This section is for general RP prompts. While character actions in these prompts may have an overall impact on the event, mods will not be responding directly to any actions taken here.
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➥ Dance, Dance, Revolution
(cw: compulsion, loss of autonomy)
Filene Center, set in the northern portion of its park, is nearly a work of modern art itself. The paving stones of the area are a neutral gray with colored tiles and cutouts of local masonry set into swirling designs all meant to guide the eye towards the center stage. There are many exhibits and displays set up for the event held today in honor of Copunicus’ technological steps forward, but to kick the event off…why not a little music?
The band itself is nothing special to notice as though the music itself drowns them out and lead them to blend into their art. The leadwoman is the only one who stands out, sporting distinctive tattoos around her mouth: thick, black, lines leading down from the corners of her lips to her chin. The music starts simple, a weaving of notes like threads through the gathering, ushering attendees in for the event as a whole and some spectators even closer than that. The area in front of the stage stands invitingly open to anyone feeling the pull to dance. Perhaps a bit too literally. It’s not a conscious thought that enters your head as you stray too close to the stage, just the idea of dancing. Dancing sounds good, doesn’t it? When was the last time you danced?
Getting closer allows the words to filter in through the music. Stories of dancing for joy, of tragic loss of self, of a fight between lovers, and some that even lead verses through a story of violence. It’s another thought, one that feels almost like your own idea. If the steps are so clearly laid out for you, why not follow them?
Perhaps you dismiss the idea, perhaps it seems like a silly thought, but once the idea has taken hold, that pull feels more like a yank. An invisible force around wrists and knees and ankles pulls listeners along, a marionette of the music. Fight as you might, the lyrics narrate the dancers through their twisted performances without escape. Not until the last note of the song fades. In the breath between songs, perhaps you may find the will to break away once more.
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➥ Wired
(cw: phantom limbs; body dysmorphia; body horror; existential horror; dead bodies; snakes, electric shock)
From the outside, the server room is little more than an 8-by-8-foot box set up in the parking lot behind the Filene Center. Out of sight, out of mind for those visiting the park for the grand unveiling of Copernicus' newest technologies. For those with more interest in the new and innovative, the stands set up in front of the Filene Center and around the park are far more enticing than an unremarkable set of white walls.
Perhaps you'll take an interest in the stand where you can test moving an artificial hand just by hooking a set of ear pieces around the back of your head. The sensation of a phantom third hand that keeps stretching and moving will surely fade in just a few minutes. Nothing to be worried about.
Perhaps you'd like to see yourself in a multitude of different fashions or with some… enhancements to your body. Step up to one of the Magic Mirror displays and press a few buttons to make your selection. Doesn't that other version of you look so much better? Taller, better dressed, curvier, whatever flaws you might perceive in your physical appearance can be melted away with the Magic Mirror. If going back to your boring inadequate body afterward is too much… Well, maybe there's a way to make those changes more permanent. For a price.
Perhaps you've made it to the Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods and will get to build your own little robot toys. If the little clicks and whirs they make seem to spell out 'HELP' 'GOD' 'WHY' and 'HURT' in Morse Code? Well, that's just silly! Who would even notice that? It's all in good fun. Help build more of the little friends for someone to take home with them.
Or perhaps you are focused on the prize. Those who approach the server room will find it almost suspiciously unguarded given security elsewhere for the event. Stepping inside might give one an idea of why. There's only a low level of red light and a small entry area with dividers all around. It seems impossible to actually get past those dividers at first. They look like flimsy plastic, but that's only appearances. They become passable as soon as the door to outside clicks shut. And will not open again easily. But you're here for the servers, right? No going back!
The area beyond the dividers is huge, much, much bigger than the building should be. There are rows upon rows upon rows of servers stacked up to a ceiling that stretches higher than you can actually see, beyond anything even a flashlight can illuminate. There is no way you have enough explosives or bullets or hands to wreck everything here unless you had weeks.
Multi-colored wires bristle from every visible server. The ground is covered in them. Just trying to walk presents a tripping hazard. Amongst the wires and rows, though, are those who seem to have already tripped, already succumbed to whatever power is here. Arms and legs and partial torsos are visible, the rest of people subsumed by the wires. Some of them are still, some twitch and jerk. In the distance, you might be able to hear whimpering or outright screams.
While it might seem to be just wires and servers, there are, in fact, some silver, sphere-like transmitters tucked here and there about the place. They're definitely transmitting out of this room and seem to be most prevalent around the bodies of those trapped in the wires. Probably want to get rid of those. And maybe try to pull people out of the wires? But be quick about your work.
Something slithers amongst the wires. They crackle with electricity and seem to be the ones dispersing the transmitters. Serpents made of exposed copper wire that will fling themselves at intrudes to deliver a debilitating electrical shock… then work to get their victims hooked into the machines.
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➥ Mod Notes
GENERAL - Players are welcome to play background NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, you're at a tech fair! There are going to be geeks aplenty here, and more than a few skeptics. There will be many Zyrian Steel fanboys, and some detractors wanting to see him fail. There are also families who have come for the event, so characters might see people of all ages around. Please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
DANCE, DANCE, REVOLUTION (16-19 June) - Characters pulled in by the music may find themselves ‘dancing’ to any kind of song. Whatever the lyrics, solo or in pairs, they’ll be forced to act out whatever is happening in the song. If the song is about having a terrible fight with your significant other, hopefully the other person isn’t actually your significant other. If it’s about dancing until you drop, well…that might leave some bruises. Once the song ends, the compulsion will be weak enough for characters to break free and leave the area, but if they take too long, the next song will start and they’ll be forced to dance again. Anyone trying to approach the stage will find their thoughts harder to grasp onto until the only thought left is how they’re needed. Across the park. Right now. Just sit back and enjoy the music!
WIRED (16-19 June) - Characters can experience one or all of the booth horrors, should they so desire. The people actually running the tech booths seem genuinely enthusiastic and unaware of the terrible effects their innovations may be having on people. For those who use the Magic Mirror, cosmetic changes that exist in the mirror can be kept permanently at the price of the character experiencing permanent dysmorphia regarding the change and other aspects of their body. They will never again feel right in their own skin. The effects of the mechanical hand will dissipate over the course of 24 hours. The little robots that people are building don't seem to have any autonomy beyond the whirring and clicking in Morse Code. They are incapable of complex codes or conversation, simply repeating the pleas and cries of suffering and horror. Destroying them will stop the clicking… but does that really solve the problem? Is there any solution? Not in this case, unfortunately. Characters are free to take the robots home with them, regardless, should they wish to have the toys for their entertainment.
For the server room, the dividers will not open until the door to the outside is closed. No human means will break through the barriers, not even explosives. Characters can work on rescuing those who have been trapped, be trapped themselves, fight the copper serpents, or try to disable the transmitters that the serpents leave out. This is as easy as crushing them. They're not very strong.
General Setting Prompts - Part 1
This section is for general RP prompts. While character actions in these prompts may have an overall impact on the event, mods will not be responding directly to any actions taken here.
(cw: compulsion, loss of autonomy)
Filene Center, set in the northern portion of its park, is nearly a work of modern art itself. The paving stones of the area are a neutral gray with colored tiles and cutouts of local masonry set into swirling designs all meant to guide the eye towards the center stage. There are many exhibits and displays set up for the event held today in honor of Copunicus’ technological steps forward, but to kick the event off…why not a little music?
The band itself is nothing special to notice as though the music itself drowns them out and lead them to blend into their art. The leadwoman is the only one who stands out, sporting distinctive tattoos around her mouth: thick, black, lines leading down from the corners of her lips to her chin. The music starts simple, a weaving of notes like threads through the gathering, ushering attendees in for the event as a whole and some spectators even closer than that. The area in front of the stage stands invitingly open to anyone feeling the pull to dance. Perhaps a bit too literally. It’s not a conscious thought that enters your head as you stray too close to the stage, just the idea of dancing. Dancing sounds good, doesn’t it? When was the last time you danced?
Getting closer allows the words to filter in through the music. Stories of dancing for joy, of tragic loss of self, of a fight between lovers, and some that even lead verses through a story of violence. It’s another thought, one that feels almost like your own idea. If the steps are so clearly laid out for you, why not follow them?
Perhaps you dismiss the idea, perhaps it seems like a silly thought, but once the idea has taken hold, that pull feels more like a yank. An invisible force around wrists and knees and ankles pulls listeners along, a marionette of the music. Fight as you might, the lyrics narrate the dancers through their twisted performances without escape. Not until the last note of the song fades. In the breath between songs, perhaps you may find the will to break away once more.
(cw: phantom limbs; body dysmorphia; body horror; existential horror; dead bodies; snakes, electric shock)
From the outside, the server room is little more than an 8-by-8-foot box set up in the parking lot behind the Filene Center. Out of sight, out of mind for those visiting the park for the grand unveiling of Copernicus' newest technologies. For those with more interest in the new and innovative, the stands set up in front of the Filene Center and around the park are far more enticing than an unremarkable set of white walls.
Perhaps you'll take an interest in the stand where you can test moving an artificial hand just by hooking a set of ear pieces around the back of your head. The sensation of a phantom third hand that keeps stretching and moving will surely fade in just a few minutes. Nothing to be worried about.
Perhaps you'd like to see yourself in a multitude of different fashions or with some… enhancements to your body. Step up to one of the Magic Mirror displays and press a few buttons to make your selection. Doesn't that other version of you look so much better? Taller, better dressed, curvier, whatever flaws you might perceive in your physical appearance can be melted away with the Magic Mirror. If going back to your boring inadequate body afterward is too much… Well, maybe there's a way to make those changes more permanent. For a price.
Perhaps you've made it to the Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods and will get to build your own little robot toys. If the little clicks and whirs they make seem to spell out 'HELP' 'GOD' 'WHY' and 'HURT' in Morse Code? Well, that's just silly! Who would even notice that? It's all in good fun. Help build more of the little friends for someone to take home with them.
Or perhaps you are focused on the prize. Those who approach the server room will find it almost suspiciously unguarded given security elsewhere for the event. Stepping inside might give one an idea of why. There's only a low level of red light and a small entry area with dividers all around. It seems impossible to actually get past those dividers at first. They look like flimsy plastic, but that's only appearances. They become passable as soon as the door to outside clicks shut. And will not open again easily. But you're here for the servers, right? No going back!
The area beyond the dividers is huge, much, much bigger than the building should be. There are rows upon rows upon rows of servers stacked up to a ceiling that stretches higher than you can actually see, beyond anything even a flashlight can illuminate. There is no way you have enough explosives or bullets or hands to wreck everything here unless you had weeks.
Multi-colored wires bristle from every visible server. The ground is covered in them. Just trying to walk presents a tripping hazard. Amongst the wires and rows, though, are those who seem to have already tripped, already succumbed to whatever power is here. Arms and legs and partial torsos are visible, the rest of people subsumed by the wires. Some of them are still, some twitch and jerk. In the distance, you might be able to hear whimpering or outright screams.
While it might seem to be just wires and servers, there are, in fact, some silver, sphere-like transmitters tucked here and there about the place. They're definitely transmitting out of this room and seem to be most prevalent around the bodies of those trapped in the wires. Probably want to get rid of those. And maybe try to pull people out of the wires? But be quick about your work.
Something slithers amongst the wires. They crackle with electricity and seem to be the ones dispersing the transmitters. Serpents made of exposed copper wire that will fling themselves at intrudes to deliver a debilitating electrical shock… then work to get their victims hooked into the machines.
Not in this case, unfortunately.Characters are free to take the robots home with them, regardless, should they wish to have the toys for their entertainment.For the server room, the dividers will not open until the door to the outside is closed. No human means will break through the barriers, not even explosives. Characters can work on rescuing those who have been trapped, be trapped themselves, fight the copper serpents, or try to disable the transmitters that the serpents leave out. This is as easy as crushing them. They're not very strong.