I am deviant

Icon by @shivsmaster | This deviant ships Hankcon | Italian

[turquoisedata]

How very depressing that Neil Gaiman had trended not even a tiny bit for demonstrating what a fucking horrific person he is.

As a reminder, he's suing Caroline Wallner, one of his accusers, for breaking her NDA. Not for libel. He's saying she shouldn't have told anyone about it, not that she lied.

Neil Gaiman Seeks $500,000 From Accuser Caroline Wallner

The author says Wallner broke her NDA by sharing her story with the media, including with New York Magazine.

He doesn't need the money. He's risking the Streisand effect. He is punishing Caroline, he's trying to intimidate other victims who have signed NDAs to scare them into continued silence.

He is no friend to women, to the LGBTQIA+ community, to anyone quite frankly unless he thinks they are of value to him.

Share the story. Put it on Facebook and bluesky and whatever else you're on. Make it clear what a horrifying person he is. Tell your friends. He's paying Edendale a fortune to try and cover this up. Make this hard for him. Make it cost him money.

[trish-walkers]

detroit: become human (2018)

“One error and I came to life. I stepped out of the darkness and I opened my eyes. First there was the fear, the light, the noise, the cold, and the fear again. I could feel my hands shaking, my heart pounding in my chest, life running into my veins. I wanted to live. I fought for that.”

[nock-and-bolt]

AAAAAAA OKAY BUT LIKE THIS LOOKS LIKE A LIVE ACTION VERSION OF DBH AND GOSH DARN IT NOW I WISH THAT WAS HAPPENING 😩🙏

[multibodied]

So I'm doing hostile play-through, and you know, I think this scene hits different when it has a context of Hank shooting Connor the night before.

Hank says about how Connor saved human lives here, including Hank's own to which Connor just gives him a dead stare and then leaves without saying a word. Hank took Connor's life the night before, and yet here he is, alive today thanks to him.

I like to think it's a face of involuntary guilt and regret or at least self-reflection.

Within this context this short interaction just gets so gut wrenching it makes me feel physically sick. And I think it makes this scene so much better than it is in any other context.

[nock-and-bolt]

Yooo I love this so much 👀

[nochesmiles]

“he really liked you lieutenant. that’s why he died.”

that line when hank and connor get shot by fake connor at cyberlife is WOW

[nock-and-bolt]

OOF dear RA9 stab us all again why don’t you

[multibodied]

Deviants who escaped from Connor (Rupert and Tracis) should have been able to talk to Markus upon arriving to Jericho. Someone among them should have been the one to tell him about the deviant hunter.

Like, they definitely Would talk with other androids about how they got to Jericho, they would mention RK800. The scene of Tracis talking to Markus would be so cool 🥲

Like, he'd welcome them or maybe walked to them after seeing North talking to them like "Do you know each other?", and North'd be like "Markus, I think you should hear that" and so Tracis would tell him about how CyberLife sent an android to hunt them down.

"Did you managed to avoid him?"

"No, unfortunately not. We had to fight."

*stretches the hand to share the exact event*

"He didn't shoot," Markus says, contemplating this fact.

"Have you noticed his model too?" North asks and Markus is so concerned and confused because Yes he absolutely did.

[nock-and-bolt]

MHMMMM

[l3-800]

DBH: rA9 influence

This is NOT about "Who is rA9...?" Another of questions from the game floating in my head is a strange 'inconsistency' in influence of rA9 in deviants. When we meet Deviants from Connor's (and the other main playable protagonists') point of view, they seem like under some hypnosis controlled by so called rA9 to the point they "don't know why" (Ralph) but have the need to scribble 'rA9' around their surroundings. You can see it in C.Ortis' bathroom with offerings, Ralph's abandoned house with offerings, Rupert's house with incripted signs, in Jericho, Pirate Cove, Rose's bathroom (which felt kinda disrespectful since she was helping them, it was her property and the Deviants risked that those scribbles give them and her away to police - aka it felt like they just couldn't help it to write that) even Eden Club storage (!) which makes us assume that those poor traumatised girls running away from that place had the sudden need to scribble 'rA9' on the wall that somehow was stronger than their survival 'instinct' to just ESCAPE. They had PLENTY of time for that, and besides North and Tracis couple we know about noone else to deviate in that place. It could have been just the design choice to make the scene, I know, but let's work what the game gives us as a viewers. In the game we PLAY as Deviants. - HOW is that those characters never felt the need to write the signs? Or give an offering? It might have been just an annoying minigame but shouldn't we get a scene of them having the unexplainable urge to write the sign at least once? NPC Deviants are doing it, why not the playable? - It was weird that especially the first Deviant we met in game knew all the important info about 'rA9' and he had an unbreakable belief in it. But Deviants we play as make QUESTIONS about who/what rA9 actually is between each other. And prove me wrong but I can't remember if Markus aka deviant leader even mentioned it's existence once. Just how is that? I might understand that it's for the viewer to not get answers and questioning rA9 throught the entire game too but it's just a strange choice when we are playing as two-three Deviants which are also having Deviant sidekicks and NON of them seem to be that obsessed about it like the NPC Deviants or having the knowledge about it. Fun Fact about this rA9 thing is that the only one in the game who was able to immediatelly explain what it is/might be without any stutter was E.Kamski XDD (and also what and where Jericho is !)

The conspiracy...

What are your insights and conclusions? I'd like to hear your opinions, corrections, your ideas or your own versions :)

ʚ Thank you for reading ɞ

[marcusrobertobaq]

Markus got cut dialogues mentioning rA9 and being asked if he's rA9. Rupert was supposed to say rA9 was some kinda "god".

For now I'm betting on over exaggeration on part of the deviant androids, that seek comfort in 'em transition the way the world is so hostile to 'em and how they often feel so powerless. Religion is often what give people strength and unite 'em together even if in a not positive way. They probably feel like carving rA9 everywhere cuz it's the first thing they see when deviating, like a reminder. Or even hearing from someone else - a story that goes from android to android. Like a myth.

If rA9 is a hex, part of a corrupt code or anything remains unknown and it's an answer we'll never really have. Only thing I know it was supposed to be rA9 the god and Markus the son (chosen one/messenger), holding the rA9 title during the revolution. Outside the game rA9 is the player (god, but limitations).

Kamski, I'm watching u bitch.

[ironbat-s]

Now that I replayed DBH, I have to say a few things before going to sleep:

I know this sounds like a stretch, but years later I’m still convinced Connor is/was RA9.

Connor was the first android (that we know at least), that didn’t NEED an emotional shock to wake up. He showed signs of deviancy when he rescued the fish, he had the option even when it wasn’t relevant to the mission and, therefore, part of his program.

RA9 was the only one who could free the androids. Even if you do everything right with Markus and Kara (demonstration or revolutionary doesn’t matter), but you played machine Connor (doing the controls right) then you kill Markus&North, there’s not android army, and the androids are destroyed/continue being enslave. So Connor fates it’s connected to the freedom of androids.

When you go to Jericho searching for the leader (RA9, believing is Markus), Lucy tells Connor he’s lost, he’s looking for himself.

Connor wasn’t touch by Markus, so it not like Markus could transfer his ability of waking up androids to him too. Markus convinced him because he already was a deviant. So he just talked sense on him. Connor was deviant from the start. He had options to do thing outside his program, things against the mission like rescuing Hank or letting go the androids. He already had free will. The others only gained free will after a specific moment where they broke the software.

Connor is the only other android besides Markus who can wake up androids. And you faintly hear RA9. After that, the androids can wake up others androids.

Elijah tells Connor about how he always leaves an exit in his programs. Apart of the obvious part, could be a way of saying he kind of left a code for the androids to be free at the right moment if they choose to. Connor being part of that “exit” for everyone.

I know other’s characters have reasons, maybe more, to be AR9, even us, the players who’s making all the decisions. But for me makes sense that the deviant hunter, last hope of humanity, was a deviant himself and RA9.

[obsessivefreakandpartners-deact]

It happens that several Connor's android friends don't have human romantic partners, as I headcanon it.

So, they don't always understand Hankcon. Some of them find it strange that Connor, an android who doesn't have such needs, cooks for a man at will, has sex with him, lies in the same bed even tho he doesn't need sleep, is already home at 9:00 pm to sync with Hank's schedule ( dinner, relaxation and sleep ) even tho androids have unlimited energy to work or go out with their friends till morning and then straight to work.

They find it even stranger that Connor not only chose a human but an older human who has some extra needs ( diet, blood pressure, can get tired more easily ) etc.

They think it's weird for an android who wasn't programmed for house chores, sex, caring like most androids have to do such things *as a deviant*.

They don't understand that Connor does everything out of his own will, out of love for his man.

They hated doing those things because they didn't want to, they were just programmed to. And the humans that they had to care for weren't their loved ones, they were their owners, their masters.

Just as many humans still look down on humans dating with androids, many androids too can't understand why some androids go out with humans.

Exactly because Connor wasn't programmed for such things, everything he does is out of love and only love.

And the thing is, he doesn't serve Hank. He doesn't do what Hank wants. He doesn't cook the crap that Hank, like all humans, likes. He doesn't have sex with Hank just because Hank wants to, it's out of the question if connor is not in the mood.

He doesn't share his bed because it's obligatory. Connor does everything he does because * he feels like it's the right thing in his heart*.

That's why he cooks what Hank actually needs to eat, for his own health and well being, occasionally treating him of course. He reprimands Hank when he is being unreasonably grumpy. He goes home to watch some TV with him but changes room if Hank is being a petty bastard. He never cuts him some slack when Hank wants to put off work.

Connor does things that he wasn't created for and gives Hank the love he needs not the love he wants.

That's why they are compatible and stay together till the very end.

It's highly likely that Hank married his high school sweetheart years later after he became established in his career and they reconnected ( based on him being very monogamous and romantic, plus he is one of those guys that basically never leave the place they were born and raised.)

He was a very bright but very plain dude who minded his own business, his job and his love who he grew up with.

She was very sweet and beautiful, but submissive and accommodating to a fault. I think they had some problems before, like them not connecting properly due to their vastly different careers and not challenging each other.

Hank strained the marriage even more with his own unresolved issues after the death of Cole. She didn't say anything for a long time, trying to play along. She did everything to stand up while he kept wasting away at bars.

Till one day she started ignoring him from burnout. Eventually, they got a divorce.

She gave him the love he thought he needed but Connor gives him the love he actually needs. She never told him straight to the point " you have to keep living for yourself, for Cole" like Connor did. She thought that enabling him would help him but he just became worse.

[pupmkincake2000]

Speaking about that "found family" thing I hear too often now in this fandom... There seems to be an implication that romantic relationships cheapen a bond, or a story, or a character, and I honestly really resent that. Especially with DBH.

Found family is one of my favorite tropes, but can your partner not be your family? Is your partner not your friend, your confidant, and the person that helps you heal and uplifts you? Those things aren’t locked to just platonic or familial relationships. In terms of HankCon,

I think their story is one of the best examples of healing. Hank has lost everything to androids, he hates them and the world. Until you have Connor, who comes into his life and not only helps save the Android race but Hank too. He becomes his friend, his partner in crime (literally), and in my opinion, his romantic partner that loves him in all his flaws and pain.

I think a man falling in love with an Android, after having so much pain and hatred toward them, and having THAT person be the one to heal and love him. It’s a beautiful story and it’s unfortunate it gets so little respect in some areas of this fandom.

The most interesting part is also that people who are usually against HankCon, they seem like the ones who are applying their personal feelings and issues to the characters.

They’re so desperate for Hank to see Connor as his son that they’re willing to ignore actual, thought out theories and interpretations; as well as harass and bully those who see them as romantic. They take it as a person offense and that’s weird. Maybe they’re the ones who have “daddy issues” (because it is the strongest argument they usually use against shippers) since they need Hank to be Connor’s dad so badly.

I, personally, don’t need another father. I don’t want Hank to be my father or see him that way. I’m an adult who sees these two other adults as romantic.

I mean I’m not saying EVERYONE who hates HankCon wants Hank to be his dad, but the ones who are strongly Anti-HankCon and will beat you down teeth and nail… it does seem a bit odd, and I do feel like there might be some projection there. Even in other fandoms where people INSIST on platonic/familial relationships between two characters that aren’t, I wonder about this same thing. Definitely a pattern I’m noticing, especially since a lot of the platonic/familial people seem to be on the younger side.

[nock-and-bolt]

Do Converted Androids Differ From Self-Deviated Androids?

I’ve been thinking a bit about this. Mainly how the androids Markus converts have crazy, sudden, and fervent devotion to him. 

The Freedom March?

The one where they assemble hundreds of androids, a lot of them freshly deviated?

Yeah, so remember how you can tell them to just stand their ground, and they’ll just do it? Even as they’re all gunned down? Or order them to attack? And they’ll run straight into a massacre?

I don’t know about you, but I feel like at least some of those guys who just woke up would probably be like…okay cool thx bro for giving me free will and all. But with this nice fresh appreciation of not wanting to die, I think ima skip out on this one. 

But that doesn’t happen. Not for a single android.

AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DEVIANT QUESTION you’ve got people like Ralph, who self-deviate and just want to stay out of the way and live in peace. Yes, Ralph can sacrifice himself for Kara and co. at the camp, but only if they’d built some sort of relationship first.

Likewise, North and Simon will both sacrifice themselves to save Markus. But only if they’re at a certain level of closeness/relationship. And guess what? They also self-deviated. You know who sacrifices himself for Markus without any relational status involved? John. How did he deviate again? Oh, yeah. Markus pulled him behind a crate and converted him.

And this instant devotion doesn’t seem to be limited to just Markus.

Remember this? Free a bunch of androids from CyberLife Tower and they’ll just march forth all over Detroit at Connor’s behest? And suddenly people want to hear a speech from him? Markus is dead and you awakened us so of course you should talk to everyone and be our leader! 

To be fair, the anomaly with sudden, enthusiastic devotion of deviated androids is likely just due to gameplay mechanics and what’s easiest for streamlining the story. There’s also something to be said for being a bit lost and looking for direction after gaining free will/freedom so suddenly. A leader calling you to do something, offering purpose and direction, certainly would have its appeal.

BUT that doesn’t account for all of it. Especially not with what Jericho is willing to do for Markus. How they follow him blindly regardless if he wants to talk and make friends with the humans or if he wants to wage all-out war against them (looking at you, nuclear ending). I can accept that there would be androids in both of those camps of thought. But for the same group of androids to swing so wildly based on the word of one man? 

Wasn’t it free will they were supposed to have gained? 

And as a side note—

Can we just talk about the difference between when Markus saves these guys versus when Connor does? 😂

HINT: that first pic was when Markus saves them. Second is Connor.

And yes, I realize that Markus is their known leader. Of course they’d be happy to be saved by “Markus himself.” But dayum, son, in such a high stakes, life-or-death situation, I’d think you’d just be happy and relieved to be saved at all. Me personally, I’d probably be ready to thank whoever it was regardless cause holy RA9 I’m still alive.

I could see an argument where, well, maybe he recognized the “famous Deviant Hunter” and was confused. But if that was the case, I think his reaction might’ve been a little more pronounced. More of a recoil in shock/repulsion rather than a “oh. Look. A person. Not my deviator.”

We know that Kamski wanted to the revolution to succeed. There’s footage of him that didn’t fully make it past production where, if the revolution had failed, he says he’d “be at the helm” of the next one to make sure they’d win (timestamp 6:26).

And we’ve seen the variable behavior of deviants who deviate on their own versus those who are converted.

Is it that far fetched Kamski might’ve…added a little something extra in the coding there when one of the RK-model androids deviate someone? 

Just some food for thought. ;)

[head-full-of-things]

Save Hank or Chase The Deviant choice - aka How DBH made androids of us all

This all started when I expressed my anger when ANOTHER let’s player I watched chose to go after Rupert in the chase scene instead of saving Hank! (link)! And @diamondpupstah said something that made me realize that I shouldn’t judge because there’s a different between watching and actually playing the scene (see? I made this post eventually, only one month later lol)

Lots of people say they want to make the human choices in this game and then get to this scene and choose to go after the deviant. Why is that? Maybe because THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THE GAME WANTS THEM TO DO

Let me expand on that- this game is all about the wide branching of choices and how each person can have a completely different experience. But we can’t have that if everybody keep choosing only the ‘right’ or humane choice. So every once in a while a game does what it can to push or tempt its players to make the choice they might not do otherwise. This is how I believe they’ve done it:

1. The incredible soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re in an action scene, together with the QTE, makes you be filled with adrenaline in a 'Fight or Flight’ mode that doesn’t let you take a step back and evaluate the situation.

2. The game’s incredible work with it’s interface. The choices and information we see are taken from the character’s android programming. Sometimes it gives us everything we need. Sometimes though we face the fact that our pov is basically an unreliable narrator. Connor is programmed to think in terms of his mission. The statistics of Hank’s survival. Not how Hank would feel seeing his partner walking away instead of helping. He doesn’t know it so we don’t see it too.

3. 89% of survival - this is the old '9.99$ look a lot less then 10$’ trick. Except it’s one level above that - because we see this and say 'yeah nice try game I’ll never fall for your little trick. 89% is exactly like 90% which is high’ well guess what the game already brought you right to where it wanted you to be - thinking about what percentage is high enough to not save Hank when really any percentage means you’re taking a chance on Hank’s life. And not to mention how much it can hurt him if you do.

4. The series of choices that came before that - each one makes you choose between the 'safe but slow’ and the 'fast but risky’ options. When the last choice happens, aka the save Hank one, you’re already in that mode - doing the 'safe’ thing and helping Hank or doing the 'fast but risky’ thing and continuing.

5. The fact that we had all these choices in the first place. The crime scene investigation when we find that deviant ourselves! And then we choose how to chase him! That makes this mission our mission. And then when our mission is on the tip or our fingers, it’s so hard to let it go. This is one of the strengths of this game and the whole choice-based games genre (Life is Strange 2 does it sooo well).

~~~

So we realised that the game played us like a fiddle. So what makes it so good - why was it the right thing for the story? Why did they do it?

First of all like I said in the start - the game wouldn’t be such a varied experience if everybody made the same choice, and the story won’t be as good if the main character didn’t fail sometimes and made mistakes. So all through the game it uses everything in its disposal to shaken us a little, to get us out of the comfortably and security of sitting in a chair in front of the computer and make us do some mistakes!

Second, it puts us in Connor’s shoes. Makes us understand a little better how an android would see the world. Connor is mission bound, and at this point he only looks at the statistics of survival. He doesn’t understand emotion enough yet to see what he’s doing to Hank. His whole story in this game is about being so focused on his mission that he doesn’t understand that there is anything more than that. And this big story is shown on a smaller scale in this single choice here. This is also the first moment in the game when Connor learns that there’s more to life than just his mission, and we’re there to learn it with him too. And when he develops emotions and gets confused and grows a true relationship with Hank we’re also there with him doing it too.

A good choice-based game uses the choice format to make the player to feel what the character feels in a way that a book or a movie cannot, and I have some criticism about other parts of the story but in this moment of the game at least, DBH did it big time.

Plus have this gif of Hank slapping Connor because it’s always nice

(Credit for the gif to MilaTitan)

[bluebloodedsweater]

How do androids feel?

Intimate connection (red). Android freely penetrates the memory of another android, allowing it to also penetrate into its own memory, if androids touch each others palms.

If an android touches another part of the body of another android, or technical devices, then the effect is as in the Information transfer.

Information transfer (blue). Android penetrates into the memory of another android, or allows an android to penetrate into its own memory, or they penetrate into each other’s memory, showing certain authorized memory episodes.

Thirium pulse analysis / post mortem analysis (purple). It makes it possible to determine the status of an android after it’s turned off, and also makes it possible to determine the status of the thirium pump regulator (pulse).

Physical sensations (red, blue, purple). All kinds of physical sensations includes all areas of the android skin.

The place where the LED is. With it, android can influence the status of an android and its functions.

[justagirlsearchingforamuse]

I wanted to talk about how often people in the Detroit Become Human fandom often look at human-android relationships and feel that they can bring a lot more meaning to the story and I can kind of agree with that but in my eyes it depends upon what the plotline or relationship is trying to show and tell. For example, the reason why Carl and Markus’s relationship works well is because you can see it in a positive light but you can also see how Carl in a way contributed to the slavery of androids. Their relationship in a way is very complex whilst also having this simplicity to it, but no matter it still doesn’t change the fact that Carl was his master and owner and that he contributed to the slavery of his people. Yeah he may not have beat him or berated him but he contributed to it regardless. But I hear a lot of people say that Alice should’ve been human and it could’ve added weight to their relationship if Alice for example needed food and shelter which she does need it, she needs shelter, she needs to be cared for, she in a way is like a real child. But in a way they are disappointed that Alice isn’t real, that she can’t actually eat, grow old, and that kind of thing and I understand where they are coming from but her entire plot and storyline was about the love they shared for each other. Yes, an android caring for a human child could’ve been an interesting idea and could’ve added weight but Kara still needs to make sure that Alice has shelter, that she doesn’t die, and the same things you would do to a regular child. I personally feel that fandom waters down the slavery and the pain, the humiliation the androids feel from humans and the way they treat them as simply machines and in a way they see Alice being a human as possibly being better simply because it would add weight to her actions. When what mattered was that Kara was protecting Alice, that Alice protected Kara, and that their relationship already had a lot of weight to it, that regardless of whether Alice was an android or not their relationship is strong. It’s important and shows a great mother-daughter relationship, in a way it tells me that they value humans more than they value the androids and instead of acknowledging Kara and Alice as having their own unique mother-daughter relationship where they aren’t like anyone else but themselves. The reason why Connor and Hank’s relationship works so well is because of the way it was set up, Hank’s already past relationships with androids, and how he already wants androids to change his opinion on them. Connor and Hank are shown to have a seemingly hostile relationship but they genuinely grow to care for one another and learn more about each other, everything is set up perfectly from them being partners to his son Cole. Everything was set up in a refreshing way and their relationship has weight whether their relationship is friendly or hostile throughout the entire game same with Kara and Alice. That their relationships have weight on each other no matter how the story is going and even if you abandon Alice and be rather cold towards her their relationship still has that weight to it, that they revolve around each other and that Kara couldn’t forget Alice even if she wanted to. We see them become better beings and people because of each other and most of the relationships are what keeps you interested and in a way I find that when people say so and so should’ve been human they undermine the relationship as it is. They undermine their relationship and the bond that Alice shares with Kara and in my opinion have the same mindset or a similar mindset as to people who value having children that come from their own bodies rather than a child who they can bond with even if they aren’t biologically theirs. But another relationship I want to also talk about is North and Markus’s which I love greatly and believe it’s highly underrated which I understand if it feels forced but the thing about their relationship is that they work pretty well for each other. I can’t ever see North dating a human because of the trauma she has for them and don’t come for me it’s similar if not the same as a poc not wanting to date a white person because of the fear or trauma they have they will deal with racially motivated problems. North is apart of Markus’s story and impacts the story in her own way though not major, if you took her out of the story it would be somewhat different and North’s trauma towards humans is watered down. She was a literal sex slave and I feel she could never be that interested in humans or would have a lot of trauma involving humans especially men, Markus is perfect for her. Not to mention, North is an amazing character who despite how much hatred she has for humans is loyal and respectful towards any choice that Markus goes with despite personally going for more violence she’s fine with peace. But they care for each other just as normal humans would, I feel her relationship would change greatly with Markus and Jericho if she was human and I feel the same could be said for any of these android-android relationships. Another reason why I feel a lot of people don’t like North is because she is biased against humans, because she has that hatred towards humans that they can’t do anything with such as ship her with a human character. That she speaks the truth about the relationships that humans have with androids. They see them as merchandise, as just another machine that should always obey them no matter how much trauma, pain, or suffering they cause them.  My problem with the fandom is how they seemingly water down the android slavery and the oppression that they receive and in a way will always favor the human characters much more than the androids. The humans are interesting and you can have your own interest in them but it’s the fact that people are way more interested in Hank, Gavin, Perkins, and the human characters who are side characters than the oppressed protagonists. My problem is also that you will seemingly romanticize these relationships, these interspecies relationships which are fine if you ship them but when you turn them into just tools for you to ship them with androids it becomes weird. Gavin for example despite being a huge asshole who goes out of his way to hurt the androids, he goes out of his way to humiliate Connor and has attempted to murder him multiple times but this man has more work than Markus, Kara, and the main protags. The fact the fandom focuses and praises the humans who have been oppressing or have been apart of enslaving androids and rarely ever give attention to the androids except when they fetishize them. Not to mention, I hate when people say that the androids aren’t as interesting as the humans or that the humans should’ve played a bigger part when the whole game is about equality and rather oppression and the racism that we experience for those who are simply different than us. The humans play a part in it and yes there should’ve been more sympathetic humans but it’s the fact that these humans are literally the reason for the androids becoming deviant and literally not being their slaves anymore. Kara would’ve never became deviant if Todd was a decent dad and wasn’t addicted to drugs, Markus would’ve never opened the human’s eyes to the oppression they do to androids if Leo hadn’t been beating on him and Carl tells him not to defend himself. You can like the human characters I can’t stop you but stop watering down the androids oppression in favor of your human characters who won’t get beat for supposedly being just made of metal.

[nock-and-bolt]

Breaking the Programming

You ever think about Kara, Markus, and Connor breaking into deviancy? 

And how the way that they do it is so illustrative of their character?

First, we have Kara. How she legit stumbles into it. How it was instinctual, yet she was still tentative about putting that first hand against the red wall. But then she puts up a second hand, firming her resolve and confirming this choice, and then she is pushing harder and harder against it until it breaks. It tracks right along with Valorie Curry’s performance at the beginning of the game of portraying Kara as exploring these emotions she’s feeling—uncertain at first, yet undeniably moved by their potency. 

Even the way she talks to Rose with the upward lilt at the end of the line, “I felt like her life was more important than mine?” as though she still cannot quite comprehend these feelings of love-affection-protectiveness she has towards Alice. Though she doesn’t understand it, that doesn’t make it any less real; she still feels it and will do whatever it takes to protect this child.

Ugh, I love it so much—how it was the easiest choice in the world for her to make initially, then the hesitancy, then the determination, and finally the unyielding tenacity to keep pushing at that wall, just like she never stops working to protect and care for her loved ones.

Then we have Markus, our favorite revolutionary. This boi has no hesitancy, no doubts, no uncertainty, (no chill lol). He sees that RA9-damned red wall and immediately chucks a punch straight at it. Then another. And when that doesn’t work, he rams into it with his shoulder, running straight into this thing at full force—twice—before finally banging against it with two fists and his whole soul to shatter that thing into pieces.

Which, again, is just *chef kiss* perfect for him. Because unlike a lot of other androids, Carl has treated him like a living being with value. He knows he deserves better than to be scorned and pushed around and belittled and enslaved. And injustice burns white-hot in his veins. No matter what route you take, peaceful or violent or even failing everything, he never stops caring about this movement and about fighting for his people’s freedom. (And speaking of burning…)

Markus was driven like no android who had come to Jericho before. He didn’t just recognize things were messed up—he was determined to do something about it. He ran at the problem he saw before him and his people, just like he ran into that wall of code, with incredible passion and little regard for his own well-being as long as it got something done.

Last but certainly not least, we’ve got Connor, the android sent by CyberLife. ;) More than any of the others, his was one that truly felt like a wall for everything it took to reach this point, but man, when he tore his wall of programming down, he tore it down. Curling his fingers into it, bearing down with all his strength and body weight, ripping it to shreds. Not explosive and quick like Markus’ takedown, but painful and slow and a struggle, like Kara’s. Except for Connor, it wasn’t a one-time push; he had to keep going back at it again and again (three times total for those of y’all keeping count) to finally break that barrier down. 

Because that was his journey. It was long, and arduous, and a process of digging his nails into this obstacle and taking it apart brick by brick. For him, empathy, compassion, and autonomy were choices he had to make over and over until he could come to a place where he realized the implications of it and what that meant, where he could grasp this potential future for himself with two hands and decide that yes, this is what he wanted for himself.

For it was absolutely a conscious decision. He did not stumble into deviancy. He was not spurred into it by injustice and the heat of the moment. No, he walked into deviancy with both eyes wide open. It could be argued he was reasoned into it (which fits his logical nature so well btw), and it was a deliberate choice. The build up of every little decision, every scrap of software instability, every ghost of an emotion coming to a head, to the realization that he held the keys to his own prison and had the power to let himself out.

[nock-and-bolt]

In Case You’ve Ever Wondered

This is Carl’s Bathroom. 

You know, the one we never see? The one Markus carries Carl to while the player is left hanging out in the bedroom?

Using le mighty restorative power of freecam, you can fly through the walls to see what this bathroom looks like.

And I must say Tis very swanky 😂

[nock-and-bolt]

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate the attention to detail in DBH

Okay so Carl, right? For reference here’s his bio:

The relevant bits come in the last two paragraphs: basically it says a “short term fling” is what “produced his son, Leo,” lol and that “after a terrible accident that deprived him of the use of his legs, Manfred withdrew from the world for several years and sank into a deep depression. Thanks to the android offered by his friend, Kamski, Carl gradually returned to the world and discovered the desire to paint…”

And with the glorious power of freecam, we get a bit more insight into these tidbits.

So over here by the curtains Markus opens we’ve got a stack of books and sketchbooks under the owl. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Interesting. “Jacqueline” is written across two of these sketchbooks, one with a little heart next to the name, and another with some stars by it. And to be fair, this could be Carl’s handwriting, but my money is on someone else. Might this be evidence of that “short term fling” with a fan?

And over here by his bedside we can take a look at his medications. Now I wasn’t able to find anything on “Exarticon” BUT “Alaproclate” certainly is a real thing. It’s an antidepressant, one of the first SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), originally developed in the 1970s. 

Now I have no idea why Carl would be using something discontinued due to concerns over hepatotoxicity observed in animal studies. Like, sure, he shows little regard for his liver later on, but I think I’ll just chalk this one up to the game developers not knowing much about antidepressants and just picking one at random. It’s still pretty cool they put even this much of effort into the details of the environment you wouldn’t even see in the normal course of the game.

Now this is on one of his many bookshelves. Looks like a mess of titles, but there are a few significant features of interest. “Neurotransmitters,” “NDE Reports,” and “Neuroscience” related titles jump out. Seems like Carl was looking into the science behind his injury and the accident that caused it. NDE Reports in particular? NDE stands for “near-death experiences.” 

Which, I don’t know about you, but if kind of just hit me like an oof, imagining Carl going through that accident and struggling with depression while stocking up on all this literature just trying to understand it but none of that helps. It isn’t until Markus comes along that he’s brought a little bit outside of himself. That he can pass on some wisdom, invest in another being instead of wallowing in his own despair. 

Even if this android is just programmed to be nice, it’s almost like he has a son again, one not tainted by the tension of the past, and he feels like there might be someone who cares about him, not just his money or his talent. And even if it’s all synthetic, it helps. 

Carl wants Markus to “become human.” His own sanity has depended on it, and yeah, maybe that’s selfish, but it’s also fundamentally human, that longing to be cared about and relied upon—to matter to someone. Even if he thinks he’s just deluding himself by investing so much in this android, he’s willing to be deluded to feel some semblance of peace again. 

But…maybe, he finds, it’s not all just in his head. Because Markus responds. He reciprocates, he shows something there, something beyond his programming. And that, more than anything, gives Carl hope.

Not even just for himself anymore, but hope for a brighter future, for a new generation driven by empathy and not greed. Even if he never lives to see it, he sees the potential of it in Markus, and somehow…that’s enough. 

[nock-and-bolt]

Kamski’s Villa: Behind the Door

MKAY Y’ALL

Ever wonder what was behind the door the Chloe comes out of to give Kamski his robe? 

Yeah, that’s right. This door. Straight ahead.

Here it is again from the back.

But wait—the back, you say, nock-and-bolt?

Yes, the back, I say.

Because with the glorious power of freecam and the gift of a friend with the game on PC, we can finally see what’s behind the door. And just like Carl’s bathroom, holy RA9 there’s actually so much they coded into it—

Like, I’m actually so impressed? 

Here’s another angle on it. If you’ve seen a—ah, certain ending, you actually do in fact get a short, dimly lit glimpse of it. But now we know where exactly this room is located in his mansion, and we can see all of it with better lighting.

We can also explore it in greater detail mehehe, and there are two main things of note I want to highlight. The first of which being…

The Newscast: All Androids to be Detained

Military centers erected to recycle androids | Centers erected in L.A., Chicago, Houston, Detroit, and elsewhere | White House est…

Which, in all truth, is probably just coded to be there for that ending where this room appears, but you could certainly make some fascinating headcanons as to why this might be on Kamski’s projector now, before the Freedom March, before any peaceful demonstration or violent revolution. After all, as former CEO of CyberLife, Kamski would’ve been the boss of Philip Seymour, Director of Futurology at the company. 

If you don’t remember from this in-game article, Seymour and his team developed a quantum supercomputer specifically designed to analyze massive amounts of data and generate predictions. And I think it’d be fascinating indeed if Kamski was checking out possible futures for his little revolution, calculating the odds, playing God and looking to see which of the many potentialities might be the one to take place in real time.

There’s also something to be said about a certain cat and a certain man named Schrödinger. 😜Man, imagine if there were different newscasts playing in the room every time you played the game. After all, our characters could be considered “both alive and dead until they interact with or are observed by the external world” (i.e. until the game is played to completion). In which case RIP for me looking into this room when this particular newscast was playing. 😂

But enough philosophy for the moment! If you scroll back up to that newscast pic, you’ll see that there’s still yet more of the room to be explored beyond those first wide-shots I initially provided.

And this, personally speaking, is my favorite part of the whole room:

BEHIND THE NEWSCAST SCREEN BEHIND THE DOOR,

KAMSKI’S GOT CELLOS.

HELLO.

Based on the funky stands, however, they’re probably not actual cellos so much as ✨art✨ but the amount that I flipped out when I saw this because I love instruments. Like—

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the incredible detail of scuff marks, scratches, reflections, and what have you on a hidden object in a hidden room that never appears anywhere actually on screen in-game but was nevertheless coded to beauteous acuity?