#hard case for VR

[crazydiscostu]

Lykus Titan OQ210 Case for Quest 3

The Lykus Titan OQ210 Case is a dedicated storage and transportation solution for the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset. Tailored for VR enthusiasts and professionals alike, this case combines robust protection with thoughtful design to accommodate the headset, its accessories, and various strap configurations. It aims to provide superior safety and convenience compared to traditional soft…

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #44 – The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon

This was a book I went into with no hand holding or preconceptions, and so I very much dove into the deep end of the pool. This is, frankly, a mess - but a beautiful one. There’s a lot to love, a lot of meat to chew on; but Candon’s reach really does exceed her grasp in ways that show, and I cannot blame anyone in the slightest for finding the narrative alienating or hard to follow. But shoot for the moon and you still end up among the stars, right?

The book follows Sunai, a deeply traumatized drifter and guide, who absolutely never got over the apocalyptic collapse of the AI-governed city he grew up in – quite literally, as he was interfaced with the AI-god at the time, and has spent the decades since hiding his nature as a Relic despite his stubborn refusal to age and tendency to heal from all injuries in a matter of minutes. Should his nature be known, he would be conscripted as the pilot and adhesive for a towering killer mech, and used to protect and oppress the new city now growing in the ruins of the old. Instead he fled half-way across the world and spends his days helping salvagers and refugees and his nights on drunken benders. After receiving a letter from his past he goes on a particularly intense one of those, and wakes up having both slept with and accepted a job from Veyadi, a former Archivist of the same AI who he’s clearly already told too much. Despite his heroic efforts to avoid honest conversations or emotional connections, from there he’s dragged straight back into the world of dead gods and killer science.

This is a book that hits the ground running and never stops, without much in the way of care about whether you’re able to keep up. The setting has both history and politics that are clearly important but are never explained beyond the bits that are directly relevant, with the expectation that you’ll figure the rest out through context clues (or not). There’s all manner of words being used as technical terms and basically none of them are ever actually defined. Sunai spends half the book explicitly trying to head off or avoid revelation-heavy or important conversations and, while he might know what topic he’s evading by turning the conversation into a quickie, I at least did not. Which is something I enjoy, honestly – I felt I had a solid grasp on most things by the end, and the world was fascinating (if occasionally absurd) – but I really cannot hold it against anyone who checks out.

The narration doesn’t help, either. Technically speaking, the entire book is told from Sunai’s POV. He merely has an unusually porous consciousness, and so spends a large fraction of the book being directly spoken at by one of a couple different voices in his head, or else semi-conscious and seeing the world through one of several different people’s eyes. When he’s not just outright hallucinating or trapped in a VR simulation, or spiraling into flashbacks (some of which are even his). This I found harder to adapt to and more frustrating, and in many cases felt like Candon was trying to show off and not quite managing it, but when it worked it really did work (the playing with the narrative voice in the second act, especially).

The book’s most saliently about trauma and (failing to) deal with it. It is not especially subtle about how Sunai’s relic nature is just a literalization of how he latches on to the plans and hopes of others to avoid even considering the idea of what his own might look like, and makes no bones about making him the whole thing’s beating heart. The book, then, depends a great deal on how compelling you find him. Personally I found the broken wreck of a man endlessly endearing, even when he was also deeply frustrating to be stuck in the head of.

The book’s other characters fare less well, sadly. The other major characters, despite (or maybe because of) all the time spent looking through their eyes and ruminating on their motives, still end up feeling opaque and a bit arbitrary. There’s only so many world-shaking revelations you can layer on top of each other before they stop having much impact and you stop being that invested in the characters. Ruhi and Imaru especially suffered here, the former for having so many story beats stuffed into him he ended up feeling more like a plot device than a real character, the latter because she felt like the story highlighted her importance to Sunai and general significance and then didn’t really know what to do with her past a certain point. In both cases (and like, this is clearly intentional) you end up knowing quite a lot of what Sunai think of them and not that much about the characters themselves.

Veyadi does better, if not always consistently. His romance with Sunai (osculating between unhealthy coping mechanism FWBs and all-consuming devotion as the story progresses) is another of the book’s main throughlines and it largely worked for me – Sunai’s wilful refusal to accept either of their obvious feelings was well-done and didn’t last quite long enough to be frustrating, and it was always entertainingly unhealthy in one way or another. ‘adi’s character outside the romance is significantly more opaque. Partly for reasons of plot and preserving tension, but still – I ended the book caring that Sunai cared about it, but not really about him for his own sake.

I admit I feel personally let down by the ending less for what it does than what it teases at then fails to do. All that buildup and ominous foreshadowing about losing your identity and being subsumed and synthesized into a greater hole as the walls come down and in the end they and the remnant AI just end up being able to DM each other’s brains. My expectations of a perfect lyctorhood or even some original examination of codependent relationship realized as the literal synthesis of identities, entirely dashed.

The ending in general was also just, well, messy. Too many plates in the air, too much ambiguity and nuance that then needed to be forcefully resolved to tie things off, too much sublime technology and miraculous agency in conflict for the final result not to just feel arbitrary – especially since the neat resolution arrived at makes absolutely no sense at all unless the ‘AI’ in question was actually just some kind of incorporeal demon the whole time. The emotional beats do work, but the result feels like a bit less than the sum of its parts. But then I may need to accept that my standards for a good ending are just impossible for 99 books in 100 to hope meeting.

Still, mess aside a thoroughly enjoyable read and one I’m deeply sad doesn’t seem to have gotten more attention. Though it also definitely doesn’t need to be the first in a series (many such cases, these days).

[aliceoverzero]

Started watching Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online over the past couple weeks and I was not prepared for how wild that shit gets. Unhinged bisexual women getting super intense into their rivalries in a VR shooter, sometimes escalating into "what if we lustily gaze into each other's eyes while you stab me in the gut" levels.

Both season's have incredibly violent duels between the main rivalry that are far more erotic than if they just had sex. One of the girls took a sniper shot to the eye and came so hard she passed out IRL. The main character is in constant denial of how much of a freak she is until she's backed into a corner, in which case she briefly enters Sword Lesbian Devil Trigger and revels in how her freak is unmatched. This is the lesbian version of the homoeroticism in the Metal Gear games.

[misc-obeyme]

the brothers + an mc whos v short b short tempered ? like, theyre 4’10 or shorter but theyre the second angriest person in the house behind satan n the smallest inconvenience can get them angry (tho still not angry enough to yell, but they are still v quick to reach the point of yelling if annoyed enough)

Hi there!

Okay I had fun with this one! Apparently I think quite a few of the brothers would tease a short MC about their height, but they would do so lovingly lol.

Thank you for the request!

the brothers react to GN!MC who is short, but also short tempered

Warnings: mentions of arguing and fighting

Lucifer

Finds you interesting because he’s used to dealing with tall angry people. But you’re so short? He could just pick you up if it came down to it. He won’t do that, though. Likely to just skip right ahead to stuffing you in a locker.

Won’t talk to you until you’re calm. If something sets you off, he will definitely just keep you somewhere out of his way until you’re not as angry. Are you ready to talk to him now, MC? Please indicate to him that you are calm enough to have a discussion.

There’s no doubt that Lucifer is more tolerant with you than he is with any of his brothers. Depending on how you feel after you’ve calmed down, he’s more than ready to give you a hug or make you a cup of tea. If you'd rather he just left you alone, he will eventually… but not before he lectures you for a little bit.

Absolutely won’t make fun of you because of your height. Realizes that will probably piss you off. He'll only do anything regarding this if he's having trouble seeing you or reaching you. For instance, if he wants to kiss you, he'll probably put you in his lap first.

Mammon

He tries very hard not to make you angry, but he also thinks you are so cute. If you get irritated with people bringing up your height, then you’re constantly getting annoyed with this guy. Calls you stuff like shortstop and small fry.

Picks you up all the time. He'll also do that thing where he leans his arm on top of your head. You know, because you're the perfect height to be his armrest. If you get mad at him about any of these things, he will stop eventually. But it's going to take some effort and you'll likely have to get on his case multiple times about it.

If you get genuinely angry with him, though, he will get very serious about it. He cares about you and he wants you to be happy so he’ll listen and change his ways. If you’re mad at someone else, he will defend you, but he’ll also prevent you from getting into fights with people bigger than you.

Actually very good at calming you down. Mammon will talk you down while he holds you. It’s okay, MC. He’s got ya. Let out your anger if you need to. If you’re the kind of person who cries when angry, he’ll kiss away every tear. Otherwise, he'll just sit with you until you're good again. He just wants to make sure you're okay.

Leviathan

Probably scared of you at first. Your short stature doesn’t mean anything to him, but he’s seen you get angry! He has been on the receiving end of some flying vases and the like from Satan. He doesn’t need any more of that, thanks! Likely avoids you a little bit at first, mostly because he doesn't know what might set you off and he doesn't want to risk it.

He doesn’t care if you get angry at someone else, but he eventually learns how to make sure you don’t get angry at him. Surprisingly good at distracting you. Employs things like fighting games so you can punch out your feelings digitally. Might even have a VR headset for this exact purpose. Just make sure you don't punch one of the walls in his room or anything.

He knows he really can't judge since he’s been known to summon Lotan at the drop of a hat. And he will absolutely back you up once he's no longer afraid of you. If you really get going at someone, he’ll be right by your side. You can count on him, MC! Just say the word!

Doesn’t care about how short you are. Doesn’t make fun of you, just accepts it. He does think you’re really cute though. He’ll only say it if he thinks you won’t get upset with him. But he will often offer for you to cuddle in his tub with him, mostly because you fit in there so perfectly.

Satan

Oh no. This here is a disaster waiting to happen. You two will absolutely have some epic arguments. While you’re less likely to start yelling, Satan can provoke you to that point faster than anyone else. Everybody else tries to stop you guys at first but eventually they all hide and just let it play out.

Despite this, there is also a certain understanding between you. He gets it. He knows how it feels to let your anger take control. So when he’s calm, he likes being near you. Sometimes when someone does something that would normally set both of you off, you can exchange an irritated glance instead. Somehow knowing that someone else gets it is enough to help deal with that initial emotion. Your shared irritation dissolves into mutual appreciation.

Similarly, since he gets it, if you’re angry and he’s not, he’s really good at helping you calm down. Let’s you rant to him about anything and everything. Nods in understanding and likely agrees with you, too.

Won’t make fun of your height unless he’s arguing with you. Then he might use it as an insult. He’ll apologize for everything he says to you when he’s angry. Feels so bad about it, he might even beg for your forgiveness. You’re the only one he cares about, so you’re the only one he would ever do that for. Please make up with him, MC. When you do, he’ll cover you with kisses.

Asmodeus

Oh, MC, you are so cute! He’s going to gush over how short and adorable you are. Depending on whether or not you get irritated with this, he will back off. Gives you some cute size-related nickname like pixie or bunny.

Never really manages to make you mad. The minute he sees that you’re looking slightly irritated, he does or says something so sweet that it changes your mood entirely. Redirects you from others that might be annoying you, but does it so easily you don’t even realize it’s happening.

If you’re really upset about something, he’ll want you to take a bubble bath in his huge tub. Will be happy to join you, but will be just as happy to simply sit with you and listen to your frustrations. Makes sure you have a little stool to sit on in the bath so you don’t sink - it’s a pretty deep bath tub after all.

Don’t think that Asmo won’t get angry himself, though. Never at you, but if you get into it with someone - especially if it’s some random demon - you can be sure he will have your back. Completely eviscerates them with a few really well said lines. Doesn’t even need to get physical.

Beelzebub

He’s afraid of you too at first. But not because of your temper. He’s just so much bigger than you. What if he sits on you by accident? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he ever hurt you just because he didn’t realize you were there. Always looking for you because of this. Wants to make sure he sees you.

He’s also a million years more calm than you. Really good at just letting you rage if you need to. Never makes you angry. Only matches your anger level if he’s hungry and that’s pretty easy to fix. So in all other instances, he’s the one calming you down.

Beel will not hesitate to pick you up and carry you away if he thinks he needs to. He doesn’t care if this makes you angry, he’s gonna do it anyway. If he thinks he’s carrying you away from danger, he will take it upon himself to do so.

Might think your stature is due to your diet. If you don’t correct him on this, he will try to feed you all the time. You really need to eat more, MC. If you tell him that you’re already a grown adult and this is just the size you’re always going to be, he’s going to insist that eating more won’t hurt.

Belphegor

Doesn’t care that you’re short. Doesn’t care that you’ve got a short temper. But make no mistake, he will make fun of you for both. Calls you shrimp all the time. Also likes to call you short fuse because it works on multiple levels. Also uses Mammon's nicknames because small fry makes him laugh, but changes shortstop to short stack because Beel likes it. (Beel is just thinking about pancakes.)

He finds your temper funny. The way you get so annoyed so easily is like a little challenge to him. He wants to see how quickly he can get your eye to twitch. Unless you get seriously upset with him, he's just going to provoke you on purpose.

If you’re angry at someone else, he will back you up. Has some scathing remarks for whoever it is. He’s also surprisingly good at calming you down. When he’s not part of the problem, he talks you through breathing exercises.

Belphie also loves finding weird small places to cram into with you so you guys can take naps together. MC, you’re the perfect size to squeeze into this cupboard with him. Nobody will find you guys for a while so you can nap the day away if you want. Somehow manages to fit together with you comfortably despite the small space.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[spamtoon]

DCRC Week 12 Paperinik

Huh? Aren't we reading Missing? Yes we are BUT I forgot to read angus tales last time what a crime

If I sound dead tired its because lord school is kicking me in the behind and I'm using this as a break. Let's do this.

i like that angus tales opens up with he's a bitch and then blasts you with a contactless woman

i do like the art style though i will admit. silly. dare i say angus fangus is kinda cute here, in a doofy way

im so mad the way hes like "A RAID? GREAT!!!!"

this actually got a chuckle out of me i will admit. the eyelids really sell it for me

the artist did a good job with these expressions i. they made angus fangus silly

angus fangus got played so hard. but i support women's wrongs. or rights in this case because she's stealing from angus fangus

OKAY NOW FOR tHE ACTUAL ISSUE Missing? Special issue 1997? Like

i missed flaggstarr but not because i watned to see more of the fbi but because i like her design

she's so silly for no reason

i love the lighting on this panel so much and the contrast in their expressions and demeanors sorry i. tend to go ooh pretty panel when i do these readings i think you've noticed

"we all think sometimes... watch a bit of tv and it'll pass soon" lowkey goes hard to me im not even gonna lie

and next in the saga of its not darkwing duck but cmon... its darkwing duck... goes to. i mean tell me thats not a little activity from st canard right next door that'll go away in a day

nevermind this is actualy where the story is going

i like how after listening to his sob story donald actually fixes his raincoat if not out of a sliver of hope for change but out of solidarity for the messed up symbiotic relationship they have

can we go here. can we go here lyla lay please i wanna see the amusement pa--oh hold on, the marleybonians are calling (REFERENCE ONLY PUFFY WILL GET)

i like how lyla's robot interface just has donald getting fucking shot i'm so mad hfuirajfkgrhuihur

ooh she's being a good little robot cop. by not following orders and doing her own shit

ahh so a simple time earthquake can release the prisoners of course. no wonder the raider can just get out

im so mad 'i know you just saved everyone's life but YOURE GROUNDED!!! BACK TO YOUR CENTURY"

i think the raider should call humans mutants more often

raider you realized the duck avenger wasnt there because hes. in the tv. and i've known that since next week is so bad but i wouldn't expect anything less

cog i'm glad that uno is still just. trying his best to fight crime even though he's struggling so hard

IM SO MAD im. uno really said (corner of a party meme) he doesn't know i'm odin eidolon

odin's makeup is on point today i must say (SORRY)

SCROOGE!!!! forgot he was in these comics.

HI XADOOM!!!!! sorry im just enjoying seeing all of these characters

fheawuifheohh wahhh she's so happy but this feels so too good to be true everybody is clapping i cant

IM SO MAD shoutout to the vr technicians at the xadhoom division because honestly they deserve credit for faking a whole planet. even if it didnt really work

i have had nothing to say about it but i'm glad one of the stories here is. random evronian adventures

IM SO MAD the way xadhoom just took out the entire evronian base in the span of the two random evronians adventure

IM SO MAD THE WAY HES JUST. in monkland with everett ducklair

and that was missing! i enjoyed myself reading that comic and i'm probably going to be dragged into the aether soon but i missed pk man. and here he is!!!! or i guess isn't

[done-dm]

I really hope we get to see DX-TR again before the season ends because the bits and pieces we know about him are fascinating.

Like, he gets brought onto this elite group of mechanites for a very particular skillset. As K-LB so eloquently puts it at the end of season three, "The thing about DX-TR... MR-SN's superpower was making you believe in his dreams. DX-TR's superpower was making you believe his lies."

He's an invaluable member of the team and then betrays his party to the githyanki only to work on the exact same thing they were working on before: traveling beyond the planescape. We see in VR-LA's vision via MR-SN that DX-TR specifically wanted the whole crew to be captured, but don't really get an explanation beyond DX-TR saying to Endellion "We need them! All of them, alive! Especially him. This wasn't the deal!"

And it doesn't seem like he gets much from the githyanki aside from resources. Again, drawing from what K-LB has said...

"In some ways, DX-TR seemed as much of a prisoner as us. Like, he could go and come back, but mostly he was summoned [...] He was stuck in that same room with us, a little more space to walk around..."

And he keeps working on the project. For three years he keeps his old friends in a cell, watches as AS-TR deteriorates to the point of not speaking at all, and keeps at it.

Until he doesn't. According to K-LB, there was a certain point when he "stopped working so hard" and goes on to say "I just feel like it wasn't because he hit a dead end. It was because he didn't need to be working hard on it anymore. He was just biding his time."

But why bide his time? Kyana points out during the conversation with K-LB and the others that DX-TR probably used their attack as a distraction to escape, that he could have taken more hits at them and chose to run instead, but there might be another reason.

When VR-LA asks K-LB if they succeeded in their work under the githyanki, K-LB responds "We're still here, ain't we?" VR-LA quickly figures out this meant that the githyanki would have killed the old Per Aspera crew when they finished, which likely includes DX-TR. So he fled to save his own skin but also (either purposefully or inadvertently) saved his old crew by stalling with the githyanki.

Instead of playing on this angle with the crew during the rescue attempt, he comes across as a cut and dry villain the first time we meet him. He kills Dani while she's unconscious and no threat just to send a message to VR-LA not to come after him.

And then, once he's free and has the most valuable information in the planescape, he goes to work for the mindflayers??? Why? Why would he choose to go work for one of the most universally hated and dangerous species that exists? What's stopping them from eating his brain and using his knowledge without that pesky individuality getting in the way?

For whatever reason, he gets to remain himself and is set to eliminate other threats to the mindflayers' plan. He kills Casimir, but not C-RA or K-LB. Which, as K-LB tells VR-LA outright, he easily could have done so since he caught everyone off guard. Instead, he lets C-RA take his arm (which, granted, probably isn't as big of a deal for a mechanite and can probably be repared, but if I were in a situation as dangerous as working with mindflayers on a daily basis I would want to be in tip top shape at all times in case one of them gets hungry) and runs again.

K-LB and E-DN have explicitly stated that they want him dead despite knowing he spared K-LB and C-RA's lives. VR-LA's on the fence about it, but–even if he did fully commit to killing DX-TR–his devil deal is still up in the air and there's a very real possibility that VR-LA can't kill him. Whether someone else on the crew can do so on his behalf remains to be seen, but since he technically only gave the order to kill the mindflayer in the last episode with Kyana and Vhas doing the dirty work and Austin still almost used the deal to stop him, I think that might not be a loophole he can take advantage of.

Which means by the end of this campaign there's a fair chance that DX-TR is just going to be out there in the planescape doing who knows what. We don't know what his motivations are beyond finishing the project, what don't know how much his old crew still means to him (enough to lose an arm but not enough to keep them imprisoned for three years?), and we don't know what he plans to do after this.

Rambling aside, I want to put him under a microscope to study.

[quietlyimplode]

Clintasha Advent (9)

Prompt: This year, Steve is insisting that the team give experiences instead of presents at Christmas. Natasha draws Tony's name. What meaningful experience is she going to give a "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”?

For/Prompter: @millenniallust4death

Warnings: Memories of the red room dormitories - and - only that this is not re-read and as it’s written is as it’s come out so all mistakes are not intentional.

Word count: 1.4k

A/N: Gosh I enjoyed this prompt so much. Thank you for your ideas and thoughts, may this make this month one iota lighter for you. Sending all the hugs.

.

“Who do you have?” Clint asks again.

“No,” Natasha responds, “it’s a KK - you don’t get to know.”

“But you’ve been working hard on something, I just want to know who,” he pouts.

“It’s not for you,” she argues, waving him off.

“I know, because if I have Steve, and Bruce is taking Thor to a baseball game as their adventure, oh wait,” he turns, “I’m an idiot. Of course you have Tony.”

Natasha shrugs.

“Took far to long to get there, Barton,” she smiles.

“Ok, so now tell me what you’re doing.”

Shaking her head, there’s a pause.

“What do you get the man who has everything?”

Clint shrugs, “the man who can get anything for himself too.”

He can feel the walls lowering, doubt creeping into whatever Natasha had thought of.

“It’s… an adventure,” she admits.

Clint waits, wanting her to say more, and knowing she will if he waits.

“What’s the one thing he always wants? Always wants more of?”

Clint thinks.

He knows his friend.

“Alcohol and knowledge,” he smiles.

“Right, but the former, he promised Pepper about, and the latter, well, he’s too smart for his own good. He knows things and can put them together before someone has even blinked.”

“He likes tech?” Clint says unhelpfully.

Natasha nods.

She looks at him and feels the conversation may not be a waste.

“Actually,” she decides, “you can help.”

Clint perks up, and nods, he likes helping, being included in Natasha’s present schemes.

She leads him to her own lab, the VR headset sitting in the middle.

“It’s rudimentary,” she tells him.

“What is it?”

“It recreates places.”

Clint frowns.

“I don’t get it.”

Natasha nods, seemingly anticipating this.

Opening her laptop, she types in coding, and sighs, backspacing two lines and then starting again.

“Tell me somewhere that you can see in your mind, tell me what you can remember from it.”

Clint thinks of his childhood bedroom.

“White walls, posters on the walls, small bookshelf in the corner. A window, a dirty one, a bed in the corner, a ball on the floor.”

It’s how he left it.

“How old are you in the room?”

“Seven?”

He sees what’s she’s doing as she programs the other other parameters, the town he lived, his approximate age, the age of the room and everything else she can think of.

“Put on the headset,” she points.

He does, and finds himself in his childhood bedroom.

The ai, recreating the room from the date, the time period, his description and musings.

“What? How?”

He looks around. Posters, the set up of the room.

“My bed had cars on it,” he remembers, and the bed changes before him.

“Yeah,” he says quietly.

He can almost hear footsteps on the stairs.

“Can I see?” Natasha asks.

Without speaking, he hands the headset over.

“An American bedroom,” she smiles.

“Tony can do anything, but this might be something new,” Clint tells her.

“Steve did say an experience,” Natasha shrugs,

“You do one,” Clint says, curiously.

Natasha nods, as though she was expecting it.

She doesn’t always default to offering a piece of herself for someone else, but in this case, perhaps she feels it’s necessary.

Seeing Clint’s childhood room, she offers her own.

He glances at some of the coding, surprised to find that there’s preprogrammed places.

The file of the Red Room has seven locations.

“Don’t,” she requests softly.

“Just the dormitories,” he loads the file and she takes the headset, looking into the room and taking steps forward into it.

She’s hesitant to hand them over, but she does anyway.

Clint looks at her, uncertain now.

“Are you sure?”

She shrugs.

“I’ll delete the others, but I suppose I should have something to show him.”

It makes sense to Clint, now, the long hours working on this project.

He places the headset on.

It’s grey, 6 beds lined up, handcuffs glistening and waiting. Threadbare linens on the beds and thin mattresses.

Bars on the windows.

Bars on the door.

Locks on the inside of the doors seems like a strange choice.

He walks towards it, and he wonders if Natasha can see what he does.

“They’d make us lock ourselves in,” she clarifies as he reaches out.

He takes the headset off, the trepidation of being stuck in the locked dormitory feeling too ominous.

“A happy place,” he demands, and she smiles at his feelings.

“Here,” she supplies.

He puts them back on.

“The cabin!”

His delight at seeing it, all round him, shows.

“There’s even the crocheted blankets,” he grins.

“Show him this,” he decides for her, the memory of little Natasha sleeping in a cold dormitory, lined up with six other little girls, locking themselves in and locking themselves up a little too much. Knowing it happened is one thing, seeing it feels… too much.

He becomes lost in thought.

“Where do you think Tony would go?” he asks, imagining a strip club, or maybe a party.

He hands Natasha the headset, and she plugs it back in. Clint watches her update some software, and then shuts down the program and the computer.

“Do you think it’s too much? That he won’t like it? He can improve on it, it’s more just a prototype,” she says biting down on the side of her finger.

“I think he’s going to love it,” he assures her.

.

“It’s my present, isn’t it?” Tony says, bouncing in a way only he can.

Christmas Eve seemed like the only time that Natasha felt comfortable in giving him his gift. Close enough to Christmas but not a shock on the actual day.

She almost felt nervous.

“If you don’t like it, or it doesn’t work, it’s not my fault okay?”

Tony grumbles, his eyes still blindfolded.

“Just show me, I’m sure I’m going to love it.”

“Okay, but let me explain first.”

Tony stops moving almost sensing the seriousness in her voice.

“Fine, can I take the blindfold off?”

Natasha eases it off his head and he looks around to find the VR set close by.

“You’re hard to buy for, you know? It’s like.. What do you get someone who has done everything, has everything and doesn’t want anything?”

She hands him the set.

“So I made you something.”

He looks at her curiously.

“It’s a recreation device, it’s probably not as good as what you could of done.. But…”

She turns on the system.

“Tell me a place you’ve been, that you’ve always wanted to go back to.”

Tony frowns, thinking and not quite understanding.

“Um,” he pauses.

Natasha considers that it could be a personal question.

“Tell me about Pepper’s apartment,” he prompts.

“Um. It’s spacious, there’s art on the wall. Monet I think. She’s got a big kitchen, that leads into the dining room and the table is big. Always has paperwork on it.”

As he speaks the words the place comes to life through the headset, and he gasps.

“Do you know what you’ve done?”

She isn’t sure what he means.

“Here, hold this,” he hands her the VR headset.

He takes the computer and adds code in.

“You’ve done a great job,” he smiles, turning it to show her.

“We can turn it to holograms, but that might be something for later, here, it’s voice activated now so you don’t have to type it in. Describe a place,” he offers.

“You do it,” she replies, smiling.

“Nat, this is great, thank you,” he says genuinely.

He then launches into describing a room, a bedroom she thinks, a kids one at that.

“Who’s is it?”she asks curiously.

“Mine,” he says softly, “my mother decorated it when I was little before my father changed it.”

“It was blue, with rabbits on the edge, a chair we used to to sit in and read together. I learnt in her lap.”

Natasha takes the headset for him and sees it.

“It looks so cozy,” she says smiling, handing it back.

“Anyway, Merry Christmas. I just wanted to give you something that… Well something that you didn’t have.”

Tony looks up then.

Takes the headset off and looks at her sincerely.

“Thank you, Natasha, this is… way better than what I got Barton.”

They both laugh.

“Do you want me to stay?” she asks.

“No… I think… I’ll be playing with this for a while,” he laughs, “I’ll see you at breakfast though?”

She groans.

“Please get some sleep, Pepper will kill me.”

Natasha taps the headset.

“See you tomorrow, Shellhead.”

.

1/ Clint/Nat/Laura + traditions

2/ Clintasha + temporary blindness

3/ Clint/Nat/Maria + traditions

4/ Natasha and Yelena watch the stars

5/ Clintasha - stab wounds + wrapping presents

6/ Clint/Nat + Maria - gift buying (early shield days)

7/ Clint/Nat - taking lucky for a walk when it starts to snow

8/ Clintasha - Christmas Lights

[nobody-nexus]

Y'all I got a TADC oc named Clef

(Hands you him)

If one word could describe Clef, it would be: Theater. He's extremely loud, boisterous, cartoonishly flamboyant, and will make constant Broadway and musical theater references. They love to put on a show and even sometimes up show others just to show them that he's the best of the best in terms of playing a role in the digital circus. Of course, this personality is most likely from their time before, however the constant references seem to be the only way to comfort them with the fact that they only VAGUELY know where the mentions even come from. He's a very empathetic person as well, able to read people's emotions well and relate to them in a sense

In his non-digital life, they were once a Broadway star. He adored the stage, making musical after musical from side character to the main character. Have you heard of it? They’ve played in it. He was also incredibly open to being themselves, and hoping others would do the same. But in all actuality, he was merely someone who their mother was projecting over. Their mother relished in the fame that her child gave her, but once that was the case and everyone found out, that stardom dropped like a brick. He was quickly forgotten due to more prominent and “relevant” stars, no one willing to give their mother fame- and as a result HE was left in the dust, giving them a bit of an imposter syndrome. Now only doing occasional side gigs, he ended up finding this link on an old hard drive. They wished for ANYTHING to make himself feel better, so with a borrowed VR headset- they went into the world…. A world they’d never awake from

Clef in terms of design was based off of a Dragon City dragon called the Wonderland Dragon

In terms of age, Clef is 34 years old (I do not ship them with anyone in the TADC cast) and he is 5'11''

He's a very expressive character as well! The yellow around their eyes changing color and his eyes changing shape to further express how they feel Examples:

Although I don't have art for it, his main ability is being able to pull a horn out of their stomach mouth and play it with ease- the horn itself being able to sound like just about anything

And of course what's a TADC OC post without ONE OF THESE CHARTS

More detailed relationships are as follows:

Pomni: Although sometimes doesn't enjoy how bombastic he is, at the same time they're one of the more 'I guess you're okay' people, but I promise they bond with one another eventually

Caine: Doesn't like having the attention on someone else when it comes to performances, so sometimes Caine does get on their nerves, however overall he's FINE around the ringmaster

Gangle: Father daughter dynamic. Almost instantly Clef practically adopted Gangle due to her love for the arts as well. Although he can't save her from Jax's bullshit, he tries to protect her nonetheless

Jax: Absolute hatred. Not even because of his dynamic with Gangle either, they just HATE "hecklers" and considers Jax as one. Jax's nickname for him is 'maestro' and they really don't like it

Kinger: Literally no thoughts on him. Clef's hardly interacted with the chess piece due to how uncomfortable they find themselves around him. Nothing AGAINST Kinger, Clef just... really doesn't like his eyes

Ragatha: If him and Gangle for the father and daughter dynamic, them and Ragatha are team mom and team dad. They probably get along due to how close in age they are, as well as their people pleaser attitudes

Zooble: He finds them very nice, but Zooble is REALLY annoyed with how Clef speaks and therefore having to deal with them a lot is a bit of a pain in the eyes of the mismatched individual

===

Also made some concepts of what Clef would be like in some of my favorite AUs! (Carnival AU by @sm-baby and Corrupted AU by @rabid-mercenary15)

If you wanna see more with them, I'll be happy to share more stuff ^^

[thatonecrookedsmile]

I love that part of the book where Vision!Bendy goes to Ollie says "We all fade to black at some point anyway! Why not now?!" and starts messing with Ollie's mind for half the book. Trust me, I've read the book, I know what I'm talking about.

A few days ago was the 1 year anniversary of Bendy: Fade to Black. Nice! It does feels like 1 year has passed. I had another idea for an anniversary drawing, but you know how things are. Drawing is hard. Especially when what you want to do requires you to know how to do it in the first place. Which was not the case this time. So I did something simpler and smaller that still works as an anniversary drawing (even though it's days late).

I decided to reread the novel again too! I already reread the first two books last month, so I was going to reread this one anyway. I started it on the anniversary day, and I'm still at the very beginning. I've already finished the first 10 chapters. I admit that laziness has been getting in the way of me continuing the story, but I'm still going to finish it! Still this month. I just have to really lock-in, you know.

But yeah, 1 year since Fade to Black! 1 year since Rosie, Ollie and Evan were introduced. 1 year since Dot's big return. 1 year since Archie Carter's second appearance in the series.

1 year since the introduction of the 3D glasses. "Joey Drew invented VR" was the way I saw some people describe this idea at the time. It's not that far off lol. But it's an idea that I found pretty cool in the end. And I liked the explanation of it too. (It's also 1 year since they canonized no-clipping too!)

1 year since Hallucination!Henry. Now I have 3 versions of my favorite old man. (Let's shoot for 4!!! /j) And also, of course, 1 year since we saw Joey going a little… off the rails.

As I said before, I really enjoyed Fade to Black. It was a really fun read, it's currently my favorite of the three books, and I'm glad we have this!

So yeah, happy 1 year Bendy: Fade to Black! Pretty neat book.

Now, on to the fourth book we go (I hope. please. I beg of you)

[crazydiscostu]

ZyberVR Waterproof Hard Shell VR Case With USB Charging Port

VR enthusiasts are always on the lookout for convenient and reliable ways to transport their precious headsets and accessories. Enter the ZyberVR Waterproof Hard Shell VR Case With USB Charging Port, a versatile solution designed to safeguard your VR gear while providing the added convenience of on-the-go charging. Today we delve into the features and benefits of this innovative…

[spontaneousglitterbees]

Click for higher quality! [AU Masterpost]

More Kokichi and Miu! I know K1-B0 is winning the poll but this made sense to me as a kind of preamble to that bit of exposition. Something about pieces of the people you've cared about staying with you.

So. Does Miu have a tattoo?

She's currently drawing it on with a marker every morning. Helps keep up morale while she focuses on building an entire android body from scratch. The machining on the parts alone is a pain in the ass, no matter how well you've mapped out the mechanisms. Hard to prototype with mostly-custom parts and very little patience.

An incomplete list of Kokichi's Room details under the cut:

This was during the game, for the record; his HPA room is also a mess, but it is a different kind of mess

The minimization of floorspace with wrappers and crumpled papers, despite his having a wastebasket, because they make noise when stepped on and it will be that much harder to try to kill him in his sleep

His contact case on the side table

Put up a drawing to hide his initial notes on the wall; he didn't fully realize they might be able to see him even in his room for a bit and then couldn't stop thinking about it

Books for Research Purposes and stray pencils, since even though he has a desk he usually lays on the floor to Scheme

Key stays in the desk drawer with miscellaneous junk he picks up around the school; he picks his lock open to keep tabs on whether or not anyone else has tried the same thing from the sound of the tumblers. this is why he's noticed miu's lock starting to fatigue

Tendency to Stack Things on Other Things (boxes, cup-stain on those boxes from setting drinks there while he draws on the floor, totes of miscellaneous items that make the room harder for not-him to navigate, beginnings of a Laundry Chair)

Probably sleeps in that chair more than the actual bed-he-does-not-make, thus it also being where he hoards soda from the cafeteria (it's right in front of the whiteboard, which isn't in frame but is there)

The horsehead goes under his pillow when he isn't there (unless he's presenting his room to be found after his possible death, of course, in which case adjacent his 'this-is-not-a-will' he also makes his bed)

Hides his monopad and a flashlight (flashback-light? unclear) in/next to the frame of his bed. Also snacks.

Mementos from each case and each killer, bold are canon:

Kaede's hairclips, the camera, the drone (offscreen), the last pictures of Rantaro

Kirumi's glove and the innertube (and those might be the piranhas in the white totes? i couldn't confirm)

One of Kiyo's many masks, the séance book, wax Rantaro

Gonta's glasses, a VR headset, the bottle of poison Miu tried to plant on him

No chapter five, since well. Well.

THOUGH the pattern has continued! In the form of Kaito's jacket, which he wears occasionally.

[sholangagaga]

So I finished Ruin and. . . Hoh boy.

Per usual, everything will be below the cut (THERE WILL BE SPOILERS)

The dlc was short but it was super immersive! I was at the point where I was easily losing track of time because I was so lost in the scenery but, we're gonna go in order here of everything that happened!

First, the walkie talkies!! They're so cute, and I love how each one is related to an animatronic (or at least two of them with the Roxy Walky and the Freddy Walky)

Next, the Faz-wrench was such a neat little addition to the mechanics. It gave Cassie her own thing compared to Gregory and it tied into her background of her father being a technician. Plus, the mini game associated with it was super soothing to me for some reason!

The VANNI system and mask was also a SUPER neat touch. It felt like playing Help Wanted with the AR and electronic aspect. I loved how you had little tasks to complete to "breach the security" of each little area which ended in the Parent Node having its own little puzzle to solve in order to full breach it. Not to mention the goddamn Entity who stalked you in the AR world

A little sus that the mask was tied to Vanny, which makes me wonder if the game in Help Wanted was VR but instead of like an occulus or whatever, the item you needed to use was the VANNI mask. It would make sense considering the mask was one of the items you got in Help Wanted and it was the game that "made" Vanny herself

I wish the mask was explained more but I still understood why they didnt focus too hard on it. Maybe in the next DLC/game we'll get an explanation

The Daycare scene was just as jarring as the original game! I both hated and loved it! I did find it super interesting how this time instead of trying to turn on the generators to stop Moon, you needed to turn them on to save Sun.

When Cassie used the Faz-wrench to "create" Eclipse I was pretty flabbergasted! there was a setting, apparently, at all times to combine Sun and Moon to create what looked to be the perfect Daycare Attendant. Which confused me as to why Fazbear Entertainment would risk ever letting Moon out if they could have just gotten rid of him completely?

And it was apparent that Sun and Moon were both suffering, but Sun was more so since he seems to be the dominant personality. The way he begs for help and even thanks Cassie as she leaves is tell-tale that he was having a horrible time being alone and trapped within his own mind.

Oh well, Eclipse is my baby and Kellen's soft voice for him was wonderful!

The part with the walking Endos was awful! Just like in the original game! I'm not even gonna bother posting screenshots of them! I hated them!

The nod to the Freddy and Friends TV show was super cute, I loved it!

Monty's backstory in the Monty Golf was an eye opener as well. You see Monty's roots in the first scene as a One Man Band, playing in his swamp/bayou to whomever will listen.

In the second scene you can see his admiration towards the original band of Freddy, Chica, Roxy, and Bonnie. Notably, Monty and Bonnie seem to be looking at each other, which makes me feel like Monty was more so admiring Bonnie rather than the entire band or even Freddy. Freddy is also completely darkened/outside of the light. Which matches what we know about Monty and his inferiority complex towards Freddy and his fame as the face of FazEnt and the Pizzaplex.

In the next scene, you see Bonnie (partially cut off) giving his guitar to Monty, a passing of the torch. The final scene is Roxy "glamming" Monty up for his spot on the band

Now, this all sorta flips what we know about Monty and Bonnie's relationship on its head. In the prior game it's hinted that Monty might have shattered Bonnie in order to take his spot because he was jealous of him or hated him or whatever but. . .If that were the case, why would Monty use Bonnie's bass and wear his glasses? If he hated the guy so much, why use his items and therefor constantly be reminded of him? And why would his attraction in Monty Golf revolve around his admiration for Bonnie if the feelings he had for him were the complete opposite?

I think Monty and Bonnie were fine with each other, or at least friendly in a mentor/student way, and Bonnie being shattered was either something William/Glitchtrap/Burntrap and Vannie facilitated or could have been something where Bonnie fell from the catwalk above Monty Golf and got shattered that way.

Monty seems to hate Freddy more than anything or anyone else, judging by the decapitated Freddy statues in Monty Golf and his cutout being blacked out. and it would fit with that one ending where Freddy ran away and Monty took his place. Idk man, my brain was SWIRLING over this

Plus that whole scene/puzzle in Monty Golf catwalk was both annoying and fun with the blasters. Hate/loved it!

The addition of the jammers was a neat little touch too. It made the game more difficult while also giving you a reason to actually perceive the Entity as a threat (since sometimes the jammers locked you in the AR mode, which is the only way the Entity can catch you)

C....chowda....

Is it Chicken chowder? Seafood? it's even served in a bread bowl and I....I love breadbowls....so much.....

Poor Roxy, man.... She can't see anymore, but she still sits in front of the broken mirror in her Salon and berates herself.....

They're echoing each other.....

This is pretty heartbreaking.

Here's Cassie, presumably on a birthday or some outting to the Pizzaplex, spending time with her favorite animatronic and getting dolled up to look like her, only to end up sobbing all alone and ruining her makeup. And then here's Gregory to comfort her, implying this might've been when they first became friends.

And it explains why Cassie cares so much about him. Gregory helped her when she needed it, and now she's here to do the same

Every single part with Monty in the water was anxiety inducing and I hated it!

Oh. . .what cruel irony. . .

The one to decommission Monty was a neon sign of Bonnie, who was (presumably) either shattered by Monty or because of Monty, and was Monty's biggest inspiration and the object of his adoration. . .

Owch. . .

I was not expecting this fucking go-kart to kill if it hit you so imagine my surprise when I see this cutscene and my brain hasn't registered my flight response so I end up getting knocked out of my fucking sketchers by some kart going 30 on a small stretch of asphalt.

1/2

[fatihulusoy]

Greetings yet again folks! Before today's news i should ask this: what would you think when wearable tech is mentioned? AR/VR glasses? A smart watch? a pair of fancy glasses? nfc based products or was it something else for you?

what if i tell you there is a battery that is so stretchable and bendable that can be tailored between linings of your clothes now what would you think?

Meet the age of stretchable batteries people!

in that case i should mention when people of today was so busy with nonsense politics and rightist or leftist ideas there were quite a race between the biggest tech schools and companies for manufacturing this tech such as apple, samsung, stanford, Yokohama National University, zotach (japan based wearable tech company), sydney's UNCW, Australian research comity and more.. you get the idea..

so what is this tech in its core?

basically building more softer and more long term reliable materials to replace our common daily use batteries

in term of materials it nearly uses our common li-on batteries but these are mainly works like electrodes and often use polymers, hydrogels, and other flexible materials for electrodes and electrolytes. we can see in recent inovations include the use of stretchable conductors like gold nanowires or carbon nanotubes.

BUT what these mambo, jambo, wombo, combo means for public eye?

much longer active use time, higher adaptability, flexible form factor yet lower energy and power density.

for now this tech has been used in certain medical implant cases, wearable techs, tv's, and watches for now but there is some attempts to imply this in to textile industry recently..

and japan is seems like ahead of the race for now with Zotac’s VR GO 4.0 backpack

this is a backpack pc and its power source is tailored between in entire foam/ fiber pad. this "pc" is specifically made for VR/AR and streaming which includes

11th Gen Intel Core Mobile i7-11800H processor, an NVIDIA RTX A4500 graphics card with 20GB of GDDR6 memory and 7,168 CUDA cores, 16GB (32GB maximum) of DDR4 RAM, an M.2 slot for storage, a 2.5′ SATA 3 hard drive/SSD bay for storage, three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, a single USB 3.1 type-C port, DisplayPort, and a 12V DC outlet, all powered by dual 86.4 watt-hour hot-swappable batteries.

like i said this tech is still under developement stage and people still trying to make this tech better than other compettitives...

time will show us what will it gonna be turn out at the end..

lastly.. see you guys tomorrow...

sources:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202204457

[goldenart0]

Gift for @emis-equivalent-exchange for @astranauticus! Some Theatre Dani and VR-LA hanging out

ao3 link

“Are you sure it’s fine we’re in here Dani?” VR-LA slowly closed the door into the theatre, trying to make it as quiet as possible. 

Dani strolled right up to the booth, twirling the set of keys around her finger. “Of course,” she called back at him, “I practically run this place. No one will question if I’m here, and if they do they can go fuck themselves. Now come on, I wanna show you how the board works.”

VR-LA jogged up to the booth, where Dani was already messing around with some buttons.

Dani patted the chair in front of the board, “Sit down, I’ve already pulled up the cues. It’s not too different from sound really, all you have to do is press the button when the SM says ‘go’.” Dani took VR-LA’s arm and pushed him to the chair in front of the board, standing to the side of him and holding onto the back of the chair with one hand, gesturing with the other.

“It’s honestly probably less complicated than what you’ve done on sound, since you aren’t focusing on cues and mics, just cues-”

“Are you doing sound this time? I’m surprised you aren’t doing lighting for this show. I don’t remember you saying anything about leaving,” VR-LA interrupted, turning to face Dani.

“No, it’s this music kid that’s been asking for a while and I thought since you’re doing lights why not give it him. H-, He-, I don’t really remember his name, think it started with an H. So no, I’m not in the booth this time, I did design and I’ll be watching the show like a normal person.” Dani looked disappointed for a brief moment before pointing back at the lighting board. “Anyway, here’s your list of cues. You’ll probably want to put them in your script as well, in pencil, before the Q to Q, but it’s really the same as sound. The Stage Manager calls a cue, you response with ‘lx’, and press the button when they say ‘go’. Make you don’t, VR-LA look at me.” Dani twisted the chair to face her and made eye contact with him. “Make sure you only press go when you get told too. Even if the Stage Manager forgets and you know it’s coming. You listen to the Stage Manager no matter what, even if they mess up. Then it’s on them, not you, for messing up a cue.”

VR-LA nodded at Dani and waited until she turned back to face the lighting board and stage to turn back himself. 

“I’ll be at the Q to Q as well, in case changes need to be made, which they probably will be. You know how adding cues works right?” 

VR-LA nodded.

“It’s the same deal, new cues are .5s or .1s or whatever. I’ll probably add or change cues when we have to, but the system isn’t too hard. You can pick colours here,” Dani hovered the cursor over a colour wheel on the monitor, “or there are sets of colours stored here,” she moved to a tab on the side of the screen. “’Cause we have LEDs you can pick all the colours from here. And then this button saves the cue.” Dani paused and looked back at VR-LA. “I can do all of that this weekend and you can watch, don’t worry.”

VR-LA took the mouse from Dani and clicked on a part of the colour wheel Dani pointed at before swirling around inside of it. The light on stage turned blue, before quickly flashing between all the colours VR-LA had hovered on.

“Oh wow that’s. A lot.”

“LEDs am I right. Delightful tools. Anyway, that’s probably all you really need to know, I mostly just wanted to show you the board.” Dani pushed off the desk, standing back upright, and started looking as if to head out, stepping behind him.

“Who is the stage manager by the way?” VR-LA asked, reaching to find the off switch for the board.

“MR-SN, though I would have assumed you already knew that.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t know, why would you assume I knew that?” VR-LA asked, confused.

“Well,” Dani drew out the word, smirking, “I thought you two were close.”

VR-LA paused. He and MR-SN did work together and he enjoyed hanging out and talking with him, but he wouldn’t say they were particular close. Certainly not anymore than anyone else in the theatre, right?

“And on that note,” Dani continues, still smiling, “No flirting on headset. The booth isn’t as soundproof as you think it is-“

VR-LA whipped around to face Dani. “What?”

“-And I don’t want to hear anything while sitting in the audience.”

“We do not flirt, MR-SN and I don’t flirt with each other, what are you talking about? I don’t flirt with anyone and definitely not MR-SN.” VR-LA’s words came out rushed and he felt his face start to heat up.

“Well I still don’t want to hear anything, flirting or not.”

“I don’t flirt with anyone Dani!”

“I’m just saying that the booth isn’t fully soundproof VR-LA, that’s all.” Dani smiled at him and his, not serious, rage and embarrassment. Then she looked over his shoulder at the stage and her face fell a bit.

“Are you alright Dani?”

Dani made a small noise of surprise and looked back at VR-LA. “Yeah I’m good, just thinking.”

“Are you sure, you looked sad for a second, is something wrong?”

“No it’s fine, just a lot on my mind. It’s your first show as mlx, it’s a new sound op, this is my first time designing lights myself, it’s a lot going on.”

VR-LA didn’t respond to her. There was a lot of new things going on for this show, and Dani had to be under the pressure of designing her first show by herself.

“It’s just that.” Dani spoke up, tapping her fingers against the back of the chair. “I won’t be there if anything happens. I’m not doing cues to make sure they happen when they should, or on headset to say if anything looks weird, or if anything or one goes missing. After the Q to Q I’m done. Can’t touch anything, it’s out of my hands. I’ll just be sitting in the audience and trust you guys have it under control. Which I do, don’t get me wrong, but-”

“But you want to be there to make sure.”

Dani looked down at the floor. “I’ve never not worked a show before. Even backstage, running around making sure props were in their places or actors made their cues. It’s weird to not have to do anything.”

“And let go of your responsibility?” VR-LA added.

“I guess, it just makes me nervous to not be able to do anything. Even through I totally trust you guys, I don’t think you’ll mess up, but if you do, I can’t do anything and that’s nerve-wracking.” Dani squeezed the back of the chair and looked up at VR-LA.

She did look upset. Not angry, but sad, or longing. Like she didn’t want to give this up to VR-LA and whatever person she grabbed for sound. VR-LA knew Dani wouldn’t let him give up his job to her just so she could be back in the booth, even with how much more experience she had then he did. If she was accepting her role as a designer, for her first solo show, she would stick with that no matter how much she wanted to be in the show. VR-LA hoped that if she watched the tech runs it might calm her nervousness but made a mental note to talk to some of the others to do something for Dani in appreciation. 

For now through, “You know, I’m still a bit confused on how to add a cue, could you show it to me again?”

He saw Dani’s eyes light up with excitement again and give him a genuine smile as he pointed back to the monitor, and she came back next to him by the board.

[speedyartist30]

VR

Sitting in his room in pure boredom, Makalo scrolls aimlessly through his to keep himself entertained,but even that got stale pretty fast. TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, Instagram, tumblr and other media just didn’t keep his mind occupied. Groaning loudly he let his phone slip out his hand. He was one hundred percent bored. He didn’t feel like going out to skateboard because of people still buzzing about the whole Wasp ordeal.

Blue eyes drifted to his iPad and spray paint but all that brought him was a scowl on his face. Makalo had caught a mean case of art block for a week now and still couldn’t shake it.

“Ugh!!! There’s nothing to do!”

Rolling off the bed and landing on the floor, Makalo spots his VR underneath his bed. “I forgot all about this.” He mumbled.

Grabbing the headset and the controllers he got to his feet and heads to the living room. Connecting the VR to the tv Makalo sees a game that catches his attention.

“Five nights at Freddy’s…”

Makalo never played this game alone before. Usually him and Ethan usually play together and they just ended up screaming and laughing at each other. They both weren’t that good since they showed more interest in other games like first shooters or something that had a storyline to follow.

*I can beat this game alone. How hard could it be.*

Makalo puts on the headset.

Meanwhile at the supermarket Ethan and Jay do a bit of shopping. In the tech aisle, Ethan was searching for a certain memory card to add to his drones as well along with a new camera lens to replace his damaged one on his drone. While his hand hivred kver the multiple options Ethan comments, “If I would have known those wasps would have returned so soon I would’ve added more protection on my drone. Or atleast modified to move faster to dodge them.”

Not hearing a response Ethan looks over to see Jay watching the display TVs. One of the screens was a broadcaster showing videos of Jay running through the city with a swarm of was chasing him. The videos were taken by bystanders that witnessed the chase. The video cuts to pictures of the dead wasps and emergency responders helo with clean up. When the image of a wasp with a crater through its body made Jay cringe and subconsciously rub his arm. The wasp attack was only yesterday and Jay still felt the burden of it. The media however was eating it up.

Grabbing the lens he needed, Ethan stepped beside him to read the headlines. Ever since Jay gave his self the title,”Kiran” media was really pushing the whole “mystery hero” persona. 

Ethan: “They going to be talking about this for a while. But I’m sure it’ll pass.”

Jay: “I know. It’s just …What happened yesterday wasn’t….normal. I doubt it’ll blow over that quickly.”

Shaking his head, Jay backed away from the TV and glanced to the small crowd of people who gathered to watch. Jay couldn’t help but think if only they knew that the man in the lightning was standing right next to them. Ethan gives Jay a sympathetic smile, he could tell Jay wasn’t comfortable with all the media attention. 

After picking up a few more things in their list the two move towards the first aid/medical aisle to get Jay a sling for his arm.

Ethan: “How’s your arm? Is not bothering you too bad, is it?”

Jay: “It’s fine just a little sore”

Ethan knew Jay wasn’t being fully honest, but he didn’t want to pressure him either. Jay's wrist and elbow were swollen and the dark red bruises thst formed through the night didn’t help make it look better. Not to mention his knuckles were bruised too. Adjusting his glasses Ethan scanned the shelves.

Ethan:”Your pain tolerance is ridiculous. Anyone else would of got checked out by now…or passed out from shock.”

Jay shrugged but stiffened at a sharp sting surging up his arm. Rubbing his shoulder he looked at the variety of medical supplies, he grabbed a bottle of pain killers.

Jay:”Do you know what kind to get? I’m a bit lost here.”

Ethan:”Yeah I know. My moms a doctor so I know a lot about medical because of her.”

Looking to jay with a sheepish smile he adds.

Ethan:”And I dislocated my shoulder once by falling off the monkey bars when I was ten, so I know what should help support your arm till it’s healed up.”

Jay”Ouch, I guess that’s one way to know.”

Ethan:”Well you live and you learn. In my case I didn’t learn till I tasted dirt.”

That got a faint laugh from jay even though it was more like a little huff from his nose. 

Ethan end up picking a dark blue sling for him and they wrapped up it up by paying paid for their things and headed home. On the way they stopped at a gas station where Ethan got some filled up the while Jay went inside and got a blue raspberry slushy. Surprisingly he came back with a bag full of candy and chips Ethan and Makalo liked. Ethan didn’t think Jay payed attention to the food they liked, but he wasn’t complaining about free snacks.

When the arrived at home the two walked inside to see a frustrated Makalo. With his back turned and attention focused on the game he yelled

Makalo: “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE CHICKEN WAS AT THE DOOR!?”

Noticing the, Ethan placed his bag on the couch and walked up behind Makalo. Grinning he grabbed his fiends shoulders

Ethan: “who are you talking to?”

Screaming, Makalo yanks the headset off and swats Ethan’s hands off while the brunette laughed his head off. Jay however was too distracted by the headset. Sipping his slushy Jay asked quietly,“What’s is that?”

Makalo:”This? It’s VR headset. It makes you feel like you're inside the game.”

Curious Ethan picked it up and looked through to see what game was playing.

Ethan: “What are y- uh…Now why would you play this game out of all games?”

Makalo: “Because I want to beat it! I refuse to lose to a freaking CHICKEN!”

Taking the headset back on Makalo tries again and slide it back over his head. On the tv Ethan and Jay watched from Makalos point of view. Tilting his head Jay whispered to Ethan…

Jay:”Does he have a thing against birds or something?”

Ethan: “What? No, he just doesn’t like losing this game and he gets frustrated playing since chica always gets him at the end.”

They both sit on the couch as they watch Makalo start panicking and flailing his arms around as he quickly closed the doors when a purple bunny appeared.

Jay: “Why not help him play then?”

Ethan: “Because…. I’m not a fan of scary games and to be fair I wouldn’t be much help.”

Watching Makalo play/struggle to stay alive Jay hears footsteps from the tv,but no one is reacting to them.

Jay: “Doesn’t hear that?”

Ethan: “Hear what?”

Jay: “It sounds like heavy footsteps from the left.”

Ethan: “I don’t hear anythi-“

Makalo: “AAAAAAHHHHH!!”

Coming from the left side of the screen was a purple rabbit screaming on the tv. Yanking the headset off and throwing it on the couch Makalo stomps off to the kitchen mumbling,”Stupid Bonnie..” Ethan on the other hand looked perplexed at Jay.

Ethan: “How did you hear that?”

Jay: “It was pretty loud.”

Ethan: “But how did you hear that over Makalos screaming?”

Not sure what to say Jay gave a one-armed shrug, he always had good senses and didn’t think much of it. Coming back from the kitchen after a quick snack break Makalo grabs the headset again. Getting an idea Ethan stops him.

Ethan:“Mak hold on I think Jay can help you beat the game.”

Makalo:”For real? How?”

Ethan:”He can hear the sounds we can’t so he can tell you where they are coming from.”

Makalo:”That could work, but wouldn’t be easier for him to wear the headset and play the game?”

Jay: “Makalo….I have one arm right now”

Makalo: “Right….My fault bro.”

Ethan: “Before we do this Makalo you can’t panic because if you do then you won’t be able to hear us.”

Blinking Makalo sheepishly scratched his head 

Makalo:”You know I can’t do thst bro.”

Standing up Ethan out his hands on Makalos shoulders with a serious expression. He would be his best friends hype man, mainly because he wanted a good laugh.

Ethan: “You have too! Do you want Chica to walk all over you

Makalo: “No..”

Ethan:”Are you going lock in!”

Makalo:”Hell yeah!”

And with that Makalo grabs the VR and places it back on his head with burning determination to get this victory! Ethan fights back his laughter and sit back on the couch. Jay looked at them curiously wondering if the hype would actually help.Starting the game Makalo listened to Jay to close the doors while Ethan told him to check which cameras. With everyone in their roles they worked as one unit.

Jay: “On your right.”

Makalo:Got it. I’m feeling pretty good right now”

Ethan: “Ok, so check the hallway cams on your left”

Makalo: “It’s empty”

Ethan:”ok check pirate cove.”

Makalo:”Uh….it’s open but I can still see foxy”

Jay:”The right side is clear”

Ethan:”check the fox”

Makalo: “…….”

Jay: “Makalo?”

Makalo: “FOXY IS GONE!!”

Ethan: “Ok just rela- STOP SCREAMING!! Check the camera!”

Makalo:”HE’S RUNNING TOWARDS ME!!”

Jay:”Just close the door…”

MAKALO:”THE FREAKIN BUTTON IS JAMMED!?””

And with that Foxy gets Makalo and the game ends. Defeated Makalo took of the headset and face planted on the couch.Trying not to laugh Jay puts a hand over his mouth at the over-dramatic sequence while Ethan is full-out laughing at Makalos failed attempt

Ethan: “I said don’t panic!”

Makalo:”Well you try not to when the damn door gets stuck!”

Glaring up at his friends Makalo couldn’t help but laugh along side them. The whole ordeal was so ridiculous that laughing jusy felt right.

Wiping a tear from his eyes Makalo sat up with a sigh..

Makalo:”Ok all that screaming made me hungry.”

Ethan: “Same, any ideas?”

Jay:”There’s a Chinese place not far from here. I want dumplings.”

Makalo:”That sounds good. I’m down. Ethan?”

Ethan: “Sounds good. I’ll order the food.”

Putting in the call the trio kicked back and enjoyed the moment as the city of Neon was finally in a state of peace. No crime. No monsters. Just three bros and some warm takeout on the way.

[kimberlyannharts]

The thing that gets me is like. If we weren’t doing a take where it seems like the Samurai rangers have been the only rangers, ever (which is a choice). We could have had the human dark rangers be the enforcers, or even A-squad. They could be interesting considering that some of their team is aliens, how does it play into that? I guess what I’m saying is as of right now I don’t understand the appeal of making that team the Troopers outside of “look! Crossover!”

I've seen people suggest that the enforcers could have been SPD/A-Squad as well, which could have been shot down if Hasbro still has their "no evil Rangers" rule, but I have no idea if that's the case considering we've had plenty of evil Rangers in the comics and Cosmic Fury.

Regardless, that definitely would have made sense for a police state setting and tied in an element of Power Rangers that's popular but not really been explored (and heck, they could have done some fanservice with having Charlie, the first female Red, interact with Lauren, the first GOOD female Red.) And while you're right that it seems like we're establishing Samurai was the only team of Rangers this Earth's ever had (which........yes, we'll give the series benefit of the doubt and see if they'll elaborate on that, especially since we have confirmation a Jungle Fury character will appear in some way) SPD exists as its own thing and presumably just established a branch on Earth when aliens moved in rather than it starting on Earth. Heck, the 2016 series even mentioned that Zordon had connections to SPD. The foundations were there!

We'll also have to see if there's a story reason for why the Eltarians haven't just....made their own Rangers. I find it hard to believe that with their advanced technology they can't just make their own, considering we have plain old Earthlings make their own morphers in the show. Instead we have to do this whole nonsense with virtual reality and stuff because we want bragging rights of bringing in another American toku show, I guess. It's not like the comics have barely scratched the surface of seasons outside the Zordon era and the VR Troopers getting attention before them is ridiculous lol