⇨ THE MATRIX

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

When I cast the spell
I did not tell
It to change me
And so what you see
Is how I look
With the form I took.

As for the clothes
I picked out those
To be simple and light
So that I might
Be comfortable in
My transition.

[Which might explain just a little about the clothing in question. Of course, wearing a cloak usually means that she doesn't put all that bare shoulder and back on display quite so readily, which may be why she's never had to address questions of its appropriateness...]

[otoko]

So then, you are saying...if you are somehow less precise with your magic, it creates a more favorable result in this case..?

[Favorable as in comfortable, perhaps, but as it is.] Hm! I see-given what you typically wear then, I, the man Gongenzaka, understand how that would be the most comfortable.

[Which is to say 'yeah things that breathe would be better on someone who doesn't really wear Anything-']

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

A rule of magic you should know
Do not force when it can flow.

[Given what she's wearing, that might also be a rule of fashion...]

tough bananas gon, that's my points goal for you

[otoko]

Hmrnnn... [...Well. Truth be told, when it comes to magic...] I, the man Gongenzaka, have no intentions of working with magic of my own...though I will keep this rule in mind.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Why so keep to avoid magic?
Depriving yourself could be tragic.

[otoko]

Because it is entirely against the teachings of the Steadfast Dojo..!

[He shakes his head.] We dedicate ourselves to remaining firm and unmovable, with nothing but our own strength! To rely on spells and magic is against such teachings.

[Granted, it's a bit. Different from saying 'NO' to magic cards but shhhhhhh.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Zecora blinks slowly, trying to parse this statement. It is so unusual to an Equestria mare, it takes a few turns in her head to respond to it.]

Please explain at length
How magic is not strength.

gon, buddy, yer not winnin this discussion

[otoko]

Magic is another kind of strength!

I, the man Gongenzaka, ask you-did you have magic of this sort where you came from? Did others, for that matter?

There are those who use magic in their duels where I am from, this is true-and I, the man Gongenzaka, respect their ability to wield it. But it is not the way of the Steadfast Dojo-and I will not spit upon those teachings by drawing from it myself!

[Okay but those are cards buddy]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Zecora chuckles, a warm and low sound.]

In pony lands, a newcomer finds
Ponies that come in three kinds.
The pony type called 'unicorn'
Is distinguished by their horn.
Magic is their priceless gift.
To them, spells come easy and swift.
Magic is part of society
And also not unknown to me.

[otoko]

Hmnn! It is not so different in my world, when it comes to magic-though it is less an inherited gift, and more of a 'trend'. Most rely on a form of chance when they use magic-beyond that, it is viewed as a weakness not to use it at all.

So for those who follow a Steadfast path, it is more than stubbornness-it is a manner of proving ourselves, as well as the strength of those we place trust in..!

[buddy all of your friends use magic]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I fear I do not understand
This culture of your homeland.
The lesson I take
Is that it is a point you make?

[Seems a silly point to her, but then again, didn't Ponyville wrap up winter by hoof each year? Perhaps it's along those lines.]

[otoko]

Hmmmm... [He ponders this for a moment.] I, the man Gongenzaka should say...less of a 'point' and more of a 'belief'. I do not seek to convince, for example, yourself to cease using magic-that is your way! and it is one that suits you, that you have made your own!

Just as much as it is the way of my closest, and greatest friend.

For myself however, it is not my way. My way sits in a focus on what I, the man Gongenzaka, have long had-my mind and my body. And nothing else.

[...We'll go with the Ponyville Winter Wrap.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Zecora nods. She still can't say she understands entirely, but pride and conviction can lead to strange beliefs.]

It seems strange in my eyes
But I do not mean to criticize.
You must do as you believe
Or else you will only grieve.

[otoko]

[It can indeed, Zecora. It can indeed.]

Aah, true words indeed..! I, the man Gongenzaka, am glad to find you understand!

[Understanding doesn't have to mean totally empathizing after all. As long as they can accept the other, it's all it takes!]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Accepting others is easy. Especially for a zebra like her.]

How did you come to join this school
Which allows you only your strength as a tool?

no lie his deck is actually kinda -spectacular- from a game standpoint oAo

[betheman]

[AWKWARD COUGH] My father is the one who founded such a place. I, the man Gongenzaka, seek to make certain that it is able to adapt and move onward into the future, just as other schools adapt in their own ways.

We shall preserve our tradition, without stagnation! [He actually did good on that too!]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Ah, I see.
It's family.

[Zecora nods slightly, though she's hardly as gung-ho as some folks might be about it. The cause holds relatively little weight with her, though she can respect that it holds more for others.]

[otoko]

[One could say 'just family?', to such a thing.

But really, when it's 'family', the feeling is never that it could be 'just'. So Gongenzaka nods, smiling almost proudly about the matter.] Aah. So it is.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Then I am certain your father is proud
That your commitment is steadfast... and loud.

[otoko]

A-auuuh!! [HEY] W-While I, the man Gongenzaka, may speak with volume, to put it in such a way...!

[noooooo that makes it sound bad zecoraaaaa..]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Zecora chuckles lightly in a hand.]

It is not bad in my eyes.
A zebra who rhymes can't criticize.

[betheman]

I- I, the man Gongenzaka, can certainly not say anything poor about such a zebra, after all..!!

[He's clearly still a bit flustered-but he means well, and after all, that is all that matters at the end of things.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

You could if you believed it true
But I hope you have no cause to.

[Zecora's little smile is proof positive that she's teasing him.]

Shall we wrap up here?

[otoko]

C-Certainly not...!!

[As usual, Gongenzaka is quite easy to tease.]