While we all know how similar Virus and Trip are, I find their differences so fascinating.
Virus is polite and calm, but scheming. He likes control and to observe. A voyer without a goal. He feels like he’s so lost to me. Sure, he's looking for things that are entertaining but nonetheless he acts so detached. Like nothing (exept Aoba) can keep his interest. He even seems dissasociatiated at times. Simply not present. Just apathetic to the world around him. Yet yearning for some kind of connection. Something to ancher him to the world.
I wouldn't say that he seems bothered by this apathy. Really he just does things that don't seem uninteresting too him. Virus honestly reminds me of Towa from Slow Damage. Just this whole "avoiding" hassle thing. Expressed in a bit of a diffrent way of course.
Trip on the other hand seems angry and upset but without and outlet. He's a bit more immature, way less polite and courteous. He's impulsive in a way Virus is not. He seems to find joy in inflicting pain. Physical pain to be precise. Certainly a sadist of some kind.
He's also after entertainment. Something that interests him. But he focuses on physical release while Virus focuses on mental torment.
The way I read Trip is that he experiences a disconnect from the world and the people around him. Just like Virus, but while his outsidernes manifests in apathy, Trip's instead manifest by lashing out. I feel like there's some underlying sadness there. A frustration about not being able to connect. An anger stemming from loneliness.
They're just two lost people who only have eachother!! Like don't even get me started on how they met. How Trip chose to follow Virus. How he found a kindred spirit. The fact that Virus let him. How Virus was annoyed and indifferent to everyone around him before Trip. How he doesn't find Trip bothersome. How he lets Trip stay in his orbit. There's so much to unpack in Virus describing his relationship to Trip like being complete. They're figuratively made for eachother. Despite their differences they're two sides of the same coin! A coin called detachment from humanity.