love-shutdown

[love-shutdown]

It was enjoyable. It would be even more enjoyable if he had no code to worry about at all, no strings attached, but alas...he was still bound by those things. Still, he still got to experience new sensations, and that alone was exciting.

After years and years of longing for something new in a place where he could never get it...he had no room to complain about that.

"Big reveal, huh? Like some kinda big villain speech on the grand stage?" That was a joke, mostly. She mentioned actors and stages, so that was the sort of thing anyone could expect but...who knew? Her outfit was definitely flashy enough to be an actual actor...

"Guess we're both playing some fun roles here! Gotta adjust outside of the usual."

"Pretty high rating too! Must've been an enjoyable time."

Minus the part where one would have to remember to keep up with little daily activities like eating. One would think that their "new" body scream at him to do that rather then let it sit around and suffer. But no experience prior definitely meant just throwing guesses at the wall.

"Can't say where they scooped me up from wasn't possible. But the ones who did really know how to throw a wrench on stage right when the big reveal is about to happen." Just at the climax too. The crowd and all the participants must be all so disappointed

"So here I am! Playing the role of whatever seems right in the moment."

[love-shutdown]

Agape is quick to turn when someone calls out - it might not be for him, but they mentioned fortunes and cards...and, well, being an expert about things people talked about on the internet, he knew immediately that she was probably talking about tarot.

He had seen guides on how it worked, websites with people offering their services but...he had never actually gotten to see it done in person, for obvious reasons. Videos only went so far, and it's not like he could get a reading done for himself!

But it seemed interesting and he had the chance now, so he grins and floats over to the step the girl is sitting on, hands cocked on his hips as he goes to speak.

"Nahaha! One true love, huh?"

(hm...why did saying that leave an almost sad taste in his mouth?)

"I dunno about that, but tarot has always been pretty interesting, so I won't pass up a reading if you're offering.~"

@love-shutdown

Amy's sitting on some steps, tarot cards in hand, frustrated with her reading. Maybe she's getting rusty... As she sighs, she notices someone passing by. How could she not? He has a really cute and unique outfit on (she'll ask where he bought it later), but this is also simultaneously a perfect opportunity to test her skills. Or it's just the result of boredom. Or frustration. ...Maybe both.

"You look like someone who'd appreciate having their fortune told." She calls out, shuffling the deck in her hands now, "The cards are never wrong, after all—I could even tell you about your one true love!" She winks and flutters her eyelashes in a plead for him to accept. This is a chance that she doesn't normally get.

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"Nahaha! It'd be tricky for me to talk to people without one, so they were thinkin' ahead. Though it's a bit weird to be here in the first place, knowing they thought so far ahead about it.~"

Either way, it was...maybe a bit weirder than he was openly saying. This wasn't like putting a program in a robot or android body -- that, he knew about. This body of his was fleshy, had all the needs and wants a regular body did, and he didn't feel bound to any kind of code or anything. Not beyond his normal, anyways.

"All in all, I'd give it an eight outta ten! Senses and stuff I knew all about already, but experiencing them is a whole other deal. It's mostly just remembering that I gotta do things like eat, sleep, and drink but I've been around long enough for that to be easy."

"That's so weird! And they even gave you a body to be here in the first place. Strange people those stars are."

Maybe a little too strange. If there was going to be a gathering of fools in one city then Sparkle would be there. But even she knew there was a clear divide between that and seemingly random choices like one was drawing straight from a hat. And here it seemed like the later was much more prevalent

"So how's it feel being part of a new world? And having an actual body to boot as well. I mean, you probably have a million other senses to worry about now."

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"Nahaha! That's right!"

Honestly it was about time someone recognized his talent as a virus! As much as he mentioned it, it never really seemed like anyone got it. At least this person seemed to understand exactly what he meant.

"I could be in phones, yep! But for the most part, I was a computer virus.~ Lots and lots of sites on the web, PCs, desktops - all sorts of stuff like that! And it was normal for me - havin' a body like this is a lot weirder."

"Wow you said you were a virus before you came here? Never heard that one before." The more she met people around here the more Sparkle realized that somehow a fool like herself may have not been the weirdest person across the worlds.

But it still did "tickle" her mind somewhat, as if she needed a larger imagination then more ideas then she already had with her "performances"

"So what you would've been someone that lived inside my phone? I just have to know how weird that must've been!"

@love-shutdown | s.c

[love-shutdown]

Ah. It was that thing.

...what was it again? Agape wasn't sure, but he knew of it vaguely. It had happened before, to him, when they were still on the PC. When Goyou wasn't waking up. He didn't know what it meant then, and honestly he still didn't know what it meant now.

But looking up at them, watching the liquid spill out of their eyes and down their face...

It...hurt?

That was weird. Any other time, he'd want to crack a joke -- is it really trespassing if he was the one who owned the house? Goyou wasn't the best at picking up on jokes, and that was fine, but he felt that now it'd just be mean to say something like that. Whatever was leaking out of their face, maybe it would get worse if he said that.

So...what was he supposed to say instead?

Agape hesitates before reaching out, setting his hand against Goyou's, wrapped around the hilt of their mace. Handholding was common for reassurance, wasn't it?

"...I didn't mean to vanish on you like that."

"You are a trespasser, and I am programmed to destroy trespassing viruses." They didn't quite understand the emotion they were feeling, and while normally they swung the mace because they were meant to, but this time they swung the mace and missed on purpose.

So was it because they were meant to?

The chocolates weren't here to tell them, and instead all they had was whatever warmth was welling up behind their eyes.

Their eyes? Yes, their eyes. Certainly...Their eyes.

"You...are trespassing." They pause, hand gripping their mace tightly. The warmth welling up behind their eyes was spreading to their cheeks. It was having an odd effect, spreading across their face and making their central system feel tight. Like it didn't fit.

"You..."

The warmth spilled out of their too-human eyes, and down their too-human cheeks. Ah, what was this?

"Are trespassing."

[love-shutdown]

Honestly he didn't mean to completely vanish on the poor guy. After piecing together how long he had kinda blipped out - Agape was quick to realize Goyou would either be mad or upset at him. Maybe both? Who knew - emotions were tricky and Goyou could be even trickier to read than most people on top of that.

But...he had come prepared! It was a common courtesy amongst humans to bring a "peace offering" in these sorts of situations. Flowers seemed like the most common thing, and Goyou had liked all the flower JPEGS they stumbled across back in the PC, so it was easy just to grab a random bouquet from the store and call it good enough. They'd probably be happy with anything, anyways. Which...was always nice to see.

He opens the door with a grin on his face, lifting an arm up in greeting.

"Goyou-kun! Guess who's--"

His voice cuts off into a shrill shriek as the Virus Buster's mace narrowly misses him and collides with the floor next to him. God, he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to actually being afraid of that big meat hammer now, given this was his actual core body he was walking around with.

"Hah...ha...I know you're mad, but Agape pancakes are off the menu permanently!"

Goyou had been sitting on those feelings for a while, the ones the chocolates had made them feel. That emptiness, that...Nothing? No, there was something, but it wasn't nothing. But it felt a little like nothing, leaving the virus buster walking around Source_Code aimlessly.

At least, until the door opened one day.

Mace in hand, they went to destroy whatever intruder had come into the home. It was raised above their head, about to be swung down.

"Trespassers will be destroyed-"

"..."

It was Agape.

They swung the mace down with even more might, hitting the floor near Agape.

@love-shutdown

[love-shutdown]

"Bwuh-!"

"I feel like I just took the weirdest nap ever..."

[love-shutdown]

"If it starts snowing soon...I've gotta make sure they remember a jacket and gloves..."

[love-shutdown]

"Y'could do way more than that, you know. You could write your name! And this time, it won't be in some boring font."

It was important to get Goyou excited about all of this. Because, really, they should be excited about more things! Honestly he was excited in some ways too. Excitement and curiosity didn't come to him the same it used to, but he was excited to make something new. Did that make sense?

"I think I'll make a cat. A heart...maybe my name too! I wanna use the ones that sound like sparklers and sprinkle aaaaaall over the ground like pixie dust.~"

Agape rambles, while the other tugs him along, just moving between floating and Goyou's grip on him - reminiscent of a balloon.

"Tonight? Mm...I think maybe a bunch of generic ones and maybe ones others have made! We have no way of knowing until then. And...what strange ink dog do you mean?"

"A delay...It is unlikely, and you say it will certainly not be for us." They were a mix of disappointed and relieved - timeliness was something that humans seemed to prioritized. They supposed they were created to deal with matters, scans and destroying viruses, in a timely manner, but they also noted that they certainly had taken their time with Agape, despite their determination.

How strange, then, that they had done that. Taken their time. They were taking their time here.

"Then we should be sure to see it tonight. I can make fireworks of jellyfish tomorrow. And perhaps a starfish the next night." Most of their knowledge, it seemed, revolved around the ocean and what resided in it. Likely a consequence of coming to an island during the summer months.

Turning, they place a hand around Agape's wrist, tugging them along. They had seen people do this before, hold each other by the hands and wrist to continue their journey.

"What do you think will be in the sky tonight? I believe they are in the sky. Are they the shapes that others wanted them to be? Do you think perhaps that strange ink dog will be there?"

[love-shutdown]

Wow this guy looked grumpy...who spit in his coffee this morning? Sure, they might've bumped into each other, but it definitely wasn't his fault it happened. He had been paying perfect attention! ...to the weird shaped cloud he saw in the sky. Whoops.

Still! This guy could've stepped out of the way...

"Sorry.~ But I was sticking to one side of the road! So it was a two-sided fault."

" could you at least pretend to watch where you are going ? "

normally , he would be more phased by the fact someone was floating . but he has been here for … a year ? yeah , something like that . so someone just floating was the least surprising thing . what was surprising was feeling them run straight into his back .

" at least then i can feel a bit bad about being mad . " // @love-shutdown

[love-shutdown]

"It's October...I remember humans have their costume holiday soon!"

"...but what would a good costume even be for a computer virus?"

[love-shutdown]

"It's alright! It shouldn't be that hard, right?"

Well - hopefully not, anyways. He could spin these rabbits round and round and get them all confused but it'd be more...chip damage, coming from him. A long process to get rid of them, depending on how the other acted.

"Either way, just sitting around and saying this is a bad idea is gonna make it a lot harder to get things done!"

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"By Arceus, this is a bad idea..." Mirai could fight, but he wasn't exactly a fighter- so fighting any of those overgrown rabbits didn't sound too fun to him. How he'd gotten himself roped into something like this, he didn't know.

"Bzzzzt! Good luck, you'll need it!"

"Rotom, can't you be nice to us...?"

[love-shutdown]

plantfell​:

Knives opens his mouth to speak, but then he’s smacked with the question of whether or not he is religious. It’s a natural progression for the conversation, but that doesn’t stop the plant from being offended. As if he would ever be so taken by a human religion.

“No, I am not religious,” Knives answers with as much disgust as he feels for the question. “Fascinated,” He continues, with a much less venomous tone, “is probably more accurate, I suppose. What were you made by?”

Agape can’t help the laugh that escapes him when the other speaks with disgust about religion. Sure - it made sense some humans would react that way but a lot of them seemed to hold it in high regard too. There were many, many religions to practice too...so not even one to focus on?

“Heh! That makes sense. I just ask ‘cause of how I look.~ But I was made by a human. I guess this was their “ideal design” for me. They were probably religious since they gave me a special name, too.”

Even if he was a virus and this sort of theme didn’t really make much sense for him but...maybe that was exactly why he had been given it? 

[love-shutdown]

"Nah, they wouldn't wait. 'cause they have a schedule set up for things! It'd be more like...a delay could happen."

"But either way, I think we'll be fine! It'll be a bit longer before the sun goes down - and that's when they'd start setting them off."

It was cute to see Goyou getting all excited for this. Of course, Agape understood why. It was yet another thing they had never seen before, given the computer only had a few .GIF files saved on it. Fireworks were not one of those, and the closest thing they had encountered like them on the PC probably would have been...that picture of the multi-colored gems.

Agape knew what to expect with fireworks but...not necessarily like this. This place was showing him things he had never seen before so...he couldn't help but be curious about if this, too, would exceed his expectations of what he already knew.

"...even if we do miss it, we can come back another night, y'know! If we come early enough we might be able to even make our own fireworks, but it's important for you to see them before making them!"

"Will we be late?" The virus titters nervously, excitement clear on their features for those who knew to look for it. The sun had begun setting, and while they understood how time worked in a much better capacity than they had before (they did have a clock, but also humans had what were known as...internal clocks, which was an odd sensation), they still worried.

They knew they were nearing the Water of Styx for the fireworks, and had been looking forward to discovering what they were all day. Better yet, apparently the fireworks would take the shape of all sorts of beings.

They turned to Agape.

"Do you think they'll wait for us?"

@love-shutdown

[love-shutdown]

for the fantasia event;

agape will be faekin aligned with xalphina! and be warned - he's a notable prankster!

opposed to his usual angelic apperance - i'm going to lean a bit more towards some of the unique features of the faekin. he'll have wings resembling the ones of a chinese luna moth and arcane energy that crackles in an almost-halo over his head.

magic wise; he'll be using spells from the utilitarian magicks and status affliction categories!

[love-shutdown]

Watching this girl fight was like getting a front row seat to some serious RPG action! ...well, from what he knew about RPGS, and what he had seen online, anyways. What other setting would have cool exploding ice arrows, anyways!? It's not like people read books anymore.

And it was definitely a better sight than all the weird flying spiders! Those were awful!

"Phew! Those things were gross..."

"I caaaaan~ make a bunch of other version of me! But I can't fight! I don't have any weapons or anything anymore. So! We should definitely stick together and I can distract things for you!" This way he'd definitely be safe...

❄ "And a BOOM! And a BANG! And a WHASLAM!" Most people probably wouldn't have seen it fit to make the practice of shooting down flying spider monsters into a fun activity, but March wasn't most people. She hadn't been interested in hunting down the few that had slipped into Spirale at first. But having her powers back had made her a little more excited to shoot frozen arrows and, more importantly:

Exploding frozen arrows!

The small swarm she had found fell to the ground frozen or dead. They'd been buzzing around some boy with wings. "So, uh... Can you do anything else or do you just kinda float there!?" She called up to him out of curiosity after the fact.

@love-shutdown

[love-shutdown]

send me questions you have about my character!

anything and everything. favorites. thoughts on people, on events. what they would do in a certain situation. how things would be different if something had/hadn’t happened. simple questions, complex questions. have at it!