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 Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:37 pm
Quote: Snowy Showdown (16) : There’s something magical about fresh fallen snow–completely undisturbed and untouched by the rest of the world. It should be relaxing and peaceful–a sign that no one has been around and you’re perfectly safe. Except, the best predators lie in wait, completely invisible to their prey. What do you do when a patch of snow starts clumping together and taking shape right before your eyes? When it all comes together, it looks like a person, only there are no features, just a snowy white form. Maybe there wouldn’t have been an issue if you hadn’t seen it, but it’s too late. In frantic, panicked movements, it lunges at you with icy fists. It feels like being pelted with snowballs, but each hit lowers your core body temperature–rapidly. The creature is highly susceptible to heat and will melt if exposed to it; if you hit it, snow splatters everywhere. It may attempt to reform, but eventually it loses strength. You might not want to stick around to see if it just needs a little more time. If the creature manages to knock you unconscious, you may wake up covered in snow and with a bad cold. You may be more aware of strange, snowy figures that seem to be standing around in odd places; who knows where these things are hiding? Note: This strange snow monster is not a youma but can be used as a battle requirement for a character. It can only be used as a battle if there are two powered characters involved; you cannot write a solo and count this as a battle, and your character must be powered to meet battle requirements. You can use the prompt for as many characters as you like and it will count as a battle requirement, however if you repeat the prompt with the same character, only the first time will be usable as a battle.
Like how he got her separate snow boots to wear when she was powered up. And a jacket to wear over her dress as well.
Especially since they found out that the plans of having Cynthus go with her mom’s family on a cruise that holiday turned into his daughter’s ticket being used for his ex’s new boyfriend.
Not that he was complaining. He would much rather have his daughter with him for the holidays, but he knew it would have been fun to at least relax on a cruise for a while. She wouldn’t have even had to hang out with her mom.
“I know it’s not the same, but we could probably go somewhere, if you’d like?”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:38 pm
“It’s whatever,” Cynthus said. She didn’t sound annoyed or disappointed, at least not any more so than she usually did when the topic of conversation was her mom. “I didn’t really want to go with her anyway. She’d either ignore my existence or spend the entire time trying to convince me to dye my hair natural again. Plus Kristy was gonna be there and she’s always been a massive b***h. Sorry not sorry, that side’s cousins are trash. I’d rather go with you to Au—I mean, you know… to Paradise’s.”
At least the Gallos made good food and gave good presents. Aunt Claire would shower her with new clothes and expensive make up and gift cards for all the best shops in town, and if they were celebrating at Chris’s house his wife would let Maisie and Atticus raid her closet after. All two stories of it!
Suffice it to say, Christmas in Destiny City came with way better perks. If she’d gone on that stupid cruise she’d have to deal with her stupid mom being annoying and her stupid cousins being dumb and stupid gross older guys looking at her creepy while she sat around in a bikini. Maybe the locations might’ve been nice compared to the cold weather and general mayhem in Destiny City, but they wouldn’t be worth all the rest.
“You should take me somewhere over summer break,” Cynthus decided. If Dad was offering, she wasn’t going to turn him down. There was a reason she lived with him and not Mom. “We can travel around Europe or something. You have that picture of me at the Eiffel Tower when I was, like, two, but I don’t even remember it!”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:38 pm
“Ah, yes… I do have that picture,” he hummed thoughtfully, already cringing at the financial strain it would be to go on a trip to Europe but--
No. He’d offered to take her somewhere. He was hoping it would be a theme park or something, but if she would tolerate him enough to go on a trip to Europe with him then… he would just have to make it work.
“For what it’s worth, the color suits you. And we should get an updated picture of you at the Eiffel Tower,” Poe decided. It wasn’t as though she would always be living under his roof. One day she would grow up and move out on her own. Then when would she ever even entertain the idea of traveling with her old man?
He opened his mouth to comment about something -- likely about his sister or maybe Cynthus’ cousins -- but came to an immediate stop when something strange moved in the snow up ahead.
But… he didn’t feel anything. There was no strange Chaotic aura, just… nothing.
“Something’s wrong. Let’s head back,” he suggested, holding his arm out to stop Cynthus from walking ahead of him. The snow was moving too strangely. It was like it was congealing together into a form.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:39 pm
That was why she liked her dad way better than her mom. Sure, he nagged at her sometimes, and it was kind of a bummer that he was a knight, too, because now he got to nag her even more, and magical girl stuff should really only be for young people, in her opinion, but at least he didn’t care if she wanted to dye her hair cool colors and go on vacations that were a little more involved than sitting around on a boat.
Whatever was happening with the snow was a total drag, if only because it decided it wanted to interrupt them when they were actually having an okay conversation. Cynthus edged back but still watched it take shape, summoning her shepherd’s crook as soon as it took the form of a person.
And not, like, a snowman sort of snow person, all rolled snow and a carrot nose. Nope, this shape was way more person-like. Just with no face.
“Okay, that’s creepy,” Cynthus said. “Don’t worry, this sort of stuff happens sometimes. There’s been bugs and weird bear creatures. Not youma. Some other magical stuff. Who knows where they come from. Probably Destiny City being Destiny City.”
No sooner had she said it than the snow creature rushed toward them, taking a swing at her dad with both cold fists.
“Wow, rude!”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:39 pm
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any fancy weapon to use to attack this creepy snow monster with.
Which was apparently something that just happened in Destiny City! Oh! Like he wasn’t going to start worrying about that now! What else was there??
Poe threw up his arms to guard himself against the swing of snow fists, hissing from the sudden, inexplicable chill. It was like being doused in liquid nitrogen -- probably. He had never been doused in liquid nitrogen but he could only assume it was something like that.
In an attempt to keep the creature away from his daughter, Poe quickly kicked at the creature, watching as pieces of it shattered and collapsed. He let out a breath of relief, but it was short lived as the snow began to reform.
“What the fu-- uhhh that’s not okay!” he yelled at it, shaking out his arms that were still quite frigid.
“Any place we can escape to? Maybe inside. Sorry they’ll have to just assume we’re part of a convention or something,” he hissed through chattering teeth, trying to get Cynthus to back away from the reforming creature as quickly as possible.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:39 pm
“I don’t know, what if this thing follows us? Do you want to lead it inside?”
Cynthus used her crook to whack at the snow creature before it finished reforming. It shattered and collapsed again, but also started to pick itself back up and put itself back together again. Or, rather, it sort of just rose back out of the snow nearly the same as it’d been before. Maybe a little more clumsy. Maybe a little less perfectly person-looking. Maybe different person looking? Cynthus couldn’t tell. It was dark and the streetlamps threw weird shadows over the snow and the thing still didn’t have any recognizable features.
The snow creature seemed to like her dad the most between the two of them. Or maybe it didn’t like him, since it kept trying to fling its fists at him. Cynthus was pretty sure that meant it was vaguely woman-shaped. Or woman-inspired? If only because women either liked her dad a lot or kept trying to fling their fists at him (for absolutely no reason, mind you; her dad was a catch).
“Leave. Him. Alone!”
Cynthus swung out again, bashing it with her crook until it disintergrated into smaller lumps of snow. It didn’t reform right away this time, so she backed up a few steps and grabbed her dad by the arm to pull him back, too.
“Come on, I think we can make a break for it now.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:39 pm
Okay, so it was a good thing that his daughter wasn’t being targeted, but whatever this creature was, Poe was starting to get really concerned about his arms turning into popsicles.
He was so proud of his daughter though. She was strong and smart and so so brave! She didn’t even hesitate when it came to attacking the weird snow creature to help defend him. It also made him feel a bit like a horrible father for not being able to protect her all of the time, but at least she was capable enough to stand on her own.
Oh no… his baby was growing up so fast.
He was grateful when Cynthus grabbed his arm to pull him back, and nodded at the plan for retreat. He just hoped her hand didn’t get frozen for touching his arm.
“Yeah, sounds good--” he hissed in pain from the too frigid bite to his body from where the creature had hit him. “I was more thinking-- you know-- inside is warm. Maybe it’ll be a good deterrent.”
It didn’t matter where they went at this point, as long as they put plenty of distance between them and the creature.
Fin!
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