2026 Star Festival Prompt
The Lilypads (16) : You can find them in lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and waterways throughout Destiny City. Giant lilypads--some large enough to support the weight of a person--appear overnight. You can try, if you want. It's become a local trend, and pictures are all over social media--of people looking for the largest lilypads, or the smallest ones they can stand on. You'd think the unnatural bubbling around the lilypads would be enough of a sign not to mess with them, but sometimes people need to learn the hard way. Beneath the lilypads lurk strange frog-like creatures that regard nearly everything as prey. The largest of them are roughly the size and shape of a bean bag chair, but they can be as small as a fist. Their broad heads are crowned with lilypads that serve as natural camouflage, allowing them to hide among the floating vegetation until they strike. They move with startling speed and can launch themselves impressive distances with powerful kicks. Long, whip-like tongues lash out to snatch prey, while thick mucus-like saliva can cling to skin, clothing, and even immobilize unfortunate victims. Their skin carries a toxic coating that can cause irritation on contact. The creatures announce themselves with a deep croak that sounds uncannily like a large bell being rung just by your ears. Unfortunately, for anyone that was respecting nature, these strange creatures are aggressive and will also attack without provocation, often attempting to drive even innocent bystanders away from the water's edge. However, if sufficiently threatened, they may retreat into the water. Once submerged, they become impossible to track.

Note: If you choose to encounter one of these frog-like creatures, your character will recognize they are not youma. It is impossible to tell if it is a single entity or if there are many. The creature does not seem to understand or care to listen to human words. All toxic and mucus can be washed away, but effects may persist for a few hours after this encounter. The creature cannot be killed and will always evade lethal blows. While it is rare to find multiple large creatures in the same vicinity, smaller creatures often cluster together, or may be found with a larger one. This RP can be used as a battle requirement as long as there are two powered characters involved; you must be interacting with another player’s powered character. This does not count as the one youma battle per stage for growth. This can only be used as a battle requirement once per character, but there is no limitation for how many times a player can use this prompt.

Actinolite stared at the creature with distaste. He had been in the middle of fishing out a fuchsia star charm from a shallow end of a pond when a very large lily pad rose up from the water like a giant hat and revealed a bulbous frog head beneath. It reminded him very much of creatures called kappa from Japanese folklore back home.

Kappa were known in Japan to be dangerous creatures that dragged horses, cattle, and even people into the water in which they lived. Furthermore, kappa were said to look like humanoid beings with green skin, webbed hands and feet, and slimy or scaly skin. With carapaces on their backs, they were said to look more like turtles than frogs, but the term meant 'river child', so in that sense, they weren't that different.

Besides, what really reminded Actinolite of a kappa most of all was the lily pad on the frog thing's head. Since kappa had depressions on their head that were like dishes that retained water, it was very much reminiscent of the lily pad that was like a shallow dish on the frog's head.

Supposedly, when the dish on a kappa's head had its liquid spilled or dried, it was supposed to severely weaken the kappa it belonged to. Somehow, though, Actinolite didn't think that was the case with the frog creature. For one thing, its 'dish' hardly had any liquid at all, but it didn't look any less threatening.

"Tetra," Actinolite said quietly, slowly putting away his star charm while trying to avoid any sudden movements. Tetrataenite had been patrolling with him as he sometimes did and since he was Actinolite's fiancé, the other lieutenant didn't want his partner getting hurt. "Get behind me."

Just as he said this, however, the giant amphibious monster that strongly resembled a frog lashed out its tongue to wrap around Actinolite's arm, threatening to drag him into the water and pull him under. Actinolite grit his teeth and kept his arm as close to his body and as still as he could manage, not wanting to give in to the creature's strength.

He wasn't sure how much of its strength it was using to try to hold him and he didn't want to try waging a tug of war against it in the case he lost and left Tetra to fend for himself. Too bad he didn't have anything remotely sharp or dangerous on him. He would have happily cut the creature's tongue off if he could have, but all he had was his Japanese smoking pipe; his kiseru.

Were there more of the frog things? Did each of those large lily pads have a frog head under them? If so, they were sorely outnumbered and there would be no use fighting them with or without weapons. He doubted they could lure the beasts onto dry land as a tactic. Was there any way to electrocute them, perhaps? Maybe if he was a senshi and had that kind of magic power...but alas. Neither of them were or did.

flowykid
((Please let me know if you’d like me to change anything!))