DOWNTIME MINGLE #5

[synfluxmods]

DOWNTIME MINGLE #5

CONTENT WARNINGS: medical procedures, needles, drugs, psychological changes, hallucinatory effects.

▶ 001. STATE OF THE BASE.

In light of recent events, Outsiders are provided with an ample amount of vacation time. While they are certainly permitted (and encouraged!) to continue their training or to participate in missions, Outsiders may use this downtime to facilitate their own funeral services as well as catch their breaths and be able to both physically and mentally heal from the traumatic events of Transylvania. This period of time is also to allow for any Outsiders who lost limbs during the last mission to get any necessary cybernetic surgeries and permit for proper recovery time before any missions going forward. As the enhancements are a difficult surgery, these individuals will be paired with an Outsider who will be their designated "nurse" and they will work in shifts to care and help those who received the surgeries.

In terms of the cure for those who are still experiencing symptoms of being turned into vampires, they will find clinical trials are now taking place with an experimental drug being offered in either pill or shot form. It is not the perfect fix, but it does subdue a lot of the side effects, making it easier for Outsiders to be able to walk around more freely without concern of losing control over themselves or their thirst for blood. The result of these clinical trials do seem to differ from individual to individual, however. Some side effects can cause an extended feeling of nausea, vertigo, shortness of breath, insomnia, and general feelings of exhaustion. It is suggested that those who receive this trial medicine do not drive any vehicles or enter the simulation room. All trial medicine seems to achieve a similar result, but need to be taken multiple times throughout the course of the month before actual results are seen. If one is diligent in taking the medicine, they will find that they will be reverted back to normal by the end of the month.

Additionally, there are also trial drugs being offered in America, and those who do take on the Las Vegas mission are also permitted to try them for pain relief. However, those drugs come with an additional side effect of causing strong hallucinations, and it is advised to take them in an enclosed area until the effects pass.

For those wondering about the status of the Imugi eggs the Outsiders were tasked to take care of prior to the Transylvania mission, they have been moved to a private nursery room that is inaccessible to Outsiders as they are expected to hatch soon. LILITH will be upfront with this information to Outsiders should they ask, and will also inform them that Outsiders will soon be able to visit them and be thanked for their hard work in taking care of the eggs.

▶ 002. WINNERS CIRCLE.

While it still appears to be a delicate time, in light of the success of the last mission there are a few decorations that can be found around base, as well as a handful of foods that were readily found in Transylvania which include actual meat dishes. The bulletin board is marked with the following:

GOOD JOB:

KENSUKE (K.O.)
FUTURETERROR (600)
BAD DADDY & TYPHON (600)

While normally no one entertains the idea of consuming kaiju as a go-to, in light of the recent battle that the world has only heard about in whispers, a certain cookbook comes into existence. It’s unknown who the source actually is but it is rumored that someone who works closely with kaiju released it on the down-low. The cookbook features what appears to be recipes based off of both kaiju and other monsters always believed to be fictional, including hand drawn pictures. The chef’s photo on the inside of the book looks eerily similar to someone that should be familiar to all the Outsiders.

The newest craze in Neo Tokyo is for a set of blind boxes sold only at POPPY MART’s within the city. The blind box features a beaked cyborg kaiju named “GIBUBU”— no one seems to know how this came about, but there are rumors a certain personnel at LILITH helped create it. GIBUBU can be seen wearing various outfits, including the secret rare version of him in a fuzzy brown suit dressed as a bear. Try and collect them all!

A series of strategic board games are released in which the pieces appear to be very similar to two particular Outsiders but in different color palettes. The virtual board game is a cross between monopoly and a strategy war game in which each party competes against one another to become the richest and strongest warriors, creating their very own empires. Apparently, the game itself has already sparked several strategy guides online! There is also a physical copy available, but it is released as a limited edition.

As the mission to Transylvania was optional and considered overtime, those who partook in the mission will receive a notification that 500,000 KRYPTOS (~3200 USD) has been deposited into their account.

▶ 003. POCKY DAY.

The Halloween festivities run late into the first week of November, but while that’s all cleared and done away with by the second week, it doesn’t mean the holiday season ends there! Now that October's over, it’s all about Pocky Day!

Neo Tokyo’s craze for Pocky Day is only amplified with the new pocky dropping on the day of. While it’s newly released on 11/11, they will be available all throughout the month of November. What someone didn’t say, however, is that this pocky was actually undergoing further research but was released far too early. Each stick of pocky has been made with certain biotech causing various types of reactions in people depending on its flavor. While that’s half the fun, it’s also made a complete mess of the city.

So far, the known issues with each flavor are as listed:

STRAWBERRY - Eating this particular flavor will make those who eat it kinder and more agreeable. They will find they will have difficulties saying no, and will do their best to make those around them happy! Wonderful with the holiday season around the corner.

MATCHA - Who knows why, but chomping down on this flavor makes one more likely to speak openly and truthfully about themselves, and also be inquisitive towards others.

BLACK SESAME - Those who consume this flavor become agitated and more prone to lashing out. Also if they have a grudge against someone, they may be more likely to act on these negative emotions.

ROSE - While it’s not Valentine’s day, taking a bite out of this one will certainly make one feel like it is! It increases one's general desire for affection and physical touch.

MELON - This will make one feel like they can’t sit still for a second. It will make them feel constantly antsy as if they need to impulsively jump into the next thing. What’s the worst that can happen?

While a lot of these flavors are to be reviewed and confiscated by both the companies and government agencies by the end of the month, they will be found littered throughout the city in the meantime.

OOC Note: You are 100% free to make up your own flavors and effects if you’d like. As always, just make sure to mark each CW appropriately. By the end of November, it can be presumed they’ve all been taken off the shelves, but if people wanted to hold onto a box or two for the future, well… they can’t be stopped.

▶ 004. TFLN REDUX.

Those who have been with LILITH for some time may remember the ocular glitch that happened half a year ago. Thanks to an upgrade gone wrong, that very same glitch is now back.

It happens the first time, and several times throughout the week as your character goes about their routine. The sound of machine-like whirring, deep within their cranium, like a computer that’s in the midst of processing some new information. Then, there’s the familiar ping of a new public message, and whatever you were thinking about at that point in time will be plastered on the network for all to read and react to. Thinking about your recent health check results? Having a fun night out at a club? Regretting said night out at the club? Falling into a deep depression about how your life has turned out so far? It doesn’t matter when or where, because the system doesn’t discriminate. You’ll soon find the thoughts you were having during those moments posted on the network and you can’t delete them.

This is a TFLN-inspired mingle that’s been tweaked to make it completely canon to the game. Due to a glitch in the system, random thoughts that characters might be having throughout the week will be registered as network posts and posted in public for all to see and respond to. This can happen at any time as they wander around the main base or different Neo Tokyo locations!

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Write out prompts (example below) for others to respond to. These can be thoughts they’re having in bed, at work, while intoxicated or what-have-you. You can look up shower thoughts or TFLN as inspiration, but remember that this will be game canon so it has to be written in your character’s voice.
2. Go around and respond to others!
3. ???
4. PROFIT!

Participation in this mingle isn’t obligatory, of course. If you don’t want your character to participate, you can simply assume the glitch did not affect them. We also have a code below for fun, but please don't feel pressured to use it. As always, a regular text thread works out just fine! Most importantly, have fun!

(Please remember to put warnings for NSFW/triggering content in the subject header.)

<lj-raw><div style="width:60%;display:flex;align-items:flex-end;flex-direction:row-reverse;font-family:calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:1.3;color:#fff;"> <!--YOUR ICON--> <img src="IMG_HERE" style="width:40px;border-radius:100%;"> <!--YOUR MSGS--> <div style="margin:0 10px 0 0;"> <!--MSG - COPY/PASTE AS NEEDED - NOTE: IF YOUR MESSAGE IS LONGER, JUST ADD MORE BR CODE SPACING AT THE END AND IT SHOULD ADJUST - JUST REMEMBER TO PREVIEW --> <div style="background:#90EE90;padding:8px 12px;border-radius:10px;margin:5px 0 0 0;float:right;clear:both;max-width:250px;"> !!TEXT HERE!!! </div><br></br> <!--MSG - COPY/PASTE AS NEEDED--> <div style="background:#90EE90;padding:8px 12px;border-radius:10px;margin:5px 0 0 0;float:right;clear:both;max-width:250px;"> !!TEXT HERE!!! </div><br></br> <!--MSG - COPY/PASTE AS NEEDED--> <div style="background:#90EE90;padding:8px 12px;border-radius:10px;margin:5px 0 0 0;float:right;clear:both;max-width:250px;"> !!TEXT HERE!!! </div><br></br> <!--MSG - COPY/PASTE AS NEEDED--> <div style="background:#90EE90;padding:8px 12px;border-radius:10px;margin:5px 0 0 0;float:right;clear:both;max-width:250px;"> !!TEXT HERE!!! </div><br></br> </div> </div>

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our fifth downtime mingle! All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards November AC.

Those characters who are currently vampires can remain vampires until December 15. Ideally all characters will have ICly taken their medicines and been cured by the end of the month, but any stragglers will be rounded up by medical staff and forced to finish their series of drugs until they are healed.

Any character that lost an appendage during the last event can get a basic prosthetic for free without needing to spend reward points. Any additional upgrades will require points.

As stated in the post, players are welcome to come up with any additional Pocky flavors and side effects they would like. The ones listed above are merely suggestions.

For the LINE app, characters are welcome to customize their app with different themes, as well as download sticker packs. Anything that you would typically expect to be present in a messaging app can be found!

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. STATE OF THE BASE: Outsiders are back on base after a long and harrowing mission. They are given time off to see to their own needs, which can include: preparing for funerals, getting surgeries for prosthetic limbs, and general R&R. There is also a trial cure being developed to combat the symptoms of vampirism in Outsiders, which all infected Outsiders are required to take. The Imugi eggs are expected to hatch soon and have been moved to a private nursing room so that they won't be disturbed.

2. WINNERS CIRCLE: The heavy hitters/KO winners of the last kaiju fight receive their sponsorships, including kaiju-focused cookbooks, strategy board game sets, and strange little dolls.

3. POCKY DAY: New shipments of Pocky fill the shelves of Neo-Tokyo; however, some of these Pocky shipments have been tampered with, causing anyone who eats them to suffer from a variety of side effects. All affected Pocky will be rounded up by the end of the month and disposed of.

4. TFLN: Outsiders' ocular implants glitch, leading them to send out stray messages and thoughts unprompted.

code

Comments

Raidou Kuzunoha XIV | Devil Summoner | Everlight

[the_fourteenth]

▶ 001. TFLN

Five more chapters in my history text. Take notes tonight, start essay tomorrow. Once done, then start on the newest farming text. Rotate out the latest crab meat in the freezer. Skipped jogging yesterday so do an extra mile tonight. Shift tomorrow night at the shrine for four hours, then again on Friday. Thursday trip to Okinawa for teaching fishing basics. Stop at the junkyard at some point to look for usable lumber. Maybe this weekend?

[About 50% of his daily thoughts are consumed with wondering what Yuji is up to when he is not in direct eyeline of Raidou. Insert one here. He's predictable and also smitten, forgive him.]

Reminder to self: no matter how many times you think that you're getting tired of crab meat, remember the ration bars.

Search: interesting crab meat recipes

Have they really forgiven me? Or are they just saying it? And surely, he hasn't. I'm not sure he'd accept words. I want to do better for all of them, even if they won't forgive me.

I'm relieved there's a cure, but I'll miss the cute fangs.

harai tamae kiyome tamae rokkon shojo harai tamae kiyome tamae rokkon shojo harai tamae kiyome tamae rokkon shojo harai tamae kiyome tamae rokkon shojo

[So, for that last one. Those in the known might recognize this as the prayer one recites while doing purification under a waterfall. Any responses to this one will met with a delay in response of a few hours. Curious!]



▶ 002. POCKY DAY
A.

[You're minding your own business, about to turn a corner somewhere on the base, when you're just run into by Hurricane Kuzunoha. Seems like he was in an awful hurry, and the normally deft and agile summoner runs right into you. He bounces off you unharmed, but hitting him is a lot harder than one might expect. Thanks, nanobots. If you fall down, he'll stop to offer a hand to help you up. There's a textbook in his other hand. If you ask him where he's going, for a moment he stares at you blankly. His mind is going a mile a minute. What was he doing?] Oh! Um. The kitchen? [Did he just ask you? Looks like someone might have gotten into the melon pocky.]

B.

[Once everyone figures out what the flavors of the pocky are up to, Raidou will have to resist his sweet tooth and stay away. Except... what if he snuck some away. For Reasons. In case of emergency. At an outdoor market vendor in the city, where he thinks he's alone, Raidou grabs three boxes of the strawberry, and... one rose. Surely this wouldn't be embarrassing to anyone else in the world except maybe this kid.]

▶ 003. WILDCARD

[In case there is anything else you want Raidou for this month! Other pocky shenanigans, other texts, perhaps catching up with him about his project in Okinawa? I'm open.]

1; @curse

[gimu]

raidou
summoner
with all respect
please
take a nap

[the_fourteenth]

[Oh god. Not this "glitch" again.]

No time.

[gimu]

i’m coming over.

[the_fourteenth]

[This feel ominous]

That's not necessary.

[gimu]

[ surely it’s just your imagination, but is that not the heavy clomp of footsteps coming down the hall? ]

it’s nap-time.

@malewife

[swiftshatter]

I'm guessing you hunted down a whole bunch of crabs over at the beach?

[the_fourteenth]

With their size, it's easy to just take down one and return with a lot of meat. Just want to make sure that I'm not overstocking and that the older stuff in the freezer gets used up first.

[swiftshatter]

Hmmmm, have you tried Butter Crab? Or adding the extra meat to a hot pot? Actually, hot pot's a great way to get rid of a lot of leftover ingredients all at once.

[the_fourteenth]

Definitely have done butter. Hot pot is a great idea, especially since we have leftovers at the moment. I think not as much was getting eaten due to the vampirism, and I should have adjusted the amount I was bringing back.

Once everyone is cured, perhaps a hot pot celebration is in order.

[swiftshatter]

[ Oh yeah. The vampire thing. ]

That sounds like a great idea. I can pitch in too when it comes to ingredients.

That sounds like it might have been tricky though, balancing everything while people were vampires. Did everyone really have to drink blood??

@poker

[stonehearts]

The fangs are a fun charm point!

[the_fourteenth]

[Guuuh how embarrassing...]

It's not strange to think so?

@goddess of death

[queenofkur]

Y
You'll miss the cute fangs?

[the_fourteenth]

[Eresh help he's so embarrassed]

If there is any positive of the situation, I suppose it was that?

Don't get me wrong, I am very glad to hear it's finally able to be reversed

[queenofkur]

W
Well I suppose those fangs could be cute from a certain perspective.

But dangerous too.
You definitely shouldn't regret them.

[the_fourteenth]

I think once everyone is cured and feeling better, we should host a celebratory dinner.

@Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight

[blastedass]

You and Denji both, huh.

[... oh right.]

The fangs.

[the_fourteenth]

I guess so.

[This face is so red right now on the other end of this message.]

I don't know. There's just

something

[blastedass]

[He won't spend too long on it. Embarrassing.]

Dangerous?

[the_fourteenth]

Possibly

But cute too?

[Maybe he's read too many mythology books.]

@dragontales TFLN (it's all I can do as of late apparently)

[lunarchivist]

Forgive me for reading these, I know they're not meant to be public.

[Ironic, considering what he's about to say. Type. Whatever.]

You can never be sure if forgiveness others give you is "true" or not. I think it takes a certain trust in them to be genuine. In the end all you can do is believe in them and move forward. Easier said than done, I know. But...it helps.

.......it's harder to forgive yourself, I find. Are you okay?

[The answer is obvious, but he might as well ask. For once not someone coming in here to tell Raidou to slow down. Dan Heng knows keeping busy is its own form of coping. But with such guilt still weighing on him, is it really working...?]

[the_fourteenth]

[His guilty thoughts being broadcast sure isn't helping.]

They say time heals all wounds, and I guess I can hope that that's true.

[lunarchivist]

[Sorry...]To an extent that is true. But some wounds, physical or otherwise, take longer to heal. And some leave scars. Care and rest can make them less severe perhaps, but we can only live the best we can with them. ...but it's okay to hurt too.

Or delegate tasks. It's not a reflection on your ability. You'll be surprised how many are happy to help you with such a list. Like I could help rotate the crab in the freezer so you don't have to worry about it?

...I was also going to visit the orphanage soon. I. Heard Bakugo was voluntold- volunteering there. So making sure he doesn't blow up on the kids is something else I can do. Is there anything in the greenhouse or anywhere you'd like delivered to the kids? I can take care of that.

[the_fourteenth]

I'm trying. Really. I made a post to the network seeing if I could find those with more experience in all of this to help. that doesn't mean there still isn't a lot for me to do. This projectwas my idea, so it's my responsibility to see it through.

[Or so Ratio had told him, when Raidou had asked if the doctor would like to lead this instead.]

Tomorrow when I come back from the groves, I can pass some fruit on to you to take to them. Or I would be glad to cook something if that would be better. I've been wanting to help more with them as well.

[As an orphan himself, it's important to him.]