Nia, City Skies -> Arcade Tree: Just Bugs Me

Nia breathed out in relief when she finds herself on Ramus Firma (as opposed to Terra Firma), glad that she doesn't have the fear of falling underneath her. When she heard the comment from Shantae, she shot a glare at her for it. I'm not that bloody heavy! ...Am I?

Before she could argue with the half-genie over a seemingly innocuous comment (and suffer some self-consciousness), Nia looked and sees that familiar, dour face of a certain vampire killer, "Fancy seeing you here again."

Then there's the matter of the giant spider. A chill went up her spine, but that's more due to the sheer size of the Arachno itself. Unless they get some more people to help, attacking it's a quick way to be lunch for it. She looked at the others, "Got any ideas for that thing? Outside of sneaking around it or charging at it like an idiot."

"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

Donnie, Who Does Not Want Innocent People to Die (this is hopefully not surprising)

"What my bo does while airborne is out of my hands! ...quite literally, in fact!"

Fortunately, seconds later, said bo came flying back, spinning like a boomerang before Donnie grabbed it. "Nailed it! Totally intentional, everyone, I knew that would..."

Ah. The witch was falling.

...

Well, he didn't like magic but he wasn't heartless. Donnie slowly floated downward and held out his arms expectantly—and not a few seconds later, Lachesis landed...semi-gracefully in said arms. Donnie yelped as the force of the fall nearly pulled him down with her, but fortunately, his tech didn't fail him and he managed to stay aloft.

With that done, Donnie headed to the ground and set the witch down. "Thank me when we're not all about to die," he said casually, and then took off again, this time converting his bo into a hammer and taking a swing right beneath Ladybug 5, likely launching it upwards if successful.

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

Daisy Buchanan, probably outside the Auto Beetle Garage

"You're six feet tall?" Daisy was genuinely astonished. What happened in the 154 years from her time that led to women getting absurd growth spurts by Brigitte's era?

She then listened to Brigitte's explanation about seat belts. "Well people from my era, including... nevermind..." Daisy almost slipped up a confession about her rather unsafe driving habits. Habits that she would rather not reveal right now, considering the whole "running-over-her-husband's-mistress" incident. "Anyway, they tend to drive recklessly, so I suppose they really need seat belts. For why they haven't come up with it in my time, well this is also the same generation where women— GAH!"

The beetle suddenly began moving. Rather quickly in fact. Daisy was almost jolted off her seat but she held onto the sides of its bottom section tightly.

"You know, it turns out this beetle also needs those seat belts as well!" She shouted.

Edited by Cutegirl920fire on Feb 9th 2023 at 6:46:44 AM

Victor of HGS S320 | "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."

Stocking, now leaving the Ass Tavern

She made to follow the others outside, only to press a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter as an honest-to-god pancake spider landed on Akechi's head.

"Snrk." Stocking snorted. "Pancake Man strikes again."

Composing herself, she stepped outside and unfurled her now moth-like wings. "I'll watch from the rooftops." She told Hunk and Akechi. "I'll shout if any more pancakes are coming."

Giving the unfortunate detective a smug smirk, she launched herself to the roof with one pulse of her wings, before beginning to traverse them with casual, graceful leaps. Her wings buzzed like an insect, but rather than a low drone, it was higher-pitched and melodic, almost like wind chimes.

What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?

"Roger that," Hunk responded, grabbing his shotgun, he racked the action and checked the chamber, empty at the moment, he dug into one of his ammo packs and put a 12 gauge in. He closed the shotgun again and turned his attention out to the city itself.

"Chimnyfoot," He said. "You'll direct us, if your map algorithm works, we'll clear through this territory with little issue."

Mai, Crashing Into The Arcade

Mai Shiranui's glide to the Arcade went without a hitch... That is to say, until she saw IT! The largest spider she had ever seen. And it had camped out right between two of the rope bridges.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Needless to say, Mai was in a panic as she crashed into the side of the Arcade and fell on her butt. She was unharmed, but she was eyeing the spider like it was going to eat her personally, even though it was just sitting there waiting for some hapless soul to get caught in its web or whatever it was doing parked between two rope bridges.

"W-Why is there a spider here?!" Mai looked to be in about as much panic as Kobeni usually is.

Edited by GameGuruGG on Feb 10th 2023 at 2:07:57 PM

Wizard Needs Food Badly

Narancia watched the radar for a bit, but nothing showed up. Well, nothing suspicious-looking, at least; there were a few blips that briefly showed up... moving in a rather crawly, skittery manner... but with Aerosmith's loud buzzing and fast movement, it seemed these creatures were reluctant to approach the Stand too closely. At any rate, evidently their scheduled enemies weren't about to come running. Narancia sighed and followed after Galo and Lio, who were apparently busy with a lamp-smashing contest.

"Guys? I guess it's nice of you to free these bugs and all, but... Don't we, uh, have other stuff to do?," he said. "There's nothing suspicious around here, so we should move on!"

He pointed to the side, where a simple rope bridge connected the far end of the branch to another tree — part of the complex system of rope bridges criss-crossing the visible section of the forest.

"We should stick together and explore this forest until we find the enemies," Narancia said. Then he stroked his chin, as a new idea struck him. "...Or, it'd be even faster if we found the arcade building. Then, we can just ask that Tester guy where should we look!"

He started across the bridge, glancing back to see if Galo, Lio and Baro would go with him...

—at which point something slammed into the underside of the branch, shaking it violently, and sending the rope bridge into a wild wobble. "Shit!," the boy shouted as he held on for dear life, just barely managing to avoid falling into the great green below.

Heart pounding, Narancia realized all too viscerally just how high they were. He hastily crawled back to the safety of the branch.

"Shit!," he repeated, his voice audibly trembling, "i-is that the enemy?!" He cautiously peered over the edge of the branch, while simultaneously checking the carbon dioxide radar.

He couldn't immediately see any nearby enemies. Far below, obscured by the dense leaves, Narancia could see some sort of battle taking place at ground level, although he couldn't quite make out who was fighting what.

Edited by Korodzik on Feb 10th 2023 at 11:48:50 AM

Beetle express

Cheetor stared and cocked his head as Brigitte launched into a long technical explanation regarding flight. "I... uh... vortex?" he stumbled overhimself, scuttling after them as all six legs kicked into action. Periodically, he launched himself into the air, insectoid legs twitching, as he tried to get the hang of his new form.

"Hey, I think I-" There was the rattle of dislodged soil as something round and fluffy zipped up, hit its head against the ceiling, and went plummeting back to the ground, "...never mind."

Outside the Arcade

As soon as Shantae noticed the large building on the side of the tree, then smoothly landed both himself and Sayaka down outside the entrance of the arcade, he would then let Sayaka get off him first before he did anything else. He was about to go over to Trevor but he then heard Mai screaming her head off and then he looked up to see her crash into the side of the Arcade and then fall down to the ground.

“Mai!” Buzz shouted as he then quickly rushed over to her side, worried about her safety and then offered his hand to help her up: “Mai, Mai are you okay? What happened?” He then looked in her direction to see that there was a giant spider on two rope bridges. “Holy moly…” Buzz gasped in surprise as he saw the gigantic arachnid blocking the path. He looked in Shantae’s direction: “It looks like we’ve found the arcade with no trouble at all.” He informed her “But our path back there is blocked up.”

Brigitte Lindholm - Grön armor - Beetle tunnel - Please keep all arms, legs, antennae, mandibles, and wings inside the ride at all times.

"W-well, it doesn't really seem much faster than a horse, but hold on tight!" Brigitte replied to Daisy, before looking back over her shoulder to see Cheetor falling behind them. "Cheetor!" she exclaimed, then looked back towards the front of the beetle, thinking of something. The beetle responded to one voice command, so maybe...

Brigitte leaned forward, bracing one hand against the back of Daisy's seat. The engineer then took her other arm and reached forward, wrapping it around Daisy's torso and holding tight. "Beetle, stop!" Brigitte then yelled.

The beetle's legs dug into the soil and it skidded to a stop. With the way Brigitte was holding her, Daisy was thankfully not launched forward with the halt of momentum. Brigitte let out a sigh and let go of Daisy. "Sorry about that," the engineer said to her simply, then once again turned around to look back towards their newly fuzzy Cybertronian. "Cheetor, you okay?! You want a repair pack?!" Brigitte called back towards him.

You are reading this.

Zan, Not The Tavern She Knew

Sudden changes. The slowing, then darkness. Then awareness.

Her mind raced as thought returned as quickly as it had left, red eyes taking in the changed scenery. Drugged? Psychic attack? The latter was more likely. Too immediate.

Moments had passed and already the haft of her axe was in hand, its familiar weight off where it hung on her hip. Not her axe then, but no matter. A weapon was a weapon.

And speaking of. She was armed. A bulky shape on her back, familiar yet also off. A Praak rifle? She'd check soon. Something slapped against her thigh as she shifted, clattering as plates clicked together from the movement. Likely a Hellglove then. An odd selection to have put on her, though perhaps not their choice.

Muscles bulged beneath the surface of her skin, the blue rippling as Zan tensed and turned. Scanning the unfamiliar tavern and ready for immediate and bloody conflict. There was no such assault, but that meant little. It was the fact she was not alone, that was of more immediate interest.

She lifted the axe in her hands, getting her first proper look at it as it came into her line of sight as she pointed it at the vaguely startled and intimidated figure that was closest to her; A human man. The weapon was shaped like the typical axe of the Iron Division, yet the blade was not metal. It was dark and glossy, with colours glimmering briefly across it as light played over the waxy-looking material.

"You. Where is this? Speak. Now." While the pointed tip of the axe blade was aimed at him, it wasn't anywhere close enough to harm. Though it didn't stop the man taking a step or two back from the towering, horned woman. And the attention of the others within the place turned entirely her way. She scanned the area once more, this time looking out for a slight, shadowy figure. The sensation of that body leaning into her side still lingering from just before she had been taken. If this was a psychic illusion, surely Abhaoth would appear.

"Y-you're in a tavern!" The man flinched at the narrowed glare he received with that answer, his hands coming up to his shoulders despite the half-orc woman not moving otherwise. "I don't know, honest! I've been hiding in here since yesterday, too afraid to leave. This place is cursed!"

Zan's teeth clicked together in irritation, but she withdrew her axe to her side as she focused on someone else instead. It had been her time to celebrate, to relax after the battle that had dragged her to Hell and back, and then mourn with her sisters. She was in a foul mood, but she would get her answers.

Zan, One limited exposition later, Through the City and to the Arcade

It turned out that most of the people, and it turned out to not just be humans, within the tavern knew very little about what was going on. At least for Zan's tastes, that was. An every-changing city, in more ways than one it seemed, with everything one needed to survive. And countless numbers of people taken suddenly and dropped here. And that one had heard from someone else, who had heard it from a brief visitor to the tavern, that someone in the centre of the city had said that it was a test. And no one could leave for a very long time.

She had a target, and a goal. There was little chance of it being a psychic illusion by that point, and that shadowy ally hadn't contacted her yet meant it was likely she couldn't. Which was a worrisome notion, considering the distance she had bridged to contact her before.

With her equipment checked before she had left, the half-orc warrior had felt prepared for the search. Even with her rifle currently non-functional. Something about the changes of the city had changed not just itself, but everything within it. Her weapons, equipment and clothing included. The Praak rifle,and its ammo, was wood. A useless material for a weapon that fired heated bolts. And while her loincloth and top had remained the same, the fur on them, as well as her boots and leggings where they stopped at her mid-thigh had become some fluffy material far softer than anything she had encountered before. While the spikes of her arm and horn bracers had turned into what she now suspected was insect shell. Thankfully her armour amulet had remained unchanged and charged.

Despite the infuriating situation, Zan couldn't deny that the towering forest she found herself winding through, wooden bridges zig-zagging in every direction between the trees, was beautiful. It reminded her of the forests above her home, a pang in her chest at being torn from it once more so soon after returning.

Eventually she found her way to the 'Arcade', strangers accosted along the way you keep her heading in the right direction. Soon finding herself approaching the last bridge leading to it, and spotting a giant spider. There was no hesitation as she reached for her axe once more, hefting the large blade into her hand and at the ready should she need it.

Her route soon found the towering woman standing beside a few people as they stared at the giant beast. She paused for a moment, her gaze drawn down to stare at the dark-skinned and pointy-eared woman dressed in what could only be a dancer's clothes. Her slight form, skin and ears brought to mind the strange woman who had guided and helped in her war against Hell, and for a moment she hesitated and stared. She was pretty.

But there wasn't time to be staring at pretty women. Shaking herself off mentally, Zan stepped forward and continued on down the path the spider was resting near; Heading for the entrance to the Arcade beyond it.

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret || Ladybug Fight || Am I going to write out her full name in every post header? Maybe.

She was ignored. Being ignored was an emotion that Luna was both incredibly familiar with, and not at all. She was used to being ignored as a person, most definitely, being seen as the Oracle, and nothing more, acting demure and meek to avoid the attention of the Empire, but to have a group of people ignore her entirely was very new.

It was a surprisingly refreshing feeling.

Still, it was obvious that she would get no answers until the Ladybug situation was addressed, and so she would help address it. There was a strange flying contraption that took one of the Ladybugs closest to her out of her range of concern, and so she turned her attention to the other, who seemed thoroughly confused at all of the events that had occurred in its vicinity in the last few seconds.

Mood, as Noctis would say.

Spinning her trident in her hands, Luna took a deep breath and threw it at Ladybug 4, aiming to spear it in the eyes while it was still distracted. Perhaps, with the bugs out of the way, she would manage to get her answers.

Pryna and Umbra, though excellent Messengers, were not so much fighters, and settled for barking at Ladybug 4, Umbra much louder than Pryna.

[TOP SECRET]

Spider Tree - Near Arcade

"Same to you." He looked briefly towards Harpy-Shantae before going back to Nia. "Ideally, we won't fight it. People have been able to get around it with some care." Honestly, he'd rather not pick a fight with a whip made of dry leaves, anyway. "Well, that or go elsewhere. Hunk and Chimney are determined to map out the city, even though it can turn into something else entirely on a whim."

...and they just had to have an arachnophobe among them, hadn't they? "Might be better to leave it be, unless you have pressing business there." Which, Trevor assumed, was probably the case. Speaking of pressing, a newcomer - a huge demon-like woman armed to the teeth - marched towards the entrance with a spider with it. (though not before having an eyeful of Shantae. Understandable, all things considering) "Or we can let her be a guinea pig and see how it hashes out." He mused, eyes wandering after Zan.

grah

Mai, Outside Arcade

"I-I'm not injured."

Mai let Buzz help her up, though she still kept her distance from the giant spider, completely scared of it. As she was keeping an eye on the spider, she was one of the first to see the... well, clearly a demon of some sort given her horns. A demon that eyed Shantae like men eye her. Mai would feel a bit insulted, but Buzz was probably blocking the demon's view of her. The demon seemed like she was ready to take out the giant spider. If she did, she would have her thanks. Please kill the spider, Miss Demon!

Wizard Needs Food Badly

Galo and Lio, On Narancia's Branch

"I'm not moving on 'till we free all these trapped butterflies! This is an injustice against freedom itself!!!" Galo protested with fiery determination in his eyes, clutching his staff with an iron grip. "And besides...me and Lio were just starting to have some fun! Why don't-"

But before he could finish his sentence, something hit the branch from below with such force that it knocked Galo and Lio over onto their backs, both of them letting out screams of surprise as they were caught off guard.

"WAAAAAAAAAGGGH!"

Although it didn't take long for both of them to get to their feet, they were both left shaken by the sudden quake, both literally and metaphorically.

"What the hell was that?" Galo asked, looking around in a panic. "What happened?"

"Something must have hit us from below..." Lio muttered. He went over to the side of the branch where Narancia was, and gazed down at what was happening below. It was too blurry to make out specifics, but there was definitely some kind of battle occurring. "It looks like someone's brawling down there. They must have hit our branch by accident."

"A brawl? You mean someone's fighting?" Galo asked, rushing over as well, eager to get a closer look. "Then the guys we're supposed to fight might be down there! I wanna see!" He squinted at what was happening below, but it was simply too far away for him to see. "Darn it, I can't see what's going on!"

"I think I can help. One moment." Lio said, and conjured a large, bright pink flame into existence in his hands, which he quickly and expertly began to shape into the form of a long, thin tube. He solidified the flames, and they transformed into a dark black spyglass. Lio handed it to Galo, then proceeded to do jazz hands with a smile and a laugh. "Ta-da! This should help you see much better."

"Wow...thanks, Lio!" Galo said with a chuckle, before putting the spyglass to his eye. "I spy with my little eye...a battle! It's about time to see what the hell's going on here..."

Something's Fishy Here...

Tron Bonne - Gustaff - Beetle tunnel

With Cheetor still taking the opportunity to practice flying the Gustaff took off down the tunnels after the beetle, though the bipedal tank was clearly not fast enough to match the stag beetle at full gallop(?), Tron managed to keep from getting totally left behind. And considering Cheetor's flightpath, it might be a good thing the Gustaff lagged behind a bit.

"You okay, sparky?" Tron called through the speakers, maneuvering to attempt catching the bee-bot if needed.

Daisy Buchanan, apparently in the Beetle Tunnels now

As Daisy held unto the sides of the seat's bottom, she felt Brigitte's arm wrapped around her torso. It basically became an improv seat-belt for her, which Daisy appreciated. When the beetle stopped to a halt, she wasn't launched straight off her seat.

Once Brigitte's arm was no longer wrapped around her, Daisy turned to face her.

"Thank you for that, Brigitte,"

Then she looked over to Beetor who has crashed landed on the ground again.

"I think you should take a brief break from flying. You keep crashing and it would be unpleasant if you keep getting hurt as a result."

Victor of HGS S320 | "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."

Shadow Moth - Somewhere...

"Of all the..."

In an unremarkable part of the giant forest the City had become stood a pretty ostentatious man, dressed up in rich purple with a flared collar and fancy-looking mask. The part of his ensemble that was lacking was the crummy fake antennae on his head, a feature of the city he now found himself in, even if he didn't realize it yet. He was quick to snatch them off, giving them a glare before tossing them aside.

He turned that glare to his surroundings, most of what he could see blocked by the gigantic trees and grass around him.

"What is this?!" Shadow Moth tried to reach out with his mind, seeing if there was an akumatized villain or sentimonster out there that might be the culprit in his change of scenery. It wouldn't be the first time one of those popped up on their own. But, no, there wasn't any such thing.

He folded his arms, hand to chin. "Not something from the future again, then. Could it be... oh, Ladybug," he continued with a smirk. "Decided to utilize the Fox Miraculous to draw me out of hiding, did you? As if this would be enough to get me to drop my guard."

There wasn't anyone around to hear him, and he didn't expect Ladybug to be close at hand either. He was just used to talking to himself. Ominously.

Shadow Moth stood there, smugly surveying what was around him. Ladybug was a kid, so the illusion would fail in a matter of minutes, and things would be back to normal. All he needed was to bide the time and not play into this little game.

As the wait grew longer - past the typical five minute limit - Shadow Moth grew less confident. If this wasn't an illusion from the Fox Miraculous, and not the doing of a future Hawk Moth, then where the hell was he?

"Nooroo, Dusuu, Reverse Morphosis." With a flash of lavender light over himself, Shadow Moth turned into the sharply-dressed Gabriel. The two kwamis Nooroo and Dusuu quickly fled under his lapel to hide. They weren't keen to offer help to their master, and he wasn't looking to receive it. He made for one of the dirt paths elsewhere, hoping to find something.

Gabriel Agreste - Ladybug Fight (As if one wasn't enough)

The sound of barking dogs drew his attention, so with nowhere more pressing to go Gabriel pushed through some blades of grass towards the source. Peeking out from the outskirts of a small clearing, Gabriel witnessed the fight-in-progress between several people (one of which appeared to be green) and some giant ladybugs.

Gabriel sighed. "The universe is playing a sick trick on me, I'm sure of it."

Even though the people present seemed to have a good hold of the fight, Gabriel crouched down and picked up a broken pine needle off the ground - the size difference meant it would work as a decent club. Then he rushed forward, holding the 'club' ahead with both hands.

"I got this one!" He shouted to the rest as he charged for the one upturned ladybug. With another wordless shout he brought the club down on the bug's head. As an ordinary human Gabriel knew he wouldn't stand much chance to injure these things, which was exactly what he was planning for; despite the unfamiliar circumstances and his usual paranoia, these strangers seemed like heroes of their own right, and what better way to ingratiate himself with the rest than being a helpful, if hapless, comrade?

And, well, maybe there was a bit of animosity towards ladybugs that made this cathartic for him.

Sayaka

Near the tree of entertainment

Hearing Mai scream in panic, Sayaka leaped to her help.
"I'm here for you!" she yelled, as she stood between Mai, Buzz, and the spider, with her saber drawn.

"Enshittification truly is how platforms die"-Cory Doctorow

Nia, Near the Arcade: His Friends Call Him Spuder (Don't Call Him Spuder)

Nia looked at the situation again and narrows her eyes. If worse comes to worst, she could break out that, but she feels hesitant on doing so. She hasn't used it in a long while and she's afraid of all the questions that would come if she did go through with it. At the same time, as she told herself, these are perfect strangers. They wouldn't know the reasoning behind that form.

A scenario that is increasingly likely considering the large, horned, and muscular demon woman is approaching the spider with an axe. She kept a hand on one of her knives and kept her distance behind her. That carefulness is soon tossed away when Sayaka rushed in swords swinging. Her careful expression giving away to annoyance, "Ach bloody hell! Get away from it, you idiots!"

She still kept her distance to see what the spider would do next, not willing to jump into the fray without a plan that isn't "rush blindly at an Arachno like a total moron."

"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

Baro Is Struggling To Keep Pace With These Utter Firebrands

Given how the pair at the lead of this party were treating public infrastructure like the lampposts, Baro thought it best to keep any remarks about them being 'wonderfully quaint biotechnology' to himself for now. It was clear that Galo and possibly Lio too had firm beliefs about freedom for all things that could either be inspiring or a problem depending on the context. Still, all three were worth following for now even if Baro had no actual stake in the outcome of their fight against absent villainous forces.

"Well, whatever we decide to do about this battle far below, we should probably not shake our bough too much. I'd rather not waste a perfectly fine day in the forest by falling to my death and you three have worlds to save and villains to defeat that likely will not be felled simply by your corpse."

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

Narancia stared in fascination as Lio crafted a spyglass out of pure flame. "Wow... You sure you guys aren't Stand users?", he asked. "Because that totally could pass for a Stand ability."

"Come on, what do you see?!," he urged, standing next to Galo. If it looked like their designated enemies were down there on the ground, he wasn't going to wait; he was going to get to ground level as soon as possible.

Fighting Giant Bugs, As You Do

Bucky took enough pause to be sure the others seemed to have things relatively in hand, and kept focus on his own fight. The ladybug was missing a wing, but he knew from experience that missing a limb didn't mean one was helpless. It was best to be sure there wouldn't be any further antagonization from this creature before he moved elsewhere.

Ladybug 2 was going to be the unfortunate recipient of the man leaping towards it again, a stomping kick aiming right for the bug's head, with every intent to crush it.

Easing back into life one step at a time

Shantae the half-genie hero - Outside the Arcade

Shantae winced when Nia took offense to her statement.

"I didn't mean to—" she started to say, when Mai screamed, looking at the spider. Shantae immediately stood firm beside Sayaka and got into a fighting stance. "Don't worry, Mai! I've fought off spiders bigger than this. If this thing comes for us, we'll be here to squash it!"

She didn't even notice being checked out by the newly-arrived demon girl, though even if she had, she probably wouldn't have minded.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.

The ladybug assault

Lachesis's eyes lingered on her soft-shelled savior just slightly too long, despite the somewhat rough catch. She cleared her throat as Donnie set her down. "I didn't think Spindly was gonna be able to make it back in time, thanks," she responded, despite his instructions to save it. Watching him go, with one hand, she drew another circle in the air, while raising the other in the direction of the spider palisman.

He indeed managed to launch Ladybug 5 in the air, and while it didn't collide with anything like Ladybug 3 had, it did reach about the same height before regaining control of its momentum, flying a little past Lio's head. Speaking of, Ladybug 3 had apparently decided it wasn't worth the trouble and flew off unsteadily. Funny, it looked like one of its antennae had been singed recently... Ladybug 5, on the other hand, was looking at this new group as if gauging whether they'd be an easier target than the last.

Ladybug 4 wasn't so confused as to completely miss the trident flying for its face, but said trident did manage to lodge itself in a gap in its shell. It screeched in pain, and began rushing in a random direction, seemingly trying to retreat but being too panicked to know which direction was 'away from here'. Granted, although it was retreating, its relative size and its speed meant it was still going to be rough for anyone it bowled over; Teemo was unfortunate enough to be caught by surprise and was unluckily stunned.

Ladybug 2 was still reeling from losing an entire wing and was easy pickings, despite its best attempt to avoid having its skull caved in. The poor thing collapsed to the ground and was probably not getting back up.

Ladybug 1 was not so greatly affected by Gabriel whacking its head in civilian form, though it was enough to disrupt its attempts to right itself, making it easy for Lachesis to stab it by raising a spike of dirt from the ground below it, finishing it off with a pierce to the neck.

"Whew, two down..."

Outside the arcade

The spider had turned to look at the loud commotion caused by its presence, but seemed to be waiting for one of them to draw too close or fall into its web like an idiot, or else attack it outright. Although, Zan looked about to do the first of those things anyway, and then likely the third. It presumably didn't have enough experience with demon women to know if they were huntable, so for now it was simply facing her with its guard up.

The ones who walk away from the Ass Tavern ==> Somewhere amid the branches

Without a word, Akechi picked the pancake spider up off his head (it seemed to have been trying to feed itself to him...weird) and dropped it right in front of him. It plopped straight down onto the branch and scuttled inside, perhaps looking for a new victim to annoy. The detective tried in vain for a few seconds to wipe the syrup from his hair, before simply giving up and opting to keep moving, at least for the time being.

"It's only an inconvenience...as far as we're aware," he replied to Chim, sparing a glance at Trevor going off on his own. "Let's just move on; I don't want to look at another of those things for a long, long time.

"So. If you don't mind this map of yours being a public resource, I suppose I could take a picture without issue?" Akechi added after a pause, phone drawn.

i guess you can watch me shitpost i guess