WeLcOmE tO tHe NoNsEnSe GaMe

You’re just an average Joe, normal Susan, whatever term you prefer, who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. You have a penchant toward a specific forum, chatroom, online game—some vector of the internet through which you communicate with others around the world. One day, as you were cruising through your particular fancy, you saw a message—specifically, it could have been anything at all—entitled “Nonsense Game: would you like to play?”. For whatever reason, sheer boredom or otherwise, you click the link.

Unfortunately, you quickly realize it’s garbage. Not just ordinary SPAM, you know, advertisements and pornography—no. Random, incoherent symbols, typed in that particularly computerized font your computer likes to use. In fact, it’s strikingly reminiscent of the incomprehensible garble that comes out of your printer when it faces a system error. The nonsense code fills the page for some distance until, at the bottom in clear text, it says:

[[ WELCOME TO THE NONSENSE WORLD ]]
[[ .//ENTER THE GAME ]]

You sigh as you realize that this is pure SPAM. As you motion to the back arrow, or to otherwise remove this garbage from your sight, you can’t help but notice your arm. Creeping up your arm at an alarming rate is a glowing blue binary code—it reminds you of a movie; The Matrix, perhaps. You remove your hand in shock, but to no avail. Quickly you realize that your attempt is futile: the code does not halt its advance, but moves at an alarming rate.

Maybe you had time to scream. Maybe you couldn’t even squeak. One way or another, the code moves more and more rapidly until you’re sure it’s covered your whole body, and all the 0s turn to 1s. All gates open; all statements true. The world fades to black as you lose consciousness.

You awaken in an unfamiliar setting: a lightly wooded area with a glistening pond nearby, and mountains shortly in the distance. There are some slightly rolling hills as well. You try to move, but your body does not want to respond. You look at your body inquisitively, only to find that something is different: your clothes, your figure, something is distinctly not you. But you’re quite sure you’re looking at your own form, at the same time.

Before you can sort out all of this, you hear something buzzing above your head. You look up to see a computer monitor facing you, which seems a bit strange, since it's clearly not your computer. The screen flashes on to a black screen and quickly-scrolling code.

A voice, feminine and emotionless, distorted even, comes from the system: “Compiling User thoughts… Retrieving Nonsense data… Creating Companion character…”

Something forms next to you. It looks familiar, though you may not be entirely sure of how. Maybe you created it, or maybe it simply resembles something your mind once invented. Either way, it forms steadily of blocks of data, until it becomes solid and looks at you curiously. You feel comfortable by this thing, whatever it is… you understand, somehow, that it’s yours.

As you make your way to your feet, perhaps with the help of this creation, you try to understand how you got here, wherever here is. Promptly, as though to answer your questions, a giant screen forms in the sky. Confusingly enough, there’s a man on the screen. He has long, bright platinum blond hair, glowing pale skin, golden eyes, and a beautiful face—which is odd, because you’re relatively certain that he’s a man. He wears an elegant Victorian suit complete with a cravat and lacy sleeves; the suit is, odder still, deep blue. You can’t see below his chest, but one elegant hand holds his face in its palm and a white baton through its fingers. Only one accessory seems striking: the pearl strand woven through his hair at the crown of his head, which sags at the center of his forehead, where a golden musical note dangles--an eighth note, to be more specific.

He blinks slyly. You’re somewhat unnerved by this man, though he has yet to speak. He sits up straight and opens his mouth: his voice is honeyed and musical; it makes your insides wretch with discomfort. He moves flamboyantly as he speaks, arms waving in and out like a conductor, fingers dancing to little invisible rhythms along with his motions.

“Hello, hello, everyone! Welcome to the Nonsense Game! I am your host, The Orchestrator. I hope you enjoy your time in my game as much as I enjoyed making it... This is a world of my own design, and I need you to playtest it for me. Of course, you haven’t got a choice in the matter... You can’t go home until you’ve won the game by completing my challenges. If you complete my tasks effectively, you may return home.” He gives a high-pitched, semi-psychotic laugh as he finishes.

“But don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this game. By now you should have already received your Companions… they can help you figure out what to do here. You should try to get used to your new bodies, as well. It’ll do you good…”

“Sir,” a cold, clearly female voice interrupts. “You need to explain the rules.”

The Orchestrator turns around briskly (seems he was in a swivel chair), letting you see behind him. There is an elegant woman with short black hair wearing a floor-length, lacy black evening dress hovering behind him. Her eyes are frightening cold and gray, fixated on The Orchestrator. He begins to speak again, still half-facing back. “Of course, Amalia! I was going to do just that.”

“As my lovely Amalia pointed out, there are certain rules you must follow in my Game. There aren’t many, and I don’t believe they’ll be difficult to follow… assuming you aren’t completely incompetent.”

“One: Do not disobey me. Of course, you shouldn’t even be able to…
Two: Do not attempt to cheat. This game allows for enough legitimate growth and whatever. You can’t cheat anyhow… the code is directly under my control. I have left some Easter Eggs though…
Three: Do not die. Honestly, it’d be a pain for me, because... you know what, that's too complicated. Carrying on!
Four: Do not allow your Companion to die. I believe this is also common sense.
Five: Don’t kill each other. There’s no need for that kind of nonsense.
Six: Have fun!~”

You are, of course, confused by all of this, but the Orchestrator continues on, unsympathetic to your convoluted thoughts. In fact, he seems very caught up in his speech, or just hearing his own voice...

“One more thing. You have two important items on your person a somewhere. The first of these is a Log Book, which will conveniently record everything you do or see here! Aren’t I generous? Ohohoho.” The way his voice lilts is positively sickening. “The second is a Chat Stone. You can use it to access the public chat channel and speak to the other players currently logged on. With your mind, silly. Oh, the private channel between you and your Companion is always open, though you may shut it off I suppose. I can’t fathom why you’d need to.”

“Finally, be forewarned: There are many dangerous Noobs in this game. You will have to fight; your Companion will be able to teach you to do so. Also, never forget that anything can happen in the Nonsense Game, as I control this world. It’s rather exciting, isn’t it?”

You would like to protest, but he doesn’t seem interested. Maybe he can’t hear you.

“Now, if you will, let the Nonsense Game begin!” He laughs unnervingly as the screen cuts off.

You look at your Companion, and it looks (or seems to look, perhaps?) back. You still don’t quite understand why you’re here or how you got here, but you understand that you’re probably here for the long haul, and that you have at least one ally. With a confused, weighty sigh, you think:

Well, let the games begin.


Okay, now that that’s all past, welcome to the Nonsense Game! I am your Game Master, but here I will control the world through The Orchestrator. The plot is somewhat freeform, so feel free to suggest side plots or challenges (tasks assigned to you by the Orchestrator that must be completed). Still, I'm going to be organizing challenges and such to follow the plot, eventually to get you to the end of the road.

This RPG is a great opportunity to let your imagination run wild. Both you and your companion can have any appearance; reason is not necessary and nor is science (well some reason would be appreciated…). I’d dump any characters I couldn’t use elsewhere here. Characters from any fandom, provided it is well explained, are allowed as Companions, but I prefer that your User is an original creation.

Now, before I continue on, I will warn you: this plot is not all sugar drops and rainbows. The Orchestrator is a dark and strange man, quite disturbed really. While on the surface, it looks like a relatively fun world of adventure (barring the fact that you're trapped there and all), the undertones of this story are not happy. Since I'm just a tease like that, I won't tell you everything... but this is a tale of humanity, psychology, and playing God. It just has a really happy, strange overtone. In terms of rating, don't worry - some blood and swearing are fine, basically, keep it PG-13. I doubt this will become an issue. Just be prepared for me to throw things at you of this sort, yeah?

Don’t bother trying to make sense of this game. Things will rapidly change direction on you, flipping you over, and violins may well fall from the sky like meteors. However, anything that happens will be within the Orchestrator’s sense of order. He is a genius (he did make this place, after all...) and has some sense of normality and sanity. It is not stupid nonsense and randomness; it is more of... linear nonsense. Keep that in mind.

This is a story-based RPG based off an MMORPG that started on a forum, sort of, but there are not numbers or technical values as far as we’re concerned. This will still operate in normal forum fashion.

Your main goal in the Nonsense Game should be to get home, either by completing the tasks of the Orchestrator or by reaching him and stopping him. After all, no one wants to remain in a madman’s mind forever... and that’s exactly what the Nonsense World is: the mind of a madman made real.

Because of the ridiculous nature of this RPG, I’m going to have to be picky about quality here. I can’t have powerplayers, etc. If I do, your character can be killed (or at least jailed, which sucks too). I won’t control much here except the actions of the Orchestrator, so be prepared to make up your own plotlines and ideas, to an extent at least, and send them to me. I will provide enemies (which are called noobs, yes) and NPCs for your interacting pleasure.


Some technicals of this roleplay: more to come as I remember them, reveal them, or think them up.

Rank: Everyone, regardless of former status, starts out as rank Newbie. They can then advance through certain items and actions to Junior Member, Member, Senior Member, Mod, S+Mod, and Admin ranks. No one will reach admin, most likely, but whatever. You might meet characters with admin power in the RPG (haven't decided). I will detail ranks at a later time; what you need to know is that they grant you special permissions in the game and new powers. Noob is also a rank (see below), but it is reserved for enemies; you can degrade to a noob in some odd situations, such as inappropriate behavior or the spells of certain noob enemies. Doing so may cause your companion not to recognize you.

Weapons and Magic: Your starting weapon can be absolutely anything within reason. Magic is also acceptable. Please try to remember the theme is Intelligent Randomness, or just plain ole weapons and magic abilities. Your companion should have a weapon or magic ability different from and complimentary to your own. As the game progresses, you can not only improve in your weapon/magic ability but also pick up on new types. You’re limited by your Rank to how many types of weapon/magic you can use (at Newbie, you may have two, but you can only start with one). Note that frying pans, textbooks, and exploding rubber ducks have been used as weapons in the past, so... reason is a subjective word?

Companion: A being created from the Data of Nonsense and your own thoughts. They know a bit about the Nonsense Game, but nothing about the Orchestrator. They will guide you through the RPG and help you identify Noobs. Your companion can speak to you through a private mental channel, so you can communicate even when separated. They also tend to have parts of your knowledge implanted in them. Most importantly, don’t forget that Companions are made of your thoughts and imagination and memories, plus some data, but they are still able to think for themselves… theoretically anyhow... the Nonsense World does put some constraints on the way they think and what they can do. Just bear in mind that very bad things can happen to your Companion. They have human personalities and normal (for the nonsense world) abilities.

Noob: AKA Nubs. The rank name given to enemies in the Nonsense World. You will have to destroy them. Some are very powerful, while others are weak. Keep an eye out for them. You won't mix them up with players (unless someone gets degraded to "Noob" rank, in which case they'll take on some of those distinct features). Noobs are, for the most part, cartoonish (more than you), and have faces like emoticons. Almost none can speak anything but 1337speak. They're pretty varied, but the types are distinct still, and your Companion will know if it's a Noob or a player usually even if you're a little confused. (Refer to your Log Book for more information if your Companion points out a new type of Noob; it's like... a Noob Pokedex. xD)

Reaper Program: A little-known factor of the Nonsense Game, Reaper Programs are viral data programs that destroy dead data, whether it be User, Companion, Noob, or NPC data, when it has become obsolete. They're The Orchestrator's personal housekeepers. Unfortunately they are prone to mutation, like any virus. This means they could become your greatest ally or your worst nightmare... I recommend steering clear of such things. You cannot have any affiliation with them.

Spam: A demonic energy that powers the noobs and their machines. It can have malicious affects on users and companions when it is present in large quantities. It does not seem to harm noobs though. It is possible to learn to utilize Spam properly, but attempting to do so is not recommended until you have learned a lot more about the Nonsense Game.

Srs: Srs (meaning Serious in chatspeak) is the natural opposite to the energy of spam. However it is much harder to come by in the Nonsense World. You may use any srs you find to increase your ability, as it is much easier for a user to control than is spam. Most of it is held by the "srs Man"... I wonder who that is?

Science and Reason: Despite the fact that this is called the Nonsense Game, there is a sense of order to life here. His name is The Orchestrator. Basically, while science and the laws of physics will have little application in Nonsense, there will be some sense and reason. You won’t be fighting against donuts or anything... for comparison, no; this is NOT like Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo (was that the right number of bo's?). Think more along the lines of... Alice in Wonderland, or Wizard of Oz, or something like that. No one is going to open your head and find a strange crossdressing version of you inside. ._.; On the other hand, you could be standing in a room when it suddenly turns on its side, and there could be a hair-eating octopus living in the pond nearby. Or the greatest threat to your survival at the moment could be a robot doing the funky chicken... violently. P: Staying sane is half the challenge of playing this game.


Character sheets: note that I need EACH APPLICANT to fill out BOTH SHEETS. You cannot have one without the other. I considered instating such a thing, but I shall explain: the companion is a creation of your user's mind. Therefore, they are joint characters. Also you can't have one without the other because there are no userless companions (that can't happen as if one of you dies, you both die, and they are not created unless a user is present) and there are no companionless users (as they would get killed very easily). But if you want to play one and have your friend play the other, that's okay, just communicate about it. I just don't want to assign random users to random companions, ya dig?

User:

Name: (This is your real-life name; not YOUR name but the user’s...)
Username: (what you are called in the Nonsense Game [again not you, the user]? You do not have to go by this name necessarily.)
Age: (real-life age, over 13)
Gender: (this could, potentially, change upon entering the Nonsense Game... it is nonsense, after all)

Description: (Pictures are acceptable but written descriptions are preferred, though I will be quite grumpy if I see well-known anime characters or the same 10 pictures I see every single time. Sorry. Go bananas on what you are; there are no limits. After all, you are in Nonsense.)

Personality: (just a personality. be descriptive, yah?)

Origins: (a short, basic history. just tell me the highlights of your character's past, at least. Or write more if you like.)

Weapon/Magic: (this can be anything within reason; see above. Only one ability/weapon for now; you will get more as time goes on. There are literal "upgrade points" in the Nonsense World. Yes.)
Other: (Random cannon fodder; also a good place to include any reference images.)


Companion:

Name: (can be anything, anything at all)
Age: (appearance-wise, since they don't have real ages)
Gender: (...I don’t mind if you go genderless, just do it well)

Description: (pictures are okay, but I would also like you to include a written description if you go that route. Please do not use images from well-known animes or the pictures that everyone has seen, unless, of course, that's the point. Just go nuts here too. Any fandom, original, I am really not picky.)

Personality: (they have normal, human personalities... in theory.)

Origins: (why this companion? How did your thoughts contribute to it? That’s all really for here.)

Weapon/Magic: (Make sure it’s different from yours and complimentary to yours.)
Other: (Random cannon fodder once more.)


Alright, that was long. IF YOU SAT THROUGH ALL OF THAT AND DIDN'T SKIM I LOVE YOU

Anywho. By now I'm sure you want to sign up. I'm looking forward to seeing your own Nonsense! I posted The Orchestrator and Amalia in the characters section as well, so you can see them a little more clearly. Feel free to drop by the OOC!