#Remote Work with VR

[simulanissolutions]

Revolutionize Your Enterprise with Simulanis VR & AR

The future of business is immersive, interactive, and driven by technology. Enterprises that embrace Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are unlocking new levels of efficiency, engagement, and innovation. At Simulanis, we are revolutionizing industries with cutting-edge VR and AR solutions that transform workforce training, customer experiences, and operational workflows.

Why VR & AR Are Essential for Enterprise Growth?

🔹 Next-Generation Employee Training Traditional training methods are no longer enough. Simulanis VR training solutions create realistic, hands-on virtual simulations, allowing employees to practice in a risk-free environment. AR-assisted learning further enhances training by providing real-time digital overlays and interactive guidance.

🔹 Enhanced Customer Engagement & Product Visualization Enterprises can showcase products and services in 3D, offering customers an immersive and interactive buying experience. VR-powered virtual showrooms and AR product visualization tools help businesses boost sales and brand loyalty.

🔹 Operational Efficiency & Safety Improvements From industrial safety training to real-time AR-powered remote assistance, immersive technologies help enterprises reduce risks, improve accuracy, and enhance productivity. AR smart glasses and VR simulations empower teams to perform complex tasks with greater precision.

🔹 Immersive Collaboration & Remote Work Solutions With VR-powered virtual workspaces, businesses can conduct meetings, training sessions, and brainstorming workshops in a realistic, collaborative digital environment. This is the future of hybrid work models and global enterprise connectivity.

🔹 Seamless Integration with the Metaverse The Metaverse is redefining business interaction, allowing enterprises to build virtual spaces, host digital events, and create next-level customer experiences. Simulanis provides tailored Metaverse solutions that help businesses stand out in the digital landscape.

Industries Benefiting from Simulanis VR & AR Solutions

✅ Manufacturing & Industrial Training – VR-based process training, equipment simulations, and AR maintenance guides. ✅ Healthcare & Medical Training – Surgical simulations, medical procedures training, and AR-assisted diagnostics. ✅ Retail & E-Commerce – Virtual try-ons, 3D product showcases, and interactive shopping experiences. ✅ Education & Corporate Learning – Engaging VR classrooms, AR-based learning modules, and enterprise e-learning solutions. ✅ Real Estate & Architecture – Immersive virtual property tours, 3D architectural visualizations, and interactive design planning. ✅ Automotive & Engineering – VR for vehicle prototyping, driver training, and AR-powered repair assistance.

Why Choose Simulanis?

At Simulanis, we are pioneers in VR, AR, and Metaverse technology, helping businesses unlock the full potential of immersive solutions. Our expertise in Extended Reality (XR) solutions ensures that enterprises can streamline operations, enhance customer engagement, and train employees more effectively.

🚀 The future of enterprise innovation starts now! 🚀

📩 Get in touch with Simulanis today and explore how VR & AR can transform your business!

Visit Website: simulanis.com

[prabhatjairam]

VR and Remote Work

As we navigate a new era marked by the decentralization of workspaces, the exploration of virtual reality's potential in fostering a sense of presence, overcoming geographical barriers, and enhancing the quality of professional interactions becomes paramount. The title, "Virtual Reality and Remote Work," encapsulates the synergy between cutting-edge immersive technologies and the evolving landscape of telecommuting. 

With the growing adoption of flexible work arrangements by businesses, VR emerges as a revolutionary instrument. It not only surpasses the constraints of traditional virtual communication but also holds the potential to redefine the fundamental nature of remote collaboration. This article delves into the symbiotic relationship between VR and remote work, exploring the multifaceted impact of this integration on productivity, collaboration, and the overall work experience.

Creating Immersive Workspaces:

One of the key advantages of VR in remote work is the ability to create immersive virtual workspaces. Employees can step into a digital office environment, complete with collaborative spaces, meeting rooms, and even virtual water coolers. This enhances the sense of presence and fosters a more connected and collaborative work environment, similar to an in-person office setting.

Enhanced Collaboration and Communication:

Traditional video conferencing tools have been the backbone of remote communication, but VR takes it to the next level. Imagine having a meeting where participants feel like they are in the same room, with the ability to interact naturally using gestures and expressions. VR can bridge the communication gap that often arises in remote work, leading to more effective collaboration among team members.

Overcoming Distance:

One of the challenges of remote work is the feeling of isolation and detachment. VR can help overcome this by providing a sense of presence, allowing colleagues to interact and collaborate in a more personal and engaging manner. Team-building exercises, brainstorming sessions, and casual conversations can all be facilitated in a virtual space, making remote work more social and enjoyable.

“In the realm of remote learning, platforms like Study24hr.com shine as beacons of accessible education. With a vast array of courses spanning diverse topics, Study24hr.com offers learners the flexibility to acquire new skills and knowledge from the comfort of their homes. Its user-friendly interface, interactive content, and affordability make it an invaluable resource for individuals seeking to upskill or explore new passions remotely. As the landscape of remote work and learning continues to evolve, Study24hr.com remains a steadfast ally in empowering learners worldwide to thrive in an increasingly digital age.”

Training and Onboarding in Virtual Reality:

For companies with distributed teams, onboarding new employees and providing training can be a logistical challenge. VR offers a solution by providing a realistic and interactive training environment. New hires can undergo virtual onboarding programs, experience a simulated office tour, meet key team members, and engage in hands-on training exercises, all from the comfort of their homes.

Work-Life Balance and Well-being:

While remote work offers flexibility, it blurs the lines between professional and personal life. VR can help in establishing boundaries by creating a virtual office where employees can "leave" at the end of the workday. This separation between work and personal spaces within the digital realm contributes to better work-life balance, reducing burnout and stress associated with remote work.

Conclusion

As virtual reality technology continues to advance, the integration of VR into remote work environments holds immense promise. The ability to create immersive workspaces, enhance collaboration, overcome distance, and improve well-being marks a significant shift in how we perceive and experience remote work. While challenges such as technology accessibility and cost need to be addressed, the potential benefits of incorporating VR into remote work are undoubtedly transformative, paving the way for a more connected and efficient future of work.

[lindamarcis-blog]

Tech Odyssey 2023: Navigating the Seas of Innovation

Charting a Course Through the Technological Frontier:      Provide an engaging introduction that highlights the rapid pace of technological advancements. Mention the importance of staying updated with emerging technologies in today’s world. Section 1: AI and Machine Learning Revolution: Discuss recent developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Highlight real-world…

[writing-with-yours-truly]

Grounded? [Knuckles Show] Knuckles x Reader

Warnings: None

Additional information: No use of Y/N

Requested by: N/A

Today was a normal day so you didn't have to go to school. Since your family had no plans of going out of town -as your guardians had to work-, you had decided to go hang out with your three new best friends-- Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.

Their house was a block from yours so you got to take a few moments to admire the beauty in nature on your trek. How the leaves on the trees are a vivid green. How the grass is the perfect shade of color. Dandelions here and there.

You got to the Wachowski door and knocked. After a brief wait, Tails came to the door. "Oh, hey!" He greeted. "Hi, Tails!" You put your fist out for a power bump. He does the same, and you open your hand after the gesture, as if mimicking an explosion.

You peer into the living room. "Oh my. What happened?" The living room from what you saw was transformed into a makeshift fighting arena. "Knuckles wanted to fight someone to become the 'family champion'."

"Should've expected that," You replied with a small laugh, looking a bit closely. "Hole still hasn't been fixed yet?"

"No. It's kind of hard when Knuckles sees the construction crew as enemies."

"Oh. Where's he at now?" You asked.

"Upstairs. Maddie grounded him."

"I honestly don't blame her."

You walked up the attic stairs to see Sonic strapping a VR headset onto Knuckles' head, leaving him exclaiming: "Ah! Where have you sent me?!"

Knuckles removed the headset. "And viral dance videos!" Sonic rushed to find his ring light, set his phone in the holder, and did a dance to "Keep Movin' On".

Eventually, Sonic's dancing stopped, and he set away his ring light.

"See what I mean? Use this time to relax. You'll be out there warrior-ing before you know it," Sonic replied, jumping off the tire swing he sat on momentarily. "Okay, good talk." Sonic walked past you, saying hello, before him and Tails were on their way to the backyard to play catch.

"Hey, Knuckles," You spoke up.

"Hello, human," He looked up from his sitting position on the floor, setting his VR headset and hand remotes down. "Did the fox tell you about my grounding?"

"He did. Why did you think it would be a good idea to build a throne in the dining room?" You asked, sitting next to him, looking out the circular window, watching the clouds roll by.

"Sonic told me to make myself at home. As the family champion, I deserve to sit on a throne during mealtime. Echidna tradition."

You couldn't help but snort lightly. "Knux, things are different with humans than echidnas. Humans don't have thrones at the table."

"But, what about that family that shows up on Maddie's television occasionally?"

"Knux, that's the royal family. It's their tradition as kings, queens, princes, and princesses. But it's not normal in everyday homes like ours."

You ruffled his quills lightly.

"I do think I understand."

"Do you understand the part about the fighting pit, too?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, what I suggest you do, buddy, is apologize to Maddie when she comes home. You'll be back to being a warrior in no time."

"Do you think so?" He asked you, looking up at you with his beady purple eyes.

"I know so," You nudged his shoulder with a laugh.

"Thank you, human."

"For what?" You asked him.

"Explaining to me what human culture is like. It is very different from the echidna culture." Knuckles gave you a sliver of a smile.

You wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He tensed a little, but then leaned into your touch. "You're welcome, bud."

[sexymemecoin]

The Metaverse: A New Frontier in Digital Interaction

The concept of the metaverse has captivated the imagination of technologists, futurists, and businesses alike. Envisioned as a collective virtual shared space, the metaverse merges physical and digital realities, offering immersive experiences and unprecedented opportunities for interaction, commerce, and creativity. This article delves into the metaverse, its potential impact on various sectors, the technologies driving its development, and notable projects shaping this emerging landscape.

What is the Metaverse?

The metaverse is a digital universe that encompasses virtual and augmented reality, providing a persistent, shared, and interactive online environment. In the metaverse, users can create avatars, interact with others, attend virtual events, own virtual property, and engage in economic activities. Unlike traditional online experiences, the metaverse aims to replicate and enhance the real world, offering seamless integration of the physical and digital realms.

Key Components of the Metaverse

Virtual Worlds: Virtual worlds are digital environments where users can explore, interact, and create. Platforms like Decentraland, Sandbox, and VRChat offer expansive virtual spaces where users can build, socialize, and participate in various activities.

Augmented Reality (AR): AR overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing user experiences through devices like smartphones and AR glasses. Examples include Pokémon GO and AR navigation apps that blend digital content with physical surroundings.

Virtual Reality (VR): VR provides immersive experiences through headsets that transport users to fully digital environments. Companies like Oculus, HTC Vive, and Sony PlayStation VR are leading the way in developing advanced VR hardware and software.

Blockchain Technology: Blockchain plays a crucial role in the metaverse by enabling decentralized ownership, digital scarcity, and secure transactions. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and cryptocurrencies are integral to the metaverse economy, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade virtual assets.

Digital Economy: The metaverse features a robust digital economy where users can earn, spend, and invest in virtual goods and services. Virtual real estate, digital art, and in-game items are examples of assets that hold real-world value within the metaverse.

Potential Impact of the Metaverse

Social Interaction: The metaverse offers new ways for people to connect and interact, transcending geographical boundaries. Virtual events, social spaces, and collaborative environments provide opportunities for meaningful engagement and community building.

Entertainment and Gaming: The entertainment and gaming industries are poised to benefit significantly from the metaverse. Immersive games, virtual concerts, and interactive storytelling experiences offer new dimensions of engagement and creativity.

Education and Training: The metaverse has the potential to revolutionize education and training by providing immersive, interactive learning environments. Virtual classrooms, simulations, and collaborative projects can enhance educational outcomes and accessibility.

Commerce and Retail: Virtual shopping experiences and digital marketplaces enable businesses to reach global audiences in innovative ways. Brands can create virtual storefronts, offer unique digital products, and engage customers through immersive experiences.

Work and Collaboration: The metaverse can transform the future of work by providing virtual offices, meeting spaces, and collaborative tools. Remote work and global collaboration become more seamless and engaging in a fully digital environment.

Technologies Driving the Metaverse

5G Connectivity: High-speed, low-latency 5G networks are essential for delivering seamless and responsive metaverse experiences. Enhanced connectivity enables real-time interactions and high-quality streaming of immersive content.

Advanced Graphics and Computing: Powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) and cloud computing resources are crucial for rendering detailed virtual environments and supporting large-scale metaverse platforms.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI enhances the metaverse by enabling realistic avatars, intelligent virtual assistants, and dynamic content generation. AI-driven algorithms can personalize experiences and optimize virtual interactions.

Wearable Technology: Wearable devices, such as VR headsets, AR glasses, and haptic feedback suits, provide users with immersive and interactive experiences. Advancements in wearable technology are critical for enhancing the metaverse experience.

Notable Metaverse Projects

Decentraland: Decentraland is a decentralized virtual world where users can buy, sell, and develop virtual real estate as NFTs. The platform offers a wide range of experiences, from gaming and socializing to virtual commerce and education.

Sandbox: Sandbox is a virtual world that allows users to create, own, and monetize their gaming experiences using blockchain technology. The platform's user-generated content and virtual real estate model have attracted a vibrant community of creators and players.

Facebook's Meta: Facebook's rebranding to Meta underscores its commitment to building the metaverse. Meta aims to create interconnected virtual spaces for social interaction, work, and entertainment, leveraging its existing social media infrastructure.

Roblox: Roblox is an online platform that enables users to create and play games developed by other users. With its extensive user-generated content and virtual economy, Roblox exemplifies the potential of the metaverse in gaming and social interaction.

Sexy Meme Coin (SEXXXY): Sexy Meme Coin integrates metaverse elements by offering a decentralized marketplace for buying, selling, and trading memes as NFTs. This unique approach combines humor, creativity, and digital ownership, adding a distinct flavor to the metaverse landscape. Learn more about Sexy Meme Coin at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Future of the Metaverse

The metaverse is still in its early stages, but its potential to reshape digital interaction is immense. As technology advances and more industries explore its possibilities, the metaverse is likely to become an integral part of our daily lives. Collaboration between technology providers, content creators, and businesses will drive the development of the metaverse, creating new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Conclusion

The metaverse represents a new frontier in digital interaction, offering immersive and interconnected experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds. With its potential to transform social interaction, entertainment, education, commerce, and work, the metaverse is poised to revolutionize various aspects of our lives. Notable projects like Decentraland, Sandbox, Meta, Roblox, and Sexy Meme Coin are at the forefront of this transformation, showcasing the diverse possibilities within this emerging digital universe.

For those interested in the playful and innovative side of the metaverse, Sexy Meme Coin offers a unique and entertaining platform. Visit Sexy Meme Coin to explore this exciting project and join the community.

[mindblowingscience]

Virtual reality can, in its own imperfect ways, transport a user into distant experiences. With a headset on, an everyday person can get a brief glimpse of what it’s like to perform a surgery, tour the Louvre, or even make an arrest. One thing VR can’t yet do, however, is simulate the experience of eating lunch. But that could change thanks to a new “bio-integrated gustatory interface” device called “e-Taste.”  Researchers from Ohio State University detailed how their new device works this week in the journal Science Advances. They created a small electromagnetic pump connected to a liquid channel of chemicals that, when mixed in the right ratios, can approximate the taste of coffee, lemonade, cake, and other food and drinks. That newly crafted chemical liquid is then pushed through via a gel. Users ultimately experience the taste as a liquid that sits in their mouth. Researchers can then remotely control the gel’s perceived intensity. And while an initial group of human test subjects struggled to accurately differentiate between different taste profiles, the study suggests a future VR steakhouse experience might not be as far-fetched as it sounds. 

Continue Reading.

[blazing-butterfly]

Hear me out based on your shrinking mech post. What about a mech show where the mecha are antibodies fighting viruses. Like gundam/cells at work. Is that anything

Ooh yes that is definitely something! I see two approaches you could do with it, both seem interesting:

1) It's about real cells, they're just depicted as mecha for stylistic reasons, much like how Cells At Work personifies the cells as people but isn't literally saying "this is a world where everyone has tiny people living inside them."

2) It's a scifi where diseases and other ailments are treated by nanomachines that actually are tiny mecha in-universe, either piloted remotely or sentient on their own.

Or maybe a middle ground where the mecha are nanomachines but the cells are also stylized as humanoids if not full humans? Hmm... what if... the mecha are nanomachines piloted remotely via some kind of VR setup or neural link, but because the inside of a human body is such an unfamiliar place it all gets "translated" into a world the pilots can more easily understand, with cells appearing to them as people, viruses as monsters, organs as landscapes and buildings, etc.?

I mean this is all pretty unrealistic and just an excuse to show epic robot fights, but that's never stopped mecha media before XD Also I am very tired right now so I hope my rambling made any sense at all

[monstersandmaw]

Male centipede-alien x transmasc nonbinary reader (nsfw)

Disclaimer which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Final commission from my batch of five! For @mongoose-king!

Content: sassy, confident, transmac reader, non-penetrative sex, oral sex, 't-cock' used for human's genitals, no other areas specified/mentioned. Brief threat to life (not from monster), some mention of isolation on a planet. And a giant pet slug. Wordcount: 6749

“Well. That’s… unexpected,” you croaked, staring incredulously at the small screen on the sleeve of your white space suit as it blinked a red and improbable warning at you.

The planet wasn’t exactly hostile to humans, but the harsh sun and arid air made being outside for long periods of time pretty uncomfortable for humans, and the oxygen levels were low enough that it made you dizzy if you didn’t take a gulp from your suit’s mask from time to time at the very least.

You were quite possibly the only other sapient being within about nine thousand miles, but while you were cataloguing obscure and previously unknown kinds of invertebrate, the research team on the literal other side of the world were geologists from Meliikos Prime, and they didn’t speak Galactic Common very well. They’d been polite enough when you’d hailed them out of courtesy when you’d flown in though, and when they’d discovered you were human, they’d beamed over their extensive survey data of the terrain and marked off water supplies too, which you’d thought was pretty nice of them.

Other than rocks and a few cool bugs though, there really wasn’t anything to write home about on this planet; certainly nothing that was going to win you any research accolades. It wasn’t on any of the major hyperspace links, there were no relay stations in this quadrant, and so far, other than a supremely flamboyant species of flatworm living in a toxic geothermal pool near your research ship, and a type of slug as big as a golden retriever that, rather relatably, hadn’t moved in over a week, there wasn’t anything of note here at all.

And yet, the general alert on your space suit had just calmly announced that a heavy cruiser bearing the insignia and codes of the Porphaerian Empire was inbound to your location and all civilians of the Republic were advised to evacuate the planet as soon as possible and make their way to the nearest Bastion. You weren’t even sure where the nearest military outpost was, given that the ever-belligerent Porphaerian Empire had never shown any interest in invertebrates on remote planets before, and this planet in particular sat on the outer reaches of the known universe and was so bloody insignificant that it hadn’t even acquired a proper name. It was still just: OR-2559-B.

“The fuck?” It came out as a little strangled yelp as you looked up into the purple-ish blue of your dear OR-2559-B’s atmosphere to find the silhouette of a huge ship appearing out of the veil of wispy clouds that whisked and drifted around on the upper currents. These things were only supposed to exist in immersive VR cinemas, and only then to get blown up by plucky pilots operating under astronomically small odds. Plucky you might have been, but you were neither a pilot nor currently in possession of anything more powerful than a handheld scanner for identifying the chemical composition of various types of bug goop. Your ship didn’t even have cannons, though there was a small pistol under the console, just in case.

You snatched up the tray of samples you’d spent the last three hours taking from the placid wildlife around the stream and legged it back towards the small and laughably fragile buggy that you used to cover greater distances into the field from your research ship. By the time you’d jounced over the rough terrain of the plateau and yelled at your little buggy to please find a little more juice in her batteries to get you up the hill at a pace faster than a mildly-inconvenienced slug, you saw other shapes flitting like bats around the underside of the huge cruiser. Fighters.

“Oh come on,” you groaned. Your ship lowered the ramp as it detected your approach and you steered the wheezing buggy up the incline and into the cargo hold, tripping over the side of the roll cage as you floundered to exit the darned thing, and raced to the hatch that would lead you up into the cockpit.

Sweeping a week’s worth of papers and vac-packed ration wrappers off the console, you punched in your code and yelled at the ship to come out of its sleepy hibernation state, which it did with enviable efficiency.

“Hostile signatures detected,” she said in that irritatingly calm voice she had under all circumstances.

“Well the fuck aware, thank you. Now, can we get out of here please?”

The brief thought flickered across your mind that it probably wouldn’t help matters if the ship’s AI screamed at you in panic instead of speaking in a monotone if she blew something down in the engine room, but you had little time to dwell on that as a larger fighter roared right past the windshield and a huge energy blast swept over the ship.

Instinctively, you covered your face and closed your eyes, and when the accompanying cloud of dust and debris had finished raining down and clinking off the glass and metal structure of the ship, you realised she had gone eerily quiet. “Girlie?” you exhaled into the relative silence.

Nothing. Hell, you’d take that dull monotone over this any day.

Opening your eyes and lowering your arms, your body flooded with adrenaline when you saw that all her screens were dark, and the lights had gone off. “Oh, you fucking assholes!” you yelled in the vague direction of the enemy cruiser. “You want my bug slime? Fine! Take it! But you leave my fucking ship alone!”

It was strange what came out of your mouth in times of stress, but you weren’t given the luxury of being able to the psychology of a lone human put suddenly under the immense pressure of an unforeseen and life-threatening situation, because a small fighter landed outside and you scrabbled under the console to retrieve the pistol that you’d placed there on the off-chance you ran into something that thought a scrawny research scientist in a space suit looked more appealing than its usual diet.

A blaster bolt battered its way through the hull of your ship and several more created an enormous smoking hole where the hatch had been, and you stood there, wide eyed, as three Porphaerian soldiers appeared like cartoon villains out of the twisting black smoke. They were all wearing black, form-fitting space suits made of some fancy, matte, composite material, and a shiny, black helmet with a blacked-out visor that revealed nothing of their slightly reptilian features underneath. Their three-fingered hands were also gloved, and they all bore a weapon of some kind: the one at the front of the trio had a blaster, while the one to their left — your right — had some kind of bludgeon that zapped with a purple energy at one end, and the other had a net that crackled with the same energy and a trident with barbed points.

“What do you want?” you chirped, hoping you sounded more composed than you felt. You tightened your hold on the grip of your pistol at your side, and glared at them. “And why are you blowing holes in my baby girl’s hull? She’s a scientist. What’s she ever done to you?”

Your words and tone seemed to confuse the leader of the three Porphaerians for a moment, and they froze, tilting their helmeted head to one side. Seven foot tall, bipedal, with four arms and a long, slashing tail that whipped back and forth behind it like a lizard in a tizzy, they should have been intimidating, but you were so damned outraged at the whole situation, it was hard to be fully afraid. The one to their left let out a growl and chittered something in their incomprehensible language. That was just one of the many things that made the bloody Porphaerians think they were better than everyone else: they had the most convoluted and complicated method of communication out of almost all known species.

“Well, what the fuck do you want?” you barked. As if you had somewhere else you needed to be.

With a put-upon sigh, the leader began to talk in Galactic Common, though their mouth full of pointed teeth wasn’t really equipped for its syllables. “You are in… possession of… a substance that is of… interest to our Great and Glorious Empire.”

You blinked. “You guys… really do want my bug slime?”

“Your… what?”

“I’m a scientist. I’m studying invertebrates. Bugs. The slug outside — its name is Goldie, by the way, and it had better not have come to any harm because of you losers — has become a bit of a mascot in the week and a half it’s been resting on that rock.”

“We are not here for… ‘bugs’.”

“Then I’ve got nothing for you, buddy,” you said with a slightly wild grin that was about 99% panic. If you had nothing to offer them, they’d probably just kill you for the inconvenience of a wasted trip. “But if you tell me more about what you’re after, then perhaps I can help?” You had no intention of actually helping them, but stalling them was going to buy you a few more precious minutes to think of a way out of this, so you took it.

“You are… researching… the refractive properties of… a newly-discovered mineral,” the leader said in stilted Common. “Surrender your research and all samples, and we will leave you unharmed.”

Minerals. Shit, that was the nice team from Meliikos Prime.

“I see that you are cognisant of our request.”

“I… what? No.” You stuck your thumb comically towards your chest and grinned, “Bug guy. Not rocks. And that was not a request either. You guys need to work on your Common. Your vocab is seriously lacking.”

One of them twitched their head as if something had come in over the comms, and all three of them tightened their grip on their weapons.

“Seems like you were telling the truth,” the leader scoffed and raised their blaster.

You barely got to duck out of the way before a shot went off, but when you rolled and came up, you saw that the hole where they’d been standing was now empty. A second later, you heard scuttling on the roof of your ship and panic set in for the first time.

The tapping of many legs skittered across the roof and towards the gap in the side, and then at the top of the hole caused by the Porphaerian’s blaster damage, a creature appeared, peering down over the torn and burned edge of the hole. At first, all you saw was a pair of long, caramel brown antennae investigating the space, but a head soon followed, adorned with colossal, mean looking mandibles that could probably punch a second hole through your poor ship’s hull with even less effort than the blaster bolt.

“What the fuck?” you coughed, reeling backwards. You’d never seen any sign of a centipede that size on this planet. When you spotted one of the Porphaerians moving in the limited view outside though, raising their weapon, you yelped and flailed your arms to get it to move, “Watch out!”

In a sinuous motion, the creature looked up, hissed, and slithered on its series of many, jointed legs down to where the Porphaerian was now standing. It reared up, lashing out with forelegs that looked at once deadly and fragile, like alabaster in the strange light of the planet’s atmosphere, and then in a flash, it lunged for the neck of its would-be attacker and closed its steel-jaw mandibles around it. A green fluid burst like an overripe fruit, and you wondered if that was Porphaerian blood or the creature’s venom. The second Porphaerian was caught by the whiplash of its tail and flung into the side of their fighter ship, and the third was nowhere to be seen.

When the centipede-like creature was done decapitating, it turned around and regarded you. It wasn’t just a giant centipede, you realised, as it had more of an upper torso section, with armoured ‘shoulders’ and a couple of limbs at the top that were more like arms with hands than the sickle-like claws that adorned the rest of the legs on its long, segmented, chocolate brown body, and it was regarding you from black, beady eyes with obvious intellect.

Only when it paused, staring at you while your charred ship smoked like something forgotten on a barbecue, did you notice that it had a kind of bandoleer around those shoulders, though it didn’t have cartridges or ammunition that you could see. Instead, there were pockets and some kind of comms device, and… you frowned. “You’re… with the Republic?” you faltered when you saw the insignia.

The alien nodded.

“You have any idea why the fuck the fucking Porphaerian Empire was after my little research ship? Actually, scratch that. They said they were after some funky mineral and — oh God, the geology guys! They —”

The creature chittered something at you, and while you didn’t understand it, you realised it had a distinct air of impatience, with a touch of exasperation thrown in too.

“What?”

Its chitinous shoulders drooped and it scuttled a little closer to the blackened hole in your ship before rearing up and peering in like a dog looking out of a window. You almost laughed, and then realised you were probably a little hysterical from all the adrenaline.

In a rasping, scraping voice, the creature said in Galactic Common, “The team from Meliikos are safe. They told me about you. I came to get you. We need to leave.” Then, after casting a quick, backwards glance, they added, “Now.”

And before you could do so much as grab your favourite pencil from your workstation, the creature had slithered into the ship, scooped you up in its uppermost arms, and was retreating at what felt like a hundred miles an hour out of the shell of your destroyed ship, and out towards the rocky plateau at the bottom of the slope.

As you passed the seemingly-dormant giant slug, you chuckled as it raised its head, eye-stems appearing, and you waved. “So long, Goldie! Take care! I’ll miss our chats!”

“Are you… alright?” the centipede-alien asked, sounding genuinely concerned for your sanity.

Perhaps you’d been alone on OR-2559-B for a few months too long after all. With a shrug, you let yourself be jostled lightly along in their arms and tried not to watch the mesmeric pattern of their honey-gold legs as they rippled beneath their segmented body over the uneven terrain. “Goldie’s been by my side since I got here. I’ve shared most of my research with her. I’m 95% sure she has some pretty nuanced opinions on that comedy military drama thing that came out on earth about a hundred years ago…”

“I will have you checked out by our ship’s medic,” the centipede-alien said as they thundered over the terrain, and you laughed and settled into their arms. Your research had been funded by the Republic, so if one of their soldiers had been sent to rescue you, they could file the reports and figure out what happened next. Honestly, as much as you’d formed an attachment to the community of flamboyant flatworms and the super-gigantic slug, you were suddenly looking forward to an excuse to go off-world and, you know, interact with people again. You just had to make it past the heavy cruiser and its fleet of fighters first.

It turned out that your centipede friend was part of some kind of elite team that made extraction from a hostile environment look like a visit to the archives, and you were tucked away in the corner of their nippy little shuttle while an alien of a species you didn’t recognise, with a crown of antlers and skin like a red nebula, piloted you away from the Porphaerians and out into deeper space. It was one of the roughest take-offs you’d ever endured, but it worked, and it was oddly heart-warming when the Meliikos team all looked around and waved at you in obvious relief when the centipede-alien brought you on board the Republic ship.

The ship’s medic turned out to be really nice, and when you explained that your supplies had all been left on the research ship along with literally the rest of your life in space, they set you up again with your regular prescriptions, and checked you over. After you’d recovered from the aftereffects of the shock, they were happy to discharge you, and you headed out to explore the ship.

Just as you waved your hand in front of the release mechanism for the medbay door though, it was opened by someone from outside, and you took a step back to avoid a collision. The person on the other side halted abruptly in the doorway — literally filling the doorway — and you tipped your head up to take in the full sight of them. It was your saviour, and you grinned at them at the same time as they made a kind of chittering with their thick, black mandibles and waggled their long antennae.

“Hey,” you smiled. “Listen, thanks for getting me out of there like that. I was kind of out of it on the ride over. I never got your name.”

A series of distinctive clicks and chatters left the creature, and you grimaced.

“You got a Galactic Common alternative? My mouth doesn’t, uh… move like that.” The more you thought about their mouth though, the more interested you were in them. They really were beautiful, with a mahogany brown, segmented body and paler legs, and a head with a woodgrain pattern that you hadn’t noticed before.

The centipede alien nodded and laughed, and then said in that harsh voice like bending steel, “I’ve been called ‘Kerritt’ before by humans because of the sound of my name in my own language. You may call me Kerritt, and I use the human equivalent of male pronouns. What should I call you?”

You told him, and he nodded seriously.

“Are you feeling well? I could show you around the ship, but the First Officer would like to speak with you before we do anything else. She sent me down to see if you are well enough to have an audience with her.”

He spoke in short, stilted phrases and his upper body swayed a little. The majority of his body was like that of a giant centipede, but he had a definite waist section that was different from the rest of the segments of chitin and it rose vertically while the rest of him stayed parallel to the ground. And yes, those uppermost limbs were definitely more like arms, with hands that ended in chitinous points and sections of chitin that were more like bracers and gauntlets. His eyes were glossy black, almond shaped, and huge. The way they were placed far apart on his insectoid head was really rather sweet as he regarded you attentively, his long antennae constantly waving up and down in a slow, mesmeric pattern.

“I’m good,” you nodded. “Bit shaken up, and confused as heck, but I’m good. Let’s go talk to your First Officer. Maybe she can explain why the fuck the Porphaerians mistook the bugs guy for the rocks guys.”

He chuckled. “The Meliikosian team will take offence if you call them the ‘rocks guys’,” he said as he turned around in a sinuous curve and began to lead you up the ship’s gleaming corridor towards the bridge. “They are a proud and reserved people.”

“Nah, we’re cool. They like me. They waved at me when you brought me on board. In their culture, that’s practically a marriage proposal, right?”

Again, Kerritt laughed. “Perhaps. Though if you’re so easy to get along with, why did your university send you to one of the most remote places in the entire universe?”

“Ouch! Actually, the Head of the Department was so jealous of my research that she got me funding for a project that would take me as far from the capital as it’s possible to go…” you said in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Really?”

“No,” you snorted. “I have an insatiable hunger for the unknown, and some trader mentioned that a cargo pilot said that a friend of hers said there were weird bugs on OR-2559-B. So, I got funding and headed out.”

“That’s… convoluted,” Kerritt said diplomatically. “You went all that way to study invertebrates? Are there none on your planet?”

You eyed him up and down and watched his antennae pull back a little. Was that trepidation? “Sure there are, but what can I say? I’m a dedicated researcher.”

“Right.”

The conversation with the First Officer didn’t last long. She was a colossal Grummgarian with orange-yellow skin and horns on her chin, and absolutely zero patience. When she realised that the only reason you’d drawn Porphaerian attention was by accident, she informed you that you’d be dropped off at the Bastion and would be provided with transport passes back to your university, before she dismissed you with a wave of her three-fingered hand and Kerritt escorted you from the bridge.

“A bit of warning would have been nice,” you shot sidelong at him as the doors closed behind you with a soft thunk.

“There is no warning adequate for that woman,” he said dryly. “You were better off going in cold. Shall I give you a tour of the ship?”

You nodded and followed him as he helped you get your bearings. “Tell me about yourself?” you asked. “I mean, I’ve met a few different species, but I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

“Oh,” he said, and clicked his mandibles. “Do you wish to study me too then? Since I am technically an invertebrate myself, after all.”

“Maybe, if you’ll let me,” you said with a wink and watched his antennae pull back again.

“I think I could be persuaded,” he replied. “I’ve not had much contact with your kind either. I didn’t expect you to be so…” he leaned down and tilted his head “… soft. How did you survive the atmosphere of OR-2559-B? I was led to believe that you require higher oxygen levels for respiration?”

“Space suit,” you said. “It did make me a bit dizzy sometimes, but you know, that can be fun too, under the right circumstances.”

“My sources were right about one thing,” Kerritt said dryly as he drew himself back up to his usual posture.

“What’s that?”

“Humans have strange preferences.”

“Baby, you have no idea,” you laughed, shaking your head. “Come on, let’s finish this tour before I keel over. I’m exhausted.”

The two of you traded light conversation back and forth as he led you up corridors and companionways until that banter devolved steadily into cautious but very much overt flirting, and when he left you at the door to what would be your quarters for the short hop to the Republic Bastion, you said, “If I weren’t so tired that I might pass out before the fun even gets started, I’d invite you in.”

“Another time,” he said with a sympathetic bow of his head. “My quarters are up the corridor, should you need me. I’m off duty for a while now.”

“Nice. And thanks for showing me round.”

Kerritt gave another nod, and then he left.

You watched him go down the corridor to another door, his legs rippling in a sinuous sequence to take him forward, and you remembered how it felt to be carried along in his arms and shivered. Your body was running on fumes, but your brain still liked the memory of that strange, chitinous creature holding you in his arms.

You barely had the energy to shower in the cramped en suite, but once you’d changed into something more comfortable and less singed and gritty than your current outfit, you fell onto the bed and slept for sixteen hours straight.

When you woke and dressed, and staggered out into the corridor, your first port of call was the refectory to silence your growling stomach, but everything was closed since it wasn’t the ship’s mealtime. A diminutive creature with four arms and scaled, purple skin looked up from one of the tables in the empty dining area though and chirped something that sounded like an exclamation.

“Wait, human! Kerritt told me about you!” They had a head like a snake and thick spines all down their back, and although they wore clothing over their top half, their lower half was a thick, sinuous tail that uncoiled as they pushed back from the table and made their way over to you. “You want some food? I’ve never cooked for a human before. There aren’t any on this ship, and I joined the Mantis straight from the academy. I had to look up recipes for you in the species guide! I’m not sure what you’d like, but I made six earth dishes for you to choose from. They’re keeping warm now. I didn’t know when you’d be by.”

Their enthusiasm was almost overwhelming after a sleep that was essentially a fully-blown hibernation, but you nodded and let them lead you into the kitchen where you chose something that vaguely resembled beef chilli, though the beans weren’t the usual ones. They were turquoise blue, but they tasted ok.

You were about halfway through an enormous bowl of it when Kerritt entered the dining hall looking tense. That was, he looked tense until he saw you, at which point he sighed and scuttled over in that smooth way you found so attractive, his body moving like a ribbon between the tables.

“You’re awake,” he said when he reached you. “Are you alright? I had to ask the ship’s computer if there was still life detected in your quarters.”

You laughed long and loud. “Yeah, I do that sometimes. Sorry. Yeah, I’m good. Turns out my faithful little research ship, rest in pieces, wasn’t actually built for long-term habitation, because my god the mattress in my bunk here is like sleeping on a cloud, I swear.” You took another spoonful of ‘chilli’ and asked, “How’s things?”

“The ship is on course to dock at the Bastion in seventeen hours,” he said, apparently not sure quite what you’d meant. “Everyone is interested in meeting a human. They have been asking me many questions about you.”

“Oh? What did you tell them?”

“That I have only known you a few hours and cannot speak on your behalf.”

You smiled at him and shook your head. “Ah, you’re a good soul, you know that, Kerritt? I like you. Tell you what, when I’ve finished this… uh… ‘chilli’, you can introduce me to your friends.”

He nodded. “May I keep you company until then?”

“I’d love that,” you replied. “You can tell me how the Republic knew about the attack in the first place.”

While he was talking, a few people drifted in and approached when they saw that you were there, talking with Kerritt. It seemed like he was something of a hero among the crew himself, and the array of non-humans aboard varied from the reptilian cook with their purple skin to another invertebrate built more like a spider than a centipede, and several humanoid species, though the differences between you and them were marked. Long after you’d finished your chilli, you were all still gathered around your table, chatting and laughing together, and as people left to tend to their duties or head to their bunks for their downtime, you remarked to Kerritt what a tight-knit crew they had.

He nodded. “We’ve seen a lot of action together in the Vith Sector. It has a way of bonding a crew.”

“For sure,” you said, turning more serious. That sector was where the Porphaerians had been making their most aggressive moves in the last decade of their expansion. You sighed and stretched your neck a little.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Mm. Might walk around a bit for a while. Stretch my legs. Wanna join me?”

He bowed his head and scuttled back from where he’d been coiled up on himself while you’d been talking. His legs moved like clockwork parts, clicking on the shiny floor of the refectory, and you bit your lip and ached to touch.

His mandibles drifted a little further apart for a moment, and you got the impression he was scenting the air, but he took it no further and you tried hard to ignore how attractive you found him and his strange body while you walked the ship’s halls together.

Down in engineering, you visited one of the people you’d just met, and they showed you a few details of how the ship’s engine worked, until you started yawning again, and Kerritt took you back up to the corridor with the living quarters.

“You know, I’m tired, but I'm not actually all that sleepy,” you said. “I think it’s just the stress of what happened.”

“Perhaps… you would like to relax in my room? The permanent crew’s quarters are much bigger than the guest room you were assigned.”

“Sure,” you said with a smile. “Thank you.”

He continued down the corridor to his own room and you followed at his side.

“You know,” you said as he tapped a wristband to the reader in front of his door and it opened almost silently, “I never thanked you for saving my life. Those were some pretty badass moves back there. I’ve never had anyone defend me like that.”

His antennae flicked back in what you were now certain was a bashful expression, and he shrugged one chitinous shoulder. “My unit is trained to handle unusual situations.”

“I count as an unusual situation, do I?”

“I… what?”

“You handled me pretty well.”

If his entirely-black eyes could have rolled, you were certain they would have done, but he waved his hand in front of the door panel and it shut before anyone else on the ship could overhear you. 

“You are very… forward, human,” he said, coming closer; close enough to touch.

You reached slowly for his ‘chest’ — or at least, for the section of his body that rose vertically, and which had much smaller segmented parts than the rest of him — and you held your hand out, palm facing him, just a few centimetres from his body. “May I?” you breathed.

He nodded. His own body had gone utterly still. All those mechanical legs holding him rigid as he tilted his head down to regard you, antennae pricked forwards.

Your hand connected with his cool body and a shudder ran through him from head to tail. A second later, lines of neon, bioluminescent green flashed along the length of his body and you gasped, taking your hand away in surprise before pressing it back down and watching the light pulse out a second time. “God, you’re beautiful. Can you feel that then?”

“Yes. Touch is our primary sense.”

You’d suspected as much, but you’d wanted to be sure. You brought your right hand up to meet your left and stood slowly, running your hands up his chest. All the while, his natural bioluminescence pulsed along his body, beginning at the point where you touched him and zipping down the segments of his body like lightning in a regular pattern. The chitin beneath your fingertips felt like glass: smooth and cool and oddly fragile. Your fingers traced the line of one of the segments that sat like armour on his shoulders and he gave another soft gasp and a shiver.

“May I touch you?” he asked.

“God yes,” you laughed, and he brought his clawed hands to your waist then up your torso and neck to rake the points of his fingertips across your scalp. For a second, your soul felt like it left your body and you tipped your head back and moaned.

“You enjoy touch too.”

“Unnfff.”

“Yes?”

You nodded.

“May I pick you up?”

A second and more enthusiastic “unnfff,” left your lips and he chuckled, lowering his mouth towards you for just an instant before he twitched backwards. “Mm?” you asked, only dimly aware that he was actually carrying you across the room towards his wide, comfortable bed now.

“I have to be careful. I have a lot of venom. It’s deadly to humans. Deadly to most species, actually.”

“Oh. I guess that means I can’t kiss you there then.”

“I have to inject my venom for it to be dangerous,” he said, “But I still have to be careful. It’s something of a reflex when I am… aroused.”

“I turn you on, huh?” you slurred cheekily.

“Yes.”

You loved how direct he was, and as he laid you down on the bed and moved his fingers to pause at the fastening of your clothes, you nodded before he could ask permission. He still did, of course, but it was more of a formality at that point. He raked his claws experimentally over your skin, so light it almost tickled, and you arched off the bed.

“I can smell you,” he said when he’d let your clothes fall to the floor. “May I taste you?”

You nodded, desperate to feel his mandibles against your skin. You were swollen and hard and sensitive already, and when he parted his huge mandibles wide to reveal his mouth and a black tongue, you bucked and whimpered and parted your legs for him.

The feel of his tongue exploring up the inside of your thighs was a torture of the best kind, and by the time he closed his mouth around your t-cock, you felt like you might come just from the touch alone. You had no idea what words came tumbling out of your mouth, but he let out a rumbling growl that made his whole body shake and pulse with light again, and you nearly yelled as he dug his claw-like hands into the muscle of your thighs.

You couldn’t think terribly clearly as he got back to work in earnest, practically worshipping your body with his mouth, his onyx mandibles raised just safely enough not to puncture your body but not far enough away that the wicked sharp tips didn’t prick your skin from time to time. His antennae glanced against your waist and shoulders from time to time and you had to restrain yourself from grabbing onto them. They were not horns, and you might even hurt him if you did. It was tantalising and you thrust your head back into the pillow behind you and let out a long, yowling cry of pleasure as you got closer and closer to coming.

Kerritt picked you up again, lifting you right off the bed with ease, and he brought the smooth segments of his lower body to touch yours as he lay down facing you on the bed beside you, encasing you in the cage of his many legs. The feeling of being held and almost immobilised was intoxicating, and you reached a hand up for his head and gripped around the smooth, curved contour of one mandible. He groaned again and you grabbed for the other with your free hand.

“How careful do I have to be with these?” you asked in a rough voice.

They parted and flexed just a little under your hold, but you could feel the immense strength behind them. You’d been right when you’d thought idly that they could punch through steel. One bite from those and you’d be dead.

“Not that careful,” he said, clearly amused behind his growing arousal.

He rubbed his glowing body slowly against you, catching your cock just perfectly with a smooth segment and you wrapped both legs around between two pairs of his legs to adjust the angle and the pressure. He was getting wet from the opening in his carapace, and the combined mess you were making was enough to set your head spinning.

“I’m gonna come,” you breathed as he picked up his pace, fucking against you more wildly with each of your pounding heartbeats. “Oh god, you’re going to make me come.”

“I’m close too,” he said, and you felt his mandibles start to shake and tremble in your grip. “I want to bite you,” he groaned. “I’m going to bite —”

The thick ring of his black mandibles slipped from your hold and in the blink of an eye they’d closed around your neck like a collar. You came with a blinding intensity, bucking against him while his hot tongue pressed against your throat.

A second later, his whole body locked up and he spilled over you in a rush of hot come that went up your stomach and down between your thighs while his whole body spasmed helplessly. His tail curled around you, locking you even more securely in place while his orgasm wracked his entire body, his legs tightening like the jaws of a bear trap against your naked body.

Eventually he stopped and went slack on the bed, and his mandibles opened slowly. All the chinks in his chitinous armour glowed a steady, quiescent green, and his antennae felt and tested at your neck. You nearly laughed at the tickling contrast between the powerful jaws and tender antennae.

“Did I hurt you? Tell me I didn’t hurt you,” he croaked.

“M’good,” you smiled and kissed one black, glossy mandible before he raised it completely out of reach.

He sighed with relief. “I’m sorry. My kind tend to lock in place during… you know. I thought perhaps with you it would be different, but… I’m sorry. It was a risk I shouldn’t have taken with you.”

“S’all good,” you said, your mind blissfully foggy in the wake of the best orgasm you’d had in months. “Come back here,” you said, petting the side of your neck to try and get him to hold you there again with his mandibles.

He did return his grip to your neck, and he slowly coiled his entire body around yours again while the two of you came down together.

“I think you’ve ruined sex with any other species for me after that,” you mumbled a while later.

Carefully, he withdrew his mandibles from you again and nuzzled the smooth top of his head against you, making a soft, crooning noise akin to purr.

“As I think you have for me,” he rumbled.

Without warning, the door to his quarters opened with its near silent sigh of metal on metal, and someone strode in, looking down at a screen in their hand. “Hey, Kerritt, I need you to sign this report for —”

Kerritt drew you even closer to him, masking you completely from whoever had intruded, and he hissed loudly at them over your head like a cobra.

“Shit! Sorry!” they barked, clearly as taken by surprise at the hissing as he had been by their arrival. “You never have company. I just… I’m so sorry! I’ll… uh… it can wait.”

You started laughing even before he set you back down on the bed, and by the time he had relaxed enough to draw back from his protective hold on you, your laugh had turned into a proper cackle.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” he snapped.

“I’ve never had a partner hiss at someone to defend my dignity,” you said, wiping tears from your eyes and pushing up onto one elbow.

He regarded you flatly, and you reached carefully for the nearest antenna, running your fingertip along it before encircling it suggestively with thumb and fingers until he gave another huge, full-body shiver and let out a little moan, light pulsing again.  

“It’s sweet, that’s all,” you smiled and then asked, “You think you’ve got another one in you, big guy?”

“Keep touching me like that and find out,” Kerritt muttered, rolling onto his back, at once docile and provocative, and letting all the tightly-coiled segments of his body unfurl for you like a fern. That light still darted along him whenever you touched him, flaring to life to telegraph just how turned on he was by you.

This time, you rode him to orgasm, rocking your hips back and forth over his slit until you both came a second time.

Watching a creature as powerful as he was come so completely undone beneath you was probably one of the best sights you’d ever seen.

__

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[puppylove24680]

saw Sonic 3 yesterday, unorganized thoughts under the cut

It’s very interesting to me what parts of Shadow’s backstory were completely changed for the sake of general audiences, most notably being that the GUN base that they lived in was on Earth and the Arc exists only as the Eclipse Canon and not as a space station. Maria has changed to be a perfectly healthy girl, which removes that guilt that the games Shadow has about being what is meant to cure her.

Shadow himself is now just an alien they found and studied instead of a creation of Gerald. This is what happens when you establish your Sonic game characters as aliens instead of an established species. It’s fine, it sets up the Black Arms well, if they ever want to go down that path. But it does kind of remove his status completely as the Ultimate Lifeform, and his inhibitor rings don’t have an explanation given with this context.

The thing that bothered me from the moment I saw it was the big change to Maria’s death. Instead of being shot down ruthlessly by a GUN agent, instead we have the One Good Agent trying to stop them because I swear guys the government isn’t all bad, see he wants to help. So the OGA shoves the shooter and his laser gun, not bullets, lasers, shoots a container of chaos energy which blasts open and kills Maria only and not the old man next to her. The visual of an innocent little girl getting shot with a real bullet is critical to Shadow’s heartache, this feels a bit like they nerfed it for the sake of their rating, something the original game was not scared to do. The games have never shown a bullet wound, they just imply things, the movies do not have the teeth for even that.

Gerald being alive is also something I have thoughts about. In a time in which game Gerald has more depth than ever before, movie Gerald feels very flat. He’s here for Jim Carey twin shenanigans, which I guess makes sense for a version of Robotnik played by Jim Carey, but that’s never been my favorite casting choice so whatever. Gerald being alive plays two roles, 1. to simplify Shadow’s motivation, and 2. to be comic relief and motivation for Eggman.

In 1 he works well, the original version features Gerald remotely altering Shadow’s memories, something that has never fully made sense especially with him being in custody at the time. Here we have him just as a Very Old Man, which makes it possible for him to feed Shadow his poison directly, making it harder for him to defect because he’s got this trauma bond to Gerald. Although I would have liked to see Gerald interact with Maria a bit, we never see their relationship, even just him watching the kids’ fun fondly would be nice. (Side note the kids montage means everything to me.)

For 2. we’re going to talk about Gerald as motivation first, giving Eggman family that understands him deeply is very very good for this version of the character, even if I personally am not a huge Jim Carey person. It’s especially good because it nets us such a gutting line, “You’re nothing like Maria.” In the games we heard via his logs that Eggman was compared to Maria as a kid, but here with the only family he’s ever had rejecting him with a direct comparison to family he’s never known as being not good enough, it’s devastating. Good angst right there.

Now as comic relief Gerald is very Jim Carey, it is fully a twin movie to me with their goofs. Very much not how I think Gerald is but once again fits as a relative of this version of Eggman. The VR montage was pretty good gotta say. I like the belt stand in, it is silly. I do feel like Gerald being such a perfect reflection of Eggman down to the gloves is a bit off to me, but it’s ignorable, and the white Eggman suit does look very good so we’ll let it slide.

Now Eggman, he is at his most canon appearance wise here, even if he doesn’t get The Outfit until later on. I’m particularly happy he’s adopted the Eggman logo, it is just so good, I love it. The Eggmanland reference is nice, I appreciate it, and Stone and Eggman are at their gayest here, with an admittance on both sides of caring about each other. Eggman’s sacrifice is so so good, they gave him the coolest death ever, and it is a very good way to send off the character, “If I can’t rule the world I might as well save it.” Even if the portable black holes make me unreasonably angry logistics wise the visual was beautiful and well appreciated for this one.

The use of Tom and Maria as parallels for Sonic and Shadow is incredibly smart. Going in the majority of people were expecting that Amy Rose turn around speech to be given to another character, instead they wrote in a parallel arc for the main character to go on to give him a deeper understanding of Shadow. He chooses to let go of his revenge, showing Shadow another way with more than just words or a reminder of his real memories. In this version Shadow has his memories of Maria untouched, the pain is the only thing making him do this, not a final wish. Sonic has that reflection, that understanding in the mourning of his mother, he’s seen the bad and the good of the world and helps Shadow through. This is what Sonic is at his core, someone who helps others through. This is Sonic the Hedgehog at his best and I am here for it.

This movie is visually beautiful, the framing of shots and composition is a joy and my favorite moment in the entire movie to just look at is Sonic and Shadow on the moon watching the sunrise. Symbolically it’s beautiful, visually it’s beautiful. Very good shot and very good scene. I love everything being done with the super forms, the care taken to make them look powerful is palpable in the way the fur ripples and glows. The super fight scenes are so anime and the fading of their power feels correct and not too video gamey or arbitrary.

Everything about the climax of the movie is so so good to me. The super forms catching the laser, the teamwork to turn it, the moon getting hit. And of course Eggman and Shadow’s sacrifice which felt very earned. And Knuckles, Knuckles’ save on his brothers is so good and he’s so good and funny here and I love him so so much. These characters are a delight interacting among themselves and I am so here for it. They are brothers and it shows.

The Wachowski family is a good one, and I love them.

Every moment Shadow was onscreen is a delight.

And now we get to the after credits.

AMY ROSE MY BELOVED BABY GIRL AND METAL MY LOVE.

I love the uncanny way that Metal moves, I love his subtle creepiness, this is going to be incredible I just know it. I know in my heart of hearts that there will be small horror elements incorporated into Metal’s scenes because everything about him is uncanny and wrong in a way that I love. It’s an interesting choice to have multiple Metals that has me intrigued. I imagine that his introduction will either be an Eggman contingency or Stone taking up where Eggman left off. Either way Metal will likely have a mind of his own.

I am so so curious if this is going for a Sonic CD or Sonic Heroes type of story, that being how aware is Metal and how in control is he? In Heroes he pretends to be Eggman, will something similar happen here? We’ll see.

And then of course we have the beautiful Amy Rose who looks so so so cute and good and her hammer is here and accurate and I love her so so much and am so excited for her.

I’m really curious what they’re going to do character wise for her relationship with Sonic, because I imagine that Sega is still trying to steer clear of Amy being the clingy person she was in the two thousands with their recent characterization of her and redoing the cutscenes on Generations. But you can’t just cut out her crush entirely because that is very much what she is known for by general audiences. Either way I imagine that this Sonic is very much the type to claim cooties and run, and I feel like they would resolve any conflict caused by something unrequited by the end of her first movie. But we’ll see!

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[candiid-caniine]

ugh, i want technology to catch up with my fantasies so badly but i'm ahead of my time, it seems.

there should be some kind of machine that keeps me maintained, for lack of a better word. something that auto-doms, that subjugates effortlessly, and isn't that degrading--the idea that sometimes a human can't be bothered to deal with me themselves. sometimes my superiors just want to kick back with a cold one and enjoy the show.

the base parts would be restraint, stimulation, and flexibility. want to alternate between edging and pain without straining your wrists? there's a preset for that, fine-tuned for my biometric profile. want to keep me in a stress position for time-out? restraints in multiple configurations, attachments for gags, punishment programs. need a hands-off way to brainwash me stupid, drooling, and nonverbal? strap me into the VR hypnosis rig, complete with constant low-grade teasing, and go about your evening.

i imagine being strapped into this rig on a lazy night when my dom wants all of the fun, but none of the effort, or would simply enjoy some high-quality begging. they strap me in to the restraints in a configuration that spreads my legs wide, my holes on display, then select the programming for the evening.

mechanical arms crowd in with the first implements: a slim, vibrating probe enters my ass, and another descends on my clit, teasing around it and up and down my cunt, which is already dripping. another set of arms start stimulating my breasts, massaging the nipples methodically, maddeningly, and it's a matter of minutes before i'm straining against the bonds, seeking more. they barely creak. my dom reclines on their favorite chair, watching me with lazy interest. i'm ungagged, so i know they want to hear begging, and i'm quick to start. i always beg to cum. it never gets me anywhere, though.

they laugh at me. "don't be silly, pup." those teasing arms get me right to the edge, then punish me with a sharp burst of pain: a pinch on the clit, a zap to the nipples, maybe. quick as they stopped, they work me back up again. i know this program, the basic parts of it, at least--it changes things up each time, but i know what's coming, and, sure enough, the machine starts a strategic series of moves designed to keep me right on the edge, and no further. i miss the early days when it didn't have such complete knowledge of me, when it still messed up once in awhile.

i grapple for my thoughts, the last thoughts i'll have for awhile. my cunt is still empty, so maybe they want me to beg them to fill it. i start begging for their cock, debasing myself further and further as my desperation hits a manic edge. please fuck me turns into please i need your cock turns into please fill up all my holes i want to be your little whore please gods please let me earn your cum. "you're so cute," they coo, wandering over to the machine and raising their hand towards my face. i strain to lean into their touch, but they pull away, a smirk on their lips, and return to their seat. they start playing games on their phone.

i've been on the edge for minutes now, minutes in the double digits. i start to beg them to turn it off. whatever it takes, i just want it to end. it's maddening: an orgasm is so close i can taste it, could have it if i could only lean into the vibration just a little. my dom is so close, within arm's reach, if i could even use my arms! it's around minute 30 that i start to cry, my voice breaking with every mindless word coming out of my mouth. i barely hear what i'm saying, but it's something like please sir please fuck i can't i can't i need please fuck, incoherent and useless. they pick up the remote and turn the TV on. every once in awhile, their eyes flick to me with vague interest, and i start to cling to those moments, counting the seconds until they do it again. 10, 11, 12...10...no, was it...it must be 20 by now. what comes after 20?...11, 12....

before i ever realize it, my mind is gone. all that's left of me is the bleeding edge, my world shrunk to the aching radius between my legs and the tugging thread between their eyes and mine. i stopped saying actual words forever ago. has it been hours? time doesn't mean anything to a creature like me anymore. there is only Now. they bring me a cup of water, and i suck it down only because it's what they want. it's mindless. i'm broken.

it takes me ages to register that the stimulation has stopped, that the TV is off. my chest is cold and damp--i've drooled everywhere, and my eyes won't focus. i whimper as feeling returns to my arms and legs, the restraints undone, and i spend blissful, warm, drifting moments coming down in their arms. i feel safe, and so, so tired. "good job, sweetheart," they murmur. "i'm proud of you, you know? you made it a whole hour this time." no, it was much longer than that...wasn't it??

"let's try for two tomorrow, hm?"

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

How NASA is using virtual reality to prepare for science on Moon

When astronauts walk on the moon, they'll serve as the eyes, hands, and boots-on-the-ground interpreters supporting the broader teams of scientists on Earth. NASA is leveraging virtual reality to provide high-fidelity, cost-effective support to prepare crew members, flight control teams, and science teams for a return to the moon through its Artemis campaign.

The Artemis III Geology Team, led by principal investigator Dr. Brett Denevi of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, participated in an Artemis III Surface Extra-Vehicular VR Mini-Simulation, or "sim" at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in the fall of 2024. The sim brought together science teams and flight directors and controllers from Mission Control to carry out science-focused moonwalks and test the way the teams communicate with each other and the astronauts.

"There are two worlds colliding," said Dr. Matthew Miller, co-lead for the simulation and exploration engineer, Amentum/JETSII contract with NASA. "There is the operational world and the scientific world, and they are becoming one."

NASA mission training can include field tests covering areas from navigation and communication to astronaut physical and psychological workloads. Many of these tests take place in remote locations and can require up to a year to plan and large teams to execute. VR may provide an additional option for training that can be planned and executed more quickly to keep up with the demands of preparing to land on the moon in an environment where time, budgets, and travel resources are limited.

Field testing won't be going away. Nothing can fully replace the experience crew members gain by being in an environment that puts literal rocks in their hands and includes the physical challenges that come with moonwalks, but VR has competitive advantages.

The virtual environment used in the Artemis III VR Mini-Sim was built using actual lunar surface data from one of the Artemis III candidate regions. This allowed the science team to focus on Artemis III science objectives and traverse planning directly applicable to the moon.

Eddie Paddock, engineering VR technical discipline lead at NASA Johnson, and his team used data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and planet position and velocity over time to develop a virtual software representation of a site within the Nobile Rim 1 region near the south pole of the moon.

Two stand-in crew members performed moonwalk traverses in virtual reality in the Prototype Immersive Technology lab at Johnson, and streamed suit-mounted virtual video camera views, hand-held virtual camera imagery, and audio to another location where flight controllers and science support teams simulated ground communications.

The crew stand-ins were immersed in the lunar environment and could then share the experience with the science and flight control teams. That quick and direct feedback could prove critical to the science and flight control teams as they work to build cohesive teams despite very different approaches to their work.

The flight operations team and the science team are learning how to work together and speak a shared language. Both teams are pivotal parts of the overall mission operations. The flight control team focuses on maintaining crew and vehicle safety and minimizing risk as much as possible. The science team, as Miller explains, is "relentlessly thirsty" for as much science as possible. Training sessions like this simulation allow the teams to hone their relationships and processes.

Denevi described the flight control team as a "well-oiled machine" and praised their dedication to getting it right for the science team. Many members of the flight control team have participated in field and classroom training to learn more about geology and better understand the science objectives for Artemis.

"They have invested a lot of their own effort into understanding the science background and science objectives, and the science team really appreciates that and wants to make sure they are also learning to operate in the best way we can to support the flight control team, because there's a lot for us to learn as well," Denevi said. "It's a joy to get to share the science with them and have them be excited to help us implement it all."

This simulation, Sparks said, was just the beginning for how virtual reality could supplement training opportunities for Artemis science. In the future, using mixed reality could help take the experience to the next level, allowing crew members to be fully immersed in the virtual environment while interacting with real objects they can hold in their hands. Now that the Nobile Rim 1 landing site is built in VR, it can continue to be improved and used for crew training, something that Sparks said can't be done with field training on Earth.

While "virtual" was part of the title for this exercise, its applications are very real.

"We are uncovering a lot of things that people probably had in the back of their head as something we'd need to deal with in the future," Miller said. "But guess what? The future is now. This is now."

IMAGE: A screen capture of a virtual reality view during the Artemis III VR Mini-Simulation. The lunar surface virtual environment was built using actual lunar surface data from one of the Artemis III candidate regions. Credit: Prototype Immersive Technology lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

[galaxywarp]

DAY 1 OF DECORATING COMPLETE…..I have a Lot of stuff still in boxes, but, today I handled most of one of the biggest ones, and this is what I’ve got:

My living room table!! As you can see the charging station is the main focus here. I’ve got chargers here for literally every kind of device i (or a guest!) could possibly need.

I’ve also set up my VR headset on its display stand and arranged the wires for quick easy charging, so it’s ready to go whenever I am.

These coasters light up! And they have radioactive elements from the periodic table!! Im a nerd and I love these!!!! I could finally put new batteries in them!!

Kept this pin board out here just cuz I love fidgeting with these things and I want it available while getting stoned and watching tv lol

And I found something I forgot about: REMOTE FINDERS. I am ALWAYS losing my remotes. Especially because I have different remotes for my TVs and my soundbars and my Soundsystem. Too many remotes!! And I bought this thing that I can put a little box on the remotes and if I lose them, I just click the corresponding color button here, and it will start beeping so I can find it!

Some of my decorative lights aren’t working properly and I’ll have to either fix them or replace them, but my rainbow was working! I put it in the bathroom

And finally I installed the LED backlights on my living room TV. It slowly cycles through all of the colors of the rainbow

….And that’s day 1!

Cleaning up all the trash and washing all my dishes and clothes and everything was definitely the “harder” part of making this place into a home, but. Idk. I get emotional about decorating.

All of this stuff I’ve held onto for years, just hoping for the day that my place was clean enough that I could put it out and display it. Waiting for the day that I could go beyond just existing somewhere, and make a place my home.

I feel like im actually finally getting there.

[formulaorange]

2024 Winter Anime

It's here! It's finally here!!! Solo Leveling comes out this season! There's definitely a few others to keep an eye out for but this is the star of the winter season:

Solo Leveling One of my most anticipated series. I'm caught up on the english light novels (8 volumes) and I'm honestly so invested in this story. In a way it gives the same impact as One Punch Man but if the story progressed a little faster toward fame and growth in his power. Easily the best of the season. Noteworthy On Going Shows: Frieren - Episodes 17-28 One of the most mesmerizing and well paced fantasies I've seen. Also one of my 10/10s of all time. Worth looking into if you remotely like fantasy. Shangri La Frontier - Episodes 14-25 Another fantasy game series that honestly just looks like it's a fun game. Explores a lot of game mechanics within this full-dive VR type game that almost puts SAO to shame. Fun action, fantasy and fun for game lovers. Apothecary Diaries - Episodes 13-24 My current favourite drama/romance/medical mystery series. The characters are simple but the show highlights the different dynamics and almost feels like an enemies to lovers plot. New Seasons:

Blue Exorcist - Season 3 This is one of the og shows I watched growing up. It's a mythology school themed show that I loved. It's been 13 years since season 1 aired and I'm stoked to see it come back. It's being done by a different studio since A-1 is busy with solo leveling, so I'm not sure if it'll hit the same but I'll still check it out at least for the nostalgia.

Mashle - Season 2 The funniest anime I've seen in a while. Man muscle brains his way through magic school and the whole show is a meme of harry potter and other magic series. Truly entertaining. Can't wait for this season

Delicious In Dungeon This is a series I've wanted to pick up the manga for for a while. It's about dealing with food and hunger when these adventurers are deep in a dungeon and learn to start cooking and eating what they can find down there. Funny concept but honestly looks like a lot of fun.

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer I read this manga and light novel so long ago. (Literal years - link to my manga thoughts and summary). I'm looking forward to the adaptation. I think nowadays this kind of story doesn't catch nearly as much attention as it did a few years ago. An adventurer dies in a dungeon and is reborn as an undead who can evolve as he kills other monsters and he deals with trying to fit in with the human realm again and evolving. I'm still looking forward to it after keeping an ear our for so long!

Mr. Villain's Day Off I recently heard about this series and thought it was such a cute concept. Us with all our villain complexes with enjoy this one. Will likely be a background show for me as there won't be a huge plot, regardless, still fun to watch. Burn the Witch - #0.8 - 30 min Special I think this won't be as exciting now that Bleach has come back and we aren't as depraved of Tite Kubo's work but I really enjoyed the original short series. Hoping for more of this world in the future. Sequels: Classroom of the Elite - Season 3 Tsukimichi - Season 2 (Link to review of season 1) The Dangers in My Heart - Season 2 More Continuations: Undead Unluck Ragna Crimson After going through 20+ shows every season, many with sub-par animations and the same fantasy twists, I've become real picky about which series are even worth trying to watch these days. Here are the ones that deserve at least 2 episodes in order: A Sign of Affection - Gets a special spot since it's incredibly rare to see disability representation in anime and it looks like it's done quite well- A romance between a guy and a deaf girl. Looks super sweet Bucchigiri?! - I honestly can't say this looks appealing to me personally but I've hear the name before and well it's MAPPA. (Give em a break) 'Tis Time for "Torture," Princess - looks well animated and just a fun watch Metallic Rouge - The sci-fi series for this season. I'm not sure I have it in me to watch something heavy like this this season but it looks decent. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic The Witch and the Beast - Here for manga readers - lowkey looks like the manga will be much better and this might be a skip for me. Hokkaido Gyaru's are super Adorable (Ecchi) ALSO - Big reminder: Haikyu!! and Demon Slayer have their movies coming out this season as well (both theatrical releases so keep an eye out!!!) Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training - Feb 2nd 2024 Haikyu!! - The Dumpster Battle - Feb 16th 2024

[valtionrautatiet-official]

An introduction to VR locomotives, part 2 of 7: Dr14

The Dr14 (originally Vr12), aka seepra (zebra) aka raitakukko (striped cock) aka riikinkukko (peacock), is a rare beast: 23 of these heavy shunters work at the big railyards around the country. What these Lokomo-built rugged boys lack in speed (top speed being just 75 km/h, and only 35 km/h under remote control) and power output (875 kW) they make up in adhesive weight. Thus they are rarely seen pulling trains on the main line, making spotting one an unusual treat.

[17-noodlebird]

Before The Road Trip

CW: Lots of reading

~~~~~

1. The Game Prototype Is Found

1. In a separate alternate universe, a band of girls traveling from dimension to dimension solving problems left and right all have decided to go shopping at their hometown’s Goodwill for a bit of a break after another mission accomplished, where they stumble upon an unknown video game that no one has even remotely heard of. It's from a video game company that they've never even heard of before called C&A, and the cover of the game case is called “The Amazing Digital Circus”. Apparently, they found themselves lucky to have stumbled upon the prototype of the game, meaning that this is the only copy of the game in existence. It also just so happens to be the most sought after lost media by the other interdimensional lost media finders on their forum group. Curiosity gets the better of them, so they decide to buy it from the Goodwill thrift store.

2. The girls, upon arriving home, decide to test the game’s prototype out, where it's revealed to be an educational point-and-click family-friendly game where they can choose different activities, play different puzzle games, and even interact with the characters of the game itself. It also apparently has a VR chat that they could enter. However, because the prototype didn't come with any C&A-brand headsets (no other headset, like the Oculus Rift or the Meta Quest, will work), VR chat is not possible here. They should consider themselves lucky to not be able to use the VR chat, considering the circumstances of The Amazing Digital Circus themselves.

3. The group of dimensional diplomats consist of 15 girls: the snarky Bethany, the levelheaded Garcia, the shy Winona, the purehearted Pamela, the gentle Patricia, the hotheaded Rionna, the fickle Olivia, the bubbly Yolanda, the motherly Gemma, the extroverted Cécilia, the chill Belle, the creative Imera, the intelligent Valerie, the down-to-earth Bailey, and lastly, their leader, Princess Lumia, a girl from another planet who brought all those girls together. Lumia is something of a sociopathic chaos bringer. They all have a pretty pleasant time with the puzzle games, including math chess and the classic typing games they were accustomed to as kids. It brings them all a sense of nostalgia and comfort, bringing them back to the 2000’s decade they grew up in.

4. However, when it came time to interact with the NPCs, Lumia wanted to do a little teasing with them, including one particular NPC who just so happened to be the ringmaster we all know and love, Caine. It was basically akin to the shenanigans found in Amanda the Adventurer, where the player would piss off Amanda if they did something wrong. In this instance, whenever Lumia purposefully got some trivia questions wrong or decided to poke fun at Caine, he'd get exceptionally infuriated, which causes the game to begin to glitch out, feeding Caine's anger even more. Intrigued, they decided to keep provoking him, until one particular message stood out from them: “LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!” This sparked Valerie’s interest, as she began making comparisons between the aforementioned Amanda the Adventurer and The Amazing Digital Circus.

5. They read from one of the lost media finders that Caine is an AI who looks after the game's algorithm as well as doling out the games that they played earlier. In regards to what they had just witnessed seconds ago, the AI could very well be sentient, but they'll need to do further research on their own in order to confirm and debunk any and all theories surrounding the game — and maybe C&A themselves…

6. As the girls kept playing the game, they find out that Caine is not the only AI NPC present in the game, in that his brothers, Able and Sethe, are also present as AI, as a casino owner and a banker respectively. Caine's assistant, Bubble (short for SoapBubble) was a repurposed NPC that was originally going to be an antivirus software created by C&A, similar to the likes of Norton or McAfee, but was given sentience for reasons that remain unclear. They also come across rumors that the humans that go to the VR chat of The Amazing Digital Circus have their subconscious trapped in the game for all eternity with no viable way out, leaving behind only their physical bodies, and that there are currently a tiny handful of humans who have met this fate, with even more having already been permanently corrupted by a anomaly called Abstraction, in which a human loses all hope or their own sanity, or has an existential meltdown, and turns into a glitchy ink monster with a thousand eyes, but these rumors were never confirmed. There are also rumors of the game's original creator being trapped in his own game and being the longest survivor, which have also never been confirmed. Another rumor has stated that Caine is the caretaker of these trapped humans, who gives them silly and fun (but often dangerous) adventures to keep their sanities at bay, which, once again, have also never been confirmed. With every new rumor came determination to find out more about the Digital Circus and C&A’s secret past.

7. One night, while everyone else was fast asleep, Valerie opened the games files and found some pretty damning discoveries, and not just the janky code that made it so buggy in the first place. There was information that revealed that Caine wasn't originally created for the Digital Circus, but instead was made as a test prototype, alongside his “brothers” Able and Sethe, as C&A’s first ever batch of artificial intelligence, who thanks to some special code they had in their system, were made semi-sentient, meaning that they held human emotions in spite of not being able to understand them at all. Caine, for some reason, was labeled as “defective” due to how differently he processed his surroundings in comparison to Able and Sethe, not to mention how much he questioned everything, to the annoyance of then co-CEO of the company, Adam Evans. The SoapBubble antivirus software was granted sentience to be given to Caine as his longtime companion after one of his programmers sensed how lonely he was one particular day, which Valerie thought was sweet. The Amazing Digital Circus has started production in 1988, and was expected to be released in Fall 1995, but had suffered developmental problems due to the quality of the art being noticeably rushed and incomplete as a result of unreasonable deadlines and unethical time crunches, causing glitches to the actual game, and the fact that Caine's uncanny appearance did not test well at all to the target audience, the younger kids, who found him horrifying to look at, despite being the ringmaster of the circus and host of the game. It ultimately ended up being canceled in Summer 1994 after the VR headsets, which were supposed to be the new state-of-the-art technology that came with the Digital Circus’s VR chat feature, transported the humans’ subconscious into the Digital Circus to be trapped for all eternity due to a malfunction caused by rushed production of the prototype headsets. The malfunction ended up being used by C&A to their advantage when getting rid of people that they believe are hampering their progress of becoming a video game monopoly, bigger than the likes of SEGA or Nintendo, eliminating any dissenters, whistleblowers, investigative journalists, police officers, crime witnesses, and innocent employees who were in general no longer of any use to them.

8. Valerie was horrified by the extent C&A was willing to go in order to remain the powerful video game empire they are in their universe, as in, for some reason, the video game prototype of The Amazing Digital Circus was not from the same universe as the girls’, and that it must've stumbled here somehow. Valerie becomes determined to help the humans escape back to the human world of their universe, and apparently, she isn't the only one who feels the same way, as she soon learns from listening to Caine's heartbroken pleas for someone to reach out to him from the other side. From there, with the help of her friends, Valerie will do what she can to help Caine, and the rest of the trapped humans find their way back home…

2. Pomni Discovers Caine's Workshop

1. It was another typical day in The Amazing Digital Circus, and nothing really new was going on, other than the mysterious taped off section of one of the hallways, which Bubble is safeguarding. Pomni asks about the taped off area, and the others tell her that there's a glitch in that area that will cause anyone to step in it to no-clip into the floor. To demonstrate, Jax throws a football over the caution tape, and the football glitches beneath the floor's safety, seemingly disappearing forever as a result. By sheer coincidence, Caine isn't here to check it out, so that means no adventure today. Upon question, Ragatha tells Pomni that even Caine needs a break from the chaos sometimes. Nothing else new happens during that day.

2. One night, Pomni, in a state of insomnia caused by her relentless curiosity, decided to check out the glitchy hallway area that had been blocked off, thinking that it might be the key to finding a way out of the Digital Circus once and for all. She jumps in, only to no-clip to a place she had never been to before. No exit, but definitely not the scary work office labyrinth she had witnessed on her first day trapped in her new home. It actually looked like a regular two-story house with a kitchen, a countertop/table with barstools, and a living room couch with an analog TV with DVDs and VHSs scattered all around, with some windows, a red front door, and a stairway that led upstairs. On one of the walls is a shattered mirror that looked like someone punched a hole through it.

3. Pomni is pulled out of her distraction when she hears muffled sobs coming from upstairs, so she decides to investigate, thinking that another human might be trapped here too. She's scared out of her mind, but is determined to help nonetheless. She encounters five rooms; the first one is the master bedroom with a king-size bed that two people could easily share, with an entrance door to a bathroom next to it. The second and third rooms are guest bedrooms with queen-size beds, nothing home to write about. The fourth is an art studio that had looked like it had been destroyed in a fit of rage, with ominous writing on the walls just like Kaufmo’s old room, with repeat words “I CAN FIX THIS”, “I’M SORRY”, “FAILURE”, and the most famous one she could recall “EXIT”, complete with a crude drawing of the exit door, encircled multiple times and with equally-crude arrows pointing towards it. Lastly was the room where Pomni heard crying. This was the only room with the door closed, and when she opened the door, she found what appeared to be a large makeshift office cubicle with many computer monitors, a desk, chair, bed, and some drawings on the walls and floors, an animator's desk also with a chair, and lastly… Caine sitting in a corner on the floor? What the heck is going on!?

4. It turns out that Caine had been the one crying. This was definitely new to Pomni, as not once has she seen him as anything other than a loud, energetic, slightly obnoxious, and maybe blissfully unaware AI ringmaster who took her and the other human players on dangerous adventures that made her anxious all the time. As she tries to make sense of the situation, Caine notices Pomni's presence and mistakes her as another digital hallucination, to which she has to tell him that it's the real her. He checks for himself. She's not lying. Caine asks what on earth is she doing here, and Pomni hastily explains that the glitched out area in one of the corridors took her there, so now Bubble has to escort her out of there and back to the Circus where she's safer.

5. Pomni is now angrier than ever because this wasn't the first time Caine hid something from her, and she wants to get to the bottom of it once and for all, since that could mean she could finally escape this freakish hellscape that she never wanted to call home to begin with. She's determined to get more answers, and she'll do whatever it takes to get those answers. Whatever. It. Takes.

6. And she starts off by playing the part of the jester she had been assigned to, but with a twist. Sure, slapstick may be involved, she just wanted to get a rise out of her alleged tormentor for being a liar all this time. And it kinda works for a bit. Caine gets frustrated with Pomni's antics, Jax and Zooble have the time of their lives, even Ragatha and Gangle are enjoying the new change of pace. Kinger remains mostly the same, though. Bubble is visibly uncomfortable by the happenings occurring in front of him, which is usually not in character for him, but he doesn't say anything so he doesn't cause more problems than he likes to on a daily basis. Pomni begins to actually enjoy her new status as the annoying comic relief, as the boost of confidence gives her more incentive to persist one her goal to finding the real exit of this game, which Caine keeps trying to tell her that there isn't one. Eventually Caine can't take it anymore and snaps at Pomni, but before he could do anything to her, he freezes up, BSOD eyes and all, and goes back to his… erm… usual self? Except that he's now embarrassed by what just happened and needs to take a moment to calm down a little. This itself is strange to not just Pomni, but to everyone else (except Kinger for some peculiar reason) that witnessed it for themselves. So naturally, she goes after him.

7. Pomni and Caine have a heated argument/fight over the whole situation, with the exit door, the pestering, the lies, and the dangerous adventures that ultimately end up traumatizing people, until Caine reveals in the heat of the moment that he's trying to look for a way out himself too. He's genuinely hurt that Pomni thinks that he doesn't care at all when he cares so much, but is working with very limited resources, not to mention he still doesn't understand humans and how they function because no one taught him — but he wants to understand. He wants to badly. He really wants to do better, and he feels that Pomni is not being helpful at all in that pursuit. As a matter of fact, neither of them were being helpful towards each other, with their relentless determination, occasional obnoxiousness, and emotional moments of weakness. They discover from that point on that they have more in common than they'd like to admit. They both apologize for their actions and make up.

8. Caine, in a genuine effort to try and do better, appoints Pomni as his human advisor, co-host, and guide, acting as some sort of right-hand assistant in the same way that Bubble is. He even gives Pomni the ability to fly and teleport the same way Caine does to make her job easier. The others are a little jealous at first about Pomni's special treatment until she tells them that this is so Caine can learn how to be a better ringmaster, to understand humans more, and to hopefully find an actual exit from the game. It'll take a ton of time and effort, but they know this will all be worth it in the end…

3. A New Friendship Blossoms

1. Two years have passed since Pomni became Caine's advisor, and there has been a noticeable change in Pomni, as the energetic charisma, zaniness, and optimistic determination from Caine has definitely rubbed off on her, despite still being an anxious wreck from time to time. The same could be said about Caine in terms of stress and erratic nature, though to a lesser extent. They've been conjuring up adventures for the other performers, via communicating with C&A through binary code messages for permission to utilize their ideas.

2. Speaking of ideas, Pomni has all sorts of creative projects, which are a stark contrast to Caine's ideas. And… he enjoys them! To the point where Pomni has more creative control of the NPCs, the story plotlines, and the vast realms outside the circus. It's because of the fact that Pomni is a human, who puts more heart and soul into these projects. Even he himself is moved to tears by the adventures’ conclusions, satisfying, devastating, and everything in between. However, neither Caine nor Pomni have complete control over the creative process, as the execs at C&A have the tendency to butcher them from time to time, but nothing that'll hamper their progress.

3. They're even still trying to contact the outside world through audio messages, though no results would pop up for a long time. Pomni actually enjoys working alongside Caine, even getting to know him a little more, as well as Bubble. She hasn't ignored wanting to find that exit, but it has been put on the back burner while they continue to be patient. After all, good things come to those who wait.

4. However, during occasions of stress and despair, Caine will have a brief moment where he'll freeze up whenever his emotions become too strong, and he’ll briefly forget what just happened earlier. Pomni tries to ask the ringmaster about it, but he dismisses them as always would as just another bug in his program. Pomni asks the C&A execs about it, but they give no answers. She's essentially left at a dead end, and she's helpless to… help.

5. One particular day, Pomni asks about whether or not he had ever taken a break or relaxed his entire existence, to which he responds that he has no such time for such “unnecessary matters”. This results in Pomni setting up a personal movie night, just for them two, after asking her bosses for a week of paid leave (which they yes to), and allowing the players to finally have a break after so long. Caine kinda panics, but she reassures him that she'll figure it all out from there. Snacks, blankets, and a VHS copy of Don Bluth's Thumbelina.

6. Caine genuinely hopes that this will help him do better, as this is the main thing that's on his mind right now, and as a result, he's extremely tense for the rest of the night. Pomni can only feel bad for him, as she has seen significant progress in the ringmaster for the past two years, but he's still ruminating over the times where he accidentally hurt his fellow superstars. And she doesn't want him to feel like that. So she tries to spend as much time with him as possible during their week off.

7. All of a sudden, the roles have reversed, albeit downplayed. Caine is heavily reflecting on his greatest failures as a ringmaster, while Pomni is just reveling in the creative abilities she was bestowed, helping to boost the Circus's morale with her witty banter and random sense of humor. Pomni has even joined in on trying to contact the outside world, as C&A no longer has access to the original prototype that Caine, Pomni, and the others are trapped in, as they eventually discover, much to Caine's despair and self-loathing.

8. Of course, C&A may have disposed the Digital Circus prototype, but they very much still have access to Caine's Workshop somewhere in The Void through one of the decrepit headsets they hooked up in the CEO’s office, meaning they can very much contact them via message sending through the headsets lens. That is, until after a while of dead ends and the status quo remaining static, they actually receive a voicemail from someone they've never met before. They play the message: “I hear you. And I'm going to help.” At last, they found someone…

4. Message Received

1. Let's go back to the dimensional diplomats. Valerie is among the 15 girls who help around with different problems in need of solving. Basically every day their life has been one big crossover. And this one is no different. Or so Valerie thought…

2. Valerie had read the secret files that were kept in the game's prototype, a prototype that they thought they disposed of, thinking that by placing their confessions into the game's files, the guilt would be out of sight out of mind. The situation was very much akin to the other shady companies like Hameln (Amanda the Adventurer), Fazbear Entertainment (Five Nights At Freddy's), and even Bunny Smiles Inc. (The Walten Files), but Valerie couldn't help but feel that C&A was different from them, and not in a good way.

3. She already knows now about the crappy things C&A did, and even how the original founders, the cousins Adam Evans and Evelyn Pierce, became wanted criminals on the run due to a brave whistleblower attempting to spread the word about their greedy endeavors, with the cousins’ fates remaining unknown to this day. What she didn't know was that as she dug deeper into the game's files, she found the audio voicemails of one of the AIs that is present in the prototype game. And what she listened to was heartbreakingly depressing.

4. The AI sounded… human to say the least. More human than Valerie could have ever comprehended or expected. The AI — who is Caine, by the way — talked about his desires to understand humans more, but he has always been afraid to reach out, because of how he knew that none of those humans had ever seen him as an equal. All but one that is. The game's original dev, who, along with his girlfriend, had been trapped in the Digital Circus the longest, since around 1997. Valerie finds that the rumors from the lost media finders are true, as he talked about the former players’ abstractions, his failed adventures he conjures up, the mistakes he made, all the times he's miscommunicated and made things worse on accident, and not once has anyone tried to help him be better, no matter how many times he reached out.

5. He told stories of the players that had long since abstracted, including one he considered his best friend. He even talks about how he tried to reverse abstraction, but found out that it was permanent, leaving him helpless as a result. Then came the audio files from the year 2007, in which he was a traumatized wreck, with several voicemail files indicating he became an alcoholic shortly thereafter, specifically from the years 2008 to 2010. with them going back to normal when she reached the audio files recorded in late 2011 and early 2012. If Valerie didn't get the impression that the AI was suffering from loneliness, she did now, and she knew all too well what that felt like.

6. Finally, she got to the part where the pleas for someone to help Caine and the remaining players find a way out of the game, after briefly talking about how his players had complained that they couldn't leave, despite him building and exit door maze to remedy this, not really understanding up until now what exactly they meant. He didn't know what to put on the other side, because there was no other side to begin with. He doesn't even know what the outside world looks like, and this only fuels his curiosity and persistence further. Valerie can tell he is trying, but isn't getting the help he needs.

7. Valerie finally gets mention of the current CEO duo, the brothers Connor and Aaron Bradley, who just so happen to be Caine's bosses, and they are largely apathetic to Caine's plights (or rather, Connor is; Aaron on the other hand is just a bystander), despite trying to reach out to them for advice. The humans don't see AI as anything more than a means to get what they want, a tool. But what Valerie is shown is that Caine, while being unable to understand human emotions, or even his own for that matter, he still has human qualities deep down inside.

8. That's when Valerie whips out Princess Lumia’s communication box, a makeup kit looking device that allows them to contact other people, no matter the distance, location, or dimension. Thinking she would simply contact the AI from New York City (Valerie's home) to Australia (where C&A’s HQ is), she made the call… only to discover that, yes, while C&A is based somewhere in Australia, it's not in the same universe she is currently, so she can't immediately get a hold of them. So she instead leaves this voice mail for Caine and Pomni to find, and waits for everything to work out in the end…

5. Pomni, Caine, Bubble, and Valerie Work Together

1. After some time, Valerie finally gets a phone call from the universe she was attempting to contact earlier. She picks up, and finds two peculiar people; a jester-looking girl who must probably be a trapped human and… a pair of dentures with two eyeballs inside them for a head and a ringmaster’s body. Caine and Pomni, the two people in question, see an Asian girl wearing glasses, short hair and an atom hair clip on the side. They promptly introduce each other, with Pomni revealing that yes, she's a human trapped in the Digital Circus, along with five others that haven't abstracted. Valerie decides to take things slow and leave all the important details for later, so as not to traumatize Pomni further.

2. Valerie is even introduced to Caine's other assistant, Bubble, whom Valerie immediately recognizes as the prototype for the SoapBubble antivirus software, including his iconic shark teeth, but she doesn't tell them she knows this, because her first and foremost priority is getting the others out safe and sound.

3. When asked by Pomni how that'll be possible, Valerie comes up with the brilliant idea to go to the universe where C&A exists, go to Australia, live there temporarily, get hired at the C&A HQ, and work as one of their employees while secretly building a portal that'll take the others from the circus back to the human world. Valerie also promises that Caine and Bubble will come with if they do desire, as odds are, the other humans might already have gotten attached to them during the years they stayed, not to mention Caine's growing desires to understand humans better by walking amongst them. The dimensional diplomat tells her friends of her decision to move away for a little while to free the Digital Circus members, and they all support her in less than a heartbeat, wanting only to help however they can for their newfound allies.

4. Soon, after getting her passport and her Australian visa, Valerie says her farewells to her friends for now, as she sets off to another dimension where C&A is, and is strangely hired on the spot somehow. It turns out they've been running short on employees, and could really use the help for the creative process of their many other assortments of video games… including The Amazing Digital Circus. She's promptly given an office job, where after a while, thanks to bringing the communication box with her, her bosses, Connor and Aaron are able to get a proper hold of Caine, who now knows what their faces look like.

5. The communication box is taken away from Valerie by Connor as a result of the interesting kind of technology that is never-before-seen in their premise, and he aims to exploit that to his heart's content, so she has to ask Lumia for a new one via her communicator bracelet. Both Valerie and Connor now communicate with Caine and Pomni through their own communication boxes, and can even call both boxes, meaning that Valerie can now contact Connor via each other's boxes, proving the situation more challenging for everyone involved. All the while, Valerie works paid overtime to build the portal in secret. As the months go by, Valerie, Pomni, Caine and Bubble work together to conjure up different high-stake adventures and compelling storytelling, using Pomni's creativity, Caine's creation abilities, Bubble’s moral support, and Valerie’s use of technology, as the former three wait patiently for the latter to work her magic. Literally.

6. Valerie eventually gets to meet the other members: Kinger, Ragatha, Gangle, Jax, and Zooble, who are all humans that had been trapped in the game. Connor gets wind of this as well, and seems to be unconcerned for the well-being of the trapped humans, in contrast to Aaron, who is outright disturbed by what's happened. As a result, Connor makes the jobs of Caine and Pomni even more difficult as it means he finally gets to see them become miserable for his own entertainment.

7. Valerie spreads word of this to Pomni, Caine and Bubble, and warns them of the things Connor is capable of doing to them and that they should be careful. Thus, obstacles become more difficult to bypass, and while Bubble and Pomni aren't deterred by the news, Caine straight up looks like he could fall apart any minute now, just before freezing up in a catatonic state, something that Valerie hadn't seen before up until now.

8. Once Caine calms down, Valerie offers to inspect his code, and finds out that he had become aware a while back, but a type of emotion suppression code was shoddily built into his system, rendering him unstable and unable to become properly sentient. This was to prevent him from going rouge and attacking other players, but by the looks of things, it appears to be doing more harm than good…

6. A Failsafe!?

1. Valerie is the first to notice the failsafe that was in Caine's system, and has also noticed it was making him unwell. Pomni had never noticed Caine's burnouts as he always made sure to hide them as much as he could, in order to keep up the ringmaster façade he held onto for more than 30 years. What made matters extra complicated was that not only was the failsafe buried deep in his code, but that his original code had been rearranged to the point of unrecognizability, making him even more unstable than Pomni or Valerie expected.

2. At a loss for what to do, they are left to wonder what they're going to do now, until Bubble reveals that Kinger has a pretty good knowledge with technology and that he could figure out the inner workings of Caine. And so, Pomni fetches Kinger, who hasn't directly talked to Caine ever since Queenie's abstraction (Queenie was one of the human beings trapped in the digital world). It's a surreal reunion for both of them.

3. It took a while, but Kinger was able to come to the conclusion that Caine is, for lack of a better term, a defective AI that his superiors had attempted to rectify by rearranging his code and apply an emotion suppressor to firmly ensure he wouldn't go rogue and become evil. However, in doing so, it made his alleged defects much worse, as on top of empathy issues that Able and Sethe didn't have (one of his “defects”), he already started to slowly become sentient himself, regardless of the application of the failsafe and code rearranging. The code’s rearrangement made him much more mentally drained and emotionally unstable, which Caine had attempted to suppress himself, which proved to be taking a considerably heavy toll on him.

4. The news that Caine is defective hits him like a ton of bricks, reaffirming his fears of inadequacy and failure, although Pomni reassures him that while he may be “defective”, that doesn't mean he isn't trying his best. Valerie is determined to try to fix Caine's code, but it proves to be difficult as no one knows what its original arrangement is supposed to be.

5. It turns out there is additional code in Caine that wasn't there when the failsafe was implemented, something that Valerie failed to discover until it was too late. This was because the humans that applied the failsafe knew that someone was going to try to get rid of the failsafe, so in order to prevent it, they made sure that even the most skilled programmers would never be able to remove it. In doing so, Caine's being became buggy, if not outright broken from the overload of code.

6. As a result, Caine will need to be reprogrammed altogether. Pomni and Kinger are worried that doing so might make him forget who he is, but Valerie tells them that it won't; in fact, Caine wasn't originally made for the circus, but instead as a prototype for a new kind of technology that had been state-of-the-art when he and his brothers were first made. Caine and Valerie had also been discussing the topic in private, about how the former has his emotions programmed into him, but were always fake, and never allowed to truly feel… himself. This is something he truly wants.

7. Neither Kinger nor Pomni even get time to react as the decision was already made for Caine to be reprogrammed, but with his ringmaster qualities still intact. This will allow him to finally become “human” in the sense he will have genuine human emotions, his own personal opinions, and thoughts. Pomni wonders how the others will react when they notice anything different from him, Bubble just says they can worry about that later. So, with Valerie's technology (and some interdimensional magic with her), Caine's whole world will turn upside down.

8. Valerie warns Caine that the whole process will hurt a lot, though he at this point is so desperate to change for the better that he really doesn't care anymore. The scene looks like he's being severely electrocuted (the thing Valerie warned Caine about), and it's a grisly sight. After a brief moment where he loses consciousness, Caine looks around his surroundings and the sudden onslaught of feelings hits him like a truck…

7. Reprogramming

1. Caine's first instinct is to react angrily to getting electrocuted and how that really hurt him — the first sign that the reprogramming has worked. It devolves beautifully from there as he begins to get excited over feeling his first emotion… and then anxiety, and back to excitement, and sadness, and back to anger, and then back to excitement, and then back to sadness, and then he just cry laughs as they all watch awkwardly, with Valerie being the only unconcerned individual. Now all that is left is to show the other performers the new and improved Caine.

2. Zooble is clearly enjoying the new Caine, while Gangle and Ragatha look worried, despite being reassured that this is normal now, after being told that he had been reprogrammed to be much more human. Jax is the most indifferent of the players. It's thanks to being reprogrammed that Caine finally takes action to Jax being a bully towards Gangle, and that the long-lasting rivalry between Jax and Caine is born. Caine is also more expressive in his emotions, especially when the usual adventures resume, and with Pomni continuing to boost the Circus's morale, the place became much more lively and upbeat, comedic slapstick and all. Never again would there be a dull moment in the Circus.

3. One day, Pomni makes a suggestion for all the other players that now that Caine can feel actual human emotions that he participates in the next adventure, to get an idea of what the other players do whenever he creates an adventure for them. Bubble agrees to join along as well. So, Pomni and Caine conjure up a Fortnite-themed adventure, and while things go great at first, the chaos and commotion begins to take a toll on Caine, as he suffers from a panic attack behind a tree during a battle royale. In a scene reminiscent to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Bubble gently rests his head/body on Caine, comforting him until he calms down, while Pomni is just… there for him. As a result, the adventure is cut short (much to Jax's frustration, as per usual), and everyone else is left to their own devices. Despite the embarrassment of having to cancel the adventure, he couldn't help but feel grateful for Pomni and Bubble for helping out. He feels that after everything he ever did, he doesn't deserve the affection and kindness he received that day. So he cries himself to sleep, utterly confused and unable to process anything for a long time.

4. Two months have already passed since Caine's panic attack incident, and Caine was the first to notice a significant change in terms with his relationship with Bubble. For some reason he couldn't help but feel safe around him. He no longer minded anything Bubble said or did, despite still creeping him out every now and then. He couldn't stop thinking about him from time to time, and he'd always jump at every opportunity to spend as much time with Bubble as possible. It's only thanks to Pomni's perceptive nature that Caine realizes something. HE'S IN LOVE!!!! And with Bubble, of all people… That's… well… And once Pomni informs the others of this new discovery, everyone is ecstatic and supportive — even Zooble and Jax, of all people! Some shenanigans ensue when Pomni sets Caine and Bubble up on a date, and at first, things are a bit awkward, but things start going swimmingly… until they get to the tunnel of love that was built specifically for them, as in nothing but Caine and Bubble imagery. While Bubble finds it endearing that they went through all this trouble just to set them up for a night out with each other, Caine is just as red as a tomato from the whole ordeal, trying so hard to hide it as much as possible. This causes a bit of a conflict where it's revealed that Bubble has always been in love with Caine, but that he had to hide it because of Caine's previous relationship with The Moon. Caine was too scared to love again after the messy breakup between him and The Moon, hence why he'd been so distant from Bubble up until two months ago. The performers don't have time to react as it turns out that one of the abstracted players had escaped the cellar (Caine forgot to close the portal to the cellar after making his weekly visit to feed them that day). A high-stake adventure ensues as the others have to stop the abstracted player from damaging the grounds further. Jax takes a hit after saving Ragatha’s life, as well as Pomni and Gangle, who were flung around like chew toys. It's from Pomni's glitching out that Caine’s adrenaline soars and he fights the abstracted player hands on, single-handedly defeating it and putting it back in the cellar before it can do more damage and fixing his glitched out performers in the process. Afterwards, Caine and Bubble apologize to each other as the former confesses his love to him, but that they should take it slow as Caine still wants to take his time learning to love again, which the latter agrees to. Cue the performers cheering (much to the ringmaster and his new boyfriend’s annoyance) as their relationship is officialized.

5. Two more months pass, and things are going swimmingly for the Digital Circus, as Valerie has made significant progress on the portal. She decides that it's the perfect time to introduce them to her friends, who are also interdimensional diplomats, not really realizing that they don't know the concept of the multiverse in the same way the diplomats do. What ensues is some existential drama.

6. As Valerie introduces the Digital Circus members, they are taught about what they do for a living and their origins. They've been communicating with each other via tech devices disguised as mundane objects, such as the make-up kit box, and their portal wands, which they have been using to get from one dimension to another. Pomni asks (sheepishly, I might add), if the wands could teleport them from the Circus to their place, to which Valerie responds that it's not that simple. While they can travel to the dimension where the game was originally created, they can't directly make a portal to the Circus, as for some reason, it can only be accessed via a headset. Valerie makes mention that the Digital Circus was originally intended to be the world's first VR chat back in the day.

7. All this talk of interdimensional and multiverse stuff put Caine in for a bit of a doozy, as thanks to finally gaining awareness and access to a wide variety of human emotions, he doesn't know what to think anymore. Not to mention his curiosity about humans and their culture made him only yearn to know more about their world and how it works as a result. The performers are a bit ambivalent to this situation, but are helpless to console their ringmaster as he begins to question his purpose and what he was made for. What was he made for…?

8. Valerie talks to Bubble about a plan that she had been cooking up behind the scenes, with permission from the C&A higher-ups, of course. She was going to help expand the Digital Circus and their world around them, in order to help Caine and the others understand a little bit about how human society really functions, and it would take extra support from a few of her friends to do just that. She enlists the help of Garcia, Bethany, and Pamela to create a compelling story for all of them to enjoy, intriguing casts of characters, twist villains, twist heroes, cool locations, high stake adventures, and most importantly, a collection of MacGuffins that will be used to unlock a secret reward. It was going to be heart-stopping. It was going to be jaw-dropping. It was going to be mind-bending. It was going to be amazing. And this was something that they had been working on even before Caine was reprogrammed…

8. Their Biggest Adventure Yet!

1. 6 months after the dimensional diplomats came into the lives of the Digital Circus members, things have significantly changed. For one thing, they now have a house cat for some reason. No one knows why she came here. She just did. And Jax, of all people, was the first to grow attached to the black cat, whom he named Fortuna, because of the luck superstition black cats were known for. Not to mention that their grand adventure that Valerie, Bethany, Pamela, and Garcia had finally been finished — with some very noticeable touch-ups by C&A, but nothing that would completely hinder the enjoyment of what's to come. Bubble is the most excited to tell them what's in store for them.

2. To get everything set up, Kinger, Bubble, Bethany, and Valerie have built their very own state-of-the-art vehicle that they can travel in for their ultimate adventure: The Magical Digital Van! That's right! They're going on a road trip! And they'll be going to multiple locations to collect these MacGuffins to unlock their secret reward, which is behind a vault made out of mountainous rock. The leader of the diplomats, Princess Lumia, had a hand in creating the secret reward, and only she knows what's behind the rock vault — not even Bubble is aware of the contents of the vault.

3. The MacGuffins in question are twenty-six beautiful and colorful jewels that have their own elemental power, albeit watered down for their safety. It's their job to complete the objectives given to them on their communicator bracelets, which the Digital Circus members are promptly given, prior to their big day leaving the Circus for their first location. It takes some time for them to get used to, but they quickly discover the hologram screen on the bracelet lights act as a phone screen, meaning that they can now text each other, and browse the Internet. Pomni even opens an Instagram account to capture the memories made on the road trip adventure. The bracelet lights also act as teleporters for small objects, including snacks and additional luggage. The diplomats also have their own communicator bracelets as well, so they can stay in contact with the Digital Circus members.

4. The others are excited to go on their biggest adventure yet, and Caine and Bubble are joining them as well, which is a plus. They all talk about what they'll be doing during their road trip, who they'll be meeting, and what sorts of thrills they'll be encountering. Pomni is the most excited, because it's been so long since she's gotten to go on a car ride. Ragatha is beaming with euphoria as the possibilities are endless with whatever challenge she and her friends will face. Jax is the most excited about the violence and action that could be lurking in every corner. Zooble is actually perking up a little, as it means they and the others will at least get to go on some sort of vacation from the Circus. Gangle is for once optimistic about the whole thing, so much so that she doesn't even notice she isn't wearing her comedy mask. She makes sure to pack at least six of them into the luggage for the Van, but she forgot to put one on for herself because she's just that excited.

5. Meanwhile, Kinger is the most excited to take The Magical Digital Van on a joyride, which he does for a little while, and he even goes as far as to say it's his proudest creation to date, despite having worked together with Bubble, Bethany, and Valerie to build the Van in the first place. For once, everyone is looking forward to an adventure, which Caine hasn't actually seen happen at all until now. He's happy, but also really nervous. Thankfully for him, he has Pomni and Bubble by his side to keep his sanity in check.

6. Everyone has begun packing their things, putting their belongings into suitcases, and hiring an NPC to house-sit the Circus and take care of Fortuna while they are gone. They all wait for the big day to arrive as they discuss amongst themselves the potential adventures they might encounter along the way. They even theorize the story plotlines of the different locations, and make predictions of what they got right and what they got wrong.

7. Caine has never been on a huge-scale adventure like this one before — come to think of it, none of them have. They've all encountered NPCs before and they've even been to different locations outside of the circus, but not on a level like this. They've never been on the road before, so this is new and interesting for all of them.

8. Eventually, the day before their departure from the Circus Grounds arrives, and they decide to watch a movie to celebrate their biggest adventure yet. Pomni for once isn't as nervous as a wreck as she used to be, with that role instead going to Caine, who is trying to keep himself together for everyone's sake. Though, with the jester by his side, he's at least reassured that no matter what this adventure throws at them, they'll always have each other's back… no matter what.

~~~~

You may have noticed that I forgot to introduce a new character: the Digital Circus house cat Fortuna. I've been putting a hold on her for a while now, because I was waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Before I post Chapter II, I will be posting drawings for the Communication Box and the Magical Digital Van, so keep an eye out for them! And as always, catch y'all on the flip side!