Since KAI was the only one (???) that was upgraded from a data civilian, she could be like a representative for all the civilians. when the other programs do things that could effect the civilians she could tell them and make sure that the little people have a voice? The acronym I thought up was (K)own, non (A)utonomous, (I)ntelligence, (R)epresentative, (I)ndividual.
OKIE DOKIE. So this, as always, goes spiraling off onto a bunch of huge tangents, but it kind of needed to in order for me to figure out what KAI would actually do around here. Also I did that thing again where I basically just re-state parts of what you stated, but that’s how I convince myself that ideas make sense, s-sorry. I love you for giving me this springboard!! Warning: MASSIVE RAMBLE >n>
All the Programs are upgraded civilians; it’s just a matter of how long they were civilians before becoming Programs (for RI it was like… 15 seconds, pfft). But the “representative” thing still got me rolling, because I’ve been watching a lot of Star Wars lately, particularly prequel stuff. So a “voice for the people” immediately made me think about the Galactic Senate and evil dictators taking over, and I actually almost got slightly offended? XD But RI and SO, while the main caretakers of the Datascape, aren’t actually in charge of it. They don’t really dictate what happens to the people there; the Users do. RI and SO just fix things that break and clean up the mess. Any limits imposed on the citizens are due to the Users or the Datascape’s inherent programming, not RI and SO arbitrarily deciding who can do what. But then I was like… NAMI, tho. She is expanding the worlds. Would data citizens feel like they need a say in that? Would they even notice her doing it? How much are they even aware that they’re all data people in a data world?
I thought about it for a while and have come to the conclusion that it’s much more interesting if everyone in the Datascape eventually becomes more self-aware. They may not get the FULL scope of what their universe is, but many of the mechanics of it become more common knowledge. The Programs could work more directly with citizens to problem-solve and world-build, instead of having to sneak around all the time. But that in turn lead me to question why the worlds are even separated (which is a mechanic I’d like to keep for now, I just need to have a good reason why). In KH1, they kind of make a big thing of Sora’s quest being a “secret” (lol) mission because the worlds don’t know about each other and aren’t “supposed” to. But like… why, again? More importantly, does whatever that reason is that matter for the data worlds? I say no. The Datascape is a self-contained system. What harm could come from data Mulan popping over to the data Coliseum and pumping iron with data Herc? None, I say.
However, this hasn’t actually happened yet. Like data people, data worlds have a base programming that’s extremely difficult to change. That’s why Namine is simply adding stuff, rather than changing things that preexist. It’s akin to RI having to layer skins and abilities on top of his program, instead of adding them directly to his matrix. The Datascape is dictated by what is said in the Users’ writings, and the Users said the worlds are separated. Therefore everyone is stuck until they find workarounds. The kids who become Programs were able to modify their permissions because there is actually already world-hopping potential in their base programming, it’s just undeveloped. The more the User writings talk about them wandering around and affecting worlds, the easier it is to upgrade them.
While it’s true that several citizens have also been described as visiting multiple worlds IRL (like the FF people who lived in Traverse Town for a while), it’s still not much to work with. There simply isn’t enough info on them for their data to be complex enough to support an upgrade. The Datascape and its citizens need more time to evolve. Also, manually upgrading every single data citizen is completely impractical, probably impossible. It’s much easier (though still extremely difficult) to try to figure out how to make the worlds more accepting of each others’ citizens. That way you also don’t have to worry about Users dumping in new citizens now and then. Though they also then need to make channels between worlds that are safe and accessible to everyone. The current cytoplasm-esque “Backdoor Areas” that I have bullshitted into existence are much too dangerous for the average citizen to traverse, even assuming they would be able to get through the doors at either end (which they currently can’t). So basically that’s just one big ongoing project that the Programs are working on between major catastrophe plots. I imagine Traverse Town will be the first success, since it already has “accepting wayward people” in its nature. Followed I suppose by Radiant Garden.
MEANWHILE, and (FINALLY) on to the actual POINT… so the civilians know there are other worlds. They know that the Programs are travelers and builders who can help them expand and hopefully eventually explore. Most people don’t actually care too much; they’re just trying to live, man. But some are restless. And it’s important to at least have contact with your neighbors, even if you can’t actually see them yet. Supposedly some day you will; may as well make the transition a bit smoother right? But they can’t just conveniently all have access to communications terminals and start Skyping each other, because that’s boring and too convenient and also I say so. So how do you get a message across the spaces that only Programs can travel in? Well, you get a Program to carry it, of course!
So basically, KAI is a mailman. Wait no come back it’s still cool I swear! When she’s first upgraded, it’s because of a threat. So she does still have potential as backup security, it’s just not her main job anymore. She is primarily an ambassador of sorts, which imo goes really well with the whole “princess” thing, because it makes me think of Wonder Woman. But she’s not so much a “voice of the people to the overloads” as a “voice of the people to the other people.” She does bring questions, concerns, and requests from citizens to the other Programs, but it’s more akin to calling the maintenance department than to calling your local senator. RI is automatically aware of major problems in the Datascape, but they need someone like KAI to collect and organize more regular reports from various worlds so they can figure out what lower-priority things they need to address and in what order. Though she does also carry penpal-type letters between worlds, because it’s cute. In a way, she’s sort of taking on one of the job ideas I originally had for NAMI, which was essentially “reading RI’s mail for him” XD. But NAMI can stick to design and programming; that’s more in line with the type of creation her User counterpart did. Kairi was the one stuffing messages in bottles and sending them to people on other worlds.
Though with my earlier point about a few worlds opening up but Backdoor Areas being dangerous, KAI might also sometimes help AX* escort people across. Which is a neat merger of “delivery girl” and “bodyguard.” KAI is just a courier of all sorts of things, really.
(*Note: AX, or maybe LEA, whatever, is still stuck in the spaces between worlds, so his primary function is keeping those spaces clear. Both for specific travellers, and just generally whenever bug infestations start getting out of hand.)
This also kind of solves my recurring AU!Kairi conundrum of her always either disappearing, or shoehorning her way in unnaturally. With this job, KAI can pop up now and then, but also wander off for a while. But for a REASON. And with DOING THINGS. It gives her legitimate reasons for talking to the other characters, and things to talk ABOUT. Not that the Programs are always just work, work, work all the time. They’re like, 15. They go on “vacations” and just kinda hang out on various worlds together too. But I needed a better reason for upgrading KAI beyond “just to hang out.” Also I like that it puts her and AX in the same territory a lot. They have a fun dynamic and I do so enjoy shoving them together (platonically!!) in my AUs.
As a final note, I’m also attached to the mail idea for a really petty/silly reason. I designed her to have those hearts on her sleeves, and at one point iamxxcastingshadows designed this little logo-type thing for EMH:
It’s really cute to me to think that the envelope is KAI’s special flair. Citizens write their messages on whatever they have, but those items can’t actually traverse the spaces between worlds. So KAI first has to translate them to a more universal type of data, which manifests as those little envelopes. Which I imagine are black with glowing edges. Maybe she even has a little black-with-glowing-edges messenger bag :Dc All with the little glowing heart emblem, of course.
PS: I’d like to think some more about her acronym before deciding anything, but thank you for the suggestion.
(Aaaand now I’m laughing because I hopped onto google for something and noticed that today’s doodle is about the pony express. Perfect. :’D)
A huge swath of one of the data worlds get corrupted and obliterated due to an attack or massive glitch. All the civilians were evacuated in time, but the landscape is now just a blank void. Worlds get built up automatically when new Journal data is first added, but after that time any major re-building needs to be done manually.
Cue epic sequence of RI skating around in a martial arts style dance of creation, pouring blueprint data into the ground and breathing life back into the world. At first just slow, deliberate motions to cast out lines of code as criss-crossing webs, which spill out is if over invisible blocks to create skeletal structures. Then increasingly fast, sweeping motions as textures and colors flow out of every step he takes, chasing the code. Foliage blossoms out of the ground, lakes fill with the flick of a hand, buildings and mountains erupt beneath his feet and carry him up to smear clouds and stars across the sky, all as SO watches on in boggled awe. And at the end, RI is all riled up and overheated. But literally, like a laptop with a broken fan, because he pushed too hard. He could’ve built it back more slowly, or in chunks at a time, but he was having too much fun and got lost in it. He laughs apologetically and buries his overwarm face in SO’s neck, then passes out into Lock Mode to recover.
I was considering that the data characters don’t actually have bodies underneath their clothes at first. So like RI couldn’t unzip his coat, and Sora couldn’t take off his jacket. There would just be voids underneath. So when coding outfit skins, it really is full a neck-to-toes render that has to account for both where literal clothes are, and where the “clothes” are seen as flesh. But hunting around for existing skins that have all the bits of exposed body they want in order to build new skins is a pain. So they decide that first things first, they need to figure out how to modify their base programming so they have a full body shape, which they can then use as a base for building skins (including “painting-on” flesh where they want it). The bodies are completely black at first, because it’s the simplest render.
They end up really liking the freedom of movement, both literally and from a data point of view. The less complex the character render, the faster and more smoothly it can load and move about. They eventually add the colored trim and other details, mostly just cuz they look sweet and don’t take much more power to render. So the catsuits become their default outfits, because they are the most efficient skin. Even appearing buck-ass nude would take more power, because of all the textures you need to simulate skin and body hair and stuff.
They briefly look into making clothes simply objects they can interact with, starting with RI’s coat. Which is why you can sometimes see him running around in his finished catsuit but with the coat over top, unzipped different amounts. But man, why go through the hassle of physically putting on and taking off clothes, when you can just slap your chest and apply a skin? Besides, full skins come with that benefit of being able to hold abilities. So ultimately the catsuits are their base, default forms, and everything else is a skin applied on top. Except Riku’s coat—that’s just an object now. Which, full disclosure, he only put back on because he was worried about what User Sora would think of him when they first meet during the escort mission. I mean he’s not only a weird little clone of Sora’s best friend, he’s been modified with eyes that some Users report as being “creepy.” So he keeps the coat zipped and hood up until ANSEM’s teasing and Sora’s… Sora-ness convince him to open it. But since it’s an object, he still has to haul it around until they get back to the Datascape proper.
Also since I am addicted to fabulous costume changes, I figure that once they really get the hang of making skins, they start making different outfits for different worlds so they blend in better. Sometimes you just wanna visit a world as a civilian to hang out, y’know? (But everyone else is programmed to not notice the facial oddities ;P) It’s just always annoyed me a bit that very few Disney characters in KH ever mention how absolutely ridiculous and out-of-place the KH characters look. Like I know that conversation would get real old real quick, but still. “Ah yes, a child in red parachute pants and giant, monstrous animals. Seems legit.” May as well at least put on some more "normal"-looking clothes depending on where you're going, right?
As a final note — just a point of interest, really — this whole “skins” thing occurred to me because of data!Riku’s reveal in the game. It seemed pretty overdramatic to do the whole fancy-pants digital removal of his hood, instead of just reaching up and pulling it off. But then I was like… maybe he literally can’t just pull it off. Maybe “hood-up Riku” and “hood-down Riku” are two different models, and he had to swap between them. Not saying that’s actually true for canon, just that it’s a mechanic I’m using for this AU that’s “supported” by some canon events.
I'mma drag'n'drop this ask over here, since I have a side blog and all now B)
adisagestar said:
maybe they have to change their models to the catsuit + reduced facial features version b/c otherwise it interferes with the information in the journal? like, they have to be noticeably distinct from the versions of them who lived the journal events, because if they don't then the journal will read them as players in the simulations instead of programs and they won't be able to view a simulation without changing it. (which would also mean that the simulated enemies could hurt them probably...)
I am not asserting that any of the following is canon. It’s purely how I’m choosing to re-interpret some events for the purpose of framing this AU. tl;dr Yes, but I had to talk myself through some stuff to get there. And by some I mean a butt-ton because I like the sound of my own voice.
Humm, I’m not sure. But your idea does actually bring up a really interesting and rather big question I’ve been meaning to make myself think through at some point, which is “what are the worlds really like in the Datascape these days?”
Originally, the data worlds were supposed to purely be 3D reproductions of the events chronicled in the Journal. The Users could watch them from angles that flat writing couldn’t provide, and look for clues. Because magic and also shut up. But then the bugs came, and corrupted the stories. But instead of acting like broken animatronics that just repeat themselves and move in circles, the data people reacted to the bugs. True that the way they handled it made the stories still play out in very similar ways to KH1, but that’s because that’s all the personality the Journal could offer them at the time. How would Aladdin react to a monster threat? Uh, well, I know how he reacted to Heartless, so I guess he’s do the same thing? Etc.
Mickey et al continued to mess with the stories by altering data!Sora, giving him his powers and knowledge early. He evolved into a true AI, gaining a real Keyblade and all. When the Journal was reset, the theory is that he would’ve gone back to just being an actor in the grand data play, moving in the same patterns laid out for him by the text and simply re-creating events of KH1 for Users to watch. However, they pulled him out AGAIN, and the whole Castle Oblivion fiasco proved that he still had feelings from his previous adventure. He was still an AI, and was permanently modified to the point that (given the chance) he might start reacting differently during stories, changing the scenarios.
So my theory is thus: ALL the data people are slowly evolving into true AI. When Sora isn’t on a world, does that world stop moving? No. The characters are developing their own AI, and start bumping into each other and writing new stories. They might need upgrades in order to do things like age or have children, though. And it takes them a lot longer than SO and RI to build up personality subroutines, since there is less info on them to start with. So it may be a little Pleasantville on the worlds for a while, with people very prone to routines. But they’re not just replaying KH1 over and over and over. The world itself has evolved too, and starts spitting new day-to-day occurrences at the citizens for them to react to. But it’s a complex and brand-new process, so there’s bound to be bumps and glitches and thing the citizens can’t handle by themselves. So that’s what SO and RI do all day, basically. They watch over the worlds and facilitate their growth.
Is there still a "theatre mode" where everyone snaps back to their original programming and runs through the KH1 stories like a play? I guess there could be. And once the Users are done watching and exit it, everyone goes back to "free mode" exactly where they left off, as if there wasn’t just a hiccup in time. Only the Programs ever know the real time relative to the User world anyway.
So… yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe, since the KH1 scenarios are all dependant on the arrival of Sora, SO keeps triggering theatre mode when he tries to visit worlds. He snaps into actor mode too, and can’t deviate at all from the story because his AI is being muted. Once he gets off-world at the end, he snaps back and is like “wtf just happened, I tried to walk through this Backdoor to a world but suddenly I’m turned around as if I just walked out of it…??” And RI is just facepalming back at their HQ, pfft. But they discover that RI can go pretty much anywhere and be in free mode. At first they just think it’s because he IS the Journal, like an omnipotent god that can do whatever he wants in the world he created, but soon they realize it’s because he wasn’t part of the KH1 scenarios on most of the worlds. And even in the ones he was in, he’s not using the correct model for the computer to register him as KH1 Riku and trigger theatre mode. So they start looking into modifying SO’s appearance too so he can go to free mode. Still not 100% why they go for black sclera and no ears beyond “cuz it looks funky” but… whatever. It looks funky is enough reason for me. And KH, tbqh. What is the point of 99% of those zippers and belts? Looks funky.
PPFBT and I suppose since the Programs ARE free-range free agents, a User might have to verbally convince them to go to a world so they can watch through a scenario. “Computer, bring up theatre mode for Hollow Bastion” “Fuck off, we’re busy.” “>:O”
Wait… piss. I just wrote myself into a corner again. I assert that by the time this AU is kicking off, the Users have also uploaded the KH2 Journal (and some writing about Dream Drop Distance). That would give them access to the scenarios and therefore the character models for KH2-sized everyone. Maybe they… *throws a bunch of straws into the air* ...maybe it’s just they... *starts grasping at them* ...they can’t extract the models from the scenarios yet. They snap into the KH2 models when put through theatre mode, but their base programming in free mode is still just the KH1 models. Which they haven’t been able to figure out how to modify the proportions of yet.
I just really want them to stay in the cute KH1 models okay ;n;
