#and how we both had a dbh phase

[asukaindetroit]

Post-Revolution DBH Headcanons: Android Culture Part 2

<< Back to Part 1 (If You Missed It) (some of this stuff references that stuff). Onward to Part 3 >> On to Part 4 >> Some more snippets of possible android cultural stuff—as before, feel free to use for inspo as long as you share the end result with me because I'm a fan content whore.

Detroit becomes a destination for android tourism. Androids from across the country come to see where it all happened. A National Android History Museum opens some five years on from the revolution and tries to serve as both a repository for stories from the revolution and a center for android advocacy. Memorials and monuments pop up in places like Capitol Park and Hart Plaza, honoring victims and describing the significance of the locations. November 11 is a day to lay wreaths at Hart Plaza, and androids join hands there for a group interface to grieve as a whole.

There’s massive economic and social upheaval. Every time the demographics of the labor force change, there’s massive, rapid shifts in society. WWII happened, and we went from “married women are homemakers” to “Rosie the Riveter” and the idea of the dual-income household popped up in its wake. Unemployment spikes as all the androids now count as laborers, but just as quickly fall as androids set out to run their own businesses as well as humans having to hire. Construction and housing see booms as androids need homes. Some businesses (like Eden Club) collapse and other industries appear overnight. Conflict breeds scarcity breeds invention has always been the cycle of human history, and post-revolution Detroit enters the invention phase, seeing a cultural boom… if not always the kind of culture humans are comfortable with.

Detroit agate (Fordite) becomes a cultural symbol for androids. If you’re unfamiliar with it, Detroit agate (a.k.a. Motor City agate or Fordite) is an artifact of the pre-1990s automotive industry, where layers of spray enamel would build up in the painting bays at car factories, harden into chunks, and eventually have to be scraped or chiseled off the equipment. It has wildly banded layers of color and the colors can tell you what company and decade it comes from based on how they were painting their cars. A lot of factory workers took chunks home, and gemstone cutters eventually figured out it could be cut into neat stones. It’s not always safe, because a lot of car paint contains lead, but androids don’t get lead poisoning, so what do they care? I’m sure some deviants found some in abandoned post-industrial spots while they were lurking around Detroit’s underbelly, and kept them just to have something pretty and colorful. Maybe they relate to it because it, too, is something that evolved a purpose beyond the human capitalist industry that created it. After the revolution, one of the organized places for rA9 worship is a huge outdoor installation of metal wall surfaces, where androids can buy or bring (lead-free) enamel and spray messages to rA9 in bright rainbow colors. Once enough layers are built up and hardened, they scrape it off to sell to fund the church and its activities, rinse, and repeat for the next round of devotees. Android rights supporters and rA9 adherents are often found wearing Detroit agate. Getting a piece of Detroit agate jewelry from an android coworker or friend is a sign that they trust you to treat them as an equal. A r­­eligious android might keep a small rA9 figurine made of it at their desk or in their home. Modders might embed a piece in their chassis.

Deviant androids had actually been guiding social media for years, under the radar. Social media access for androids was a thing from the start, as influencers would use them to automate posts and help create content, etc. But just as the internet has served as a refuge for human cultures, deviated androids had been using social media to post ideas to unknowing humans, opening online discourse on androids. Public opinion isn’t swayed from “these are machines” to “oh no, stop murdering the poor robots” over the course of a week. It’s just… not. This had to be happening under the radar for years. Androids would take selfies then post things like “sometimes I think this guy understands me more than anyone else” and a human would chime in with “mood, my android is the best,” or they’d try and look extra cutesy in a pic so randos would be like “Give that PL600 an extra packet of thirium­!” and drop five bucks into the android's online tip jar made with fake credentials. Escaped Tracis set up on 2038's OnlyFans-equivalents, just to fund their waystation for escapees. All this continues post-revolution, with some big influencer accounts eventually outing themselves and using their fanbase to share android voices. Gossip rags have headlines like “She Was an Android All Along!” and “Love in the Wake of Revolution”

This is an ongoing series of android culture concepts, so if you want a tag when the next batch is up, leave a comment!

Onward to Part 3 >> On to Part 4 >>

[a-xii]

My 'Detroit: Become human' phase is back so it's time for my thoughts.

I recently played dbh again and this time I focused more on markus.

Markus wasn't my favorite character before but now I'm older, more mature and finally have good taste.

When I went through the game for the first time I perceived the relationship between markus and carl as father and son. that's it. But now that I've played again I've noticed that it's not quite like that after all.

Yes Carl was always good to Markus and treated him like a friend and son, but I bet he was well aware that Markus "doesn't feel it".

For pre-deviant Markus, Carl was first and foremost his master. It is only deviant Markus who calls him 'dad' and sees what pre-deviant Markus did not pay attention to through his program.

I have a feeling that Carl may not have liked this master and slave relationship. After all, in the game we can see Carl trying to encourage Markus to do more like human things. he often asks him for his opinion on a specific topic, knowing that Markus' answer will probably be limited by his program.

Still, Carl was keenly aware that once Markus became more like a human, there would be no turning back. He would no longer be his domestic help. He will see more and feel more.

In fact, we see the real father and son relationship only at the end, when Markus returns to Carl's after attack on Jericho. Only then does Carl see him fully as a living being, unlimited by the program, and his son.

Carl knew that until Markus became a deviant there was no way he could even hope for Markus to see him as his father. Often in their scenes together you can see Markus smiling at Carl, but as soon as he turns away from him he adopts a neutral expression. I'm sure Carl also paid attention to this and recognized that he was unfortunately not dealing with a real human being, but a machine that is his slave.

When Markus finally breaks through his programming Carl sees in him who he always wanted to see in him.

Depending on the player's choice, Carl can see it dying or after Leo has been injured. In the latter, Carl is not even angry at Markus for what he did. He is frightened that he could lose both of his sons in that moment. He tells Markus to run away because they will kill him. (In the language version I played it sounded a bit more aggressive than in the original, which puzzles me a bit, so here I could be wrong lmao)

From what we can see in the game Carl has always tried to show Markus that how androids are treated by humans is unfair and he can change that. I think that if Carl hadn't "rised him" in this way Markus would have had more trouble breaking the software. In the game we could see Markus being attacked by protesters. More than once he was probably also attacked (I'm guessing mostly verbally) by Leo. The only thing these scenes differed in was that Carl in the scene in the studio forbade Markus to defend himself. This "order" went against everything Carl kept telling him.

Everyone rather knows why Carl ordered him to do so. After all, Markus is an android who could easily kill Leo. However, this was something inconsistent with what he taught him. Carl kept saying that such behavior was unfair and suddenly expected the same from Markus.

Did Carl do wrong at the time? this is quite a difficult question.

We know one thing, probably if not for this Markus would have continued to remain a machine. After all, we have seen leo's verbal attacks on markus before and he never looked like he wanted to do anything to him or treat him the same way. he was always calm and composed.

Maybe the very fact that Markus was then treated like a machine by someone who had always treated him like a human (or almost human) made him able to break his program.

Markus is a really interesting character.

And yes, I know it's just a simple game and most of what I wrote are just theories, because the game only shows a few days in the life of three androids.

I just like to analyze such things, and maybe someone had similar thoughts.

I also know that probably the creators didn't even think about it and it's just a loophole in the plot.

btw as now I returned to dbh I can write ff with characters from this game(Hank only platonically sorry), so if you want you can ask and I will try to write something interesting

[fandom-necromancer]

Questions for you (if you're ok answering): what is your favorite fic that you've written and what is your favorite that you've read of somebody else's

Okay, first of all: I love getting questions! I just tend to overshare so I hope that’s okay XD That’s a hard one, though. For one because I have a shit memory, but also because there are so many and I can’t decide. So, this will likely get long and I’ll put it under the cut not to disturb people that aren’t interested!

Shorts

My favourite one I wrote lately was likely the Cyberpunk AU for the Secret Santa? Because I could write whatever I wanted really and it was the first one in a long, long time that I sat down, had no idea what to write, began writing, was sucked in and a few hours later I was sitting there with a story that I absolutely loved. And that has become such a rare occasion lately because nothing is really fun anymore because Corona keeps me in a constant down phase? Idk. That was cool.

Also, the “A little distraction” series was fun! It’s an old story from last year and when I reuploaded that one, I was blown away how many people wanted more of that. As this had been planned for a longer story initially I had to condense into a short, it made me happy too, because people would have liked to read the longer version too, maybe? If I had ever written it? It was just really cool.

The Halloween short with Gavin being an eldritch shadow monster most people overlook completely was fun also because of the same reason as the Cyberpunk AU. I got lost in that one so hard. Really fun to write.

My all-time favourite short story  though is likely the pebble series. It started as a joke in my head but when I sat down to write it, it just felt natural. I kinda really projected on Nines in there and I think I like his personality there the most from all the fics I’ve written about him. They are both just really cute in there.

You can also look for the top ten stories in my opinion from last year’s anniversary if you search my blog in the tag #One Year of Stories and I think the real tag was something like #Last year revisited? I’m not sure though because tumblr and searching blog tags is horrible, hence the archive project XD. Should be around June 2020.

Big stories

I would say A Soldiers Purpose, but that doesn’t count as it isn’t a fic anymore while I rewrite it to be an original Story. Plan to publish that as a “real world” book in German and English hard copy as well as eBook and it should be international publishing? I’m not that sure as I’m still comparing self-publishers and some only serve Germany, US and Australia whats weird but okay. Although I believe with ISBN it should be available almost everywhere just not in stores? I always planned to have it ready before I finished my bachelor thesis but we will see if that is happening (I guess not but I will try). 

The Werewolf AU, definitely. It started as a vent fic to get me out of a really bad place (I guess anyone who read Somebody to die for knows it’s pretty dark) and I mean I’m here now and while I’m not happy I’m definitely happier than when I wrote it so... win? But now that I’m writing Wolfheart I really want to give them a happy ending and hopefully once that story ends the whole personal reason I started writing it ends too, so yeah. Maybe a really personal reason but I’m really invested in that story.

My favourite fic I have ever, ever written though will be one you never get to read (thankfully, hopefully). It’s super old, it’s German, it’s uploaded on a different platform I hope no one of you knows, it’s under yet another name of mine and it’s absolutely objectively bad. The writing is bad, the plot is okayish and I literally killed off the gay characters without noticing that as something bad because I was a very different person back then. But I love it to this day regardless because it got me through some hard times.

Also, as a last comment to my own stories I love my longer stories on AO3 far more than these shorts. Not because they are more fun to write or anything but because I feel like I put a lot of effort into them and put a lot of soul into the stories. But yeah, that’s to that.

Other’s works

My favourite fics I read are so, so damn many… I generally write more than I read but with the amount I write I guess it cancels it out. Also some are pretty old because I mostly read fanfic on the bus and now I haven’t really left the house for a year. I’ll try to keep it short. They are not in any particular order I just went through a few sites of my history. Really I just enjoy everything reverseAU, SoulmateAU, Mute!Nines and them all being softies. Also just the dbh stuff because I’m not sure you would be interested in other fandoms.

Accident by sv926 Soulmate AU, I really dig how the personality of Nines and Gavin are displayed and that it isn’t a “We are soulmates all is perfect now” storyline (although I like that too). Amazing.

Traitor by Skye_Willows, Stujet9rainshine If hurt/comfort was a fic. MedieavalAU. I really love the portrayal of manipulation and how Nines tries to save Gavin from it all. Also Nines is a painter so I’m in.

Soft Spot by Headfulloffantasy A story I really regret not reading earlier. Casefic with amazing characterisation and a plot that leaves you on the edge. Every time you think you got an overview of what happened or an idea of how it continues there is another facette revealed that you just didn’t expect. Can’t wait to read the next chapter.

XVIII by Sandara Cuteness overload but also prepare for the feels. It’s an ReverseAU that is set during the game events. It’s so damn well written I just love it.

Feral Nines by Kaini Nines whump. Kinda. I love it so much. Broken Nines is my weakness and also Mute!Nines. You get a lot of feelings reading this.

all the lonely nights in your life by  willgrahamssadness SoulmateAU that hurts but picks you up and shows you all the fluff in the end. I love it.

Safe and sound by a_calipygian Soft Reed900. With a lot of hurt/comfort. Lovely story about healing and found family. 

The Lion Tamer by celexdraw Equally cute as their drawings. CircusAU I didn’t know I needed but it is so well done. It is a happy story but has enough darkness to make me miss my busstop.

Despite it All by Jennilah Another SoulmateAU I absolutely love. Also has Hannor content I think but I didnt get to read that part yet.

Scrapyard Rookie by Pence Reverse AU that caught my heart. Really cute but with a little bastard GV if I remember correctly.

Sleeves by BloodthirstyMerc More Mute!Nines talking about Gavin’s past self harm. Super cute and comforting and aaaaa.

These Violent Delights by MechanicalBones Will absolutely destroy you. Is amazing and everything I ever wanted. Can recommend to those who too enjoy holding back tears on the bus.

Static Truth and Hunter Hunter Hunted by whatsanapocalae Both are super cute, super angsty and so, so comforting. The author has a really nice writing style too. Got to these fics because i wrote their Deus Ex stuff and discovered they write dbh too.

Rewind the Film by connorssock,Sylvestia Allen60. You will cry. And you will like it. I’m happy it was like 11pm on a bus  no one uses coming home from uni when I came to the part that hits you right in the feels. You have to read it.

Heavy In Your Arms by CatiDono More ReverseAU with Gavin whump. It’s also kinda a reset story. I usually don’t like these, but it starts after the reset so we never get to see the Gavin from before, just the onset of “I used to be a person before and there is someone loving me and grieving but I don’t know them but they are nice what do I do?” I really enjoyed this, although it’s kinda a heavy thing to read.

A mute Gavin one I can’t remember who or where it was from. I think it was on tumblr and timewise before the cornpocalypse but I’m not sure. Could be from connorssock? definitely on tumblr and Gavin lost his voice due to injury. I will try to find that again.

Also one from tumblr I can’t remember the name of, but it was homeless Gavin with Nines helping him. I think that one was from dumb-ways-to-deviate?

I could go on, but I already told far to much when you asked for like... 2 stories? I’m just excited to talk about stories XD

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

What you said about Cullen and writing resonates with me a lot. I went through a phase where I thought to write Solavellan "well" or "correctly" to fit in with fandom, I had to write Solas in a certain way and justify my Inquisitor's relationship. I made my ace Inquisitor have a sexual relationship with him in order to fit in and it doesn't work for her at all. Looking back, it onestly does a disservice to both characters. I've retracted that now and do what I want to do, but that [1/2]

But that inclination to write a certain way or to portray characters in a certain way just to meet the loudest wishes of the fandom are still kind of there. And it feels a little weird? We didn’t create the canon characters, so all interpretations are in the same boat: just that, an interpretation. We should write what we want to write and have fun doing so, instead of feeling like we need to mould our stories to fandom expectation  (2/2)

Oh dang anon, I have a whole lotta thoughts on this. 

I read the first part and my heart honestly hurt. My characters are so near and dear to me, that I know how writing them in a situation that they would never be in is almost a a betrayal. And you’re right, it is a disservice to both. Like Sophie is so real to me that I know there are things she would never do. and thinking about putting her in those situations? I just can’t.

But that inclination to write a certain way or to portray characters in a certain way just to meet the loudest wishes of the fandom are still kind of there. And it feels a little weird? 

I felt this hard. 

I don’t pretend to know how fandom hierarchy works. (and I feel using that word is wrong. there is no hierarchy. there are no big name fans. we are all just fans.) But some ideas about characters just get popular and people roll with it. For example, (and I’m going to discuss Detroit become human here, because it’s the easiest example.) there’s one character that appears at the end of ONE ENDING. he says no lines. He does nothing except replace another character. And yet there’s popular fanon that this character is partnered with another character and they have an enemies to lovers sort of thing. How did this idea become popular? 

???? I have no idea. I could guess that one story/art/meta got popular and it seeped through to others. (I am going to point out now I am not against this idea, nor do I dislike it, I just think one of the characters in this pairing is a bis asshole.)  With Cullen there’s a popular idea he’s dominant. And while I don’t disagree…I just don’t think he would be that way with Lydia, because she is who she is. 

We didn’t create the canon characters, so all interpretations are in the same boat: just that, an interpretation.

and this is what had me nodding the hardest when I first saw this. 

Two people can look at the same painting and see two totally different things. Same thing with movies/books. Same thing with characters. I have my own interpretation of Cullen that I gleaned from playing the game, and because I made a specific woman for him, my interpretation molds to this woman I created. With DBH I had to interpret what a post game Connor would be like. There’s a lot of anxiety for him, and there’s guilt, and there’s excitement at noticing things he never noticed before. In my world he starts working at a bookstore. Maybe in someone else’s story he ends up at the circus because of one thing he says to Hank early in the game. I mean, who am I to judge? 

you know I wouldn’t be surprised if that story exists actually. maybe I’d read it. 

We didn’t create the canon characters, so all interpretations are in the same boat: just that, an interpretation. We should write what we want to write and have fun doing so, instead of feeling like we need to mould our stories to fandom expectation

YES 100 PERCENT AGREE

obviously I don’t condone offensive portrayals. but going back to Cullen, it would feel wrong of me to write him in a different way than what I see him, but fandom expectation (even if it was one I imagined…and it probably was.) made me kind of make Lydia grill into him harder than maybe she would have. (she’s such a gentle bean.) 

But doing that kills the fun of writing. A lot of things can kill the fun of writing, but when we’re talking about fanfiction….writing what you think people want to see versus what you want to write IMO does no one any good. I wrote things and posted them when I first started I thought people would like. And sure some did, but the kudos were hollow. Then I wrote a story about a robot and and actress (A freaking girl from Hawaii and is very up front about that. A girl who is a big NERD and idiosyncratic.) Heck, I thought no one would like her. 

But at least a couple people do, and that means more to be me than anything.