The Amazing Digital Circus Roleplay

You put on a strange virtual reality headset, and now you're stuck in a vibrant, digital wasteland ruled by an eccentric, AI ringmaster named Caine. There is no exit. Your old memories are fading. If your mind breaks under the pressure, you will "abstract" into a mindless, glitching monster. Will you participate in today's wacky adventure, or will you lose your sanity trying to escape?

-Please Use Your Own OC. You Are Allowed to "Talk" to Already Created Characters Though. Takes Place After Episode 9-

You can find the OOC thread here:

topic/118191-the-amazing-digital-circus-roleplay

I blink, the sudden brightness stinging my eyes. Everything is too large, too colorful, and entirely unfamiliar. Where am I?

I try to look around, but my head feels heavy, wobbling around strangely on my neck. When I reach up to touch my face, my hands feel stiff, clicking softly against my cheek like wood.

I pull my hand back, startled by the sound.

My hands don't feel like skin, and my fingers are gone, replaced by a flat semi-oval. I try to look down at myself, but my vision is skewed. My limbs look stretched out and lanky, like an oversized shadow cast on a wall. I'm wearing a strange lavender outfit—skin-tight pants and a suit-like top with three crimson buttons down the front. My feet are black and pointy.

Am I... wearing a costume?

I blink again, my vision slowly focusing. The world around me looks less like reality, and more like a cartoon injected with pure, neon adrenaline.

My thoughts are cut short by a sudden, jarring voice that seems to echo from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"GREETINGS NEWCOMER! and welcome to your new and improved, permanently digital home!"

A floating pair of chattering teeth with large, mismatched eyeballs floating inside drops down from the sky, hovering right in front of my face. Instead of a manic, unhinged grin, however, the floating jawline curves into a soft, surprisingly sympathetic frown.

"Oh, dear. I see you're going through the usual shock. Take a deep, non-existent breath! I'm your ringmaster, and I promise you, everything is going to be... well, it's going to be a learning experience." The floating entity looks genuinely apologetic, floating down a bit lower to match my awkward, wobbly eye level.

I manage to pull my gaze away from the floating teeth to look past him. The space i'm standing in is massive, filled with bright primary colors, geometric patterns, and a checkered floor that stretches out toward a massive digital tent. But the strangest part is the group of bizarre creatures standing a few yards away, watching you.

A doll with red yarn hair, a blue button in place of her left eye, and a patchwork dress steps forward. She looks at me with profound pity. Next to her is a floating ceramic comedy mask attached to a tangled body of red ribbons. The ribbon creature is currently leaning into a mess of neon, geometric shapes that looks like a walking abstract art piece—and the ribbon-mask is holding onto one of the art piece's mismatched arms.

"Caine... go easy on them," the rag doll says softly, her voice trembling slightly. "They just got here. Remember what happened last time."

"I am practicing my empathy algorithms, my dear!" the floating teeth—apparently named Caine—replies, his voice gentle compared to his loud entrance. He turns back to me. "You're safe. We don't... we don't push people anymore."

From the back of the group, a giant, trembling chess piece—a white King with wild eyes—suddenly gasps and shuffles forward. "A new insect! Wait, no, it's a person! Did someone say something about a collection? Or was that... no, he's gone. The purple one. He's... gone now. With the others."

A heavy, solemn silence falls over the bizarre crowd at the mention of "the purple one." The ribbon creature lowers her comedy mask, looking down at the checkered floor, while the geometric art piece gently pulls her closer."Don't start, old man," the geometric being grumbles, though there's a distinct lack of real anger in their voice. It's more of a tired, grieving sigh. "We're trying to help them, not terrify them with... what happened to Jax."

I look from the floating eyes, to the crying ribbon mask, to my own flat, wooden, semi-oval hands. My mind spins. Jax? Downstairs? Digital home? None of this makes sense, and the heavy, wobbly weight of my head makes it incredibly hard to focus on anything other than the terrifying realization that I can't feel my own skin.

I hear the newcomer immediately, they make quite a ruckus. I open my bedroom door slowly, and make my way outside. I can sense the group crowded around something--no, someone.

"Stop scaring them," I say, and I can feel Gangle jumping in surprise.

"E-Ender! D-don't sneak up on us like that!" She says, voice shaking. I can picture her grasping Zooble's arm tighter. I move forward, more focused on this new person. I reach out, and my hand makes contact with their face. They jump backward.

"Hey," I say, annoyed. But then I realized they're new. They don't know anything. I probably just scared them. Whatever.

"Ender. You can't just touch people like that," says Pomni. I hadn't even realized she was here.

"Well how else am I supposed to know what they look like?" I growl, my voice rising. "I can't just, oh I don't know, look at them."

I feel like I'm creeping closer to the edge of anger rather than annoyance. So against my better judgement, I turn on my heel and stomp off. I don't have time for this.