The decision has been made. LILITH Japan orders the Outsiders to mobilize to pursue the Imugi.
Given that they are in a foreign country, they are largely dependent on LILITH Korea’s resources. In response to the decision, the Korean branch provides some assistance: the Outsiders are given just enough vehicles to help transport them, essential supplies, and only a few operatives to help guide them. This is the most the Korean branch is able to give, as they must focus on relocating people and restoring peace following the attack.
LILITH announces that the Imugi is currently resting near Gangneung on the east coast and they must move quickly. The effects of Rift poisoning will grow stronger as they approach the source; a sign that they are close to a kaiju. Upon reaching the mountains just outside the city, LILITH informs them that they are right on top of its location.
However, there is no Imugi to be found. After searching the area, Outsiders will discover the source of the trace and the poisoning: eggs. They will find about twelve eggs. When they report their findings, Seokdang will curse. In their rush, they had followed the wrong trace. They didn’t track down an injured and resting Imugi—they tracked down the Imugi’s nest. So where is the Imugi?
Not long after, Outsiders will receive an update on their implants: the Imugi reappeared in Seoul. After seeing the corpse of its mate, it went berserk and attacked the city again. While many of the citizens were evacuated to nearby Incheon and remaining shelters, just as many perished, with the death toll at 168,000 and rising. LILITH’s Korean base is destroyed.
The Imugi was last seen flying north, but the Korean government prohibits the Outsiders from pursuing it again through their territory. By choosing to pursue the kaiju, the Outsiders have abandoned humanity and thus will receive no further support. They are ordered to leave the country immediately.
LILITH Japan will order them to collect as many eggs as possible and continue to the abandoned city of Gangneung, where they will arrange pick up and return to base in Tokyo.
▶ AFTERWORD.
Thanks everyone for participating in our first major Event Decision! We hope you had fun discussing what to do both ICly and OOCly.
After failing to capture the second Imugi and also failing to save a large portion of Seoul's population, characters will be shipped back to Japan. The events of the TDM will springboard from there. Feel free to use this post to thread out any aftermath threads if you would like.
All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards August AC.
( He could leave. He should leave. Itadori has made his feelings very clear, he thinks Geto is a monster. He's right to, and a monster would not linger. But the minute he starts to cry is the minute the curse user is moving, crossing the sand to grab the boy's wrists. He doesn't use much force, and he could easily be thrown off, but he isn't trying to hurt him. Instead he just tugs those clawed hands away, dragging him closer, all but yanking him into the kind of embrace he would have given the girls.
Warm, tight, safe. )
You can't do anything now, Itadori-kun. That isn't how this works. ( His voice is quiet, low, losing all the sharp defence of moments before. Geto knows how this ends if someone doesn't step in, he's lived in. Itadori will chase his death all the way through just to escape the awful weight he's feeling and history absolutely cannot repeat itself. Geto thinks of how things might have been different had someone noticed he was losing his mind, how different he could have been. Satoru tried, but Satoru was a child too, abandoned by the very same fucking system. And while Geto tells himself he has no regrets there are still moments where he thinks why? He won't watch it happen again. ) We made a choice, and that's going to hurt. But it is not your fault, you are not the sole person here, you have to let yourself breathe, or it is going to kill you.
( A hand comes up to cup the back of his head, shirt wet from tears. But Geto's tone has turned even more earnest. )
You couldn't have predicted it, you couldn't have stopped it, you did what you thought was right. It isn't your fault.
[ Instinct has Yuji wanting to lift his hands and fight off Geto, but he doesn't have the energy nor the strength right now, not when the arms eventually prove themselves to be comforting rather than a punishment. A hand touches the back of his head, his body is crushed against a warm chest, and the strangeness of the moment isn't entirely lost on him, but...
But after his conversation with Tsurumaru, after the half-argument, the discomfort of what Maki had told him, all of it coming together to make him so exhausted he's not sure how he's standing right now. The arms wrap around him and Geto speaks; the words at odds to what Geto had said before, the strangeness of knowing the choices he had made in the past, the things he had done.
Slowly, unsure, as if afraid something is going to be said or done to hurt him again, feelings all mixed up, blending together in a confusing marsh of discomfort, his arms wrap around Geto in return. He shouldn't be doing this, surely, shouldn't be begging comfort from someone everyone had warned him against, but he can't resist the need for it, the moment at odds to everything he knows.
There's bile in his throat, face stained with tears, begging for relief, to cry all the emotions out of him, and he doesn't have the strength to fight off Geto's comfort. All he can do is shake his head, sniffling a little. It might be the time to argue, to say - why comfort him, if it doesn't matter? If the people don't matter, why does making Yuji feel better about it matter? But the words die on his tongue.
He's simply too tired for this fight right now. ]
I have to... [ Has to what? He's not even sure. Do something? Mourn? Do some kind of penance? He's not sure, and that's what it means. ] There has to be, I can't...
You have to live. That's all you can do. What good is killing yourself too, mm? Because it's what you'll do if you keep on like this. And believe me, I know, I know how tempting it is just to keep going, keep fighting rather than feel it, but I also know how badly it ends.
( You lose people. Geto loves his family, he truly does, but there has been something absent in him since he walked away in Shinjuku. Or maybe it had been gone long before, when Riko Amanai bled out in front of him. Either way he chased his end, and it led him nowhere. All of that pain, for nothing. His people still suffer. He didn't do anything right.
But he said he'd try, and so here he is. )
It's okay to cry. ( It needs to be said. ) It's probably better that you do. Bottling it up doesn't help. ( His hand moves ever so slightly, almost petting. ) You're allowed to feel that hurt. But beating yourself with it endlessly isn't good for you, Itadori-kun. And you wouldn't want anyone you loved to, so why should you?
[ Yuji knows how it feels to not want to live any more. He had felt it after Shibuya, and he had felt it during the Culling Game, on trial for a mass murder that he still blames himself for. It's a weight that is too much for him to handle sometimes, crushing him under the sheer agony of it, and it burns through him like wildfire, painful and agonising.
Fingers grip at Geto, and Yuji shivers with his grief, tears rolling down his cheeks. This is the last person he should be finding comfort in, he should've been able to fight him off, to shout at him for his callousness, for his anger, but it's just too much. Yuji cannot handle this any more, he can't do it, trying to be strong for everyone.
The tears roll down his cheeks, and the ache burns inside of him, and when he breathes out he feels as if he's going to collapse. ]
Because... [ Because he's a murderer too, but he can't say that. ] ... I'm tired, Geto-san.
( How could he not? Itadori Yuji has everything riding on his shoulders, a survival that even Geto cannot fathom. There aren't any more words he can give him either, so instead he holds him like he would one of his daughters, petting him very carefully as he weeps, not caring about the damp stain of his shirt nor the discomfort of standing still. History cannot repeat itself, he won't let it. He wonders if this is what Satoru meant when he told him to try again. Probably not. Probably he'd be angry for his part in Itadori's grief, but he's not going to walk away from it right now. )
It's all right, you can take all the time that you need.
[ Yuji has no idea about Geto's past, not even now, no one has told him anything - but he feels as if the other man means it. The words don't sound hollow, they don't sound as if they're said just for comfort, and it makes him feel something. The strange, painful confusion of it makes him feel a level of exhaustion that is brand new to him, emotionally rung out.
The last few weeks have simply been too much for him, and he doesn't have the strength to keep fighting back right now. The tiredness has drained him, and he doesn't know what else to do except stand there, letting someone else's strong arms hold him aloft once again.
How many people are under LILITH's command? About a hundred, would you say? Admittedly, you'd know more than me, I keep to myself.
( It's pitched low, conversational, like all of this is fine and Itadori is not haemorrhaging his feelings into the sand, like Geto is not certain that once he puts him back together again the boy will declare him an enemy. )
There are so many people here, with so many different abilities, and powers, and skills, so why does it have to be on the shoulders of a sixteen year old boy? I'm not saying don't help, either, before you think I'm being callous. But you are not at home, Itadori-kun, and you're not these people's last hope. You told me you believe we should work as a team, didn't you? Then why must the guilt only be yours? Let other people help you, even with this, Especially with this. A brave face is only good enough until it cracks.
[ Yuji's voice is quiet and muffled against Geto, coated with his tears, mumbling. It's all logical things, all stuff he knows, but rationality is hard right now. He's not sure what he's supposed to say in return, he's not sure what he ought to even suggest other than to sink further into Geto's grip.
Gojo-sensei is going to scold him for this, isn't he? Crying all the time, crying on Geto... ]
Mm. I'm fairly certain that promise wasn't to work yourself into a nervous breakdown. Or worse. No one who knows you would ask that.
( Hands on Yuji's shoulders to draw him back, though not to push him away. Instead Geto just looks at him. He's so young, and so tired, and it isn't fair. He sighs, uses the heel of his hand to wipe some of the damp away. It is surprisingly parental of him. )
This will use you up, Itadori-kun. It will bleed you dry. Until one day you're older than this and you'll look yourself in the mirror and you won't recognise who you are any more. Don't let it. You have people here, friends, people that want to help you. Allow them while you can.
( Geto needs to do more. He needs to take some of this shitty fucking weight. LILITH asks too much. )
[ His grandfather has no idea what happened to Yuji in the wake of that promise. All the things that have happened to him over the last few months of his life, the strange horrors and the nightmares... Did his grandpa know about this society, this world? Was he a stranger to it?
What did he know about Yuji's parents?
He sniffles, shaking his head. ]
I don't... I don't want to... [ Be a burden. Be someone that causes hurt rather than joy. ] No, I know I should, I do, it's... [ He's talking in circles. ]
It's hard. It's hard asking for help, it's hard letting anyone do it even then. But you're just one person - admittedly a strong person - but even all that strength is only so good if you're bowing under it. I'm not casting judgement either, Itadori-kun, but if you only ever believe me with one thing know that it's this. You have to slow down, you have to leave off some of that weight.
( He still hasn't let go, but he smooths a hand over Itadori's shoulder. )
I can take you somewhere else. To a friend, or Satoru. Nanami. Your boyfriend. You shouldn't be alone right now.
[ speak of the sleep paralysis demon and it shall appear.
he’s heralded first by his cursed energy, a dull pulse of a constant ebb and flow like the thud of a vast heart, unrelenting. as it grows with proximity, the crunch of his boots on the sand reaches audible levels, his pace slowed to match that of his own eerie organ.
yuji was in need, but here where the outsiders milled in their great, defeated number, choso couldn’t make himself thunder in like a bull as he may have done before. they are wounded, LILITH’s outsiders, they are all of them bleeding out from a wound that keeps growing wider as the reports come in, and choso cannot bring himself to trample on anything more. ]
Yuji.
[ so he calls out as he paces near, voice pitched low and soft, as if Geto Suguru were a beast no different than himself, a thing of tooth and nail and soft flesh pulsing beneath the shining barbed wire he has shelled himself with. ]
But it's something for another time. He is infinitely aware of how this looks. Itadori is tear-streaked and worn thin and Geto is a curse user famed for his cruelty. Even if neither of the bodies here know specifically why. And so very carefully he lifts his hands away, holds them up as he takes a step back. It's not quite a surrender, but he means neither of them any harm. He might not care much for the curse, but he does the boy and hurting one hurts the other. He does at least glance Choso's way, gaze unfathomable, but it's Itadori he speaks to. )
You'll be all right now, Itadori-kun. But please remember what I have said. It is a lot. Too much for one person to bear. You have people who love you, let them do what that means and help you carry it.
( Another glance, Choso's way. ) Your brother certainly looks capable. ( To the brother himself. ) You are, aren't you?
[ this, too, is a dance of sorts, and the steps demand he wait until Geto Suguru is done. so he waits with the quiet tension of a coiled spring, watching as the man lifts his hands up and backs away from Yuji like a human from a beast, and choso does them all the grace of not moving a single fucking inch until Geto has deigned to address him directly at last. ]
There isn’t anything in this world I would not do for Yuji.
[ big hands flex, but the tension in choso begins to drain away the more of Yuji he takes in; eyes red-rimmed and puffy, skin wan from the horror of the numbers laid on all their heads.
his little brother is wounded, but Geto Suguru’s voice was as gentle as his hands, and a wet spot glares evident on the man’s chest. ]
I am capable, so I allow you to stay if he wants you to.
[ Yuji reaches out to take his brother's, wiping at his face with the heel of the free one. He doesn't want the two of them to fight, even though he's aware of the fact that there's definite tension between the two of them. He's just too tired. ]
He didn't do anything wrong. [ This time. ] We should just go.
( It feels awfully final, a shutting door. With space Geto will find better ways of convincing himself it does not hurt, will be able to stop himself from even questioning why it might. He shouldn't care. Or at least, he should be used to it. Lips purse a little, and his gaze sweeps over Itadori once more before it leaves, lingers upon Choso. )
Make sure he eats. Sleeps.
( What would he have needed when it had been him? Rest, surely. He'd lost weight as a teen, had forgotten to eat because all he could ever taste was the bile of curses. But he knows there was something more than that too. Would it have helped if he'd spoken to someone? Yaga-sensei, with his strange kindness, or his parents? Would he have been fixed if he'd simply just crawled to either Shoko or Satoru and asked for noise or a hand to hold? Maybe. Maybe he wishes he had.
An exhale, puffed through his teeth. More sternly, because he knows either one might take exception to his commands. )
Don't leave him alone for now. Even if he tells you to. It won't help. ( Like Choso is in charge, but at least Geto holds his gaze with some measure of almost-respect. ) If you can, keep him from missions.
( It's all Geto can do now, anyway, and so with that he turns to leave. )
[ a part of him wants to lash out for it, some knee-jerk reaction to that voice and its tones of authority, but now as every other time choso reminds himself that the skin of Geto Suguru’s forehead is smooth and unbroken. so choso bites his tongue and nods, head tipping a touch lower like maybe it’s a bow, some sign of almost-respect to offer in kind. ]
I will take care of him.
[ his hand in yuji’s turns, adjusts so he may grip back tightly, but he doesn’t turn away yet, won’t. ]
As long as I am here, he will never be alone.
[ as Geto Suguru turns to go, choso finally spurs himself to action, taking a half step forward, the breath building like pressure before he manages to burst out a somewhat determined, ]
[ Yuji shifts, leaning into Choso and breathing out a little, letting himself bask in the comfort of his brother before he tilts his head up to look back over at Geto.
It's all complicated, and weird, and strange, but... ]
( He almost scoffs at that, swallows it down at the last second. Of course he's alone. His family are gone, and he'll never see them again. The people he knows in the here and now don't understand him, or they outright despise him, and that's fine, that's all well and good, he didn't embark upon this path to make friends. It doesn't bother him, there's a point to their hatred.
Be he is alone in it.
Instead of saying anything more he just smiles, placid and barely there, turns on his heel abruptly to make a quick exit across the sand. It isn't his problem now. None of it is. )
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synflux2024-08-22 04:03 am
no subject
Warm, tight, safe. )
You can't do anything now, Itadori-kun. That isn't how this works. ( His voice is quiet, low, losing all the sharp defence of moments before. Geto knows how this ends if someone doesn't step in, he's lived in. Itadori will chase his death all the way through just to escape the awful weight he's feeling and history absolutely cannot repeat itself. Geto thinks of how things might have been different had someone noticed he was losing his mind, how different he could have been. Satoru tried, but Satoru was a child too, abandoned by the very same fucking system. And while Geto tells himself he has no regrets there are still moments where he thinks why? He won't watch it happen again. ) We made a choice, and that's going to hurt. But it is not your fault, you are not the sole person here, you have to let yourself breathe, or it is going to kill you.
( A hand comes up to cup the back of his head, shirt wet from tears. But Geto's tone has turned even more earnest. )
You couldn't have predicted it, you couldn't have stopped it, you did what you thought was right. It isn't your fault.
no subject
But after his conversation with Tsurumaru, after the half-argument, the discomfort of what Maki had told him, all of it coming together to make him so exhausted he's not sure how he's standing right now. The arms wrap around him and Geto speaks; the words at odds to what Geto had said before, the strangeness of knowing the choices he had made in the past, the things he had done.
Slowly, unsure, as if afraid something is going to be said or done to hurt him again, feelings all mixed up, blending together in a confusing marsh of discomfort, his arms wrap around Geto in return. He shouldn't be doing this, surely, shouldn't be begging comfort from someone everyone had warned him against, but he can't resist the need for it, the moment at odds to everything he knows.
There's bile in his throat, face stained with tears, begging for relief, to cry all the emotions out of him, and he doesn't have the strength to fight off Geto's comfort. All he can do is shake his head, sniffling a little. It might be the time to argue, to say - why comfort him, if it doesn't matter? If the people don't matter, why does making Yuji feel better about it matter? But the words die on his tongue.
He's simply too tired for this fight right now. ]
I have to... [ Has to what? He's not even sure. Do something? Mourn? Do some kind of penance? He's not sure, and that's what it means. ] There has to be, I can't...
no subject
( You lose people. Geto loves his family, he truly does, but there has been something absent in him since he walked away in Shinjuku. Or maybe it had been gone long before, when Riko Amanai bled out in front of him. Either way he chased his end, and it led him nowhere. All of that pain, for nothing. His people still suffer. He didn't do anything right.
But he said he'd try, and so here he is. )
It's okay to cry. ( It needs to be said. ) It's probably better that you do. Bottling it up doesn't help. ( His hand moves ever so slightly, almost petting. ) You're allowed to feel that hurt. But beating yourself with it endlessly isn't good for you, Itadori-kun. And you wouldn't want anyone you loved to, so why should you?
no subject
Fingers grip at Geto, and Yuji shivers with his grief, tears rolling down his cheeks. This is the last person he should be finding comfort in, he should've been able to fight him off, to shout at him for his callousness, for his anger, but it's just too much. Yuji cannot handle this any more, he can't do it, trying to be strong for everyone.
The tears roll down his cheeks, and the ache burns inside of him, and when he breathes out he feels as if he's going to collapse. ]
Because... [ Because he's a murderer too, but he can't say that. ] ... I'm tired, Geto-san.
no subject
( How could he not? Itadori Yuji has everything riding on his shoulders, a survival that even Geto cannot fathom. There aren't any more words he can give him either, so instead he holds him like he would one of his daughters, petting him very carefully as he weeps, not caring about the damp stain of his shirt nor the discomfort of standing still. History cannot repeat itself, he won't let it. He wonders if this is what Satoru meant when he told him to try again. Probably not. Probably he'd be angry for his part in Itadori's grief, but he's not going to walk away from it right now. )
It's all right, you can take all the time that you need.
( Because he's cruel, but even he has limits. )
no subject
The last few weeks have simply been too much for him, and he doesn't have the strength to keep fighting back right now. The tiredness has drained him, and he doesn't know what else to do except stand there, letting someone else's strong arms hold him aloft once again.
He really is so weak. ]
There's not that much time. The missions...
[ They'll come sooner rather than later. ]
no subject
( It's pitched low, conversational, like all of this is fine and Itadori is not haemorrhaging his feelings into the sand, like Geto is not certain that once he puts him back together again the boy will declare him an enemy. )
There are so many people here, with so many different abilities, and powers, and skills, so why does it have to be on the shoulders of a sixteen year old boy? I'm not saying don't help, either, before you think I'm being callous. But you are not at home, Itadori-kun, and you're not these people's last hope. You told me you believe we should work as a team, didn't you? Then why must the guilt only be yours? Let other people help you, even with this, Especially with this. A brave face is only good enough until it cracks.
no subject
[ Yuji's voice is quiet and muffled against Geto, coated with his tears, mumbling. It's all logical things, all stuff he knows, but rationality is hard right now. He's not sure what he's supposed to say in return, he's not sure what he ought to even suggest other than to sink further into Geto's grip.
Gojo-sensei is going to scold him for this, isn't he? Crying all the time, crying on Geto... ]
I made a promise.
[ It's all he can say. ]
no subject
( Hands on Yuji's shoulders to draw him back, though not to push him away. Instead Geto just looks at him. He's so young, and so tired, and it isn't fair. He sighs, uses the heel of his hand to wipe some of the damp away. It is surprisingly parental of him. )
This will use you up, Itadori-kun. It will bleed you dry. Until one day you're older than this and you'll look yourself in the mirror and you won't recognise who you are any more. Don't let it. You have people here, friends, people that want to help you. Allow them while you can.
( Geto needs to do more. He needs to take some of this shitty fucking weight. LILITH asks too much. )
no subject
[ His grandfather has no idea what happened to Yuji in the wake of that promise. All the things that have happened to him over the last few months of his life, the strange horrors and the nightmares... Did his grandpa know about this society, this world? Was he a stranger to it?
What did he know about Yuji's parents?
He sniffles, shaking his head. ]
I don't... I don't want to... [ Be a burden. Be someone that causes hurt rather than joy. ] No, I know I should, I do, it's... [ He's talking in circles. ]
no subject
( He still hasn't let go, but he smooths a hand over Itadori's shoulder. )
I can take you somewhere else. To a friend, or Satoru. Nanami. Your boyfriend. You shouldn't be alone right now.
( And Geto is no good to him. )
no subject
Blinking, cheeks grubby with his tears and eyes damp, he swallows. ]
Choso is probably already on his way.
[ If his brother is feeling what he feels... ]
no subject
he’s heralded first by his cursed energy, a dull pulse of a constant ebb and flow like the thud of a vast heart, unrelenting. as it grows with proximity, the crunch of his boots on the sand reaches audible levels, his pace slowed to match that of his own eerie organ.
yuji was in need, but here where the outsiders milled in their great, defeated number, choso couldn’t make himself thunder in like a bull as he may have done before. they are wounded, LILITH’s outsiders, they are all of them bleeding out from a wound that keeps growing wider as the reports come in, and choso cannot bring himself to trample on anything more. ]
Yuji.
[ so he calls out as he paces near, voice pitched low and soft, as if Geto Suguru were a beast no different than himself, a thing of tooth and nail and soft flesh pulsing beneath the shining barbed wire he has shelled himself with. ]
no subject
But it's something for another time. He is infinitely aware of how this looks. Itadori is tear-streaked and worn thin and Geto is a curse user famed for his cruelty. Even if neither of the bodies here know specifically why. And so very carefully he lifts his hands away, holds them up as he takes a step back. It's not quite a surrender, but he means neither of them any harm. He might not care much for the curse, but he does the boy and hurting one hurts the other. He does at least glance Choso's way, gaze unfathomable, but it's Itadori he speaks to. )
You'll be all right now, Itadori-kun. But please remember what I have said. It is a lot. Too much for one person to bear. You have people who love you, let them do what that means and help you carry it.
( Another glance, Choso's way. ) Your brother certainly looks capable. ( To the brother himself. ) You are, aren't you?
no subject
There isn’t anything in this world I would not do for Yuji.
[ big hands flex, but the tension in choso begins to drain away the more of Yuji he takes in; eyes red-rimmed and puffy, skin wan from the horror of the numbers laid on all their heads.
his little brother is wounded, but Geto Suguru’s voice was as gentle as his hands, and a wet spot glares evident on the man’s chest. ]
I am capable, so I allow you to stay if he wants you to.
no subject
[ Yuji reaches out to take his brother's, wiping at his face with the heel of the free one. He doesn't want the two of them to fight, even though he's aware of the fact that there's definite tension between the two of them. He's just too tired. ]
He didn't do anything wrong. [ This time. ] We should just go.
no subject
Make sure he eats. Sleeps.
( What would he have needed when it had been him? Rest, surely. He'd lost weight as a teen, had forgotten to eat because all he could ever taste was the bile of curses. But he knows there was something more than that too. Would it have helped if he'd spoken to someone? Yaga-sensei, with his strange kindness, or his parents? Would he have been fixed if he'd simply just crawled to either Shoko or Satoru and asked for noise or a hand to hold? Maybe. Maybe he wishes he had.
An exhale, puffed through his teeth. More sternly, because he knows either one might take exception to his commands. )
Don't leave him alone for now. Even if he tells you to. It won't help. ( Like Choso is in charge, but at least Geto holds his gaze with some measure of almost-respect. ) If you can, keep him from missions.
( It's all Geto can do now, anyway, and so with that he turns to leave. )
no subject
I will take care of him.
[ his hand in yuji’s turns, adjusts so he may grip back tightly, but he doesn’t turn away yet, won’t. ]
As long as I am here, he will never be alone.
[ as Geto Suguru turns to go, choso finally spurs himself to action, taking a half step forward, the breath building like pressure before he manages to burst out a somewhat determined, ]
Nor are you.
no subject
It's all complicated, and weird, and strange, but... ]
We're here to help you out, too, Geto-san.
[ Yuji's hand grips at Choso and he swallows. ]
Thank you.
no subject
Be he is alone in it.
Instead of saying anything more he just smiles, placid and barely there, turns on his heel abruptly to make a quick exit across the sand. It isn't his problem now. None of it is. )