The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
>> “There’s a place not far from here with pretty good Italian, or if you don’t mind walking a little farther there’s a Chinese place that’s really cheap past that–the menus aren’t in English, but that’s half the fun.”
"Chinese it is" Maya grinned as she fell into pace beside Twyla. That was an easy decision. Not like she didn't like Italian - she was usually not picky when it came to food - but the Chinese place sounded cheaper, farther away (means more time to spend together), and more fun. "Never mind the menu. My Chinese is rusty, but I think we'll manage."
Maya didn't speak Chinese at all. Neither did Gawain, naturally. But that didn't mean the young trickster couldn't swing it, just to impress Bubblegum. And she was willing to do so too.
New York from this perspective - meaning the natural side of its mirrors and reflecting surfaces - was quite impressive, very busy, and crowded waaay beyond Maya's liking (even though she preferred crowds to empty spaces). And because she kept looking up and around - not to mention glancing at Twyla once in a while, strictly in order to keep up with her of course - Maya got bumped into a lot. That earned a frown, especially when someone ran into her left shoulder. She winced and called after him: "Hey, watch it!", then reached under her shirt to check if the bandage was still in place. The cut on her shoulder blade was healing nicely, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when hit. It would suck if it started bleeding again. She was wearing her only good shirt.
"Big city life" she murmured, shaking her head with a smirk "Fun or no fun, I'd go crazy if I lived in a place like this... " she grinned at Twyla and spun around, walking backwards to look at her, and leaving it up to people to get out of her way "How do you deal with all the idiots that bump into you all the time?" meaning herself too, of course.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Oct 24, 2009 14:28:54 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
"Never mind the menu. My Chinese is rusty, but I think we'll manage." At this Twyla smirked and gave Maya a sidelong glance through her bangs that said ‘Uh-huh, riiiight.’, but she didn’t say anything aloud. Twyla wouldn’t recognize it if her companion was actually speaking Chinese, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t be skeptical. Not that it was impossible that Maya had learned to speak Chinese at some point–Twyla didn’t know her or what she knew, anything was possible from the other girl.
While she wove through the passerby Twyla kept half her brain focused on navigating and the other have focused on keeping close to Maya, it would be way too easy to lose each other in a crowd like the one that they were sharing the street with. It always seemed like she picked the busiest streets. Oh well... The other girl was getting jostled around more than herself and after a particularly painful-looking hit to the left shoulder that resulted in a : "Hey, watch it!" from Maya Twyla focused more on keeping the two of them together.
Maya seemed to recover from the bump as she twirled around so that she was facing Twyla and walking backwards. "How do you deal with all the idiots that bump into you all the time?" At first Twyla shrugged, she didn’t really notice it so much anymore. When she had first left home New York had been the first big city that she ended up in (she returned a few months later, after she ran out of money) and she had been a terrified farm girl who was just beginning to realize how sheltered her life was. Then every time someone touched her she panicked, thinking she was getting mugged or kidnaped or a hundred other violent and scary scenarios. Now she was a lot better at weaving through people and traffic alike.
“I guess I don’t notice it so much anymore. Actually, I’d rather walk on a crowded street like this than someplace deserted.” This was the truth. She was comfortable here, protected by the sheer number of bodies. There were streets she had avoided because they were empty. Being alone was where you got into the most danger.
As they passed a sign Twya calculated that they would be at their destination in four blocks, if she was indeed going where she thought she was going. Her stomach gurgled quietly in anticipation of the Chinese.
Bubblegum didn't buy the Chinese b.s. Smart girl. Maya smirked as she continued walking backwards - looks like she'd have to come up with something wilder if she wanted to impress the city girl. Like walking into a mirror. Or changing into a guy. Yeah, right.
>> “I guess I don’t notice it so much anymore. Actually, I’d rather walk on a crowded street like this than someplace deserted.”
"Amen to that" she nodded, ignoring the 'hey, watch it' comment from a random person who realized a split second too late that a teenage girl was walking into him. She didn't really mind. "I'll get used to it in time, I guess." Especially if I start spending more time on this side of the mirrors. (One seldom bumped into mere reflections) "... you could teach me some city survival skills." she grinned at Bubblegum. Or I could teach you... Focus, Morris. Focus.
Maya sniffed the air as they turned a corner and whipped around just in time to stop inches from the open door of the Chinese restaurant. She could see herself in the glass door, and the people on the other side of the window who were staring at her with surprise and anticipation - no doubt they thought the girl was going to walk straight into the glass with a painful crash. The grin never left her face. "Here we are!" she announced, as if she'd been the one who led them to the place. She stepped aside with an elegant move and winked at Twyla. "After you." That was definitely Gawain talking. Whatever.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Oct 29, 2009 14:42:32 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
They were getting very close to the restaurant now and Twyla’s mind wandered a bit as she became more and more concerned with food. She nodded and smiled at what Maya was saying, but it barely registered as soon as she began to smell the restaurant. Although, the bit about city survival skills did earn a secret smirk–she was pretty sure that Maya didn’t want to learn how to Dumpster dive for food or how to find a place to sleep in a park. Those were the city survival skills that really kept Twyla alive for a few of the harder months, but she wasn’t going to share that with this girl–some things were better left ignored and unsaid.
Twyla’s brown eyes shot open when Maya almost walked into the glass door of the Chinese restaurant. Hands shot out to grab the teenager but they weren’t needed. The other girl caught herself in the nick of time and "Here we are!", she opened the door with a flourish and a wink. "After you." The hands dropped and the eyes returned to their natural state of affairs. With a smile Twyla walked through the door while she replied: “Age before beauty.” In actuality Twyla had no idea how old her new companion was and she was terrible at guessing ages. It was just the first thing out of her mouth and she didn’t apologize for it.
The restaurant itself was warm and bustling. There was bright, mismatched wallpaper along the walls and red and gold accents everywhere you looked. In front of the menu several of the wait staff stood behind the long deli-like buffet that ended with the cashier and all of them looked clean and happy. As foretold, the menu was all in Chinese, not that Twyla would actually need it, she usually got by with pointing and smiling at the food she wanted. Ever since Twyla ‘discovered’ this place she had loved it; it was family owned, warm, and cheap, a very good combination in her book.
The man serving the dishes smiled as Twyla botched pronunciations and gestured to the food that she wanted on her plate. By the time she made it to the cash register it was heaped with noodles, vegetables, and sweet and sour chicken. The cashier was a boy who was probably in his twenties that had a streak of red in his black hair. He smiled at Twyla as he handed her her change and her drink. “Nice hair.” He complimented. Twyla shoved the dollar twenty-five back into the pocket of her jeans, smiled and said: “You too.” before moving out of line to wait for Maya so that they could find a table.
See? That was exactly the problem with being Maya, right there. As Gawain, the young mutant would probably have allowed himself some kind of witty compliment about beauty and age. Being the less lucky half of the mind-soul duo, she decided to keep it to herself this time, and freeze it for storage. Besides, she was positive Bubblegum couldn't be that much older than her. Because that would just be uncool.
Brutalizing the Chinese language failed before it even begun - these were just too nice folks here to endure such torture from young Maya's lips. She resorted to pointing and... pointing some more, making sure she made a show of it, making people around them snicker or laugh. Laughter is good. When she got to the boy with the weird... uhm, nice hair, she grinned at him too, and digging almost elbow-deep into one of her pockets she produced a whole fistful of change, which took some time to count, but it added up in the end. She made some kind of joke about it too, she didn't really care what, as long as it kept the attention away from the fact she didn't have decent money. Or a wallet. Walking over to Bubblegum with a smile, she looked around for an available table, and dashed across the diner to make sure they got to it first. It was nice, and it was by the window - the glass reflected her grin as she settled down with her tray full of unidentified Chinese food. "Smells exotic" she inhaled with a grin "I thought I'd starve..." a thought popped into her mind from nowhere "talkin' about starving, do ya know how to eat with chopsticks?..."
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Oct 30, 2009 18:54:02 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
The ‘rusty’ Chinese was nonexistent and Twyla felt a bit smug about calling the bluff. It didn’t really matter anyway, Twyla couldn’t speak more than plain old English and she didn’t hold it against anyone in the same boat. Not that Maya couldn’t speak another language–the girl could be hiding any tricks up the lack of sleeves on her tank top. Twyla let herself laugh a bit as the girl made a bit of a show while getting her food and was mildly surprised when she pulled out handfuls of change by way of payment. Her eyebrows raised a bit on their own but she didn’t say anything, she didn’t have the right to.
Twyla followed Maya to a table by a window, but she took her own sweet time–there was no need to rush if someone else would claim a table for you. “It smells amazing is what it smells like.” She laughed as she took in a whiff of her own plate. Her stomach gurgled appreciatively at the nummy smell. Unrolling and breaking apart her pair Twyla answered the chopsticks question by proceeding to twist her newly-blonde hair into a messy bun with the wooden utensils. “I always grab a fork.” She clarified before smiling and picking up her plastic fork. Twyla was terrible with chopsticks; it was strange because the rest of her body was so coordinated most of the time. Her hands just seemed to be more awkward and less prone to adaptation than the rest of her.
“Good choice, I love this place.” Another smile before her mouth became preoccupied with chewing through a bit of warm Asian cuisine.
Maya grinned as Bubblegum used the chopsticks to pin up her hair. "I never learned how to do that." she pointed out, blowing a lock of dark hair out of her face. She broke her own wooden sticks apart, and positioned them between her fingers "And, as ya must have figured out, I only speak English and nonsense." Chuckling, she dig into her food too. It tasted even better than how it smelt. Maya wanted to just gobble it all up as fast as she could - she hadn't even realized how hungry she was. She forced herself to eat at a normal pace only because she had company, and she didn't want to look like a total pig. She played around with the chopsticks instead. She was skilled at using them, and cheerful enough to make a show of it. "Mom used to tell me not to play with food." she chuckled, balancing one of them on her finger while she stuck the other one in a piece of pineapple "Funny, she was the one who taught me how to do it." It just came so naturally to talk about Mom. Maya blinked, then turned her attention back to the food. What the heck. "... so. Twyla. What d'ya do when y're not in school and not having lunch with strangers?"
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Nov 1, 2009 13:24:40 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla was in the middle of another crazy good bite when the girl replied to her re-purposing of the chopsticks and admitted that she didn’t speak Chinese, so all that Twyla managed to do was shrug and position her eyebrows in a way that said ‘oh well’ in what she hoped was a friendly looking way. This response was fine as it turned out because Maya began to eat her lunch as well–only she used the chopsticks she was given...and pretty well too.
"Mom used to tell me not to play with food." This comment was followed by a laugh and more tricks. "Funny, she was the one who taught me how to do it." Something wasn’t right for a moment with Maya after these seemingly offhanded comments, but Twyla didn’t say anything. She wasn’t about to press someone about their family when she had a hard enough time talking about her own. She waited to let the girl collect herself before: "... so. Twyla. What d'ya do when y're not in school and not having lunch with strangers?"
“Oh, you know--” Her reply began with a phrase that made her accent stand out. All her ‘o’s were long and drawn out, except the one in ‘you’, which turned into an ‘a’. It wasn’t like most people could place a Wisconsin accent anyway, but it would clue Maya in that she wasn’t born and raised in New York. “I usually take candy from strangers and walk dark alleys in my spare time. It's even more fun if you do both at the same time.” She tried to keep a straight face and took a sip of her soda to hide the smile and giggles–Twyla had never been good at lying, not even if it was meant as a joke.
>>“Oh, you know-- I usually take candy from strangers and walk dark alleys in my spare time. It's even more fun if you do both at the same time.”
Maya laughed out and almost choked on her food. Grabbing her coke she drank the better half of it before coming up for air. Her cheeks turned pink from the lack of oxygen and the mental slap she gave herself for the whole lame scene.
"Never tried, but sounds like fun" she grinned "I'll take a note of that."
Finishing off her meal - towards the end it became easier to restrain herelf from eating like a wolf - she sat back and sipped her coke.
"Soo. What brought ya here all the way from Wisconsin?"
The grin grew broader as she watched Twyla's face, waiting for her reaction. Guessing an accent was one of the neat (and simple) tricks Mirror had up her nonexistent sleeve for cases like this. Actually, it was Mom's trick (just like many others); being a shapeshifer, she was an expert in changing into another person, and that included hell of a lot more than just looks. Mirror always did her best not to botch Mom's aliases. Add to this the times they moved from one place to another, and the fact that she'd walked across Wisconsin from mirror to mirror, just like she did all the other states on her way from Seattle to New York City. She was far from being an expert in accents - just like she was far from being an expert in anything in the world. Except for pretending that she was.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Nov 1, 2009 18:56:14 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Maya’s reaction to her mostly lame joke made Twyla giggle harder but she managed to control herself after noting that it was pretty lame. The other girl’s cheeks were pink when she grinned and agreed that it sounded like fun. In actuality Twyla was way too paranoid to put herself in a situation similar to the ones she described....Maybe not, considering she WAS spending her afternoon with a total stranger that, for all she knew, could be a crazy axe murderer or something. Oops.
Twyla was a slower eater than Maya and she was still working through some noodles when the conversation resumed. "Soo. What brought ya here all the way from Wisconsin?" Startled, she dropped her fork and almost choked on the remnants of her meal. Whoa, whoa, whoa, did she just totally recognize Twyla’s semi-obvious Wisconsin accent? A gulp of air and then of her soda and Twyla was still not composed. Half of her sudden surprise was due to Maya totally calling her home state and the other half was mixed with sudden panic–she’d have to find a decent vague response...and fast.
“Uh...” Her sudden quietness was covered by another gulp of soda. “I needed to go through some changes. I’d never been away from home before, and all that.” Technically it wasn’t a lie, even if Twyla had been the changes. What she wanted was to change herself back, to be safely homo saipan once more, but of course that was impossible. She was getting over that mind set though, learning how to see her mutation as more of a gift than a curse. “How did you get the accent right?” The question was out of curiosity and an urge to move on to safer subjects.
Both plates on the table were pretty well cleaned off by now and the rest of the restaurant was getting quieter as the businessmen on lunch break began to clear out.
>>“I needed to go through some changes. I’d never been away from home before, and all that.”
Maya smirked at that, and then kept smirking at herself. If anyone else - really, any-friggin-one else - said something like that, her natural response would have been 'the heck ya know about goin through changes'. Depending on her mood, the situation and the physical abilities of said person, she might have even vocalized her opinion. She preferred people not talking so matter-of-factly about changing themselves, thank ya very much. But... well, this was Bubblegum. So her natural response came out more like "Well, changes seem to compliment ya just fine" And she smiled too. Maya. Maya. Maya. Not Gawain. Maya. Goddammit.
>>“How did you get the accent right?”
Maya shrugged at that. Just a shade too matter-of-factly to be true. "We used to move a lot. Spent some time up North too. Accents just kinda stick with me." Stretching her arms above her head, she sighed contentedly. "Well, ya were right, this place is great. You seriously saved me from starvation. What next?"
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Nov 2, 2009 17:16:50 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla had gotten distracted by some movement out the window, caused by what she thought was a stray cat but she wasn’t totally sure, and she didn’t see the girl’s extra long smirk. What she did catch was her vocal response, to which Twyla laughed in a bit of a forced way and replied “Sure, sure.” The fact that her hair was blonde and pink didn’t even come into mind, she was too lost in her own thoughts. She was very very close now to letting the sudden memories of discovering her mutation and the resulting flight from home envelop her but she dug her nails into her palms under the table and put a bright smile back on her face.
Crisis averted. She was getting better on the dealing with things which was nice, it was soooo much better than being a Debbie Downer and dwelling on the bad stuff. In the end, she was alive and that’s all that mattered.
The sudden smile still in place she turned to face her companion just in time to get the answer she had been waiting for. "We used to move a lot. Spent some time up North too. Accents just kinda stick with me." Alright, that made sense, Twyla could deal with that answer. It was just weird to have someone guess the accent.
"Well, ya were right, this place is great. You seriously saved me from starvation. What next?" What a good question. What was it that young people were supposed to do when they were trying to keep themselves entertained? Twyla knew what she liked to do, but it had been a long time since she’d shared an afternoon with someone her own age. Come to think of it, lately she’d been spending almost all of her afternoons (outside of class) in the library. When had she gotten so boring? She could still remember weekends spent riding around in someone’s truck to the mall or to someone or another’s party but they seemed like a crazy long time ago...not that she had always enjoyed the parties but still...
“I don’t know what’s next but let’s make it exciting.” Twyla racked her brains as she stood up and began to gather her mess up off the table. It was weird, usually she was so shy around strangers but around Maya she hadn’t even blushed very much. Maybe it was because the girl didn’t make things awkward like some people did when you first meet them. Whatever it was, Twyla was thankful for it--it was nice to be socializing with someone, even if she was a total stranger.
>>“I don’t know what’s next but let’s make it exciting.”
Maya's grin grew wider.
"Amen, sista. Rock and roll."
Flinging her backpack on her shoulder once again (the one that didn't have a piece of neat white bandage sticking out from under the tank top), she unceremoniously grabbed Twyla's hand, and pulled the girl with her, mess on the table be damned. She honestly did not care. She was having fun, weird, girls-night-out and could-be-crush kinda fun at the same damn time, but so far she was enjoying herself. And the day was far from over. (The picture of Cinderella floated into her mind - don't forget to leave before the clock strikes midnight and you turn back into what you are. Maya shrugged the thought away. Nature's curfew was still several hours away.) Still holding her hand, she dragged Twyla down the street towards where she saw trees and bushes - in the middle of the city, that meant a park, and a park meant fun. Turning her attention back to Bubblegum, she decided it was probably not a bad idea to say something about the sudden rush of excitement before she scared her with all the dragging and running. She also let go of her hand, and blushed a bit, scratching the back of her neck. "Um. Y'know... just wanna tell ya, ya don' have to be afraid of me. I'm a nice gal, really. Not gonna hurt ya, promise. And if anyone else tries, they're gonna get their asses kicked. Deal?"
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Nov 3, 2009 18:40:54 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Apparently Maya’s version of rocking and rolling did not take place inside a Chinese restaurant. This Twyla caught on to after she was dragged by the hand out of the place. She barely had time to smile apologetically at the boy behind the cash register for the mess before she was swept into the street like so many of the fall leaves beneath her feet. Not only was she swept out the door by the wind called Maya but she was also taken down the street. The sudden suddenness of everything made Twyla laugh, which made passerby turn to look at the pair as they made their way towards a destination that was yet unbeknownst to Twyla.
Her rapid flight was halted in front of a park and so was the laughter, but not instantaneously. No, the bright, happy sound continued for a few moments, causing Twyla to double over in an attempt to catch her runaway breath. It died as soon as the teen looked up and noted the sudden awkwardness displayed by the other girl. Maya’s mood change was clarified a bit when she said:"Um. Y'know... just wanna tell ya, ya don' have to be afraid of me. I'm a nice gal, really. Not gonna hurt ya, promise. And if anyone else tries, they're gonna get their asses kicked. Deal?"
A confused look sprouted on Twyla’s face but then it was replaced by a reassuring smile and honesty in her brown eyes. “Deal.” She nodded her head with this comment. “Believe me, if I was getting any negative vibes from you I’d have bailed a looong time ago, okay?” This statement was true everyday, even the ones that were dominated by happy and confident feelings. She might be a little more impulsive on this particular day, but if Maya had given her any reason to be weirded out Twyla would have slipped away and it would have been relatively easy for her to do it too, what with her particular...talent. “I’m flighty as a deer.” This she knew about herself, regardless of the fact that she was getting braver, she’d run if she was given a reason to.
In an attempt to lighten the mood Twyla attempted to move away from the sudden awkward topic. Looking around she raised an eyebrow and asked the question: “So what are we doing at a park?”
Twyla had a laughter to die for. Even while being swept up by the whirlwind that was Maya on a rush of excitement, she laughed. Girls have that kind of laugh that does not aim to do anything, and makes guys go light in he head. Maya was not sure if she had one too, but seriously doubted it. One thing for sure: if the apology earned her that friendly look on Bubblegum's face, she'd find a lot to apologize for in the future. Apparently she was not scared by the rocking and rolling. Good.
>>“Believe me, if I was getting any negative vibes from you I’d have bailed a looong time ago, okay? I’m flighty as a deer... So what are we doing at a park?”
Maya grinned, and shrugged.
"I'm not su..." then in a sudden lull in the street traffic let new sounds drift towards them from the park. Mainly, it was music, the kind that booms on th streets, and then voices, quite a few of them. Maya's grin grew wider as she grabbed Bubblegum's hand again, and dragged her across the street towards the park.
"Well, dear, I think we're gettin' ya some wheels."
She had good ears for music. The one that filled one particular corner of the park was one she knew - she danced to it that very morning, with a crew of enthusiastic kids who didn't really know what the streets were about, but were willing to share the fun with a lonely girl like Maya. Now that the morning turned into an afternoon they were hanging out here once again, five or six of them, munching on sandwiches and laughing like crazy. This half of the park was - no doubt by some awesome inner city genius - turned into a skatepark. Kids of various ages, all races and both sexes were rolling up and down everywhere, buzzing in the late autumn sunshine like bugs.