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 Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 2:05 pm
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. --------------------------------------------------- “Waaaah! There’s so many bugs!” They’d popped up without any warning! Teyla had decided to take her Papa out that afternoon because it was summer and being outside was good for them! She didn’t even have school at the moment, so on the weekend, her daddies were free to take her to the park or to the pool or anywhere she needed to go, really! Well, gone out they had. Not too late in the day, since Teyla wanted to make sure her Papa had enough time to rest at night. It was supposed to just be for a little while, and they weren’t even going to power up. But these giant bugs had come swarming out while they were at the park, and even though it was still light enough outside to be daytime, they had to power up to protect themselves because these bugs were big, and they were pretty mean!
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 2:15 pm
Thaddeus was not going to be pleased with him.
Sawtooth didn’t know how it seemed like there was always trouble when he went out with his daughter, and not as much when his partner did, but it did feel extremely skewed how often he and Zero were in danger together. Although for this time, maybe he should have expected as much…
The sound these cicadas made practically flooded the entire town. It felt like an ill omen: a swarm of locusts upon the city, heralding some kind of evil. This had probably not actually been the best time for them to go out… But it was also summer break for his daughter, and no matter how patient and good and understanding Teyla was, it still seemed really unfair to keep her cooped up inside for too long when she should be outside enjoying the season.
They were just going to the park. They’d done it hundreds of times before, and Elias would be alert for whatever might decide to show itself. Admittedly, he hadn’t really expected that anything would show itself? The buzzing was pretty constant and quite loud, but… There were always cicadas in summer. They just didn’t look like this.
His daughter had run off to play on the playground equipment, with Eli keeping dutiful watch, and- And she just hadn’t made it very far before a fast and sizable flying insect had lurched from the dirt and shot out at her.
Elias was at her side in an instant, and even though they were in public, in daylight, and it was dangerous to don his knight guise willy-nilly, what other option did he have? He wasn’t going to let Teyla be attacked by something alien and hostile! He’d powered up into Sawtooth, and his daughter had taken his lead and eagerly done the same. Now it would be more a matter of getting distance than fighting, because after one had shown up, others had joined. Too many to count now, all whirring around and impeding their vision and movement.
“Tey- Zero. Come on!” Sawtooth snapped as he reached for the small girl. “We need to get out of here and away from these things!”
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 2:20 pm
Zero looked one way and then the other, rapidly glancing around to see if anyone was nearby who might need their help! Papa wanted to escape as soon as possible, but they definitely couldn’t leave the area until they were sure everyone was safe! Mirosnjha said that was their duty. Protecting people was what they were supposed to do, and Zero had to take that very seriously!
…But it was quite hot out, and even though it wasn’t very late, no one else seemed to be around that needed saving. Just Zero and Papa and this swarm.
She wasn’t scared of them, though! They were big, loud, and yucky, but she definitely wasn’t scared because the Zero powers would protect her. And they could protect Papa too. “Papa, wait!” She shrieked back over the sound of buzzing, beating wings as Zero kept out of his reach. “I want to do it! I’ll get us out with the Magic!” Helping people get away was exactly what she was best at. Her spells weren’t really good for fighting, but they would give them the speed needed to escape these bugs!
Zero held out a hand. She had to think pretty hard to pull any power to her, and it was a little harder with things flying by her and knocking into her and the wingbeats in her ears… But she could do it! “Upgrade!” She called, summoning a little hexagonal plate on the ground.
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 2:26 pm
If it were up to him, he would’ve snatched her by the arm, scooped her up into his grasp and fled as quickly as possible. If Teyla didn’t actively try to resist him, they would probably be on the move away from here already. Instead, Sawtooth felt a stab of frustration as his daughter slipped farther away from his grasp, willingly putting herself in a deeper midst of insect barrage- made worse because it was only a very narrow sliver that let her slip past something that one of them spit at her.
It sizzled as it hit the grass.
So probably not something he wanted touching his daughter’s skin.
Thad really was going to kill him.
“Not right now, Zero,” Sawtooth tried to reason, to plead. It wasn’t the time to go testing her powers again, especially when he had to physically smack back bugs with his bare hands to keep the swarm from separating the two of them. There were so many. They were so fast. He couldn’t see all of them. It would only take one to hurt her, and he expected any one of the oversized cicadas had that potential. It didn’t matter to him if anyone else was in the vicinity. Sawtooth only cared that he and his daughter were able to remove themselves from the situation. Preferably uninjured.
And Zero just was not trying to help him with that. He battered another insect from behind as it swooped near her, her tiny palm raising as she tried to summon her magic. There was no telling how difficult a task it was. Sawtooth had no magic himself, and had never really had to rely on such things… But Zero’s shimmering plate appeared on the grass in front of them, something they could use to gain some distance.
“Fine. Fine. Come here now,” Sawtooth demanded, ducking beneath a buzzing bug as he surged forward to scoop the small girl up and ran for the glow of her magic.
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 2:33 pm
“Hhhrff!” She gave a startled squeak as her Papa’s arms snared her up pretty unceremoniously and yanked her over to her magical field. He seemed pretty scared, but that was okay since Sawtooth wasn’t used to using any kind of magic. He should be more confident! Since he had his planet protecting him too! Bugs would be no match for them, no matter how big and scary and acid-spitty they were. It was still probably best they get away. Zero wished they could beat the insects back so that they couldn’t hurt anyone else, but maybe next time.
When her Papa stepped on her magical plate, he’d find that he was able to move much faster! Zero still thought she would be faster than him, but that was okay. He was just scared and wanted to protect her. “Papa! Make sure not to bring them close to other people!”
Which… Zero peeked over Sawtooth’s shoulder.
Yeah, it was definitely possible for the bugs to follow. Even as Zero and Sawtooth ran with the glow of her magic enveloping them, a cluster of bugs were still after them, and they had the glow like her magic, too… Like they’d been able to use it.
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