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 Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:06 pm
Quote: The Gargoyles (1) : Even when you thought you’d seen the last of them, it seems like you’re never really in the clear. A while back, there was an infestation of awful gargoyle creatures–and while every Star Festival had its fair share of oddities, this one seems to have introduced a permanent infestation upon the city. Maybe you see them perched on the roof, or hiding in the shadows, but not all of these grotesque creatures are satisfied with just escaping their interdimensional prison–some of them still have a bone to pick. They seem stony; some of them will watch with a penetrative gaze and never strike to attack, but some of them will dive down to target anyone who gets too close. The monsters come in an array of sizes and shapes, but they are no more than half the size of their target. Their goal is uncertain, but they will crumble into a pile of rocks and dust if struck hard enough. Volterra wasn't sure ne would ever get used to doing any of this. Everything to do with magic always freaked nem out at first. Nothing new could ever come up without nem scowling at it first and acting wary. And ne was usually pretty right to react this way, because tonight, there seemed to be a rampage of gargoyles coming alive to attack people. People like nem. Volterra really, really hated this bullshit. Ne kicked one away from nemself and scowled even deeper than before. "Get the hell away from me!" ne growled under nis breath, hissing in pain as one climbed nis back to yank on nis hair.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2025 9:59 pm
Lionel was glad that this was not his first rodeo with the gargoyles, because it meant that he was able to leap straight into action when he saw someone else being harassed by them.
He was pretty sure he recognized the person being harried--the silver hair and eyepatch were familiar, and Lionel was pretty sure that was Murikabushi's sibling--but honestly, even if not, he would have wanted to intervene. It being someone he knew just made it feel more important.
"Fangs of the Betrayer!" A pair of spectral red lions leapt towards the gargoyles, who seemed very quickly distracted by each other. At least the magic was just as effective this time.
"Come on, book it, they'll only be distracted for a little while!"
It still seemed a remarkably effective method of handling them, honestly. Lionel was more than a little pleased with how well his magic worked on these stone bastards.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2025 5:25 pm
Volterra almost didn't hear the other senshi showing up and casting a spell, but ne certainly noticed when the little ******** got off of nem to clatter at each other menacingly. Ne also didn't question the command to book it, taking a deep breath and sprinting away from the vile little creatures with the newly arrived senshi. "Thanks for saving my bacon," ne panted as they moved away, going and going until they couldn't hear the clashes of rock against rock anymore. "What the heck where those things?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2025 6:17 pm
They were away. As far as Lionel was concerned, that was the only thing that mattered. Those gargoyles could tear each other apart or even try to come find them, but so far, he hadn't gotten the impression that they were smart enough to hunt. So that was the easy part.
"No problem," he said. "I figured out my magic works pretty well against the little ******** when I ran into them before with my boyfriend, so I figured I'd give this second group a shot." He grinned. "Whatever they are, they're smart enough to get 'the guy next to me is gonna try to stab me in the back,' and it makes them turn on each other."
And, frankly, it was nice to have his magic actually be useful, though at least he was tall and bulky enough that when it wasn't, he could go toe to toe in most any fight.
"You alright? Nothing serious? Hopefully just some wounded pride and maybe a bruise or two?" Because there was probably no coming out of getting swooped by gargoyles entirely uninjured.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2025 8:55 pm
Huh. So he'd encountered them before. Well, at least Volterra would know to look out for them, though ne had no idea how to fight them. Ne guessed that, as undignified as it might be, ne would simply have to run away as fast as possible, because ne couldn't exactly count on this guy showing up to randomly save nis a** a second or third time. "That's pretty good magic, then," ne complimented. "My magic, uh... Well, s**t, if I'd actually thought about using it on the ******** also distraction-based." Ne sighed, rubbing nis hands over nis face, catching on his eyepatch and wincing. "Just didn't think about it, ironically enough. But when you're being beaten up by rock creatures, rational thought tends to be defenestrated." Ne started looking over nemself, inspecting for any serious injuries. "I seem to be alright. Not bleeding anywhere, at least. Probably going to feel the bruises in the morning. Uh, I'm Volterra, by the way. Senshi of Sunbeams." It wasn't that Volterra identified as a goth or scene or emo, exactly, but sunbeams was still pretty much the opposite of nis personality. Oh well. It was what it was.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2025 9:18 pm
"Hey, don't beat yourself up for not thinking of it," Lionel said. "I'm pretty sure I only even thought to go for my magic the first time because I wasn't the one being hit; like you said, it's hard to think when a bunch of living rocks are coming down on you." Honestly, it was lucky they didn't hit harder, and it seemed like Volterra was mostly okay.
"And hey, next time you'll probably think of it." At least that was something. "And you're not too badly damaged. Lionel of Betrayal, by the way. Pinky swear that doesn't mean I'm going to betray you, though." He was smiling as he said it, a light little joke delivered idly and casually. "Do you want to stick together for a little bit? Probably safer than going our separate ways, at least until we can be more sure we're clear of those things."
Just because he hadn't seen them hunt didn't mean they weren't capable. And he didn't want to leave someone else alone to face more gargoyles if he could help it.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2025 10:53 pm
Well, he seemed like a nice guy, at least. Volterra wouldn't mind making an ally out of him. Or a friend. Friend was probably better. Ne needed to actually get to know more people than just nis cousin and the folks that lived with them all. Knowing some people to hang out with who knew all about the magical stuff without having to also deal with them at home seemed ideal, really. "I believe you; no need for touching pinkies," ne said dryly, then wrinkled nis nose. "Why does that sound dirty?" Ne didn't know exactly who to blame for that thought, but ne was sure someone other than nemself was to blame. "But yes, let's patrol together. Safety in numbers."
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