[VIDEO] // Open to anyone in Kauto area

[forgeabettertomorrow]

NETWORK

[As the feed clicks on, quite intentionally, the viewer is greeted by a fuzzy, out of focus, green pupil. It seems to be focusing intently on something just beyond the frame.]

Alright...let's see here...this should...

Yeah...this should do it...

[A huff of satisfaction, and Darin takes several paces back. He's in his bedroom at Lion House, looking considerably more healthy after his stint with the virus outbreak from the asteroid. His room itself is a complete mess; there's scrap metal and various parts and components littered throughout the room itself. There's a desk off to the side with no clear space on it at all. Instead, the entire surface is covered by open books stacked five or six high, with notes and sketches and blueprints littered about and hung up all around the room. Atop that is a tablet with a holographic blueprint hovering idly above it. On the other side? A hammock. Why a hammock? Because it's easier and more space friendly than a bed is. But that's not the point. The point, is that Darin is currently wearing his heavy blacksmith apron and heavy duty industrial goggles. His hands and forearms are covered with armored mitts, that he excitedly claps together as he looks at the camera.]

Alright, so it's been over half a year since I've been whisked away from my technologically stunted world. I think my first day aboard the Moira, I started a fire in Ingress engineering because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Well, I've been putting my nose to the grindstone, and I've been eagerly studying up on whatever tech I can get my hands on. And finally, I think I understand it well enough to start building with it.

[He grins and reaches behind him to grab what looks like a really long industrial grade flashlight.]

It took some work, but I think I've got all of the bugs ironed out. I think I can finally do a trial run on my newest work: The beam saber.

[Excitedly, he holds what can now be discerned as a hilt sans blade out and hovers his thumb over a pressure sensitive switch. With a grin, he presses the switch and, with what could only be described as a quite audible FWOOM the video on the camera is flooded with bright white light. What follows is a loud hum, then something that sounds like a knife scraping burnt toast. Also a string of curses and expletives that should in no way be repeated. There's another click, and the white light that's washing out the video fades...to show Darin sporting a rather intense tan. Also, his eyebrows are just gone and his bangs are on fire. And there's sunlight streaming in from a basketball sized hole in the ceiling...and roof.]

[Darin pulls his goggles off, which leaves a rather hilarious reverse tan around his eyes and stares up at his new skylight.]

...Huh.

...I have absolutely no idea how I'm gonna explain this one to Shiro.

Kauto Region 5

[It's a rather peaceful, almost uneventful day in Region 5. That is until a beam of light fires skyward for a solid thirty seconds, followed by a rush of heat in all directions. It's not enough to do any damage, it just feels like a warm breeze, but that light definitely came from a residence. And if you're close enough to Lion House, you can probably hear all of the cursing.]

Comments

action 1/??

[shiro2hero]

[You know for once? Things were actually quiet. Things were actually calm. Actually tame enough for him to lie down. And doze off. For what's probably been the first time in days.]

[He thought everything was going to start improving.]

[shiro2hero]

[And then the whole goddamn house just rumbles and shakes and there's loud cursing and a FWOOM and what the actual fuck.]

[shiro2hero]

[Yeah no, forget sleeping, someone is going to vault out of bed and go bolting to the door. Wrenching it open with one hand, while the other one is glowing and ready to go.]

[Clearly, something is attacking. Clearly everyone is in danger.]

What happened? Is everyone okay!

[Clearly, it's time to go charging into danger.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[And there's Darin sporting a new tan, no eyebrows, and hair still aflame. Also, his walls are scorched and the glass of his window is kind of bubbling strangely.]

Don't you knock?!

[shiro2hero]

[About now is when the swearing starts to register, so... sorry, Darin, he's going to shoulder your door in. With a metal arm. Because swearing must mean trouble, which must mean something awful is happening.]

[Through the door he goes! Ready for action!]

[Time to save the--]

[shiro2hero]

[...]

[Wait a second.]

[shiro2hero]

[That's a new skylight.]

[That's a Darin with all his limbs.]

[...]

done

[shiro2hero]

[His eye may have actually twitched.]

WHAT DID YOU DO?!

1/2

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Shiro.

Oooooh Shiro.

Buddy. Pal. Bestest friend.

DONE

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I invented something.

...I'm just not sure what it is yet.

Because I totally meant to make something different.

[shiro2hero]

This is not inventing something! This is destroying the house!

Literally all I ask you guys -- don't wreck the house! That's it!

[AUDIO]

[kickeminthepistons]

[There's a soft crunching sound, the kind you might hear when someone is snacking on popcorn. And then a woman's voice, spoken from a mouth that's not entirely empty.]

Ooh, ooh, ooh. Okay. Let me give you a few of my favorites.

"The theory was sound," always a classic. Or "the math worked on paper" -- uh, speaking of? If you didn't draw a blueprint or it's, like, more of a doodle on a napkin? Might want to draw up something all neat and covered in numbers.

You can also blame power surges, weather conditions, or anyone who was in 20 feet of your room.

Re: [AUDIO]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh I've got blueprints. I've been working on this thing for over a month.

Wait! What if one of my housemates has a robot arm of alien origin? I could totally use that!

[AUDIO]

[kickeminthepistons]

There you go! Say the arm's coordinate calibration frequency was completely throwing the theoretical dampening factor completely out of alignment and into stack overflow.

Second tip: Say more words faster, and it's harder to catch that they don't make any sense.

Re: [AUDIO]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Okay but one of my other housemates is a lot smarter and will totally call me on my crap.

Got a Plan B?

video on pidge's end... for now

[pidge_out]

[Pidge's room is not far from Darin's. That's just how things sort of shook out when they all moved in. Which is why Pidge both hears and feels what happens when it happens... Except she can also tell that no one has died as a result. (At least partly because she can hear when Shiro goes immediately barging in.)

So she'll just. Call Darin up.]

So you were trying to make a blade using the principles behind Lúcio's light tech? Did you not calibrate the containment field in accordance with the power source you're using?

[ALSO VIDEO]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

"Hi, Darin. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Pidge. Totally fine! Thanks for asking!"

[He heaves a sarcastic sigh.]

Well, I thought I did. I may have to check my numbers again.

When I can actually see them.

[pidge_out]

[She just rolls her eyes at that bit Darin does.] You're alive, and I pretty much equate that with you being okay enough.

And you should send me your--

[Wait. Wait a minute.]

...What do you mean "when I can actually see them"?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Uuuuuh, I'm kind of temporarily blind.

It should go away in five minutes or so.

Not my first trip to the blind rodeo.

[VOICE]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

How Inelegant. / Though powerful, I admit. / A promising start.

[Aside from the whole setting your face on fire part anyway.]

Re: [VOICE]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Inelegant? It didn't even form the blade yet!

You want to see finesse? Wait till it's done!

Re: [VOICE]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

I'm looking forward / To seeing it when it's done. / What else can you make?

video;

[nyx_it]

Holy shit.

Is anything even left?

Re: video;

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Of the roof, the beam saber, or my eyesight?

Depending on your specifications the answer kind of changes.

video;

[nyx_it]

Well that's not concerning.

What were you trying to do?