it into a lounging area.

Characters may work together to help, or maybe they prefer to laze around and give the newly renovated Library a test run!

After a few days, finally, the rain meteorologists have promised arrives. The skies darken and heavy rain falls on the city which brings much cooler temperatures. People stay inside more often as it becomes too inconvenient to go out when the rain and wind are so strong. The rainstorms grow stronger and eventually become fully fledged storms. The ground shakes from thunder and lightning strikes light up the sky.

Everyone’s ocular implants will frequently give warnings about the weather. LILITH will task Outsiders with assisting across the city. Help evacuate citizens to higher ground during flash floods. After the storms subside, help clear the streets of debris and trees. Some neighborhoods will lose power because of lightning strikes and need their generators restored. However, every time they finish their tasks, a new storm will occur a few days later and they’ll have to repeat.

At first, it seems like the typical summer storm season but meteorologists become concerned when more storms begin to happen without following clear weather patterns and even the locals remark the season seems very active this year… could it be another kaiju? The last time Neo Tokyo had floods, it was sea water, but this is caused by heavy rain. Like clockwork, LILITH's investigating team is on the lookout for energy from a rift or any leads to what could be causing all of the heavy rain. Outsiders are instructed to keep an eye out for any emergency messages.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our third downtime mingle! While we would typically have a texting prompt, we instead have player plots for this event! Thank you Abbel and Eski for the Tanabata and festival player prompt and Sky for the Library renovations plot! We appreciate Eski for spending 500 bonus points to provide everyone with something to wear for Tanabata. For the character-run stalls as part of the renovation prompt, players are not limited to the suggestions given by the mods and are free to come up with their own stall ideas. Additionally, for characters signing up other characters for the dunk tank, please make sure you get OOC permission from their players first.

Please note also we have added new rewards: the Poison Dagger, Cat Ear Visor, and the Elemental Swords now come in the models Ice and Lightning. Please see the REWARDS page for more information.

All tags on this log are worth 2 points.

EVENT BREAKDOWN (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. A JOB WELL DONE: The kaiju heavy hitters get recognition with.. a pachinko machine and shampoo sponsorship? Outsiders can react to their fellow colleagues about this development, or maybe even talk to the winners themselves around the base.

2. TRADITIONAL TANABATA: It's Tanabata season, even in a post-apocalyptic world! Put on some old, traditional attire with your friends and enjoy a drone show.

3. DR. RATIO'S RENOVATIONS: LILITH has teamed up with the local safety personnel to get in on the festival season. Characters are encouraged to fundraise for renovations at the LILITH base Library. Teams may also visit other teams events and stands to donate, partake in, and.. maybe deliver some competitive harassment.

4. MONSOON SEASON: With the weather being hot and renovations needing done, LILITH works together to improve the Library. A few days later, the weather gets suspiciously intense and Outsiders are instructed to help civilians with power outages, flash flooding, debris from heavy wind and rain.

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Comments

[blastedass]

We've had three large attacks. The rest are smaller encounters and whatever LILITH wants to put up in training. [Records of other kaiju exist, enough to make convincing training simulations for the Outsiders to face. Bakugo has some suspicion to how and why they have that much information, but figures it's come from research and previous battles, before LILITH reached the point of needing to enact the Outsider protocol.]

Yeah. I didn't believe it at first. [Granted he had no reason not to believe it, outside of calling the entire thing a bunch of bullshit and demanding to be set free to return back home. He thought it was some illusion brought on by All or One or a dream Quirk by one of the villains. Reality was not so nice. Coming to grips with a world that ravaged is difficult. Most people come from worlds that are at least whole, even if they're struggling with war or disaster.] Who the hell knows. We don't have any records of what the kaiju do when they're not attacking.

[Only their movements and affects on areas around the places they eventually target, like the calm before a storm, when the air smells wet and the clouds gather into dark curtains. Bakugo assumes they avoid places more out of lack of interest in said places rather than any fear or danger. But Yato's not wrong about these beasts being the top of the food chain. How they haven't turned the planet into nothing by now is a mystery. Maybe they eat each other at times?]

Some people think the kaiju are coming from the rifts. But we only just experienced a rift under Disney in spring. None of the others had anything like a rift occur around them.

[The other question earns a quick glare and spark from the blonde.]

Of course I want to go home! I was pulled out of a civil war!

[intertwinedfates]

Not sure if that's a lot or not. Suppose it always could've been worse. [Especially if they've been here for months on end, then three isn't too bad, numbers-wise. Though this would make the fourth, wouldn't it? And they're still not sure what exactly they're up against. And clearly there was plenty before the Outsiders arrived, given humanity is down to such pitiful numbers. He can't help wondering what happened to the kaiju that caused all that damage. Did the armed forces of the world manage to subdue them eventually? So many questions...]

Can't blame you. If I hadn't previously been in a different world, I would've thought it all a load of bull, too. [And it would've taken him even longer to adjust to this craziness. A peaceful dream world is a far cry from this one that's in dire need of assistance so that humanity can survive. It's slightly heartening to think that LILITH thought he could help, but damn if he doesn't feel somewhat ineffective next to those like Bakugo whose natural talents are more versatile and impactful.] Wonder if maybe we shouldn't leave the next smaller batch alone, provided they aren't hurting anyone, just to see how they live. That could provide useful information.

[It'd be good to know whether what they're dealing with here is overgrown animals or rampaging monsters. From what he's heard, it depends on the type of kaiju, though most seem to lean more towards the former than the latter. It's all too much for one person to wrangle, leading Yato to sigh heavily.]

So you think they may be appearing in different ways, maybe? Like, the rift might not be the only way they're entering this world?

[Sheepishly, he holds up both hands. Yikes. Touchy subject, huh.]

Alright! I get ya. I'd want to go home too, if that's what you were in the middle of. [He grows silent for a few moments before sparing another glance.] ...were you guys winning?

[blastedass]

We've encountered six kaiju since getting here, these bastards included. [Since they're definitely going to be dealing with kaiju here in Korea. Three of them, soon to be four, were large threats. The other two just happened to be in the area where the Outsiders were.] It seems like a major attack happens every other month. [Somewhat tying in with the influx of new Outsiders, though Bakugo leaves that part out. It sounds too strange and conspiracy theory. There are too many questions and LILITH is stingy with the answers to the point it's better to conjecture than ask and get fucking nothing.]

We did. When we went to Kyoto, there were boar-like kaiju, and Okinawa had crab kaiju. They were a lot smaller than the giant bastards and didn't attack unless you provoked them. [Easier when it came to the boar kaiju, since they charged anything that moved, like dumbasses. The crabs... Those were a joke because the Outsiders literally went "chow time!" on the beach as a small vacation. If Yato remembers his first meal here when he arrived, the crab dish, then yeah, he's experienced it too.] LILITH asked us to bring back some of the young, but most of us ignored that. [It hadn't felt right to kidnap babies from creatures that weren't posing a threat and the Outsiders were the ones invading their territory...] They like to collect pieces of the kaiju we beat.

[Even if it's suspicious, Bakugo can't blame them. He'd want to know more about the things attacking too. Not that he wants to do research on them. Dissecting and postulating is someone else's damn job. Unfortunately for Yato, when he sees the records and experiences his first kaiju attack, he's going to find it's far more the latter. Rampaging monsters with intent to destroy. Why? That's a good question, with only 'prey' being the overarching answer.]

Yeah. If the rifts are the only way, then our job should be to make sure the rifts can't open anymore. [Less kicking kaiju ass and more technology safekeeping. It's an easier solution-- just block the doorway forever --but if LILITH has technology to bring people from other dimensions, closing fucking rifts shouldn't be that hard, right? Bakugo thinks it's more than just the rifts, even if those end up being the main cause that affects other things.

As for the question about the war, Bakugo goes quiet, expression somber.]

I don't know.

[That's it. Ominous, sad, unknown. They had one known victory until it reignited. Everything else...]

[intertwinedfates]

Hmm. A fair number of them. Pretty suspicious that they appear like clockwork, but then again, so do the sun and moon. [Meaning they can't put it past being the result of some strange natural phenomenon and not simply a human-made occurrence. Yato might be more suspicious knowing it coincides with more Outsiders as well, but like most things it could probably be explained away. Frankly he has to wonder if LILITH hasn't tried to anyway.]

The small ones sound like more edible types, that's for sure. Pity the large ones don't sound so appetizing. [Oh, he remembers the crab kaiju! Tasty little buggers they were. The boars probably would've been rather yummy as well, had they opted to go that route. It's something of a relief to know that not every kaiju is a massive, overgrown wrecking ball of a monster. Hell, fighting small ones sound like they'd make for a nice break between the jumbo-sized ones. Good snacks, too.] Yeah, I wouldn't want to deliver young creatures into LILITH's hands either without knowing exactly what they planned on doing with them. It's one thing to observe and quite another to lean towards more unethical means. I think I'll stick with just bringing them the bits and bobs we find.

[Hopefully such articles will help make things clearer in the coming months and help prepare them for any further attacks. He doesn't like being on the backfoot due to inexperience and ignorance both. Back home he knew what he was up against and had vast experience to draw from. Here, he's starting from zero again, and frankly he doesn't like that. It sucks to be the newbie.]

Only time will tell what our goals will be. Until then, we'll just have to do our best to subdue them as they come. [One thing at a time. They can't possibly hope to cover all their bases in one go, especially for those of them that aren't much in the way of technical or sciencey types.

Though all that falls by the wayside when Bakugo answers his last question, such as it is. No wonder the kid wants to hurry home. He must have people important to him that he wants to protect, along with saving his own world. Nodding slightly, he resists the urge to clasp a hand on the other's shoulder.]

You'll make it back. And I'm sure you'll do great.

[There's no guarantee that they'll win, of course, but he knows Bakugo won't let up until he's done all he possibly can.]

[blastedass]

Something like that shouldn't be fucking clockwork. They're animals! Unless something regularly draws them, deliberately. [Again, that suspicious conspiracy theory leaning needs to poke out, wondering what it is that continues to create this unending cycle. Human? Natural? Phenomenon? They aren't given any answers. At least they knew LILITH's the one behind new people appearing every other month. Explained away as Yato would suspect.]

If you got here in February, you would've eaten the whale one. [Honestly, with the orca and the gecko both appearing on the menu for the month after their defeats, it's a regular occurrence. At least no one's gotten sick from that, so it's safe to assume LILITH makes sure the meat is edible before serving it to the people, Outsiders included. If Yato wants to tackle some smaller-sized kaiju, there are records and simulations of them available to train against in the simulator. And they have permanent access to Okinawa (on request) if they want to go crab hunting again or just relax on the beach.]

There was a faction in LILITH that was selling kaiju hybrids on the black market early in the year. They stole samples and data from LILITH, even a fucking baby orca kaiju. Yet these bastards still ask us to bring more things. [Granted, the gecko's electrical glands and abilities were what enabled LILITH to finally get their teleportation tech up and running so... they do good things with their research too. Bakugo at least gives them that credit. Gonna be singing a different tune next month. Yato might be the newbie, but he's learning things as he goes.]

Yeah. [One thing at a time. The more they learn, the more they'll be able to find out what's going on with the kaiju, and how to operate against it. Whether it's mutated creatures already here or monsters from a dimensional rift or something else entirely. Once they pin that down, they can get to work on stopping it.]

At least our worlds don't move while we're gone. [Thanks for not grabbing onto him for support, though Yato wouldn't have gotten yelled at for this instance, given the heavy nature of the conversation.]