epidemiology | EVENT ★ LOST IN TRANSLATION

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EVENT ★ LOST IN TRANSLATION

RETURN TO OSKA

Upon arrival in Oska, new and returning recruits alike will find that something strange is going on. Any attempts to communicate with someone who doesn't speak the same language as you will be just that -- like you don't speak the same language. Let's hope everyone is good at charades, because you're going to be out of luck for a full day.

On the second day, a text comes across -- surprisingly intelligible to everyone. Is it over? Well . . .

crowley:
Hello, Audentes. We are currently experiencing magitek difficulties, as you may have guessed already. Temporal insects have arrived with our latest arrivals, and as you may imagine, we have had our paws full.

cherenkov:
We are working out how to mitigate the pest problem for good. For now, please put your unpleasantly huge feet to use and stomp them out. Or other such methods.

crowley:
We have created a quick patch to facilitate text-based communications, but verbal translation will continue to be down until the insects are exterminated. Thank you for your patience.

It's not over.

TEMPORAL INSECTS

This invasive species has worked its way in through the rifts along with the newest batch of arrivals, and information on them is available in the library (provided you can read the language it's written in!). It seems they behave like locusts, living quietly within the space between rifts for many years until their numbers suddenly balloon and they begin to swarm in search of food.

These bugs move fast and pack a nasty bite, but are unarmored and easily squished. Each one is about the size of a football, and leaves a little tell-tale slime trail that makes it easy to track. They can cling to any surface, and won't hesitate to leap onto attackers and bite if they feel threatened. One can take a decently sized but non-lethal bite out of someone, but a number of them together will pose a real danger. If punctured or squished they tend to explode into moderately acidic goo that can cause caustic burns if not immediately washed off.

They are attracted to any area of high temporal energy, which can be literally any surface, corner, or point on or within the castle and its grounds. As they begin to feed they cause temporal distortion in the area. This manifests as the immediate area seeming to flicker backwards and forwards through time. An insect gnawing at a table leg in the dining area, for example, might cause the area to stutter between years and years of dinner parties, ghostly attendants of all fashions and species appearing and disappearing as they enter and leave the affected area.

An onlooker can't interact with temporal distortions directly, but if the insect is left to its own devices, it will eventually eat through all of the temporal energy and render the immediate area gray, frozen, and completely inert. It's highly recommended you kill or otherwise chase off an insect before it manages this, as it can do irreversible damage to a world.

For affected Oska locations, please see this post.

OOC NOTES

The translation errors will continue through the rest of the month. For more information or to ask questions, please check the plotting post here!

New bounties are available in Oska!

Please remember to fill out your squidge success form before August 31, 23:59 UTC! Filling the form out is mandatory, even if you do not have the 3 squidge threads. You will not pass AC if you do not fill out the form. Characters who have been accepted on August 20th are exempt. Please direct questions relating to the success form here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They also provided you a card?

[She's... not too sure how that works, but at least it seemed like she's a lot more capable than she thought. Wind would make a good long-ranged attack, if she can control it properly, so now she only needs to think of how to give them both proper protection from the acid.]

That would be plenty helpful then. They don't seem hard to exterminate, but there's a lot of them nonetheless. Your Qu-- erm, magic would help.

Not a card. It's more like a spell? But hopefully if you're okay, I won't need to use that to show you. [Or, not just now, at least. ]

Maybe I can use Windy to keep it still while you attacked? Shield can help too.

[It's worth a try. They probably have a better chance working together against this. In the meantime, before using Windy though, she holds to the Shield card, summoning that to hopefully protect them at least from the worst of the acid, forming something of a circular barrier around the two of them.]

I'll be fine.

[She sounds confident enough with that, but she had been careful about making sure that she would suffer the most minimal of damage in case things get rough. Still, she's confident in her skills, if not her strength.

It's impressive though, what she could manage to make. A shield would've been more of a liability than an asset to her-- but this kind was good.]

That's amazing, Sakura-chan! Will we be able to attack through this shield?

I just thought -- the acid, this way we should be safe. You should manage to attack through it from this side. I'll use Windy to try hold it in place for you when you're ready.

[Momo is hardly the first or likely the last to be impressed and possibly initially underestimating Sakura. But she doesn't seem to mind, being used to that reaction by now after actually telling other recruits about her magic.]

[Definitely underestimated her, which well-- was naive, for someone who knows how people can have different powers. It didn't mean that she can ignore her age, but if she's mostly handling defense, Momo thinks it'll be fine. She can't help it, not because she thinks she's weak, but well-- she feels responsible for her, for not only being older, but because she knows that even she is too young to be a hero. What more Sakura?]

Let's head down this way and see if there's any more. The path I was on should be cleared now.

Okay. I'll follow, just lead the way and tell me what to do when we find one.

[At the least, she is used to conferring to others. To Kero or Syaoran, back home. Or one of the others like Graham or another recruit here. As long as she can help somehow and feel useful, really. That's all she wants. To do her part to help in all this.

So she grips her staff, the top, shaped like a star, pointed ahead, cards in hand just in case, as she follows closely along with the other.]

[Momo can't say she's used to danger. Rather, she's been in several dangerous situations, but it doesn't really instill confidence so much as it does caution. Still, she tries to fake confidence as she moves forward, eyes darting around to see if anything is out of place.]

How long have you been wandering around before we met?

[She asks, for conversation, with a light lilt in her tone that doesn't quite reflect her looks.]

Not for too long. Or, I don't think so. I thought coming back here we would get a bit of a break and be able to relax before the next mission.

[But no. There are weird bugs. So they have to deal with this first before figuring stocking up on things or the like. Preparing for the next mission.

Sakura may or may not get the underlying concern likely present that prompts Momo to ask that. She wouldn't be the first or the last to fret over Sakura in such situations.]

Something could've breached the defenses then... if this isn't normal.

[She's... not too sure of the mechanics of it, not right now, but it gives her very little confidence. She's had to deal with a similar enough situation, though she'd consider this far less dangerous in comparison. That's... that's good, at least.]

We'll just have to make sure to defeat them all, then we can relax.

It isn't. There weren't bugs here before we went to look after the squidges.....

[But that last gets a firm nod and determined look from her. She wants to do her part and make the most of the usual downtime in between the missions here too.]

R-right! Hopefully we find them all. I'll do what I can!

[Well, she doesn't have to wait long for that. Momo smiles, relieved that she's so cooperative. Still, while they're at it-- she does want to know more of this power of hers.]

Have you had this power since you were young?

[Momo's got experience with her own Quirk, and she was proud of its versatility, but the fact that Sakura can control her abilities with cards was something she'd never encountered before.]

I've had it for...hm. Three years or so maybe? Something like that. I was ten when it all started. When I found Clow-san's book with the cards in it and accidentally set them free with Windy.

[She can't help but seem perhaps a little sheepish and almost nostalgic as she remembers back then to her first encounter with the Cards, with Kero. It all seems so long ago now.]

That's amazing though, and you said you've managed to make them your own?

[That makes it doubly amazing, if she were to be honest. Since she was able to manifest an ability that was someone else's into her own in a short period of time.]

I seems I have to be the one to step up my game to match you.

I changed them with my own magic. It's made them more powerful now, even if I was really tired when I started changing them to use my own magic.

[It is pretty impressive. Especially considering Sakura's age. But she's doing her best and knows the Cards can't do everything, can't fix everything.]

E-eh? Oh, no. I--it's not a competition or anything! I'm sure you're really powerful too!

Mm, well-- there's limitations to my abilities as well. I have full confidence in my abilities, but I do wish I had the right--

[Actually, give her a second, that's a rain of bugs falling from the ceiling the moment they get to a new door, startling Yaoyorozu enough to freeze up at the doorway.

Luckily, there's only about five of them. Not so luckily, they're spotted.]

Limitations? The right--ahhh!

[Okay so it is not ghosts but. Really. That does not mean that Sakura appreciates giant bugs suddenly swooping down on them. She screams, instinctively swinging her staff at them to try keep them back. That at least gives her the chance to then persuade Momo to move and think of something as she casts Shield to try protect them in the meantime.]

[Just shooting at them each time isn't too effective with one gun, that's for sure. It eats up more energy, but she's glad that Sakura managed to pull out another shield as she manifests another air gun and uses that as an opportunity to work on shooting them down.

No point in worrying now. Act quick, worry later.]

[Once she has the shield up, Sakura pulls out her other cards, figuring Windy might help in restraining them at least while Momo keeps on the offensive against them.]

Windy! Become a binding chain! That should help....

[In keeping them still, while they figure this out at least. While Momo attacks.]

[It helps her tremendously. Although she's not a bad aim, she's not perfect, so binding them in a spot makes targeting easier. Especially when there's a few shots she misses from haste, but manages to come back from by hitting them the second time around.

Once that's done, she tosses a grateful look at Sakura, feeling a little flustered by the fact that she had almost lost her cool. Luckily, Sakura was able to react quickly.]

Thank you. That should be all of them!

I'll keep my staff out just in case.

[But hopefully that might be the last of them. Sakura would rather be prepared just in case it isn't though. As her shoulders slump a little with relief at at least a brief break all the same, she keeps hold of the staff in hand.]

Seems as though we might need it.

[She does turn to her, concerned, because she doesn't really know the limits of her ability. She's very aware of her own, but that doesn't translate to everyone else.]

Are you all right? We could take a break if you want.

I'm okay. I'm just glad we got through it this far at least. But I'll still do my best!

[Sakura herself still has limits regardless of how powerful she has become. She wasn't powerful enough to sustain the magic necessary for Yue in his true form, for example. It may not take her a day to recover each time she uses or transforms a card now, but even so.]

If you're certain...

[She does worry, but only because she doesn't know her limits. Still, once Shield is down, she checks on the bugs to be certain they're totally dead before she urges Sakura to join her in moving around them.]

My worry here is how we can keep in contact with the rest. We need to regroup eventually.

I'm sure everyone else is around too. Dealing with more of them, probably. I just hope they're all okay too.

[Momo isn't wrong. Eventually they will need to all regroup and check in with each other. Sakura's just not sure how long this will take exactly.]

If we managed to get here okay, I believe everyone should be fine. This is something that's done often, isn't it?

[Moving from mission to mission, that is. She's at least aware that there's some sort of common protocol to how everyone moves from city to city, so it wasn't too unusual.

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