Non Nightrunners Need Not Apply [OPEN]

[motivenotfound]

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?

Comments

[dorkypantsuit]

The Psionic is mostly up to no good. He is definitely trying to draw attention to himself. He walks through the mall sporting a pair of flowered shades and has a metal spray paint can sticking out of one pocket. His jacket is predictably black and yellow with the &Psi symbol attached boldly to the front. Nothing to out of the ordinary, but nothing inconspicuous either.

Still, the strangest thing about the Psionic by far is how strange he doesn't look. His skin isn't grey and his teeth aren't fangs. There's no set of horns growing out of his head and no antennae either. He looks perfectly human, which is to say that to him he looks completely foreign. He didn't mind terribly, to be fair. In fact, in some ways it was fun to "dress up" for the day. Still, he can't help the feeling of confusion he gets whenever he catches a glimpse of skin and see's a shade he's entirely unfamiliar with. It was strange, and it had him just the smallest bit on edge.

Of course when he see's Mari he recognizes her despite the changes, but does she recognize him? He doesn't even consider the possibility that she won't, pulling a chair out to sit with her in the food court.

"Sore for your eye's sight?"

GET IT? It's a play on 'sight for sore eyes.' God, he's clever.

[motivenotfound]

You know, Mari's done a pretty good job of figuring out who's who in the Matrix. It helps that most people aren't getting too far off their original appearance--and that she's been around long enough to have gotten a glimpse of their "original" look.

But how the hell is she supposed to recognise the literal alien when he doesn't look anything like an alien?

Thankfully, there's always his awful taste in jokes.

"Aaaaaggghhh," she groans loudly, throwing herself back exaggeratedly in her chair. But it's not without humour. She's got one of those big soft pretzels and a pop--she hasn't actually had a real pop in years, though, so she's finding it a little difficult to drink.

"Don't remind me. Four eyes isn't enough any more!"

[dorkypantsuit]

He laughs, and reaches forward with his hand to try and steal her drink.

"You don't even have four eyes." Here or at the carnival. At the carnival she had way more than four. He looks at her over the shades and she can see the red and blue he hasn't bothered to hide underneath.

"Do you even need those glasses to see? Or is it just a trick?"

Maybe he could steal some of her pretzel too.

[motivenotfound]

"...." Mari almost doesn't even stop him from stealing her drink because he's just pointed out something really, really obvious. She catches on at the very last second, though, and--

Actually, no, you know what, he can have it.

This pretzel is hers, though. She will throw down. Don't test her.

"I could have given myself perfect vision, but where's the fun in that?" She jams the pretzel in her mouth and chews pensively for a half second. Then she speaks--with her mouth full, because Mari Makinami may or may not be Illustrious but no one claimed she was going to be classy while she was doing it.

"No bhug mh' eyes 'r gohgaj."

[dorkypantsuit]

He pulls the soda towards himself with a grin, eagerly taking a sip as Mari jams the rest of her pretzel into her mouth.

"What was that?" Psi asks absentmindedly as he starts looking around. What was Mari doing here anyway? He knows she won't tell him so he looks around trying to see if he can find anything suspicious.