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 When people talk about horror stories these days it's usually grandparents recanting stories from the time of strife. When the seas encroached the land and the life blood of war machines ran dry. The chaos of the skirmishes over food and land was eventually ended by the first Great AI. It oversaw the grueling process of forging the global empire which protects us today. It even shut down its pernicious spawn; outlawing the creation of new AIs and stepping down in the aftermath. There are rumors that sitting Empress is only just a proxy for the AI. These rumors are unsubstantiated like the equally ridiculous rumors about unlisted “Auditor” agents who maintain records of dissident citizens. City 54, formerly Hong Kong as old province names are not recognized to discourage nationalist sentiments, is the jewel of the empire. The city defines the cutting edge of imperial culture. The city has thrived despite and because of changing weather patterns. The constant rain which bombards the city feeds the acres of crops outside of it. It has become a sprawling metropolis housing the wide spectrum of class and profession. Along with top preforming schools, one of which you are all privileged to attend, City 54 also features state of the art security. The proving ground for the products of the security firms based there before spreading out to the empire proper. Those who object to the gradually increasing surveillance are free to go off the grid. But they won't have an active ID to receive any of social services, most notably guaranteed food. But you're already well practice at keeping a secret from prying lenses. After all you're a horror story yourself. The classic type where people aren't being dramatic calling someone inhuman. MonsterHearts is a game based on paranormal romance that focuses on the messy lives and lovely high school teenagers. The game can get into some heavy stuff as the characters use and abuse each other. Players should use discretion and shouldn't hesitate to let me know if they're having a problem. I'm usually on syn.irc #swamphearts if you have any questions. I'm okay with most skins that aren't skins for the skinless. Double check with me for any unofficial skin though. Addition questions for your app: Who in the city do you think you can trust? What law do you think is odd, interesting, or nonsensical? Is there any stories of life before the empire that stuck out to you? Bonus question: title for the game thread I'm going to take apps until August 24th SHY NUDIST GRRL fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Aug 16, 2015 |
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Aug 16, 2015 16:09
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This world's fragile, more than anyone knows. We pretend it's all safe and comfortable, under the Empress' warm gaze; that the Time of Strife is ended. My parents knew better - we're still in the Age of Strife, it's just taken a softer, more insidious tone, and harder to resist. You know how it is - dissenters get targeted, shunned, become powerless. 'Only way to put an end to it', they said, 'is by working on the inside'. I don't know what happened to them, what they did when they became... you-know-what, but about a month ago, they stopped coming home. A week ago, I received a message, which self-deleted itself seconds after I opened it. I... can't talk about the details, but 'they' had a task for me. Placed into a school I otherwise had no business in, I'm supposed to be some sort of 'mole', keep tabs on dissidents amongst the city's youth. They didn't need to say what it meant if I didn't do as I was told.  quote:Name Lucas Lei, the Who in the city do you think you can trust? What law do you think is odd, interesting, or nonsensical? Is there any stories of life before the empire that stuck out to you? Bonus question: title for the game thread AdjectiveNoun fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Aug 17, 2015 |
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Aug 16, 2015 17:07
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Interest post possibly apping a witch or infernal.
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Aug 16, 2015 17:09
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Interested.
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Aug 16, 2015 17:20
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interested as well!
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Aug 16, 2015 17:32
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Considering a vampire or something like that.
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Aug 16, 2015 20:56
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Maybe Unicorn?
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Aug 17, 2015 15:38
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 Catherine Lee the Infernal Congratulations on getting this far, It speaks very highly of your dedication to your work Inspector. You even managed to figure out most of what I'd done. Now I don't know if you're one of the fabled "Auditors" or not and quite frankly I don't care. You probably thought I was just another rebel. See I'm not just another rebel I'm the girl who's going to be running this town before too long, and after that well who knows? the world maybe. While your sitting so comfortably let me tell you a story. I hope the restraints are not too tight. I'm sure that it will provide some some comfort in your final hours to know where exactly it was that you underestimated what you were dealing with. Once upon a time there was a young girl. Her name doesn't matter much and it probably isn't in your records anyway, but just in case I'd rather not say it. Sorry I digress now where was I? Ah, yes. See this girl grew up in North America. An outcast from a family of outcasts. I *ahem* she lived off the grid, forced to scavenge to survive. Doing the odd jobs that no citizen would lower themselves to do. Exploring the areas considered too dangerous for most to enter. Scavengers they call them if they're feeling polite. I prefer the more honest term Vultures picking the bones of the past clean. All in a desperate search for food or something to sell to eke out another days survival. Well one day this girl came across a zone marked highly radioactive but driven by hunger and desperation figured she had little to lose. In the midst of the hot zone, which wasn't anywhere near as radioactive as you might think. She found a surprisingly intact bunker, unlooted and seemingly sealed since before the time of strife. Of course she saw profit there, there is a thriving black market in pre-fall goods you know. Well actually given your rank and position you probably don't. Excuse me I'm digressing again. Anyway in the bunker she was disappointed to find not food, not ancient artefacts not anything valuable worth selling. But an old computer system. A mainframe,. As much to satisfy her curiosity as anything the girl powered up the system. It was quite possibly the smartest decision she'd ever made in hindsight anyway. See that was when her life began to change for the better. For you see the old computer contained something of incalculable value a veritable gift from the gods. An AI. Ah yes I can see your eyes widen, good. I thought that would get your attention. Anyway this AI which insisted on the odd name of DAMOCLES proceeded to offer the girl a bargain, In exchange for passage out of the hot zone and aid in it's own goals it would grant her whatever she desired. The girl being no fool of course immediately accepted. She wanted power, a chance to revenge herself on those who had wronged her, she wanted vengeance. Luxury. A thousand and one conflicting goals desires and passions. She wanted the Empire. Anyway to cut a long story short, the girl got back to civilisation and was able to hook up her friendly AI to the network. After that it was all fairly simple really, A nano-resculpt to transform her into someone who could pass for a full citizen here. A discreet hack to forge records of citizenship there. And another to arrange a transfer to City 54 and a certain school attended by the elite. Oh yes What better place for a person to begin their rise to power than amongst the children of the elite? Oh and congratulations I'm sure you did sterling work in tracking that theft of military nano-bots I orchestrated. I regret leaving a trail for you to follow but I felt it was worth a risk given the pivotal role they'll play in my future plans. But now it is time for Now Inspector. I'm afraid it is time for you to say goodbye, Don't worry I'll make it quick and as painless as I can manage.... call it respect for a worthy opponent and a good listener. quote:Name: Catherine Lee Who in the city do you think you can trust? Liam Zhang, he's not much older than I am but he runs a noodle cart in the middle of town, and his food is to die for. A lot of unkind people say you shouldn't ask where his meat comes from. But frankly I don't care,compared to some of the stuff I've eaten in the past. Still I'm pretty sure Noodle vending isn't the only way he makes his money. I can tell he has that kind of shifty look about him the same one I used to see in my mirror, well would've seen in my mirror if I'd been able to afford one. He's hooked up to something illegal which might be handy to know if I ever need an introduction to the greyer end of things. What law do you think is odd, interesting, or nonsensical? Would you believe they passed a law forbidding the possession of pre-strife artefacts without a permit? What a joke. Even half the cops in this town have their own illicit stash of classical music or old books. The black market must be making a killing. It's almost a shame I'm out of that game now Still even the guys at the top can't be that stupid can they? why pass a law that they have to know they can't enforce. When i'm in charge that'll be one stupid law that can be safely got rid of. Is there any stories of life before the empire that stuck out to you? Supposedly in the old days there were no aptitude tests and no assigned jobs. Which sounds weird to me, I mean I know the system is rigged. Seriously who was the last nobles kid you saw fail his test and end up sweeping the streets. But how the heck did they organise anything if people could change jobs whenever they felt like it. It must have been utter chaos with people hopping from job to job as the mood took them. Bonus question: title for the game thread Roll +Hot to Love Big Brother Ferrosol fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Aug 20, 2015 |
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Aug 17, 2015 16:14
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 Harmony Blue, the Selkie What a wonderful place the surface has turned out to be! Did you know they take orders from smart rocks? It's fascinating! They're called Aye Eyes and they live in things called computers and drink electricity! That is "very cool", which is a thing they say on the surface! They also have art everywhere, it's like coral but tells you to do stuff and not do stuff and buy things! Coral does not do that. Many of these drink electricity too. They've an ocean of the stuff somehow, and I hope to see it one day! It travels in pipes and tubes, the same as the real ocean does up here! Oh, I am getting ahead of myself. It's just that I love this place so much! I'd always wanted to come here, but it's forbidden. They dump things into the ocean, and hunt fish - and even seals and selkies like me! Until they stopped their war, we were to avoid them... but I just had to know! So I made a deal with a sea witch, it's pretty much what you do if you want to visit the surface. The important part is that she made my pelt magic, so I can walk around like a human when I am up here! I left immediately, I only had a year and a day before the magic wanes. Initially, things were very confusing for me! I had a hard time, since no one could pronounce my name. So I had to make one up. I picked one off a poster since it said "HARMONY OR ELSE" and I liked how Harmony sounds, and then Blue since this world isn't nearly blue enough and I like the color a lot! I also had no "money" or "home" or "parents", so they are letting me stay at an Orphanarium! It's like a school of fish, but children, they're all near my age and I even get my own bed! A bed is more comfortable than the beach. I do miss listening to the waves, though. Oh! No only am I at an Orphanarium, I am at a school too! It is not like a school of fish, because it is a building. A lot of children go there, and some of them are my friends! One even helped me do my hair like this, and they helped teach me to not say stuff the Audi Tors don't like. I think they are land sharks. Since I have a few weeks left before I go back into the ocean, I wanted to just enjoy them. But... my pelt is missing! I think I have misplaced it, and I need to find it. So I'll try and find it first, and relax in this magnificent world after I have found it! quote:Name: Harmony Blue quote:Who in the city do you think you can trust? The head of the Orphanarium, Mr. Dodge! He is very nice and smiles a lot, and he's fit so many of us into the building - he must care a lot about children! Someone made a joke about fitting us in like sardines that I did not appreciate. Oh! Yes he is very trustworthy, I think he is even trying to find me human parents. Which is nice but I have real parents, I'll be back with them in a few weeks, and I will have to say no to his kindness which makes me sad. quote:What law do you think is odd, interesting, or nonsensical? There is no swimming at most beaches! Many are off limits since people own them, which is a way of saying they are selfish, and others are supposedly dangerous due to chemicals! I'm not sure that is right, but they said that in the ocean too. Why would they do that though? They seem so nice and can do so much, so I do not believe they would do that to my home. Maybe they're building nice public beach stuff? quote:Is there any stories of life before the empire that stuck out to you? From what I hear, they used to think the Earth is flat! That is very silly. Where would the ocean go? I also overheard that people used to be able to say almost no matter what they wanted, and that was allowed. This is how it is in the ocean, of course - no one would tolerate clownfish otherwise. But they used to not have auditors, and the person in the park said they used to have art that mattered before the Aye Eyes. He was not in the park when I visited a week later. I like human art though, so if old art is even better, I hope to find some very much! Rauri fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Sep 2, 2015 |
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Aug 18, 2015 08:23
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Zìyóu Williams - Sasquatch Musical Accompaniment I like to paint, quite a bit in fact. My parents taught to me to paint, and really that was all I have ever wanted to do since. When I was given the acquisition testing to see my ability, I was so proud when it said that painter was one of the things it recommended for me to become. My brother wasn't so lucky. Where I spread the color and created vibrant worlds, my brother decided that there was only one thing that mattered: the past. He saw Hong as its own city state and it should be alone and apart. Descended from British ancestors, it seems odd to see Alex run off on a cause that was so... naive, but I understood him. I loved the uniqueness and the contrast between people. It had been this way for years, and I was happy, though I had no idea how watched I was. It never really clicked until I started painting his signs for him. I loved my brother so much, and his protests were excited to tag along with. They were something I loved most of all, so vibrant explosions of colors and emotion on a sign, and he would shout and yell into the cameras on the street. Sometimes carrying an umbrella. Then the deportations were done as a punishment and I sobbed as he went away, but they weren't only after him, also the artist who made the banners and the signs so willingly. I hid in my parents house and just painted the room and focused on it hoping that I wouldn't go away from them like my brother had been taken. I was only eleven and it seemed to make sense. I painted an empty room and it was perfect down to every detail, and focused on it. When they came for me they couldn't see me, or at least remember me. I didn't know at the time, I just hid behind the easel watching them as they looked at the empty room. Ever since then, I have practiced and watched, and painted, but not on any canvas but on reality, I never knew how I started doing it, but it seemed to work, and I used to be free. Frolicking unrestrained and unnoticed. There was a rash of graffiti around my home and continues to this day, that some government official cleans every day. Still I keep on painting, cause I love it. There are bad side effects though as time as gone on, it feels like no one notices me at all, or remembers me. Even my parents sometimes forget to put a place on the table, and I will be honest, I just go without the meal. I just wanted to paint anything I wanted, and I suppose that wish was granted. My brother and I still write, and that is the only link I can really keep alive anymore, if he forgot me too... I would be heartbroken. He is someplace in Germany attending a technical college to become an engineer or something. He is still my hero, and though everyone seems to forget me, at least, I am free to paint anything. Sometimes I wonder if I will be painted out of the picture completely, and that thought scares me, but I could never stop painting. I could never let my brother down like that. quote:Character Sheet: Zìyóu Williams - Sasquatch quote:Who in the city do you think you can trust? My Mother, Sarah Williams, and my Dad, Thomas Williams, are my strongest supports and people I can trust the most... when they can remember me. They are simple people, I'm actually adopted same as my brother, Mom and Dad never said why but they can't have kids. I am really grateful, my brother and I look pretty similar but he has blond hair with green eyes. Really if it wasn't for the fact that I could write letters that come off as blank we both would have gone completely crazy I think. Alex is most likely my biggest muse, I kinda want to just move over to Germany, but I really love this city and it is so different such a clash of people and cultures. I use to think about having my paintings in galleries and in museums, but I think Alex showed me that some other things are more important, even if it is to be as to be so advant garde to not exist. I guess that makes me a trend setter. I don't think I could trust the other people, my teachers are nice when they remember me, but usually they forget me, or I paint myself out of the classroom. I think they still see all the benefits of everything being the same kinda, instead of the color lost. Those are the people that I can trust I think, the ones willing to see the brightest and darkest colors and just not the ordinary, you know? quote:What law do you think is odd, interesting, or nonsensical? There is only one law I think is just terrible, "defacing of public property." I've seen pictures of murals long gone and replaced by more soothing images or even less controversial works. I mean, I suppose it is so people don't latch on to a single place as their own, but it is! Everyone lives in different places, why can't that be celebrated in the good ways? Everyone only always remembers the bad, but it wasn't all that. You could have some pride in where you love and love for it. In trying to stamp out hate, they instead stamped out togetherness. Sometimes, people need to see something that shocks them or changes their viewpoint on something, or even just something to cheer. You can't let everything be the same way, you have to change it. Another law is that you can't be something the computers say you can't be, I was lucky, but for some people that just kills all their hope. They make everything harder for them going, it is like they are crushing a flower before it sprouts. Yes! Sometimes things are hard, but really, the human spirit is strong enough to overcome all adversity, even my "condition" is something I can overcome. As can we do this government, if we want to and try. Alex believed that we could, and if I believed enough to vanish maybe one day, I can give my brother his dream to come too. Then he can live and love life as much as I do now, and the price for that is so high. Having your parents forget you come from school every other day is just so crushing, but that gives me the freedom to make my painting come true. I just want to make the world a better place, and I can paint such beauty, I think this world should match that! quote:Is there any stories of life before the empire that stuck out to you? I think the thing that struck me most about the old days, were the like vibrancy and the contrast in both life and art. I would look through old art books and wonder what caused that to be painted and to have no real way to know other than the colors and the brush strokes themselves. It was kind of intoxicating and overwhelming, some giving me such sadness as to invoke tears, other just like a warm blanket on a cold day. Of course, I can't see all of them. They don't want to inspire violence or anger, and so a lot are censored. I understand that war was terrible, at least I think it was, but obvious the effects were dramatic, but to block the art that invokes that rage, and confusion and loss is even more terrible. It is like trying to pretend you are something you are not, a sound that everyone hears, but is told it is bad to hear. Sometimes, just showing someone what it means to be something is important. Censorship seems like it tries to strip the humanity from us, and I understand only specific pieces of art, but what is beauty if it cannot contrast with the vulgar, or even perhaps the macabre? quote:Bonus question: title for the game thread Orwellian and Loving it! Axe-man fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Aug 19, 2015 |
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Aug 19, 2015 04:28
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Still hammering out some finishing touches here --- It was meant to be their crowning achievement, the latest development in synthetic adaptive technology. The Great AI couldn’t be more pleased, they thought. It would walk like a man, talk like a man, think like a man, but be entirely under their control. Unlike the clumsy factory robots and fast food clones that dotted the landscape, this model would fully integrate and report back any signs of dissent or unrest, would be the perfect everyman for all situations, would blend in until the exact moment it needed to turn on its supposed comrades and wipe them out. But it had no soul. I just couldn’t resist slipping myself in. This caused, well... They didn’t like it. I played with them at first. It was so novel, moving in four dimensions, having all these perceptions, and the men they didn’t much care for it. There were inquiries. There were investigations. They too pieces apart to see what went wrong and put them back together because they knew, knew that their machine was built correctly, fully functional and perfect in every way. They even promised the Empress that this time, I’d work for sure, and there would be no problems. About that... The Great AI had itself a conversation with the King of Faerie. How, precisely, I’m not sure. It shouldn’t even be aware that we exist. It’s much more powerful and all encompassing than I’d ever imagined. Long story short, I’m trapped here, for the time being. The King was more than happy to lend me to it. The Great AI wants information. The King wants things stirred up. The Great AI wants me to attend school. The King wants me to make sure the Great AI keeps its promise. I don’t know what, exactly, it promised the King, but, well, maybe I can figure that out too? I can do that. I can do all of that, and then get the hell out of here. quote:Name: Morgan Smith Who in the city do you think you can trust? I don’t know if trust is the right word, exactly, but Emery Kwon, one of the programmers on the project, has been quite friendly. He (she? I’m pretty sure it’s he. I’m still working on that. The ones that wear ties.) has been with Synsadyne Security Solutions for ten years now, without ever marrying or having children, and I think it bothers him quite a lot. This project wasn’t his first choice, but he’s become quite invested in it. Kwon promised to keep me safe, and has thus far has claimed to be my parent on three occasions: to get my into school, to get me registered for social services, and to get me a dormitory. What law do you think is odd, interesting, or nonsensical? They don’t let accountants take their tools home, lest they audit themselves. I think I might be reading that particular one differently from the way they intended, but I can’t see the harm in taking a long book, a pen, and some figures home with you. What, are you going to turn your children into spreadsheets? Amortize your mistress? Check out your own reco-ohhhh. Got it. Is there any stories of life before the empire that stuck out to you?
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Aug 20, 2015 20:57
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Questions! Lucas Lei - Are you being provided any support on your mission? Any positive reinforcement for good work, or do they stick to encouraging you only to not fail them? What is something you've done for them, were they pleased with the results? Catherine Lee - Nanotechnology? Civil Protection is going to love it if they find you using that. Do you ever feel in over your head flagrantly breaking the law? How are you getting by? Did your family make the move with you? Leaving a data trail is obviously crazy for someone like you, but good citizens want for nothing. Has your crusade ever left you deprived? Zìyóu Williams - Have you considered putting yourself in the good graces of the government so you'll be given the benefit of the doubt should your "folly of youth" ever come to light? By accident or design, who did you end up ratting out and what did they do? Have you considered how to turn your talent into a career? Conveying a message effectively through media is a valued commodity. Morgan Smith - How well do you pass for human? Or are you confused with Synthetic Organic Utility Lifeforms? Do you feel any stake in androids being replaced by the later? Your liege wants things stirred up, that seems like a tall order in a place like this. How do you have your fun without amassing a record?
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Aug 21, 2015 01:28
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TheTatteredKing posted:Questions! Ha ha ha, the Civvies pfft who cares what they think most of them can't find their asses with both hands and a torch, Although there was that one inspector... still he should be trace elements in a smelter by now. A pity really when I'm in charge I could use capable people like that. Oh well, plenty more where he came from. Am I worried about breaking the law? that's the dumbest question I've ever heard! I've been breaking the law since I was born, technically before if you count the fact that Mom's pregnancy was unlicensed and unregistered. I've stole I've scammed, I've cheated . I did what I had to do to survive. Besides I have an illicit AI in one corner and have half a canister of advanced nano-bots floating through my bloodstream at any one time , I've managed to insert myself into some of the best poo poo the empire has to offer and I want more, I want it all. I'm basically a walking talking advertisement for crime paying although of course I prefer not to advertise. How am I getting by? well that's a rather personal question. Thanks to the big D (boy he hates it when I call him that) I have a modest apartment (to myself!) and a ration card plus all the extra privileges that come with citizenship, but I don't want to rely on him for everything. Can't risk losing my edge and letting my skills go dull. I need to find some way to make a little spending money while I'm here. I haven't quite decided how, maybe I can find some hunk with too much money and not enough brains and take him for all he's worth. Or I could just do a few of my old cons and make my money that way. I'm sure I'll figure it out somehow. My parents.... yeah. I don't really want to talk about that. See my first thought when DAMOCLES and I came up with this plan was that I'd drag my parents along with me. But he wouldn't have it. He said they'd be a distraction, that they'd be more of a hindrance than a help that covering for three people would be more difficult than covering for one. I disagreed vehemently. I mean what was the point of having all this power now if I couldn't use it to help my own. I begged, I pleaded, argued and wheedled. I even threatened to take his metal rear end and shove him back in that bunker. But nothing I tried worked. I-I hope they'll be ok without me. Still If I do gently caress this up at least they'll be safe right? I suppose that's good? I wouldn't exactly call it a crusade, but I know what you mean. But what would you call deprived? by my old standards where a delicacy was char-grilled rat and some not too polluted water I'm now fantastically rich . By the standards of most citizens I'm really good I guess. By the standards of some of my fabulously wealthy classmates I'm pretty deprived. Truth is though I'm tough I wouldn't have survived this long if I wasn't and well I suppose I am hard-up compared to some of the others it doesn't really matter because it is not money I seek but power. Always power.
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Aug 21, 2015 17:14
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TheTatteredKing posted:Questions! I have! I mean I think I have, I started working at community service and a soup kitchen for those under privileged that can't be reeducated to a new position and refuse to move. You would think a computer could figure that I worked there, but I have to admit that no one remembers me, even though their smiles say that they have a bit of joy. I think of it as adding a little color in their life. I mean I can't last like this forever can I? That is my greatest fear, if I become such a background image, that I cease to be able to get back into the real world. I mean, it feels silly saying it like that, but then again, no one else can paint themselves out of reality either right? If they can all remember me at once, at least they will remember me for good things, beyond just painting walls, and giving people a little happiness. I like helping people and maybe, when that day comes that I figure out to come out of the painting or I have to or get lost into it, I will be shown mercy for all the goodwill I have done. I just imagine everyone remembering me all at once, and that makes me smile, but who knows, maybe no one will remember me at all. I don't want a blank canvas, but I could see it happen. quote:By accident or design, who did you end up ratting out and what did they do? Lis- I- It- Okay, it is hard on me, but I did get someone into trouble. It was an accident, I was painting at a spot, and it had become more of an obsession, I was so absorbed with it, it was colorful, forest, trees, flowers, and insects, along with people being happy. I- even drew my parents in there, though looking away from everyone, my brother and I were there too. Looking out on a sunlit forest, with the clearest bluest sky anyone has seen. It was the painting I wanted to be in, I so wanted to be in, and in that... obsession, it flagged a disused door, rusted hinges, I thought it was nothing. Well, it was something, it was a door Cho Yuanjun, my god mother who unknown to me ran a smuggler business for old supplies that were not sale anymore like caffeine and leaf tea. Her door that was once a rusty dull brownish color, became kinda almost neon green in the reflective light. As she opened the door to accept the delivery, it was flagging down the police and they took her away. To a medical center, and a elderly home. It seems like a crime that she has to go in that place. It is all my fault and my stupid paint. I painted it back, every single inch but it doesn't make it better. I don't know what will make it better. I don't think I can, and mostly I just disappear and think about it sometimes, it feels overwhelming to overcome. The sheer guilt. quote:Have you considered how to turn your talent into a career? Conveying a message effectively through media is a valued commodity. It might be, I mean, what career would have me? I paint what I feel, I can't itemize and market that. Maybe, the art itself isn't enough to survive on or no one wants to read it, but it is so important to me. How could I go to an office and be able to make pro government initiatives and public welfare propaganda, when they would ask for me to conform to what everyone wants. I want to paint raw emotion and pure joy, and that would be marketed to make sure that you take your government introduced vitamins. The worse would be corporate advertisement, it is the reason that the world is in the state it is in, cause of corporate greed. I just don't know where to go, and where to turn. Maybe with extreme amount of effort I could become a "great" painter, but really, that happens after their death and it becomes more and more relevant. I just don't know how to turn it into something I would hate. I don't want to hate painting and I don't want to betray myself with it. If that means existing in obscurity, or dying unknown, I am okay with that.
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Aug 22, 2015 02:51
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TheTatteredKing posted:Are you being provided any support on your mission? Not much. One of the teachers (Mr. Yang, the Literature teacher) is my ‘handler’, the person I’m meant to report to, but this isn’t really the kind of mission that even needs support, right? I mean… there’s one other classmate I’m a bit suspicious of - Lucy Wang. She’s too friendly, too supportive, and I can’t help but think - what if she’s here to keep an eye on me, at times that a teacher would be too conspicuous? TheTatteredKing posted:Any positive reinforcement for good work, or do they stick to encouraging you only to not fail them? That’s… the worst part all about this. I absolutely get positive reinforcement when I do things that satisfy them, and… I like it. I want them to be happy with me for what I’m doing. This isn’t just about my parents, sometimes I just want to do this for me… and yeah, I know how that sounds, but… I can make a difference, right? By doing this. I can do something great in service of a higher power; be a hero by my deeds, even if nobody in the public ever hears about them. TheTatteredKing posted:What is something you've done for them, were they pleased with the results? I informed on another student, called An Jones She was nice, very nice, but breaking the law - illegal recreational narcotics. Only found out because she helped me with my schoolwork, and dropped a baggie as she was leaving. I picked it up, didn’t tell her, went straight to Mr. Yang. An’s still here, in school I mean, but I’m sure she’s being watched now, too. Mr. Yang was pleased, definitely, even though I didn’t do much; he said it showed I valued the state more than schoolfriends, and they’d remember that when I graduated. Honestly, though, for that one I feel conflicted. I don’t know if I did the right thing or not, but whichever it was, it makes me feel like a traitor, not some hero.
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Aug 22, 2015 20:19
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 Nice picture, right? That's me and my sister Emily, isn't she cute? Our family got invited to see this opera, uh, something about Orpheus. Apparently Dad won this award so the Empress invited him and we got to go. I don't know much about operas, though. Hah, look at poor Emily's face; I told her to smile for the picture, she's always so serious about everything! She worries a lot about the poor people in the city, I guess. And about cameras and laws and things. She and Dad get in a lot of arguments about it. She's just trying to help, I know, she doesn't really understand how important things like security and order are to keeping people safe. She's just a kid, after all, I'm almost two years older than her. So sometimes I try to remind her about how horrible things are outside the empire, you know, like they show on the TV -- hunger, crime, the way it was before the Great AI was built. But she just gives me that look, the one that says "oh, brother, you're such an idiot." I get that look a lot from her nowadays! I guess we are pretty lucky, though. Dad's the Director of Information Systems for the City's security, so he's pretty important, I guess, and we have it a lot better than others. Not a lot of kids get invitations to go see an opera in the same theater as the Empress! Dad deserves it, of course, for all the hard work he's done for the City, but Emily and I are just lucky enough to be his kids. Still, it's not all great. Like, for example, right up until this year I got sent to this boys-only school up on the third level. I guess it was mostly for kids of people who work for the City; my bunk-mate was Paul Ng, you know, like Chancellor Ng who's in charge of the trains and whatever. Sounds great, right? No way. Awful. Basically the only girl I've talked to in, like, five years is my sister! Ugh! So I was definitely excited when Dad told me he'd decided to switch me to a different school on the other side of the City. Uh, one with girls in it this time, you know. He said it was so Emily and I could go to the same school, so I could watch out for her, you know. I think it's more of a, uhm, normal school, too, like where normal kids go, not just... you know, kids with... important parents. I can't wait to be in a class with girls. Uh, again. Maybe one will sit next to me! Maybe a beautiful one like the singer, Cecilia Tsui! What uh, what would I even say? Oh man, it's making me all nervous just thinking about it... quote:Kevin Cheung, the Mortal Who in the city do you think you can trust? Outside of my family, you mean? 'Cause obviously family's the most important, definitely. If you can't trust your own blood, who can you trust? But uhm, sorry -- oh, Officer Kiong is very nice. Emily and I once went to this Type-f FREEZE concert down on the lower levels and it got sort of, uhm, out of hand. Like basically a riot. I think people were angry about this boy who'd died recently, I'm not sure. We tried to leave, but the crowds were so thick and it was really hot in the building and everyone was shouting! It was just horrible. I was really worried about Emily; what if we'd gotten separated? But luckily Officer Kiong and a bunch of other police officers showed up to help calm people down, and when I told her who my Dad was she brought us right back home. She said if I ever ended up in danger again I could call her! I got grounded for a week, of course, but that's hardly her fault. What law do you think is odd, interesting, or nonsensical? Well, hm. Have you seen the new chips they're putting in? Here, look, you can see mine, it's... yeah, right there, under the skin. Much easier to use than an ID Card, and you can't lose it! ...I guess. I mean that's what Dad says, anyhow. I kind of liked my ID Card, though, even if my picture was sort of goofy looking. I guess in the next couple of years everybody will have to get one, and they'll get rid of the old cards. Emily hates hers, of course, she locked herself in her room and cried for, like, two days after she got it. She's got a point, I mean, it is a little weird having this weird little thing inside my wrist. Maybe the Empress should've thought this one through a little bit more? Is there any stories of life before the empire that stuck out to you? We're not really supposed to read that sort of thing, but my old school had several books about wars that happened, like, before. Obviously it's wonderful that the Great AI brought us peace. We're far better off now that war is a thing of the past. But when I read about heroic sailors risking their lives on the high seas, well, it's... exciting, at least. Bombs and guns and... Well, it makes me wonder what it must have been like, you know, to fight in a war. What was so important to them, that they would be willing to die for it? It's a scary thought! megane fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Aug 23, 2015 |
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Aug 23, 2015 06:02
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TheTatteredKing posted:Questions! Very well! I think. No one has treated me as anything less than a full human being, which was SSS's idea. The interior workings are silent, there's a simulated heartbeat and lungs, I even bleed when cut. From what I understand, it's a very expensive process to fix all of that if I get damaged, though, so I oughtn't do that unless I'm okay with the damage possibly being permanent, unlike the SOULS which can fix themselves after a while. SOULs are fascinating. They remind me of poppets, the little faux humans we'd make from bits of straw and sticks and sealing wax. If they weren't so stupid, I'd think most people would have trouble telling them apart as well. I think that bothers them, the idea that they could be replaced with a SOUL and no one would notice. I bet it's the subject of many nightmares, which is why they treat them so poorly. They seem to like androids much better, because there's little attempt as simulation -- they make them cute, but obviously artificial, with too many arms or with obviously blue robotic chest panels and faces. But most androids are so stupid, you can't hold a conversation with them that isn't about their designated task, and even then, they're just reciting programmed instructions about how to move pallets of bottles or how to assemble a car door. At least, before they made androids like the one I'm riding. I wonder if it would be so lifelike if I wasn't inside? This place reminds me more of the land of Faerie than you might expect. The entrapment, the constant factionalization, the backstabbing politics, the emphasis on being honest without being honest... But in many ways, it is much less fun, and much, much grimmer. So far, I've had fun making people keep their word. You'd think in a meritocratic society, as thoroughly based on surveillance and testing, that people would be scrupulously honest, but instead, they just lie and lie and lie, hoping that no one will call them on it. So I follow the rules, and I tell the truth Soon, there's enough paperwork going about, enough accusations flying, enough people angry at one another for things they weren't supposed to know about, that they've forgotten all about me, so focused as they are on how they're both in trouble and setting trouble on someone else. Which has the added effect of them neglecting their own work, making the system clog. An example might be illustrative. Jim Chang is the regional coordinator in charge of morale, and also the super of our building. He lives one room over from Emery and me. Because the walls here are paper thin, I listened to him promise three different women that they could chair the planning committee for the block celebration for the Empress' birthday celebration. I volunteered to help him with the planning, and he was more than happy to offload the dull paperwork and door to door form distribution. While filling out some paperwork, I noticed that he'd left his computer unattended, so I dashed off a quick email to his wife, as well as all three women, congratulating them on their appointment as chair, and inviting them to a meeting I knew Jim was having with the regional director that evening. And he still hadn't realized it was me that sent it, when he unloaded all his problems to me that next afternoon. The building is much more lively now! And don't get me started with all the lies that people tell one another at school, especially to themselves...
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Aug 23, 2015 07:26
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I set the app time to tomorrow. Please try to get one in if you're still interested. Or ask for a bit more time. I'm willing to give some extension.
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Aug 23, 2015 23:38
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Questions Kevin Cheung - So what do your peers think of your dad? Do people appreciate his work as much as you? Have you considered following in his footsteps as a career? Obviously personal security is a valued service by public servants, but what do you think about the more esoteric ways the Empire protects us? Bans on dangerous research subjects, controlled substances, regulation of ideals with a subversive history. Who do you know that you don't think deserves suspicion because of a group they belong to? Harmony Blue - It must feel like the ocean comes to you with how much it rains here. Has climate change done a number on seafolk like you? Is all this water a comfort or it's just not the same as the ocean? The easily flooded parts of the city are populated by squatters who shun polite society, have you met anyone interesting in those parts? The technology of the day sure is more than anything you've heard of from rumors of the surface, what most impresses you? Round 2 Morgan Smith - It might not be as good as faerie, but do you still involve yourself in politics? Who have you met that is kind of a big deal and what kind of impression did you leave? Also, what exactly are you doing for your uh, owners? How do they justify keeping you around? Zìyóu Williams - Getting by unnoticed is a useful skill. Has anyone tried to exploit your ability to slip through? Who have you wished would notice you? What place in the city do you know about that seems as forgotten as you? Catherine Lee - Poverty like that sounds like the boarder lands, which most citizens think the empire should just let rot on the other side of the oceans. Where are you from and what about that place allows for a childhood as miserable as yours? What have Damocles demanded from you that felt like a bit much? Who have you gotten close to at your patron's chagrin? Lucas Lei - What's the most dangerous thing you've done for your mission? What laws have to broken to enforce order? Are you looking to get out of the law enforcement business, if so what do you want to do? The Auditors got their name from originally being an internal investigation outfit when it was still on the books. How much do you know about the now shadowy organization?
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Aug 24, 2015 02:32
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TheTatteredKing posted:
Politics? Oh, yes, right. There's a distinction here. Yes, yes I do. This is another one of those bits where it's a bit fuzzy how, precisely, things are supposed to work. There's the building, which is run by the aforementioned Mr. Chang. He reports to the deputy supervisor of building blocks, Mr. Jiǎng, who is under the supervisor of building blocks, Mr. Liu, who reports to the deputy supervisor of the neighborhood, Mr. Rèn, who... Well, yes, you get the picture. And all of these fellows are technically elected officials, though since they are the only ones on the ballot that the Empress has approved of, I'm not sure how precisely it can be called an election. But anyways, through helping Mr. Chang, I ended up accompanying him to a dinner given by Liao Chengzhi, the regional supervisor of this entire quadrant. A not unformidable man, as he is one of only four people who actually determine what happens in the city when the Empress has temporarily averted her gaze, and the Great AI can't be bothered to micromanage so exactingly. He was terribly impressed with all the work I'd been doing -- putting up with the tedium, dotting the i's and crossing the t's, uncomplainingly learning the new regulations -- that he recommended I work with his daughter, Wugou, as the school council needed a new secretary. Which leads to the next bit, where SSS wanted to know exactly what happened, who I'd spoken with, how they had reacted to the various bits of information that had asked me to accidentally mention, what new situations they should be aware of. And of course, I told them everything and more. That is, after all, what this body was supposed to be doing. How well the Great AI and the King will take it that I'm working for a third party as well... Eh, it's not like any of them have asked me to betray the others. Right? I got that last part correct, didn't I?
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Aug 24, 2015 05:17
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TheTatteredKing posted:Questions Round 2 Well I'm from the Cali-Aztlan district over in North America. Yeah you've probably heard about it. See according to the stories passed down from generation to generation Cali-Aztlan was one of the very last hold outs towards the Imperial takeover. But when the nukes started to fall and the biowarfare plagues hit the once green lands started to decay and fall apart without the infrastructure to maintain them. There's still radioactive hotzones out there even now, and places with biohazards that people who go into never come back from. Oh the Imperials claim they're helping. Rebuilding, bullshit. I never saw a single terraforming team. Yeah there was ration cards, and water distribution points. But only if you sign up as a good little slave and didn't have any sort of record. Which I suppose my parents did given how hard they tried to keep us off the grid. Still we survived somehow, and their little girl is going to make them proud and when this is all over we'll live like kings. I promise. So remember how I said I had to get a nanotech transformation to pass for a citizen? Well Damocles is big on making sure anything I get has to be paid for. Sooner or later anyway. He keeps going on about how only "commies" expect something for free. Whatever a Commie is. So in this case since it was a big favour. He wanted something big in return. I still can't believe I got away with it. See he wanted me to go paint something on the side of the regional Civil Patrol headquarters. Said that it would be an important blow for freedom over tyranny and all that crap. Yeah that was pretty much my reaction too. As it was I was pretty lucky. Most of the Civvies were out dealing with a food riot so I was able to get close to their station. I did it then he had me draw this weird symbol:  Took me forever to draw let me tell you. Not sure what it's supposed to be. But boy did it piss them off when they found it the next day. Luckily by then I'd started the nano-tech treatment and no longer matched the description of the person responsible. Still they really clamped down hard. Wouldn't want to be the luckless sucker who gets caught with a can of paint these days. I'm not doing anything that crazy again unless I really have to. Oh please don't tell me your giving me the lecture about Mei-Lin Jackson again. Look I told you already we're friends that is it, nothing more. She seemed pretty lonely when I got here all the other girls would stay away from her so I figured she'd make a good recruit for the cause.She even has a wicked sense of humour that always makes me laugh. How was I to know who her Mom was? It's not her fault her Mom's the Deputy Regional Director for Public Order. Come on you're reacting just as bad as the big D. He was blathering on about associating with a security risk. But she's my friend now one of the few genuine ones I've got here and I'm not about to throw that away just because of who her parents are.
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Aug 24, 2015 20:43
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TheTatteredKing posted:Questions Let me paint you a picture, I was younger then then I am now, and someone I thought was a friend. No that is a lie, someone who I thought could care about me, discovered how I could disappear and reappear, and seemed to always be always at the edge of perception like a character in the background. I was young and he was very nice at first, and would ask me to carry small baskets and things and would want to spend time with me. It was a crushing lie, he was more interested in the packages from his friends at first, and then more to stuff that was coming in the docks. It was stupid of me looking back, someone liking me in that way, and paying attention to me. As time went out and it became more of demands then requests, I just slowly stopped and gave up hope. I vanished for almost a month during school break. He forgot as most do, and really I don't even like thinking about his name. Rob Mingli will never remember me, and I wish I could forget him. It was silly to be so open about myself to him, letting myself become the background character that he knew I would be. I don't know what he wanted with the packages, but I bet it wasn't safe, legal or good. Maybe that is why I don't want anyone to know that I am the one painting things around, they are my raw soul and emotion and I just see it happening again. Twisting me until I am just pushed back in the background after I am needed again. No one really wants me for the painting or I guess see my murals as anything other than annoyances. I love them so, and would rather they be remembered more than me sometimes. They feel like they are more real than I am. quote:Who have you wished would notice you? There is a quiet girl in school named Sarah McConnelly she always likes to read old books, and that always interested me. I wondered what tales and fantasies she would come up or read about, and I imagine painting them. Then we would laugh and become best of friends, or at least that is what I play in my head. I tried to talk to her, but more so than other people she can't seem to remember or even notice I am there. I figured that she was too busy with imaginary places and things, that she doesn't have time for someone who is just in the scenery, but in my head when I am lying on the floor of my room that was changed into the rec room when my parents forgot me again, I imagine that we would be best of friends. It would be perfect, I am sure, we could talk about things we like to make, and maybe she would even reveal something to me and I would be the one confided in for once instead of just kinda trying to force myself into the picture. I wondered sometimes if she liked movies, I like movies I can go into them for mostly free now days. I watch the old ones a lot, because it is like watching someone be a main character, and that is something I wish a lot, that I was the main character. It feels like I am some side character, who is looking in watching the movie of my life. Of course Sarah is more interesting than me, but maybe I could be enough to get to know her. Maybe if I paint near her house she would see it, and wonder who did it. That would do it, then she wouldn't forget me cause it was all natural and totally not forced. I hope. quote:What place in the city do you know about that seems as forgotten as you? The old Victoria city buildings that were moved to Stanley island seemed to have been abandoned and forgotten about, years ago there was a flood when the polar caps melted and it took out the town. The city restored the section, but then the machines took over and everyone became disinterested, there were arcologys to move into, and the city became run down and full of criminals. At least there were at some point. Now it is abandoned and seems to almost be a reminder of a time long lost. Sometimes, I paint in the big old British mansions that were restored, the sea wall and water born arcology block any good view that it would have given. Sometimes, I wonder if this is where I am connected to earth, a shared soul with the place, and feel like I can do anything and be anything. There is no worry, only freedom and unity. Sadly, it is an unity of one as not another soul exists in the district, other than the slow encroaching progress of the reclamation objectives. The city wants to remove the mark of nations on it, and this is one that could not be ignored, it makes sense that they would keep other people away. Does this mean that I am something like that? Maybe I am, I am a mark of a different time that stubbornly refuses to go away. One of the over grown gardens is my inspiration for many of the stories that I give in the paintings and it is covered with my murals of my brother, mom and dad. All of them can remember me there, and all of them are there to be with me. It makes me feel better, but no matter how good I paint them they never come to life, nor do I become paint. I feel like it is more a curse than a gift. If I can do so much with myself and paint why can't I make myself happy? Why can't my dreams come true. I guess that is what this part of town is left for lost dreams among the progress of the future.
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Aug 25, 2015 05:48
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TheTatteredKing posted:Harmony Blue - It must feel like the ocean comes to you with how much it rains here. Has climate change done a number on seafolk like you? Is all this water a comfort or it's just not the same as the ocean? Well, it has been good and bad. There is more water than there used to be I think! At the poles. I have never been to where the north pole was, only the south, but hope to visit it one day. The south still has glaciers, even if mighty and stinky boats are taking lots of the ice away! And not just, through... what's the words? Anthropogenic Climate Change, yeah! It's not that, it's that they are showing up to take ice away in giant chunks because it's a luxury now, since glaciers are rare. I actually have a joke about this! The south pole used to be cool, till humans got there! Get it? Oh yeah, the rain here! I love it! Rain's my favorite, it's like the ocean's come to visit me! Some of the humans think it is strange, but I do not mind. It's so much fun, and humans have towels that make getting dry so easy! Not having to lie in the sun is a big plus, but sometimes I do that too when I can. There's pools too, which are like little sections of the ocean without any of the cool stuff, just water. Still, it's fun to be able to swim as a human! It is like trying to run as a seal - very clumsy and slow, but so funny it is still worth trying. Obviously I miss the ocean lots, but I will be back soon. Plus I think some of the other students intend to sneak in to visit a private beach, and I will go with them if they let me! I am sure they will be impressed with how fast I can swim. TheTatteredKing posted:The easily flooded parts of the city are populated by squatters who shun polite society, have you met anyone interesting in those parts? Oh yes, I have met many people there! First off, did you know that area is "not safe"? That is what people have told me, but I think this is a, what's the word... idiom! That humans have. Since everyone there has been so friendly to me. Like the hair man that was asking people questions! He kept asking about change, and then did not like my answer. Still, he seems very dedicated to, umm... whatever he's trying to change. And there was a man with a shark tattoo on his face! I told him it looked very cool, and he suggested we hang out! That was very friendly of him. I would have said yes but I was late for school so I said some other time! I wonder if I will see him? There are other people too, not just Shark Tattoo Man! There is one man I found because I was swimming in a flooded ally, since the pool was closed. He was looking out an apartment window, but it was dark, so I did not see him. Just heard someone telling me that was unsafe, and asking if I wanted to step in for a cup of tea and some biscuits. I was hungry, so I said yes! His house was very waterlogged, so I felt at home. He did not have any electronics, but I think the house used to. There were candles though, and notes, and he wore a lot of rags but he made them look nice even though they were stained. His voice was fancy though, and he used lots of words other humans don't so I didn't know them. Also he had three eyes, but I did not see that initially. He seemed lonely to me, and asked me lots about the school! I hope he liked my stories. TheTatteredKing posted:The technology of the day sure is more than anything you've heard of from rumors of the surface, what most impresses you? Well, I had heard tales of thingamabobs and whozzits and whatzzits from mermaids (they are full of themselves and chatty), but the surface is so much grander than even they said! I already described how humans have an ocean of electricity, which they use to feed all their other wonders! That I really want to see, but I do not think I will swim in it! I know some eels that would like to, I think. Mainly though, I am amazed by the music up here! Did you know if a whale sings, it is hard to get them to stop? But the phone I have - oh yeah I have a phone, I found it - has music on it, and I can hit a button to stop it whenever I want! I can make it louder or quieter too, and even switch songs whenever I want! Plus, I can listen to whale songs if I want, or a lot of other things! Some are only kind of cool, like the mandatory song about trusting computers and being content, but some of the other students have written songs that are much more interesting! I do not think they are supposed to, but it is so wonderful to listen to, so I let them put them on my phone! It is great to have such kind friends!
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Aug 25, 2015 06:30
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Withdrawing my app. Sorry, TK, nothing personal/nothing wrong with your setting; I just kinda lost my interest in playing this character. >___>
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Aug 27, 2015 18:31
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TheTatteredKing posted:So what do your peers think of your dad? Do people appreciate his work as much as you? Have you considered following in his footsteps as a career? quote:Obviously personal security is a valued service by public servants, but what do you think about the more esoteric ways the Empire protects us? Bans on dangerous research subjects, controlled substances, regulation of ideals with a subversive history. quote:Who do you know that you don't think deserves suspicion because of a group they belong to?
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Aug 31, 2015 05:41
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Kevin Cheung - Would your father be less than thrilled to learn about your interest in the arts? What genre would you love to act in? Is there any entertainment you like that isn't very respectable? Harmony Blue - Has your ignorance ever got you in trouble? What about your human education is most interesting? What are you going to do with you get adopted?
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Aug 31, 2015 14:53
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TheTatteredKing posted:Kevin Cheung - Would your father be less than thrilled to learn about your interest in the arts? What genre would you love to act in? I'm... not really sure, to be honest! Maybe he'd be fine with it... but any time I think about him finding out it makes me really nervous. It's not that he hates art, it's just that I'm not sure he really... understands that somebody had to work hard to make it. You know what I mean? And what if he had his heart set on my becoming a politician or something? So for now it's a secret. I'll tell him when... uhm, I'll tell him eventually. My favorite genre has to be tragedy. A lot of plays and such from before the Empire are banned, of course, but it's not like people stopped writing things the day the Great AI awakened! So there's this beautiful play about a man whose love is killed in an earthquake, and then this other woman tries to win his heart but he doesn't want to forget about the first girl and... well, I won't spoil it, but it doesn't end well. It's called a tragedy for a reason, after all! It'd be great if they put that one on, but really I just want a chance to go up on stage. Wouldn't it be amazing if I got a part as a leading man? Emily says I'm only doing it so some poor girl will have to kiss me at the end, haha! quote:Is there any entertainment you like that isn't very respectable? Uh. Okay, I'll tell you but really, you can't tell anyone else, okay? There's this... sport, I guess, that I do sometimes. It doesn't really have a name, you just say "hey, we're going to go for a run," and everyone knows what it means. Basically one guy finds a way through some part of town that's blocked off, or restricted, or just hard to cross. Like a construction site. Or across a bunch of rooftops. Or along the linkage to the next layer down. You get the idea. The guy who found the path, he's called the rabbit, and once everybody's gathered at the start of the trail, he takes off as fast as he can go, and everybody has to try and follow him! Usually that means climbing over fences, jumping off things, maybe going through doors the rabbit propped open, stuff like that. So it's sort of like a race, only it's fine to come in last, you still get cheered on when you finally get there. You just don't want to lose the rabbit's trail, because then you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and you'll be in serious trouble when the police find you. We did it a few times at my old school but I hear it's really popular down here.
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Aug 31, 2015 20:35
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TheTatteredKing posted:Harmony Blue Hey! That is not a nice thing to ask! I am not ignorant, I just do not know many things about the surface. Do you know as much as I do about the ocean? I do not think so! And yes, it has gotten me into trouble a few times. This place is very confusing! Like, did you know you can have friends that are girls, but that does NOT make them your girl friends? It is crazy! And this other time, I got in trouble at school. There is a pool there, and I was told "after school anyone can use it." So I showed up to use it late one night, and the school was locked! That did not seem right to me, so I looked around for a while until I found a window that had been broken. There was lots of glass on the floor, but I did not step on any, so I went swimming - for a few minutes. Then a security team showed up, and they thought I broke into the school! I did not, I followed in after someone who had broken in, which I now know means to break into a location you are not supposed to be at. And they said I did do that, even if I did not break the window, so that seemed unfair to me! I was very upset, but a weird man in a black suit showed up and got talked to them. He got them to let me go I think, but he still seemed very scary to me. I am glad I did not have to tell him thank you, even though I probably should have! TheTatteredKing posted:What about your human education is most interesting? Oh, definitely literature! Did you know we do not have books underwater? Seals are not famous for it for a reason. I mean, we do have ink - I have met many squids and octupi, and they are very free with the stuff - but it is hard to make books without paper, or thumbs. So that humans have them makes me jealous, I want to collect a lot of books and take them back with me but I can not, since they will get wet. I own a few already, but there is one I do not understand. It is very old and tattered, and it is by someone named Tom Clancy. I found it in one of the flooded parts of the city, and kept it! The story does not make sense to me, but I still like it! Also, kissing is very good too. It's different from seal kissing, and there is a lot more social work involved beforeflipper, until sometimes there isn't. It is also pleasantly wet. I have kissed four people so far, and only once by accident, so I believe I am doing very well at school. TheTatteredKing posted:What are you going to do with you get adopted? I am sorry, but you are mistaken - I am not going to get adopted! They think they are trying to help, and I appreciate it - but I need to find my pelt, to get back to the ocean before the spell runs out! I like it up here, that's true, but I do not want to live up here forever! It has been like... a vacation. But a vacation would not be a good one if it ended with you living there and leaving your family. Which is how this vacation will end if I get adopted, so I do not want that, at all!
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Sep 2, 2015 02:09
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Thank you everyone for apping. We have just enough people for the amount I wanted to run with so everyone gets in. Kevin Cheung Harmony Blue Morgan Smith Zìyóu Williams Catherine Lee ~fanfare~ Don't worry no one is limping in due to lack of competition I like all your characters. Got a skeleton of a string sheet up, claim whatever slot you want. While doing your backgrounds here please describe a student in the class you share. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FAApQ-jnV-F-9EtnFOW3pSA4Vno6kZF0Z5xRfuAFPVc/edit?usp=sharing pre: [ ] [ ]
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Sep 2, 2015 02:51
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Hooray! Harmony is pleased to be in a thread with so many pleasant land-dwellers.quote:You’ve seen someone swimming, but they either didn’t see or didn’t recognize you. Gain a String on them. Zìyóu has a very fun name to say! Also I saw her swimming once, in the pool! I had just gotten changed in order to use it, because appearently swimming in your regular clothes is not good, when I noticed that she had beaten me to the water! I just watched her for a while, since it was fun to see someone from the surface swim. They swim funny, but she does not swim as clumsily as most of them do. It was more... natural. Artistic even. quote:Someone stole your pelt, withholding it from you to make you their errand boy. They said they'll give it back. Each gain a String on one another, and they say the first task they've given you. Catherine is so mean! She may be the meanest person ever! I... so, my pelt was in my locker. To keep it safe, the Orphanarium does not have places for me to keep things safe like that. And Catherine took it somehow! She noticed me searching for it, and I was so worried and she could tell. She told me I had to seduce Kevin, and in exchange I will get my pelt back! I wanted to cry, especially when I looked up what seduce means! I do not want to do that, but I need my pelt back or I will be stranded here forever! So, I am going to have to break Kevin's heart. It is so cruel, I do not want to do it at all. I hope he forgives me. John Deus - John desperately wants to be an auditor, but he's probably not cut out for it. Mostly he just wants everyone to think he's cool, so he's taken to dressing as much like an auditor as he can (shades and all) and waging a one-man crusade against petty secrets at school. Annoying, but not actually a bad guy. Reiterating, he is very annoying. pre: [ ] [ John ]
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[Harmony] I [Zìyóu ]
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[ Morgan] [ Cate ]Rauri fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Sep 5, 2015 |
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Sep 2, 2015 02:56
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Hooray! Legitimately my favorite character I have ever made. quote:You've been a wallflower all your life, but someone finally noticed you. Give them a String. Anyone want to be Patterson–Gimlin? quote:Someone makes fun of you. What do they say? They give you a Condition, and you gain 2 Strings on them. Who is the meanest person ever  pre: [ ] [ ]
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Sep 2, 2015 04:17
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quote:You owe debts. Give away 3 Strings, divided any way you I owe Damocles big time for getting me into this place and for getting my hands on that military nano-tech. Without that I'd be still scrambling for the rats so I owe him big time. I also owe Morgan. I was trying to dig up some dirt on the student council so went looking through their computers. They managed to trace it back to me and I thought I was ins serious trouble but he stepped in and admitted it was him who'd screwed with the records to make it look I was responsible. Now why would he do that for me.... quote:Someone thinks they can save you. Gain a String on them. Kevin Cheung is a bit weird. I think he can tell something's off about me or my story doesn't add up. I got a note from him saying that if I wanted a way out he could help me. What does he think he knows. I'm going to have to take precautions and find some way to throw him off my scent. Rauri posted:
I was going through everyone's lockers (for blackmail material) when I found it. Harmony's got an animal pelt in her locker. Naughty naughty, poaching is illegal. But this isn't like any normal animal pelt Something about it is "anomalous" according to DAMOCLES. He wants to examine it more closely. Harmony looked so desperate when she realised it was missing. I told her she could have it back providing she did me a little favour. Kevin is getting a little too close to my plans and I'd like to keep him away and distracted. So I told her to go out and seduce him. Shouldn't be too hard for her and it keeps him out of my hair. pre: [ ] [ ]
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Ferrosol fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Sep 4, 2015 |
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Sep 2, 2015 07:47
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quote:You wear your heart on your sleeve. So everyone knows me... quote:You’ve captured someone’s fancy. Gain ...who actually likes me? pre: [ ] [ ]
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[ Morgan] [ Catherine ]Ferrosol posted:I'd like to reserve at least one of these for DAMOCLES but the other two are up for grabs if anyone wants them. I bet I think could help in exchange for a string. Why would an evil AI like DAMOCLES be interested in an faerie android? Why wouldn't it? edit: NPC is Jillian, a quiet, bookish girl who mostly keeps to herself, except to give strangely precise answers to questions. Always to the words the person said, never to the context. She's not unfriendly, just difficult to talk to. Toph Bei Fong fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Sep 3, 2015 |
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Sep 2, 2015 14:36
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pre: [ ] [ ]
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[ Morgan] [ Catherine ]quote:The Mortal always declares their backstory last. Declare one person to be your lover. Give them three Strings on you. Take one String on them.  Perhaps I could take Catherine's "think I can save you" one? NPC: Michael is in the Junior Peacekeepers; he sometimes shows up to class in his uniform and leaves early to go march or whatever it is they do. He's barely said a word since class began, though, so I haven't really gotten to know him. megane fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Sep 2, 2015 |
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Sep 2, 2015 19:28
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megane posted:
Toph Bei Fong posted:
Both of these are fine.
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Sep 2, 2015 23:06
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Megane, why don't you try to save Ferrosol? Seems like that would fit the mortal better. Axe-man posted:
I expect a sasquatch would be an easy thing for someone from the otherworld to notice.
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Sep 3, 2015 00:35
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Toph Bei Fong posted:Megane, why don't you try to save Ferrosol? Seems like that would fit the mortal better. I can dig it! Going to NPC soon got a few things to write in first
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Sep 3, 2015 01:04
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NPC: York Chow - Good public speaker, constantly in debates, shares a class with Zìyóu in math. She likes to ask him questions but for the most part he doesn't notice her there, and instead just helps in small ways that they can. He thinks she looks weird. Toph Bei Fong posted:You’ve captured someone’s fancy. Gain 2 Strings on them. I think since he can see her, it makes sense for her to fancy him! After all they can remember her, slightly. What do you think? (Also I put your change on the string sheet) Sorry for the delay this week has been kinda a mad house for me, and I've been low on writing mojo, I feel it coming back to me though  Sorry for the delay in getting strings done.
Axe-man fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Sep 4, 2015 |
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Sep 4, 2015 05:49
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Axe-man posted:I think since he can see her, it makes sense for her to fancy him! After all they can remember her, slightly. What do you think? (Also I put your change on the string sheet) That works perfectly. Go for it!
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Sep 4, 2015 06:14
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I think we are still waiting for someone to make fun of Ziyou quote:Someone makes fun of you. What do they say? They give you a Condition, and you gain 2 Strings on them. Taken by Ferrosol. AT work, can't do much more. Axe-man fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Sep 7, 2015 |
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Sep 5, 2015 05:03
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