Child Event and Blackout Log

[stringmods]

Who: Anyone
Where: Around the city and in the apartments
When: November 15-18
Summary: Little kids everywhere!  Also the power grid is on the fritz.
Warnings: Hopefully none!

With the network and the city's electricity once again malfunctioning, the power to most of the city has either been knocked out or is malfunctioning.  And since inconvenient things rarely happen in a vacuum in Hinoto-Ri, a portion of the city has also been affected by some strange new curse, reverting to childlike forms.  Business in and around the city has ground to a standstill due to the power problems, and without functioning heat in the apartments, extra blankets and huddling together for warmth are the order of the day.  It's still possible to go outside as the government hasn't imposed any additional curfews, and the demons during the 13th Hour are as active as ever, but some people may just want to ride this out until everything is back to normal.

((OOC: Feel free to make your own top-level comments either mingling in your apartments or out and about in town.  The child event effects are in full swing, and taking place concurrent with the blackout from November 15th through the 18th.  Please label your posts with your character's name and location.  We apologize for the slight lateness of this log!))

Comments

Open | Noda is not affected by the event

[halberdaxe]

Noda was one of the few who weren't turned their younger self, nor did he know those who were. If he knew better, he may have realized how something was off due to the sudden influx of children.

So there he was, walking around with his halberd resting on his shoulder.

[trainwrecking]

Luckily, Noda doesn't have to excel in the brains department (which is good, because he never will). Never fear, wuss Otonashi is here shooing some children out of the road. The street is a bad playland, okay, just ask Hinata.

"Hah? Noda, you..." Are normal. Large. Not fun-sized. A big boy (sort of).

[halberdaxe]

Oh, that's a familiar face he hasn't gotten angry at in a long while. First instinct was to glare over at Otonashi when he heard the other's voice.

"What do you want?"

[trainwrecking]

He stands upright after the children disappear into the distance, giving Noda quite a look.

"You're, ah... normal. That's all."

Too normal, unfortunately.

[halberdaxe]

"Normal?" Noda raises a brow. His grip on his halberd tightens as he takes a threatening step forward the other.

"What do you mean by that?!"

[trainwrecking]

SERIOUSLY, NODA? SERIOUSLY? Still, he takes a step back, though he refrains from raising his hands defensively.

"I mean you're normal! I don't know how else to say it! You're not a child right now, are you?"

'But you sure are acting like one...' is an unspoken follow-up, but the message is there in his body language and irritable expression.

[halberdaxe]

Fortunately, Noda's too distracted by the latter part of the spoken portion to pick up on the hidden implication from the redhead. He stops advancing with his weapon in hand and takes a step back as he makes a confused look in response.

"Not a child? No, I look the same as always." And then it finally hits him that maybe there are those who aren't. "...Are there those who have?"

[trainwrecking]

Gold star for Noda. You just (almost) figured it out!

"You... didn't notice? Most of these children were adults..." He takes a breath, nervous. "Aoi Misato is one of the ones who were changed. I recognize a few others, too..."

But would Noda know them? Not likely.

[halberdaxe]

"...No I didn't notice." How would this poor soul know the difference? He never met any of those in this world when they were younger. He wouldn't recognize anyways. Like he would later prove to be true when he meets up with Aoi.

"What about that baseball moron? Is he turned into one as well?" Just curious. Not like he was worried, no.

[trainwrecking]

He has to bite his tongue to keep from quipping some smartass remark at Noda. Nothing malicious, no, but the desire to call Noda's intelligence or social awareness into question again is certainly there.

"... Baseball moron? Who?"

He's bumped into a couple of them, Noda.

[halberdaxe]

Hopefully you can handle some more stupid, Otonashi. Here's more coming your way.

"I only know of one." He folds his arms across his chest as if saying, I don't care about how many baseball morons you know.

[trainwrecking]

Thanks Noda, you're always such a helpful friend.

"Yeah... who?" Otonashi sounds a little snappy and irritable now. "Are you talking about Hinata? You could use his name, you know!"

[halberdaxe]

"So was he turned into one as well?" Noda proceeds to ask, irritation in his voice as well (for different reasons) as he completely ignores Otonashi's suggestion.

[eyewillprotect]

Aoi was walking around, still in search of her parents or... anything familiar, really. This is definitely not the Tokyo she knows, and it's all quite strange!

But when she spots a tall man with a halberd, even she loses courage, giving a small gasp and taking an instinctive step back. Aren't weapons not allowed...?

[halberdaxe]

Well at least it weren't the bratty kids who'd think his weapon was fake and try to touch it; he'd have yelled to scare them off. Little Aoi's reaction, though, throws Noda off and he frowns as he scratches the back of his head. He stands in his spot awkwardly, a little hesitant to move for the moment, at least not until the girl would run off somewhere else.

[eyewillprotect]

"U-um...!" It takes a lot of willpower, but she finally manages to speak up. She knows it's rude to speak up against her elders like this, but at the same time...

"Isn't... Isn't carrying around something like that dangerous...?"

[halberdaxe]

"...It is supposed to be dangerous." Noda replies slowly, not exactly sure how else to answer. "It is used for cutting down enemies, after all. If it is not sharp then there is no point in using it."

[eyewillprotect]

"Are there enemies here...?"

She was learning naginata herself, but that was different. The enemies weren't real, so she didn't need to use it outside of her practice.

[halberdaxe]

"Indeed, although they only appear during certain parts of the night."　If Noda knew any better, was better at socializing with kids, perhaps he would have said something more assuring to stop making the poor girl worry.

But this is Noda we're talking about.

[eyewillprotect]

"Th-there are?"

Good going Noda, now she just looks scared. "Are they... bad people?"

[halberdaxe]

Oops.

"Indeed. They cause mayhem during the time. Fortunately there are those who can combat these beings. I am one of them."

Noda's looking confident and proud of himself. Why are you even boasting of your powers to a little kid...

[eyewillprotect]

"So... you fight to protect people?"

There might be a little bit of admiration in her voice. That sounds so brave...!

[halberdaxe]

Admiration directed towards him in any form was his weakness. He gives a smirk, scratching the tip of his nose in slight bashfulness. How the girl put it made him feel like he really was a hero, the main character of a game...

"You can put it that way."

[eyewillprotect]

"That's amazing! You're like a hero out of a story!"

Aoi, no. Don't make his head any bigger than it already is.

[halberdaxe]

A hero... While he was thinking about the exact same thing, actually hearing it out loud made his heart flutter with glee. He isn't as immature as how he started off in the Afterlife, so he doesn't get this happy feeling up to his head and just responses with a grin.

"A hero. I like the sound of that! Yes, I am a hero, I can become a main character!"

...Or not. It's all up in his head now.