#deadman

[lewalrus]

Deadman training his skills with the katana

[n-nyanomachines]

oh sam, you have no idea how long i've been waiting to give you a hug!

[thehmn]

I was joking about Kojima doing something freaky with Heartman in Death Stranding 2 but never in my wildest imagination could I have come up with this.

Spoilers below the cut.

This right here has some insane implications for Heartman’s future love life.

Deadman and Sam are this game’s version of Hal and Snake from Metal Gear Solid. In their first game together Hal will ride off into the sunset with Snake if Meryl, the female love interest, dies and in subsequent games Snake and Hal have moved in together and raised a daughter though Snake still has flings with women here and there. Even though they’re never a confirmed couple it’s strongly implied by them living as a family and they get a lot of callbacks to other confirmed couples, including confirmed same-sex couples.

Sam and Deadman aren’t far off. Once they start suspecting that they can’t trust the president Deadman joins Sam in the shower partly to drown out their conversation but he also press Sam up against the wall so it’ll look like they’re having sex. That way no one will wonder why they’re always sneaking off together. But later on they get a much more emotional connection and in a heartfelt scene Deadman puts his hand on baby Lou’s pod as if it was a pregnant belly and basically asks Sam “The three of us, we’re a family, aren’t we?” and by the end they hold Lou together looking exactly like a couple of loving dads. Before they part ways they hold each other tight in a way Sam hasn’t done with anyone else. In the second game Deadman even tells Fragile he knows Sam’s body better than anyone, which is even less subtle than “I know the major better than anyone” from Metal Gear which is considered one of the most explicit confirmations of a gay couple in the franchise.

So Sam is devastated when he learns Deadman died in Death Stranding 2. Deadman plays a cruel joke on Sam by letting him think he can hug him only for Sam to tumble through the holographic message. In Deadman’s defence he didn’t know he’d be dead by then and probably assumed they’d be able to hold each other for real eventually.

He still found a way to return to Sam though. He donated his heart to Heartman who had abused his own heart to the point of breaking it completely. With Deadman and Heartman’s newfound connection Deadman is now able to possess Heartman’s body in the three minutes Heartman dies every 21 minutes and later on they seem to come to an agreement where Deadman can take over Heartman’s body whenever he wants.

Deadman in Heartman’s body lures Sam to a hidden corner where he explains the situation and Sam eagerly throws himself into Deadman’s arms…just in time for Heartman to wake up. Everything about both Sam and Heartman’s reactions tells us this wasn’t an innocent hug. Heartman clearly feels confused and violated so Dollman asks Sam to leave so he can explain the situation to Heartman.

Heartman seems to really think it over because one morning Sam wakes up in Heartman’s lab just as Heartman is coming back to life, suggesting Deadman had a hand in setting the situation up. Heartman sits down uncomfortably close to Sam as if he’s trying to tell him something. They talk about the state of the world for a bit before Heartman tells Sam that he too is in love with a woman, The Hydrologist, who lives in his lab and who has build a hotspring for Heartman, comparing the hotspring to love and making love. He then tells Sam that he can use his hotspring whenever he wants. No prices for guessing what he means.

We don’t know if Sam takes him up on the offer but Heartman basically told him “I’m okay with the three of you sharing my body” The Hydrologist even calls Heartman “our shared friend” whenever she talks to Sam. Just wild Kojima.

[rheitais]

Clockwork: You know it's your time to move on yes? It has been for some time now.

Deadman: I know.

Clockwork: The more time you spend here the more you will disappear.

Deadman: I know..

Clockwork: Is there a reason you stay?

Deadman: Would it be weird to say I don't even know any more?

Clockwork: No. You've lost those memories.

Deadman: Eh. I guess so. You know. I don't know why you asked me if you already knew? Know? Saw? See? I'm not sure what the word for you would be correct.

Clockwork: They could all work.

Deadman: Cool but like you know what I mean.

Clockwork: Do I?

Deadman: Ah don't fuck with me now man.

Zatanna: Boston?

Deadman: Oh hey Z!

Zatanna: Who were you talking too just now?

Deadman: Eh? An old friend— oh where did he go?

Zatanna: Boston no one else was in here but you. Constantine said you were just standing here for a second.

Deadman: Oh. Oh yeah I guess it would look like that for you guys.

Zatanna: Oh?

Deadman: No worries. We have other things to do right? We are running short on time let's go!

[Masterpost]

[matomai]

Death stranding 2: the beach episode 🏖

[shoogachi]

quick deadman

[thewindowofthesummerhouse]

 Martin Morazzo

[tatzelbookwurm]

This whole thing with Deadman giving Nightwing a coin that lets him see dead people has so many fun implications for dpxdc stories. Like, Danny invisibly haunting the batfam and pulling pranks, while Nightwing just stares at him like a cat staring down the invisible eldritch horror in the corner of the room that no one else can see.

For context, Nightwing has an obol coin which was used to pay Charon to cross the river styx. It gives him the ability to see and hear Deadman, and other dead entities. Including the "chatter of broken things" and “plaintive little cries of mass-produced stuff more easily trashed than fixed.” Aka Nightwing can hear inanimate objects. Aka Nightwing is probably being haunted by fast fashion and disposable packaging.

Man I really want him to meet Box Ghost so they can commiserate about the lack of respect paid to disposable products.