(no subject)

[forwearemany]

Who: Legion and ... you?
What: Videogames and failed attempts to befriend horrible monsters
Where: Beach, forest
When: Early November
Content Warnings: None so far.


A) The humorous option

(The storm is sudden and intense, forcing them to dash for cover not from the rain, but the cloud to ground lightning.

They are on the beach, and not much shelter exists, save for the shadow of half a couch sticking out of a particularly large pile of garbage.

It is not a particularly good shelter, however their own nature protects them. As a being composed of mostly plastic, they are a poor target: electrical charges move freely within their circuits but they make a poor conductor between the lightning and the ground.

Contrary to stereotype, the rain does not bother them.

They are attempting to figure out the safest method of leaving the area when they hear their videogame console turn on.

They take it out and look at it uncertainly, but it appears to be functioning as normal. Their headflaps ripple contemplatively.

This is not an ideal situation for playing but ... they've missed their games. It does not take long to succumb to temptation.

And thus, anyone else who is out in the storm might see them huddled there, videogame console in their hands.)

B) The sad but also humorous option

(These creatures are not their people.

Their people are ... gone.

As the afterlife clearly exists, it is possible Legion will see them again someday, but for now, there is nothing, save for the promise of continued existence in other timelines, and these creatures born partially from their memories.

They are quiet, not wanting to alert the Geth/Zumyu animal as they approach.

Once they get close enough, they lift their hand and toss a large piece of mushroom at the tail lure that looks so much like one of their people.

SNAP! A flurry of movement. The predator devours the food in two gulps.

And then, it sees Legion.

With a horrible garbled mechanical noise it charges.

This reaction was unanticipated: they thought feeding it would help! They don't have much time for other thoughts before they turn to run, screaming in Geth.)

Comments

A

[anciently]

Oh - Legion?

[ So many people out in the rain today! Aerith pauses as she's passing by, shielding herself from the rain with a raised arm and peering curiously at the Geth as they engage with their game. She smiles tentatively, excusing herself as she steps into their makeshift shelter to get a better idea of what they're doing...and to get a little break from the weather. ]

What've you got there? [ Aerith asks, hands behind her back as she watches them with curiosity. ] I'm surprised to see all these electronics suddenly working! ...But, I guess I shouldn't be, huh? This place is full of surprises, every day...

[forwearemany]

(They pause and look up at her. Fortunately they're just playing the Fleet and Flotilla dating sim and not one of their more violent or potentially offensive titles.)

Aerith. We are playing videogames.

We believe they are drawing power from the storm.

[anciently]

Oh! That explains the train, too... [ She hums thoughtfully and glances from Legion to the game, tiling her head a bit so her braid peeks out from behind her back. ] Are you having fun? What game are you playing?

[ Not that she knows much about video games, but it doesn't hurt to ask! ]

[forwearemany]

We are playing Fleet and Flotilla: Interactive Cross-Species Relationship Simulator. We are doing poorly.

(In some ways, Legion is a very stereotypical robot, and basically anything involving romance is one of those ways. They suck.)

[anciently]

[ That's...certainly a name! Aerith blinks, but smiles amiably, scooting over a bit more to peer at the screen. ]

Well, how do you win? Or is it not something you win at?

[ Now she's just straight-up invested. ]

[forwearemany]

The goal is to convince the character of your choosing that you are a desirable romantic partner.

(They even make it sound less fun when they describe it. Is it any wonder they're doing badly?

They're currently in the middle of responding to a character's flirtatious question. Judging by the response they were about to go for, Legion doesn't realize that the question is supposed to be flirtatious and not serious.)

[anciently]

Oh! [ She laughs lightly, delighted by this explanation. ] Well, that sounds like a lot of fun to me! Mind if I take a look?

[ Sorry, Legion: Aerith is going to lean in to stare more fully at the screen with or without an invitation. ]

Huh... [ Her brows lift, and she nods sagely at the on-screen text. ] Well, that's pretty forward of them! What're you gonna say?

A

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[Chasing these storms was getting to be an occupational hazard. The problem was you never knew where the storm would form next and not every location had shelters suitable for fiddling with the electronics Kaiba so desperately wanted to. He didn't dare lug his laptop all the way out to the beach, but he had thought he might fiddle with his phone, but... not while it was drizzling.

Moist and frustrated, he made a mental note to start keeping an eye out for either an umbrella or something that could be turned into one.

As he started to near a sofa, he picked up on some peculiar sounds... digital in nature. Sound effects breaking the silence of the light shower. Curious he drew nearer and peeked under the makeshift shelter]

What... are you doing out here?

[forwearemany]

Kaiba-Seto.

(They glance up, then go back to playing Kepesh-Yakshi, an alien strategy game similar to chess. Surely Kaiba can recognize the device in their hands as some kind of portable game console.)

We are playing videogames.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[Still getting rained on, he's starting to resemble a drenched rat, or organic if you prefer. Eh, screw it. It looked like there was enough space for more than one under there so he shimmied under cover.

Now that he can get a better look at the device it does look like something right up his alley.]

One-player game?

[forwearemany]

Yes.

(After a moment they shift so that Seto Kaiba can look at the screen. It's not any game that was made on earth, a sort of digitized version of a spacy strategy boardgame. If explained, it might be a little like chess, but the goal is not to trap a king but to claim a homeworld.

Normally, it'd be two player but the console currently only allows for player vs AI.)

Does Kaiba-Seto desire a turn?

(They can close out their game and start a new one for him if he wants.

...They're curious to see how fast he can pick it up.)

[blue_eyed_obsession]

Ah.

[Though there was a decided note of longing to check it out for himself, Kaiba didn't think it was apparent. So he leaned in a bit to watch, still feeling ridiculous for their current position. The game looks interesting enough, considering it's been months since he's played any.

The longer he observes the more he starts to think it's set on some basic principles. It's all about dominating the available area, claiming territory to squeeze out the opposition.]

Once you get to a save point.

[Assuming there was one. He wasn't going to demand Legion abort his own playthrough immediately. Who knows how long the storm would last]

[forwearemany]

This game will be completed within approximately 1 1/2 minutes.

(They already know they'll win at this point, and sure enough, they do, in about that amount of time.

They offer the handheld to Kaiba.)

A

[bridge_princess]

[She ran up to the lean-to just looking for freedom from the rain. Panting and huffing, she wedged herself in and under while thunder boomed overhead. A groan and she was squeezing water out of her skirt as she glanced over at Legion.]

Gah. They need to get weather figured out eventua....

....

What are you doing?

[forwearemany]

(They pause their game and look up, headflaps lifting.)

Parsee. We are playing videogames.

(After a moment, they offer her the console. The game is Grim Terminus Alliance, and they were apparently about to ram a Quarian with a shuttle.)

[bridge_princess]

[She was staring down at this with a mixture of fascination and confusion. This was... a movie? A film? But interactive?]

These are in color now? They were only talking about them being silent and black and white when... well of course they'd figure out color.

This is a game?

[forwearemany]

You are thinking of movies. Videogames are similar, but interactive.

(They reach over and push the button to pause while she is holding it. The shuttle rams into the quarian "killing" them. Around the body of said quarian, loot is scattered, mostly money.)

Press the buttons to play.

[bridge_princess]

[She tapped on the money, more out of curiosity, and causing its collection before it faded. It made her eyebrows climb and she huffed a little bit.]

So this is some kind of fancy interactive game? [She pressed a button, causing the ship to fire a gun. Nothing was there just yet. She didn't quite realize what to do next.]

Uh... so which button do I press? [Curious.... she'd never beat Legion's high score of course.]

[forwearemany]

Yes. (Their headflaps ripple, and they chatter, before indicating more buttons. Here's how to get in and out of shuttles and other vehicles, here's how to scroll through weapons, here's how to fire those weapons, etc.

Good thing this isn't a game of high scores. It's more crime and satire with a story. Speaking of, Parsee might catch a few extremely rude visual puns if she pays attention to the gameworld.)

B

[koopacrusher]

[Bowser's exploration is interupted by the sound of Geth screaming. Following the sound leads him to the sight of Legion being chased by a Geth/Zumyu. The first thing that comes to mind is that he's been wanting to capture one of the Geth-Zumyu hybrids with a pokéball. Already he's captured a Smeargle/Moomba, and Piranha Stubbies were next on his list, but the oppurtunity he sees before him is not one he wants to pass up.]

[And so a large rock strikes the Zumyu's head, having been thrown by Bowser. Once it's been hit, and ideally once it's attention has shifted, he shouts:] Hey! Over here!

[forwearemany]

(This gets the Geth/Zumyu creature's attention immediately, and also Legion's. The creature turns and barrels toward Bowser with a scream of rage, and Legion ... well, they're not entirely sure what to do.

They consider hiding. They consider attacking while it is distracted. But they are uncertain of Bowser-King's plan. Would their actions interfere? They wait, and grab their Widow out of their backpack. Though it cannot be fired, it will be useful as a club should it be necessary.)

[koopacrusher]

[Once the Geth/Zumyu reaches Bowser, he simply hits it with a Great Ball, which promptly turns the Geth/Zumyu into light and absorbs it. Not expecting the creature to remain in the pokéball long, he throws it as far away from both himself and Legion as he can. It's a very temporary solution, but it will give him some time to communicate with Legion.]

[Bowser takes out another pokéball from his shell.] When that thing comes back, I'm going to try and catch it, [assuming, of course, that it's not already caught, and that it does actually return.] Are you gonna help?

[forwearemany]

(And then he traps it inside a pokeball. They chatter, head following the arc as he tosses the ball away.

He has spoken. They look at Bowser-King.)

Affirm-(They don't get to finish, as the creature bursts out almost as quickly as it went in, instead whipping around to face the creature, holding the Widow like a club.)

[koopacrusher]

[Hearing Legion's cut-off response, Bowser charges at the Geth/Zumyu as it re-emerges. He then grabs one of the creature's horns and begins repeatedly punching it with the other hand. Intimidating as the creature may be, Bowser seems to believe he can simply outbrute it, and in doing so simply tire it out.]

[forwearemany]

(Legion also rushes forward, though instead of going for the face like Bowser does, they take a swing at the joints of one of its legs.

The creature lets out a pained, furious scream and wrenches against Bowser's grip, gnashing its teeth. Legion's swing hurts enough that it pulls its leg up and out of the way--already unbalanced, it topples.)