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 Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:26 pm
Mana thought about it for a few seconds. "I'm going to have to go with 'they're equal evils.' The social networking sites send me more emails about people I don't care about, but at least they're not as unctuous as the politicians are. I'd say 'seedy,' but in spite of their whimpers, I think they're too rich to be properly called seedy." She laughed at his question. "Not last time I checked! Pretty sure I don't live in my mother's basement, either." Well, okay, fair was fair, she did live with her mother, but she certainly didn't live in the basement. Second floor of a cottage--her sanctum--not far from the main House where she could snag some computer time later to check for emails from her new friend.
"Yeah, we have a few. Not that many, but they've been around long enough that they've gotten used to throwing their weight around. They're not bad most of the time, I mean, but I don't want to give them an opportunity to, well, swagger around or something." She watched him think for a little while, her ankle wings stretching idly. "Computer or console, makes no difference to me. I don't have a console, though, and if it's old enough my housemates might not have one that I can borrow."
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:36 pm
He was glad to make her laugh and was tempted to reach out and touch her hand, but refrained from doing so. Nice and slow Corvus, not to fast, that's how one gets punched in the family jewels, and experience he had no wish to have. He laughed along with her and playfully swatted the table. "Damn I forgot about the basement, the other staple of the chat site." he smiled.
He nodded listening to her talk about the roommates. "I understand, don't give the chickens something to crow about unless it's actually worth crowing about." He felt something brush against his foot and glanced under the table and realized it was her ankle wings. He was sure she hadn't meant to so he refrained from making a big deal about it and shifted his foot away from where it would be in her way if she felt the need to stretch again. "Well cuz I was thinking I have this older laptop, it's not great mind you, but it does have an emulator for old Super Nintendo games and a bunch of old school point and click adventure games on it. I was thinking I could let you borrow it and maybe you could just test out the array there to see what you like. And some old point and clicks utilize skill systems similar to tabletop games." he said. "Everything has to come from somewhere ya know."
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 1:19 pm
A few pricks of hesitation and even nervousness was coming from Corvus. Sometimes being empathic had its advantages (and sometimes its disadvantages that made the "talking about the old days" problems with veterans seem like small potatoes), and as strange and voyeuristic as it seemed, she sort of liked knowing when people were nervous around her. It wasn't a huge thing coming from Corvus, but she got the impression that something other than "emulators" was weighing on his mind. Especially when one wing brushed against his leg and he moved it. What had happened? Why was he uncomfortable? Was it something about her, or something about him? Or this whole situation?
Did Corvus have a girlfriend, and he was afraid hanging out with a girl would make her jealous? Or maybe he had a boyfriend who could be getting jealous. He was too cute and earnest to not have a girl or boyfriend. Seriously, how could no one have jumped on him (literally or figuratively) before now?
"I like the idea of something kinda sorta familiar. What's an emulator, though? Is it a copier program of some sort or something?" Mana felt like she'd maybe heard of it before, but she wasn't sure from where.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 2:26 pm
Corvus got the impression that he was doing something wrong. What though he couldn't imagine. Mana hadn't given any overt signs, but there were very subtle things in her body language. He frowned mentally and wondered if there was anything he could do to fix whatever it was he'd done.
First things first he had a question to answer. "An emulator is basically a program that mimics the processes of another system. It sort of tricks the software you're using into think it's actually being used by the system it was designed for. Yes, in some cases it is illegal and a form of piracy, but who really has a working Super Nintendo console these days? That system is over 20 years old, and the games are even harder to find. If you're uncomfortable with that, I promise all the actual computer games on there are legally acquired." he said with a smile.
He fidgeted for a moment then looked back at Mana. "On a different note...I haven't done anything to offend you have I? It's just, umm...you don't seem upset exactly, just maybe a little..." he shrugged. "I'm not sure how to put it really..." he said looking at his hands.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:15 am
"Well, that's a relief," she said teasingly. "Not that I expected you to have downloaded them illegally. You seem like a well-meaning kind of guy, if that doesn't sound too awkward." She flashed him a smile. "Sounds like emulators are pretty useful, then. So are they programs, or are they some sort of equipment you plug into the computer to make it go?" Poor Mana was lost on most forms of technology. Working the stuff at the store was one thing, but those computers were, from a technological standpoint, rapidly approaching senility. They hardly counted as state-of-the-art. She was now on the verge of a new and possibly dangerous world. Well, only dangerous if electronic pirates were anything like their maritime counterparts. So is a fine and a few years in prison the equivalent of being hung from the yardarm?
A sudden spike of nervousness came from Corvus and her wings flinched at the feeling. "Oh! No, no, no!" She shook her head rapidly. "No, you just seem...well, you seem a bit nervous." She smiled awkwardly. "I was afraid that I was setting you off-ease or something."
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:25 pm
Corvus blushed slightly. "Thanks." he said then nodded. "They are, and they're just programs. The only thing you'd ever plug in is if you wanted to use a controller over the keyboard, which in some cases is useful." he said.
"Besides the fact you're a very pretty girl and talking to me?" he said trying to make a joke of it. "Girls don't normally talk to me." He said looking down at the table embarrassed. "And you are very pretty..." he said glancing up at her sheepishly. "And you seem really sweet, and smart, and awesome, and I'm really afraid of screwing up and that you won't like me, and I really would like it if you liked me..." he trailed off realizing he was rambling.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:17 pm
"Does it work the other way? Can you plug a keyboard and mouse into a console, or are emulators a computer-only thing? I can't really imagine it going both ways, but I'm not a techie by nature. They do all sorts of fascinating things with AI these days. I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore." She smiled, hoping it would relieve the tension.
She was partially wrong. The embarrassment was still there, even if it was getting out and being stated, but it was more her direct questions about the situation that was--well, it was all a complicated mess, wasn't it? That's how emotions were, really. She smiled again, gently. "I like you," she said. "I haven't known you for very long, Corvus, but you haven't made any mistakes yet. And I've never really thought of myself as pretty, per say." She felt herself blushing, felt the glow on her lips increasing. "But that's a very sweet thing of you to say," she added. "Um, I don't talk to a lot of guys socially, so I don't really know if I'm doing it right either, if it's any consolation."
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:36 am
Corvus let out a breath relieved. "But you are pretty. Especially when you smile." he said with a nod. "Maybe that was a little out of line for me to say since we haven't known each other very long, but...well it's out there now." he said with a wry laugh. "So...let's be awkward about talking to the other gender together? It's a lot less lonely when you're sailing on that ship with someone else." he said gently teasing.
He then got back to the first question and shook his head. "Nah, wouldn't work that way. I mean if you wanted to modify the whole console to do something like that you could, and one company does technically make an emulator for a couple of their products that allows you to play older games on the system, but it's only for their own games. You couldn't play any one else's games on it." he chuckled.
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Lady Argentum Draconis Vice Captain
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