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folkmore application
★ Character Information ★
Character Name: Technical Boy
Character Age: The essence of him has been around since man first tamed fire. But this current version of him has only been around for a little more than 30 years. However, he appears in his early 20s.
Character Species: God. In superficial appearance, he doesn't look any different from an ordinary human, but his body can also transform itself into a multitude of brightly colored pixels. Gods are implied to have a divine form that's different from the human appearance they wear in their daily lives and I assume whenever Technical Boy becomes pixelated, this is his divine appearance manifesting itself.
Current Health: Alive
Outfit: Tech Boy was wearing a blue striped windbreaker over top a blue, green, and red swirl-patterned T-shirt. His pants match the windbreaker and he has a pair of black, geometrically patterned sneakers.
Character Canon: American Gods
Link to History: American Gods is a series about the many gods who were brought from different cultures to America and now struggle to survive in a place where very few, if any at all, believe in them. And as the old gods try to find their way in the world, new gods have arisen. One such god is Technical Boy who is the living embodiment of technological advances. He's had many different incarnations over the years, but this current incarnation of Tech Boy came to be in the age of video games (roughly the mid to late 80s.)
Somewhere along the way, Technical Boy gets roped into working alongside Mr. World (the god of globalization/the system) and Media, trying to prevent a budding war from happening with old gods who are vying for worship and maintain dominance as the new gods. Inevitably, Odin (the main problem on the old god side) succeeds in forcing them to declare war and they have to build their forces from there.
Season 2 primarily covers both sides recruiting and recovering from losses they both received along the way. World grows increasingly frustrated with what he deems as a string of failures from Technical Boy and at the end of the season, tries to force Tech Boy to evolve into an even newer version of himself. At the start of season 3, we find out that this upgrade was a failure.
On World's orders, Technical Boy visits Bilquis to try and recruit her, but when she touches him a flash of something, perhaps a memory, awakens inside Tech Boy. This fucks him up and causes him to glitch out and he spends most of season 3 trying to find out what's wrong. It's revealed to him that he's developed a subconscious and is starting to feel emotions. The glitches happen when he tries to repress said emotions. In order to fix himself, a diagnostic told him to find something called 'artifact 1.'
Tech Boy soon discovers it in the basement of World's company building. It appears to be an old tool, perhaps a flint -- one of the very first pieces of technology. When Tech Boy touches it, he has visions of all the various forms technology has taken. Then World enters, telling Tech Boy he's older than he actually realizes and how every time technology evolves, Tech Boy evolves with it and forgets who he is. World claims Tech's vital, a bridge between the old world and the new. There can be no progress without him and so, World traps Tech Boy in an energy field while making artifact 1 disappear -- leaving Tech Boy imprisoned as he walks away, whistling a haunting tune.
Canon Point: 3x10 "Tears of the Wrath-Bearing Tree"
Canon Iteration: CRAU from Penance
Canon Iteration Explanation: Tech Boy has simultaneously not changed much during his time in Penance and changed a lot. He's still a bit of a dick and likely to bring that sort of energy into relationships in Folkmore with people he doesn't know, but he's had a chance to sit in his emotions more and understand them to a point where he no longer glitches unless he's forcibly trying to hold them back. He's experienced love, he's experienced heartbreak, he's experienced grief and happiness. And through his time in Penance, Tech Boy decided he wants to be better than he has been. He knows deep down, he hasn't always been so hateful and jaded. He's seen flashes of a life where he was just excited to invent and create.
It's simply a matter of choice -- deciding to end one day better than the day before it. And this is the sort of energy he will be bringing with him into Folkmore. He was also tortured at one point by one of the demon lords who, through his dark magic, had unlocked memories Tech Boy hadn't been able to remember of his past lives. So he has a fuller picture of who he is -- knowing about his incarnation in the era of the telephone and an old 1890s inventor, memories that were previously lost to him. The rest of his memories, however, still remain locked away back home by artifact 1...which is currently in World's possession (and will remain that way forever because the series was cancelled :[)
Character Age: The essence of him has been around since man first tamed fire. But this current version of him has only been around for a little more than 30 years. However, he appears in his early 20s.
Character Species: God. In superficial appearance, he doesn't look any different from an ordinary human, but his body can also transform itself into a multitude of brightly colored pixels. Gods are implied to have a divine form that's different from the human appearance they wear in their daily lives and I assume whenever Technical Boy becomes pixelated, this is his divine appearance manifesting itself.
Current Health: Alive
Outfit: Tech Boy was wearing a blue striped windbreaker over top a blue, green, and red swirl-patterned T-shirt. His pants match the windbreaker and he has a pair of black, geometrically patterned sneakers.
Character Canon: American Gods
Link to History: American Gods is a series about the many gods who were brought from different cultures to America and now struggle to survive in a place where very few, if any at all, believe in them. And as the old gods try to find their way in the world, new gods have arisen. One such god is Technical Boy who is the living embodiment of technological advances. He's had many different incarnations over the years, but this current incarnation of Tech Boy came to be in the age of video games (roughly the mid to late 80s.)
Somewhere along the way, Technical Boy gets roped into working alongside Mr. World (the god of globalization/the system) and Media, trying to prevent a budding war from happening with old gods who are vying for worship and maintain dominance as the new gods. Inevitably, Odin (the main problem on the old god side) succeeds in forcing them to declare war and they have to build their forces from there.
Season 2 primarily covers both sides recruiting and recovering from losses they both received along the way. World grows increasingly frustrated with what he deems as a string of failures from Technical Boy and at the end of the season, tries to force Tech Boy to evolve into an even newer version of himself. At the start of season 3, we find out that this upgrade was a failure.
On World's orders, Technical Boy visits Bilquis to try and recruit her, but when she touches him a flash of something, perhaps a memory, awakens inside Tech Boy. This fucks him up and causes him to glitch out and he spends most of season 3 trying to find out what's wrong. It's revealed to him that he's developed a subconscious and is starting to feel emotions. The glitches happen when he tries to repress said emotions. In order to fix himself, a diagnostic told him to find something called 'artifact 1.'
Tech Boy soon discovers it in the basement of World's company building. It appears to be an old tool, perhaps a flint -- one of the very first pieces of technology. When Tech Boy touches it, he has visions of all the various forms technology has taken. Then World enters, telling Tech Boy he's older than he actually realizes and how every time technology evolves, Tech Boy evolves with it and forgets who he is. World claims Tech's vital, a bridge between the old world and the new. There can be no progress without him and so, World traps Tech Boy in an energy field while making artifact 1 disappear -- leaving Tech Boy imprisoned as he walks away, whistling a haunting tune.
Canon Point: 3x10 "Tears of the Wrath-Bearing Tree"
Canon Iteration: CRAU from Penance
Canon Iteration Explanation: Tech Boy has simultaneously not changed much during his time in Penance and changed a lot. He's still a bit of a dick and likely to bring that sort of energy into relationships in Folkmore with people he doesn't know, but he's had a chance to sit in his emotions more and understand them to a point where he no longer glitches unless he's forcibly trying to hold them back. He's experienced love, he's experienced heartbreak, he's experienced grief and happiness. And through his time in Penance, Tech Boy decided he wants to be better than he has been. He knows deep down, he hasn't always been so hateful and jaded. He's seen flashes of a life where he was just excited to invent and create.
It's simply a matter of choice -- deciding to end one day better than the day before it. And this is the sort of energy he will be bringing with him into Folkmore. He was also tortured at one point by one of the demon lords who, through his dark magic, had unlocked memories Tech Boy hadn't been able to remember of his past lives. So he has a fuller picture of who he is -- knowing about his incarnation in the era of the telephone and an old 1890s inventor, memories that were previously lost to him. The rest of his memories, however, still remain locked away back home by artifact 1...which is currently in World's possession (and will remain that way forever because the series was cancelled :[)
★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★
Skills:
- anything technology related -- not just electronics, but Tech Boy is able to build a fire successfully for example or create stone tools or string a musical instrument, etcetc.
- he can easily recognize patterns and predict outcomes based on said patterns.
- math!!!
- he's quite adept at playing piano and able to use his excellent pattern recognition to compose pieces based on existing famous compositions.
- he can read and retain information much, much faster and more efficiently than an ordinary human
Canon Abilities:
Always Connected: In the series, Technical Boy has been shown to basically be the internet -- always connected with a vast array of knowledge just a thought away. He's your friendly (debatable) neighborhood google and can answer any number of google-worthy questions in the blink of an eye. Of course, this only works as long as he's around electronics and sources of "worship" (ie: people spending an awful lot of time on the network/using a screen rather than in person communication, etc). On the flip side, other technological devices should run a lot smoother when he's around -- basically connecting to his personal network and running off of him.
Technopathy: He can communicate with technology, bend it, alter it, recreate it or control it to his design. The older it is, though, the harder this will be.
Digital Creation: Tech Boy can summon what he refers to as 'the children' which are digital, faceless thugs who he uses as the brawn to enforce his goals. Doing so in this environment is likely to 'drain his battery quick' so to speak, so he will likely only resort to this in the most dire of situations.
Regeneration: He can turn himself into pixels, both at will and because of glitches. These pixels allow him to regenerate from injuries he receives -- typically appearing and then fading into smooth, flawless skin shortly thereafter.
The Touch of God: It was also shown once that he can basically send an electric shock into someone else and rip data from their mind. Using this skill will be an explosion of power and probably leave him weak and vulnerable afterward so he will not touch this one unless there is ample reasoning.
Replicate: Tech has the ability to split himself into two and use each other to upload data, basically. This was a part of his failed upgrade, but because it's not quite explained I will say the current version of Tech Boy is something in between the updated, emotionless version and what he was before that. Which means if he tries hard enough, he can still split. But because of the energy output, it will leave him SUPER drained and probably leave one half of himself unstable.
Role: Myth
Role Qualities/Attributes: For the most part, Tech Boy will present as completely and normally human. But when he does things more in line with a myth's darker qualities (like be manipulative, trick someone into something, or lie) darkened runes will appear on his skin and his eyes will be a brilliant electric blue. The more he leans into these attributes, the more sinister his appearance will become and if he's not careful, these changes will present themselves permanently.
Role Reasoning: Tech Boy in general falls more in line with what a myth represents, but my choice for this particular role is an interest in playing a redemption arc. The theme of redemption has been present ever since I played Tech in Penance and he made improvements in himself and his relationship with others, but I love the idea that those improvements just weren't enough to make him good per se. And here in Folkmore, his personal goal will be to escape this 'myth' title hanging over his head and find a way to become a legend. Can he learn to be truly good? Or will he slip and embrace what comes naturally? These are the juicy things I want to sink my teeth into!
★ Personality ★
Option 2. Choose FOUR-FIVE of the following questions to answer and expand upon. You may choose a fifth question if you feel it is integral to your character's personality. Each answer has a 100-300 word requirement.
OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5) 100-300 WORD LIMIT EACH:
The most defining relationship Tech Boy has is oddly with a human by the name of Xie. Back in the 1980s, Xie found comfort and joy in technology even though his father only wanted him to play music. During his college years, Xie created a computer program (an early stage AI) that can take music and compose songs in the style of Bach. By giving the program permission to 'shatter the rules,' this seems to give life to the most modern incarnation of Technical Boy, who reveals himself to Xie and serves as his technological inspiration -- causing him to devote his life to computing and technology as Tech Boy's most fervent follower.
And because of this relationship, Tech Boy held Xie with a degree of fondness. Not only was he the one to give him life as he knew it (and later take it away), but together they experienced Tech Boy's most prominent decade. What they had seemed to be something Tech Boy cherished -- because through Xie, Tech Boy felt less alone. Tech Boy's world in general is cold and solitary, given the nature of technology and the distance it promotes between individuals. But Xie's worship of him was akin to a friendship, as close to one as a human and god could have. When Xie ultimately betrayed him, Tech Boy struggles to hold back the tears as it becomes clear what this relationship meant to him and how gutted he is to lose it.
Emotions continue to be Tech Boy's biggest struggle. And this boils down to both feeling/experiencing/understanding them as well as controlling them. Tech has always been impulsive and impatient -- prone to spite at the slightest insult to his pride. When Shadow Moon doesn't answer his questions in the way he wants, he immediately orders him to be killed by the goons he has with him. When it's clear Odin is recruiting for war, his solution is to suggest killing him to end the problem. And then later on, when Bilquis awakens emotions within him -- the world becomes so overwhelming. Every time he experiences a negative problem, it manifests in a physical glitch. It takes a while for Tech Boy to understand these are the result of him trying to repress his feelings and if he lets himself feel his emotions, he won't glitch. But after years upon years of repressing and holding back and coping with drugs to mute his emotional pain, it's very difficult to let himself feel. There's a clear fear of judgement, of course, but also the belief that expressing emotions is a sign of weakness. And this is something Tech will continue to struggle with when it comes to his interactions in Folkmore.
Oh boy can Tech Boy sure hold a grudge. He is petty and vindictive as can be expected from The Internet. However, as much as he wants to cling to bitterness, he is able to set aside his emotions and work with someone he doesn't like. This is evidenced in season 3 when he teams up with Shadow Moon. And while this is more of a 'shelf the differences until later' sort of situation, Tech Boy himself is the embodiment of evolution. As stubborn and resistant to change as he is, I firmly believe he can come around and see the perspective of someone else. And I believe he can find it in himself to forgive someone under the right circumstance. Especially as he continues to navigate the complexities of his emotions. But! His instinct will always lean toward bitterness first.
Tech Boy is quite self-centered and selfish and if there was something in his sights he wants, there's very little he wouldn't sacrifice. He's not afraid to get blood on his hands, and while he did have a tendency before to hide behind muscle and let them do the heavy lifting -- at the end of season 3, Tech Boy takes it upon himself to attack and kill an entire building of (albeit digitally created) staff members in World's company building. If it's between someone or something he cares about and a complete stranger or even acquaintance, he would see the latter burn with only the slightest remorse. Otherwise, though, Tech Boy has been willing to offer more selfless sacrifices. Like knowing Xie was such an ardent follower and sacrificing his anonymity to reveal himself to him. Or in an earlier life, he gave up all of his life savings just to see his invention have a place in a world class expo.
In Folkmore, Tech Boy's potential is to become better than he used to be -- a true redemption arc. Killing, hurting, or manipulating others will not be how he becomes a 'hero.' So if he could change his life's narrative, if it would allow him to be remembered rather than just fade off as a nameless god -- he would sacrifice his very being. After all, what does his life matter if he's doomed to be erased and reborn as something new eventually anyway? For a chance to be remembered and matter, this is a small price to pay.