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

Yeah. I'm an idol. But now I'm an acrobat.

[He mulls over the idea of asking the Ringmaster to let him sing in his act. He doesn't know what singing has to do with being an acrobat, but maybe he and Joker can work something out? And then he can have Joker ask the Ringmaster because Joker is way less scary to talk to.]

An idol? D'you mind, uh... explaining that?

[He... might have heard that term somewhere in his time in the carnival, but he can't be totally sure what it means in this context, all the same.]

You sing and dance, and pose like this. [He strikes a little pose, jutting out his hip and pushing his hair back with one hand.] Sometimes I have to act, but the scripts are always confusing.

[Ginko can't keep his mouth from quirking into a slight smile at that. He sure seems enthusiastic about this.]

Yeah? Confusing how?

Because I would cheer Rikkun on, but then Rikkun and Sou-chan would get in a fight! And at first Sou-chan was nice to me, but then he spat in my face! And Yama-san was evil and controlling the school, and I was supposed to think Iorin was weird.

So the next time, Sou-chan told me I had to understand the script better. That time I was a police guy and I was Yama-san's brother and we were fighting over coffee. Also Yama-san was secretly a terrorist, and Sou-chan and Rikkun were brothers! Rikkun got captured and we had to save him, but he was really embarrassed because he didn't look cool.

And the last one was just me and Sou-chan. I worked really hard to memorize my lines that time, but...

[He'd rather not talk about it.]

[He listens in silence as Tamaki explains, eyebrows raising slightly.

...Huh. Yeah.]

That... does sound pretty confusing. But at least you've got experience with performing, huh.

Yeah. We won some awards. We won a JIMA, and Black and White.

[He looks Ginko up and down.] Are you a performer?

Huh, sounds impressive. [He has no idea what either of those are, but it does.

He gives a soft burst of laughter at the suggestion.] Not at all. I'm just an animal keeper.

An animal keeper? That's cool. What kind of animals?

[He hasn't really seen the ones at the carnival besides the ones that occasionally come by after his act. And Zecora, but she doesn't count.]

[Ginko snorts, and takes a moment to glance around and make sure nobody's close enough to overhear before he says anything... you know. Strange.]

All kinds. The Ringmaster likes collecting strange creatures from different worlds; dragons, giant rats... some things that I couldn't tell you what they are if I tried.

[Those are the most interesting, in his opinion, if occasionally difficult to work with. Inconveniences aside, he can't deny he kind of enjoys figuring out the workings of the animals in the menagerie.]

[Tamaki's jaw drops, and he speaks a little louder than he really should (this is how you get youself kidnapped, Tamaki).] Dragons!? Really!?

[A few people glance his way, but no one seems too interested in a teenager with fanciful ideas, at least.]

I'll have to see later...

[He winces at the volume, but relaxes once it seems that nobody was too put off by that outburst.]

Well, just one dragon, technically. [Hopefully that's not too disappointing.] You really should stop by sometime; I'd suggest morning or evening. She's most active then.

[It's not - even one dragon is incredible.]

Okay, I will. Thanks, old man.

[It's the hair.]

...Yeah, no problem. Maybe don't call me that, though.

[Tamaki would be far from the first to be thrown off.]

Huh? What do you want me to call you?

[He never gave a name.]

Just call me Ginko. You?

Tamaki.

Have you been in the carnival long?

Depends on your definition, I guess. I've been here for just a few months over a year.

You didn't leave?

[Tamaki doesn't really get it, personally, but Ginko wouldn't be the first person he met who decided not to go home.]

Nope. I had more reason to stay than to go back.

[Very specific, Ginko.]

Mm. Zeco-san is kinda the same.

[It's alright if he's vague, Tamaki will just let his imagination fill in the rest. Ginko seems nice, so he was probably trying to escape something bad.]

Zecora? Yeah, seems like she doesn't plan to go anywhere, either.

I take it you're planning on getting out of here once you can, huh?

Yeah. My sister is in Tokyo.

Yeah? Here's hoping you can get back to her sooner rather than later, then.

[Which he should be able to as long as he doesn't incur any extra debt, but, well. You never know.]

Edited 2017-01-16 20:59 (UTC)

[It's not quite like that, but Tamaki doesn't correct him.]

Thanks. I'm going to do my job, so she has no reason to keep me.

[But one never knows indeed.]

(no subject)

dontpokethat - 2017-01-22 03:51 (UTC) - Expand

puddingemote - 2017-01-26 05:14 (UTC) - Expand