Event: Idealism; Start

[animusmods]

The silence stretches on, and midnight approaches. It's an eerie sort of darkness--even the sky outside is black. But, just before June begins, a computerized voice sounds out over the speakers:

Error code 001: main power block has been exhausted. Error code 002: secondary power block has been exhausted. Error code 003: tertiary power block has been exhausted.

Switching to emergency power. Shutting off non-critical systems.

Critical error code 037: Glamour failure.

Glamour systems shutting down in five, four, three, two, one, zero.

Dim, red lights come on throughout the Tower, illuminating everything eerily. But that's not important.

Everything you have seen in the Tower up until now has been a carefully-crafted illusion. Some things vanish entirely, like plants and grass and trees and the regular animals you may have been hunting. More solid objects, like tables and walls, still exist, but are coated with a strange film. Electricity pulses through these films in strange ways, and sometimes the pulses force the film to shift in shape and size. They form the objects you may be used to carrying about the Tower. This film is what all of the objects and animals in your trunk are.

The more impossible floors of the Tower make sense now--the strange film forms columns holding everything up that, when approached, melt back into the floor or ceiling rapidly while another descends elsewhere. Most of the Tower, in truth, is harsh metal coated with the film.

The bedrooms, though, are a bit more interesting: you haven't been sleeping in beds, but in pods that open up at the top. You may wake up submerged in liquid the same color as your collar, if you happen to sleep through all this excitement.

The food reveals itself as well: all the illusions melt away, and it's obvious: you've always been eating nutrition bars or oatmeal and drinking water. You've just been tricked, through myriad systems, into believing you're eating something else.

Of course, all of this is overlooking perhaps the most obvious change: your bodies themselves. Look in a mirror, or even just look down: you're a wireframe creation, shaped vaguely like the body you're used to, wearing a skintight catsuit like the one you woke up in. Beneath that is the same film that coats the walls. And inside--oh, inside is bright fluid, the same color as your collar, surrounding the glowing, shimmering soul that's really you--the only thing they could really bring from your world.

But oh, it's not a collar at all. You've been seeing your real neck this entire time. And, unfortunately, all powers for all characters have been disabled. Or rather, the illusion that made you think you could use your abilities has been turned off.

So, what's left that you're used to? The monsters remain. There is one sapling planted in floor 101 in real dirt. The stars and moon, oh, they were all fake, and so was the weather--but the fog remains outside.

And, of course, there are the viewfinders on floor five. Those were always real.

There are nutrition bars and water (all you've ever eaten) in the cafeteria. The worker and retrieval units, in reality clear and red wireframe humanoids (all they've ever been), remain in the Tower. The network is, for the moment, off.

Deep beneath the residential areas, something howls.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[animusmods]

[no_longer_a_king]

Is the Tower still 101+ floors or was that an illusion, too?

[warriorscribe]

Will mundane weapons still function as intended, despite looking nothing like they're supposed to?

[alephbet]

Are intelligent creatures like Aleph's demons also made of film?

[yougotthatwrong]

Will the tower return to normal in time for the next part of the event, or are we doing the monsters thing under the constraint of this glamor failure?

Re: QUESTIONS

[repeatingsun]

Does everyone still have their voices? How will we all be able to recognize each other? ;A;

[hystericull]

RE: Gamzee's modchip. Will it still be visible/accessible/in existence in his wireframe?

[keybearer]

Do the wireframe forms still have facial features of any kind? If so, would they be just vague indications like a 3D model without textures?

Also, if the animals from the trunks are just film, then would they lose any liveliness to them during this event? I'm mostly asking in regards to Dream Eaters and other companions residents may have gained.

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

So, this is a pretty important question.

Elves, when they die, their souls (fëa) are called to the Halls of Mandos for judgement. And they're souls are super connected to Arda until the world ends. Even then though, their souls look exactly like they had when they had bodies (hröa) because Tolkien. /shrug. It would kind of be similar for Gandalf because he's Maia and they don't really... have bodies. So yeah, Children of Iluvatar (elves and men) and Maia basically have souls that look like themselves.

So yeah, I'm wondering how that will work? Will Legolas (and any of the elves) like... look like himself but trapped in a wire-frame? And surrounded by the "collar" fluid?

[sageprincess]

... Can I get the status of Zelda's box of chips? |Da

[vermicompost]

Kariya's "power" is basically that he is infested with magical worms, so I am wondering, will the worms that are usually inside him currently be completely gone, or will they exist in some form?

Also, if they are still there, will he experience pain from them in any way?

Re: QUESTIONS

[tentacletrainer]

Dirt, dust, coal, anything that can get something dirty aside from the dirt plot on floor 101 - does any exist?

[undefines]

Will Nue's wireframe body include her extra limbs, or are they part of the glamour?

tmi question ahead

[slightlyoblivious]

...so. Uh. Can the wireframe bodies get nauseous/vomit?

Re: QUESTIONS

[true_noir]

The Graveyard - All glamour?

Re: QUESTIONS

[megazero_to_superhero]

How do the monsters appear? Are they wireframe-and-film with colored fluid inside?

By which I mean the monsters alreayd present in the tower, not the ones in the upcoming event.

[egotrigger]

Allelujah and Hallelujah can still switch, right? Since that's a mental thing/disorder/whatever, not a power?

[alae]

Would Dark Pit's wings be included in the wireframe?

[floreatnoctem]

I fucking love you guys

[oathshackledbird]

A couple of things that I just want to be sure I am clear on... For masters and servants who are bonded via a contract made in the tower, would I be correct in guessing that is going to be counted under special powers and that bond will be gone?

Someone just asked about voices, so I can wait on that one...

Bodies..they look different now, but I am assuming will still be as strong as they were before? For example, a person who knew how to fight as a normal person would still be able to fight with their body? (Aka: Martial Arts, trained soldiers etc?)

[animusmods]

The bond would be gone, yes.

Anyone with a trained body retains that training--superhuman abilities would be gone, but they can be at peak human level.

[marriedthebloke]

Would you still feel things the same way your would in your "usual" bodies now that you've been reduced to wire and gel? For example, would you be able to tell that the tower's metal walls are cold? Or feel pain from getting hit?

[marriedthebloke]

Also, given that the gel seems to lack vitals, what counts as fatal wounds?

[neverbeamemory]

How loud is the howling?

Would it be audible throughout the whole Tower or say, just the first block?

[animusmods]

It's audible throughout the entire Tower.

[swordofzero]

Just a couple of quick questions

1) I read the response to the one about injuries, how about already existing injuries, if they are things like bruises/broken bones is it just the pain or is the frame actually broken in some way. If it is cuts to the skin is the foil damaged (I'm specifically thinking of the rumour scars for this one)

2) I know all the objects are made of film but how about writing, since Dax's handwritten note was visible even if his research wasn't, does this mean handwritten things that characters have written are or was that just a special case?

Thankee

[animusmods]

1. The frame/film would be damaged to match the injuries. Scars from in-game injuries and wounds show up, too, as thicker, whiter film.

2. That was a special case; Dax used real paper for that note.

[themystery]

Question from a potential applicant! I believe one of the mods here is familiar with Ghost Trick, which will make this much easier. If all powers are an illusion by the Tower, what of abilities that are literally powered and perpetrated by a character's soul — that glowing mass of energy that they still have inside the frames?

I'm specifically thinking of Sissel, Missile or You-know-who from Ghost Trick, if that helps.

[madokacries]

OH HOLY JEEZ I AM LOVING THIS.