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 Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:02 pm
Quote: Insidious Insects (18 ) : In the first week of July, the area around the tree is just buzzing. The call of the cicadas is loud and droning, and it’s constant. You start to hear it all over town, too. All sorts of insects seem attracted to the strange pods, and it’s not uncommon to find nearly any species curiously investigating. If you listen closely, you notice something else strange–it’s not just the bugs that you see making the familiar call of the cicada. It seems like it’s coming from inside the pods, too. Any pod that wasn’t leaking sap suddenly begins to snap open, and giant cicadas, crawl out. Their full wingspan can reach up to a foot and they’re hungry–and angry. It seems like the pods that were leaking sap were slowly rotting, but the ones that didn’t leak were being eaten from the inside out–and now that the cicadas have run out of food, they’re out for anything they can find. Though there are several notable differences between these insects and the common cicadas, their low, chirping wail makes them easy to find–as well as the fact that they spit acid. These bugs are incredibly hostile and will attack indiscriminately, powered or unpowered, human or alien, day or night. They have a protective shell that makes them easy to crush but they’re hardly the most menacing foe you’ve faced–but if they reproduce, you could be in some real trouble. Better to crush them now before they become Destiny City’s next invasive species… Note: These creatures are a violent alien species that are aggressive and eager to destroy. They will attack everyone and everything within sight. The insects can fly, spit acid, and will try to burrow into the ground to hide. They are very fast and difficult to see. This RP can be used as a battle requirement for a character, separate from your ‘one youma battle’ per stage if there are two powered characters involved; you cannot write a solo and count this as a battle, and your character must be powered and interacting with another player’s powered character for it to count. This can only be used as a battle requirement once per character, but there is no limitation for how many times a player can use this prompt.
In his other hand was Laon’s, of course. Arawn only ever felt relaxed when he was with him. He made him feel sane. And normal. Although he knew they were far from normal, being Senshi and whatever else that meant.
“I hate bugs,” he shivered. “You’d think I can easily forget them, but of course those are some memories that are there to stay. Gross,” he grimaced and rubbed at his arm as though trying to brush some bugs off of him.
He knew Laon knew most of his history by now. Probably more than he did, himself, because the memories seemed to fade quickly over time. In some ways it was a blessing. In others, it just made him feel like he was broken. And he hated the thought of Laon having to waste his life trying to help keep him together.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:14 pm
There wasn’t anything that would inspire him to drop Arawn’s hand while they walked, and he swung it complacently while they walked. He leaned close to Arawn every time he held up his star charm, and sometimes he’d hold up the pink one he’d gotten to look at its sparkles, too.
The charm was pocketed for now, and he used his free hand to brush at Arawn’s other arm, as if touch alone could chase away the bad memories he had tucked away.
“I know, I’m sorry. I don’t like them either. But at least these bugs are outside? And I don’t think they live for very long. Give it a few more days, I’m sure they’ll be gone soon enough. The loud ones are annoying, but at least you know where they are. Better than the ones that sneak up on you while you aren’t paying attention, right?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:21 pm
Arawn shivered again and made a face.
“Wow, I definitely didn’t want to think about bugs sneaking up on me, thanks,” he grumbled, but immediately pulled Laon closer so he could press a kiss against his cheek as proof that he was just teasing him.
He wasn’t able to do anything else though. No more kisses or whispering what he thought they should do when they got back to their apartment. Because no. One of those really horribly loud bugs was just screeching away from inside one of the pods on a tree they passed.
“Ugh, are they supposed to be that big?” he looked on in increasing horror at not just the pod, but it was breaking open.
“What the hell is that??” he yelped, grabbing Laon to pull him behind him as one of the creatures broke out and it was huge.
And apparently angry, because it barely even stretched out its wings before it dove at them!
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:29 pm
There was no time for Laon to worry that Arawn was upset; there was a kiss on his cheek before the first thought could flicker into his mind.
…But then fresh worry was growing, quickly, because bugs were not supposed to be that big. His heart felt like it was in his throat suddenly and he nearly choked on his own words. Arawn was only protecting him, but Laon nearly lost his balance moving behind him. He’d hardly gotten a good look before it was flying towards them.
He didn’t want to just hide this whole time. Arawn wasn’t some human meat shield.
“Use–use your magic,” he insisted, because for all his internalizing how he wanted to be useful, Arawn was better at summoning magic than he was. He was still getting used to spitting it out. It wasn’t instinct yet.
…Although, the storms must have done some damage in the area because there were a few loose branches on the ground around them.
That almost seemed more reliable than his magic, but he didn’t want Arawn to think he was just running away.
He would punch a bug, though, and he was more than ready to flail if it chased it away from Arawn.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:36 pm
“I don’t think I can just scare it away!” he yelped as the bug was uncomfortably aggressive, buzzing and flying at them. Arawn hoped the bracers on his arms would protect him, because he used it to try and knock the bug back when it got too close.
And hissed when it spit at him and some landed on the back of his hand.
“s**t-- <********>-- Don’t let it get near you,” he growled in pain as he held his injured hand under his other arm to protect it.
But this was nonsense. Was this the Negaverse’s creature? It didn’t feel like anything, but it had to be magic of some kind, right?
“Intimidation,” he snarled as he used his magic, holding out his injured hand once more to do so.
He couldn’t tell if it did anything, because the bug just swarmed around them, diving at them again. Quote: Sailor Scout Attack: Intimidation When opponents are within ten feet of Arawn, they will see the illusion of orange eyes peering out through the darkness at them and hear the loud growling of canines. As the eyes draw closer, the growling becomes softer. The illusion invokes and increases fear and horror. This could involve the magic causing shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, or similar effects of a panic attack left up to the player, with the potential for lasting effects. The illusion causes the target’s mind to perceive the environment as ominous and Arawn as dark and foreboding, or even as a feral canine of death or monster himself. This will last for thirty seconds and has three uses.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:49 pm
Laon nearly yelped, but he went immediately from ‘unnerved’ to ‘panicked’ and his instinct was to just shut down and make as few waves as possible. Don’t whine, don’t complain, don’t draw attention to yourself–
Don’t let Arawn get hurt. Don’t let him hurt himself.
He wasn't sure if the magic was working; the bug had swooped down again, but he thought it had at least bought him a few seconds to dart towards the branches. He grabbed two and before he’d even slowed down he was darting back to Arawn.
At first, he used both branches to try and hit the bug, but he missed. Maybe he deterred it, briefly, but it was enough time to shove one of the branches into Arawn’s hand, too. There were too many leaves still to make it easy to wield, but the mass could at least slow it down a little bit–or create some type of barrier to stop it.
Laon didn’t care so much about that, he wanted to bash the bug in. He might not be very athletic, but it was clearly dangerous–and it wasn’t leaving them alone. He kept his back to Arawn, he knew he’d keep it safe, and began to strip the extra leaves from the branch to try and make it a bit more dangerous.
“Is your hand okay?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:59 pm
Arawn took the branch when it was handed to him, and swung violently at the bug as it flew at them, not caring if he was mostly just sending leaves everywhere.
“Yeah,” he hissed, but it sounded more like a whimper. He would be fine. He just didn’t like how he felt now. He needed to wash his hand off and definitely not let Laon touch it until he made sure it wasn’t going to ******** bugs. Piece of s**t--” he continued spitting curses as he swung a couple more times, but made sure Laon was against his back.
“We’re moving to Mirrorspace as soon as it’s possible,” Arawn hissed. “I’m so done with Earth and its ******** bugs.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 9:12 pm
Arawn was so tough. Laon had nothing but admiration for him, but he knew that he couldn't trust his ‘yeah,’ especially when he sounded so hurt. He opened his mouth to say something and almost inhaled a leaf, so he shook his head and swung blindly for a second while he collected himself.
“Yes,” he agreed. When the branch came down this time, it hit something solid. He thought he might have been lucky enough to catch the bug’s backside at least, but he really just wanted to break its wings off.
Kaelan wasn’t violent. He didn’t want to hurt anything.
But, he’d do anything to protect Arawn, if he could.
He couldn’t see his hand right now, but he was already worrying that it was badly hurt. He knew Arawn would lie to him to make him feel better.
They had a first aid kit–small, but with a few necessities. They just needed to get rid of this pest first.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 4:58 am
Laon might not have been violent, but Arawn more than made up for that. He wanted to make up for the difference so that Laon would never feel like he had to be violent.
Which was why Arawn swung the branch just as aggressively as the bug was coming at them.
The insect was way too fast, though. Every time he thought he could hit it, it swerved away.
But when the bug looked like it had changed tactics and went after Laon instead, Arawn abandoned the branch, which was good for surface area but not for power, and threw his fist right at the bug.
Only to let out a disgusted yelp when it splattered, and the rest of it fell to the ground.
Arawn let out a frustrated snarl, and shook his hand off to try and get any bug guts off without Laon having to worry about it.
“Let’s get the ******** out of here,” he growled, looking around for any more of the creatures.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 7:23 am
Laon let out an undignified yelp when the bug splattered everywhere. He’d raised a hand to block the guts from splattering all over him, but the destruction of the creature was far less messy than he’d expected.
He was still flinching for a good few seconds before he processed Arawn’s words, and he found himself quickly nodding.
There were more pods on the ground. Sometimes, they twitched.
Nothing seemed to be outright moving like this one had been but he didn’t want to take any chances.
He loved his Dark Mirror uniform, and he never wanted to bring any shame to it. He wore it proudly, for the most part. There was a bit of skin showing in places that made him nervous, and he walked and moved in a way that mostly hid them.
All of those insecurities were tossed aside, and he wriggled out of the coat he wore so he could carefully towel Arawn’s hand clean. He was gentle, because he didn’t know if he’d been hurt.
He just didn’t want to wait until they got home to do this. “Can you get the water bottle you put away out for me?” he asked; he held Arawn’s wrist as he tried to gently wipe away the grossness. He began to walk backwards so he could take care of Arawn while leaving this area. “I want to clean your hand now, I don’t want to wait until we get back to the apartment. I don’t know what that thing was or what it could do. Thank you for saving me, you’re so good to me. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
He said it with such enthusiasm that he obviously meant it this time as much as he had every other time he’d said the same.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:49 am
For all the agitation and restlessness Arawn usually exerted, anytime Laon needed him to slow down or stop what he was doing, Arawn did. He wasn’t exactly relaxed when there were bugs trying to attack them, but the anxiety eased a bit, and he held still for Laon to clean him up.
As requested, he pulled the bottle of water from subspace to hold-- try to hold. It dropped out of his hand the moment he pulled it free. Any ease he’d gained from Laon’s gentle touch was out the door as he hissed curses at the water bottle, at the bugs, at himself. Especially himself. He balled his free hand into a fist and held it behind his back so Laon wouldn’t have to worry about that on top of cleaning up his hand with the acid burns.
“Sorry,” he growled with frustration, but it was quiet and obviously not intended to be directed at Laon.
“Some saving,” he scoffed, clearly irritated with himself. “You’re the one always taking care of me.”
That was at least said more gently than everything else, and he tried to force himself to take a deep breath and relax some, but he couldn’t help but be annoyed with everything. Except for Laon.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 11:17 am
Laon instinctively flinched when Arawn moved to ball his hand but it was quick to shake off. Arawn had never hurt him, he was just high strung and alert because of these weird bugs. He smiled, because he suspected Arawn would see and worry, and he was already being so hard on himself.
“I love you, it’s okay. I’ve got it.”
And he did; he knelt quickly to pick up the bottle and when he stood up again, he kissed his cheek. “You did save me. I didn’t get hurt at all. You were very brave, don’t be unkind to yourself. I didn’t even know things like that existed, but now we can be more careful.”
He uncapped the bottle and began to pour it on Arawn’s hand to help clean, and when he’d finished that, he poured water on a clean section of his jacket and dabbed at his hand again to remove the last of the slime. He moved quickly; he didn’t want to be out here any longer than they had to be, and he didn’t want Arawn’s hand to get worse because they weren’t giving it adequate attention. He threw his jacket over one arm and finally began to just pour a slow, steady stream of water over the burn now that he could see it.
“Your poor hands. But we’ve got things to treat this at home, I think. I love you,” he said again. He meant it, of course, he was just trying a little extra hard to combat the bullying Arawn was giving himself.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 12:55 pm
Of course Arawn saw. He paid more attention to Laon than to anything else around him. He’d even run into things because he was too busy looking at and admiring his boyfriend.
So when Laon flinched, there was immediate shame that washed over him, and he deflated and hung his head.
Making Laon feel unsafe was never what he wanted to do, and while he knew Laon knew Arawn would never purposefully hurt him, he also knew that his actions and movements weren’t exactly predictable sometimes.
“I love you, too,” he mumbled, making sure his hand was outstretched as far as he could so Laon could tend to it.
“It’s fine, we should just go home,” he suggested quietly, aware of how much his hands were trembling and not wanting Laon to waste time trying to fix something that couldn’t be fixed. If he didn’t think it would upset Laon, he would have pulled his hand away from him.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 1:17 pm
“No, no, no,” Laon said quickly, because he paid every bit as much attention to Arawn as his boyfriend did to him. There was no reason for shame, no reason to feel bad. Maybe he predicted that he’d try to pull his hand away because he pulled it closer. He’d have kissed it if he wasn’t worried about bug guts, so instead he pushed himself close so he could press his forehead to Arawn’s.
“I love you. Those bugs really freaked me out, my skin is crawling. We should go home and get a shower.”
He was gentle but firm; he didn’t want to hurt Arawn but he didn’t want to let him hurt himself by trying to pull away. He could feel this one trembling and expected the other was, too, but he couldn’t reach for that one just yet. He poured a bit more water on his hand to try and soothe it, but he’d started walking backwards again so they could get out of here.
“Since you got hurt, I think I should carry you home. You should jump on my back. I want to spoil you tonight. You were so brave. Let’s get milkshakes on the way.”
He was rambling just a bit. They didn’t have a lot of money, but they had a little bit extra, and for as much as he worked to scrimp and save, there wasn’t any point to it if his boyfriend was still going to be miserable. He wanted to kick himself; he was usually better with keeping himself in check, and he knew he was safe with Arawn. Sometimes instinct just kicked in and he lost himself. He felt a bit cold now, and his skin felt like it was stretched too tightly over his bones, but that wasn’t Arawn’s fault and he couldn’t ever blame him for anything. Laon wasn’t supposed to be reactive; he’d worked very hard to bury most of that.
And bugs were his undoing? That wasn’t fair. And now Arawn was upset and hurt and it wasn’t fair.
So he just wanted to do everything he could to make it up to him and make things good again.
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 6:03 pm
“You’ll break an ankle if you trip in those heels, and I’d be too heavy if without magic,” Arawn protested, obviously skeptical of Laon’s suggestion, but appreciative that he would look out for him.
The press of Laon’s forehead to his was enough to settle him a little, at least.
“I wasn’t that brave. It was just a bug,” he grumbled, but he knew his cheeks were red. He hated bugs, and he understood what Laon meant about his skin crawling.
“But… yeah, let’s get milkshakes,” he conceded, even though they should be saving money. Laon had books for college he needed to buy, because not everything was available for free online. A shower sounded nice too. But so did just collapsing in bed next to his perfect boyfriend.
He loved Laon, and he felt bad that the bugs were gross enough to make him flinch. He would just have to be careful. If he could remember.
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