Tron Bonne - Garage, Stag Station
"Eh?" Tron blinked at the approaching sound, then rushed behind Brigitte and her quickly deployed shield. Had she more time to observe things she would have been impressed with the apparently energy or light based barrier, all the Bonne machines had to rely on pure armor, but instead she was just dumbstruck at the arrival of the stag beetle. "What the..."
It apparently expected passengers, or maybe some sort of treat or praise for responding to the bell, but Tron just shook her head "I'll pass. I can't leave the Gustaff behind for just anyone to find. But if this is some kind of, bug, bus station, I am kind of curious where it might lead."
When Cheetor turned into his new form to try out his "upgrades" Tron just chuckles "Wow, you got really fuzzy today" before running back into the garage to grab the blueprints from yesterday, pull the hatch on the front of the Gustaff open and climb inside. A moment later the recently reskinned Gustaff Ladybug stomped out, ready to go exploring "Looks like everything is operating normally from in here, that's a relief"
Buzz was just about to follow Shantae and Nia downstairs but was really caught off guard not by the landscape but more what Shantae had just said. The Space Ranger walked over to the Half Genie Hero and then replied: “I’m sorry but what did you just say?” He asked her very confused. What in the name of the seven galaxies was she even talking about?
Wood you believe it?
Narancia sighed. "Yeah, guess we might as well go outside. We should look for those guys we're supposed to fight, anyway..." He headed out of the door, Aerosmith following after him.
He stepped out of the tavern, his pace slowing down as he looked around in awe. He hadn't realized it looking out the window, but... everything in this forest was big... way too big. Suddenly he noticed he wasn't walking in solid ground, but a gnarly wooden surface which, he gradually realized, was a giant tree branch.
"...Okay, what the hell?," he asked, glancing at the colossal acorn hanging high above, and leaves that could cover his whole body with room to spare. "I'm shrunk?! Dammit! Once in a lifetime was enough for me..."
Narancia shuddered, recalling an uncomfortably close encounter with a spider... He hoped a giant spider won't suddenly come crawling from the underside of the branch, or something.
Turning around to whoever had accompanied him outside, he said: "Hey, I wanna search for those bastards! You comin'?"
Vampire Hunter
Mai Shiranui, Quasar(?) Cantina and Inn
"I guess we do need to ask TESTER about this," Mai sounded annoyed as she put her battle... leaf away in her clothing now that the bee flew off. She followed Shantae out of the Quasar Cantina and Inn to find themselves high above the humongous trees.
"Oh wow... The trees are big here, too!" Mai noted to the others. "We got to be careful not to fall as well."
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Stop Killing My Titles
Ass Tavern (Now With Working Javascript)
Phantom Thieves...? Trevor's eyebrow rose, even as he had another sip of the drink of gods. "Yes and yes. Kobeni should be fine as long as Aqua isn't in her vicinity, at least - but we wouldn't hurt for a person with a head on her shoulders." Stocking mocked Crow-on-the-clock with the ease one would breathe with, and... well, it did sound a little silly when put out of context.
Fortunately, Hunk brought him back from amused reverie. "Good on you to admit you're not cut out for something. Just, keep in mind; most people aren't going to be interested in joining anything but a safe spot and somewhere where they can avoid crazy people with godlike powers." Sip. "Also, I volunteer Saria for the leadership role, assuming she's not busy babying Aqua right now."
Chim's comment about the English language, meanwhile, brought his attention. "I don't think he speaks English right now, much as I wouldn't." He pointed out, scratching at his cheek. "Sure would make for an awkward twenty five days if we could barely understand each other. That's probably, uh, some creative liberty on the Developer's part."
grah
Hunk pulled is his helmet back on clicked the straps in. "That is the intent behind my plan for the Police Department, if we can find it we can fortify it into a safe haven."
It wasn't the whole truth but it was a lot of the truth, as for Saria. "That makes sense, she would be a good choice, better than the other options of our group so far."
Hunk could tell Trevor was not interested in leading, Kobeni was too much of an emotional pushover, Stocking was actively abrasive, Akechi was barely affiliated, and Aqua thank whatever higher power wasn't here right now. Aqua he had rated as the active worst choice.
A Self-inflicted Disaster
Sayaka
Quasar Inn and Cantina
Sayaka followed Mai out the front door, to discover that the concrete jungle they were in yesterday had become a lush, green forest. The bee that hovered outside the window that morning was not a giant bee; rather, the characters were shrunk to the size of bugs. Sayaka looked down. The front door of the Quasar Inn was high above the ground, like a star.She heard Buzz ask Shantae what she was talking about.
"You don't have forests where you came from?" she asked Buzz, with a surprised look on her face.
"By the way, did anyone see an elevator?" she asked the others. "Enshittification truly is how platforms die"-Cory Doctorow
Fool From The Depths
Galo and Lio, Exiting The Tavern With Narancia
"Wait...you've been shrunk like this before?" Lio asked as he and Galo followed Naranica outside, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. "What kind of twisted life have you been living?"Meanwhile, Galo took in the beautiful vibrant scenery, and the sheer vast scale of the forest. It was mind boggling to him, to gaze upon tree after gigantic tree stretching on and on into what seemed like infinity. Back home in Promepolis, he thought the city had been huge and impressive, but it was pathetic compared to what he was gazing upon now.
"Wow..." he gasped, his breath completely taken away. "This place is beautiful...it puts the forests back home to shame! That Developer guy might not have much empathy, but to create something like this...it's like a work of art. That guy have must have a thumb so green you could mistake it for a pickle."
"You're damn right about that." Lio agreed as he took in the scenery as well. "I've camped in the woods before, but it was nothing like this...it's like something from the very beginning of the world. It feels ancient. Powerful."
"Almost ancient, but not quite." Galo said. "Look, there's a lamp post over there! Bet they didn't have those at the beginning of the world."
He ran over to the lamp post, but as he got closer, he found that that its illumination came from a small glowing bug with wings trapped inside the lamp's glass bulb.
"HUH?!!? There's a bug in here!" he cried, shocked by this revelation. "Who the hell keeps bugs trapped inside glass like this? They have the technology to make a lamp post, but they put a bug inside it instead of a light bulb or a candle? That's just cruel!"
Something's Fishy Here...
Fwomph
Baro's Still Following His Only Vague Allies In This Place
"Does it really count as being shrunk if it's in a way that's indistinguishable from everything else being oversized?"
Baro was still here and still wearing his antennae. He looked not fussed in the slightest and was mostly looking around at the towering trees.
"Right so! Your little combat challenge from our host! I suppose I could tag along, at least to observe."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
CG for short
Daisy Buchanan, Beetle Auto-shop Garage
Daisy casually ate her breakfast as she listened to her companions chat. She wanted to respond to Tron saying about how she doesn't want to eat but her mouth was stuffed with a Vienna roll by then and it was impolite to speak with your mouth full of food. Then Tron proceeded to eat some bagels, so oh well.
When Tron rung the bell in front of the Garage and a stag beetle appeared in front of it, Daisy was intrigued and got up from the table, having barely finished her meal. She should be horrified considering it's an insect that shouldn't be that large, but she can't help but be fascinated by it. Perhaps it's because it looks quite nice actually or that she rarely has seen insects that aren't flies or mosquitoes back in her world?
Regardless, she headed outside to follow the beetle.
"Come on, ladies and Beetor!" She called out towards the rest. "Let's get going and see how much this world has changed already."
Edited by Cutegirl920fire on Feb 6th 2023 at 6:20:29 AM
Victor of HGS S320 | "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."
Once Buzz asked his question to Shantae, Sayaki then asked him specifically whether or not he had seen any forests back where he came from. Realising that he hadn’t phrased his question correctly he then went: “Hmm? Oh no I didn’t mean that specifically.” He clarified before continuing on: “On the contrary, I have seen quite a lot of forests on different planets from where I come from.” He surveyed the area in particular, it was the first time he was paying attention to it as he was more focused on Shantae at that current moment.
He was almost impressed by it all, the fact the tavern just looked like a forest and it was so big and immense it was scary. “But I’ll admit never anything like this.” He gestured to the foliage and the like when he said this. Once he was done gesturing, he turned back to Sayaka: “But it’s not exactly what I was asking Shantae. I’m more confused on a particular phrase she said and that is: ‘Ret-2-Go’.”
He then turns in Shantae’s direction not sure how to approach this: “So tell me, Shantae, what exactly does ‘Ret-2-Go’ even mean? Forgive me but I literally have no idea what it means.”
THE SLORG!
Brigitte Lindholm - Grön armor - Auto beetle garage - Service fee.
Cheetor and Tron both dismissed the idea of trying to ride on the beetle for their own reasons, and Brigitte nodded. "Well, Daisy and I could get a lift from it, as long as Gustaff can keep up," Brigitte said, putting a hand to her chin. "Now if it's still like video game rules, then I'm guessing this beetle is gonna be either like a mount, or fast travel," she thought out loud.
Brigitte was taken out of her thoughts by the beetle moving its head closer to her, its antennae waving at her as something had clearly caught its interest. "H-hey easy now, you're not about to try to eat me, are you?" Brigitte asked, holding a hand up defensively before she suddenly remembered something. "Oh wait! I know what you're probably smelling," she stated, getting the jar of honey back out and removing its lid. She held it out towards the beetle, and it eagerly stuck its mouth parts into the jar and ate up the entirety of its sugary contents in moments. Brigitte felt both fascinated and disgusted by the display which would've normally required magnification to see so clearly.
Once the beetle was finished, Brigitte discarded the jar. She watched as the insect then lowered down its body, making the seats located on its back more easily accessible. "I guess that was our payment for the ride," Brigitte muttered in a somewhat joking tone, then looked over at Daisy. "So how about it? Want the front or the back?" the engineer asked, holding a hand towards the beetle.
Edited by FirockFinion on Feb 5th 2023 at 1:52:29 AM
You are reading this.
Dark Sun, what choices have I...?
"I mean...we do have to make the effort to make our work structurally sound, capture details, remember building codes and stuff, which is what the classes are for." For what it was worth, Lachesis didn't seem scared exactly, more just very put off that her casual display of magic had elicited such violence. "A-as toward the other question, all the buildings seem to be the same ones, only...well..."
She shuffled awkwardly back the way she'd come, toward the exit. Were they to follow her, Donnie and co. would see that they had emerged from a giant anthill, or perhaps it was a normal-sized anthill and they themselves were ant-sized. Around them, at the base of the anthill, were similarly-sized autumn leaves, brightly colored and peppered with the odd spot of mold. Massive trees towered above, light streaming down through gaps in the foliage and the network of branches and bridges connecting the many tree trunks; some of this light just happened to land in a large spot right next to them. It was so...vast, to the point of being overwhelming; one might even dare to call it majestic.
There were even a few ladybugs flitting about the air, heading...right that way, at fast speeds...and oh god they were man sized oh god OH SHIT—
"We...speak Japanese..." Akechi said; it was apparent from his delivery that he thought Chim had said something strange. "Well, I thought something like this might have been the case; most of the names I've heard in the past 24 hours have been foreign. Besides, it would explain why Belmont-san won't shut up about standing on clocks today."
Taking a large drink from his miso, he turned to face the general crowd gathered, sparing only an eyeroll at Stocking's syrupy taunt, and watched them for a handful of moments. "...If you listen for it, you can hear what others are actually saying. But you'll still understand just the same...out of curiosity, which part of my name did each of you hear first?"
i guess you can watch me shitpost i guess
Tester, I shrunk the kidnappees
"Huh? Oh. I'm talking about the fight I had with an asshole named Formaggio. He had a Stand that could shrink stuff. It was one hell of a fight—you guys should've seen it!" Narancia grinned. "He was a professional assassin, y'know, and I still defeated him all on my own. Even if I was really in trouble a few times..."
Narancia shrugged. "I guess it's not really important, but I could check." As Aerosmith circled slowly overhead, Narancia brought out the radar screen again. He stared into it, focused, as blips appeared and disappeared on the screen. "Normally, Aerosmith only detects carbon dioxide sources that are the size of a human, or bigger. Right now, I had to set it to insect-sized to make it detect us," he explained, still looking at the screen. "Sooo... I guess we're really shrunk."
He looked around suspiciously, frowning at the dense foliage that could be hiding any number of threats. He muttered: "That's right, I should..." Aerosmith changed its course and began to circle Narancia's position at a distance of sixty meters (or rather, now that they were all shrunk, the proportional distance equivalent to sixty meters), flying in a loop around and under the branch. "Okay, if anything gets close to us, Aerosmith's gonna detect it ahead of time and I'll see it on the radar," he declared.
Following after Galo, he briefly looked up from the radar to examine the unusual lamp post. "The hell?" Narancia frowned. "This looks like something from a damn kids' book. ...And I don't know why you guys think this forest is so cool. I just wanna get out of here."
Edited by Korodzik on Feb 11th 2023 at 12:13:33 PM
The Light That Blinds
Donnie, Who Thought The Oozequitos Were Bad
"Huh," Donnie muttered as he followed Lachesis out of the tunnel. "Magic obeying the laws of science, who'd have thooooo..."
One look at the surface and his voice died.
"I..." His eyes were wide, mouth agape as he took in the...the trees. And the leaves. And the big. This was...certainly something. "Did we...shrink?" he whispered to no one, spinning in place to see the whole...city? Was it even a city anymore? Or should he call it the forest?
...and were those giant ladybugs— HOLY—
"GIANT BUGS!" Donnie shrieked, pointing at the ladybugs that were flying right towards them. He swiftly whipped out his staff (and was very grateful it hadn't changed like his shell had) and leapt forward to strike the nearest bug head-on.
"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."
For the Horde!
Shantae stood by the door, glancing occasionally down the edges of the large branch that the group was standing on. The dizzying drop was somewhat frightening, and it made her want to go harpy to fly above it, but she wondered what other kind of monsters flied in the skies, especially with bees that big.
Out in the distance, gigantic butterflies flittered across the flowery branches of various large trees, while down below, Shantae could see man-sized flies buzzing above the ground. When Sayaka stepped out and asked her question, Shantae responded in the only way she knew how.
"What's an elevator?" she asked, sounding baffled. She looked even more baffled when Buzz expressed confusion about what she had said. "Ret-2-go? It means ready to go, of course!" she replied. "Lots of people say it where I come from."
She stepped out onto one of the bridges, looking back and forth and trying to see if she could see the characteristic rounded top of the Arcade anywhere in the vicinity. Since she didn't, it had to be somewhere else. She looked back towards the people gathered on the branch.
"Can any of you fly?" asked Shantae. "We might need to take to the air for this one. If not, I can try and carry someone, though it might not be comfy..."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
CG for short
Daisy Buchanan, about to be outside the Auto Beetle Garage
"Riding a beetle?" Daisy uttered to herself when she heard the idea of riding the beetle.
She thought about it, comparing her and the beetle's size and hearing Brigitte comment more about it. Daisy had come to realize that she'll need a mode of transportation to get around anywhere in this forest City quickly.
As she briefly stopped in her tracks, she heard Brigitte ask her if she wanted to ride on the front or back of the beetle. Daisy looked up and down at the armored woman before making an answer.
"I'll ride in front," Daisy said. "Your armor makes you larger and taller than me, which would make it inconvenient for me to see anything in front if I ride in the back."
Daisy resumed following the beetle and when she got close to it, she gently mounted on its back, positioning herself in the front seat. She looked over her shoulder, waiting for Brigitte to come.
Victor of HGS S320 | "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."
So the phrase that Shantae had just said was meant to mean ‘Ready to go’? What? That didn’t even make any sense and that didn’t really explain why she said it. “So why didn’t you just say: ‘Ready to go’ then?” Buzz replied back looking even more confused than how he was originally the first time Shantae uttered the phrase. If anything it opened up more questions than it did answers but that honestly wasn’t important at the moment Shantae asked if anyone could fly their way down. Now THAT was something Buzz Lightyear could understand. Without another word, Buzz pressed a red button on his space ranger suit and two wings came out above his shoulders, and a couple of flame jets flared out of the wings as Buzz then flew up above where Shantae was indicating. He took this chance to observe where everything below was, once he was satisfied, Buzz flew back to where the others were and landed back on the ground smoothly. “There’s a massive drop where we are. It’s almost as if we are ants compared to the surroundings. I’ll only be able to carry one person with me I imagine it’s the same for you, right Shantae?”
Teemo on the attack
Marveling at his surroundings, Teemo looked at how the landscaoe has changed, like if everything got bigger or maybe everybody shrunk? Who could tell.
And then he noticed ginourmous ladybugs coming at the group. Quickly he gets his blowgun (That by some reason it looked like a honey spoon) and got to shooting poisonous dart at the attackers.
Garage, outside
"C'mon, let's go!" Cheetor shifted from one leg to the next as he waited for the others to clamber aboard the giant insect. "You think I was fast before-check this out!" Six legs launched him into the air, and...
Cheetor had flown under his own power before, of course-in those first few cycles after he'd become a Transmetal, he'd quickly gotten the hang of his new jets and soon came to enjoy the sensation of kicking into gear just as his legs left the ground.
Unfortunately, flying as a bee was something completely different. The moment his processor thought "fly", muscles he didn't even know he'd had suddenly lurched into action, filling the air with a low drone. "Woah... woooah!" Six spindly legs frantically kicked in the air as the insectoid Maximal lurched this way and that, trying to find some equilibrium... moments before he finally rocketed forward and rammed right into a nearby toadstool. "How do you work these things?" he mumbled, disconsolately twitching his legs as he tried to right himself.
Edited by Locoman on Feb 5th 2023 at 12:00:07 PM
Nia, Outside the Quasar: A Long Way to Fall
Nia shrugged at Buzz's question on the phrase "Ret-2-Go", "It's better to not question it at this point."
Then came the other question of how they're gonna reach the Arcade. Both the ranger and the half-genie suggested to fly, and Nia is willing to go along with it except for one thing: "If that's true, then there's a problem. There's five of us and only two fliers. Unless we get someone else to help us out or if anyone else can fly, then one of us is getting left behind."
"I treasure every day with you, darling." "No need to be so sappy, love." "You know that's how she is, Nia." - AU!Pyra, Nia, Mythra
THE SLORG!
Brigitte Lindholm - Grön armor - Auto beetle garage - Not cleared for takeoff.
Brigitte let out a little laugh at Daisy's response. "The armor doesn't add that much; I'm just taller than you," the engineer said in a light hearted tone, then climbed up to the back seat of the beetle. "Hm, I'm not seeing any seat beltsHistorical note or anything. Better hang on tight," Brigitte suggested, then blinked as something occurred to her and she added, "unless you want to wait for me to fix something up."
Brigitte was then mildly distracted seeing Cheetor trying to get a hang of flying around as a bee, and apparently having a really hard time of it, based on his quick crash landing. There's that old saying of how bees shouldn't be able to fly with the wings they have, which is of course completely false. Not only can bees fly just fine without fundamentally breaking the laws of physics, but Brigitte as a well-taught engineer actually understood the mechanics of how they fly. "Cheetor, the wings are flexible and can move independently; they create a minor vortex underneath them to generate lift. You'll have to get used to that to get the hang of flying with them," she informed him, hoping that could be of some help to him.
Edited by FirockFinion on Feb 6th 2023 at 2:44:25 AM
You are reading this.
Vampire Hunter
Mai Shiranui, Outside the Quasar Tavern
"Ret-2-Go?" Even Mai seemed confused by the phrase. "I wouldn't call it flying... but I can float and glide... And climb!"
"Maybe Shantae carries one, Buzz carries another, and I do my best to keep up through gliding and climbing?" Mai then suggested to the others.
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Bitch pills
Leaving the sewer...ant hill...thing
Bucky didn't have much more to say about the statue he'd just destroyed. Maybe it wasn't a threat after all. Regardless, as long as there didn't appear to be an active threat, he seemed reasonably content to just walk with the rest of the group as they left.
The fact that the sewer they had been in now appeared to be some sort of...giant dirt mound? He might have seen an ant mound once upon a time, but with those memories now long gone, all he could really make of it was that it looked...lived in, somehow. Also he was fairly certain none of the outside world had looked like all this yesterday, but for all he knew, they'd been transported somewhere new overnight. That happened with HYDRA enough, and he knew they had agents in this city.
That said, suddenly having giant...bugs?...swooping towards them had his companions reacting with violence, and Bucky himself didn't hesitate to follow suit, choosing one bug to lunge towards, the metal hand drawing back and lashing out for the creature's face in a rough clawing motion, with clear intent on taking out the eyes.
Easing back into life one step at a time
Shantae nodded firmly at Nia and the others.
"All right. I'm ret-2-go! Let's get a move on!" she exclaimed, starting out the door after Nia but stopping immediately when she found they must have been far, far off the ground. The city had been transformed into a colossal forest, and the distance they were off the forest floor was staggering. She glanced around, putting one hand over her eyes to help her get a good view.
"Whoa... I've never seen any place like this before. This is the biggest forest I've ever seen..." she murmured. "Buzz? Mai? Sayaka? You three coming?"
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.