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

[kingsroads]

The newest member of the Nightrunners didn't really get the memo of "be inconspicuous:" Jonathan Strange is living up to his name and still wearing his 1800s attire (long black slightly frayed coat) and his hair's all over the place. But in Strange's defense, he signed on one day, was thrown into the Carnival the next day, and tossed into the Matrix soon afterwards. Add in the fact that he's already not doing too hot on the sanity scale and a small little trip on the struggle bus seems a bit inevitable.

The fact that he's sitting at the table next to Mari, idly sipping on some sort of chocolate coffee concoction that's more whipped cream than coffee, and reading A Children's Guide To Magic (purchased from the not-yet-out-of-business Borders omnipresent in malls everywhere) isn't helping that image at all.

"This makes no sense," he can't help but grumble as he looks over to Mari, pulling her into this conversation whether she wants to or not. "What sort of book of magic doesn't even mention the Raven King?"

[motivenotfound]

.... omg.

No way.

Mari is not seeing this shit.

Except obviously she is. And so can everyone else in the near area.

Johnathan doesn't get more than a sentence out of his mouth before one hand (teal-painted nails and all) shoots out to seize him by the nose and shake him a little.

"Tssssst!" she hisses--but not too loudly.

"Are we hosting a costume party? What the hell are you doing?!"

[kingsroads]

He has no idea what's going on. This is not helping matters.

Strange can't really do anything as Mari grabs his nose. Likewise, he just looks kind of confused as she shakes him a bit. His mental state right now is just a series of question marks as he has no idea what she's doing and then asks him, what's in his mind, a really stupid question.

"I'm reading a book," said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Of course, his voice comes out a little bit weird because again, she's got a pretty good grip on his nose and Strange is just too confused by the situation to attempt to move. Still, he's at least matching her loudness as he speaks.

What a stupid question. Of course he's reading, what else would it be? The fact that he hasn't even tried to blend in is just going straight over his head.

[motivenotfound]

Mari stares at him for an entire second. Then she pulls him toward her, yanking him by the nose closer to her face. Then she thinks better of it and lets him go, but mostly because she can't drag him by the nose all the way to the nearest phone.

Okay, she probably could. She definitely wants to. But that's.... well, not a good leader thing to do. Time to stop being a friend. Time to be the Boss.

"I hope you know what a phone is, because you're going to the nearest one and meeting me back at the carnival pronto."

[kingsroads]

It's amazing just how little Strange is protesting getting yanked by the nose. He's just regarding the whole situation with a mix of confusion and curiosity. This is happening, right? He's used to thinking things are happening but in reality they're not happening (like pineapples. Don't get him started on the damn pineapples.) It's only when Mari slips into business mode that it seems to dawn on Strange that ah yes, this is definitely happening and he's totally getting his nose yanked by this young woman and the indignant expression finally settles on his face.

...only to swap right back to confusion for a second because phone? Thankfully, meeting her back at the carnival is enough of a context clue that Strange is able to piece together what exactly a phone is.

"So that's what those things are called," Strange mutters in a tone of pure 'oh hey, who'd have thought it.' Someone definitely gave him an explanation of how to exit and enter the carnival, he got that much down pat. But...when you've got an attention span prone to distraction, you miss a couple of things, like 'terms' and 'the instructions to blend in.'

"Very well then," said with as much dignity as one can muster after having had their nose grabbed. "I shall meet you back at the carnival in a moment's notice." There's a pause, as he straightens up, puts the children's book under his arm, and...pauses for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know where the nearest phone is to begin with, would you?"