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

(A) the white room

[A scraggly twelve year old stands in the empty space, too-large army jacket hanging off his bones. He's staring down at his battered arms -- the Ringmaster thrust him into the Matrix shortly after he arrived, and he arrived quite beaten. He slowly wipes a palm over the bruises, and they fade behind his hand like magic marker, until finally, they disappear. Nic unwraps torn cloth from his hand; it devolves into green code and disappears before it hits the floor. Hand raised, he watches a slice in his palm close like it was never there.

Once his wounds are taken care of, he lifts his arms. The overlarge jacket and wife beater dissolve into pixels and blow away; they are replaced by a button down dress shirt -- a memory of a friend's decent clothing. A friend from a very rich family.

Nic drops his arms with finality. He looks like a raccoon crawled into a gold-trimmed wardrobe with style, and he only wriggled into half of it. His cargo pants and hi-tops are definitely still from the dumpster.

Feeling eyes on him, he turns to you and cocks his head inquisitively. His chin juts out in preemptive defense, as if he's saying, What you lookin' at?]

(B) main character super powers

[A child runs across the roofs of buildings like a freaking ninja, surveying the city as per his Nightrunner duties. He leaps across a gap between two apartment buildings and plants a sole on the wall of another. The other foot lifts -- intending to run up it like he would any other day in the real world -- hits the brick, and slides. Nic slips like a cartoon character on a banana peel, and he tumbles right off the roof.

So much for being "the one."]

(C) wildcard

[hit me with your best shot!]

Bonnie doesn't really understand exactly what the Matrix is, nor the complete reason for being there, but it's a novel experience none the less. She's taken to the idea of being able to look however she wants and although her physical appearance hasn't changed, she's dressed herself in a cute sailor dress, along with matching black shoes and a cardigan. She still sports a side bag, although this time her pochette isn't its usual yellow color but a white cream instead.

She's missed wandering through a city, missed the lights and sounds, and while it may not be anything like Lumiose City, it still has its own charm. Speaking of sounds, it's hard to ignore the sudden crash she hears in the upcoming alleyway, curiosity forcing her to hurry over. It's there she spots the unfortunate boy with a small gasp. Did he just...fall from somewhere?

"Hey! You okay?" Redundant question, sure, but she's bounding over to his side to offer a hand.

Nic sits up shakily, deep voice grumbling. Wincing, he gingerly touches the back of his head, and he's shocked to find nothing comes away in his palm but black ink. That should at least have broken some bones, if not cracked open his skull . . .

Oh. There's a hand. Held out for him. He doesn't know what to do with that. Nic finally raises his head and, dazed, stares past the hand at its owner. He's missed the spoken question, but he sees it on her face.

Brokenly, he barks, "I'm fine." Despite the gravel in his voice, the tone is definitely shocked that this is kind of the truth. Did he manipulate this weirdo system in some way . . . ?

Fine? Really? What's with guys and acting tough all the time? There's a huff from her as she takes her hand away, only to set it squarely on her hip.

"Y'don't look fine." No really, he doesn't. Then again she's seen Ash fall and bump himself countless times and he's always come out okay. Maybe this boy was made of the same resilient boy-stuff that he was?

"What happened?"

Nic never looks fine, it's true. He shakes his head slowly. "Don't . . . know. Slipped. Couldn't run right."

He flaps a bony arm at their surroundings in blame, frustrated and at a loss. "This place . . . 'crewed me up."

Couldn't run right? What, did his legs not work? There's a hum of worry that she swallows at his frustration. This place? Was he not from here then?

"Screwed you up? How?"

"I can . . . run up walls," Nic grunts, frowning. "Rules here . . . are different."

Little does he know that they just have to learn how to break them.

"Eh, really? You can?" It's not like she doesn't believe him. On the contrary, she seems kind of excited at the sudden piece of new knowledge. "Are you a super hero?"

[It's not like Tamaki cares that much about fashion, but even he notices that Nicolas's clothes are a bit mismatched. When Nicolas looks as him, seemingly annoyed by his presence, Tamaki is not intimidated, giving a little shrug in answer.]

Pants, too.

[If he wants to look put together, anyway.]

[Nic stares down at his cargo pants. Then looks to Tamaki's pants. With a shrug, Nic pats down his own as if dusting them, and they flicker into something else.

A nearly perfect copy of Tamaki's pants. No matter how terrible the combination. He cocks his head at Tamaki and spreads his arms, as if to say Do I blend in now?]

[Tamaki was wearing some black slacks, so it's a little more appropriate than cargo pants. Tamaki nods approvingly, because, as far as he's concerned, Nic looks alright now.]

That's better. It matches.

[A corner of Nic's lips crawl up his cheek in the attempt at a grin. Good. If he doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, he'll be able to do his job better.

Speaking of... Who is this dude he's talking to?

Choking out the words, deep and with purpose, he grunts:] WhAT's yOUr joB?

[Oh, so he can speak after all. He sounds kind of weird, but Tamaki doesn't mention it.]

Acrobat. What're you?

[He doesn't sound like any kind of vocal performer, anyway, but there are lots of other jobs at the carnival.]

⇨ THE MATRIX

Nicolas Brown | OTA (will match prose)

(B) Slams into this I hope it's okay

of course!!! :D hiiii

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