⇨ MAINFRAME

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE.
When: Day 92 - Day 105
Where: Mainframe, the city inside a computer.
What: The carnival stops at its next location, a computer world full of computer people. Except, this time it's not the Matrix, don't worry.
Warnings: Nothing inherently suspect here.

THIS PLACE, MAINFRAME↴ After the Nightrunners have done their search, you will be welcome to enter the tree portal into Mainframe. There is no loading room this time - instead, any alternations will occur as you pass through the portal. Remember to wear your icon buttons! If you aren't wearing one, you won't be able to pass through the portal, and during your stay you will not be able to remove it. The portal is currently opening into a forested area of Mainframe, filled with a bunch of sort of low res trees. A large section of a residential area has just been nullified by a Game Cube. A large quantity of former sprites and binomes are now wandering the city in the form of null worms, and the rest of the city is generally in a panic. You'll be able to learn about the details of what happened if you ask the locals, though they will act incredulous if you behave as if you don't know what a Game is. Just tell them you and the others just arrived from a different "system" in the "Net." Yeah, that seems to allay their suspicion. Nailed it. Here is a convenient map of the Mainframe from the original cartoon, which this setting is more or less based on. This Mainframe is larger and lacking areas dedicated to specific characters (no Megabyte or Dot's Diner), but is laid out basically the same, for reference's sake. ► LOW RES: Your glamour will come into affect as soon as you cross through the portal, and while you are here your body will function like a weird mixture of its original self and the formatting of a program. You can eat their food and use their amenities, but if one of them were to look at your coding it would be obviously foreign to them. Also, maybe your skin has turned blue, or green, and your clothes are suddenly way more 90's scifi? Maybe you look like a giant number 7 to other people. This place is weird, aesthetically speaking. ► RELIEF EFFORTS: For the altruist out there, you can offer help to the locals that are trying to recover from the recent Game loss. The buildings that were caught within the Cube's range are twisted and burnt out, as if the energy has been sucked right out of them, and it sounds like all the losers were transfigured into slugs. You might want to avoid Game Cubes if any show up. Just an FYI. (As if that will happen.) In the meantime, you can console the programs whose family members are now works, or help try to clean up the buildings that are now falling apart. Or, you can ignore all of this. That's cool, too. ► VIBRANT CULTURE: Despite being weird computer program people made of boxes and spheres, the people of Mainframe seem to live their lives much the same ways humans do. They have TV programs, restaurants, and other shops that you can buy weird 90's computer world bullshit from. There's even a Hollywood inspired area, where you can go to shows. They also have some neato hoverboard things you can fly around on. As usual, the Ringmaster will be giving people an allowance to buy any modest souvenirs or necessities during their stay. Feel free to be creative about fleshing out sections of the city! The mods barely remember the details of this show, either.

Comments

RESTAURANTS

[otoko]

[Food. Food is good, and it certainly looks normal enough to order. The awkwardly computerized teen has only just finished receiving his own order, before his chrome face turns to blink at Lucifer. (Gongenzaka, notably, changed A Lot in this place; his lower half some kind of covered and wheeled Thing, and his upper not only chrome but lacking all canid additions.)

Being asked to sit with another is...not what he expected, naturally.] Auh-if you like? [What is happening here.]

[disorder_heaven]

[ Lucifer spends a lot of time hanging out with a demon whose nerfed form is literally a black chicken, and even more time playing stupid low-res flash games made by web design students on his fifteen-year-old laptop.

He almost doesn't notice. ]

So did this place do a serious number on you? Or do you normally look pretty similar to this?

[ Almost. ]

[otoko]

Hmm? [Well, the point is that it was Almost.

...Almost...

Gongenzaka frowns a little, as if the answer were obvious.] ....Absolutely not. I, the man Gongenzaka, am very much a being who bears legs, typically.

[ANDDDDD SOMEONE TALKS LIKE AN OLD FART, WOW.]

[disorder_heaven]

Lucifer. And... Yeah, and normally I'm not purple and black. Mostly. Whatcha gonna do.

[ He pops a fry (he thinks) into his mouth. ]

If you can sit than sit, if not, then... I can't make you do anything, but I'm bored.

[otoko]

Mnnn...unfortunately, it would appear that I, the man Gongenzaka, cannot...however, to stand in this state is no concern! I, the man Gongenzaka, will gladly give you company then!

[...He coughs.] But first, it would be rude of me not to introduce myself to the one that I am to share a meal with!

I am Gongenzaka Noboru-pleased to meet you! [He announces, bowing somewhat.]

[disorder_heaven]

Yeah. Still Lucifer. [ No bow, but at least he had the decency to add: ] Nice to meet you.

You've definitely got the worst of what I've seen. It looks like that'd hurt.

[ Not that he sounds particularly concerned. ]

[otoko]

Auh... I, the man Gongenzaka, assure you, it is quite painless..! The most that it has proven to be thus far is somewhat inconveniencing perhaps...

[That said, he immediately banishes such an idea with a stern and determined huff.] However, that is no reason for me to think upon it poorly..! To simply refuse to adapt to such things would be UNFORGIVABLE..!

[disorder_heaven]

You're allowed to complain, dude. Your body's like. Mangled, and shit.

[ He takes a swig of his drink, which doesn't really taste like anything, and finally stops looking Gongenzaka up and down. ]

You uh. You gonna look like that for long?

[otoko]

HM?!

B-But... [He stares quite openly, setting his food on the table.] Truthfully, it does not feel mangled at all..!

...More than likely this will last for as long as I, the man Gongenzaka, am within the Mainframe however...

[disorder_heaven]

And how long is that gonna be?

[ He tries to fold his wings behind him but it comes off as more of a twitch of graphics than anything. He can't wait to be out of here, but at least there's stuff to do. He just wishes he could be fully rendered for it. ]

[otoko]

As long as I, the man Gongenzaka, am standing within the city limits..!

Everything restores itself to what should actually be there, once inside the Carnival Grounds after all..!

[disorder_heaven]

That's good. If you look like this now, in this world, it'd be a weird crossover for you to look exactly like this in the real world.

Not that this world isn't real. But dude, you look totally tweaked.

[betheman]

.....

......................What is....'tweaked'?

[If he didn't sound like an old man before, he has surpassed that level by far.]

[disorder_heaven]

You look screwed up.

[ Maybe not a direct translation to Luciferese, but there you go.

Also, believe it or not, there's no malicious intent. He's not even trying to be insulting. ]

[betheman]

Aah.

[Hmm.] ...Such is a fair observation...I, the man Gongenzaka, shall admit that even outside of the Mainframe, a number of others have paused upon greeting me for the first time...

[It's...a bit of a pain, but he's gotten used to it at this point.]

[disorder_heaven]

Knock on wood or whatever, but something tells me you'll probably never reach this level of glitch again. At least not outside of this place.

When I meet you there, you could have octopus legs and three rabbit ears and I probably wouldn't care.

[betheman]

Indeed, I, the man Gongenzaka, have found that testing fate is unwise here...

[They thought the Celebration would be great AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED.] Th-

Though I most certainly do not have either of those things!!

[disorder_heaven]

Then what the hell are you worrying about? My boss man has goat legs and giant horns. ...Well, giant horn, long story. But if you're even remotely humanoid, it probably won't even make me blink.

[ This from the guy whose most obnoxious coworker is quite literally a walking skeleton. ]

[betheman]

....

[Well.] ...I, the man Gongenzaka, do however have four legs....

[disorder_heaven]

Only four? [ Lucifer's expression doesn't change. ] See? Totally manageable.

[otoko]

You yourself seemed to think that just two odd legs were odd enough, did you not?

[disorder_heaven]

I'm more used to humanoids. I didn't say multiple legs would freak me out. Unless they're all different kinds of legs, I'm kind of used to it. [ He continues to stare, his pupils glinting strangely, not quite black anymore. He hates to admit it to himself, but he's curious about this strange man.

The man. Whatever. ]

No offense, but what exactly are you? Besides "the man Gongenzaka."

[betheman]

JUST Gongenzaka... [he notes with a grimace.] ...I, the man Gongenzaka, have been told that certain parts of my native language are...misheard under Carnival magic...

[It sucks it sucks a lot- anyway.] ...It is a result of my changes, however. Upon beginning here, I, the man Gongenzaka, appeared quite human.

[disorder_heaven]

Yeah, been there, dude.

[ He still hasn't even tried to master kanji. ]

I don't mind the changes I'm going through since crash-landing into the carnival, but this? [ Again he tries to stretch his wings, but the triangles are static. It doesn't cause him any pain, but it's unnerving. ] This is bull.

[otoko]

[Well, as long as the other Gets It then-there is an empathetic nod, though Gongenzaka raises his eyebrows at the complaint regarding wings.] Well...at the least, you could wait out the remainder of our visit from within the carnival grounds if you wish-so we need not remain in a location that brings discomfort, for the most part.

['Most Part' meaning no one liked the Celebration, RM!!]