#hcsbyohko

[fandombydaylight]

The Entity H.C.s

·       The Entity is a biological organism similar to a tree, and the killers/survivors are the nutrients feeding its roots as it tries to grow strong enough to break into our realm.

·   It doesn't 'watch' like an animal would, and isn't generally aware of what is going on outside of trials. Trials are also one of the only times it 'speaks' coherent thoughts to the killers. Even then, it is less like it is talking to them, and more like they are experiencing what it is feeling, with great clarity.

·   Both the survivors and killers are so far beneath it, it doesn’t pay any attention as long as they are performing trials, and not doing anything outside of them to jeopardize the emotional payoff during them. i.e. a killer attacking the campfire area in between trials would get punished, because if the survivors don't have a safe spot, how would they hold onto their hope? Killers can still make it to that area, however.

·   It has so many pockets under its control, a person or two wandering through realms they have no business being in, or talking to people they have no business talking to doesn't even blip its radar. Even if it were to notice something happening, it isn't thinking critically about the situation, and if it's not something that requires immediate intervention, it won't react or remember.

·   It's possible to draw its attention to you, but it requires a large amount of strong emotion that is VERY noticeable, from a group of people, and out of the ordinary.

The headcanon that the Entity’s “real form” is some kind of tree-like creature was adopted from @raycats; she’s also got the best Herman Carter headcanons around, go check her out!

[fandombydaylight]

Headcanon Preferences

I was talking to @trashyslashers about Dead by Daylight headcanons the other night, and that got me thinking about people having a pretty clear preference for either the fluffy, friendly stuff, or the darker, gritty version.  I came to conclude that the fandom tends to fall roughly into one of three types of set-ups for the characters:

Outside of trials, most characters get along, with the killers and survivors interacting freely, often hanging out together in between trials.

Outside of trials, the killers and survivors do not usually interact positively, but each group is largely friends with each other; the killers may or may not have their own campfire as well.

Survivors for the most part are on friendly terms with each other, but killers are not only directly antagonistic towards them, but also (with some possible exceptions) towards each other.

It’s a sliding scale of angst, with the third option definitely being the bleakest, but from what I have seen the most popular is option number two. I get it too, people are interested in the characters, and having the characters interact, and the second type is the “pg-13” to one and three’s “G” and “R” respectively; it’s a middle ground. For me though, the progression from one down to three is also a sliding scale of how interested I am/how much I agree with said headcanons, and the reason for that is because of the genre.

Dead by Daylight is a Horror game; the setting is bleak, the characters have pretty awful backstories, and what lore we have reinforces that every single character is having a bad time. With Horror, there are certain aspects that go hand in hand like an underlying sense of fear and uncertainty, characters trying their best but STILL being affected by the trauma of their circumstances, etc, and when I see media that glosses over all of that my first thought is, this isn’t the same base story anymore. It may use the characters and the setting, but Horror isn’t Horror just because there’s some blood and maybe once in a while there’s a reference to death; Horror for me effects the entire feeling of the work, most crucially the character’s mindsets.

Overall, I like positive stories, but for them to be satisfying here there has to be a struggle to get to that state, the characters need to overcome the things that come from being in the Horror setting; isolation(physical or mental), terror, stress, repression, rage, apathy, basically any negative emotion you can name.  A character slowly forming a bond with a person that has lost most of the traits we think of as human, and is actively engaged in murdering a lot of people all the time, is much more enjoyable (and realistic tbh) than a killer immediately being friendly because they are totally healthy, stable people outside of trials.

Maybe it’s me being a picky old edgelord, but I like characters that have a lot of depth to them, and killers in DbD fanon in particular being able to instantly form social bonds and behave like your cool new neighbor? That really flattens them out for me; the survivors and killers are distinct groups of people for clear behavioral reasonings. A lot of interpretations of killers file off the sharp, unpleasant points to their personalities, and leave them soft & bland. Much better if, yeah, they are pretty much in the worst spot of their lives & have the social skills/companionship capacity to show for it, but are capable of healing and BECOMING the functional person you want them to be in the end.

I am a big fan of the “Everyone can be better” rhetoric, and I especially like it when applied to “bad” characters. The Good Place put into words something I have loved as a concept, but not thought about concisely, which is Chidi’s quote that ends,”I argue that we choose to be good because of our bonds with other people, and our innate desire to treat them with dignity. Simply put, we are not in this alone.”

You wanna ship a killer and a survivor, or have two killers treat each other like family? Go nuts, heck yeah that sounds awesome!! Heal someone with extended love and affection? Boy I die!! People learn to support and rely on each other, and make things just a little bit better for themselves in the process? YESSIR!!  Having it kick off from the start with sunshine and rainbows…. well, let’s just say not my cup of tea.

I like to think about these headcanons similarly to the “oh boy, two cakes” analogy i’m sure most people have seen by now, but with an added “sweetness” factor. When I am consuming fan-content that is set in a piece of horror media, I do not usually want something too sickly-sweet because then, why bother going for Horror in the first place? At the same time, I am a soft loser with a deep love for fluff at heart, and if it’s just straight, bitter angst, I have a hard time stomaching it; but again, since it’s Horror, I prefer it to fall much more toward the bitter/balanced than the sugary. Of the three categories, one and two both fall towards the “too sweet 4 me” end, even if number two is technically in the middle it still Disney-fies the killers more than I enjoy.

At the end of the day though, free cake is free cake?? I just can’t bring myself to eat very much of the sweet stuff before needing to take a breather and have something else.

[fandombydaylight]

The Nurse's Age

Sally Smithson is in her early 40's, at youngest, but I'm gonna pick 44 for my headcanon age.

My basis for this is as follows:

- Teenage marriage was not as common in the early 1900s as we are lead to believe nowadays, but even if she WAS only 18 when first marrying her late husband, the lore states that they were not only married long enough to move to a new town together, but for Andrew to build them a house (implied on his own). That could not have been a full-time gig, since he had to work to support them as well, which extends the timeframe even further; two years is a reasonable amount considering tools/tech of the period.

- Even if Sally had just hit 20 when Andrew died, the lore then says that she worked at Crotus Penn for at least 2 decades, with possibly an extra year or two on top of that. This is where we do math, bear with me.

20(age @ minimum) + 20(years employed @ minimum) = 40(age @ minimum, again)

- She is an almost middle-aged woman, whose personal and professional lives were both intensely stressful, and ultimately lead to her breakdown & abduction into the Fog.

What is my point to all of this?

I Had Best Be Seeing Some Wrinkes on Sally Smithson's Face, Y'all.

[fandombydaylight]

Wraith H.C.s #4

·       Impossible to say what is an original Philip O. personality trait dialed up to 12, and what is a result of being warped by the Entity & stuck in the realm for so long, but he has a host of animalistic & antisocial behaviors. Exhibit A is: He's a predator, and he enjoys it. He gets genuine pleasure out of next to nothing, but is thrilled by the aspect of the hunt and chase. The kill is a necessary next step to please the Entity, but he is unemotional about it unless pissed off.

·       Sinister vibes most of the time, one of the more unsettling killers to run across outside of trials. Even if he isn't angry and looking to hack someone up, he will absolutely stalk survivors out on expeditions/supply runs just to see them panic and run. Likes to make sure they catch a glimpse of his eyes glowing in the fog before vanishing.

·       Very territorial about certain things, and depending on mood. Will occasionally sit back and allow survivors to search Autohaven for supplies when he catches them, but is creepy about it. Will mess with their heads to make them unsure whether or not he is there; ringing the bell once, as softly as he can while standing still to make them think they're hallucinating it, letting them catch a glimpse of shimmer as he moves one time and one time only, knocking over minor objects, etc. Accidentally going near a place that contains info about what happened there, anything about who he was before the Wraith, or a couple areas he considers private means you dead, boy. Taking flashlights also gets you killed, but most of the time he just chases the survivors he finds away, and calls it a day.

[fandombydaylight]

Wraith H.C.s #5

It’s romance time, babey; welcome to slowburn town.

The only thing a survivor can do to get him to take notice of them as an individual is something so shocking/unexpected that he reacts emotionally before he can stop himself.

It would take a number of hits of this from the same person before they started registering in his mind as a Certified Human Being, but from there it is a slow and inevitable landslide of growing interest coupled with a mental wrestling match between his resurfacing humanity and his desperation to keep things the way they were, therefore simple.

There is no immediate attraction from this man, it's all a painfully awkward slowburn. For reference, think Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, his internal monologue is "nonononononononnNO" even as he starts seeking out their company, intervening when other killers go after them outside of trials, and caring deeply about whether or not they are happy; then it's too late. He's in love, binch, and doesn't know what to do with himself about it.

Still participates in trials though, because even though the Entity doesn't 'monitor' what's happening in the realm in the sense that it's actively aware and watching at all times, too much odd activity during trials might draw its attention to the point that it would start to notice something going on, and he won't risk long term co-existence for a few fewer deaths. Despite this being his default response if asked, he has been known to 'not be able to find them' long enough for them to find the hatch or make it to the gate on occasion. Unless he's riled up and on the hunt, then sorry, you might be dead before his thought processes can even catch up.

Will not mori his object of interest, ever. If he's aware enough to have romantic feelings, he's aware enough to not be willing to hack the focus of those feelings into survivor-strips.

If his crush is upset after a trial that ends poorly, doesn't matter if it was his or not, he will sit and hold them for as long as they want, tracing little symbols they don't understand on every inch of exposed skin.

[fandombydaylight]

Could I request Adiris/The Plague with a s/o that has a weaker immune system but even though they should be in bed rest will not, literally for the life of them, stop or slow down. I just love her so much and she's so beautiful XD

I have to preface this with we ARE talking about a woman who hacked off her own toe in hopes that the gods would stave off a lady’s rapidly advancing organ failure, so it’s safe to say that Adiris has no idea what an immune system is.

Also kudos to whatever insane lengths this s/o went through get get Adiris to redirect some of her devotion towards them, as opposed to her religion.

- Not sure why they are so often falling ill, but refuses to believe that they could have done something to anger the gods enough to cause this. Her suspicion is that someone is cursing you, so I hope s/o likes jewelry because they are going to be COVERED in protective charms at all times.

- Being exposed to as many people in various stages of illness as Adiris has, she’s really got a knack for spotting when s/o is at that stage where they either need to take a nap, or they’re gonna pass out on the ground. She’ll gently try to steer them towards resting, but if that fails, she is absolutely willing to drug them with laced incense.

- She’s very clever, and will take any opportunity to trick them into resting by getting them to spend time with her, and partake in rousing activities such as:

+Meditation!

+Scrying to divine the god’s intentions!

+Ointment crafting! (She gathered the herbs already, good try though)

[fandombydaylight]

Wraith H.C.s #3

·       Suffers from partial vocal cord paralysis on account of the tree bark texture affecting his throat. Can make a wide range of roars/growls/etc with ease, and sounds /awful/ trying to talk. Also affects his breathing, and causes the strangled sound.

·   When communicating, if body language and what is essentially charades fails, or if he is trying to communicate something complex, he will string together short sentences and/or individual words to clarify.

·   Only done as a last resort or out of desperation, as his thickened vocal cords get strained while trying to talk, and trying too often will leave him unable to speak at all until they heal.

·   Actually emotes pretty hard with his shoulders, head, and hand motions once he starts thinking like a person again. Face stays pretty blank unless he is feeling strongly about something though.

[fandombydaylight]

Wraith H.C.s #2

Philip Ojomo

Age & Ethnicity: 30 - 35, he’s not entirely sure. He was born in the poverty-stricken residential area of Mushin, outside of Lagos Metropolitan area, Lagos State, Nigeria, and there is no official record of his birth. Ethnically Yoruba, and speaks Yoruba as a first language.

History: Learned how to fix small electronics, eventually making his way up to vehicle repair, as a way to make ends meet. Picked up English during transactions, as it’s the preferred language for education and business in Nigeria. After losing his family and friends over the years to disease and violence, he scraped together everything of value he had & paid his way to North America.

Azarov paid him under the table in cash, and he rented a small garage apartment down the road from the scrapyard from an elderly woman who didn’t have any family left either. Philip didn’t interact with her much, but secretly checked in on how she was doing from time to time.

With his already quiet nature, a fear of being discovered and deported, and not to mention no small amount of culture-shock, Philip didn’t get out of his apartment besides errands and work. It’s not to say he wasn’t lonely, but the idea of going out and trying to make connections was so overwhelming that he tried to convince himself that he was better off this way.

Year Taken to Entity's Realm: 1985

[fandombydaylight]

This isn't really a headcanon so much as a "it's my fanon and I make the rules", but.

Philip's plywood-pancake ass is officially getting filed away as a tragic relic of an early-stage model; the Philip Ojomo in my heart has enough muscle back there to give it a nice shape.

[fandombydaylight]

Wraith H.C.s #1

·       Emotionally shut down in order to perform trials & not get thrown in the void.

·       Did resist at first hence his monstrous traits, but with his life being as rough as it was, he was just so tired that he decided it wasn't worth trying to protect strangers, to his own detriment, when they would just suffer at someone else's hands anyway.

·       Has actively been avoiding thinking of survivors as individuals ever since, or introspecting at all, in order to convince himself that he's okay with his situation. There are many levels of denial at work here, and he's been at it so long that the real Philip Ojomo is WAY down there, to the point where it will take serious effort to bring him back out.

·       MASSIVE anger problems as a result of this repression, and the events with Azarov; when he isn't blankly going about his business(80% of the time) he's fukkin pissed, mate. Mostly at everything that has happened to him + his life at present, but takes this rage out on survivors.

[fandombydaylight]

Misc Entity’s  Realm H.C.s

·       It's possible to 'glitch' out of the Entity’s grasp, which is not a good thing. It doesn't know where you are, can't see you, can't call you to trial, etc, but you can die for realzies, so it's not a good trade off when you're still stuck in its realm.

· The glitch is essentially that person being permastuck in 'loading' mode between two pockets, not fully in either one. Being grabbed out of a hatch a split second after a survivor 'makes it' down into the tunnels, but a split second before their body registers as clear from the trial pocket is a way to do this. The timing is nearly impossible to hit correctly, and requires the killer to practically dive into the hatch themselves. Since most are intelligent and capable of rational thought, they are aware that trying to follow a survivor into a hatch is a good way for them to get very, very hurt, this isn't even a potential danger from any but the most out-of-control killers.

·   Only way discovered to fix it is to make it through a trial without dying, and through the exit door or hatch. Not fun, SCREAMINGLY difficult to accomplish.

Inspired in part by Dr. Tanner’s Oddfellows, check it out on AO3!

[fandombydaylight]

Communication in The Fog

- There isn't a language barrier per se, due to the Entity's desire to have the survivors bond and work together (so it can get that sweet, sweet emotion fix).

- Nuance is not something the Entity is good at though, so the universal comprehension effects both survivors AND killers.

- This only effects conscious attempts to communicate out loud however, exceptions are situations like:

1. Repressed or non-existent language skills, ex. The Huntress, the Hillbilly, and the Hag. This isn't to say they can't learn/regain the ability to talk to others, but that's for another headcanon post entirely. ;)

2. Killers that are in such a heightened emotional state that they aren't really even "thinking", ex. The Spirit.

3. Mouth.exe is broken, having a hard time vocalizing, ex. The Wraith, The Nurse, The Doctor. They can (and often do) find other ways to communicate, IF they are so inclined.

Grunts, growls, and other non-human language noises do not translate, even if a killer does mean something specific by them.

It is possible to tell when someone is speaking a language that you don't understand though, as long as you are watching the other person's mouth. Much like dubbed movies, the mouth movements will not totally line up with what you understand them to be saying, because they are still technically speaking in their own language. Gets a little trippy sometimes.

[fandombydaylight]

Realms and Trials

·       There are many different sets of killers and survivors who are typically separate, but can run across each other occasionally. Killer's realm-pockets are permanent once created, and even if they wind up in the Void their territory can still be found and raided. 

 ·     Survivors and killers can't get too far from their 'home base' realm pockets, because returning from a trial always drops you back there, and there is only so much time between trials.

·       Time between trials is highly variable for both Killers and Survivors. It could be minutes, it could be hours, but it tops out at a few days. No one is sure what causes the Entity to pick the survivors/killers it does each time.

First paragraph was inspired by @raycats and events in her great DocFeng fic, "Dark Noise".

[fandombydaylight]

Killer’s Social Tendencies H.C.s

·       By nature, the killers are not friendly like the survivors are, and do not group together the same way. To be able to kill people as brutally, and as often as they do, they tend to either be:

·   Unstable or animalistic - Most fall here. (Ex. Nurse, Hag)

·   Resigned to it or apathetic (Ex. Trapper, Wraith)

·   Just Plain Fucking Awful (Ex. Clown, Nightmare)

·       These traits don't make for very social, well-balanced people, and with few exceptions killers tend to stick to their own territory.

·   They are typically aware of the other killers in their general set though, simply because they have often been there on a longer timescale than the survivors, and have run across each other despite antisocial tendencies.

[fandombydaylight]

Called to Trial H.C.s

The fog will come and envelop a survivor if it is Trial Time, there is no getting out of it, no matter where they are.

Killers on the other hand simply feel the Entity calling them, and can hold out if they choose. The longer they do this though, the greater the risk of angering it, causing it to torture them in response, and then move them to the trial just like it does to survivors.

[fandombydaylight]

Oh alright! Then uh.... what kinda yandere would Jake Park and Quentin Smith be? And I don’t mean for each other, just like, in general, if they were yandere...? I know that’s super confusing, if it’s too specific then you don’t have to answer or anything

Haha, i’m sorry, I think I might have been confusing with my answer earlier!

It’s the “Imagine how this character would be if they were X” kinda stuff i’m NOT particularly interested in, and I don’t see any DbD character as being a straight up yandere.

However! Some yandere-ish traits I could see them having:

Quentin Smith

- A sweet boy, and means well, but might ignore what his love interest says they want in favor of doing what he thinks will help them the most. He is young though, and empathetic enough that he will see their side of things after a heart to heart conversation, and cuts this behavior out.

Jake Park

- He was comfortable dropping the modern life on its butt to go be Robinson Crusoe(minus the tropical island), and all the people and social interaction that came with it, so if he’s interested in spending time with someone, then it’s really saying a lot. That being said, he’s EXTREMELY quick to jealousy if the person of interest wants to/is already hanging out with somebody else at the time, and isn’t willing to drop them on a dime for him. He’s ashamed of it though, and reacts by secluding himself until he is either sought out, or realizes he misses them too much to keep sulking in the woods.