lostcarnival | ⇨ THE MATRIX

Who: EVERYONE!
When: S1:D22 - S1:D??
Where: Visiting the Matrix.
What: The carnival arrives at its next location, as outlined here. This is a general mingling log for convenience purposes, but players are welcome to make as many other logs for this purpose as desired.
Warnings: Could be a lot of things.

THE MATRIX↴

"What IS the Matrix? The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."

► INSIDE: On the inside, it all seems so normal. Beyond what you know of the reality you've stepped in, every bit of this place feels just as real as it did back in the carnival. If you were to forget where you'd just come from, would you know any different? The simulation of Chicago is identical to how it would have been in the early days of the new millenia, to anyone who comes from a similar Earth. Humans bustle around you, oblivious to the world outside of the Matrix that they were born into. One bright side to it all is that this hyper realism means the coffee tastes just as good as it does in real life. Anything you could do in real Chicago you can do here - and perhaps even more.

► WHITE ROOM: But before that, you were here. The White Room is a loading program, intended to port objects and people into the Matrix. You arrive as a reconstruction of your true physical form, but common sense suggests that for some of you, entering the mundane world looking like yourself isn't the best idea. It's in this empty world that you will be able to load in whatever physical objects you are, and change the way you present your own body to the system. Changes can be little, or big, but whatever you do, the body has to be able to function according to Earth's physical laws. Don't forget, if you die here, you die in the carnival too.

► DEJA VU: It doesn't matter what you're doing, but at some point you'll notice it - something around you has repeated itself, like a line on a skipping record. Maybe it's the same person bumping into you twice in a row, or the same cab driver yelling at you to get out of the way. It's like reality has rewound and repeated itself, and after the fact you have no proof of it happening beyond the memory of what you saw. You don't know what it means, but something about it is chilling. It may be a good time to find a buddy.

► THE ONE: It won't necessarily come naturally, but in a moment of need you may find yourself bending the world of the Matrix through sheer belief and force of need. How you bend it will always stay without the rules of the universe, at least for now, but when it comes to enhancing your own physical characteristics, just about anything is possible. It will not be easily reproducible, not now, but it could be your first view into the window of what's possible.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm... not sure, actually? I know a lot about my Lion but I don't think my lion is like most lions.

[He peers in through the glass, smiling.]

My mom used to be friends with, like, seven lions though. I bet she knew all kinds of stuff about them. They were like her lion-pack, wandering through the desert together.

[That's a lot of information. Steven has a lion? Steven's mom had seven lions? Wow.

This must be what being the son of an alien is like all the time.]

Is your lion one of those lions?

[Maybe the kid of one of those lions?]

[Steven seems like he's about to answer that question - but then he suddenly pauses, and realizes he has no answer.]

I don't know, maybe?? I know Lion came from my mom but she didn't actually give him to me, I just kind of found him in the desert one time and then he followed me home, and...

I didn't figure out he was from my mom for a long time. Or about my mom's other lions. Apparently no one knew about the lions? I don't know what my moms whole deal with lions was, but I guess it's like this big secret lion conspiracy?

Secret lion conspiracy...

[That sounds really mysterious. And also awesome! He's definitely interested in it.]

Your mom sounds cool. Having a lion conspiracy.

[He wishes he had a lion...]

How did you find out? That it was from her.

[He has to think about that for a moment. He can't really remember.]

...I guess because he had her sword in his mane. Which is a thing he can do, I mean. He can keep stuff in his mane for me, like a magic pocket. Her sword and a bunch of other stuff is in there. I could show you what it looks like but there isn't any air or anything.

You go inside? And there's no air?

[Tamaki's eyes pop open in surprise. How is that even possible? Then again, Steven is the kid of alien.]

Mm... I guess that's how aliens live in space. [Said with a nod of understanding.]

Yeah! I mean... sort of?

I guess I actually don't know if Homeworld has any air on it.

But if you climb into his mane there's this big field of furry pink grass with a tree in the middle. And my mom left me a bunch of stuff there. She's gone now, so I guess it's kind of special to me.

Mm. I get it.

[His mother left him something special too - the keychain he keeps with him. So he understands Steven's attachment to the things left in Lion's mane (even if it's a bizarre concept he doesn't entirely understand).]

What's Homeworld?

That's where my mom came from. All the gems I know just call it that? I don't know if it even has a name like Earth does... Gems are kind of bad at naming stuff, because they just get called whatever their gemstone is. So, if I wasn't part human I guess I'd just get called Rose Quartz all the time.

[He pauses, feeling sort of awkward.]

I guess I kind of do anyway, but that's not actually my name.

Mm. Your name's Stevicchi!

[Tamaki thinks it would be weird if people called him by a gemstone and not by his name (nicknames aside, of course). But if they suck at names, they probably don't mean it.]

Why "Rose Quartz"?

That's just what my gem is.

[He puts his hand over his belly, where it usually would be, but isn't at the moment.]

It's pink. Like a rose!

[Does Steven have a gem on his stomach? That must be another alien thing.]

Oh. That sounds cute.

[He doesn't mean that in a bad or demeaning way. Having a pink gem on your tummy sounds cute, that's all.]

Was your mom's gem pink, too?

Yeah... It's actually the same gem. Like... I mean, it's the exact same gem, because she gave it to me when I was born. I have all the same powers that she had, and... and everything, I guess.

The exact same...

[That sounds a little hard to believe, but then this is alien stuff they are talking about. Just because it's weird to Tamaki doesn't mean it isn't completely normal where Steven's mom is from.]

That's nice, though, right? Like having her with you.

[That catches Steven off guard for a moment, and he looks up at Tamaki, briefly taken back. Then he smiles, warmly and genuinely, clutching a hand over the spot where his gem usually would be.]

Yeah.

[Tamaki smiles back, not as big, but still just as warm. His hand goes in his pocket, pulling out a small clover keyring. Technically, it's just a replica from the Matrix - the real one is back in Tamaki's trailer.]

Mom made this for me. I don't have powers, but it's kinda the same.

[Steven lights up as he looks at the ring, like it is the most precious thing in the world.]

Really? It's so cute! It doesn't have to be magical to be just as special.

[Tamaki nods in agreement.] Yeah. It's special. She gave my sister one, too.

[So it's kind of like he's always connected with her as well.]

⇨ THE MATRIX

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