Technical Boy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brandnewtech) wrote2019-09-29 02:03 am
brandnewtech) wrote2019-09-29 02:03 am
ooc-app::deerington {
reservation | application
Character Name: Technical Boy
Canon: American Gods (TV)
Canon Point: end of season 2, episode 4 "The Greatest Story Ever Told"
In-Game Tattoo Placement: chest
Current Health/Status: Alive [upgrade scheduled]
Age: current version is roughly 30, but the entity has been around for as long as humans have used technology in any form. Canon shows him during the early 20th century, verifying that he is at minimum 130+ years old.
Species: New God (technological deity and personification of the internet)
voice sample: season 2 bump
Content Warnings: strong language, violence, verbal and/or physical abuse, and some adult content.
History: wiki link: HERE
Personality:
On the surface, the Technical Boy is exactly what you'd expect from a plugged-in entitled millennial prick with all the newest gadgets at his fingertips, veiled in a cloud of vape smoke that smells like an electrical fire and dressed like he'd stepped from a trippy techno music video. He's a keyboard warrior, a troll, someone who only values his own opinion and completely disregards punctuation. He is aggressive in demeanor--petulant, quick to anger, impatient, impulsive, and unpredictable.
He has the capacity to be charming and persuasive when the need arises and has been sent ahead as a representative of the New Gods on multiple occasions. But like the binary he embodies, he is either on or off. It's a switch that is easily flipped, usually with little or no provocation. He could be your best friend or your worst nightmare, often within the same conversation. Technical Boy knows how to behave… but often chooses not to, caving to the near constant aggravation and frustration he feels. (His chain smoking is equal parts aesthetic and coping mechanism.)
Among the gods, the Technical Boy craves power, extending himself to the very limit in order to place himself in the highest echelons of the new pantheon. But more than power, he craves respect--the one thing that the leader of the New Gods, Mr. World, will not grant him. Technical Boy lashes out when he is treated like a child or "lesser than" due to his youthful physical appearance or his casual (often vulgar) vernacular. If he is not respected by choice, he would take it by force. If he cannot gain the advantage on a technological stage, he will summon the Children to do his dirty work physically. He never steps down from a fight where he feels he's been disrespected, and the sleights he feels against him are numerous. Near constant feelings of inadequacy leave him with a chip on this shoulder. He's so desperate to prove himself both to his worshipers and the other gods that he occasionally overcompensates into ill-conceived outbursts. Mr World, in particular, is not impressed.
Driving these intense feelings is the need to always push towards the future--upgrades, new methods of approach, innovation, evolution. Technical Boy considers things that are "old" inferior, and if something isn't the newest and shiniest off the line, incorporating every new feature, and embracing society's changing modern needs/whims, then it's as good as dust. He's suspicious of nostalgia and impatiently frustrated with the holdouts of old ways of thinking. What was old must be made new or will be immediately rendered obsolete, or so says the God of Technology. Adapt to the new ways or die.
The Technical Boy appears in two additional versions of himself in canon: Telephone Boy (1932) and Quantum Boy (2019). As the cutting edge of technology changes in the mundane world, the god upgrades. He cannot do this on his own, requiring human intervention (assisted by Mr. World on at least one occasion). Because he retains the essence of his prior versions, he can clearly see the results of this adaptive change. He regards his past versions as "ancient history" and would dismiss them outright. Even though he was Telephone Boy in the past, as Technical Boy, he says "Worst thing you can do to someone is call them" with absolutely no sense of irony.
Despite his poor attitude, he genuinely believes that his way is the right way for everyone and it is in their best interests. Both on his own and under Mr. World's orders, he makes deals to the Old Gods, offering his services to help them gain new worshipers so that they can survive in a largely atheist world. (Putting the Goddess of Love on dating apps, for example.) Technical Boy is merely returning the favor that was paid to him. Humans upgraded a New God, so that New God lends a hand in upgrading the Old Gods. It is a bargain for everyone, more worshipers all around, and he doesn't understand why anyone would reject this path-- especially since resistance isn't an option for him.
With how quickly technology advances, if the Technical Boy isn’t the cutting edge, he might be forced into a position where someone else could very easily overtake him. If Argus (and his many eyes) advance faster in the area of surveillance than Technical Boy, he could be replaced. If Media no longer needed his network or hardware support, he would be rendered redundant and obsolete himself.
This leads to the underlying major aspect of Technical Boy's personality. Given the reliance on cell phones and computers and WiFi and streaming (as a start), Technical Boy is never lacking in those whose casual worship brings him strength. But even though he is constantly worshiped, there is the external push to have to constantly be better. Every time a new phone or a new gaming device comes out, people already begin to wonder "what's next?" Unarguably, the Technical Boy is the most human of the gods both New and Old. He is the only one shown actually attending a gathering of his worshipers (a rave, fitting because his current version of himself manifested due to an algorithm that composed music). But to be worshiped is to be separate from the people who are doing the worship. He has to be so focused on becoming something new, and he's dealing with the externalization of not being enough as he currently is. He feels he will never be his best and has to constantly evolve to meet everyone's expectations. It's isolating. He’s in a lot of pain, and he’s very, very lonely.
So he strikes out against everyone. The New God(ess) Media is the closest to him and may be the only person who would qualify as a friend. Although he may have been the one to create her initially, they rely entirely on each other for survival, she the content and him the carrier. Although they bicker, she sees beneath his haughty attitude. "You're a good kid, just not good with people you don't know"--a statement in recognition of his state of mind which briefly calmed him to neutral from a peak in his anger.
It would be a very rare person indeed to uncover this side of him. Indeed only one human, the CEO of a the Silicon Valley company named Xie Comm, currently holds the honor of the god's friendship. The abrasive exterior that Technical Boy extrudes keeps most people at greater than arm's length, which is how he survives in the ever changing, ever demanding world.
Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:
• Internet & Technology Embodiment: His actual form is digital, but he can also manifest in a solid body to appear in the physical world. In this setting, his physical form will be the most common. Appearance (clothing and hair) are programmed by himself on his digital form and are transferred into the physical realm when he manifests.
→ He cannot be in two places at once, but he can switch between digital and physical on a whim.
• Internet Manipulation: He can access and hack any form of technological device. Success depends on a wide variety of factors ranging from encryption difficulty to battery charge. In addition, using his digital form, he can enter through any device connected to the network, travel through the network path itself, and exit through any other connected device. (Theoretically, he could also become trapped in the network if unable to find an exit, restricting him to network posts/communication only.)
→ [ please refer to permissions ] See also: "Backstage"
• Technopathy: Technical Boy is able to influence technology with his mind. In canon, this is shown by him bypassing a fingerprint scanner by flipping it the bird and scowling at it.
He can also produce an electric discharge from his fingers, but it's short-range and no stronger than a taser.
• Creation: In addition to the part he played in creating Media, Technical Boy is able to create faceless minions (called "Children") by programming them into the real world. He can then order them to do his heavy lifting (ie. fight) or he can inhabit their bodies. The number, strength, and cohesion of these tech golems depends entirely on his available strength.
• Backstage: Backstage or "behind the scenes" is an alternate plane used by the gods, frequently to travel large distances in short periods of time. Because time does not work the same Backstage, one could spend days inside while mere minutes pass outside. Technical Boy's version looks like a bare white plain and is actually the inside of the internet from his perspective. In this game setting, it will not connect anywhere beyond the city limits and is simply his pathway between networked devices. He can also enter the devices he brought with him (phone, tablet) but they are just "quiet rooms" and don't lead anywhere.
◘ Technical Boy's biggest weakness is his personality, but his overall powers will be diminished or unreliable simply due to the limited technology in Deerington.
◘ He can be injured in the normal way, and the injuries will stay until he can retreat Backstage to repair them. Warping will occasionally occur to make repairs incomplete or Backstage inaccessible. He can be 'killed' in a way that qualifies as a Deerington death also in the normal way, but he's effectively immortal while there are people who still use technology in any form.
Inventory:
• vape w/ infinite juice (synthetic Bufotenin, ie. toad skins)
• limo keys (but no limo)
• iPhone →
• tablet →
• device chargers
→ Note: These devices don't connect to the Deerington network in any meaningful way. Instead they serve as a portable battery (small) for Tech Boy's powers, esp. for creating the Children. He can charge off of them, or he can transfer his power to them to store it. He also has the ability to his Techopathy to repair minor damage to them.
Writing Samples:
• October TDM: network w/ Maze
• October TDM: top level
• October TDM: action w/ Alice
Player Name: Fox
Player Age: 37
Player Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
fantomfox or Discord: fantomfox#2153
Other Characters In Game: none.
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Technical Boy: Fox
Permissions for Character: Here
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: Yes!
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: unseen enemies or an unseen threat, possessed artifacts, "Don't read the Latin", psychological horror, facing one's own weaknesses, power reversal or imbalance, "kill your double", Elder things and ancient evils
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: rape, animal cruelty, trypophobia triggers, and eye trauma.
Additional Information: Please take note of his permissions re: device hacking and uninformed surveillance, and feel free to use that post to opt out of CR with him for any reason.
IN CHARACTER
Character Name: Technical Boy
Canon: American Gods (TV)
Canon Point: end of season 2, episode 4 "The Greatest Story Ever Told"
In-Game Tattoo Placement: chest
Current Health/Status: Alive [upgrade scheduled]
Age: current version is roughly 30, but the entity has been around for as long as humans have used technology in any form. Canon shows him during the early 20th century, verifying that he is at minimum 130+ years old.
Species: New God (technological deity and personification of the internet)
voice sample: season 2 bump
Content Warnings: strong language, violence, verbal and/or physical abuse, and some adult content.
History: wiki link: HERE
Personality:
On the surface, the Technical Boy is exactly what you'd expect from a plugged-in entitled millennial prick with all the newest gadgets at his fingertips, veiled in a cloud of vape smoke that smells like an electrical fire and dressed like he'd stepped from a trippy techno music video. He's a keyboard warrior, a troll, someone who only values his own opinion and completely disregards punctuation. He is aggressive in demeanor--petulant, quick to anger, impatient, impulsive, and unpredictable.
He has the capacity to be charming and persuasive when the need arises and has been sent ahead as a representative of the New Gods on multiple occasions. But like the binary he embodies, he is either on or off. It's a switch that is easily flipped, usually with little or no provocation. He could be your best friend or your worst nightmare, often within the same conversation. Technical Boy knows how to behave… but often chooses not to, caving to the near constant aggravation and frustration he feels. (His chain smoking is equal parts aesthetic and coping mechanism.)
Among the gods, the Technical Boy craves power, extending himself to the very limit in order to place himself in the highest echelons of the new pantheon. But more than power, he craves respect--the one thing that the leader of the New Gods, Mr. World, will not grant him. Technical Boy lashes out when he is treated like a child or "lesser than" due to his youthful physical appearance or his casual (often vulgar) vernacular. If he is not respected by choice, he would take it by force. If he cannot gain the advantage on a technological stage, he will summon the Children to do his dirty work physically. He never steps down from a fight where he feels he's been disrespected, and the sleights he feels against him are numerous. Near constant feelings of inadequacy leave him with a chip on this shoulder. He's so desperate to prove himself both to his worshipers and the other gods that he occasionally overcompensates into ill-conceived outbursts. Mr World, in particular, is not impressed.
Driving these intense feelings is the need to always push towards the future--upgrades, new methods of approach, innovation, evolution. Technical Boy considers things that are "old" inferior, and if something isn't the newest and shiniest off the line, incorporating every new feature, and embracing society's changing modern needs/whims, then it's as good as dust. He's suspicious of nostalgia and impatiently frustrated with the holdouts of old ways of thinking. What was old must be made new or will be immediately rendered obsolete, or so says the God of Technology. Adapt to the new ways or die.
The Technical Boy appears in two additional versions of himself in canon: Telephone Boy (1932) and Quantum Boy (2019). As the cutting edge of technology changes in the mundane world, the god upgrades. He cannot do this on his own, requiring human intervention (assisted by Mr. World on at least one occasion). Because he retains the essence of his prior versions, he can clearly see the results of this adaptive change. He regards his past versions as "ancient history" and would dismiss them outright. Even though he was Telephone Boy in the past, as Technical Boy, he says "Worst thing you can do to someone is call them" with absolutely no sense of irony.
Despite his poor attitude, he genuinely believes that his way is the right way for everyone and it is in their best interests. Both on his own and under Mr. World's orders, he makes deals to the Old Gods, offering his services to help them gain new worshipers so that they can survive in a largely atheist world. (Putting the Goddess of Love on dating apps, for example.) Technical Boy is merely returning the favor that was paid to him. Humans upgraded a New God, so that New God lends a hand in upgrading the Old Gods. It is a bargain for everyone, more worshipers all around, and he doesn't understand why anyone would reject this path-- especially since resistance isn't an option for him.
With how quickly technology advances, if the Technical Boy isn’t the cutting edge, he might be forced into a position where someone else could very easily overtake him. If Argus (and his many eyes) advance faster in the area of surveillance than Technical Boy, he could be replaced. If Media no longer needed his network or hardware support, he would be rendered redundant and obsolete himself.
This leads to the underlying major aspect of Technical Boy's personality. Given the reliance on cell phones and computers and WiFi and streaming (as a start), Technical Boy is never lacking in those whose casual worship brings him strength. But even though he is constantly worshiped, there is the external push to have to constantly be better. Every time a new phone or a new gaming device comes out, people already begin to wonder "what's next?" Unarguably, the Technical Boy is the most human of the gods both New and Old. He is the only one shown actually attending a gathering of his worshipers (a rave, fitting because his current version of himself manifested due to an algorithm that composed music). But to be worshiped is to be separate from the people who are doing the worship. He has to be so focused on becoming something new, and he's dealing with the externalization of not being enough as he currently is. He feels he will never be his best and has to constantly evolve to meet everyone's expectations. It's isolating. He’s in a lot of pain, and he’s very, very lonely.
So he strikes out against everyone. The New God(ess) Media is the closest to him and may be the only person who would qualify as a friend. Although he may have been the one to create her initially, they rely entirely on each other for survival, she the content and him the carrier. Although they bicker, she sees beneath his haughty attitude. "You're a good kid, just not good with people you don't know"--a statement in recognition of his state of mind which briefly calmed him to neutral from a peak in his anger.
It would be a very rare person indeed to uncover this side of him. Indeed only one human, the CEO of a the Silicon Valley company named Xie Comm, currently holds the honor of the god's friendship. The abrasive exterior that Technical Boy extrudes keeps most people at greater than arm's length, which is how he survives in the ever changing, ever demanding world.
Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:
• Internet & Technology Embodiment: His actual form is digital, but he can also manifest in a solid body to appear in the physical world. In this setting, his physical form will be the most common. Appearance (clothing and hair) are programmed by himself on his digital form and are transferred into the physical realm when he manifests.
→ He cannot be in two places at once, but he can switch between digital and physical on a whim.
• Internet Manipulation: He can access and hack any form of technological device. Success depends on a wide variety of factors ranging from encryption difficulty to battery charge. In addition, using his digital form, he can enter through any device connected to the network, travel through the network path itself, and exit through any other connected device. (Theoretically, he could also become trapped in the network if unable to find an exit, restricting him to network posts/communication only.)
→ [ please refer to permissions ] See also: "Backstage"
• Technopathy: Technical Boy is able to influence technology with his mind. In canon, this is shown by him bypassing a fingerprint scanner by flipping it the bird and scowling at it.
He can also produce an electric discharge from his fingers, but it's short-range and no stronger than a taser.
• Creation: In addition to the part he played in creating Media, Technical Boy is able to create faceless minions (called "Children") by programming them into the real world. He can then order them to do his heavy lifting (ie. fight) or he can inhabit their bodies. The number, strength, and cohesion of these tech golems depends entirely on his available strength.
• Backstage: Backstage or "behind the scenes" is an alternate plane used by the gods, frequently to travel large distances in short periods of time. Because time does not work the same Backstage, one could spend days inside while mere minutes pass outside. Technical Boy's version looks like a bare white plain and is actually the inside of the internet from his perspective. In this game setting, it will not connect anywhere beyond the city limits and is simply his pathway between networked devices. He can also enter the devices he brought with him (phone, tablet) but they are just "quiet rooms" and don't lead anywhere.
◘ Technical Boy's biggest weakness is his personality, but his overall powers will be diminished or unreliable simply due to the limited technology in Deerington.
◘ He can be injured in the normal way, and the injuries will stay until he can retreat Backstage to repair them. Warping will occasionally occur to make repairs incomplete or Backstage inaccessible. He can be 'killed' in a way that qualifies as a Deerington death also in the normal way, but he's effectively immortal while there are people who still use technology in any form.
Inventory:
• vape w/ infinite juice (synthetic Bufotenin, ie. toad skins)
• limo keys (but no limo)
• iPhone →
• tablet →
• device chargers
→ Note: These devices don't connect to the Deerington network in any meaningful way. Instead they serve as a portable battery (small) for Tech Boy's powers, esp. for creating the Children. He can charge off of them, or he can transfer his power to them to store it. He also has the ability to his Techopathy to repair minor damage to them.
Writing Samples:
• October TDM: network w/ Maze
• October TDM: top level
• October TDM: action w/ Alice
OUT OF CHARACTER
Player Name: Fox
Player Age: 37
Player Contact:
Other Characters In Game: none.
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Technical Boy: Fox
Permissions for Character: Here
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: Yes!
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: unseen enemies or an unseen threat, possessed artifacts, "Don't read the Latin", psychological horror, facing one's own weaknesses, power reversal or imbalance, "kill your double", Elder things and ancient evils
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: rape, animal cruelty, trypophobia triggers, and eye trauma.
Additional Information: Please take note of his permissions re: device hacking and uninformed surveillance, and feel free to use that post to opt out of CR with him for any reason.