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 Koreaβs 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 didnβt track down an injured and resting Imugi—they tracked down the Imugiβs 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. LILITHβs 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.
βΆ 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's disappointed in himself for feeling relief to hear Raidou say that. Knowing he's not the only one who's been so injured by the failure, giving up actually slotted itself in as a grumpy choice for once in his life. Spiteful giving up, not because he was weak, but because it was pointless to continue forward. As perfect as Katsuki likes to pretend he is, he's made mistakes before, he's been wrong before, but this time...
Damn, Raidou's hitting him in all the right places tonight. From answering the bitterness to pointing out the truth both of them know shines bright in their hearts. He tightens his fingers on Raidou's shoulder, teeth gritting with the kind words that swarm across his chest. Because we're heroes. It's what we do. So many times he's said that to others, to himself, a reminder of his own belief and the core tenant of what makes a hero.
That's right. A hero only really loses when he gives up. No one else can choose for Katsuki whether he's lost or not. His resolve shakes still, but the cracks are closing up again, refusing with the same heat that's always burned inside him. Raidou's warmth provides the current.]
Aa. We'll win. We have to. That's what heroes do.
[It's not as hard to say those words now. Even if there's a hollow echo to them in the face of their failure, they're not dead. Moving forward, saving more, that's atonement for the lives lost. As Raidou said, they decide based on the information given to them. They weren't wrong. They're not stupid. The Outsiders chose based on what was most logical to succeed.
He exhales hard against Raidou's chest.] We already know how to live with it.
[It's been three days and none of them are dead. They've chosen to live, even with the pain.]
[They'll win or die trying. That's what it comes down to.]
I want to help. But I don't want to make mistakes that cause such tragedy. I...
[Fighting makes him feel weak. Staying out makes him feel like a coward. When he fights with everything he's got, he gets told he's being too reckless. He doesn't know how to reconcile all of this, and it tears him up inside.]
I don't know. I don't know if I ever will know what's right to do. But as long as I keep helping people... if I know anything, it's helping is wrong answer.
[He leans his head against Katsuki's, tired. A bone-deep, soul wrenching exhaustion that started right before he arrived in Neo Tokyo.]
[He has no intention of dying. LILITH brought them here to win, and fuck if he's going to do anything less than complete eradication of the kaiju threat before he's satisfied!]
You didn't-- We didn't make any fucking mistake. If we hadn't gone after that bastard, it would've returned after we left and destroyed everything we saved. [Leaving them in the same predicament, from another angle. "Abandoning" the city to their repairs, too far away when the second attack came without warning. The only mistake that was made was LILITH fucking up the tracking.
Katsuki's aware of the two-fold feelings inside the other boy, having seen him staying away from the worm-zombified prey in Vegas until the blonde forced him into the battle. Getting his arm dislocated against the dragon likely didn't help, but his blade struck several times, drew blood, and pissed the dragon off enough to make it strike out at him. That's the same level of success all of them had. Ants swarming a beast and killing it by a thousand cuts. He would never say Raidou's weak.]
You already said what's right. [He finally finds the strength to move his arm and wrap it around his friend's shoulders, this time drawing Raidou close into an embrace. Head turning to the side, mouth resting close to the summoner's neck.]
We're here to help people. [They're only human (most of them), and even if this mistake was a tragedy... the other possible results weren't pleasant either. Not with the Busan team failing to kill the second dragon.]
Aa. [Living one day at a time. Learning from their mistakes.] Raidou... thanks... for fighting with me.
[Katsuki probably can't see the small smile on Raidou, but he can hear it when it speaks up.]
And thank you. For always having my back.
[He really doesn't know what he'd do here, how he'd have made it this far without Katskui and Yuji. Raidou feels lucky to have so many good friends here, but the two of them have been able to help life him back to his feet and keep him fighting when he's felt at his worst. He wants to be able to do the same for them.
Having others to rely on is a blessing and a curse, but in times like this, Raidou is so glad for it.]
[It's audible. The light in his voice brings a gentle relief to Katsuki's chest again. Raidou's not down and out. He's still here, breathing, alive, ready, even amid the pain. A man who can smile again.]
You've had mine. And you've never given up.
[Katsuki's proud of him for that most of all. He wants to do more to help Raidou, but beyond training and working with him on his skills and new tech, what's left is encouraging and supporting. Yet so many times, the other boy's helped Katsuki as well. In battle and out. He came here not wanting to make friends, and now he's sitting beside one of his best friends in this world.
Clasping his hand and letting him help him back to his feet. So many times Katsuki's had trouble accepting help, offered or needed. But every now and then, he has to face reality.]
Aa. Together.
[That's something heroes do too. Working together to do things they wouldn't have otherwise alone.]
I almost did. I wanted to. But if I did, what would I have left?
[His conscience would never let him sit out forever. Watching his Outsider colleagues put their lives on the line while he did nothing would kill him worse than trying and failing.]
Of course. It's probably better we don't keep staying alone, huh.
[Holing up in their rooms is the easy way out. Maybe Raidou can get some sleep knowing someone is there.]
If you ever find out, I hope it's for a positive reason.
[Retiring from the summoner life. Deciding to step back and live with someone more important than the duty. Personal happiness during peaceful times. Something that would permit him to "give up" without the burden of a conscience telling him he did something wrong. All duty comes to an end eventually.
In the meantime, they can have all the "almost" they want, so long as they don't have a single "did it" to their name.]
Yeah. [He needs to be alone for a while, to parse through things his own way. But eventually... with someone he's close to... he'll spend some time with them.] I'll tape your face shut if you snore.
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synflux2024-08-22 04:03 am
no subject
Damn, Raidou's hitting him in all the right places tonight. From answering the bitterness to pointing out the truth both of them know shines bright in their hearts. He tightens his fingers on Raidou's shoulder, teeth gritting with the kind words that swarm across his chest. Because we're heroes. It's what we do. So many times he's said that to others, to himself, a reminder of his own belief and the core tenant of what makes a hero.
That's right. A hero only really loses when he gives up. No one else can choose for Katsuki whether he's lost or not. His resolve shakes still, but the cracks are closing up again, refusing with the same heat that's always burned inside him. Raidou's warmth provides the current.]
Aa. We'll win. We have to. That's what heroes do.
[It's not as hard to say those words now. Even if there's a hollow echo to them in the face of their failure, they're not dead. Moving forward, saving more, that's atonement for the lives lost. As Raidou said, they decide based on the information given to them. They weren't wrong. They're not stupid. The Outsiders chose based on what was most logical to succeed.
He exhales hard against Raidou's chest.] We already know how to live with it.
[It's been three days and none of them are dead. They've chosen to live, even with the pain.]
no subject
[They'll win or die trying. That's what it comes down to.]
I want to help. But I don't want to make mistakes that cause such tragedy. I...
[Fighting makes him feel weak. Staying out makes him feel like a coward. When he fights with everything he's got, he gets told he's being too reckless. He doesn't know how to reconcile all of this, and it tears him up inside.]
I don't know. I don't know if I ever will know what's right to do. But as long as I keep helping people... if I know anything, it's helping is wrong answer.
[He leans his head against Katsuki's, tired. A bone-deep, soul wrenching exhaustion that started right before he arrived in Neo Tokyo.]
I suppose we do. One day at a time, as they say.
no subject
You didn't-- We didn't make any fucking mistake. If we hadn't gone after that bastard, it would've returned after we left and destroyed everything we saved. [Leaving them in the same predicament, from another angle. "Abandoning" the city to their repairs, too far away when the second attack came without warning. The only mistake that was made was LILITH fucking up the tracking.
Katsuki's aware of the two-fold feelings inside the other boy, having seen him staying away from the worm-zombified prey in Vegas until the blonde forced him into the battle. Getting his arm dislocated against the dragon likely didn't help, but his blade struck several times, drew blood, and pissed the dragon off enough to make it strike out at him. That's the same level of success all of them had. Ants swarming a beast and killing it by a thousand cuts. He would never say Raidou's weak.]
You already said what's right. [He finally finds the strength to move his arm and wrap it around his friend's shoulders, this time drawing Raidou close into an embrace. Head turning to the side, mouth resting close to the summoner's neck.]
We're here to help people. [They're only human (most of them), and even if this mistake was a tragedy... the other possible results weren't pleasant either. Not with the Busan team failing to kill the second dragon.]
Aa. [Living one day at a time. Learning from their mistakes.] Raidou... thanks... for fighting with me.
no subject
And thank you. For always having my back.
[He really doesn't know what he'd do here, how he'd have made it this far without Katskui and Yuji. Raidou feels lucky to have so many good friends here, but the two of them have been able to help life him back to his feet and keep him fighting when he's felt at his worst. He wants to be able to do the same for them.
Having others to rely on is a blessing and a curse, but in times like this, Raidou is so glad for it.]
Together. That's how we'll do this.
no subject
You've had mine. And you've never given up.
[Katsuki's proud of him for that most of all. He wants to do more to help Raidou, but beyond training and working with him on his skills and new tech, what's left is encouraging and supporting. Yet so many times, the other boy's helped Katsuki as well. In battle and out. He came here not wanting to make friends, and now he's sitting beside one of his best friends in this world.
Clasping his hand and letting him help him back to his feet. So many times Katsuki's had trouble accepting help, offered or needed. But every now and then, he has to face reality.]
Aa. Together.
[That's something heroes do too. Working together to do things they wouldn't have otherwise alone.]
Hey... Can I spend the night?
no subject
[His conscience would never let him sit out forever. Watching his Outsider colleagues put their lives on the line while he did nothing would kill him worse than trying and failing.]
Of course. It's probably better we don't keep staying alone, huh.
[Holing up in their rooms is the easy way out. Maybe Raidou can get some sleep knowing someone is there.]
no subject
[Retiring from the summoner life. Deciding to step back and live with someone more important than the duty. Personal happiness during peaceful times. Something that would permit him to "give up" without the burden of a conscience telling him he did something wrong. All duty comes to an end eventually.
In the meantime, they can have all the "almost" they want, so long as they don't have a single "did it" to their name.]
Yeah. [He needs to be alone for a while, to parse through things his own way. But eventually... with someone he's close to... he'll spend some time with them.] I'll tape your face shut if you snore.