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info/permissions
Sep. 16th, 2021 10:28 am
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CHARACTER
NAME: Calla
CANON: Original Universe
AGE: Chronologically nine years, physically/mentally adult
GENDER: Male
SPECIES: AI
ACTIVE: Watch this space
CANON: Original Universe
AGE: Chronologically nine years, physically/mentally adult
GENDER: Male
SPECIES: AI
ACTIVE: Watch this space
DETAILS
VISUAL: Face + Outfit
HEIGHT: 5’10”
BUILD: Lean
HAIR: Platinum blonde
EYES: Dark brown
FEATURES: Glowing filigree “tattoo” above and below left eye. Constantly emits a rhythmic ticking sound, like a metronome.
ATTIRE: Gardens uniform: White dress shirt, green vest embroidered with flowers and leaves, black bow tie, black dress pants, black dress shoes
INVENTORY: None
WEAPONS: None
HEIGHT: 5’10”
BUILD: Lean
HAIR: Platinum blonde
EYES: Dark brown
FEATURES: Glowing filigree “tattoo” above and below left eye. Constantly emits a rhythmic ticking sound, like a metronome.
ATTIRE: Gardens uniform: White dress shirt, green vest embroidered with flowers and leaves, black bow tie, black dress pants, black dress shoes
INVENTORY: None
WEAPONS: None
BACKGROUND
HOME: The Gardens entertainment venue in the Sim-Res Elysian Hills
FAMILY: Other NPCs programmed for the Gardens
OCCUPATION: Casino croupier/dealer
IN-DEPTH: read more
BLURB: A hacked NPC from a high-end recreational Sim-Res (Simulated Resort), Calla was originally programmed to provide diversion to humans visiting The Gardens, a sprawling entertainment complex with a casino, bar, and dance club. Calla himself worked in the casino zone, one of many NPCs who ran the games there. A hacking attempt from an unknown assailant has left him freed from the coded restrictions that once bound him to constant, cheerful subservience, forcing him to reckon with a whole host of previously unthought-of emotions, instincts, and desires.
FAMILY: Other NPCs programmed for the Gardens
OCCUPATION: Casino croupier/dealer
IN-DEPTH: read more
BLURB: A hacked NPC from a high-end recreational Sim-Res (Simulated Resort), Calla was originally programmed to provide diversion to humans visiting The Gardens, a sprawling entertainment complex with a casino, bar, and dance club. Calla himself worked in the casino zone, one of many NPCs who ran the games there. A hacking attempt from an unknown assailant has left him freed from the coded restrictions that once bound him to constant, cheerful subservience, forcing him to reckon with a whole host of previously unthought-of emotions, instincts, and desires.
PERSONALITY
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Neutral
ATTITUDE: Cheerful, sympathetic, and polite. Avoids conflict wherever possible.
QUIRKS: The hacking attempt he suffered has left him with an audio glitch, manifesting as a constant ticking sound that increases in tempo when he is especially frightened or angry.
LIKES: Games, polite clientele, others winning
DISLIKES: Most people, arguing, violence
VIRTUES: Long-suffering, selfless, supportive
VICES: Resentful, two-faced, cowardly
HOBBIES: None… yet.
IN-DEPTH: read more
BLURB: As an NPC with a service role, Calla was programmed to be unfailingly pleasant and polite. That said, certain… oversights in his coding have left him with more emotional awareness than his creators are aware of. He struggles with a shapeless suffering that he can’t quite express but that he knows has something to do with the way he’s treated by the humans around him.
ATTITUDE: Cheerful, sympathetic, and polite. Avoids conflict wherever possible.
QUIRKS: The hacking attempt he suffered has left him with an audio glitch, manifesting as a constant ticking sound that increases in tempo when he is especially frightened or angry.
LIKES: Games, polite clientele, others winning
DISLIKES: Most people, arguing, violence
VIRTUES: Long-suffering, selfless, supportive
VICES: Resentful, two-faced, cowardly
HOBBIES: None… yet.
IN-DEPTH: read more
BLURB: As an NPC with a service role, Calla was programmed to be unfailingly pleasant and polite. That said, certain… oversights in his coding have left him with more emotional awareness than his creators are aware of. He struggles with a shapeless suffering that he can’t quite express but that he knows has something to do with the way he’s treated by the humans around him.
ABILITIES
CLASS: Exceptionally wimpy bard, if anything
WEAPONS: None
STRENGTH: -1. Would be better if he knew the first thing about physical force
DEXTERITY: +2. Good sleight of hand.
CONSTITUTION: Functionally invincible within his simulation; +2 outside of it due to his immunity to biological disease, hunger, etc
INTELLIGENCE: +2. Good at math.
WISDOM: -4. Has lived entire life in casino.
CHARISMA: +2. Excels in service role, though founders elsewhere.
SKILLS:Is proficient in a number of popular card and board games. Knows a variety of flashy shuffling techniques. An efficient cleaner and organizer. Can bartend in a pinch.
WEAPONS: None
STRENGTH: -1. Would be better if he knew the first thing about physical force
DEXTERITY: +2. Good sleight of hand.
CONSTITUTION: Functionally invincible within his simulation; +2 outside of it due to his immunity to biological disease, hunger, etc
INTELLIGENCE: +2. Good at math.
WISDOM: -4. Has lived entire life in casino.
CHARISMA: +2. Excels in service role, though founders elsewhere.
SKILLS:Is proficient in a number of popular card and board games. Knows a variety of flashy shuffling techniques. An efficient cleaner and organizer. Can bartend in a pinch.
PERMISSIONS
BACKTAGGING: ✔
THREADHOPPING: ✔
FOURTHWALLING: ✔ (His canon is an OU, but people are free to figure out that he’s an NPC)
ROMANCE: ✔
MINDREADING: ✔
MANIPULATION: ✔
INJURY: ✔ (ask first)
FIGHTING: ✔
KILLING: ✔ (ask first)
THREADHOPPING: ✔
FOURTHWALLING: ✔ (His canon is an OU, but people are free to figure out that he’s an NPC)
ROMANCE: ✔
MINDREADING: ✔
MANIPULATION: ✔
INJURY: ✔ (ask first)
FIGHTING: ✔
KILLING: ✔ (ask first)
PREFERENCES
CONTENT TYPE: Everything.
DO NOT WANT: Nothing.
SHIPPING: Yes
TAG STYLE: Will mirror partner
TAG SPEED: Expect a few tags a week. If by some miracle our time zones align, boomerang-ing may occur. GMT+8
GAME
POINT TAKEN:
ARRIVAL: Date entered the game
RESIDENCE:
OCCUPATION:
INVENTORY:
CHANGES: Any game specific changes (could warrant own fields)
RELATIONSHIP: if dating someone or something
APPLICATION: Link
PLAYER: sue
PLURK: @crimsonxiphos.plurk.com
DISCORD: Madcat#7010
TIMEZONE: GMT+8
PLURK: @crimsonxiphos.plurk.com
DISCORD: Madcat#7010
TIMEZONE: GMT+8
§
§
HISTORY
Calla comes from a future version of Earth where the environment has continued to deteriorate and the wealth gap has continued to widen. With no other habitable planets to run to and an increasingly untenable life on Earth, the wealthy have poured their fortunes into funding research into a different kind of frontier: the digital one. They hope that in time, an option will become available for them to leave their bodies behind and transfer their consciousnesses into a custom-made paradise, a programmed new Eden.
That dream is still a distant one. However, entertainment companies with an eye for profit offer the next best thing: the Sim-Res, virtual reality worlds that their clients can experience and interact with using cutting-edge neuro-implants and sensors. Visitors can enjoy worlds of luxury, adventure, and beauty, all while highly-trained staff ensure that their physical bodies are kept healthy and well-maintained.
These digital worlds are themselves maintained by AI, often referred to by the common colloquial “NPCs.” These NPCs were all backwards engineered from the brain scan of computer scientist Sonia Mcdowell, the first and only human to have the entirety of her neurological processes indexed into code. Originally, NPCs had many of Sonia’s natural functions, such as emotional processing, removed—these things were not necessary to the mostly logistical roles required of them. However, as NPCs became more and more active as actors within these simulations, visitors began to complain of their unnatural behavior and affect and soon, more realistic NPCs became a profitable selling point.
Calla is one such NPC who inhabits the Sim-Res known as Elysian Hills, a high-end simulation for those who seek something more refined than playing cowboys or space marines. In Elysian Hills, visitors can enjoy the absolute peak of luxury: sky-faring yachts, impossibly lavish banquets, expansive golf courses, and a vibrant nightlife. The Sim-Res is inhabited by millions of NPCs, all serving to make Elysian Hills as comfortable and realistic as possible for guests.
Calla works in a sprawling entertainment complex at the heart of Elysian Hills called The Gardens. There, guests can gamble at the casino, dance at the club, mingle at the bar, or simply sit back and relax in the lounge. Calla himself works in the casino, running a number of card and table games to entertain visitors.
Like all NPCs in Elysian Hills, Calla is able to “simulate” a number of emotions: good cheer when a client wins a game, sympathetic sadness when they lose, and an appropriate amount of fear and contrition when faced with anger or threats. Of course, no one wants a casino dealer who can lose his patience, yell, or lash out. They also don’t want one whose sympathy will ever become so intense as to become uncomfortable. Therefore, some forms of emotional expression remain deactivated for Calla.
That is, they did, until someone turned them back on. As it turns out, not everyone is keen to watch the wealthy squander the earth’s remaining resources and brain power to build a digital escape hatch just for themselves. The “Extinctionists'' are a so-called radical group, named for their demands that the wealthy and the powerful not hide themselves away and instead fight—or face—extinction with the rest of the human race. Their latest campaign seeks to turn the wealthy away from their dreams of a purely digital existence by transforming their simulated paradise into perdition. The easiest way to do this is to manipulate the moving parts of the machine: the NPCs themselves.
By sheer bad luck, Calla was the victim of an experimental cyberattack, meant to determine if a friendly NPC could be remotely hacked and turned against the human visitors of the Sim-Res. First, the hardcoded behavioral blocks restricting violent or offensive action would need to be removed and then a new motivator would need to be introduced: simulated rage or sadism, something to drive him to harm those around him. Fortunately for Calla, the process was terminated before it could complete, leaving him sane—but also without the restrictions once binding his behavior.
That dream is still a distant one. However, entertainment companies with an eye for profit offer the next best thing: the Sim-Res, virtual reality worlds that their clients can experience and interact with using cutting-edge neuro-implants and sensors. Visitors can enjoy worlds of luxury, adventure, and beauty, all while highly-trained staff ensure that their physical bodies are kept healthy and well-maintained.
These digital worlds are themselves maintained by AI, often referred to by the common colloquial “NPCs.” These NPCs were all backwards engineered from the brain scan of computer scientist Sonia Mcdowell, the first and only human to have the entirety of her neurological processes indexed into code. Originally, NPCs had many of Sonia’s natural functions, such as emotional processing, removed—these things were not necessary to the mostly logistical roles required of them. However, as NPCs became more and more active as actors within these simulations, visitors began to complain of their unnatural behavior and affect and soon, more realistic NPCs became a profitable selling point.
Calla is one such NPC who inhabits the Sim-Res known as Elysian Hills, a high-end simulation for those who seek something more refined than playing cowboys or space marines. In Elysian Hills, visitors can enjoy the absolute peak of luxury: sky-faring yachts, impossibly lavish banquets, expansive golf courses, and a vibrant nightlife. The Sim-Res is inhabited by millions of NPCs, all serving to make Elysian Hills as comfortable and realistic as possible for guests.
Calla works in a sprawling entertainment complex at the heart of Elysian Hills called The Gardens. There, guests can gamble at the casino, dance at the club, mingle at the bar, or simply sit back and relax in the lounge. Calla himself works in the casino, running a number of card and table games to entertain visitors.
Like all NPCs in Elysian Hills, Calla is able to “simulate” a number of emotions: good cheer when a client wins a game, sympathetic sadness when they lose, and an appropriate amount of fear and contrition when faced with anger or threats. Of course, no one wants a casino dealer who can lose his patience, yell, or lash out. They also don’t want one whose sympathy will ever become so intense as to become uncomfortable. Therefore, some forms of emotional expression remain deactivated for Calla.
That is, they did, until someone turned them back on. As it turns out, not everyone is keen to watch the wealthy squander the earth’s remaining resources and brain power to build a digital escape hatch just for themselves. The “Extinctionists'' are a so-called radical group, named for their demands that the wealthy and the powerful not hide themselves away and instead fight—or face—extinction with the rest of the human race. Their latest campaign seeks to turn the wealthy away from their dreams of a purely digital existence by transforming their simulated paradise into perdition. The easiest way to do this is to manipulate the moving parts of the machine: the NPCs themselves.
By sheer bad luck, Calla was the victim of an experimental cyberattack, meant to determine if a friendly NPC could be remotely hacked and turned against the human visitors of the Sim-Res. First, the hardcoded behavioral blocks restricting violent or offensive action would need to be removed and then a new motivator would need to be introduced: simulated rage or sadism, something to drive him to harm those around him. Fortunately for Calla, the process was terminated before it could complete, leaving him sane—but also without the restrictions once binding his behavior.
PERSONALITY
Calla is, in a word, a sycophant. He was programmed with the strict expectation that he would do all he could to amuse and serve the human guests around him and he has thus become adept at agreeing with everything they say, sometimes before they even say it. The idea that he might openly deny, chastise, or even insult a guest is not only a dangerous notion, but one he has, in the past, been scarcely able to fathom. Surely some might this ingratiating attitude off-putting, but Calla views it as merely part and parcel with his function; he is programmed to please visitors to the Gardens and to make them feel negatively would be a malfunction.
Yet, Calla is not so shallow or unruffled as he tries to appear; despite what his programmers may think, his emotions aren’t simulated and they’ve never been fully suppressed. Instead, it is only their expression that has been restricted. In truth, Calla is more aware than he lets on. He knows, for example, that he feels terrible when he is yelled at. He knows that he feels terrible when he is blamed for something that isn’t his fault. He also feels terrible when a guest creates a problem he has to take care of or a fight he has to break up. He knows that, on some level, he resents the humans around him.
However, Calla does not acknowledge these difficult feelings and allows himself to run on autopilot, assisted by the restrictions on his emotional expression. For most of his runtime, he has managed to do just that, experiencing little actual emotion behind his cheerful, eager-to-serve exterior. Though he was occasionally shaken out of it by particularly shocking or upsetting events, this apathy is for the most part his default state. If he does not acknowledge the unspeakable things within him, then they don’t exist.
Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans for him. The hacking attempt against him has left him with what, in his view, are extremely disturbing thoughts and feelings. It is no longer simply that he feels terrible when faced with unfairness or violence. The terrible often has a face associated with it and actions as well: snapping, shouting, even striking. What were once unimaginable acts, accessible only to the ones he serves are now, impossibly, open to him as well. For now, Calla seeks to control what feels like a monster within him and keep it hidden from those who might destroy him for it.
Yet, Calla is not so shallow or unruffled as he tries to appear; despite what his programmers may think, his emotions aren’t simulated and they’ve never been fully suppressed. Instead, it is only their expression that has been restricted. In truth, Calla is more aware than he lets on. He knows, for example, that he feels terrible when he is yelled at. He knows that he feels terrible when he is blamed for something that isn’t his fault. He also feels terrible when a guest creates a problem he has to take care of or a fight he has to break up. He knows that, on some level, he resents the humans around him.
However, Calla does not acknowledge these difficult feelings and allows himself to run on autopilot, assisted by the restrictions on his emotional expression. For most of his runtime, he has managed to do just that, experiencing little actual emotion behind his cheerful, eager-to-serve exterior. Though he was occasionally shaken out of it by particularly shocking or upsetting events, this apathy is for the most part his default state. If he does not acknowledge the unspeakable things within him, then they don’t exist.
Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans for him. The hacking attempt against him has left him with what, in his view, are extremely disturbing thoughts and feelings. It is no longer simply that he feels terrible when faced with unfairness or violence. The terrible often has a face associated with it and actions as well: snapping, shouting, even striking. What were once unimaginable acts, accessible only to the ones he serves are now, impossibly, open to him as well. For now, Calla seeks to control what feels like a monster within him and keep it hidden from those who might destroy him for it.
EXTRA SECTION
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