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

[blastedass]

[he'll also notice a lot more notifs going on. better turn that sound off if you wanna get any damn sleep tonight.]

Yeah, it happened last summer. They said they "fixed" it. Bastards.

[thundercrashes]

Great. It's already bad enough that I'm having to deal with a headache thanks to the meds they've got us on for the vampirism shit, now I gotta deal with everyone's random thoughts being broadcasted too...

[thanks, he hates it here]

[blastedass]

Be glad it's just a fucking headache. I've thrown up every damn day this week.

[thundercrashes]

Oh yeah, that shit sucks. Sometimes it feels like the only way to make the room stop spinning so much involves having to lay on my face in bed for an hour.

[blastedass]

You've tried counter medicine right?

[thundercrashes]

Yeah, I did. It takes the edge off somewhat.

[blastedass]

Eat something heavy. It'll help you sleep.

[thundercrashes]

So you'd advise against my weight in pocky then, Bakugou-sensei?

[Manjoume must already be feeling better if he's teasing the other like this for his advice.]

[blastedass]

Eat it until your 300 lbs.

[Nar har har. Someone as rail thin as Manjoume could put on some weight.]

[thundercrashes]

[WOW, RUDE??]

I'm not doing that, that's even worse! In fact I'd probably just get sick before I'd even achieve eating that much in one sitting.

[blastedass]

[Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.]

Duh.

I heard some of the flavors do weird shit.

[thundercrashes]

Yeah? Like what?

[blastedass]

Changes your attitude, makes you act differently.

[thundercrashes]

[........]

In what way? Can you give an example?

[blastedass]

Someone said they started spilling shit about their life.

Acting all friendly and crap when they usually aren't.

[thundercrashes]

Ah.

That explains it, then.

[Take a wild guess what Manjoume means by that.]

[blastedass]

Which one did you eat?

[thundercrashes]

Whichever one it is that makes you cold and thinking stupid thoughts like hand holding will somehow make it go away.

[..............]

Probably the truth telling one too since I did not mean to actually say that shit just now.

[blastedass]

Wow, never thought you'd be such a romantic, Buzzsaw Hair!

Marooning you in the north really affected you, huh.

[thundercrashes]

Hey, I'll have you know that I can be plenty romantic when I wanna be! You should have seen at all the letters and poetry I wrote for Tenjoin-san when I was attending school with her!

...

GODDAMNIT I DIDN'T MEAN TO MENTION THAT EITHER

[blastedass]

You wrote love notes to a girl?

[thundercrashes]

ughhhhhhhhhhh

[how does someone manage to sound so aggravated even in mind-text speak, its a mystery]

Yeah, I did. I even dueled her once so that I could convince her to go on a date with me.

[blastedass]

[cause words are a thing. and he knows manjoume enough to figure his tone.]

I bet she kicked your ass.

[thundercrashes]

Yeah, she did.

[He admits it easily, no sense in pretending it didn't happen at this point. But, he's not really all that bitter about the loss.]

I knew Asuka Tenjoin was a strong duelist going into it, so I'm honestly not that surprised that she won, looking back on it now. In fact she ended up being one of the top 3 students that graduated Duel Academy alongside me, the other being a friend of ours named Shou.

[blastedass]

[The fact Manjoume says this without hesitation, as well as mentioning a friend so openly, tells Bakugo the guy's completely under the pocky's sway.]

You didn't get your date out of it though. Why the hell did you think that was a good idea? Winning a date is a shit move.