𝚂𝚢𝚗𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚡 𝙽𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔

( there's a low hum at the start of the transmission, though it's hard to tell whether it's due to electrical interference or if it's from the throat of the creature staring down in the feed.

his arms are folded across his chest, and there's a mildly foreboding look on his face. or maybe that's just his default expression. who knows. )

Apparently, teamwork is a focal point of this "job".

( the memory of a playful, sultry voice and hands clasped over his lingers at the edge of his thoughts. persistent, yet far away.

he pushes it aside for now, to focus on this properly, ears pointed forward almost deliberately. )

I've pored through the documents LILITH provided on these... creatures that invade their world. But what of your opinions of them and their ways? What do you find least effective about our current strategies? How do you find our numbers and their chances thus far? I seek these answers as to understand our enemy better from those who have actually faced them, to focus my efforts more effectively. An initiative that benefits both you and the citizens.

( it's a little self-important, but whatever. it's only the truth. )

Hello residents of LILITH!

I am in possession or nearing possession of a few board games (how is not relevant) and I came up with a brilliant idea: How about we form some kind of game club? We can meet up regularly to try out new games, have some food, and have fun that doesn't involve going out to town.

Please, I can't play these by myself.

Okay, so.

( Hello everybody, it's Vash the Stampede currently sitting on the floor in his room surrounded by an absolutely mammoth pile of plushies. It's fine, don't worry about it. ) I may not be the guy with all the Christmas knowledge, we don't really have it where I'm from, but I do know the whole point is gift-giving, right? And what do kids need in the gift-giving season? Toys. Now I've done my best at the arcade, won whatever I can, but I think the guy running the place is super out for my hide -. ( A laugh, bright and uncomplicated. It's fine. ) - which means I need help. Because the Orphanage has a whole range of ages, right? And maybe some of them don't want cuddly toys - who am I to judge?

( He is judging a teensy tiny bit, because he thinks cuddly animals are great. )

So toys. I was wondering if anyone had anything they wanted to donate. We had that whole thing with the fake guns, right? ( He pulls a face, but he's going to soldier on. ) And there were those little figures that one time. If anyone's got anything they don't want anymore that we could fix up to give to those in need that would be really great. Or if anyone wants to try their hand at the other machines, I guess as long as it's not me the owner can't be too pissed. Anything would be super appreciated. They deserve something nice too, you know?

( And while he's aware that some people here are angrier about the Transylvanian orphans than others, he's hoping everyone secretly has a good heart down deep. )

Good afternoon, all.

If we have not yet become acquainted, then please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Sebastian Michaelis, another recently arrived Outsider, and most pertinent for why I make this address today, recently employed on LILITH’s base here in Neo-Tokyo. My official title is the kitchen manager for the cafeteria, but as needs must, I have taken on some additional responsibilities. I may not be in service to my lord here, but I still feel it important to best offer my skill as a butler.

First, on matters of food.

I am attempting to improve the menu on offer in the cafeteria, and I hope that anyone that has stopped by to try the improved offerings in recent weeks has enjoyed them. However, I would very much like to expand such offerings. If there is a particular dish that you find yourself missing, please, do let me know. I will endeavor to recreate it with your assistance, though I can make no guarantees. If you have a recipe I can follow, all the better.

Second, on matters of facility maintenance.

While our automated services are adequate, I do believe that the order and cleanliness of the base could be improved. Thus, the additional responsibilities I have taken on. If you find any part of the base in disrepair or would perhaps like your personal quarters cleaned regularly, please let me know. It would be my pleasure to do so, as a tidy home makes for happier people.

If you would like a full list of services I offer, I would be glad to provide it. I simply fear that this is already a rather long announcement.

Thank you very much for your attention. Do have a wonderful day.

- Sebastian Michaelis

Hello. I wanted to update you all on some things.

I've been talking with LILITH about getting things together in Okinawa. Upkeeping the groves that are already here, planting new things, constructing a new greenhouse, and bringing home more fish and crab to fill our freezers. They've okayed the project, but the work with be in our hands.

I'm doing my best to research things like farming and gardening, but I have to admit that it's very much over my head. If anyone here has any experience at all with these kinds of things, your input would be invaluable. I'm completely new to all of this, but I'm trying to catch up. While studying on my own, I've also gotten advice from other sources, as well as new seeds, bulbs and other matter we can plant once the land is ready.

["Other sources" being the villagers in Romania. He doesn't really want to bring that up, though.]

What we need, besides the labor to get it all done, are those with a green thumb, those who are willing to do fishing and fighting crabs for meat, and those with any kind of construction skills to start a new greenhouse here. It doesn't need to be anything to the extent of the one in the base, just something to keep the plants safe from harmful elements and animals.

As much or as little as you can help with is appreciated either way. But, it's mostly like in all of our best interests to find more sources of fresh food for the base. Think about it: no more ration bars.

For those newer to the base, I should explain a few things. Okinawa is an island area in the very south of Japan, where the weather is mild to hot year round. LILITH has established a data portal there for easy travel. It is now devoid of human life, and the wildlife has been affected by the rift. They have been deemed safe to consume by LILITH. The fruit in the groves are oversized, and the crabs are... rather large. Bring weapons that will be good at piercing the exoskeleton of one anywhere from say, six to ten feet in size. I recommend aiming for their faces and joints.

Thank you for your time.

[There is about thirty seconds after that before the camera turns on. From Raidou's view, you're looking at a pristine beach on Okinawa and an old fishing boat. It's rusty and run down, but it's sitting on the water. Raidou speaks up, his voice a quiet and monotone one. His words are much less practiced and eloquent than what he'd just written.]

Ah. Also. I... bought this. It's what you would call a "fixer upper". The previous owner said the engine needs work, and it needs a lot of cleaning. But this way, we can do much more fishing. Nets and things. If you know anything about fishing, or engines... or want to help with a lot of scrubbing. We've got this to do too. LILITH was able to bring it here, but that's the most they had time to help with.

[Raidou has never made a video post to everyone before, and realizes he has no idea how to sign off.]

Um. Thanks.

[[OOC: Hi! Forgot to mention that this is part of a player plot I've already submitted! While it's going to take them several months, this project will be successful to the degree of keeping the base's food more stocked, but not much beyond yet. Raidou's fondest goal is to help feed the orphans and the other citizens with any surplus they're able to grow, so he plans to keep working hard for their sakes!

Enjoy not needing ration bars, Outsiders.]]

If you know Lucy-san...or, I suppose her name is Kaede-san...

Please, I want to speak with you.

I want to know who this person is within my mind...



[ private to Tezcatlipoca ]

Tezcatlipoca-san, may I have a moment of your time?

[In the morning, around 10am, last week of September, a video feed blinks onto the network. Bakugo sits on a couch in front of a window, his reflection looking back at him from the window beyond. Wearing a simple all-black t-shirt and sweats combo like he's usually in, a small white pattern on the side of the shirt.]

Hey.

[Despite his rough voice, he sounds... controlled.]

What happened in Seoul sucked. We all have opinions on each of the results that followed. I'm not here to say who's right or wrong or to shove blame around. I want to talk about how to move forward.

What can we do better? How can we prevent something like Seoul from happening again? I've thought about it and thought about it, but I don't have all the answers. What went wrong, where I messed up... I'm not content with my level right now. The Outsiders are a team. Even if we don't have complete control over our directions, we still support each other. That's what I believe. So I'm asking you.

[Right, time to get on with it.]

1) ▶ Should we split up or stay together?

On future missions, we shouldn't split up. Even if we have to face two kaiju in the same battle, we're better together. Last time, we were divided and only one half had military backup. I'm not saying to rebel against LILITH, but if a choice comes down to split up or stay together, no one knows us more than us.

[ooc: please note, this isn't to be taken as encouraging a coup to lilith's orders. rather it's an ic discussion about the benefits and detriments of dividing the outsider force during missions, then possibly compromising on future battles.]

2) ▶ How do we improve our fights against the kaiju?

We need to take the kaiju down faster. The longer they rampage, the more collateral damage we take. We know their weaknesses, but we're not fast enough. We need a better strategy to take them down. A lot of our powers are strong on their own, but could grow stronger working off each other. Tell me what you can do; if you're not good at strategizing or don't want to, there are Outsiders who can work with that.

[ooc: there have been posts about this in the past, but consider treating this as an avenue for potential team ups or creative combos. if you're not good fighting on the front lines, team up with someone who is while you cover their backs or support from the rear. develop a one-two combination attack with an ally to use for the next kaiju fight to fish for higher damage. transform the spread offense into a focused blitz. go wild.]

3) ▶ Can we use the kaiju's habits against them?

These kaiju continue attacking the cities. Has anyone figured out why? The orcas flooded the bay to hunt, the geckos came for Tokyo's electricity, that damn worm lured Vegas citizens as violent incubators. Who knows what the hell the dragons wanted. The rifts aren't regular enough to be a beacon. If we can figure out what draws the kaiju, we should use that to either take the fight to them or lure those monsters away from the cities.

[ooc: general kaiju habit discussion here. maybe they won't be able to prevent the kaiju from attacking the cities in the future, but at least talking about potential strategies to cull damage to city and populace is encouraged.]

4) ▶ Our limitations.

I'll keep this short, so listen up. A lot of our powers were screwed up when we came from our home dimensions. But LILITH is able to completely shut down an Outsider's abilities through the oculars for as long as they want. I'm sure you can figure out why they'd do that.

We weren't brought here only to kill kaiju. We were brought here to save this world. But we're not perfect, and we're not able to do it alone. We have to work together to surpass where we are now.

By the way, for whatever damn reason, some Outsiders' oculars are getting interference and texting is messing up right now, so keep it to audio if you can or they might miss your response.

[This is probably the calmest some people have ever seen Bakugo, but this is also very serious and he means it. Hardly a curse word up there. The video is on repeat, so people can replay it and join in the discussion like an extended game of telephone tag.]



[OOC: Please note, there's zero intent for a rebellion or civil war to happen in the overarching community plot, so a coup isn't on the table. But not talking about what happened would be strange. So... Group mingle! Feel free to have your characters read a text-based transcript of the video as an attachment below the posting. This mingle log is audio by default, but obviously you can transition to text as you like. Comment to others, thread-hop as permitted, etc. Of course you're not required to beholden to the sub-post topics; they're just there for categorizing. The form is there for people to use if you want!]

[ Soon after LILITH hands the decision to Outsiders, Ratio makes a post on the ocular network. ]

I hope you have all had ample time to rest from the aftermath of the kaiju's attack. However, it is time to turn our attention to the future. We have been given an opportunity to decide our next step.

1: Stay in Seoul and assist the city.
2: Chase after the escaped Imugi.

I imagine opinions may be divided on this front, so I would like to open the forum for discussion. Please state your choice and provide thorough reasoning for your decision. You will not convince anyone with a half-baked argument. You may respond to any comment as you please, but remember to stay civil and do not resort to derogatory or inflammatory comments. Should you break this rule, I will revoke your comment permissions.

Keep in mind that your choice will have a grave effect on the people of this planet. It is not one to be made lightly, so do not treat it with levity.

You may use the form below to keep your comment clear and easy to read.

<b>Decision:</b> State your decision here. <b>Reason:</b> Be concise. Bullet form preferred. <b>Other:</b> If you have any other comment to make, do so here.


[ ooc: This is meant to be a mingle text log! Feel free to comment on each other's posts, yadda yadda go wild! Also the form is only a recommendation, feel free to disregard Ratio's instructions and annoy him. ]

Good morning to you all.

I am seeking to add more sparring and training partners to my daily regimen. While I am a swordsman and a marksman, I have no special abilities like many of you do. At least, none that work on kaiju. I would like to train against those who are stronger than I who uses such abilities. I want to be able to learn how to attack and defend against a plethora of different attacks in order to be ready for anything a kaiju may throw at us.

In return, if you are interested in sword or handgun training, I would be glad to show you the ropes.

I'm a well-experienced combatant and seek those who will not hold back.

Thank you for your time.

Hello, my name is Shoto Todoroki and I'd like to cook a few things and learn a few recipes.

I don't have much in the way of recipes to share, but if anyone knows anything other than pie with apples, I'd like those and am willing to make fair trades for the information. Any leads on where I can get those ingredients as well, synthetic would be fine, or substitutes would be fine. I'm still learning and I think I'm bound to make a mistake or two until I learn better. That's why I'm alright with synthetics for now.

I guess any recipes or tips on cooking would be welcome. My best friend Bakugo has tried to teach me, so I have some good basics to fall back on.

Thank you.

[Too late someone said Bakugo was his best friend and now Bakugo is his best friend.]

[ During one of the lulls between storms, a certain individual may or may not be losing his mind. Welcome to the network's first anonymous post! What better way of breaking in the function than… drum roll… ]


️‍🔥 HOT OR NOT: DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE NEO TOKYO'S HOTTEST OUTSIDER? ️‍🔥


HOW IT WORKS:

1. Post a photo: Upload some photos, any photos, preferably ones that showcase your unique style. Keep it safe for work, folks!

2. Get rated & rate others: Are they hot, hot, hot (10)? Or are they not, not, not (1)? Share your thoughts using anything from a sliding scale of 1-10, to ✅ or ❎s, to whatever else you can think of. Agree? Disagree? Tell us why!

( ooc: with mod permission, you're free to assume any implant glitches when it comes to posting an auto-generated profile and/or reacting to others! anon is "enabled", though characters don't necessarily have to use it. have fun! )

There aren't many spirits in this world. 👻🚫
🧐🧐🧐 Or maybe there are and they're just hard to sense❓

Still, this time of year would usually be when they're most active so it's a little disappointing. 🪦🥀

I know. I've heard telling stories 🗣📖 can invoke the gods and other spirits (~'o')~ So why don't we tell some stories? (◍ ´꒳` ◍)

If we can tell a hundred tales then maybe something surprising will happen. But a hundred would take a long time and the game isn't as much fun if it isn't in person... 👻🏮🏮🏮🏮🏮😔

Well, let's just tell as many as we can❗❗❗(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ )🌟
There are so many of us from other worlds so there should be something interesting to hear. 🔮

(Summer is spooky season in Japan! It's time to share ghost stories and other tales of the mysterious and unknown. Or just talk to Tsurumaru about spirit things. He's here to have a good time.)

[ well, that's quite the mental update. while ishmael isn't reeling from the download's sappy effects, she is in the mood to yap and gossip -- which is typically unlike her at all. and so, while they're all still waiting for the download to finish, she's got this to ask on their shared network. ]

Looks like this is going to take a while. And I know that most of us here were haunted by certain dreams a while back, me included. It's something I've already gone through back home so I'm not too bothered with it now, but I'm going to go ahead and ask anyway.

What are some of your happier memories?

That's probably easier said than done, though. You don't even have to think too far back and just share whatever made you happy since coming here. It's corny, sure, but we could definitely need some cheering up after all that on top of this horribly hot weather.

Of course, if you're too shy to share them to everyone in the class, I get it. I know I am. You can just tell me privately if you trust me that much, or you don't have to say anything at all and just read or react to everyone's contributions instead. Also if anyone's gonna come here to say shit like "Oh I'm not gonna share anything :/" then do us all a favor and not waste our time. Thanks. 👍

[ ish is too embarrassed to share hers right now, if anyone's wondering 🧍‍♂️ of course, feel free to threadjack if needed. happy yapping!! ]

Do you think LILITH keeps an updated birthday calendar?

Maybe we should make one. It might make things a little cheerier every month.

[ She is wholly unaware of when her own birthday is, having been busy with the kaiju last week. ]

[ The video opens with a view of some undecorated Everlight dorm room. Panning around reveals little of interest: a made bed, a few cans of vending machine non-alcoholic sake—

And suddenly, the sound of a waterfall surging fills the feed with peaking audio. Bright blue blurs the edges of the feed until the space suddenly becomes a dingy city alleyway. A scarred hand lifts as if being inspected before it rapidly takes on a liquid appearance and the noise returns and the scene shifts again.

Now it's at Tokyo Bay. There's a brief pan of the seascape before the feed cuts. ]

---

Oh, shit. My bad.
I didn't realize that got uploaded.
This tech is still weird as hell to me.
I miss flip phones.

( You're about to view content that the poster has advised should be viewed with discretion. )