This section is for players wishing to take a more active role in deciding ADI's ultimate fate, and directly interacting with key NPCs. We would ask, for the sake of plot progression, that those tagging in prioritize these threads to the extent practicable. Mods will do so, as well.
We would request all tag-ins by June 21st to allow for sufficient time to thread things out. Players may tag in just their character or may thread in pairs with mod responses. You may tag an individual character into a maximum of two (2) different mod response options.
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➥ Jazz
(cw: panic; discussion of dead bodies)
"Hey. Hey, you!" The young Asian man who grasps at your arm is a stranger, one with wild, terrified eyes. He looks to be in his late teens or early twenties, and he's practically shaking like a leaf. "You gotta help. There's- fuck, man. There's a monster in the server rooms. One of the server rooms? I don't even know how many they've set up here. And it was- it was way too big. I walked around the building. But it- Look. None of the security people are taking me seriously, but there are bodies in there. Like-like people? People in trouble. I got out. I figured out how to get out, but I- god! This was supposed to just be a summer gig. What the hell? What the hell?"
_
➥ Fortune
(cw: altered perceptions of reality, tones of madness)
There’s been so much chaos. Information flying, people running about, monsters to fight, and yet no sign of Steel himself and no the ideas Nia, Rae, and Neil have chased have all come up empty. Wherever he is, he’s well hidden. Through all of it, though, there has been one consistent presence just on the edge of wherever the fun is. Those observant might recognize they’ve seen her more than once… just before or near a discovery of new lead, the rumor of wire monsters, and right near where ADI has set up a temporary base. Steel’s app goes live and she sits there, legs dangling off the edge of a narrow window sill that has no good path to reach. She sits there now, watching everyone scramble around and unnoticed by those around. Except you.
You she turns a smile on, one that seems a little too wide, framed as it is with dark lipstick. Her eyes catch the light in a deep pitless black. A void under her wide-brimmed hat and motions you over with a wave of hands tattooed in branching fractals that trace up her wrists and into the sleeves of her long coat.
“Having some trouble, are you?” Her voice is soft, but drowns out every other sound in the area to those she’s set her sights on, almost like it’s right behind your ear. “Would you like some help?”
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➥ Zyrian Steel
(cw: dissociation and derealization; existential horror related to the size of the universe; villain actively attempting to induce a mental health crisis; altered mental states in general; please use headers for additional warnings as needed)
The sky is watching you. Here within his realm, lording over the people plugged into his machine, Zyrian Steel is everywhere and nowhere. He might be a comet in space, the earth beneath your feet, a great eagle whose wings block out the sun–whatever illusion your mind has cooked up to hide from the knowledge with which he has gifted to you, Zyrian plays his role in it, at least for now.
"Creative!" he grins, conveying amusement whether or not he has a mouth or a face with which to convey it. "But it won't help. Just let it happen and–well, it won't be all over. It'll just be starting."
Somewhere deep in the server rooms, lies the physical body of Zyrian Steel. Where others plugged into the machine weep silent tears or cry out for help that may never come, he rests peacefully, a satisfied smile on his lips. Soon everyone will join him in knowing and understanding their place.
_
➥ Mod Notes
Zyrian Steel - For this prompt, any number of characters may interact with Steel inside the mindscape generated by his machine. They may be able to hurt or even appear to kill him, but he will come back from any death inside the mindscape. Only one team of characters will be able to find his physical body and kill him from outside the machine once and for all; as of this posting that selection has already been made via RNG. Please refer to the OOC post for more details.
NPC Interactions
This section is for players wishing to take a more active role in deciding ADI's ultimate fate, and directly interacting with key NPCs. We would ask, for the sake of plot progression, that those tagging in prioritize these threads to the extent practicable. Mods will do so, as well.
We would request all tag-ins by June 21st to allow for sufficient time to thread things out. Players may tag in just their character or may thread in pairs with mod responses. You may tag an individual character into a maximum of two (2) different mod response options.
(cw: panic; discussion of dead bodies)
"Hey. Hey, you!" The young Asian man who grasps at your arm is a stranger, one with wild, terrified eyes. He looks to be in his late teens or early twenties, and he's practically shaking like a leaf. "You gotta help. There's- fuck, man. There's a monster in the server rooms. One of the server rooms? I don't even know how many they've set up here. And it was- it was way too big. I walked around the building. But it- Look. None of the security people are taking me seriously, but there are bodies in there. Like-like people? People in trouble. I got out. I figured out how to get out, but I- god! This was supposed to just be a summer gig. What the hell? What the hell?"
(cw: altered perceptions of reality, tones of madness)
There’s been so much chaos. Information flying, people running about, monsters to fight, and yet no sign of Steel himself and no the ideas Nia, Rae, and Neil have chased have all come up empty. Wherever he is, he’s well hidden. Through all of it, though, there has been one consistent presence just on the edge of wherever the fun is. Those observant might recognize they’ve seen her more than once… just before or near a discovery of new lead, the rumor of wire monsters, and right near where ADI has set up a temporary base. Steel’s app goes live and she sits there, legs dangling off the edge of a narrow window sill that has no good path to reach. She sits there now, watching everyone scramble around and unnoticed by those around. Except you.
You she turns a smile on, one that seems a little too wide, framed as it is with dark lipstick. Her eyes catch the light in a deep pitless black. A void under her wide-brimmed hat and motions you over with a wave of hands tattooed in branching fractals that trace up her wrists and into the sleeves of her long coat.
“Having some trouble, are you?” Her voice is soft, but drowns out every other sound in the area to those she’s set her sights on, almost like it’s right behind your ear. “Would you like some help?”
(cw: dissociation and derealization; existential horror related to the size of the universe; villain actively attempting to induce a mental health crisis; altered mental states in general; please use headers for additional warnings as needed)
The sky is watching you. Here within his realm, lording over the people plugged into his machine, Zyrian Steel is everywhere and nowhere. He might be a comet in space, the earth beneath your feet, a great eagle whose wings block out the sun–whatever illusion your mind has cooked up to hide from the knowledge with which he has gifted to you, Zyrian plays his role in it, at least for now.
"Creative!" he grins, conveying amusement whether or not he has a mouth or a face with which to convey it. "But it won't help. Just let it happen and–well, it won't be all over. It'll just be starting."
Somewhere deep in the server rooms, lies the physical body of Zyrian Steel. Where others plugged into the machine weep silent tears or cry out for help that may never come, he rests peacefully, a satisfied smile on his lips. Soon everyone will join him in knowing and understanding their place.