Tokyo Log

[theearth]

Who: EVERYONE IN TOKYO
What: Destruction, politics and purikura probably seriously everyone should get some of themselves and their friends.
Where: Tokyo
When: 4/10 & 4/11


Tokyo: Pink lights over Tokyo. A giant kappa awakens under the city, rises to the surface, and goes on an (accidental) rampage, desperately searching for water: It waddles around in bigger and smaller circles and asks with a thundering voice for directions to the next big body of water. Starting in Shinjuku, the kappa then moves southwest towards the harbour. The search leaves all of inner Tokyo in ruins from being stepped on, only the Tokyo Tower mysteriously remaining upright, if without power (you'll have to take the stairs, sorry). The kappa moves fairly quickly; everything is over in less than an hour, as it dives into the ocean and curls up on the bottom of the Tokyo Bay. The Japanese parliament has an emergency meeting and decides to try and have the military bomb the monster to death as soon as possible. If you want your numbered to show up at this debate or stop the bombing of Tokyo Bay physically, please comment to the appropriate thread.


((ooc: Sorry, there seems to have been miscommunication regarding if there would be a mod posted thing for this or not - I hadn't planned on it, but here it is belatedly. Sorry again!))

Comments

4/10 - rampage

[theearth]

Pink lights over Tokyo. A giant kappa awakens under the city, rises to the surface, and goes on an (accidental) rampage, desperately searching for water: It waddles around in bigger and smaller circles and asks with a thundering voice for directions to the next big body of water. Starting in Shinjuku, the kappa then moves southwest towards the harbour. The search leaves all of inner Tokyo in ruins from being stepped on, only the Tokyo Tower mysteriously remaining upright, if without power (you'll have to take the stairs, sorry). The kappa moves fairly quickly; everything is over in less than an hour, as it dives into the ocean and curls up on the bottom of the Tokyo Bay.

Numbered can try to stop the kappa or help with evacuations. Or check out what the kappa is doing after it dives into the bay (it's resting and will blow playful bubbles if people try to talk to it).

[chalicejoker]

Hajime wastes no time in getting to Tokyo, and at first, he's in full on Lord of the Bugmen form. He's big, he's strong, and he's good at pulling people out of the rubble.

Yet when he got here, there was a pulse...and so if he isn't moving, isn't actively helping someone, he'll stop and sort of stare out into space. Or at his hands. His big, terrible, monster hands...how is he supposed to keep using this form, after what he remembers? What he did?

[knights_king]

"What're you doin'!? Why'd you stop, man!? People're stuck!"

Arthur's voice tore out in the air as he buckled himself against rubble, lifting it up to let people from the collapsed stairwell below run out and into the non-collapsed section of the building they were in. Arthur huffed and stood against it, keeping it supported with his shoulder.

[chalicejoker]

The sound of the voice jars Hajime out of his reverie. Tokyo might be in ruins, but it wasn't him. Wasn't him, wasn't his minions, was not his fault.

So why does he still feel like a horrible monster in this form? Moreso than usual, anyway. He rushes over to help Arthur hold the rubble up. "It's alright, I got this." But he sounds shaken.

[oncedevil]

He is here to back you up, Hajime. Monster squad has to stick together after all, and Hajime off on a rampage on his own just doesn't seem like a great idea. Besides, for once Tony would like to get in on the action, and maybe save a god from a bombing.

But when Hajime freezes Tony's quick to notice from where he's digging in some rubble to make sure no one's buried inside. "Hey! What's gotten into you all of the sudden?"

Mister workaholic having a break? Unlikely.

[ursoreckless]

Shou had family here. He was raised in parts of the city, he had friends in some of the more poorer sections of the place. He knew the streets and the people and the places and this was not good. People he knew were dying and there was nothing he could do but make calls and mobilize those that could do something, even as he hit the teleporter to the city itself.

Then there was more stuff to sort through, the sudden knowledge that he was here with his full echoes and there are people in his family that would recognize some differences as he talked and went through the motions. He should be out there helping, but he had to play a different game now, and upon hearing what a few of his more political relatives were getting involved in, that took president over helping his fellow Numbered.

[italktofish]

TALKING TO A GIANT KAPPA, YOU SAY? Arthur is there. Sure, he spent some time trying to help people get out of the way and some time directing local crabs and silverfish and things to locate survivors, but as soon as that kappa went into the water, so did he. Another creature to talk to! A new friend to make!

Of course, the only answer he was getting was bubbles, so now he's down there blowing bubbles right back at it. Perhaps this will be a way to communicate with it!

[dragon_blossom]

So regardless of who else decided to show up, Marina felt like a giant anything was worth finally putting her dragon's ability to be more than a dragon to good use. Seeing the light slammed her with one pulseechothing immediately, shaking her as she summoned her partner near the danger zone. She set him up to his full size with the knowledge that she could do more with him than stomp around swinging a sword now - but being in a giant robot, in city, was, she realized, suddenly a problem.

And all she knew of Japanese was... not much. It was nice that she could speak through it, loud enough for everyone in a wide radius to hear, but she couldn't do much about people freaking out over one of those real giant robots being in Tokyo now, even if Marina was pretty sure this was where it belonged.

"Konnichi... w-WHOA!" Oh wait, there it is, just the knowledge of the spoken component of an entire foreign language slamming into her head. Seles and Marina stumble forward a bit, picking a nice, already damaged bit of street to slam a big metal knee onto as she stabilizes, keeping an eye out for... anything.

[charcoalfeather]

"Shinchō ni!" A voice cried out nearby, revealing itself to be Rakka. She skidded to a halt in front of the giant dragon machine, giving it a once over.

She raised an arm and waved at it, jumping up and down. "Hei! Marina? Are you okay?"

[charcoalfeather]

Rakka always knew that she would return home one day. This wasn't the way she had constructed in her imagination, but it's what was happening.

The moment she arrived, Rakka transformed and was off. Fluent Japanese was shouted at anyone nearby, telling them to run, to take shelter. She would handle this... somehow. Right now, she could help by digging people out of the rubble and getting everyone away safely.

Re: 4/10 - rampage

[scarlet_devil]

Since harming the Kappa was the last thing she or anyone else wanted to do, all the Numbered could do was try to keep the damage from being worse that it was and try and evacuate or rescue people caught up in this all.

Well, getting that new echo after seeing the arorae on the news gave her the ability to speak... and read Japanese? Lucky.

Still, she will have her hands full, and may need a hand.

I didn't see this!

[knights_king]

Arthur didn't contact Emilia when he ran off earlier in the day. He didn't realize how long he was gone until his dinner alarm went off on his phone. There was a quizzical look on a young man's face as Arthur pulled him free from a collapsed part of his apartment building when Arthur's 'Call 911' ringtone went off.

"Uh--sorry--"

Except, he didn't speak Japanese. Really, the guy just wanted to get out of the rubble a little faster, which Arthur suddenly noticed--shifting his weight and lifting the rubble free much quicker.

4/10-11 - regular activities and damage control

[theearth]

Numbered can help with stabilizing damaged buildings, talk to evacuees or people whose stores were destroyed, help with cleanup or help people salvage from their homes what can be saved, or any other after-catastrophe activity that you can come up with.

Or just wander around the urban area (parts of which are standing and functioning just normally) and do their thing - eat and have fun, take purikura or sing karaoke...

[radiantchicken]

Torin doesn't want to stay in Japan long--he's got business to take care of in Locke and people to protect there--but he's curious, and there are people here who need help. He speaks perfect Japanese thanks to an Echo he received long ago, and the scenery is very familiar from the memories he's got. He fought and lived here, he knows that much.

But he can't just sightsee while people are in need of assistance, and so he's flying over the city, keeping an eye out for any bits of rubble people might need help with picking through or blasting away, along with occasionally touching down to speak with the people who are openly pointing and gaping at him. He's used to it, and he'll at least be pleasant with the locals who want pictures with the strange birdman.

[dragon_blossom]

Marina can only do so much with moving rubble - they don't fully trust the giant robot for a lot of smaller things, but her magic, applied carefully, is doing a fairly good job of knocking rubble away as well. Sure, she hasn't practiced precision application of Water Dragon spells, but she's figuring it out.

Torin isn't someone she's often in contact with, but she waves at the bird man while in the same vicinity as him, calling out to him mostly just to show off her echo that lets her speak Japanese.

[sakuya_izayoi]

Somehow she felt that this isn't really what she was meant to do. After recovering from her echo, Celine set out, shifted rubble, calling out and listening, trying to find people and animals buried in the rubble from the Kappa's path of destruction.

Surprisingly her power does help a little in her endeavors. Though it isn't ideal, time stop actually helped her get several people out of the rubble. It allowed her to shift many smaller pieces away and pull the person out without additional rubble collapsing and injuring them. In addition, warping space ensured there was a bit more room to help the injured and trapped squeeze free. It was far from ideal, but it was working.

[scarlet_devil]

Emilia of course was right there with her, not only providing help with shifting debris that Celine was too weak to move, but translating and interpreting anything Celine has to say. Given the uncomfortable feeling her powers give off, reassurance was needed...

If not only the trapped survivors, Celine might require some reassurance too, but then again, there was the echo she gotten after she saw Emi get injured in the fight with the ghost wolpertingers.

...Good thing the vampire can speak the local language now.

4/11 - politics

[theearth]

The Japanese parliament has an emergency meeting and decides to try and have the military bomb the monster to death as soon as possible. If you want your numbered to show up at this debate or stop the bombing of Tokyo Bay physically, do it here! Please NPC your own politicians.

They will be worried about the destruction, but inclined to listen. The guards and other staff will however try to kick all people that are not members of the parliament out of the building, no matter what families they come from. Again, play them yourselves - they will let numbered through if they can prove that they are numbered and that they will not hurt anyone.

For the politicians part, you can also just do a brief write-up of what they say and what (if) they are asked by parliamentarians, and what they answer.

[chalicejoker]

Hajime got moving about as soon as the trouble in Tokyo was announced, and once he realized that the parliament was trying to decide whether or not to kill the monster, he decided to act. And acting meant actually trying to talk to the parliament, even if he didn't like having to talk to big groups of people.

Though he could prove he was a Numbered right away--being a walking, talking, giant bug kind of tends to do that--they didn't want to let him in. "So sorry, Bugman-sama, but this parliament is for humans only..." It forced his hand. A transformation was in order. A transformation that ended up being in front of a lot of security cameras, reporters, things like that. He'd worry about that later.

So it was a very human Hajime Aikawa who took the floor of the parliament. He wasn't happy about that. It was easier to hide very human nerves behind the emotionless facade of his Joker form, but maybe that worked in his favor, let the politicians see exactly what they were dealing with. Not some otherworldly lord of some strange subterranean bug colony, but just...a normal-looking guy. It helped that Hajime spoke fluent Japanese. There was a bit of arguing between Hajime and the politicians at first, some back and forth over who he was and why he was here. He tried to avoid giving any straight answers about his identity, though it was a bit of a moot point the way he'd been caught changing on camera. But eventually, they agreed to let him say what he felt he needed to say.

"That monster didn't know what it was doing--and if it wanted to destroy the city, it would have. It would have kept rampaging. Wouldn't have stopped so quickly. Just because something isn't human, just because you think it's a monster, doesn't mean that it wants to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone, and look--" here, he used his powers, changed to the bugmonster form once again "--here I am, not human. My name is Hajime Aikawa, and I'm the so-called Lord of the Bugmen.

"I've said and done a lot of crap like this, but that's because I know how humans get. They'll attack something they're afraid of. I had to plan for that. Work with that. Try to protect myself by hiding in plain sight, by saying things that would make people want to leave me alone, or at least keep me at a distance. But that monster out there, he doesn't have that chance. He's not doing any harm there in the bay. He's just resting. And later on, he could prove more valuable than you know. Do you want to leave yourselves defenseless against a bigger threat?

"I don't know how you're going to vote after this, but I do know one thing." Hajime thumps his chest with one big bugmonster fist. "If you go out there and try to kill that creature, I'll be right there to stop him." With that, he turns to leave the assembly chamber, runs a card down the middle of his belt buckle, changes to a third armored form--this way, they'll know it's him--and walks out.

He'd really like to sit down and get some air somewhere, because he feels kind of like he's about to pass out after doing all of that. If someone runs out to try to bring him back inside, he may or may not go, and he'll grudgingly talk to reporters outside, but only if they manage to catch him.

[ursoreckless]

His family was safe. Shou spendt a few minutes making sure of that before diving into the other part of family life - making sure that there were still connections to be used. He never liked that side of his life, never wanted to get serious to actually become a power behind the scenes like what his father could do but usually didn't. But the lives of other Numbered depended on making sure some things were brought to light. The lives of everyone meant more so. Yes, the center of Tokyo looked like Godzilla had a field day, but that was just normal. After all, how many times have superheroes and villains destroyed Japan in films and shows? Wasn't it one of the prideful things of the Japanese included that they would survive any disaster with honor?

His direct family knew that he was Numbered, having no choice of telling them after he got shot and later came back to life. Now, with the pink light and kappa, he had to come out publicly, and that took a little time. People did not like to be hurried even if they knew the urgency of the matter. Then after that meeting, in which he had to show off his crazy healing rate, Shou and a bunch of suited family members descended on the parliament. It took a bit more showing off - luckily all Shou had to do was drop the umbrella down slightly to make his skin start to boil - and then he was inside where the windows were high and easily avoided.

He talked about the information that he had learned. He talked about Wise Snake and why it went crazy and he talked about how the more these things rose, the more he was inclined to believe what they heard first was the truth - they were protectors of the planet that were not malicious on their own, only so huge that they did not understand the concept of humans. He talked of his own perceptions of the three aliens that he met and how he felt that they were trying to maneuver the planet into submission, and then he finished by hitting them on their pride, telling them that if they were trying to save face, they will fail if they destroyed the kappa when thousands of people needed that money to help rebuild their lives instead of wasting it on bullets against a creature that was perfectly content to blow bubbles int he water.

And with that, he would join Hajime because seriously he was not comfortable with this side of the family tree.

[dead_black_eyes]

Lazarus and Nathan appear unsettling by themselves and especially together, but that hasn't stopped them from arriving to make an effort toward putting in a word for the Kappa. They arrive wearing tailored suits that Misa helped them obtain, with hair combed and shoes shined. They almost look professional, or at least like the types of individuals who would be entrusted with diplomacy efforts, even if it seems a little forced and their dark, glassy eyes distinctly speak of the uncanny valley.

That being said, Nathan and Lazarus are both human, and both care about the human condition in their own way. What they lack in emotional connection they make up for in hard logic and reasoned-out numbers.

"There are laws in place to protect endangered species in most countries," Lazarus says in his precise, even tone, speaking formal and fluent Japanese. "This sentient, one-of-a-kind being communicated its intentions clearly and in a way that humans could understand, ruling out Tokyo's destruction as a deliberate or malicious act. The creature, according to eyewitness accounts, appeared disoriented, and has not caused any further destruction since settling into Tokyo Bay. If you choose to see the rampage and ensuing destruction as a crime that the animal should be held accountable for, please consider that bombing the bay and attempting to kill the creature does not match the crime. I implore you to consider caution as not only the compassionate route, but the most logical one, given the size and strength of the animal and what we know it to be capable of."

The men and women listening to the discourse take notes and some seem swayed while others appear to still be more than a touch skeptical.

"What if you're wrong?" a bespectacled, paunchy male politician asks. "You seem very confident in this, but what if the worst happens and the monster erupts from the bay and goes stomping all over again once its replenished itself? You're asking us to entrust our country to some foreigners' hunches! Look out the window, Inner Tokyo is devastated!"

"I know," Lazarus responds quickly. "We saw similar rampages in the United States. My home and place of employment in Locke City were utterly destroyed, but we're a lot wiser now than we were then. New information has come to light and existing collateral damage aside, you'll be endangering world-changing numbers of individuals if you antagonize the Kappa further."

He glances at Nathan. Public speaking is difficult, but you can only help right now.

[solvethepuzzle]

It's been an effort to not ruin the put-together look. He isn't used to wearing clothes that actually fit his small, thin frame; the suit feels restrictive, uncomfortable despite its necessity. Between that and his nerves, he's had to consciously keep himself from worrying at the sleeves. He can't even rely on his old soothing habit of twisting his fingers into his hair; he would just make himself look sloppy if he did. Why couldn't he have brought any toys, again? ... Right. Professionalism. None of his nervous tics are going to help with that.

He's more than glad to have Lazarus take the lead. He would not know how to even begin. Public speaking is difficult; Nathan had begged off his high school graduation ceremony purely so that he would not have to give the valedictory address. The pressure of having to speak in front of his peers and their families had felt too overwhelming then . . .

And here he is, less than a year later, standing before Japanese parliament. No one had forced him, or even asked him. It's his decision to be here. But it still terrifies him.

All of that, however, is kept behind a studiously blank face. Even though his heart is hammering. Even though, when Lazarus glances at him, prompting him to speak, he's acutely aware that he looks like the shrunken ghost of the man beside him. None of it shows.

"We knew little about such creatures when they first began to awaken, it is true." No emotion in his voice, spoken in formal, perfect Japanese just like Lazarus. "The inclination to strike back is understandable. However, this would benefit no one. New information suggests that these creatures, rather than being hostile beings, are meant to be protectors."

That statement garners some skeptical looks, and one of the female politicians gives him a stern look. "After what's happened to this city and the cities of your own country, you call these beasts protectors?"

His head almost ducks at the tone, his fingers twitch slightly, but he forces himself to stand firm. Later. He can fall apart later, when this is done and he's somewhere private. So he swallows, but manages to continue.

"I realize how that must sound, but they existed long before any of our cities. The Kappa could not help where it had awakened, and if harm had truly been intended on its part, it would have rampaged, caused deliberate destruction far worse than what has happened. Instead, it made the decision on its own to find a new place to rest. To attack it now makes no sense, would only cause it to lash out in self-defense and cause even more devastation. That is not what you want."

He isn't used to saying so much at once. In fact, he's somewhat surprised that he'd managed to get it all out. Whether it convinces anyone of anything . . . he cannot be sure. He's trying his best, for whatever it's worth. This needs to be done.

[lovesickkiller]

Misa might be less nervous about speaking herself than she is watching Lazarus and Nathan. She has dressed them in well tailored suits, forced them to comb their hair and confiscated Nathan's toys; there's not much else she can do now but hope that they are taken seriously and present themselves well. They seem to be doing just that, so she can breathe a bit easier.

Dressed in her most formal attire (a white blouse and navy blue blazer usually reserved for job interviews, plus a black pencil skirt, pantyhose and heels), Misa consciously stands up straight and does her best to appear confident. It's hard to shake the feeling that she doesn't belong here. But that isn't true; she belongs here more than anyone.

"This is my home," she begins. "I grew up in in Kyoto dreaming about one day moving here; it's where I went to university, where I live now and where I plan to keep living. I am numbered, but I am not an outsider here."

She takes a steadying breath, unsure what the ramifications of coming out here will be, but she has little choice. Her eyes go to Stefan for reassurance before addressing the committee once more.

"In the wake of this tragedy, the answer is not to destroy Tokyo even more ourselves. There is no telling what the results of bombing Tokyo Bay will be; the kappa is contained there now and seems content, attacking might only result in angering it and provoking another rampage. What has happened here is horrible, but it is in our hands now to rebuild, not to make things worse."

"Even if we do succeed in killing the kappa, what will be accomplished? It won't bring back those who lost their lives or return our city to its former glory. We don't know what potential this creature has, good or bad. If we snuff it out now then we'll never know. Now is not the time to react without thinking or act impulsively. Clearer heads must prevail to do what is best for us, and what is best is not attacking our own city to try to kill something we don't even understand."

[stefanged]

In hindsight, agreeing to attend a Parliament meeting where he didn't speak the language might've been a problem. Misa's presence was more than reassuring - and while he was uncomfortable with proving he was Numbered, he had done so by using his super-speed. (Sneaking up on security guards, even in plain daylight, was hard to explain otherwise.)

Somehow, he's gotten Parliament to allow them - him and Misa, rather - to stand together. He nervously adjusts his cuff links as he listens to Misa. If he could understand Japanese, he would've spoken right alongside her. Stefan's no stranger to public speaking: he had done it numerous times, though different cultural rules had come into play there. Surely what worked in America wouldn't work here. Still, he memorizes the politicians' faces. If she doesn't persuade them here, then he may have to "talk" to them later. Persuasion was a universal thing, right?

At this point, saving the kappa was more important than his reputation, and it wasn't as if his family were anywhere in this part of the world.

[charcoalfeather]

It would have been entirely too easy for Rakka to find her way to the parliament and speak her voice. Though, there was something holding her back, general fear being one such thing. She would be in the public eye, now more then ever. Her parents would certainly see her doing this.

It was just something she would have to accept now.

"Hello, I'm Yoshitoshi, Rakka. Or Cure Feather." She greeted the parliament formally, switching between Japanese and English pretty quickly. Formality was needed, since she was still in her Precure uniform. Fougere floated off to the side, keeping an eye on his friend.

"Almost two years ago, I was living here in Japan. I was born here, actually." She started, inherently leaving out some details of why she wasn't here anymore. "This is my home, and I want to protect it."

Amidst some shouting, a few members of Parliament seemed to be giving her a chance. "The monster is not going to hurt us!" She shook her head. "I mean, it's not intentionally trying to hurt us! It's confused! We just need to get it out of the city and things will be fine!"

More accusations and shouting. She expected nothing less. Sigh. Why didn't she look into politics more as a kid? "Stop!" She slammed a foot against the floor, cracking the tile and leading to a brief silence. "...If you kill it, nothing good will come. You'll have killed it, yes, but you'll be throwing away your protection!" she held a hand against her chest, looking up at everyone. "Please, trust us. I promise that you'll be much safer this way."

Her voice was unceremoniously drowned out after that by the many members arguing. Questions were flung around, and Rakka did her best to reply to them. It was tiring, but she would put herself to the task.