synflux | TEAM BUILDING EVENT #1

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TEAM BUILDING EVENT #1

TEAM BUILDING EVENT #1

CONTENT WARNINGS: forced scenarios, violence & action scenarios, thalassophobia, mass death & injury from natural disaster.

▶ 001. GET ALONG PROMPT

LILITH is highly invested in the physical and mental well-being of its employees. A happy and connected workforce is a strong workforce, after all. However, SYNTHIA has picked up on many instances of discontent between Outsiders - people being blocked by each other on LINE, or teetering on the edge of having a fight (you know who you are and so does SYNTHIA, surprise!) That just won't do. Outsiders who cannot get along will fail miserably when it's time for teamwork. That is why this month's team-building exercise aims to spread positivity amongst the Outsiders. We all gotta get along in the middle of a crisis.

Whether you are looking someone in the face, texting them, or staring at their profile on the network, you receive a prompt from SYNTHIA, followed by an image (exactly as pictured, Shutterstock watermark and all):

"LILITH promotes a positive working environment. Why don't you pay this Outsider a compliment or do something nice for them? Or else :) Noncompliance will result in disciplinary action."

True enough, ignoring the prompt a total of 5 times will result in characters being transported to their rooms and put under house arrest - ahem, time out for a total of 2 days. It doesn't hurt to play along, right? As a note, the prompts become especially persistent when you're faced with someone you dislike. Should Outsiders try to leave their room during this time, they will find the automatic doors do not open the typical way (retina scan and thumb print.) They are trapped! Perhaps asking SYNTHIA for some mercy with positive compliments directed her way will do the trick (it won't, bu you can try!) Remember, Outsiders can speak to SYNTHIA anytime. She's everywhere all the time. Consider her your prettier Alexa. In fact, she might be flattered by that compliment.

▶ 002. TEAM ACTIVITIES.

You've had your fun back at the MAIN BASE. Now it's time to work. Outsiders will be sent back out towards Tokyo Bay while LILITH's research crew continues to try and detect the source of the strong waves. The city is in disarray after the tsunami, with the less secured buildings torn down and many lives lost. Morale within Neo Tokyo is at an all time low even with civilians comforting one another. Each Outsider will receive a small mission brief marked in the colours of their respective team as they are once again flown via helicopter to the designated area.

REDEMPTION:
Outsiders within REDEMPTION are tasked to spread joy in the streets and at the hospital. Be creative in how you wish to do this, whether it's putting on a performance, a skit, or spreading kindness with gifts and sweet gestures. Those with a Style Upgrade are encouraged to use their chip to don funny and eye catching costumes to entertain the civilians. Those with a healing upgrade are highly encouraged to help medical staff.

REVELATION:
Outsiders within REVELATION are tasked with babysitting duties. Many parents are still recovering in the hospital and there's no one to watch their children while they recover. A lot of pets need looking after too! Make sure the children and furbabies are fed, clothed and getting enough sleep. This can even include filling in for classrooms that have recently lost their teacher. Outsiders in REVELATION are encouraged to keep a tally of the census and go looking for lost children if someone seems to be missing.

EVERLIGHT:
Outsiders within EVERLIGHT will be tasked with keeping the people fed and the local businesses running. This can mean organising a soup kitchen, preparing homecooked meals for the civilians and delivering hot meals door to door. It can also mean helping local businesses with repairs to their shops, bringing them supplies and filling in for the staff they might have lost. The city might have just been hit with a tsunami, but that doesn't mean it needs to shut down!

BRIMSTONE:
Outsiders within BRIMSTONE are the luckiest of the lot - they get to be clean up crew. They will be mandated to wear hazmat suits in outrageous colours along with breathing gear. Why? Because they will be scrubbing the whole place of rubble, dirt, debris and corpses. Yes, corpses. Outsiders within BRIMSTONE will be given a census and tasked with identifying any dead body they find. They will then need to transport the corpse to the nearest LILITH disposal truck on a stretcher, where LILITH will cremate it properly. Note that they will be some survivors in the mix, so be prepared to administer first aid and conduct rescue operations accordingly.

Within certain parts of the city (the sewers, in particular, which have flooded with water), the natural flora seems to have been poisoned by a mysterious element. Toxic, monstrous plants are coming alive and attacking anything they see! They bind and strangle Outsiders with their vines and sting them with their nettles. These plants need to be dealt with before they overgrow. Fire & ice works well on them.

"Good afternoon, Angels of LILITH. Please pay close attention to the brief sent to you. We have specific duties for each team. Once you have done enough work, you will be prompted to help another team with their tasks if you desire. Our research crew is searching for the source of the kaiju and we have received information it is in the ocean. Please be ready in case it makes an appearance again before we can find it. You will be staying in Moonlight Inn & 11 Hours hostel once again as we should remain close by. Thank you for the cooperation."

Outsiders will need to finish their team missions. However, if they have time afterward and want to do some overtime, they are more than welcome to help the other teams on their missions.

▶ 003. IT ISN'T OVER YET.

Those who remember the mission brief two weeks ago will know that the first shockwaves are usually the sign of an impending kaiju. LILITH is conducting their own investigations, but with a fresh and energetic workforce it only makes sense to ultilize it. All Outsiders will be given orders to collect samples and bring it back for ongoing testing. By samples, they mean contaminated fish or ocean life remains, or samples of the toxic plants appearing in the sewers.

For Outsiders braving the sewers, they will need to don the silly hazmat suits issued to BRIMSTONE for their own protection and fight off the monstrous plants to clip some samples. It's encouraged to get leaves, stems, seeds, flowers or the whole plant if you can manage it. (Note that collecting the whole plant in a sample container will result in said plant hissing and striking you through the glass.)

For Outsiders who feel like taking a swim, they will be given diving suits and ordered to take a dive in Tokyo Bay. Once in the waters, they are to hunt down and capture any contaminated fish or marine life they can find. This means tuna fish with three eyes or octopi with two heads and 16 legs. It's encouraged to capture them live, but LILITH will also accept remains or waste samples. (Note that the available oxygen in the tank is limited and attempting to swim too far from Neo Tokyo will likely result in an Outsider drowning. )

▶ 004. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our first CR Building event! All prompts are highly encouraged but OOCly optional. Characters are encouraged to participate in their team-specific missions but can help out the other teams if they have time. Feel free to ask any event-related questions below!

As always, you are free to check out our main base and locations page and make up your own prompts!

Please note that all tags in this log will count for 2 reward points each. Have fun! The next log will feature the kaiju fight and will be posted on FEBRUARY 1st in lieu of a TDM.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bullshit. [Oh he has learned more than enough that "nothing" said like that means anything but nothing. It's not his place to pry, and normally he wouldn't give a shit, but the AI's been annoying about compliments. Stick it to the bitch, right? Plus it's not going to help him if Raidou's beating himself down into a funk when he's needed.

No one's happy to be here (as far as he figures) but this dour mood doesn't seem like it's reality check gloom.]

Is that why you're washing windows?

It gives me something to do. [He says nothing after that for several moments. What would he do, say something about what happened to him, only to get berated for being weak, for being a failure? He's doing a good enough job of that on himself. The terrible feelings he was mired in were something Raidou's never experienced until now, and it's harder than he ever imagined to bounce back from.

He folds up the ladder, then stops while holding it, looking out those windows.]

I was the Capital's summoner, and now I am Neo Tokyo's. My feelings are irrelevant to my duties. My will is for the people of this city, just as it had been in my home. That much has not changed, even if I am Kuzunoha in name only now.

[From the deadpan delivery of this, these lines have an almost rehearsed feeling. Like he's said something similar to it many, many times.

He picks up his bucket of supplies with one hand, and threads his arm through the ladder to carry it on his other shoulder. He looks at Bakugo now, eyes cold.]

I just want to work.

Edited (html, my nemesis) 2024-01-18 04:29 (UTC)

Uh-huh. [Something to do to stave off boredom is different from something to do to distract from issues. He's no stranger to blowing off steam or engaging in activities to vent frustrations or sequester away to let his mind wander and figure things out on his own. Away from people who want to pry and offer advice or encouragements, shit he doesn't want to deal with. Bakugo's never liked letting others help him, whether it's with physical tasks or emotional problems. He expects Raidou to be the same.

So it's surprising when he actually stops and offers an insight.

What he hears is a split down the middle. Some would see it as an admirable adaption to the circumstances. Some would see it as traitorous cowering. Bakugo narrows his eyes for a different reason, even though he feels both of those responses.

Meaning the ladder gets stopped before it can tilt, caught on one side by the blonde's hand. Those cold steel eyes don't intimidate him, and he glares right back with hard red.]

I wasn't asking the fucking title that wants to work. [The robotic position this guy possesses.] I'm asking the person who felt sadness enough to stop working and stare out the window.

[Not the Capital's summoner. But rather the unnamed human boy that carries a will of his own.]

[Raidou is taken aback by this, not expecting such a question out of Bakugo, knocking that cold gaze away. That human being down in there was definitely struggling to hide, or maybe to be seen. Raidou bites his lip to stifle his expression.

His mind goes to Seimei, as it does all the time since he arrived, and how he acted like he cared. How Raidou had fallen for it. He can't let himself fall for it again. Doing so had cost him everything.]

That person died along with Kuzunoha Raidou the Fourteenth.

[He would've take more satisfaction out of apparently sucker punching this guy, but he's more concerned with at least punching through the surface and getting an answer from the armored train conductor. People who put on that blank mask of indifference, covering themselves in cold and distance, have reasons for it...

Raidou apparently knows that, considering that brief slide of his lip between his teeth. Trying to hide something so intense, he has to physically stop himself? Damn, that's telling as fuck.]

Don't fuck with me. That person was just looking out the window. And he just bit your damn lip too.

[Bakugo tightens his grip on the ladder, eyes burrowing into Raidou.]

I don't care what position or role you have; you're not a fucking robot and you suck at pretending to be one.

[And that's exactly why he failed at his duties and was defeated. Because he wasn't an emotionless robot after all.

His head dips again, but when he meets Bakugo's eyes again, there is more resolve there.]

Do you care? Because up until now, nearly everything else you've ever said to me would lead me to believe otherwise.

[It's not harsh or accusatory. He almost sounds disappointed. Why was it, of all people - the person who flies off the handle over nearly everything, and called him names - that he was standing here doing this? Does he care or does he just want to get a rise out of Raidou? It wasn't making sense to him.]

[He meets the resolve without backing. There are arguments to being an expressionless robot, hardening yourself against emotions and going against the world with metal between everything and you. But there's a cost to that.

And when a robot fails, it has no hope of getting back up and going again. Not unless someone else does that for it. Or fixes it and improves upon it. All things the robot can't do on its own. Just a pathetic machine with no hopes of improving itself after a failure.

Bakugo bristles at the blunt question. ]

Don't put it like that, dammit! What you said is fucking stupid.

[He crosses his arms over his chest, glaring at Raidou.]

I didn't give a bath to some soulless robot. [For example.] Listening to you talk like that pissed me off.

[Bakugo saying those things makes Raidou glower at him for a moment, but he wasn't wrong, was he.]

I'm sorry. It's just--

[Should he be sorry? He didn't know. He struggles to come up with what to say next.]

I don't what I'm supposed to do. I don't know how--

[How to deal with this grief, something he's never had to do before. He just doesn't recognize it for what it is, or how to make it stop. Not knowing what else to say, Raidou shakes his head.]

[Despite his horrible attitude, Bakugo's annoyingly perceptive, even with other people's emotions. Minor tells on their expression or tone, along with their posture or words, can say a lot about how they feel or their intent.

Why the hell's he apologizing? ... Bakugo's glare eases off into a more normal RBF frown.]

You don't have to say anything. [Though the dismissal is there to give Raidou a way out, it's not the best way to handle something balled up and stuffed inside. He should know that well enough himself.] But it'll be easier to talk about it.

[Seeing him clearly struggling to deal with something, Bakugo pushes the ladder up to rest it against the wall again.]

Do you talk better while fighting or resting?

[Raidou rubs the back of his neck, before managing the faintest of smiles.]

During neither, probably.

[He does have to think about it though, since that's not something he's ever been asked. When fighting or sparring, all thoughts are gone from his head except for the battle in front of him. Talking then would only be a distraction, and he doesn't want that.

More than that, accepting the offer, if that's what that is, is also a struggle. He talked a little about this with Lucy, but that was against his will. Maybe if it was voluntary, it would be easier.]

I... suppose the latter.

[He isn't surprised about the answer. While Bakugo has dealt with voicing his own frustrations and struggles (the extremely rare times he ever does so) via aggression and battle, someone like Raidou definitely seems the person to lock up during a fight and focus on the objective only. Robot mode, as Bakugo's going to call it. Still, worth an ask, since he knows the guy practices kendo for his swordsmanship.

The "probably" is aggravating, but whatever. Talking would be a distraction during battle, and some people are very good at capitalizing on that generated distraction. Heroes and villains both use it in his world.

Leaving "resting" as the only other choice. And that's a question as to how. Sitting in a room would be awkward as fuck, it's freezing outside, so traveling to a restaurant to get something to eat would be stupid, and who the hell knows what's going on in the Everlight kitchen right now. Plus that's public, not a place you want to try and vent talk in.

Can't believe he's even going to offer this, but...]

You want another hot bath?

[Look at him funny and he's gonna throw you through the damn window, Shashou.]

[That was the last thing Raidou was expecting. But, even he can recognize that this offer probably took some effort on Bakugo's part. Maybe that means Raidou can try a little harder, too.

No funny look; as a matter of fact, it gets a smile and a nod out of him.]

Sure, okay.

[Hmph. A smile's not the worst thing to get out of this guy. Bakugo looks towards the windows for a second, then turns and heads off to make good on that offer. At least the place has private baths rather than dumping everyone into a big first-floor communal bath. Honestly, he doesn't know why he's bothering with this... but that damn AI wanted them to "play nice" so whatever.

If it gets Raidou to come to grips with his flunk, that'll only make him better in the long run. Stronger teammate, stronger chances of surviving and making it out of this shithole.]

[Along the way, Raidou debates whether or not to talk. It felt awkward to say anything, but it also felt the same not too. Everything felt awkward. He couldn't even try to politely decline in case Bakugo didn't really want to do this - Raidou is fairly certain Bakugo never does anything he doesn't want to. In the end, he stays quiet, trying to organize his scattered thoughts.

Once at the bath, Raidou disappears around that corner in order to change, letting Bakugo do his thing. It's then that he speaks up. Somehow it's easier without someone looking at you.]

I... I know I have mentioned when and where I am from. But maybe not about what it is I did, as a summoner. Yes?

[It's awkward as fuck doing this. He might be trying to get Raidou to spit out whatever's bothering him, but it's not an invitation or encouragement for the guy to start running his mouth a million miles per hour. But that sad expression from before, and the way he tried to dismiss his own feelings and will...

Ugh, people like that tick him off. He's not like Midoriya, who would reach out and touch someone's heart in order to save them and become their friends. He's not someone who cares enough to encourage a troubled person to cry on his shoulder and tell him their darkest secrets. He just doesn't like it when someone cheapens their own humanity via some shit excuse.

Bakugo pulls the knob to turn the water on, watching it grow from splattering all over the tub base to plunging into a rising surface. A quick check with his hand- Yep, still fucking freezing.]

No. You didn't say shit about your job.

[Except that his will doesn't matter and he's "the people's" summoner.]

We summoners are tasked to protect others from the threat of demons. There aren't many of us, but we're well trained. We take our job very seriously. If we don't, people will die. I... I had been granted the title of Kuzunoha Raidou the Fourteenth. A very esteemed title and position as the protector the Capital. Its main, and mostly sole protector.

[There were other summoners out there, but they were needed elsewhere, and their strongest was the one tasked with serving the Capital. A very impressive feat at his age. He's quiet again as he finishes up, slipping quietly around the corner again with one towel around his waste, and one around his shoulders that he fiddles with as he figures out how to put this succinctly.]

... My entire life was devoted to this position. It was an honor of a lifetime. But right before I arrived here, I was defeated in battle, and...

[He trails off.]

[There's no point in heating the water up with more cold water coming in, so the explosions are staying off until the bath is full. Gives him time to absorb Raidou's story. It reminds him some very old texts and stories from the past, where specific guards would be posted at different buildings, and levels within those buildings. Almost like a secret service or private guard situation.

Bakugo certainly understands the notion of taking jobs seriously and protecting others to avoid death... It's not the same thing as a hero in his world, but it's close enough to make it a moot point. Though hearing "Raidou" is a title rather than his teammate's real name is... irritating, yet explains the viewpoint.]

So you abandoned yourself to become the title for your station. A trained soldier.

[It's not that different from someone who takes being a hero so seriously, there's no "person" under the hero's name. Very rare in his world, but it's happened once or twice. Disturbing... He's curious about whether Raidou, or whoever Raidou had been, accepted the position willingly, or was groomed into taking it.

Someone who was that focused on his job, with such a duty on his shoulders, wouldn't take losing in battle lightly. Bakugo can guess the results of the Capitol's protector being defeated: harm and death.]

They pulled you in here right after something bad happened.

[Without giving Raidou the time needed to process his defeat and the results of it. Likely grief, rage, frustration, guilt, and more...]

Yes.

[His voice is distant.]

The consequences for my loss will most likely be catastrophic to the Capital. It's not that I don't have faith in my fellow summoners to protect it. They just won't realize what really happened, until it was too late. I hadn't.

[If Raidou hadn't been able to tell that he had been working with the traitor side-by-side the whole time, how would anyone else?]

I know that there is nothing I can do now. That I would be dead if LILITH had not intervened. But I... I can't stop thinking about it.

[His voice was almost a whisper on his last sentence. What might have happened to not just the Capital, but his colleagues and fellow summoners - his friends. Even the traitor hasn't left his mind.]

[Thought so. Bakugo turns the water off once it's 3/4 the way up the side of the tub, then drops his hand inside. Muffled explosions start up, taking more force and concentration to make them work underwater. It gives him something to do while listening to Raidou reveal his past. The "will" and "realize" comment suggests it was an immediate future concern.]

Of course you wouldn't be able to forget about that.

[The unknown and being dragged away at that critical time... How the hell did this place thing Raidou would react? To say nothing of that helpless feeling upon realizing there's no way back that they know if. Raidou speaking of his death resonates a lot harder with Bakugo than it might've otherwise.]

You're not going to be able to stop thinking about it. But shutting down and stuffing it away aren't going to help you either.

[He looks down in the water for a few seconds before turning his head to look up at Raidou.]

Unless you were dead when they pulled you, you don't know what could've happened. Death, defeat, loss, victory. The future's not made.

[He has no comment on his shutting down. His stony facade can't even be totally blamed on his work, though it's part of it. The other summoners in his life certainly aren't like him in that regard.

He looks back at Bakugo, his face weary. He nods at his assessment, though.]

I've considered that. I have no way of really knowing one way or another. I do know that I was betrayed, captured, and lost consciousness before waking here. I was their biggest obstacle, so I would assume they would not leave me alive.

[If Raidou ever found out that Abe Seimei didn't actually have the heart to go through with killing him, he wouldn't be as surprised as he thought he would be. Even if he turned out to be a traitor, he was quite fond of Raidou, as Raidou had been for him.]

My future is here now, for better or worse. I'm no longer a summoner, I shouldn't even be using this title or carrying that sword. It's just hard to... [He looks down at the floor.] I don't know how to move on yet.

[Bakugo isn't going to rip into him for that stone-faced shell. He's met enough people who act like that, though there's a difference between people who are quiet and serious and people who pretend they're immune to emotions and feel nothing.

Raidou's expression says a lot. The guy's exhausted for so many reasons.]

Assuming the worst only undermines your strength to stand. What kind of idiot walks into battle expecting to lose?

[Even if all the facts point to defeat (or death), the brave and determined will continue to fight to the very last breath. As stupid as it sounds, you're not dead until you die. Bakugo sends another runs of explosions through the water, causing it to boil and pop beneath his hands.]

Haa? Who the fuck said you're not? These assholes brought you here because you're strong. They didn't bring a bunch of trash that can't help them. [As much as he dislikes the kidnapping situation, so far he's not seen reason to think LILITH selected useless people to fight for them.] Keep your sword and title, Shashou. You're still a summoner even if you can't summon yet. Summoner, duelist, sorcerer, hero, these people can't take from you who you are.

[Bakugo lifts his hands from the water, leaving it steaming from the heat coursing through the bath.]

You don't have to move on. [Some people never do.] But you move forward by taking one step after another.

[He hesitates to add this, as he appreciates the things Bakugo is saying. He doesn't want to make it sound like he's wanting to continue wallowing in self-pity, but there's more to it than that.]

If I had somehow survived, there is a good chance I would have had my title and sword revoked due to my failure. Or worse.

[The Kuzunoha clan is not above execution for such extreme failures in duty.]

I know that they're not here, that... none of this applies here. My past doesn't matter to the people here, only what I do going forward. It's for their sakes that I'm trying.

[He's trying to convince himself of this still. But hearing it from others helps more than he realizes. He's not in this alone in this strange, overwhelming situation.

Still looking downward, he has one more thing to add.]

... Thank you. For this, and for hearing me out.

[It's an old fashioned world, far removed from Bakugo's own time. The things Raidou speaks of sound archaic and stupid, but those honor-bound severities aren't unheard of. Some people take failure very seriously. On pain of death, right?

But he's also not someone to continually encourage someone after giving them a reality-check smack on the head.]

Either accept your death, or fight to right your failure and atone for it.

[Those are Raidou's options. Even if he can't technically do either of those in this world, he can face his future with one of those decisions in mind. While it may not "apply" here, either his failure or his past, that's no excuse to abandon his past and pretend it doesn't affect him.

Nor is it an excuse not to learn from it and strive to do better in this world to prevent himself from making that kind of mistake again. Facets Bakugo already communicated to him. It's up to Raidou to pick those lessons out and apply them.]

Don't forget to try for your own sake too, dumbass.

[Even heroes are allowed to be selfish. Frustration over one's own failure isn't a sign of weakness or negative. It acknowledges a short coming and should be the showing of determination to improve. Not just for others, but for yourself.]

Yeah, yeah. Get in. It's gonna look pathetic if an Everlight's found frozen and sad in front of a window.

[Raidou finally looks up again.. Still weary, but at least a little more determined now.]

I'll try. ...I will.

[Sure, he still had to correct himself, but it's a good step. Sometimes you just need someone to help to push you in the right direction. Raidou smiles at that thought, nodding at Bakugo's last comment, and heads over to the bath.]

Alright. I'll be sure to stay in long enough to thaw out.

Hmph. Good. [As long as Raidou's going to make progress after today, Bakugo will consider it worth the annoyance. He's not suggesting Raidou break into smiles and say everything's fine. Just not to wallow in the past, wondering about what if's, if it's going to negatively affect his present.]

I'm gonna hang out here.

[And like last time, Bakugo sinks down with his back against the side of the tub, content to rest in the heated room. It's fucking cold out there and he's not eager to go back out into it. If it means he's opening himself up to more conversation, whatever. They have things to talk about that won't be annoying.]

▶ 001. GET ALONG PROMPT

▶ 002. TEAM ACTIVITIES.

▶ 003. IT ISN'T OVER YET.

▶ 004. AFTERWORD.

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