Matrix Radio, Saturday, August 1st

[myownface]

Did he just, like, I mean - c'mon guys, I know the squirrels on the island are pushy little jerks but at least I had, like, an understanding with them. I come in to the radio station without, like, putting up a fight, and they let me do things like pick up coffee and stare at the exploded school along the way!

*chittering*

Sure.

Anyway.

Hi, um, Sim Fortywhatever-W. This is Sparkle, like, actually me Sparkle, and I am better dressed than I have ever been in my life right now, and I could have run away from the squirrels and maybe even outrun those blaster rifles the Zin are carrying, but instead I'm here, with notes, which I'm going to read to you. So that, I don't know, presumably we can all rally together and kick ass. There are weird console things outside and helicopters and that just sounds like an invitation to me.

For those not paying attention at home, your home isn't your home, and some jerkass named Zinyak has kidnapped us all. He, like, made an announcement about this yesterday. And the day before. Which mostly involved chiding us like little kids and then doing freaking literary readings, because of course we'd get abducted by a frog-faced creep who thinks we need more Shakespeare in our lives. Of course.

In the dorms, where it's good to see that reading bedroom notes is still creepy even when the dorms are fake, Alex tried to get out of bed, and ended up on the ceiling. Which isn't in bed, so mission accomplished, I guess?

In town, Hannibal and Jono were making plans and trying to make a list of the people who are here when Jono almost put his head through the ceiling? And then there was, like, frog rain, which is... also weird. But I guess the takeaway here is that we should probably try to touch base with one another at some point if we're not evil alien sims and stuff. Edward joined the 'I have powers now, I guess' club by running up a wall, and Bo managed to get her coffee from some uncooperative barista at the Fake-Perk by making it rain fish.

Frogs and fish rain. This place is almost as fucked-up as the real thing.

In the ongoing adventures of people who have been sucked off to even weirder sims, we have Pinkie vanishing to somewhere or other after she interrupted Hardison in his attempt to break out of this place and they both got busted by the Zin. Eliot is still alive and well in a Western when last the squirrels tuned in, and was schooling the locals on this little thing called 'white people are actually less entitled to be here than the Sioux kthx,' and Cara got a spaceship and a crew and a possible romantic arc, and something about space zombies? See, like, I'd be jealous, but you lost me at space zombies.

*Rustling*

And that's all the notes. All that, and these squirrels didn't offer me alcohol even once. Whatever, I'm out of here. I'm gonna commit Grand Theft Auto and keep points for each Zin I hit. It'll be a great time. Sparkle out.

Across the Matrix, Saturday Morning

[zin-the-matrix.livejournal.com]

"I hope all of you have taken the opportunity to cool your heels gracefully," Zinyak's voice intoned. "Even if your fellows down below are being incredible pests. Do they know I could crush you all if I wished? All of this is mine, dear citizens of Simulation 45y. Let me demonstrate."

There was a large, blinding pillar of light.

There was a loud, impossible explosion.

The school tore itself apart, bricks and towers floating upwards into the sky, desks hovering in the air underneath an impossible red glare that served to illuminate the many different chunks that remained of Fandom High's imposing castle.

"That could be the beginning of something terrible for you," Zinyak said, "Or you could convince your little friends to stop warping this simulation and leave you in peace. It is your choice."

His voice ceased. A loud heavy metal opera began.

Buildings tore away from each other, the roads broadening to three times their regular width. More dead-eyed people flooded the streets, and with them a stream of SUVs and sportscars that drove just a little bit too fast. Helicopters tore up into the sky, their blades clappering loudly.

Something had broken; something potentially useful: outside every tower, a console uncloaked, visible to all.

[[ your daily zinyak! info on the specific changes is here, npc requests go here, more to come later today... ]]

Just Outside MCA, Saturday Morning

[suitably_heroic]

Outside the MCA building stood a man. An angry man. He hadn't seen Cara in days. Some schutta had broken into his head. His ship wasn't here.

But at least he had powers, now-- some at least similar to what he'd had before.

So he stood outside, and he waited. He listened to Zinyak's broadcast, and he waited - for the changes to come, for something to happen.

As the clappering of helicopter blades hit his ears and the roads widened, he said, "Finally."

And then Atton pushed off, hitting the side of the MCA building, pushing off again, grabbing a passing helicopter by the railings, flipping in through the open door with a bare modicum of effort. If he was going to be in here for a moment longer, at least he'd be able to go airborne. Do something. Maybe get to the top of one of those towers.

An alien came hurtling down from the helicopter a moment later. It hit the pavement.

[[ open! ]]

A main simulation in the Matrix, who knows what time

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker popped out of her Money Matrix into a street. It kind of looked like Japan. Or maybe Mexico. Somewhere. Hey, was that the castle over there? ... when did all these tourists show up?

Along that loooooong street that might be Fandom there were cars. SO MANY CARS.

"This is my jam."

Step one, break in.

Step two, break it all.

[Parker is about to drive things into other things. Feel free to jump in, or ask for her assistance in unlocking a sports-car.

VROOM!

ETA: YOU SAW NOTHING IT WAS ALWAYS HERE. *magic jazz hands*]

All Over The Matrix, Saturday Afternoon

[zin-the-matrix.livejournal.com]

Simulation 45y was not actually doing so well. The underlying code had been brutalized in a variety of ways over the past few days, and half the changes that had been made were actually the consequence of quickly patching over holes in the programming, replacing one feature with another.

It was about to get worse.

It began as something innocuous: a small plaque outside town hall that read, in flowing script, THE PONY CAME HOME.

An hour later, the sign above the Perk changed: TAKE IT DOWN.

And, in well-lit letters across the wall of the post office: IF YOU BREAK IT, THE SIM GOES DOWN WITH IT.

[[ wait for the ocd up! hackers, come graffiti the sim! matrixees, come beat up bad guys! ]]