lostcarnival | Non Nightrunners Need Not Apply [OPEN]

Who: Mari Makinami Illustrious and YOU
What: Come hang out with Mari at the mall! She doesn't actually want you here.
When: Early on in The Matrix
Where: Local mall, or it's up to you.
Warnings: None

There's no nice way to put it. The Matrix is Fucked Up. It's immediately obvious to anyone with half a brain--or, well, half a brain that's willing to question the difference between the perceived self and the self that acts in reality, anyway. Which is to say, the Matrix isn't very difficult for Mari to wrap her head around, which is exactly why it's inevitable she'll be spectacularly insensitive to anyone struggling with it.

But she's a lot more excited than she realised she'd be. Excited to look like herself again--a version of herself that (despite everything) she still thinks of on some level as the "real" her. A version that doesn't have to worry about how many eyes she has visible at any given time and can see her own face in the mirror. For those who haven't been around the carnival terribly long (or just less than a couple years), she's barely recognisable: a bright eyed, energetic teenager with the same two-ponytail hairstyle and glasses she's always had, but human limbs and human legs--a wingless, tailless girl like any other, more concerned with herself than the world at large.

It's the perfect cover. After all, she has a job to do. One where drawing attention to herself is Bad News. So she's not so much "actively staking out" as she is "excitedly running around shopping malls and drinking caramel lattes conveniently close to the machines' agents."

And she's keeping an eye out for anyone else from the carnival who might give her away. Anyone else. If you're not a Nightrunner, you're a liability. Distancing herself from you won't work. Not this time. That's just gonna make the trouble go to you and not to her, where she can keep her eyes on it.

So. What are you up to?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Unfortunately for Chiaki, Mari is fundamentally incapable of greeting her in a way that doesn't take advantage of her new, significantly less guarded rear flank.

Which is to say, she strolls right up behind her, leans in really close, and stage-whispers the word "boo."

One of these days she's really going to get used to people sneaking up on her. She's gotten better at it, but with her ears all folded up and listening better to the inside of her head than to anybody around her, the game console goes clattering to the floor.

She twists around to see who it is. Some girl -- a bit taller than her; well, much taller, actually, but only a bit taller than she used to be. "S-sorry? Is everything..."

The glasses. She does recognize the glasses. "...Mari?"

Mari's smile just about splits her face. "Bingo~!"

She stands back up, brushing off her skirt, and touches one finger to her glasses--pushing them back up, obviously, but with style.

"You've still got your hood up--do you like the nekomimi look that much? You can do away with it if you want here. In fact..."

She narrows her eyes just a bit over her smile, then glances down, touching the gamegirl with the tip of her toe and pushing it back towards Chiaki as she locks eyes again.

"I'd really recommend it."

Chiaki leans down to pick up the little machine, and tucks it away into a pocket of her hoodie.

"I kind of rushed here, I guess." She pats down the bumps atop her new hoodie uneasily. "They aren't showing, are they?"

She's kind of marveling at how different Mari looks. Almost normal.

Almost?

Rude much!

Mari rubs her chin speculatively, tipping her head. "I guess it could be hair if you weren't looking for it." The corners of her mouth pull down, though, and she places a hand on Chiaki's head, flattening them further. And she leans back in, lowering her voice in what probably seems uncharacteristic seriousness.

"They are looking, though." She looks at Chiaki from the corner of her eye, still pressing down the top of her hood. "Maybe you didn't hear, but Ring Master wants us to keep our heads down, you know? We're trying not to cause a bunch of trouble here...."

She's being nice as a favour, Chiaki, but don't blow her cover.

Or yours.

"I did..." She looks around uneasily, with what little movement she has while Mari's pressing down on her head.

"Hold on." It's a virtual world, right? So she should be able to ... shift things around a little bit. She closes her eyes and concentrates, trying to imagine her ears retreating into her skull.

The problem is that while Mari's pressing down on them, they're a little hard not to think about as huge and furry. So nothing's happening all that fast.

Uh?

Well, okay....

Mari waits for a few moments, her hand still on top of Chiaki's head. She straightens up a little, at least--but after maybe a solid minute of curious impatience, she breaks the silence.

"....what am I holding on for?"

She finally stops concentrating and looks up at the taller girl.

"Nothing's happening..." She'd thought her ears would, like. Change or something.

"I can go back to the White Room, I guess."

"... mmmm. It's gonna be reeeeeally weird if you get up and leave, then come back looking slightly different." Mari ponders this for a moment, still leaning on Chiaki's head.

Well. There is one way to get around it. She was gonna save it for when she needed to lose a tail, but...

"So I'm coming too!"

"... Okay."

She stands up with Mari, smiling at the taller girl. "Are you gonna change, too?"

Non Nightrunners Need Not Apply [OPEN]

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