May Swear-In

[dendarii]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Aerial Garden, Downtown Nonah
WHEN: May 13th
WHAT: Butterfly Festival/May Swear-In!
WARNINGS: Perhaps some violence, but nothing in the prompt itself.

Welcome to the first ever Nonah Butterfly Festival! Hosted by the Nonah Conservatory Society and coordinated by Nonah's ambassador, Miles Vorkosigan, the swear-in/festival is hosted in the Aerial Garden downtown.



The Garden is a beautiful glass building suspended over the streets of downtown Nonah, with a lovely view of the cars passing along below. Or … well, there would be a good deal of traffic going on, but this street is completely flooded courtesy of a certain portal summoning a whole bunch of seawater downtown. The effect is quite lovely, though, and the glittering water channel below makes a nice backdrop for the events inside.

Sweet Little Butterflies



The main draw of the swear-in s, naturally enough, the butterflies themselves. The garden is completely full of them from top to bottom, resting on flowers, feeding on the various plates of rotted fruit and sugar water, and (gently) mobbing anyone wearing brightly colored clothing. It seems like no two butterflies are alike. From brilliant Blue Morphos to delicate cabbage butterflies, there’s a dizzying array of colors and shapes available.

To properly show off these butterflies, the Society has scheduled a number of smaller events throughout the afternoon and evening. Don’t miss out on …

Butterfly Bingo

Take a randomized card and see how many species you can spot and photograph! The card is equipped with QR codes that automatically sync up with your communicator and identify which species you’ve snapped pictures of. Return to one of their many educational booths with a full card and receive your very own butterfly-raising kit! Complete with instructions, a chrysalis, and a small terrarium to keep your new friend in.

Flora Fascination

Who loves flowers? Butterflies love flowers! And also people, but mostly butterflies. The NCS has reached out to local floral experts - imPorts as well - to create a dizzying array of live arrangements for both butterflies and people to enjoy. Several members of the society are also giving out flower arranging lessons for those of you who are interested in taking home a nice bouquet for Mother’s Day.

Live Educational Exhibits

Did you know that prehistoric butterflies were huge? Yes, it’s true! And totally not the result of some mad scientist getting a little too creative with some prehistoric butterfly DNA. The NCS has cordoned off a section of the garden specifically to house these oversized creatures. With wingspans the size of swans, these insects are truly a wonder to behold. Similarly oversized are the live prehistoric plant included in the exhibit, including giant flowers, enormous leafy greens, and other oversized flora. Funny, they all seem a bit too … toothy to be accurate.

As with the floral display, the NCS coordinated with local biologists - including imPorts from any city - to make this happen. So if you want credit/blame for what happens next, feel free to have lent a hand…

6 PM - Jurassic Butterfly Park

The first warning signs come from the smallest butterflies. They begin to list lazily towards cordoned off prehistoric exhibit, settling in small swarms on anyone who happens to be in the area. Then, a vague hum begins to emanate from the area where the giant butterflies are being kept. After that there’s only a few scant moments before the exhibit seemingly bursts from the inside out, emptying swarms of giant butterflies into the walled off garden. They are mean creatures too, as large as a goose and twice as vicious, with multiple lines of tiny, sharp teeth. And while it would take a lot of doing to get killed by one of these, getting bit sure won’t be pleasant either.

The smaller butterflies aren’t especially friendly either. Driven by whatever strange pheromone is maddening the giant butterflies, they are swarming in enormous swaths, landing on people in suffocating droves and delivering thousands of butterfly kisses that are a whole less cute when you’re being suffocated by an insect swarm. They mob drinks and food, land on your face and in your mouth, and generally cut visibility down to nothing. All while the giant butterflies stalk through the garden, the muffled sound of their wings often the only warning you’ll get before they descend.

The good news is these killer butterflies are confined by the glass panes of the garden, plus some bright government official thought to lock the doors leading to the walkways that go back towards the rest of the city. The bad news is … you’re stuck in here too. And below the garden itself, the seawater flooding the streets make an escape in that direction equally unpalatable.

In the midst of all this chaos, both Miles and the NCS begs that imPorts help capture the butterflies unharmed. There are a decent number (though not enough) nets around that can be used for this purpose, and the Society would be happy to express their gratitude with butterfly bounties. Or, alternately you can probably lay waste to the swarms and leave a swath of butterfly corpses in your wake. The large butterflies are, alas, too stupid to be tamed, although a determined imPort might be able to lure one around for a while.

Fight off swarms of insects? Capture them safely for the NCS? Just focus on escaping? The choice is yours, imPorts.

Comments

FLORAL FOLKS

[dendarii]

Want to have your own floral exhibit at the festival? Did you help out with any of the floral arrangements yourself? Take credit here! Include a short description of what your character contributed.

Daryl's Random Georgia Arrangements

[dirtyredneck]

He wasn't a florist or anything, but he knew enough about plants native to the state of Georgia to know which ones attracted butterflies. And most of them were far from the beautiful flowers people liked to think they were.

So while he didn't have a booth to himself, per se, he was definitely going from booth to booth and idly making his own arrangements with the less loved plants: Fennel and parsley for Black Swallowtails, various bean plants for Grey Hairstreaks and Long-Tailed Skippers, pawpaw branches for Zebra Swallowtails. There were some of the smaller, prettier plants like the milkweeds for Monarchs, but mostly it was the 'neglected' plants that he had fun quietly putting together and setting off to the side of the booths for people to claim if they they wanted something a little more understated.

MAD SCIENTISTS

[dendarii]

Did the NCS contact you to help out with their prehistoric butterflies? Want blame credit for what happened? Pop your name in here and include a short description of what your character contributed.

[helpline]

The Doctor wouldn't call himself a biologist but hey, time travelers should know something about prehistoric butterflies, right? Right! He'll gladly contribute by being nosy, joining in a little bit on some of the DNA tweaking (but again, mostly to be nosy) and as well as useless peanut gallery commentary about how no, he's been to the Jurassic period, they wouldn't have been that color to begin with.

It's still up in the air whether or not he actually DID hang out with dinosaurs or not, but the Doctor's certainly bullshitting convincingly enough that people think he has.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN BUTTERFLY ADVENTURE

[dendarii]

If your character interacted with the butterfly attack portion of the Swear-In, please provide the following info:

Killed or Captured: (Did your character kill butterflies, capture them, or some mix of both?)
How Much?: (A little, average, or a lot?)

The NCS is willing to pay about $5 for each small butterfly that's captured and returned, and $500 for a returned giant butterfly. They'll pay nothing for dead butterflies. No need to list exact numbers here - the bounty pricing is just for your reference.

Re: CHOOSE YOUR OWN BUTTERFLY ADVENTURE

[generalgrievous]

Grievous probably only attacks the butterflies. So no rewards here.

Killed or captured: Killed.
How Much?: Many, until he's stopped.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/FEEDBACK

[dendarii]

Any questions or feedback? Lay 'em on me!

Re: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/FEEDBACK

[drizzle]

Okay, one question about the butterfly hunt, is freezing them an option in keeping them alive or would it kill them? How will fog affect the little and big ones?

Oh, and wind powers to blow them away, how will they react to that?

Cassian Andor | Registering [OTA]

[candor1]

Outside the Aerial Garden [Closed to Jyn Erso and K-2SO]

The plan hadn't altered. Neither had the facts.

(As far as someone could ever know enough of them. Having to eventually take on faith that you can act on the ones you have even though there may be another that could change the whole picture, but to forever track that one down meant letting the others change out from under you…)

…Augh

The sodding plan. Start working at HOPE, where the skills he actually had might be in service of individuals and their lives rather than at their expense. Keep living with Jyn and Kay, as requisite as air. HOPE was in Heropa. Jyn and Kay were in De Chima. Porting was necessary for doing both. Registration was necessary for Porting. There were no apparent real ramifications, hidden or otherwise, to registering. The only penalty for not was forfeiting free access to things like the Porters. That was standard. That was fair. There was nothing sinister in it.

In fact if anything sinister did arise—locally or from a galaxy far far away that seemed to be karking following them—having the resources and freedoms of registration would likely be an asset. (All the easier to get lost in the civilian population before forfeiting those resources.) Nothing about the situation made sense for a hidden agenda since it gave even more power to the imPorts who were superiorly powered in of themselves to begin with.

Having his identity and any degree of data on file wasn't his favorite situation but it had happened independent of registering and wasn't going to go away regardless. And likewise it actually made sense given the nature of their arrival being something not orchestrated or controlled by the local government. Even just to look for a pattern to understand. He wanted it for that purpose.

Whatever Constellation had to say. Their tactics were transparent and rarely used for the stated purpose.

Nonetheless… something had been planted in Cassian's mind.

Something that made him, after calmly and matter-of-factly making his way out of… chair (having not gone to bed) in the wee hours, to leaving De Chima, to coming just shy of the Garden door. To suddenly turn about-face and duck down the nearest alley. To brace his palm against a wall and, since he'd put nothing else in his stomach recently, vomit bile.

How dare you, the appearance of so many from his own history and the provocation of Constellation had reawakened in his brain.

How dare you.

How dare you decide not to dig deeper.

How dare you think of being content with what you have back.

How dare you choose ignorance.

Choose Jyn.

Choose peace.

Choose life.

Choose your own life over whatever else may be going on for so many others.

How dare you.

He dragged his palm on the stone, coughed up whatever more could be expelled—in both places, leaving a smear of blood.

how dare you

The Swearing-In [OTA]

To be doing a ceremony like this… by, with, and among people he doesn't know… and the one person he does know is General Grievous… Cassian nearly changes his mind again.

He shuts his eyes. Puts himself back on Coruscant as Joreth Sward.

And fulfills the ceremony.

His friends might see/feel the dissonance… his body language and manner of speech are so distinct, they transcend physical appearance… Whoever just took the oath used the name Cassian Andor, but wasn't him.

Once he's done… he doesn't go back to his friends right away. He drifts toward a less crowded area. Looking…

…blank.

Jurassic Butterfly Park part 1 [OTA]

He's outside when it happens. But by force of habit, hearing the startled screams, he runs toward the danger.

And will instantly dash toward someone being attacked by one of the giant creatures. Not quite sure yet what he intends to do, but taking it one millisecond at a time.

What suddenly happens… is the giant insect seems a bit stunned, as if knocked back, and there's a foot of space between it and its intended prey.

And none of the other creatures seem able to reach them now.

Cassian had known in theory… had read his file saying something about "force field generation". He hadn't intentionally tested it. But on pure instinct, they seem to be protected by a bubble of solid energy. Comfortably big enough for the two of them… and a handful of small butterflies who'd been within its circumference when it went up.

And they are suddenly acting differently than the ones still outside. They've reverted to their peaceful, aimless fluttering.

[ooc: wanna be saved by/trapped in Cassian's personal force field/energy shield thingie? multithreads welcome!]

Jurassic Butterfly Park part 2 [OTA]

If these were not emergency conditions, Cassian might have more difficulty figuring out how to control his own first manifestation of his power. But it is, and he must. So he simply does.

He tries to help with evacuation, and in so doing, learns a lot about the energy shields very quickly. First, they won't move with you: once you're inside you're trapped. On the other hand, the insects were so fully blocked from you—can't reach, can't seem to smell—that once they'd well enough forgotten about you, you had some time to lower the shield and cover more distance to the exit.

Can't smell. Which also allowed him to put the pieces together re: the effect of the shield on any small butterflies who inevitably got trapped inside it with him and an evacuee. Once in the shield, they always seemed to calm down and become entirely disinterested and benign. The moment the shield went down, they once again became hostile.

There was something in the air affected them that the shield blocked.

…Which gave Cassian a new idea.

So far, each shield—created instinctively and without plan—had automatically adopted the same size. If Cassian could lure some of the giants, or get himself into the middle of them, he might be able to diminish the threat for others… as well as keep the creatures themselves—

(since when has this been a priority for you…)

—from getting killed.

He scanned the room quickly. Seeing who was left. And seeing what they were wearing.

Target acquired. Someone not under attack but wearing a suitable garment.

Not really giving the person time to consent… Cassian commandeered the jacket, made of leather or plastic or some such sturdy substance.

And used it to shield his head and wrists when darted headfirst into a concentration of the giants.

Something popped from the middle of the swarm.

When eventually, thanks to the efforts of the others, the swarm cleared… it revealed Cassian, unharmed, but expression fixedly focussed, sitting inside his own energy shield… with three of the giant insects… lazily fluttering, seemingly unconcerned by their confined space. One had even landed nearby and seemed to be prodding Cassian benignly with its antennae. None were angry or attacking.

He'll wait until someone fitting cues him to lower the shield to collect the insects.

[ooc: know these aren't necessarily helpful prompts; however/whenever in the midst of any of that you may feel like interacting please go for it!]

[aerial garden]

[kestreldawn]

When Cassian had asked Jyn her opinions on the concept of registering, Jyn was mostly tried to approach it as rationally and logically as she could. She'd even gone so far as to make the suggestion that he might move out of their house and to Heropa to be in closer proximity to his job (despite every single cell her in body screaming for him not to), to try and find the best solution possible. But, when he (thankfully) said he didn't want to do that, the next obstacle became using the Porters - and there was no using them without being registered.

The idea of being in a database, being sort of a crony of the government in some capacity or another, didn't sit well with Jyn. It went against everything she'd experienced and learnt and dealt with in her previous life. It didn't matter who was shooting the blaster, who was killing whom, who was blowing up cities with bombs in the name of some supposedly worthy cause. In the end, the result was the same, no matter the motivation: people died. Innocent, good people died. But at the same time - she'd been told that being registered was not an agreement to be a soldier, and that's what ultimately drove her to register herself.

She saw no qualms with reaping the benefits of registration (housing, stipends, Porter use, etc.) as long as it meant she never had to raise another weapon and brandish it against another living thing for the rest of her days - not in the government's name, not in the country's name, not even in her own name. But she'd spent too much of her life living as a petty criminal - no home, no family, nothing - obsessively counting every Credit she had to make sure she could purchase food, possibly a bed in some filthy, insect-infested inn. She went too many days with the gnawing ache of hunger in her gut, too many nights without having a roof over her head.

She wasn't going to do that again. So, why not take advantage of being registered? Why not take what the government is willing to give?

The morning of the event, she'd woken shortly after she'd heard stirring downstairs (she was both soothed and alarmed at how light of a sleeper still still was, from years of hyper-vigilance). She'd stretched her arm across the bed to find Cassian already out and, based on the cool temperature of the mattress and sheets, that he hadn't been in bed for a while, possibly all night. Within moments, she was up, groomed, and dressed, hopping down the hallway while shoving her feet into her boots. She only bothered tying them once downstairs, where she'd found him.

He hadn't wanted to talk - not verbally, at least. She'd gotten some of his swirling, tempestuous thoughts and had tried to reply with some of her own (purposefully soft and soothing and gentle), but it didn't seem to be doing all that much good.

Once in Nonah proper, she'd gotten distracted by a pair of men who seemed to be caught in some sort of verbal-about-to-turn-physical altercation. She'd debated whether to intervene, but once punches were being thrown, she'd easily tossed herself into the fray, managing to shove them both apart enough that they kept up with the momentum and walked in separate directions.

As the commotion dies down, she glances around to resume the rest of the walk with Cassian only to find .. he's missing. She lets her gaze sweep the street a few times with no luck, then decides to start heading in the direction of the garden. Perhaps he'd walked ahead and would be waiting for her closer to the entrance.

She continues to walk, using herself like a comm tower, trying to pick up his signal. When she does, she nearly collapses at the intensity of it. All she hears is the reprimanding, self-deprecating, destructive how dare you and the lingering taste and smell of bile. Jyn could devolve into a series of hysterically panicked moves but - something in her remembers, don't show weakness; don't let others see; it can be exploited. So to all of the strangers around her, she simply looks like she's walking at a speedy gait, but there's nothing overly alarming about her pace or the glint in her eyes. To Cassian or anyone who knows her, the fear burning in her shifting gaze is more than evident, bright enough to rival the very sun overhead.

She isn't sure how close he is, as the thoughts aren't overtly booming. She hopes, though, that he's close enough to be able to pick up her thoughts.

... goes both ways, she thinks, inciting the line he had through the comm. Where are you?

Grievous (Qymaen jai Sheelal) | Registered

[generalgrievous]

Swearing-in (before and after)

This was certainly not what the General had been expecting and the butterflies flitting about angered him to what may seem to others to be an unnatural degree - but he had fought insect-like creatures back on his home world and while these were, luckily, not praying mantis-like, the butterflies reminded him of that enough to be more than an irritation. Before and after the swearing-in ceremony he could be seem swatting at them and growling angrily whenever any tried to alight on his shiny limbs or cloaked shoulders. Otherwise he was trying to avoid them and standing over to the side, looking sullen.

He had decided to keep using his cyborg form at the moment and this is what people would see here. He had also decided that registering was the wisest option to take for the present. It had advantages he could utilize. If he decided later that it wasn't going to work out... Well, other decisions could be made then.


Jurassic Butterfly Park

It comes as no surprise to Grievous when the butterflies turned deadly. With thoughts of past battles in his head, he attacks many of them in a rage - batting at them with his clawed hands and soon pulling out his one green lightsaber and slashing many of the giants in half. He has no intention of letting any stay alive unless somebody stop him in this rampage.

swearing-in

[therewillbeorder]

It's not surprising that Grievous stands out above everyone else. Hux recognized him instantly, what he had seen in holos did not prepare him for seeing the general in person. But he still made his way towards him, his expression carefully neutral.

"General, what a pleasant surprise to see you here," he said politely, reaching up to swat a butterfly away from his face. Another one seemed to burst into a little fireball when it ventured too close to him, the bugs were really starting to irritate him. Hux was not fond of nature, he preferred the sterile environment of his star destroyer.

Alphonse Elric | Unregistered [OTA]

[uncanned]

Early Afternoon

[There's next to no chance of Alphonse agreeing to register, but that certainly can't stop him from enjoying the festivities the government's arranged anyway, can it? It's a good chance to get a closer glimpse of whatever propaganda this place is trying to push—and he can't complain about the choice of entertainment.

Near the beginning of the event, Al can be found trying his hand at butterfly bingo which mostly consists of him taking blurry, out of focus pictures with his camera phone. Or managing to get his thumb in a corner of the picture. Or accidentally switching it to selfie mode while he tries to figure out the settings. On the rare occasion when he does manage to get a clear shot he's quickly distracted marveling at how crisp and clear the image is.

Later, he's wandered towards the educational exhibits with a much less...enthused look on his face. The strange toothy butterflies especially catch his interest, and he watches them for a long minute with an air of unease about him.]

Who the hell puts teeth on butterflies?


6pm

[And then 6 PM rolls around, answering every question Al had about the bizarre butterflies. Idiots. Idiots are the only people who would think to put teeth on a perfectly harmless insect.Of course, now that they're full of teeth Al wastes no time in smashing any that get too close to him or anyone else who happens to be nearby.]

Early afternoon

[hellrisen02]

Oh, mad scientists, probably. [Comes a sudden voice from just over Al's shoulder. There's an older man leaning over behind him, examining the same monstrous butterfly he is- there's a little quirk of a grin on his face, but nothing else immediately suspicious or threatening about him, despite seemingly appearing out of thin air.]

They always think up the craziest stuff. Kinda amazing, isn't it? People can't just be satisfied with nature on its own.

Brendan Frye | Registered | OTA

[pale_blue_arrow]

Pre and Post Swearing In

[It came down to this: there weren't enough benefits to not Registering. He had no desire to be at the government's beck and call like some dog, but he was fond of having a roof over his head and the freedom of movement was a big plus, too. Running the cost-benefit analysis on this whole thing, there was more to be gained from going along with it, at least for now. He was a damn good detective back home, but back there he had the lay of the land down and a few resources to call on. Here, he was still working on both of those things.

Damn if the butterflies didn't make him want to turn and leave, though. The whole atmosphere was too cheerful, energized, almost. He was a bad fit for these kinds of events, so he did what he always did, finding places in the shade to sit before the swear-in proper, watching people, looking for the scant few people he knew amidst the crowds. All the butterflies made people conversations turn into discussions of the insects, so no information gathering was getting done today.

He's never known what to do with himself when things are actually calm and not going belly up on him, so Brendan stays long enough to swear-in and then starts wondering around. Crowds are only tolerable if they serve alcohol, and this one doesn't, at least not to people his age, much to his chagrin, but he's sure he can find someone a bit more flexible on that point or swipe an unguarded drink.]

[deadsmizing]

[Guess who's covered in butterflies!

(If you said the barefoot girl in the floral sundress and fresh flower-crown, you're right!)

She's been wondering a bit aimlessly, enjoying the sights and testing the flowers to see which ones she can smell (hint: the answer is not all of them), but has slowly begun drifting in Brendan's direction now that she's noticed him.]

Well, hello there.

Jonathan Walsh | Registered | OTA

[drivesadesk]

After the swear-in

Registration was the clear best option in his situation, and so naturally that was just what Jonathan decided to do. Of course, he hadn't expected it to be anything like this. Some ceremonial pomp and circumstance around the swearing in itself had been expected, of course, but not the massive swarms of butterflies, the festivities, and the...well, genetically engineered butterfly monstrosities that also seemed to be part of this exhibit. It all seemed like a bit much for something that Jonathan thought was a relatively regular occurrence.

"Wow," he said to the nearest person, "Do they do this kind of thing every time there's a new batch if imports?"

He couldn't imagine what this must be doing to the local taxes. Then again, unless he had to pay them, it really wasn't his problem.

Jurassic Butterfly Park

Jonathan had been going around the place, generally enjoying the festivities, taking pictures when he first noticed the strange behavior of the butterflies. Curious, he headed over to that exhibit, looking around a bit, trying to figure out what was...ow.

The first giant butterfly bit him, it's teeth sinking into his skin suit, exposing a small patch of dark green scales, though he managed to bat it away before it managed to break through his actual hide. Unfortunately, it then looped around, doubling back to try for another bite, when a couple more large butterflies (and a handful of smaller ones) joined it in an effort to mob Jonathan.

"Hey. Hey!" he cried, trying to knock them off of him. He wasn't able to hold them at bay for long, however, and soon the larger ones began to break through his scales, exposing his pale green, bubbly, and quite acidic blood.

Naturally, the blood began to eat through those sharp, sharp teeth and heads of the attacking insects, killing them instantly, and soon Jonathan was surrounded by insect corpses, sizzling, bubbling drops of his blood trailing down his skin suit, leaving small tracks of dissolved material in their wake, before dripping to the ground. His eyes, which had been normal human eyes up until he'd been swarmed by butterflies, also seemed to have reverted to their natural state. Not that he'd care enough to correct this if he'd even noticed it at the moment.

"Well...fuck."

After Swear-In

[caduceusvalkyrie]

Angela has been to a phew of these swear-in's now but occasionally she's still completely blown away. Like she is right now.

She turns to the person who spoke to her and smiles at him.

"Kind of? Some are really grand, but this one seems to be really up there on the list."

Daryl Dixon | Registered | Ota

[dirtyredneck]

A Day Off
It's been a while since Daryl's been anywhere public, and even longer since he's been at a swear-in. But there's not a lot he can do to help out with the flooding beyond what he has done with getting a few stranded people to safety. And for the most part, most of the efforts in that direction are taken care of by others better suited to the tasks. So for a few hours today, he's taking a break and trying to enjoy himself.

From the small smile he's fighting most of the day, it seems to be working.

He probably won't bite anyone's head off if they come say hi.

Floral Fascination
Daryl heads around the floral booths and every so often stops to put together a small arrangement of plants that go largely ignored by most. All of them good for attracting butterflies, but not so good on the 'pretty flower' scale. The sorts of things people put in bouquets to frame the flowers rather than act as a center piece. He doesn't sign his name or make an announcement about it or anything like that. But more than a few fans have caught on to what he's doing and have been following him around to take a look at the arrangements after he's moved on and ask the people making them what kind of plants they are and what they're good for. Trying to get a little insight into things that Daryl enjoys for their blogs.

Daryl's mostly ignoring that and enjoying the ability to walk around and have his sense of smell overwhelmed not by the smell of living flesh pressing in close, but nature at it's most fragrant drowning out everything else.

Every so often, if he sees someone else making their own arrangement, he'll offer a quite bit of advice on what to put in if they're looking to attract any of the butterflies, based entirely on what flowers they already have. It seems he's a bit of a casual expert.

Jurassic Butterfly Park
The whole day he'd been smelling pheromones. Not heavy build ups, but the kind that waft around when so many of the same species get gathered together. It wasn't unpleasant and definitely something he preferred to the usual smell of human bodies in an enclosed space. But after the big ones got out it was overwhelming.

It was also obviously (to him anyway) the reason so many of the nasty buggers were getting violent. The stupid society people had too many of the big ones locked up in too small a space for the pheromones to do anything but build up with.

He didn't immediately pull his wings out to get the air moving right, but once he did, he started beating them slow and powerful. Not to get airborn. Just to move the air and fight what the current circulation patterns were causing.

And with them out, he also got the added benefit of the shield they generated. Something he put to good use helping others out of a tight spot.

"Get behind me if you want 'em to stop coming at ya."

Floral Fascination

[itstheirworld]

Enid may not know a lot about flowers, but she does have a fair bit of knowledge in understated beauty. Changing the simplest thing to something that didn't look so bland anymore, most often clothing, was her speciality even despite the circumstances at home because it was all she had left of the world the way it was before. She acknowledges Daryl has something of his own tastes too, and curious to see the few and far between examples of his work.

Like right now. When she sees him bunching or tying or twisting flowers together, she stops considering all of the other displays around and makes her way over to see his latest Georgian floral arrangement.

"So you're really into flowers?" Because yeah he seems like he knows what he is doing, and jokingly, if he can catch on to her meaning, she's musing about how they got the emergency-only flowers in every room of the house due to his powers.

Tina Belcher | Registered | OTA

[continuousgroaning]

Flower arranging

[Tina was eager to take advantage of the prospect of learning new skills she necessarily couldn't back home. Plus, she reasoned to herself, the Thundergirls probably had a badge for flower arranging, so once she was back home, bam, she could add it to her sash.

The trouble was, she just... wasn't very good. The people helping her tried to be encouraging, but Tina could tell her arrangements weren't quite up to par.]

... this looks awfully droopy. Uhm, can I try again with a fresh bouquet...?

Butterfly Attack

[Good thing Tina had those phasing powers, right? When the butterflies had first started to attack, she made an effort to capture them, but it was difficult, because she was timid, trying hard not to crush them.

It wasn't long before she was overwhelmed, but she kept letting them phase through her as much as she could. Apparently she still needed to get used to her powers, though, because after a while she was covered, and her intangibility wouldn't activate.]

I'm okay! ... actually, no, can someone HELP?

flowers!

[helpline]

[ The Doctor also has no idea how to flower arrange and is ignoring any attempts at help in favor of making a bouquet that's entirely leaves. He looks over at Tina's bouquet, with a frown, before decidedly stating, ]

Put some more flowers in there. That way the droopy ones will have something to lean against and they'll perk up!

[ Big talk from a man who doesn't have any flowers in his bouquet period. But still, the Doctor's saying this with a hundred percent confidence, as if he actually knows what he's doing. ]

archie / ota

[h2no]

a. These Butterflies Are Pretty But So Am I

[archie had, to his credit, started off taking pictures of the butterflies. he thought the raising kit was cool. he wanted a small friend to call dustox, because his mom had a dustox and he misses it.

after about ten minutes, however, archie gets bored. this isn't keeping his attention enough so he starts taking pictures of random things, random people.

maybe he'll even run over and quickly throw an arm around you to take a selfie with you! even if he doesn't know you! it's more fun, to him.]

b. Area Man "Good With Animals"

Aw! Look at them! They remind me of home...

[archie crouches down, holding a hand out to one. it ignores him, but archie isn't dissuaded.]

Hey! [he calls out to the nearest person to him.] D'ya think these could be ridden?

c. Oh Boy Here We Go

Uhh...

[archie is still in the big butterfly exhibit when it all happens, because of course he is.

he backs away from an angry looking pair of butterflies, hands up.]

C'mon, fellas! We can talk about this! Fuck!

[he dives out the way when one goes for him, releasing crobat.]

Use Cross Poison, Crobat! Target the wings! Eat them! Shit, I don't care, just-- ow!

[crobat gets to work absolutely wrecking the butterfly's shit, but while the other one had cut the losses and flown away, a different one swooped down and latched onto archie's arm.]

FUCK! SHIT! BASTARD! ASSHOLE!

[all shouted while slamming the butterfly into the ground. eventually, he pulls it off but... the head remains. teeth buried in his arm.]

The same! Fucking! Arm! FUCK BUTTERFLIES!

B

[caduceusvalkyrie]

[Angela had been looking at some of the giant flowers, one plant in particular, she questioned. It looked like a giant fly catcher and seeing the jaws move slightly was unnerving, if someone got too close...

She hadn't seen Archie since she got here, but she recognised his voice and when she looked over, she smiled and walked over to see one of the butterflies essentially walk off. Which made her laugh.]

You could try, but I think you might hurt it. Maybe if it was a lot bigger.

Miles Vorkosigan | OTA

[dendarii]

Hosting the Event

[ Despite all the shitty, shitty things going on in his life - and the bags under his eyes are a hint to how upset he is about the last of his family members leaving - Miles has thrown himself into this event with as much vigor and energy as he possibly can. He's there to greet most of the arrivals before he flutters around to all the different events like - well, a social butterfly. And despite how wrong things are going to go eventually, he's pleased as hell with how things are going now.

Those who haven't met the Ambassador in person might be surprised by his appearance. He's 4'9" at the absolute most, with a gaunt frame that hints at a lifetime of medical issues. But he exudes genuine charm, which is helped by the bright interest in his gray eyes and the smooth professionalism of his well-tailored suit. He's a lord back home, after all, and today he's acting the part. ]

Welcome to Nonah. [ He grins up at whoever he's talking to, and takes a sip from the ruby-colored spritzer he has clasped in one hand. ] Can I get you anything? Given I'm the ambassador for this city, I figure that makes me your host today.

[ He also has several live butterflies just chilling in his hair. Which he isn't aware of. ]

Things Go Wrong

[ And then it all goes to hell. Shit. Miles doesn't really have powers that are good at dealing with butterflies, so he turns to try and find a way out instead. Direct evacuation efforts. Or - if you're in trouble, fend off some of those giant butterflies with a net. ]

They said - those teeth - were for decoration!

[ He says, gritting his own. Can't one thing in his life go smoothly? ]

Things Go Wrong

[glassfall]

[Cinders, meanwhile, has managed to escape her swarm of butterflies, batting them away as she wishes her way back into her rags. That helps, given that they're much less colorful than the gown she was wearing for the ceremony... and so does the puff of sparkling smoke that surrounds her, allowing her a brief moment of cover from the creatures. She helps Miles, snarking through gritted teeth.]

When are teeth ever just for decoration?!

nike lemercier | unsettled | ota

[drizzle]

I - BUTTERFLY HIDE-AND-SEEK

[It was no surprise to find the princess participating on the butterfly hunt with her communicator as a camera. She didn't have a tough time taking many of the pictures whenever she would catch the attention of one of the winged creatures due to the endless stream of flowers adorning her peach-color hair. All of which were presents the garden had lent to her. Even so, there will be times the butterflies will land on the back of her head, where she couldn't find them, almost as if they were playing a game of hide-and-seek with her.]

Hey? Have you found this butterfly? [Showing whoever was by her side the very same picture of the same butterfly that was currently behind or on top of her.] I need to find it to win a prize. I'll help you find whichever you're missing in exchange.

II - SEDUCING FLOWERS AND ARRANGING THEM TO A TEDDY BEAR FOR MOM

[The flowers in the gallery were all very beautiful. There were many strands she's never seen before, not even in books or gardening magazines. It amaze her on the sheer number of specimens the glass garden were able to collect. Then again, the surrounding area gave her a sense of peace and wonder -- regardless of the situation concerning the abrupt flood affecting parts of the city -- Nike hasn't felt as relax as she did in a very long time. Her expressions in the way she would lightly touch the flower's petals, smell them, and hold them were all done with a great amount of affection for them that you'd think she was their proud gardener.

Later on, after hearing over the upcoming Mother's Day celebrations, it was more than enough to convince her to take up on the flower arranging lessons. Paying particularly special attention to, it was clear from the way Nike moved along with the explanation that she had more than enough experience in this area. A flower bouquet will be created with a remorseful smile on her lips.]

...these lessons are really basic. I think I learned all that in a week than a day. [Her smile will begin to turn softer.] You aren't having any trouble so far, right?

III - MEET THE DESTRUCTIVE BUTTERFLY QUEEN

[Exploring all of the exhibits the area had to offer was an adventure. She saw all kinds of beautiful flowers and butterflies while felt the warm touches and pulls of happiness emitted by them. All of it was wonderful except for something she witness earlier: giant butterflies with an interesting set of teeth. The way they flew over her the first time she witness such a spectacle were awe-inspiring to her, but she felt her body tense for a moment without any explanation. Something told her to keep her distance. It was dangerous to get close to them unlike the rest of the garden had to offer. She didn't want to neither; even if she felt curious about the giant creatures all the same.

Unfortunately, like all good things and terrible gut feelings -- they always came true.

The butterflies have begun to act odd. Different to the way they were compare to a few hours ago. She notice the smaller butterflies have begun to appear before her in greater numbers, hoping to get closer to the flowers decorated all over her hair. Nike didn't feel too nervous until they began to cover her hair entirely. She has never seen so many before, it was more than uncomfortable to feel. Once they began to land all over her sun dress and cover her hands and shoulders is when the princess decided to shoo them away with her powers: using the water in her surroundings to create a fog cold enough to scare them off. Needless to say, due to her uneasiness of the orthodox situation, she brought the temperature lower than intended as the creatures began to fall off her body while the plants surrounding her began to burn from the frost in the air.

Silent curses will escape as she didn't want to hurt the creatures, not when she knew they were acting unusual for a good reason. What it was? She didn't know. All she could do was use her fog abilities to spread as far as her vision allowed while using her wind abilities to sweep them away from those in her general area. Using her powers as a shield from the small and large versions alike to evacuate as many people as she could, she won't notice an interesting detail: whenever she was in close contact to the bigger butterflies, the least aggressive they became. It was almost as though whenever Nike would notice a giant butterfly gliding above her with such elegance, the more Nike will begin to feel less likely to use her power against them.

It will take some time before the wind she produce will change directions.

Whoever she catches with a butterfly net or using any form of powers in an attempt to catch one of her "winged friends", she will use the destructive part of her wind ability to destroy the net into two pieces or destroy anything found in their general area including metal as though it were soft as cheese. Her gaze will be direct, cold, and unforgiving towards the intruders as she says with two of the larger butterflies laying behind her shoulders, the smaller butterflies decorating most of her hair, and a single butterfly covering the top of her left eye.]

How dare you. Who gave you the right to treat them in such a manner?

[All spoken with a great deal of authority and indignation found in a true leader, a queen even.]

You were given a single warning. Get out or pay the consequences of your actions!

[Without another warning, she will begin to summon a strong gust of wind that will be enough to push the tallest of adult men off their feet unless they had the power to stand up to a gust found in a dangerous storm.]

(ooc: Nike's wind abilities are extremely destructive in nature and she will use them as a range offensive and defensive attackd. They are enough to destroy anything non-magical including slicing human limbs off. PM or PP me if you wanna plot out any details in stopping her rampage in attacking imPorts and non-imPorts alike.)

hide-and-seek

[thirdprogenitor]

[ As always when it comes to these, Krul is simply here to observe and nothing more, barely striking up any sort of idle chatter with those around her lest she find them to be non-human or of interest to her. So far? The butterflies are the ones who mainly hold her interest and it's with a blank stare of bright red eyes to Nike that the tiny pink-haired vampire looks to the girl when she finds herself being asked about the whereabouts of a particular butterfly... who happens to be around Nike but, Krul doesn't bother to mention that. ]

Who says I'm looking for butterflies for a prize?

Duo Maxwell | Unregistered | OTA

[hellrisen02]

A. Swearing-In Off The Bad Stuff
[Duo had spent a long time deliberating over Registration- it was true that the pros outweighed the cons on a practical level, just from the standpoint of survival. Money for food- for probable access to legal weapons, and the general convenience of not already having a target painted on his back. Yeah, these were all some great perks. But they were distractions from the real picture. It had been a long time since the Eve Wars, but he would never forget everything that had led up to them, everything that had been sacrificed to that point.]

[He'd rather die than submit to living under that kind of rule again. Good thing he was the God of Death; how many more dues would he pay for this borrowed time, he wondered?]

[It was back to surviving on his own, not that it'd ever been any different. None of this heaviness shows through the face of the genially-smiling older man observing the ceremony from the sidelines. He'd showed up to at the very least gather any information he could, put faces to names on the network. And while he had traveled to the event under cloak to hide his face from anyone along the way, he'd decided to make himself visible for the sake of mingling- after all, with the nanites the government'd put in him, they could already track him anyway. Since arriving in Heropa, he'd foregone the heavier priest's cassock he arrived with in favor of less cumbersome pants and a tab-collar shirt with rolled-up sleeves. That said, a black cowboy hat still shadowed his eyes from passers-by, and neither leather jackets nor heeled boots were typically part of a priest's wardrobe...]

B. What A Creeper
[After the ceremony, and throughout the various butterfly-themed activities taking place in the gardens, everyone and anyone might feel for a few minutes as if they're being followed, watched by an invisible figure. But there's nobody really there, right?]

C. Entirely Too Old For This Crap
Aah, crap. [Is all Duo has to say the moment he sees the butterfly enclosure burst forth- all it really gets from him is a raised brow and his mouth twisted in a grim line. So much for things being more peaceful than The City, here.]

[He's no animal tamer like Trowa, and he's not the spry thing he used to be. He's not going to waste his time going to and fro catching butterflies, so instead he's going to cloak his scent and sounds to the butterflies to keep them from being attracted to him, and slink off towards the sides of the enclosures, looking for a way to get people out, and helping sneak out anyone who's in too far over their heads. Damn, does he at least wish he had a gun on him.]

B

[allforyuu]

[The only thing more annoying than having sensitive hearing is hearing footsteps only to turn around and see no one there. Really now. How is a vampire supposed to get a drink if there's people watching constantly?]

[It's also very hard to focus when he's absolutely sure he's not imagining things. The only people he knows who would bother to stalk him would be far more quiet.]

[Mika tinkers with the flowers (old habits die hard, especially after half a year of doing gardening in town), as he talks to the air.]

You can come out now.

Armitage Hux / Registered / ota

[therewillbeorder]

swearing in.

[Hux had no true allegiance to this government, to this planet, or even to the people here. Under his First Order uniform that he wore that night he was an Imperial. There was nothing that would ever change that.

Registering made his stomach turn but he had to admit that there were benefits that he and Kylo Ren needed to find their footing in this world. A necessary evil.

Afterward, he needed something strong, the brandy here was not as good as anything from Corellia but it would have to do. Any butterfly that comes near him gets swatted away and hopefully, no one comes up behind him while he's smacking one of them out of his face.]

attack of the butterflies.

[Because this night couldn't get any worse. With a glass of brandy in one hand, Hux flicked any butterfly that came close to him away with a little burst of flame. He didn't care about capturing any of them alive, he was not fond of anything to do with nature.

Space was sterile, clean. Not like this which was messy and disgusting. Ash and charred bits of butterflies dusted down onto his arm which he shook off with a look of distaste. He hated his powers but there was certainly something satisfying about making butterflies burst into little fireballs.]

[candor1]

[It's such a bad idea.

But perhaps it's because Cassian wants to strike out too.

Having registered at all. And done so in the same group as the likes of Grievous (with whom he's been on the same side before at a distance, but probably being used) and Hux (with whom… ves a la merda).

Not stupid enough to come at him from behind; allows a flicker of peripheral vision first]

Officially we're on the same side now, General.

Yusuke Kitagawa | registering | ota

[lempereur]

1. swearing in

[ He's still not convinced. No matter how many amenities were extended to him and his fellow imPorts, there was something (well, many things) off about the whole premise of Yusuke's life as it stands today. His healthy sense of teenage rebellion, while supernaturally influenced, told him not to register.

But there were other factors at play. Gathering information, inspiration. Revealing the truth of this world, whatever means necessary.

The stipend didn't hurt either.

So, here he is, Phantom Thief turned Registered Hero. ]

2. fanged butterflies.

[ Ah, the beauty in contradiction! Butterflies, those gentle, fluttering, fragile creatures, lords of change and rebirth.

And teeth?

He had seen enough monstrous creatures in his adventures that they fascinated him more than they fazed him. Yusuke was ignoring the chaos around him entirely, and - carefully! - he caught a collection of the largest ones he could find in a net, tied it off, and was sitting next to it scribbling away in his sketchpad as the butterflies gnashed their teeth at him. As long as they didn't chew through, it should be fine. ]

1

[dendarii]

[ Miles is not a very pretty man. Short with a hunched spine, and a squashed, gaunt sort of look to him that could, at best, be described as unique. But his suit is very fine, and hell, he's the ambassador - so he's personally greeting as many people he can find. ]

Ah, you're registering? Congratulations.

[ There's a slight lilt in his voice, a sort of should I be congratulating you? tone. Miles of all people is all for people only registering out of genuine feeling rather than necessity. ]

Cinders | Registered | OTA

[glassfall]

A. A Special Night
[Uncomfortable or not, the ball gown is still the nicest thing Cinders owns - but this time, she's left her shawl and mask behind. Good thing her powers allow for just that. She's still not entirely sure she trusts the ruling class, here... but the benefits, from what she's heard, outweigh the drawbacks. That said, she's really mostly registering out of pragmatism - if she ever needs to do something like cross the border or purchase a weapon for any reason, registering will make it easier.

She doesn't mingle, much - she much prefers admiring the floral arrangements (and even picking up a thing or two) and enjoying the butterflies. Of course, that doesn't mean she'll necessarily mind being approached.]

Butterfly Blitz
[This was very much not what she'd envisioned for the evening. Killer butterflies? Seriously?! After dealing with the flood in Nonah yesterday, she was in no mood for more weird nonsense. Still, she's going to do what she can - mostly helping to get people to the exit - although given the rich color of her dress, she's definitely getting some unwanted attention from the butterflies...]

a

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke wasn't really one to mingle, himself. He was more of a people watcher. But, the scenery was gorgeous, and if there was one way to put the artist in a good mood, it was to surround him with beautiful things to see wherever he turned his head. Despite his concerns about the registration charade, he was in a good mood. Daresay, the best since he arrived.

Recognizing a fellow newcomer certainly helped. ]

Cinders! It's nice to see you again.

Sabriel | Registered | OTA

[bindsthedead]

Introductions

[Another month, another Swear-in. Sabriel's fascinated by all the butterflies, and is happily holding still to let them perch on her. hair and dress. as she holds up some sugar water for them.]

It's lovely, isn't it? [And more tasteful than some swear-ins she'd attended.]

Butterfly Attack

[Feeling their deaths might have been unpleasant, but Sabriel had little problem dealing with animals- or insects, in this case- that wished to harm her. So some have been smashed with her fists or spells before she understands the request not to harm them- and she complies, leaving behind a small trail of immobilized butterflies on the floor like colorful twitching leaves as she focuses her attention on helping anyone in danger.]

Aftermath

That was just due to someone's stupidity, wasn't it? Not another bizarre attempt to harm imPorts at a swear-in?

[Sabriel's nice dress is torn, her hair is a mess, and she's helping with cleanup- as well as healing anyone who was injured.]

Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if it's possible to have three consecutive swear-ins without some sort of incident.

Intro

[deadsmizing]

[Hey, boo.

Enjoy this coy smile and little wave from the pale, barefooted figure in the floral sundress covered in curious butterflies confused by all these false flowers. She's not approaching at the moment, but, well... she's making sure her presence is known.]

Veronica Sawyer | Registered

[couldbebeautiful]

[one: it's a beautiful frickin' day]

[Veronica made the mistake of coming to the swear-in wearing some very bright blues. Now she's waving off a small mob of butterflies, clearly annoyed by the attention they're giving her, but otherwise she seems perfectly okay with having a whole pack of butterflies mobbing her. At the very least, they're not imPort fans.

Once she's done registering, having decided that she really did not want to lose the benefits she was now enjoying, Veronica finds herself wandering around from exhibit to exhibit, taking pictures of flowers and butterflies alike. Not because of any contest, mind, she just finds them beautiful and wants to keep a record of them, and now it's almost laughably easy to do so. Occasionally she'll stop at a bench, pull out a notebook, and write something down, swatting a butterfly off the page on occasion.]

[two: or not holy shit EVIL BUTTERFLY]

[Which is what she's doing when the butterflies go nuts.

Unfortunately for her, she's sitting very near the giant butterfly exhibit. She hears the muffled sound of their wings first before she looks up, and from there on out it's like the world's weirdest chase scene: a giant butterfly or two and a swarm of smaller butterflies chasing after a girl in blue.

Or a giant butterfly getting whacked with a net once Veronica gets one.]

Stop following me!

2.

[mantlepieces]

[ If someone might be inclined to assume that a boy who back home has been on the run from a horde of zombies would have a better survival instinct, or at least be more dignified in the face of danger... well, then they clearly haven't met Reggie Mantle.

He has no net himself, nor any foresight to grab one even once the butterfly assaults begin -- he just panics and makes a run for it, yelling and covering his head protectively with his arms even if it means he can barely see. ]

What the h-- shit! [ As a butterfly flies smack into his face and he screams: ] Why is this happening?

[ He flings his arms out wildly to try and bat the butterflies away, eyes clamped shut so he isn't immediately forced to relive the horror of having a bug on or around them, which is about when he blindly stumbles into Veronica. Whoops! ]

Chloe Price | Registered | ota

[helladoomed]

1 - Peaceful times have come again.

[How could Chloe resist a festival dedicated to butterflies? They were one of her god damn powers! Sort of. She was kind of wishing she could actually control normal butterflies instead of just her own, but still. Butterflies. She could be found walking around taking pictures with her phone for the bingo game, or spending time staring at the prehistoric ones because damn, that was cool. Also, kind of implausible? But hey, everything else was bigger back then, right...?]

2 - AND THEN THEY WERE GONE

[And now she was REALLY wishing she could control butterflies. Jesus Christ, could anything in this world happen without going to shit? When they first appeared and one of them dive-bombed her, the air around her was suddenly full of a different butterfly, a swarm of them in fact, flapping around trying to distract the larger ones from coming after their creator. It worked sometimes?]

[She and her cloud of blue butterflies could be found later, Chloe armed with a net, having corned one of the big butterflies and were trying to get close enough to catch it. She has several bites on her arms already, to show how successful she's been.]

Hold still you little freak.

[She muttered as she swung, and missed, again. Her cloud swarming in front of the bigger butterfly to keep it from getting too far away...]

1

[deadsmizing]

[Hey, punk chick! Meet... uh, possibly the exact opposite of punk chick??

I dunno, you tell me: A pale blonde in a pretty, floral sundress and a flower-crown wandering around with no shoes on and humming quietly to herself as butterflies flitter all over her. Is that pretty close?

Well, either way, she's wandering closer at some point and giving Chloe a smile as she settles nearby and leans in to smell one of the flowers in this area.]

Hi.

Karen DeSonne | Unregistered | OTA

[deadsmizing]

1. A Wandering Spirit

[With unnaturally pale skin, hair, and eyes, Karen aimlessly wanders the gardens like a strange, ethereal being dressed in a pretty floral sundress and nothing else, not even shoes, with a small, mysterious smile permanently settled on her face.

The butterflies have an endless fascination with the flowers on her dress, and she seems to have no issue indulging them. Good luck finding her without at least a few dozen of them alit on her clothing, her bare arms, her hair. Zombie or fae creature? You decide.]



2. A Wandering... Knight?

[Once things start to go horribly awry, there's no sign of that girl from before, it seems. Unless you count the person of similar build being pestered by a couple of the larger butterflies, but without any sort of success thanks to her wearing a full suit of armor, whose capelet seems to be fashioned from cloth with the exact same floral pattern.

I mean, it almost makes you wonder, but nobody saw her change clothes or anything, right? How uncanny!]

1

[glowsferatu]

[ A tall grey woman is wandering the gardens herself, minding a big white grub as she sniffs around the flowers. Every now and then, the grub will snap at the butterflies flying around her, and the woman wags a finger, chiding her. ]

Don't eat those sweetie, that's too close to cannibalism!

[ When Karen passes by, the woman cocks an eyebrow as checks her out in a glance that she thinks is subtle, as if Kanaya Maryam has ever successfully been subtle. She gets distracted when she notices her feet, though. ]

Mm. Looks like you've forgotten something today.

riptide / ota

[knaval]

a. this is why breathing sucks

[riptide takes advantage of his human form in this event; it's just like being in his holoform but... not. he figures the weirdness hasn't really hit him yet.

anyway, a tall, gangly and blue haired man is crouched in front of a bouquet of equally blue flowers, pinching the petals between his fingers.

riptide pulls one off, rolling it between his fingers thoughtfully. they're almost exactly like the flowers on necroworld, but... riptide doubts his friends made these ones bloom. he sighs sadly, then picks up the bunch to keep.

only... he he's allergic to pollen.]

Oh... why does that feel so wei-- [he sneezes loudly, dropping the bouquet.] Hey!

[and he sneezes again. and again.]

b. organic teeth are no match for metal skin!!

[when the butterflies go nuts, riptide simply reverts back to his robot form. he doesn't realise how tired it makes him, but he figures he'll just wait it out and bat any butterflies that get too close to him out the way.

that's a several story tall robot sitting on his ass, looking very annoyed. he'll help if you look like you need it, though.]

c. MY TIME TO SHINE

...We're surrounded by water, right? Hey! Hey!!! I turn into a boat!

[riptide laughs, then slowly edges towards the exit, going human (he's decided to trademark that when this is over) to get out into the open.]

Who wants a lift?

[he transforms, landing in the water with a massive splash. speed boat a-hoy!]

b

[airshow]

[ He might be a grown man dressed like a rainbow nightmare, trailing Skittles behind him and carrying a coconut full of probably-liquor, but he's no dummy. James knows a meat shield when he sees one. Or, well, in a manner of speaking, anyway — the point is, he's making a beeline for the huge metal guy and trying to dive behind that enormous robot ass for cover. ]

I'm too young and handsome to die again!

Hazel Lockwood | open!!

[deadtective]

one;

[if any of the NCS kept track of imPorts who spent worrying amounts of money at local gardening stores, Hazel herself could have easily been reached out to with the offer of setting up a floral display of her own. perhaps it's for the best that they didn't, considering all they'd have received were denials; her talents were nowhere near deserving any sort of spotlight, in her mind.

it all works out in the end, though. the small gardening store that she frequents the most had been asked to put together something for the swear-in, and Hazel had been only too happy to lend them a hand. it was acceptable to be working under the umbrella of someone else's name, easier to blend into the background and duck out of the attention. let the owners receive all the praise - they had earned it far more than she ever would.

there's certainly more than enough praise flowing their way now, with the large amount of people passing by their table. the theme is bouquets based on various butterfly species rather than bundles meant to attract the insects themselves, and as such every vase on the table is bursting with color. nearly all of them have been arranged by Hazel, although she consistently denies credit even as she fusses with the angles and continues setting up new ones behind the table. that's believable.

thankfully she's got something else to pass the time until her shift is over and she can explore the swear-in herself. while setting up earlier she'd managed to snag one of the butterfly bingo cards - and filch a few trays of sugar water. the trays sit serenely on the display table, and as butterfly after butterfly delicately lands to take a sip she reaches over intermittently to mark off yet another square on her card.

whether you're jostling the flowers or the sugar water, however, if you have trouble in your heart when reaching across the table you're going to find yourself rebuked with a sharp slap and even sharper words.]

Hey, come on, fucking careful.

two;

[there's really nothing humorous about the chaos currently unfolding, but Hazel can't help but be consumed by giggles. after learning of the swear-in's theme she'd dressed rather brightly by her standards in order to attract some butterflies, a strategy which is now...not really backfiring at all.

the smaller butterflies are swarming her, that's for certain. but they seem to be doing absolutely nothing to inconvenience Hazel herself, unless you count a terminal laughing fit. the kisses are just too cute, beyond her ability to play it cool even in the face of so many possible watching eyes.

the insects completely covering her body ought to be suffocating her, or at least causing her to lose balance and topple over, but nothing of the sort is even close to occurring. her pace is slow in order to prevent herself from stepping on any bugs, but otherwise Hazel's gait is unhindered as she moves towards the drop-off location for the wayward exhibit.

the gigantic ones are no more troublesome than their tiny counterparts to her, whenever they manage to swoop in and find a gap between the swarms on her. she doesn't so much as flinch when they come at her, allowing them to sink their needle teeth into her flesh in order to create a perfect opportunity to simply grab them by their spindly little legs. sometimes she won't even bother that that, simply allowing them to continue gnawing on her shoulder as she walks around and attempts to collect a few more.]

Fucking - hold still.

[such as right now, as a matter of fact. there's already two big butterflies hanging off various parts of Hazel's body, and she's currently trying to calm a panicked civilian enough that she can scoop up the insect attacking her to make for a third. her countenance is completely unbothered, only faint irritation at the other woman's insistence on making this a pain in the ass briefly flickering across her face.]

two

[helpline]

Aren't they amazing?

[ The Doctor also is entirely nonplussed by the chaos unfolding, mostly because in the grand scheme of things, butterflies are infinitely more preferable to space raptors, Daleks, or any other sort of alien nasty he's dealt with. Plus, thanks to accepting the offer of helping out, he knows a bit more about the genetic code of these beauties than most of the other imPorts. They're painful, but thankfully they're stupid as shit.

The Doctor has a few butterflies on him, though not as many as Hazel, just a few smaller butterflies hanging off of his velvet coat. ]

Dunno why anybody's panicking about the butterflies, this is relatively tame by swear-in standards!

[ said as a giant butterfly flies over towards the Doctor, lands on his leg, and starts trying to gnaw through his trousers. ]

mai | open

[darted]

Pre-Shit Show Butterfly Bingo

[ Mai is a little introverted, so she'll mostly wander around holding a Bingo Card. Just because she doesn't like people doesn't mean she can't recognize their usefulness. You might see her in various odd places, like in high parts of the room that might be hard to reach. Also, you might catch her trying to peek at your card but also rudely not acknowledge your existence!!!

Still, if your character was looking for an opening to talk to her, at various points she'll pause her search, scan the room and frown before announcing something along the lines of... ]

These butterflies are colored so tackily.

Post-Shit Show Butterfly (Panic at the) Disco

[ Mai's abilities don't really work for anything that requires for the target to live at the end. At first, you can see her fiercely evading butterflies. She weaves in and out between clouds of the smaller ones. She will try to fight some of the larger ones by throwing them into each other, and sustains a couple of cuts while doing so.

As the trial of endurance continues, Mai will start seeking out other imPorts to try and coordinate some sort of strategy. Until then, Mai's strategy has evolved into using knives to steer them into corners or to send them crashing into each other. There are a couple of extra belligerent butterflies pinned to the walls by her blades, just to be a little scary. She's covered in a couple of gashes, but none of them are lethal.]

How can I return any of these alive when my powers are creating throwing knives? [ move over dr. seuss, there's a new poet in town! ]

1

[lempereur]

Tacky?

[ What even. Sure, the giant ones are a bit grotesque, but they're very helpful, their unnaturally engorged bodies make it easier for Yusuke to detail their features on the back of his card. It won't be of any help to Mai. ]

These are the colors of nature. They are perfect as they are.