RS Application
Player Name: Lynn
Player LJ: Lynnpickle
Email and/or AIM: ew.evelyn at hotmail, or forkedelement on aim.
Timezone: Eastern standard. (canada)
Character: Twin Two
Series/Fandom: The Matrix (movie series)
Deviance: In our deviation (which is a collaboration with Twin One's player, Dro/ridsey, who is also applying), the twins were programmed to look more human, rather than being incredibly conspicuous, giant dread-locked albinos. While this means they can be ever so slightly more expressive in their physical mannerisms, everything besides the above is unchanged.
Age: Has existed for about five-hundred years (estimation based on obscure fandom info!). Appears to be in late twenties / early thirties.
Gender: None technically, but appears male.
Species: Computer program.
Canon Used: Post-movies (with info used from 'enter the matrix' to fill in canon history gaps - mostly info on how long the matrix itself has been around, and the different versions it is said to have gone through).
Appearance: In canon, they look like this. In our deviance, we're using the PB Michael Gandolfi (click). They are still, however, very ghostly pale and constantly wear the typical Matrix sunglasses. They are nearly always clad the same nondescript dark suit (rather than white as in canon), since, in their reality, their clothes, sunglasses and weapons are essentially a part of their code (and so, in a way, part of their body). They appear to be very tall (about 6'2", but often wearing 3" heels), identical twin men with very sharp jawlines and cheekbones, and they generally have a hard-edged face. They don't appear to be capable of expressing any sort of joy, anger, sadness, etc, except in incredibly muted ways, such as a slight and fleeting smirk of amusement. Their vocal expression similarly lacks almost all enthusiasm. When incorporeal (see 'other skills' for more info on what that entails) they look like something out of a horror movie. (Click for a canon screencap.) They appear, essentially, to be the ghosts of nightmares. They seem to be made of a mostly-clear, white-ish gaseous substance, which can not interact with anything physical whatsoever (but will 'divide' as a gas does if struck, etc). When incorporeal, the twins retain the basics of their appearance and clothing, but their face distorts to look brutal and horrific and their hair seems unaffected by gravity.
Psychology: To the unenlightened observer, the Twins' psyche could look reasonably complex. However, while their destructive quality can't be denied in any case (especially not when they're in combat), a closer look into the workings of their hive-mind will reveal that there isn't much else to them: Two is a one-track mind, a computer with a mathematical, algorithmic quality to his decision-making and a need for a distinct purpose. His one and only priority is himself; he will do just about anything under the sun to prolong his own existence, and, of course, to entertain himself. (This extends to his twin because he considers One an extension of himself, and he isn't wrong.)
This goal-oriented mindset, in the context of Two's mind, is quite dangerous in its simplicity. Having been created to work essentially as a minion of the "nightmare" stage of the Matrix, Two is innately drawn to the programmed thrill of causing anything from the smallest sadness or discomfort to the most hysterical terror in those around them, whether it be emotional or traditional. The dullness of his emotions in general only feed his antagonistic nature. The spark of amusement he gains from these acts, however petty or severe they might be, is like a spark of colour seen by the colourblind, because he feels little other emotion. What he does feel on an emotional level is a muted, off-centre imitation of what humans might feel (though it is interesting to note that many programs in Matrix canon are capable of feeling some version of love, desire, jealousy, frustration, etc; it's quite likely that Two does feel a genuine love-like attachment to his twin that goes beyond the superficial programming he was created with). This also means, of course, that he is simply incapable of empathy, among other things. He "understands" human emotions the way one distinct culture might "understand" the entirely different culture of another group of people, or even of another species of animal - that is to say, in a purely analytical and distant way, built entirely off logic, leading to an incomplete pseudo-understanding with an underlying disdain and a superiority complex (because their way of life just makes no sense).
This combined with his destructive disposition leads him to find amusement in invoking petty human emotions and struggles. He does, however, have a mild interest in exploring the range of human emotions; unlike himself, his twin, and the programs he works with, humans have some inexplicable randomness about them that he just can't grasp, and this peaks what little curiosity he is capable of. Some of the things he does might appear to be meaningless and idle, and while he has no interest in making connections with anyone around him, he will ally himself for his own benefit, survival, or even amusement. He also tends not to act unless "provoked" (though that takes a good deal less effort than it does to provoke an ordinary human or animal), or ordered to do so by the Merovingian; for him everything is a direct, simple cause-and-effect, regardless of how insignificant or huge the cause or effect might be. It's all an equation.
Outwardly, the twins appear incredibly stoic. When they speak, their voices are deep, british, and relatively monotone, lacking almost all expression even in what would normally be strenuous situations. They don't appear to become nervous, excited, angry, etc, and even in extreme frustration will simply sigh and state, as if bored, that they are aggravated. They are mildly expressive when amused or feeling some sort of positive emotion (they will grin slightly or have a smile in their voice), and are capable of being snarky, but that's about the extent of it. They also do not appear to get tired or exhausted from prolonged and intense physical activity, but nobody does in the Matrix.
Other Skills/Abilities: Because of their programming, they are well versed in martial-art style fighting and are skilled with small bladed weapons, as well as large guns. Twin One and Twin Two essentially share a hive-mind; in some sense, they are two manifestations of one program, and though they are capable of individual thought and have subtle differences between them, they can always hear and feel each others thoughts and "emotions." Because of this, they are extremely coordinated with one another and so are very effective as a team. They can also go incorporeal (or 'phase') on command and on reflex, during which time they are are almost completely unaffected by anything physical, including matter and energy. While phased, their code 'resets' and any physical wounds sustained are erased. They do not appear to feel pain, or they never react to it. They are also potentially unaffected by the psychic abilities of characters from other worlds in RS, because they operate on an entirely different way of "life" than humans or other animals.
They also do not need to eat, drink, sleep or breathe, but are able to if they so choose.
Other Weaknesses: The twins, especially when together, really do not have many weaknesses (besides their inability to make friendships, care about things, limited way of seeing things, etc). They are easy enough to harm if you're quick, but can swiftly repair it. That's not to say they're impossible to kill; someone fast enough could feasibly destroy them before they had time to react and phase.
History: The twins were created by the Architect in the "nightmare" version of the Matrix (see 'reality description' for more info), and as such, were programmed to be, essentially, horrific ghosts that scared the daylights out of humans in order to keep them subservient. It's difficult to say if the twins looked or behaved any differently in those times, but the residue of their original purpose is still strong throughout their coding. When the nightmare version was ultimately a failure, just like the heaven-like utopia before it, the Matrix was to be converted to the third (and, in the end, most successful) stage of its existence, which was to be a mock-up of what real human life and culture had been at the turn of the century. Naturally, all the angel-like creatures from stage one and all the demonic creatures from stage two were to be deleted. The third and ultimately most successful version of the Matrix was one that mirrored human civilization at the turn of the twenty-first century, complete with both happiness and suffering, making it easier for humans' minds to accept the virtual world seamlessly.
Along came the Merovingian. Not much is alluded to about his original function in the movies, besides the fact that he is a very old and powerful program (possibly an operating system) who has existed as far back as the nightmare version, but likely even further. The Merovingian, at this time, becomes a rogue program of sorts VIA an alliance with a program called the Trainman (presumably because he was supposed to be deleted as well; the Trainman specialized in dealing with such cases), existing within the Matrix system but no longer necessarily serving it, instead furthering his own agenda. He took under his wing a variety of nightmare-stage creatures, including, but not limited to, the ghostly twins. In our deviance, the images of the more obvious nightmare-creatures were altered (either by the Merovingian, Persephone, the Trainman or a combination of the three) so that they might blend in better with the human population and so not cause errors in the system, and so the programs who remained faithful to the Matrix did not detect them.
Much later in time, after several resets of the Matrix, the protagonist of the Matrix series arrives on the scene. The twins, at this point, are lackies to the Merovingian. Their scenes in the movie consist entirely of following him around, smoking hookah, blowing a kiss at Trinity and then fighting Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus to attempt to retrieve the Keymaker from them for the Merovingian. During a high-speed chase on the highway, the twins whip out giant guns, pull fancy tricks, etc, but are, in the end, sitting in a car as it explodes*. They are seen phasing as they fly into the air, suggesting they would have survived, but are not shown in the series again; One-mun and I have agreed that, in our deviance, their code was damaged severely, but was repaired by the Merovingian.
*There are many funny little plot-gaps like this throughout the Matrix series. The twins can react and phase fast enough to dodge bullets and jump in and out of moving vehicles on the highway, but apparently not fast enough to... exit a car that is tipping over and being shot at. In the garage fight scene earlier on, they are also seen pawing at the window of a car helplessly as Trinity and company begin to drive away in it.
Reality Description: The Matrix is a virtual reality. In physical/actual reality, the world is populated by sentient machines. There are fields of pods containing every living person on the planet, each of which is fed and otherwise kept alive by intravenous tubes, which often feed them the liquefied remains of other humans who have passed away. They are physically and mentally plugged into the virtual world of the Matrix, which, in present time, models the world as it was at the turn of the twenty-first century. This virtual reality is so convincing that no one realizes their world isn't real; if they die within the virtual reality, their mind is convinced it was real, and so they die in reality as well. The energy generated by these humans is what feeds energy to the machines.
Within the Matrix, human life goes on as it would in the late 20th / early 21st century. Sentient programs exist throughout the system. The programs that are doing their jobs are the ones that you would never realize are there; the ones stirring the "winds," animating the "trees," rotating the "planet," manifesting "pigeons" and the flight path they're going to take, etc. The leftover programs from earlier versions of the matrix, those that are no longer doing their jobs, are the reason behind any proclamation that someone has seen Bigfoot, a vampire, or an angel. At the helm of all this are the Architect and the Oracle. They, combined, are essentially the parents of the Matrix, and are each god-like in their own way; the Architect's job is to balance the equation, and the Oracle's is to unbalance it. He is the math and logic that is rooted in the balancing of variables, and the Oracle is the perceiving, sensing counterpart to him.
The equation of the Matrix, despite the Architect's continued efforts, has never been fully balanced. Even in the third version, the equation will always create an anomaly: presented with the Matrix as it is in present time, a huge, overwhelming percent of human minds will unconsciously choose to accept it. However, there will always be that fraction of a percent that rejects the idea. Beyond just questioning reality, they feel as if they are permanently stuck in a dream that may or may not be real, but they cannot wake from that dream. This person is known as the One, and he or she will be able to manipulate the surrounding code of the Matrix once they realize the basic fact that it is, in fact, just code.
Outside of the Matrix, in the real world, there exists one last human city called Zion. It is populated by people who were carefully selected, prepared and then unplugged from the system by other unplugged humans. They are able to jack into the Matrix only by hacking it, and it's in their interests to find and unplug the One. Little do they know, of course, that the Architect is prepared for this anomaly even if he ideally would like to eradicate it. The Oracle is, like him, a program, and she guides the unplugged humans (called 'redpills') to finding the One and better understanding how he might affect their fate. The One eventually returns to the Source to meet the Architect, who explains to him what he is and how the cycle will be completed: the One must make a choice. Up until this meeting, it's believed by the One (as well as the rest of unplugged humanity) that the prophecy dictates he will destroy the Matrix and free humanity. It's then revealed by the Architect that the true purpose of the One is to make a choice: he can either continue to be insubordinate to the machines, causing a critical error in the Matrix system and causing the deaths of every program and plugged-in human on the planet (meanwhile the machines outside the Matrix will destroy all of Zion), or he can submit. If he submits, sixteen females and seven males will be chosen to rebuild and repopulate Zion after the machines destroy what remains of it. These humans will, again, be given hope by the prophecy and begin the next "rebellion" against the machines, and await the day when they find the One so he might return to the source... etc.