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Bio is a work in progress, but the Yokai are a vigilante superhero group operating within Sol City. Its leader is Akira Arasaka, AKA Jorogumo.
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How did the Yokai team come to be?
Akira: "Initially, Jorogumo and I worked alone, relatively speaking. But after a run-in with a villain wielding a flamethrower that we BARELY escaped from, we needed help, badly. It would be suicide to go after him again without help. Thankfully, Osaka came through and helped us deal with him, sending that hothead to jail. The press congratulated us, Osaka coined his alter-ego, Daiouika, and the rest is history."
So why the name “Yokai?”
Akira: "I can answer that one! In Japanese folklore, Yokai are supernatural entities or monsters. Jorogumo, the symbiote, is of alien origin, and could be considered a supernatural entity... We name ourselves after Yokai or other Cryptids. For example, Osaka's hero identity, Daiouika, is Japanese for Giant Squid, or Kraken. The only exception is Ultron, as he doesn't have a civilian identity... yet. We're still working on that.
"Regardless, we serve as Sol City's hidden protectors, so we call ourselves the Yokai to show that."
What are some of your big name villains you’ve had to face?
Jorogumo: "Other than Nat's dad? Well, she's already talked about her dad, the original Green Oni. As Mr. Osborn, he's a good man and a good scientist. He's also a flawed, but well-meaning parent to Natsumi. As the Green Oni, he was anything but. Poor guy had multiple identity disorder, but for the most part, the good Osborn was the dominant personality. However, every now and then, his evil side took over and forced him to commit crimes that he'd otherwise never commit. As Nat already explained, he's in the local psych ward getting the help he needs, as he was found to be legally insane.
"Our least sympathetic villain in our rouge's gallery would have to be John Schmitt, CEO of Militech by day, supervillain Red Skull by night. He hates the fact that Akira isn't a Nazi like he is. It doesn't help that Akira's grandpa, Saburo, was a Japanese Imperalist until the day he died."
Akira: "Schmitt calls me, and I disdainfully quote, 'an embarrassment to the Arasaka name, a name that once stood for power and control above the common man.' I don't buy into his fascist ideals. My first meeting with him, I actually thought he was genuine when he said that his Militech was the 'people-company', but then I felt ill when I heard him show his true colors as a fascist. It didn't help that I was already feeling sick due to a run-in with a desperate man using cyrokinesis. I'll have to get into that later."
Ultron: "We're currently creating files on each and every one of our Rogue's Gallery within and around Sol City, but they range from misguided well-intentioned extremists to vile scumbags."
Osaka: "Osaka/Daiouika here. Trust me when I say this, having to use nearly-frozen tentacles to swing from building to building is NOT fun..."
Natsumi: "Brr! That guy really puts the chill in chill out."
Jorogumo: "ENOUGH WITH THE PUNS! ...Sorry. Lost my cool there- OH COME ON!"
Akira nervously chuckles
Akira: Ahem "Anyway, that's just a small sampling of the big name villains we have to face on a daily basis. Sometimes, we help the SCPD bag mob-bosses or other members of a criminal gang or even low-tier villains. A vigilante's work is never done, I suppose. Jorogumo, the Yokai, and I only work the night shift, but the SCPD has to deal with the mess 24/7."
Osaka, can we get more insight into who they are?
“Osaka here. I’m one of Arasaka’s top engineers. I created a device that grants me six additional limbs to help me with my research. However, as I’ve discovered, in layman’s terms, they need to be connected to my brain to function. Fortunately, I can sever the connection at any time. However, I’ve grown so used to them that I don’t even consider that unless I need to hide my hero identity. Akira and I created the Ultron by complete accident, but we’re damn fortunate that it turned out to be a good AI instead of an evil one, albeit not without flaws.”
Vehicles? I could’ve sworn people like you Joro just swung everywhere, right?
Jorogumo:“I do, but there’s places that even we can’t reach! You wouldn’t believe how many times we had to go into a high speed chase!”
Akira:“It was one of those nights… some crazed ketchup gun wielding loony robbed a restaurant. He was obviously new at it, so we were willing to let him off with a warning if he returned the loot and went home to rethink his life. However, we discovered that he wasn’t himself; he was being mind controlled by another maniac.”
Jorogumo:“It was funny because he was so bad at being a villain… but also kinda sad that an innocent person was forced to commit crimes. I can only imagine how bad it was for him once he was free.”
Akira:“Thankfully, he was rightfully acquitted due to the evidence that shows that he was being mind controlled.”
Can you tell us more about this Green Oni character?
Green Oni:“My real name is Natsumi Osborn. I’m the daughter of the previous Green Oni, who was… unfortunately one of Akira’s first enemies. It wasn’t dad’s fault; he had dissociative identity disorder, and Akira recognized it. So, instead of him going to jail, he’s in the local psych ward getting the help he needs to suppress his evil side. Admittedly, I got the wrong idea and became the second Green Oni to avenge him, but once Jorogumo showed me that Akira was ok (I thought she ate him, for some reason) and in control, I started to wonder if Joro’s actions were justified. Soon, I did my own research into it through trusted sources, and long story short, I realized Dad was in the wrong. So, I reinvented the Green Oni identity as a way to make up for my dad’s crimes. The Yokai happily let me in, as they knew I wasn’t evil… just severely misguided.
“As for what I use, well, I use my dad’s old hoverboard. During my anti-villain days, I used pumpkin bombs, but I’ve since swapped them out for smoke bombs and other non lethal weapons and gadgets.”
Joro, this is meant with I intention of being rude but…why are you so fat?
Jorogumo shrugs “Sumo wrestling is popular in Sol City, I suppose.”
So who controls what when Jorogumo bonds?
Akira:“Outside of the suit, I’m in control.”
Jorogumo:“But when Akira suits up, I take over. That said, he acts as my conscious to make sure I don’t hurt innocent people, so he’s not powerless.”
So just how does Akira and Jorogumo’s symbiosis work?
Akira:“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure, but it seems that she covers my body in a… I wanna call it biomechanical armor, but the suit is purely biological in nature. I’ve noticed that, while I’m ‘suited up’, I have the strength and size of a sumo wrestler weighing about 1,000 lbs…”
So where did Jorogumo even come from? Space? Science lab? Something or somewhere else?
Jorogumo:“Space. I was found by his company though, so we met in a science lab…”
So how did Akira and Jorogumo get together?
Jorogumo:“Easy! I broke out of his Texas lab! Just kidding. He used himself as a guinea pig, we bonded, end of story.”
So, might be jumping ahead, but just who and what are the Yokai beyond hero group?
Daiouika: “They’re misfits, kinda like us. I’m Osaka Octavius, Yokai Identity: Daiouika. I’m the resident tech genius behind the operations. Have to make vehicles that can hold Jorogumo’s fat ass!”
Jorogumo:“My ass isn’t that fat… is it?”
Doom:“Little bit. William Von Doom, prince regent of Latveria. Technically, I am Doctor Doom, but I don’t go by that name. I’m the only member of the team whose identity is public. Everyone else keeps their identity secret.”
Green Oni:“Name’s Green Oni. And I’m something of a scientist myself!”
Ultron:“I am Arasaka Tetsujin Model 261, designation: Ultron. I am a self-aware android serving as the unofficial day shift of the team. Everyone else typically does the night shift.”
And then what’s Akira’s deal? How’d you end up with him?
Jorogumo:“It’s a long story, but long story short, I met this skinny dork in his Texas lab. More accurately, the Arasaka Biotechnical Laboratory in the Republic of Texas. Akira set me loose, we merged, became a superhero duo, and the rest is history!”
So what’s this Sol City like then? Sounds fancy for Texas.
“Sol City, formerly known as San Antonio, is a megalopolis in the state of Texas. It’s basically… the good Night City.”
OOC: Sol City is basically my original city… I think. It’s meant to be the good counterpart of Night City from Cyberpunk 2077.
I see…so is Akira just a host? Does he provide nothing power wise outside of that?
Akira:“No super powers, but I do have a genius level intellect, a lot of resources thanks to my family’s corporation. Having no super powers does help with providing plausible deniability… kind of…”
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