Texts: presumably it still shoots souls out

Texts: presumably it still shoots souls out
Date of Scene:	18 October 2023
Location:	Texts
Synopsis:	Takashi has information he wants seeded amongst the sparkle side. Mamoru is happy to give that info to Naru. (And also relieved Taka's gonna get some sleep.)
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Takashi Agera, Naru Osaka

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(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I met your girlfriend last night. She was running the party Firefly wanted to go to.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: Cool. I was there for like two minutes to drop off coffee and make heart-eyes at her.

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I mostly passed out on the sleeping bags. turns out I have been working more than the squishy human body is happy with. speaking of. I fixed the guns everybody's so worried about. I know you're fence sitting so maybe you can kick that over to people.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: Okay good that makes me considerably less background annoyed at you, and now I can fuss over you not getting enough sleep or eating enough real food without also being mad about the gun, which was awkward. How did you fix it? Like presumably it still shoots souls out

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: i would like to actually state for the record that i haven't been avoiding you even though i was pissy about the gun

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: pyrite's been kind of off the deep end and i'm trying to sort her out without the world turning into a ghost

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: it shoots like 80 percent of the soul out now. nearly all of the linker core but way less of the soul. that was an artifact of having patterned the original variant of it off Pyrite's stuff. anyways. this way I can shoot someone and not worry about them dying. they'll need to recover, it'll suck, but I'm not making any more of the old version. I needed more data before I could tune them like this, but I will admit, I was not expecting one-hundred-percent lethality if the crystal was taken, or I wouldn't have distributed any.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: ... well i mean you did emphasize to me that if the crystals got taken out and not put back in, the subjects would die, but maybe you were just trying to piss me off and didn't realize it was true. so i'll take it.

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: You must have heard 'could' as 'would'.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: Must have.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: Like I said, I'll take it.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: Do linker cores grow back? o.O I mean presumably they do but... you've tested it?

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: I mean I'm not worried about that, as long as they don't die. and if the fateful gashapons aren't in the subjects' linker cores then they'll probably get shoved back in anyway. im just curious. mostly because of another thing you said that ive been stewing over lol

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: Right. so. I think there's one or two of the old style rifles still out there. The new ones look different. the crystals from the v2 don't keep floating, they hit the ground. and they're missing about a quarter of the crystal spikey-things. you should be able to tell on looking if it's from a new rifle or one of the old ones.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: oh cool! okay

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: What was the other thing you heard from me? also I'm pretty sure the linker core will grow back but it might be dependent on their personal spiritual woo whatever. I didn't exactly shoot myself to test it.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: no just the thing about the linker core gashapons. like if you really wanted to be sure, and truly abandon sentimentality, you remember you said that when beryl shoved all that dark energy in me she did a shitty job and it was like a hard candy coating on my linker core? if you really wanted to be sure you'd eventually have someone shoot me. and then what if it was. so, i'm really glad there's a nonlethal one, because all my poor life choices aside, i really don't wanna die.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: and now that it's nonlethal, if you had to check and it was there, i wouldn't... <sunglasses emoji>

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: ...die mad about it

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: good to know you're doing ok. But yeah, I'm not even sure shooting you would have done anything. like long story short the dark energy kind of gets in the spot and pushes the linker core out? and you already have enough dark energy, if someone shot you, you might just power up instead.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: oh no shit? really glad nobody shot me then lol. purification really hurts

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I mean it's just a guess. I still wouldn't let the new ones shoot you. sometimes people turn into youma from that. still trying to nail down what causes it in some cases.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: LMFAO

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: that's one hell of a side effect

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: better than the current one

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: very much so

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: i'll spread the word. you want the credit or

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: speaking of. I'm only taking credit for the current one. Riventon is. but the original one. I'm not responsible for. I mean, really, I'm not. it was coming one way or another. Professor Tomoe just hadn't put full focus on it yet.

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I just got ahead of other folks so I could get the credit.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: okay.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: i'll give riventon credit for the better version <thumbs up>

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: But I'm not telling people that. I'm going to speak to the girl Hinoiri kidnapped too. since it seems like she KNOWS EVERYONE

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: and other-me owes her a coffee anyways.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: she really does. and, ok. do you want me to *not* tell her, so you can tell her? because she was the one i figured i'd tell, lmao. she's an excellent switzerland.

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I don't care, if you tell her. it'll probably be more organic if she asks me than if I just volunteer the information myself.

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: But, I didn't want to keep escalating things. I just got done telling Hinoiri off for the plot, and then this. egh.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: i mean. i could have told you that, but i was too pissed off at the time, and then i forgot, and besides you wouldn't have listened to me XD

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I've been working on this like. nonstop. because I didn't want to have someone chasing me around over their best friend or something. and doing it along with all of the other things. I'm exhausted. I kept passing out at the party last night. I'm really glad I don't talk in my sleep. I think at least one or two of the people there were magical. and bad at hiding it.

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I think I saw some cute girls but I'm not sure if I was awake or dreaming at the time

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: yeah there's always a few. :V ... of course you saw some cute girls, the school is full of them. but the cutest one is taken, we're official

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: do you finally get to sleep now?

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I can sleep when nobody is threatening to kill me or you or the planet or the world. So I think my next actual rest is penciled in for sometime in 2030

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: :< no sleep = slow reflexes

(PHONE) Takashi Agera texts to Mamoru Chiba: I know. I'm slow typing today, too. I'll actually get some rest.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Takashi Agera: GOOD. good. okay. <3

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: so i have new gun info

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: New info about the current guns? (Did I tell you I got shot? That was trippy af.)

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: ... nope nobody told me that, and good thing because otherwise i would have flipped out at riventon and probably not been told what i was told. he said that there might be a couple of v1 guns left out there but they're not making any more, and that the way you can tell the diff between the new ones and the old ones is that the new ones have a quarter of the spiky bits on the crystals, and they fall on the ground instead of floating. also the guns look different

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: It was by accident and I'm fine now.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: also they shoot out most of the linker core and 80% of the soul but the victims do recover even if they don't get them back. there is also a nonzero chance it will turn them into youmas temporarily.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: fair.

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: Okay.. that is /fascinating/. Do they retain their magic?

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: well, he said most... wait, let me check my notes.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: yeah. okay, so he said, the linker core would PROBABLY grow back. he said it would suck and take time to recover, and from how he described part of how it worked, it stuffs enough dark energy in you to pop out most of your linker core and a huge chunk of soul, which like. i mean. that stuff staying would sure youmafy a person until they got purified

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: Also.. like.. rampaging youmas, or roam gently draining energy youmas? Right.. probably rampaging with that much dark energy.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: and it probably hurts to have most of your linker core replaced with folgers crystals

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: I expect it hurts like stupid, yes. v1, I was out like a light right away.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: anyway riventon said he owes you a coffee and is less busy now that he's completed the first round of tests on v2. so, did you already know there was a v2 or

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: This is the first I've heard of it. I have my notes on V1, but now they are mostly moot. (Not entirely at least) Why did they change?

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: riv says he didn't expect 100% lethality. from what i understand, his bosses were pleased with the results but it was getting too much attention and too much clapback, so it needed to be dialed back

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: Yeah, the lethality was a problem. La Crima randomly trying to kill half my classmates to eat their souls was awkward.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: she what

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: Half is hyperbole but she's the main shooter of v1 guns. She wants a pure heart because she thinks it will give her her emotions back.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: so... she was literally down to kill people directly and eat their souls on the chance that it would make her feel happy?? does not compute

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: And people ask me why I'm stressed.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: no shit. she seemed nice. im sorry.

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: She is, other than the zero empathy. Like zero. Not just 'when it's convenient' but zero. Which is easy to forget sometimes.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: you can have zero empathy and still be compassionate. and still be kind.

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: I'm not so sure about that. Not after chatting with La Crima. I think that falls into the emotions she does't have anymore that she's trying to get back.

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: But she felt bad about shooting me, but I'm her friend, as much as she can manage. So I don't know anymore.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: compassion and kindness are learned behaviors, not emotions, but i'm on an awfully high horse considering i used to be an empath and am not anymore

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: You might be again, when you're not zinging on dark energy.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: hopefully. or not. which is also fine. anyway if i think of anything else i'll let you know

(PHONE) Naru Osaka texts to Mamoru Chiba: Thanks. Take care of you. ❤️

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Naru Osaka: will do! you too <3