You can’t break down here.

You can’t afford to.

Not in front of other people.

Coward.

You shake off the voice in your head and set the bat down. Time to leave that buried, at least til you’re fucking out of here.

Roulette, likewise, puts down the wrench, giving you a final glance. Even from across the store, you can hear its internal fans whirring faster.

It quickly moves to another shelf, scanning through it and eventually selecting a rusted sickle; about as tall as the robot itself. The camouflage-painted bot snags a lightweight chef's knife on the way to the checkout counter, holding a few other miscellaneous items in its claws.

You start skimming over the discount section, hand hovering over stuff…until you come across a claw hammer, somewhat dulled on the claw end but still…

Now this could work.

You check the price.

Thankfully, Roulette’s gone by the time you get downstairs, Vine waiting for you by the counter. 

Her expression is worried as she hands over the money, Tim chipping in with his twenty.

You go to protest only for-

Home. It’s home now? I-

You put your stuff on the counter and pay for it, handing back what little extra there is to Vine. You feel…both successful at your purchases and defeated all at once, but you get the feeling there’s not much room to argue with Vine when she’s being firm like this. 

Marlowe nods, giving you a friendly expression.

Chip leads the three of you outside, a couple of toys waiting outside- oh, great.

Looks like Devo and Roulette are waiting to head out too.

Your group gets moving, Vine giving you and Tim space- but still staying close.

The bear is now holding the knife Roulette bought earlier, with the robot keeping the sickle along with a plastic bag in its other hand.

It doesn't seem to notice you as it sits up from a bench to leave, too focused on its conversation with Devo.

The bear perks up, looking a lot more lively. 

By this point the two had already joined the group,
Roulette not seeming to realize that it was walking right next to you.

The robot's head rotates to the side as it speaks, idly surveying the city environment.

Roulette's turning head finally lands on you, its lens widening.

It whips back around to the bear.

Devo's glance slides over to where Roulette's just was, but he settles on Tim instead. He drops his voice down to a whisper, but it's just loud enough for the robot to hear.

With that, Devo scoots over (extremely conspicuously) to Tim's side, the dog's face lighting up.

You start to phase out their conversation as the fact that it's now you and Roulette walking together starts to take over any mental space you have. Roulette seems similarly distracted, and similarly unsure of anywhere else to go.

...this feels alarmingly familiar to the situation with Tim earlier, and you are not looking forward to a repeat.

You steel yourself for what could be a very bad idea.

You give the robot a strained look.

The robot's shutter closes entirely, its fingers lifting up to its equivalent of a forehead.
Its internal fans are heating up again, spinning faster.

It gazes upward briefly, trying not to get lost in thought.

The robot's middle rises and falls, like a breath.
A small amount of smoke leaks from an exhaust port somewhere near the bottom of its head as it exhales.

The bot pauses, looking dead ahead as it considers its options.

It stops, having trouble getting its thoughts together.

Roulette closes its eyes, fans working overtime, drawing the idle glance from one or two others in the group.
Noticing this, it seems to quickly reign it in, straightening its posture so as to look like everything was fine.

You gesture to Devo.

You gesture to Tim.

You shrug.

You gesture to its bags.

The robot sighs, idly rifling around in one of the bags, drawing your eye down to it.

It seems to contain nothing but very... plain clothes; black, brown and grey hoodies, jeans and sweatpants.

It cocks its head back and forth, swirling a metallic claw as it searches for words.

Roulette speaks the word quietly, as if it was taboo.

The bot's face and lens wrinkles slightly, metal bending in a way it shouldn't to add an extra layer of expressiveness.

You can see Laurie's pop up in the distance. If you want to say something, you should do it now.

The bot looks about ready to bolt ahead when you speak up,

pulling back into the conversation with you.

It shakes its head, cutting off the thought.

You think to yourself for a few quiet moments.

It glances down at the pavement, keeping its voice quieter.

The bot sighs.

Roulette straightens up as the group approaches Laurie's.

The bot awkwardly makes its way back over to Devo once everyone gathers inside, not really giving you time to respond. 

Vine and Tim shuffle over, thankfully giving you a break from your own now-restless thoughts.

You rustle through your bag and pull out the phone, which got loosely boxed up with what looks like an instruction manual.

The three of you sit down at a bar booth, getting comfortable as you take the phone out of its box. 

You do so, and your friendly mentor starts nodding as she looks it over.

You check, and sure enough, the screen’s a plain, matte black.

You do so.

You go ahead and press the button, and the sticker screen changes color, turning bright blue with a sunshine-y logo. It even makes a little chime.

She pokes at a page in the manual, displaying some menu options.

After sifting through the background options, you settle on a tiled background with a variety of monster and ghost sprites- it’s cute, and admittedly reminds you of Willow…

Tim seems to notice the blush on your face, but you’re relieved to see that he doesn’t say anything, just gives you a knowing, supportive look. 

As for a ringtone…you go through each one, immediately having to turn down the volume with a little help from Vine. A couple of them stand out to you, but you eventually come back to one with a poppy vibe, something kind of fresh about it.

You hand it over, making sure to mentally allow Vine to use it- that’s gonna take some time to get used to. 

Options swirl your mind, and you consider all of the infinite potential of the day-

…but honestly, you’re really tired. You had that fucked up nightmare and you’re exhausted after the whole Roulette debacle, let alone all the walking around you did.

You get up from the booth, stretching out and grabbing your stuff.

The walk back to your room feels strangely lonely after you’ve been around people all day…but there is a sense of weight leaving your body as you close the door behind you and kick off your boots.

There’s a pile of books on your nightstand, all the spoils you’ve picked up over the past few days waiting for you.

You have things to read.

You take off your clothes and fish through your shopping spoils to pick up your new comfy dress, letting the soft fabric drape over you. Hopping into bed like this is amazing, and you even dare to get under the covers. Luxury.

So many books to choose from…you settle on the virtual pet guide with the tiniest bit of nerves- but you were going to meet Willow tomorrow, and it’d be good to figure out some things. Just… a little peek.

There’s an introduction.

Electronic/virtual pets are a species with many models and variants, with plenty to discover and learn about them! Within these pages you will find info on Clipchains, Stickbugs, Aqua Dancers, and more! You can purchase our companion pieces, “The Complete Guide To Robotic Pets!” and “The Complete Guide To Pet Games!” at most book stores- this will be mainly focused on variants with an outer “shell” body and an internal “pet” body, as well as projection abilities. 

Huh. Easy enough.

On to the table of contents…

-Anatomy
-Health Conditions
-Projections
-Models + Variants
-Fashion and Accessories

Even if you’re just skimming, you’ll need a place to start.

You go to the Projections section first.

Huh. On a brief look through, you get a gist…

Like the intro said, vpets have an outer shell, typically plastic, an inner “pet”, typically on a screen, and a hidden, “true” self based on the pet’s form. The true self gets projected out as a second body, but can’t go too far from the outer shell. Most projections are tangible and made out of varying substances, but some have specific materials based on the vpet model.

So…would Willow be a cool ghost? That’s what her sprite looks like, right? 

You’re curious…

You check outthe Fashion and Accessories section next.

Ohh! Pictures! Of…

Full body suits? 

Not fancy formalwear like Tim’s, but full body coverings made with silicone, crochet, plastic casings…all leaving the screen uncovered.

There’s charms for the keychain tails as well, screen protectors, stickers and paint and clay modifications-

You get caught up in looking at all the pictures, wondering if Willow has any of these-

Your phone buzzes.

Shit. You check your phone’s clock and it’s already six. How’d it get so late? 

You forgot about everything in the excitement of the day…from the way Vine talks, this isn’t an uncommon issue for new toys like yourself…but now that you’re thinking about it, you’re definitely hungry.

If you go to the bar, you could get some more reading time in…or you could go see if Tim’s at the cafe yet.

You go to text back, taking a moment to get used to tapping the keyboard sticker. 

You decide to take a book with you- not the virtual pet book, you don’t need Tim making you all self conscious. The romance will do fine.

You (reluctantly) get back into your clothes and head out.

The hall doesn’t seem to stretch that long this time, and before you know it, you’re back at the cafe. Much to your relief, Tim’s there- and absolutely surrounded in books.

He doesn’t even notice you coming, nose completely buried in the book on the table, even when you’re right in front of him. 

No response. He’s in deep.

You take a chance and try gently poking the back of his book- the dog startles with a yip, nearly dropping the book- but you get a better look at it now. ”History of Domination”, from your passing glance.

The two of you get up to go to the counter, waiting a little in line together.