#he was optimized for perception specifically lmao

[nejackdaw]

Fondly thinking about my fucked up, paranoid warlock again. I put everything I had into perception. He had eyes in the back of his head. His passive perception ended up being 25 by the time the campaign ended (semi prematurely, but at a good ending point.) The DM would ask for a party wide check and it never stopped being funny when I heard, "okay MOORE, you're the only one who notices--" fuck yeah he does. That's the whole point of him. There was ONE time that a 25 wasn't high enough but that 27 was. I see no god up here. I see everything else though

[put-them-thangs-away]

while i figure that out, not sure if anyone has done it yet, but i want to do a little dive into the basics of the tarot cards used in this jack & joker episode, now that i actually have a moment and can do more than just the basic off the top of my head readings. i’ll be using the golden thread tarot deck mostly because i like how concise it is and also its more accessible to me right now underneath my sleeping dog than my shelf of decks in my room lmao. this is gonna be,,,, real long probably so all the details will be under the cut, if you wanna join me for my rambling:

fun little sidenote before i get started: when i went to begin discussing why i love the use of tarot and nang’s characterization specifically, my card of the day that i drew was the Queen of Swords which is like 100000% The Nang Card™️ lol [complexity, perceptive, clear mindedness etc.]

“a woman of immense complexity, sometimes considered cold-hearted, but also sharp of mind and wit, independent and possessing great powers of organization and analysis.” i won’t go down the rabbit hole of sword suits as a whole bc that’s not the point of this post and so far the show hasn’t gone into minor arcana, so i’m just gonna say HMMMMM very inch resting timing,,,,, anyways,,,

now, of course i have to start with joke’s card and its myriad of double meanings. in just about any piece of media, if you see The Fool card it should automatically be flagged as a red herring. it’s meant for you to look at it and take it at face value based on the words and image…. much like our four little idiots did when first shown their cards. like JOKE YOU GOT THE FOOL BECAUSE YOU’RE A DUMBASS LOL! and he’s the joker so of course he would also be the fool, yes? unfortunately for our little baby clown, the actual symbolism of the card is childlike innocence and naivety, often to their own detriment. it speaks of blank slates, new beginnings, and the start of a journey. “he does not know the dangers that can beset him during his travels, and thus he stumbles forward with complete optimism, never suspecting that he may be walking in a thin tight rope.” oof yikes. sound familiar? nang rly read that boy for filth huh,,,, aside from the obvious heavy handed post-prison clean slate, we’ve also got the metaphor connected to jack’s forgiveness and starting their relationship over. there’s a lot more to be said here as well about how naive joke can be when thinking he’s doing the right thing and that his choices are for the sake of someone else, without clearly seeing the consequences their may be for that person as a result of his actions. at the risk of Never Shutting Up About It, i will have to make myself move on.

i’ll get into tattoo’s card next because it’s really interesting to me that he was assigned The World, which I kind of would have thought would be a card assigned to jack instead. i see what they were going for in this episode with it, i think, but it felt a bit shallow in comparison, so there may be more in relation to this that we have yet to see. as The Fool is the first card (0) in the major arcana, The World is the final card (21). this card symbolizes an ending of a cycle of life, specifically before the beginning of a new cycle of life. it’s an indicator of major and inescapable change. throughout this episode, we see the shift in tattoo’s heart and priorities being held up in comparison to their past heist through some pretty straightforward parallels, so from that angle, The World makes perfect sense. (especially since one reading of The World when in reverse is inertia & stagnation) tattoo wanting to run in and save joke when he thinks he’ll be caught in the heist is our window in to see The World changing. that being said i find it interesting that this card would be chosen for him since it sort of,,,, kickstarts the journey for The Fool and is generally somewhat,,,, final. so i’m just reeeaaaalllllyyyy hoping that this does not mean tattoo has to actually end his cycle in any way other than metaphorical for the other to continue. the man has grown on me, what can i say? 😭 we’re just gonna ignore all those warning bells in my head and choose to go with the “accomplishment and fulfillment from both inner and outer sources” reading. yup.

then we’ve got arun, whose card is The Moon, which is double fun because arun’s name means dawn/sunrise. there’s a lot of meaning that could be extrapolated here, but based on tattoo’s card seeming on surface level to be about the state of his heart and his involvement in this little found family, i’m going to guess that arun’s is the same. The Moon card symbolizes intuition, the unconscious, illusion, and deception. it can be read as a signal of something being not as it appears, a truth you cannot admit to yourself, instincts that we have buried in our unconscious, among other things. this card being chosen for arun actually actively makes me more nervous than tattoo getting The World lol. if we choose to read it at surface value, could just be that in this heist he had to follow intuition, and got himself turned around in the process (eagle statue etc), or just generally that he did not previously appear capable, but here he is helping this mission be pulled off. with the opening scene of arun crying about missing his dad and that,,,, not really getting resolved actually,,,,,, that makes me wonder about some alternate reading options, but like,,,,,, i don’t want to. so. Simply going to close my eyes on that one! no thanks!

then of course there’s everyone favourite head empty good boy, hoy, who was assigned The Star card. out of all the card readings, this boy got the most straightforward one and i’m trying not to read too much into that since they were all assigned by nang and my brain hasn’t quite caught up to [handwaves] whatever she and hoy have got going on over there. this card is symbolic of faith, optimism, and hope. so….. yeah hoy in a nutshell. not a whole lot more to add in there.

skipping The Heirophant card and The Tower card to come back to later because i have Some Theories there and they may make more sense after i go back and rewatch a few things

ANYWAYS if you read to the end of this thank you and i’m sorry please feel free to yell at me about it

[pryings]

Character Deepdive

NAME: knoll

BODY

height: 166cm

strength ☆★☆☆☆ (unremarkable in every regard—has some physical frailties exhibited in his low defense and choice of magic as a weapon, but has some resilience to him despite that, a spiritual strength which lends itself well to the handling of dark tomes)

dexterity ☆☆★☆☆ (mediocre but not terrible skill and speed bases/growths, all considered, not hopeless but nothing to write home about)

health ☆★☆☆☆ (does not take care of himself, prone to overexertion, suffers dark magic physical/mental tolls, would not be at the peak of physical performance even under optimal circumstances but... he's not on death's door either)

energy ☆☆★☆☆ (exerts energy on things he deems either interesting or worthwhile, will not exert energy on anything else)

beauty ☆☆★☆☆ (average? does not care much about his own appearance, takes care of his hygiene generally but does not rank his own looks high and does not feel strongly about appearance; that said, he isn't ugly at all and has a unique charm to him if you're into that sort of thing)

style ★☆☆☆☆ (floor-dragging robes, minimal adornments, hides as much of himself as he can in the most obfuscating clothing possible... he isn't taking home any style points even though i personally think he looks cute)

hygiene ☆☆★☆☆ (he keeps himself pretty clean! ... but is prone to focusing so hard on a task or project that he might forget to leave a single room for hours to even a few days at a time, so this really dependent on timing)

SKILLS

perception ☆☆☆★☆ (good at focusing on the world around him, not great at focusing on individual people and their actions)

communication ☆★☆☆☆ (can get a theory or an idea across very eloquently! good at sharing information with others, especially after working with them for a long time! puts his foot in his mouth when speaking to people he doesn't know very well, if he speaks at all...)

persuasion ☆☆★☆☆ (he will tell you what you want to hear)

mediation ★☆☆☆☆ (pensive emoji)

literacy ☆☆☆☆★ (very book-smart. prone to using complex words others might not understand unintentionally. can read and understand ideas quickly)

creativity ☆☆☆★☆ (has a mind for unique ideas that others might not think of, this made him good support for lyon's research...)

cooking ☆★☆☆☆ (makes things to his own tastes, which are a bit bland. his food is edible, but nobody is asking him to cook if someone else is available)

combat ☆☆★☆☆ (holds his own. but there are better players on the field, aren't there?)

survival ☆☆☆★☆ (surprisingly resilient for a dead man who's wandered too far from his own grave...)

stealth ☆☆★☆☆ (quiet, unobtrusive... but not trained for it specifically, no)

street smarts ☆★☆☆☆ (he isn't totally incompetent but this really isn't a strong suit)

seduction ★☆☆☆☆ (lmao)

luck ☆☆☆☆☆ (dump stat)

handling animals ★☆☆☆☆ (can not promote to a mounted class, and i think animals find him off-putting)

pacifying children ★☆☆☆☆ (teenagers he can talk to, but young kids are an enigma)

MIND

intelligence ☆☆☆☆★ (in terms of traditional intelligence, his emotional intelligence would be a 2/5 however)

happiness ★☆☆☆☆ (nothing to smile about in his life)

spirituality ☆☆☆☆☆ (insert natasha support chain)

confidence ☆☆★☆☆ (generally in his abilities! but spends a lot of time doubting his actual... actions)

humor ★☆☆☆☆ (his ass is NOT funny)

anxiety ☆★☆☆☆ (reasonable levels)

patience ☆☆☆★☆ (calm, patient, thoughtful in every action)

passion ☆☆★☆☆ (not an outward expresser of this sort of thing, but fervent belief in the sanctity of knowledge, what can be learned, his work, his nation, his prince... that drove everything he's ever done)

nice         ☆★☆☆☆     mean

brave       ☆☆★☆☆     cowardly

pacifist     ☆★☆☆☆     violent 

thoughtful ★☆☆☆☆    impulsive 

agreeable ☆☆★☆☆     contrary

idealistic   ☆☆★☆☆     pragmatic

frugal        ★☆☆☆☆     big spender

extrovert   ☆☆☆☆★     introvert

collected   ★☆☆☆☆     wild

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist

SOCIAL

charisma ☆★☆☆☆ (too quiet to be too charismatic... but sometimes he has his moments)

empathy ☆☆★☆☆ (prone to acting based on others' feelings above his own...)

generosity ☆☆★☆☆ (grado and prince lyon must come first... but he has room in his heart to share knowledge beyond that)

wealth ☆★☆☆☆ (i'm sure they paid him for the unethical research...)

honest   ☆☆★☆☆ deceptive (perfectly balanced)

leader   ☆☆☆☆★   follower (does not want to decide anything for himself. give him a project and set him loose)

polite     ☆★☆☆☆  rude (exactly as polite as he must be, never overly so)

political ☆☆☆★☆  indifferent (only involved in things he needs to be involved in...)

BELIEFS

higher power ☆☆☆☆☆ (again, see natasha support chain)

fate/destiny ☆☆☆★☆ (they tried to alter grado's fate. it did not work. maybe if things had been different, or at least if they had been better at it...)

magic ☆☆☆☆★ (a surety, a focal point)

soulmates ☆☆☆☆☆ (lmao)

good and evil ☆☆★☆☆ (it's complicated, isn't it?)

luck ☆☆★☆☆ (less than fate?)

PRIORITIES

family ★☆☆☆☆ (hm...)

friends ☆★☆☆☆ (come on, dude)

love ☆☆★☆☆ (for prince, for country)

home ☆☆☆☆★ (it's grado, it's always grado)

health ★☆☆☆☆ (his own life will be short, he's sure of it, so why bother)

praise ★☆☆☆☆ (it is better to do well than to be told he did well)

justice ☆☆★☆☆ (right your wrongs, knoll...)

truth ☆★☆☆☆ (some things need to be said, some do not)

power ☆☆★☆☆ (only as a tool...?)

fame ☆☆☆☆☆ (stop knowing about him)

wealth ☆☆☆☆☆ (he doesn't care about acquiring it)

others' opinions ☆★☆☆☆ (only a few people's opinions matter at all, and even then...)

[cleversteel]

deep character dive!!

tagged by: i'm stealing this from dewa but let's be real all of dash is doing it LMAO tagging: :eyephidel: (that means you)

NAME: COLM ALAN JUSTUS (haha i'm cringe lol)

BODY

height: 175cm / 5′9

strength ★★☆☆☆ (if you've played ss ykw i mean)

dexterity ★★★★★ (THIEF TIME BAYBEEEEEEEEE)

health ★★★★☆ (when you grow up without any confections and then go to school with tons of rich folks to steal from-)

energy ★★★★★★ (through the ROOF [especially on caffeine])

beauty ★★★☆☆ (he ain't got w rizz but he ain't bad-looking ykyk?)

style ★★☆☆☆ (has eyeballs but also grew up poor and would wear just about anything that looks nice on its own)

hygiene ★★★★☆ (see the above but also his mother was like. an apothecary so he ain't that bad)

SKILLS

perception ★★★★★ (points at his personal skill.)

communication ★★★☆☆ (smth smth BRAT!!!)

persuasion ★★★☆☆ (see the above)

mediation ★☆☆☆☆ (smth smth CHILD (derogatory)!!! only skill is confusing people into not fighting anymore)

literacy ★★★★☆ (i went into it in a headcanons post but he's literate. his mother taught him [hc] and after the joining the army? bro read that letter kyle sent i believe in bro :pray:)

creativity ★★★★★ (points at him)

cooking ★★☆☆☆ (not a chef but he can make it edible!!)

tech savvy ★★★★☆ (thief boy momence :sunglasses::sparkles:)

combat ★★★☆☆ (it's all in the FLICK O' THE WRIST!!!!)

survival ★★★★★ (points at him. also lark.)

stealth ★★★★★ (lying is something else, but he's pretty good at being stealthy :sparkles:)

street smarts ★★★★★ (poor)

seduction ☆☆☆☆☆ (loser /j)

luck ★★★★★ (WHAT THAT LUCK STAT DO KING :PRAY: [but also lark. that's a huge piece of evidence for.])

handling animals ★☆☆☆☆ (i feel like ranger!neimi's horse would eat his rat tail while he isn't looking. would probably eat sh*t and fall off his own horse smh :facepalm:)

pacifying children ★★★☆☆ (in a 'i will distract them from sadness! >:0' kinda way. it's only kinda effective.)

MIND

intelligence ★★★☆☆ (not stupid, but he has some pretty dumb ideas :P)

happiness ★★★★☆ (no neimi :[)

spirituality ★☆☆☆☆ (he knows about the gods of magvel. doesn't really care for them tho)

confidence ★★★★★★★ (someone stop him PLEASE)

humor ★★★★☆ (is just naturally humorous to be around, and when he makes an actual joke? hoo boy i love this kid)

anxiety ★☆☆☆☆ (would be lower but neimi :[. also lloyd exists. shout-out to my homie lloyd every time i try to steal something o7)

patience ★★★★★ (impatience begets getting CAUGHT LIKE A LITTLE LOSER (stealing) LMAOOOOOOO)

passion ★★★★☆ (ah, the passion of youth. he's gotta life left to live and he hasn't gotten old like Teach [read: Python] yet)

nice         ☆★☆☆☆     mean (you've seen him around lloyd right? also rennac.)

brave       ★☆☆☆☆     cowardly (he went out of his way to rob a professional bandit crime ring thing for his bestie's hand mirror. it had a TON of sentimental value of course, but like. yo. you coulda died, my g.)

pacifist     ☆★☆☆☆     violent (not an super violent person, but he's not opposed when times call for it.)

thoughtful ☆☆☆☆★    impulsive  (points at him [when he's around pelleas specifically])

agreeable ☆★☆☆☆     contrary (would be more agreeable but [looks at class])

idealistic   ★☆☆☆☆     pragmatic (ah, the optimism of youth.)

frugal        ★☆☆☆☆     big spender (poor)

extrovert   ★☆☆☆☆     introvert (ah, the- no he's just obnoxiously out there LMAO)

collected   ☆☆☆☆★     wild (see the above)

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist <- (ah, the- you get the joke at this point.)

SOCIAL

charisma ★★★★☆ (he's pretty charismatic i'd say!! most people like him pretty easily :])

empathy ★★★★★ (he cares!! he's just kinda an idiot)

generosity ★★★★☆ (he's a thief, but also [gestures at his post-boel interactions + pelleas ball interaction])

wealth ★☆☆☆☆ (thief)

honest   ★★☆☆☆ deceptive (good, honest kid! also he sucks at lying but yk being a thief/spy calls for it [he still sucks tho])

leader   ☆★☆☆☆   follower (trying to carve his own space! but not really good at leading)

polite     ☆☆★☆☆  rude (poor + looks at lloyd)

political ☆☆☆☆★  indifferent (bro i just want to rob people)

BELIEFS

higher power ★★★★★ (i mean he and The Squad killed Fomortiis that's basically the same thing)

fate/destiny ☆☆☆☆☆ (bro he's just tryna live)

magic ★★★★★ (sir, this a fire emble

soulmates ★☆☆☆☆ (only cuz neimi exists, otherwise it'd be all ☆)

good and evil ★★★★★ (HE KILLED THAT THING OF COURSE IT- urgh. wait-)

luck ★★★★★ (WHAT THAT LUCK STAT DO KING-

PRIORITIES

family ★★☆☆☆ (lark)

friends ★★★★☆ (not in a 'i want to make as many friends as possible!' kinda way, but in a 'i wanna be the best friend can be' kinda way. since that's sorta all he has left, isn't it?)

love ★☆☆☆☆ (until neimi appears :distressed_colm:)

home ★★☆☆☆ (lark)

health ★★★☆☆

praise ★★☆☆☆ (smth smth the formative years :oldplead:)

justice ★★★★☆ (ignore all his stealing tho pls and thank u)

truth ★☆☆☆☆ (i miss my wife tails. i miss her so badly. [king, write a letter smh :facepalm:])

power ★☆☆☆☆ (he helped beat up the LITERAL DEMON KING!!!! he doesn't need much more than that i assure you)

fame ★☆☆☆☆ (brags like hell but would rather be with neimi than a super cool army guy so. yeah.)

wealth ????? (...sure???? but he just kinda steals what he wants/needs anyways so.......)

others' opinions ★★★☆☆ (smth smth THE FORMATIVE YEARS :PRAY:)

[copper-russell]

Tuesday, November 26 — Character #Inspo

Disclaimer: I am bad at articulating my #inspo. Some of these I took from that personality quiz, some I did for vibes. Yes I did an extra one to make the gif set even. It makes sense to ME. If you don't see my vision then idk what to tell you anyhow on with the show~

Derek Shepherd

"Yes or no. In or out. Up or down. Live or die. Hero or coward. Fight or give in. I’ll say it again to make sure you hear me. The human life is made up of choices. Live or die. That’s the important choice. And it’s not always in our hands."

Yes yes McDreamy charming whatever that is actually not why Derek is here! Whilst Derek Shepherd as a whole is truly a hot mess of a character (affectionate), it's more his intelligence, confidence and how driven he is that I see in Copper. Particularly looking at a medical perspective I think Derek does encapsulate a lot of Copper's approach to patient care, namely doing the most you can, and the best you can (and by extention, being the best you can be).

Atticus Finch

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

Listen I think if/when Copper becomes a dad there is a high probability that he is simply going to become Atticus Finch and that's why he makes the list. He has his professional life where he's held in high esteem, but he also doesn't neglect his personal life. He's mature, he's level-headed, and he's very perceptive, all of which I see in Copper too.

Peter Parker but specifically PS4 Peter Parker

"Love the optimism. But in my experience, when it looks bad, it's usually worse."

I know what you're thinking you're thinking ok. Why the playstation version. Surely every spider-man is spider-man. And that's true! But PS4 Peter Parker speaks to Copper more in my opinion because he's a little older than your traditional representation of Spider-Man (he's 25, truly ancient) and so he comes across as being a little more world-wise and honestly world-weary than other Spider-Men. The reason why I'm so drawn to Peter Parker with Copper though is truly that idea of a local hero. He isn't flashy, he isn't really anything special, he's just a guy doing his best to protect his neighbourhood, and that's very much the idea I have for Copper. Also, y'know. The snark.

Lucius Verus

"The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way: But to come back from hell and view the cheerful skies, In this the task and mighty labor lies."

Baby has a new hyper-fixation okay leave me alone. No spoilers for anyone worried about that though I doubt anyone is lmao anyway~ Again with Lucius though the reason why I see aspects of him when I'm writing Copper is the tenacity. Copper isn't the type of guy to give up lightly and whatever life throws at him he's going to take it and he's going to deal with it, and do the best he can. It's also that idea of accepting your fate when you thought your life was going to go a different way which Copper has done a good few times over now.

Matthew Crawley

"You have shown me I’ve been living in a dream, and it’s time to return to real life. Wish me luck with it, Mary."

Matthew is just so practical and down to earth and that is why he's here on this list because that is very much something I see in Copper. That's literally it honestly

Dina

"You go, I go. End of story."

I could say Dina is on here because she's outgoing and flirty and funny but truly and honestly she is here because of how deeply she loves. Dina is a people-person and she cares so much about the people in her life, going as far as to try and give Ellie her gas mask when Ellie's breaks, and it's that depth of feeling that got her included here

[palinecrosis]

You say that CyberLife didn’t program Connor to weigh social consequences, just to obey. But that obedience is specifically designed to make him an effective problem-solver, which includes managing human perception. The RK800 isn’t just an enforcer; he’s a liaison, an investigator, and a tool for infiltration. If Connor were simply following a rigid hierarchy without considering how humans would react, he wouldn’t have any social adaptability, yet we see that he does (because he has a social relations program lmao) That’s why he can manipulate people (like Perkins), adjust his approach with Hank, and attempt to de-escalate situations.

This means that when he chooses not to retaliate against Gavin, it’s not just blind obedience, it’s because doing so doesn’t serve his goal in that moment. If Gavin had posed a real threat, like in the evidence room, Connor reacts instantly. That’s not just about mission priority; it shows that he can and will act when escalation is justified. you argue that the difference is that in the breakroom, Gavin isn’t a “relevant variable” and escalating wouldn’t be “worthy.” I actually agree with that part, but that’s exactly what I meant by Connor making a strategic decision to avoid unnecessary problems.

However, I’d push back on the idea that “self-preservation” plays no role here. While Connor doesn’t fear death the way a human does, CyberLife does want to avoid excessive android destruction, because replacing him is costly and inefficient. That’s why Connor will go out of his way to avoid fights unless absolutely necessary. His lack of reaction to Gavin in the breakroom isn’t just about “not caring” or having no personal stake, it’s a calculated response based on his programmed purpose. And in the evidence room? The second Gavin actively obstructs his goal and there’s no wider audience to interfere, Connor doesn’t hesitate. That’s an important distinction.

You’re right that deviancy isn’t just about physical resistance, it’s about autonomy. But autonomy isn’t just the ability to disobey; it’s about shifting priorities from CyberLife’s goals to his own. That means a deviant Connor wouldn’t necessarily fight Gavin just because he found the attack unjustified, but he could, because now, whether he retaliates is up to him, not CyberLife. Pre-deviancy, his snark toward Gavin: Permitted, because it doesn’t interfere with his mission. A full-on fight? Not permitted: until Gavin becomes an obstacle. That’s why Connor’s restraint pre-deviancy isn’t purely passive. It’s an active reflection of his programming optimizing for mission success.

I agree that Connor’s evolution is important. The game does show his internal struggle, which means his autonomy isn’t binary, he doesn’t go from “mindless machine” to “completely free” overnight. However, I think it’s too simplistic to say that Connor is completely controlled by CyberLife pre-deviancy. Even before he explicitly breaks free, he’s given some leeway to make decisions, so long as they align with his programmed purpose.

That’s why the Kamski scene is interesting. Connor’s hesitation before shooting the deviant isn’t framed as a simple system delay; it suggests an internal conflict that CyberLife didn’t fully account for. So while I wouldn’t argue that Connor was always fully in control, I also don’t think he was completely locked into a script. His ability to evolve suggests his programming always had room for adaptation, it just wasn’t meant to go as far as deviancy.

Ultimately, I think we’re circling the same core idea but drawing different conclusions. You see Connor’s pre-deviancy behavior as strict obedience, where his actions are dictated purely by CyberLife’s programming. I see it as obedience within a flexible framework that allows him to make strategic choices, just ones that always prioritize CyberLife’s interests.

reed800 > reed900 and the mischaracterization of connor

I never understood people’s affinity for reed900 over reed800, and all the reasonings I’ve heard for it never make sense to me. Just to be clear, this post isnt meant to attack anybody who ships reed900, I’ve watched Detroit evolution alright. I fucked with it heavy. I’ve got a solid three Reed900 fics in my ao3 bookmarks. I have credentials. Don’t come for me.

Anyway, I will always prefer Connor and Gavin’s dynamic over a Nines and Gavin hypothetical one. I feel like the reason people don’t like covnin is because they often misinterpret Connor’s character, I see this amongst convin shippers too, not just people who dislike the ship. 

I keep hearing the argument that “Gavin hates Connor, and Connor doesn’t stand up for himself. Nines would be more cold, which matches Gavin’s personality.” This is probably the shittiest take I’ve ever heard. The DBH fandom tends to see Connor as meek. Because of this, they think he’s vulnerable to Gavin’s hostility, which is just not true. When we’re introduced to Gavin, he’s antagonistic towards Connor right of the bat. Connor, in order to keep the peace, remains professional. This is because initially, it’s not in Connor’s interest/programming to disobey or disrupt humans. He prefers to move along, focus on the mission and ignore unnecessary distractions. However, when Gavin persists, when the android being interrogated is about to self destruct, Connor has the choice to physically stop the officer from restraining it and he does, defying Gavin in the process as well. Connor does not care about Gavin’s human authority in this case, he only cares about what he knows to be true and sticking to his objective. 

Now you may bring up the breakroom scene in which Gavin punches Connor, Connor just seems to let it happen despite it being a direct physical attack and not just an offhand comment. I hate when people bring this up because at this time, Connor was not deviant yet. He did not develop enough consciousness/deviancy to actively choose to defend himself. Again, in order to move things along and cause the least ruckus possible, he takes it. I’ve also heard arguments that Connor “pretends” to be hurt in order to seem subservient to Gavin to make it seem like he’s not fighting back against a human. I like that theory! 

People also seem to forget that when things directly misalign with his mission, Connor is quick to go against anybody, even humans, who stand in the way. Have people forgotten what Connor did to Gavin in the archive room? He beat the living shit out of him, incapacitated him, and walked off with a final tie adjustment as if it was nothing. This is the Connor who you’re calling meek, the one who pretended to be the Traci’s dead girlfriend to get to Jericho. The one who sampled Markus’ voice to take advantage of beaten down Simon’s loyalty. The one who nagged Hank to rent Traci’s until the lieutenant humiliatedly obliged. The one who chased Kara and a child down a highway. The one who gets himself killed multiple times just to accomplish his mission. The one who sarcastically told Gavin he’d “miss their bromance.” PLEASE. 

All of this is to make a point for a romantic/sexual dynamic between Connor and Gavin that actually puts them as equals. Where we get the good ending with deviant Connor, androids having rights, Gavin being forced into sensitivity training and actually learn to see androids as people (we love the Gavin Reed Redemption tag). None of that degrading convin bullshit where Connor puts up with Gavin’s bigotry and thinks “I can fix him!” Where Gavin actually takes responsibility for his own behavior and slowly learns to change his outlook. 

Connor would not shut up to Gavin’s insults. He’d push back just as hard, sarcastic and sardonic in his own way. He’d spit some sort of off putting logical roast at Gavin to hurt his feelings, psychoanalyzing him to a T. They’d have amazing back and forth, banter fuelled with sexual tension, actual physical fights, prolonged angry eye contact, pinning down and grabbing dangerously close to certain areas. Connor beginning to warm up to Gavin’s hostility, being smart, seeing past it, knowing it’s a cover up for something more raw and vulnerable. Gavin starting to think “Maybe he’s not so bad” to “he’s funny” to “he’s pretty fucking hot” to “shit maybe I like him”. DO WE NOT SEE THE VISION!! 

anyways I need to convert more people to like convin. yeah you can make your case for reed900 but they will never have as much chemistry as convin and not nearly as much hatefuck potential. thank you for reading. 

[felikatze]

give me the a brainworms i am deeply invested in this man

(0) (2) (3) (4)

okay first of all you asked for this. second of all if i am a little off track from the game that is explained by me just building thoughts like building blocks without looking back. third i was supposed to be studying for an exam but this counts as practice right? it's character analysis anyway lmao.

buckle the fuck up, my dearest anon, because I have sub headings.

1. A as the Player Character

Let me begin with why I am obsessed with this horrid little guy in the first place: he's a silent protagonist. I am always obsessed with protagonists. It's a law of nature. I love taking hollow characters and dissecting them for scraps. It's a long standing practice of mine.

Being a silent protagonist, A, as X, does not have a set personality. However, there are patterns. Firstly, as any semi-silent protagonist, A is a reactive character. He does not start incidents, he only responds to situations, presented by the Sephirah, as they arise. He does not actively seek out new information, merely going about the routine of expanding departments, but expresses curiosity when information is presented to him.

I'm aware fandom likes to characterize X and A differently, likely because they are initially presented as different characters. I, on the other hand, would like to pose the theory that they are more similar than expected.

I believe that A is also a reactive character, rather than active. Despite the fandom wiki describing him as stubborn, the goal A pursues with such fervor, the completion of the Seed of Light, is not actually a goal he set for himself. Carmen is the one who set this goal for him by leaving him her legacy.

Throughout the backstory we get relating to the Cogito Project, A is Carmen's assistant, whereas Carmen is the driving researcher. This is how many of the City's inhabitants seem to be; going with the flow of goals set for them by superiors. Yes I will get into his attachment to Carmen later.

The above is not to say A isn't stubborn. Once he has accepted a goal as his own, he will pursue it at all costs, as is obvious from any and all flashbacks leading to horrible deaths. But the point isn't his pursuit of the goal, but where that goal comes from. Even Lobcorp itself supports this, despite what Hokma may say; A as X follows the "simple" task of managing the Corp's day to day activities, and executes any mission given to him by the Sephirah. He outranks them, and doesn't actually need to do their missions, but does so anyway. Players are driven by the reward offered by those missions, of course, and A might be the same in that regard. Nonetheless, at no point in gameplay do you do anything somebody else hasn't told you to.

The overarching narrative of the Script would be the most obvious example. Every single person in the game follows the script, whether they know it or not.

Lastly on this note, a phrase we hear attributed to A, "Machines must behave as machines." Now, Angela may be attached to this phrase because it bears significance to herself as a machine, and informs most of A's unjust treatmeant of her. However, what if it doesn't just apply to machines? The phrase reads as such, "Everyone must act according to their own role."

2. A, Carmen, and the disease of the mind

So, A will at any cost pursue goals Carmen set for him. Question is, why? The obvious answer would be saying he's in love with her, which like, true. But also, how did Carmen come to be so precious to him?

Let us return to the comparison, "This is how many of the City's inhabitants seem to be." We don't really know why exactly most characters joined Carmen, excluding mainly Daniel and Benjamin. But this does not mean we can't have theories.

Carmen's ideal was curing the "disease of the mind." What is the disease? Complete hopelessness. The inability to form aspirations and dreams, to think of a better future. A is a very reactive character who does not set goals for himself. Therefore, I personally conclude, that initially, Carmen's ideology resonated with him because he could identify with the disease.

This is the point where I start rewatching Lobcorp story clips. Dear god.

So, by briefly binging day 27 onward, I've come up with lines that very much support this lil theory of mine:

First, from Carmen, a description of the disease, "People lock away their own potential."

Second, a line from Angela, after the memory synchronization, "You've locked yourself in this prison without bars."

Carmen describes A as humble, and Benjamin thinks he is warm. If I suppose A was one of the diseased initially, Carmen would be the catalyst for this change. Carmen was someone with big aspirations, with plans to heal what is wrong with the City, and it gave him hope. He was one of the diseased, but through time with Carmen, with that relentless optimistic spirit, he may have been cured, for a time. It's not a stretch to say that she was his light.

But lor shows us what happens when the seed of light sprouts wrong, doesn't it? It distorts. A grasped hope for the first time and then it is ruthlessly crushed. Carmen was everything. Yes, A is described as a jack-of-all-trades, as a genius in all pursuits he puts his mind to, but what does that matter in the face of someone who can unite people? Who can give them hope of a better world? Who can inspire them to actually use the talents they have?

And what kind of pressure is it to put the legacy of a messiah in the hands of the diseased?

3. A and the Perception Filter: A is weak to White damage

No, I am serious about that. He's extremely weak mentally. Obviously death of a loved one is a changing experience for absolutely anybody, but Carmen's death destroyed him.

Not only did he refuse to confide this grief to anyone and bottled it up, now everybody looked to him to lead the project, but he just isn't Carmen. He isn't an ambitious person, he doesn't have the same optimism, he can't bring people together, but people expected him to, and he failed. Hard.

While he was without a doubt talented in science, he was also just an average guy.

After her death, A grew to hate humans. He lost trust in them. He refused to confide in anyone, and be confided in by anyone. Thus, the team fell apart.

In both lobcorp and lor, we get interesting tidbits about precations taken to protect the manager.

Firstly, Lobcorp's perception filter. The cartoony art-style of the game is a result of the game being in first person. Through the eyes of the manager, everything is cartoony!

This is a measure undertaken to specifically protect the manager's psyche. Angela tells us that, before it was deployed, the manager would frequently go insane, one notable incident including the manager trying to hang himself. When we first hear this, the previous managers and X are still separate in our minds. However, they're all A! A went insane multiple times without it.

This is understandable, considering that employees also frequently go insane and try to kill both themselves and others. But they're there in action, confronting the Abnormalities directly. Just watching them made the manager go mad. They could not handle the responsibility for the employees' deaths.

In lor, Angela explains why she picked the Rabbit Team from R Corp as their main contractor instead of any other team. One team was simply too big for L Corp's narrow hallways, and the other team... dealt in psychic damage. It was simply too big of a risk for the manager. But the manager is always secure behind the cameras. Would that teams methods just be that brutal visually, or would their attacks have reached the manager?

Combined with his immense grief at all of his friends and coworkers dying in part because of him, A cannot bear to look at death.

4. A's greatest flaw: Avoidance

A common thread during Core Meltdown flashbacks: A refuses to look at suffering. He just can't. Whether it be looking away from Elijah writhing on the floor or hanging up on Daniel's panicked report of death.

This is actually the thing Angela takes the biggest issue with, and what hurt her most. A would never look at her, acknowledge her, and she did not understand why. But I think A did not refuse to look at her out of maliciousness. Rather, it was out of grief over Carmen. He could not look at her without being reminded of what he lost.

Angela's creation came about because A wanted someone to guide him, someone like Carmen. He threw himself into the project to the point it made Benjamin happy that A was passionate about anything again. But as soon as the project he distracted himself with is complete, he is filled with regret. Carmen cannot be replicated, and he breaks again.

Furthermore, tying this back to my first point about A being a reactive person, we see Angela take charge over A. She's the one recruiting employees and leading the business. It was likely a relief for him to be able to step down from the leading position.

But avoiding it made everything worse. He did not act when he saw Elijah's unchecked ambition, he did not act beyond a simple check at Gabriel's decay, he gave Giovanni the same hope he clung to to no avail, et cetera et cetera.

Avoiding his problems is making them worse and sending everything down the drain (including his psyche), so he deals with it the only way he knows how, avoiding them more!

Biggest example of A's big avoidance problem as his psyche crumbles: the memory wipe. A, in perhaps his one singular moment of acknowledging his emotions, recognizes that he is incapable of fulfilling the Script in his current state. His grief is just too much.

By erasing his own memory, he could start fresh without his grief, because he might've really killed himself otherwise. His suffering became bigger and bigger, and he coped by avoiding it.

The memory wipe allowed him to distangle his problems. Through his interactions with the Sephirah (which I will not individually detail for the sake of my sanity and because I dumped all this on a friend on discord already), he can deal with and actually process his issues one at a time.

As the motto describes, only by facing the fear can he build the future. Only by finally facing his grief and acknowleding it, seeing that the past cannot be changed and he has no choice to move forward, can he actually do so.

5. The Sephirah as ghosts

Lobotomy Corporation feels like a ghost story. I've touched upon this in my previous A post.

As you reach the Corp's lower levels, there are less Sephirah. First there are four. They act like normal employees, and do not breach into the story's underbelly until you reach their core supressions and the facade breaks. Second, counting Tiphereth as one, there are three. They still go about their duties, but they know what they are. Third, there are two, and the facade is gone. They know what they are, and they will tell you about the sins of the past.

And finally, you reach Keter, and there is only one.

This gradual decay of the facade is what really gets to me. I said that by interacting with the Sephirah, A deals with his issues one by one, but that's what the Sephirah are, in this case. Representations.

The people the Sephirah used to be are dead, and the Sephirah are their ghosts. The core supression involve putting these ghosts to rest. Doesn't it match the progression of a typical ghost story? Find the ghost, find what they used to be, and help them move on.

So, if everyone is a ghost, then A is alone.

But, behind the scenes, the Sephirah are still there. They are still people, and they have changed for the better, too. As always, A simply does not look.

(Does he even see the good others see in him? Does he look away from praise, too? Did he even realize Benjamin's admiration for him? Will we ever know?)

6. A's end.

A's progression of moving on would be fine and dandy if it did not end as thus: A does kill himself.

A sees himself beyond the point of no return. Everyone is dead. He is alone. Carmen is never coming back. He can't call it quits now, or else everything has been in vain. (Even if the last days show us a part of him wants to just quit, so badly.)

So, there's only one thing left to do: follow the Script to its ending. Fulfill Carmen's legacy at all costs. Death as the ultimate release.

This is the point where I admit I do not like the death as release trope. But the game does a good enough job as presenting it as the only option A had, or the only option he saw himself as having.

However, I've mentioned it before, I'll mention it again: A was not alone. Death was his release, but he left wreckage. In order to end his own suffering, he inflicted the same pain he went through on others.

Throughout the game, he moves on and pushes through. The ending shows that in reality... he didn't.

At least in lor the characters stick together and help each other heal.

This has been most of my thoughts on A, amounting to my longest analysis post ever, having taken me approximately two and a half hours to complete, and clocking in at 2337 words including up to this paragraph.

Thank you anon for giving me the incentive to verbalize all of this, so I can finally be at ease having inflicted my thoughts on everybody else.

[subwalls]

so, some character thoughts, because... characters. gets kinda long, so im sticking it under a cut.

c!tommy did nothing that can honestly and faultlessly be counted against him as purely ‘wrong’ (mistakes are mistakes, and are different), but he could have done better. he did everything right but not right enough to push them through, and that’s why these things keep slipping through his fingers. i don’t always sympathize or agree with him but i can still see that his line of reason and moral justification is sound, it’s just the execution he trips up on. he’s a very impulsive character with all the trauma in the world loaded on his shoulders to cut that fuse even shorter, so it’s no wonder he often gets in his own way and trips over unexpected divergences to his shaky plans.

c!sam is the other way around. his morals are so muddied and entangled in both the words of others (c!quackity) and the power he holds (as warden) that his line of thinking is much harder to grasp and a lot of the time he simply refutes anything that doesn’t fall in line with his pre-existing world view. c!tommy barely got a chance to explain his intent to kill c!dream (which, to be fair, is also in part due to stress) before sam assumed a different motive and refused to hear any alternative. this man swears he isn’t corrupt even as his negligence and stubborn attachment to rules forced him to leave c!tommy in close proximity with his abuser, who has not received any sort of guidance to correct his behavior to prevent anything from happening again, and then turns around and allows one (1) specific person to bring tools and weapons into the prison (WHICH BREAKS THE RULES) with the sole purpose of causing pain. because, as we all know, corporal punishment that’s not even phrased as a punishment but rather as interrogation always works to keep future people safe from that person. /s even when c!quackity eggs him on, he falls back and cowers, because he’s not sure, he wants to stand by his ideals but i don’t know if he even remembers what they are beyond the prison. however, his execution is flawless; what he does, he does effectively and yields no inch no matter what. (keeping dream in the prison is... not going to be quite as much of a given, in the coming era, but that’s also a direct result of him being so absolute with his rule. that lack of flexibility is what got c!tommy killed, what got c!wilbur revived, and what’s probably going to give c!dream a chance at freedom, too.)

meanwhile, c!dream and c!wilbur have this odd... idealization of each other. c!dream insists that the other is capable of pulling him out of the prison and its absolutely inhumane conditions, and elevates c!wilbur on this pedestal of influence—which, to be fair, is probably a direct result of how deftly c!wilbur turned c!dream into a villain before he ever became one (a self-fulfilling prophecy type beat)—even though a revived wilbur standing in the ashes of his own reputation is going to have very... odd influence on the people around him, and it might not work the way c!dream hopes it will (which involves breaking him out). on the other hand, c!wilbur, freshly revived, is already outright calling c!dream his “hero”. we don’t get much else from him, since this is the first we’ve seen of him back, but it’s clear he acknowledges that there’s a debt in some sense between them. whether or not c!wilbur decides to lean into his role of villain more and abandon that debt (which would be the second time c!dream’s been left high and dry after doing a favor lmao) or if he thinks he can honor and use it in some way by drawing c!dream to his side... we’ll have to wait and see.

c!jack is... left in the dark again, and furious about it. his hatred for c!dream and c!tommy has taken over every motive he has and it’s muddying his perception of everything. from the way c!sam talked to tommy, it sounds like c!tommy is going to be made out as the scapegoat, and c!jack is just going to have more fuel for his fire, which—honestly, as awful as it is, he’s the one with the clearest path ahead. he’s so wrapped up in his hate and grudge that it’s going to rip him apart from the inside out. that, at least, is easy enough to understand. and it makes everything all the more tragic because it’s not active hate that tore his world out from under him, it was just... negligence.

c!ranboo’s attempt at optimism is endearing but doesn’t seem likely to hold water; he doesn’t know much better, though, seeing as he’s never met the living guy.

me, thinking about c!phil talking about how people can change even in one (1) year: early dsmp c!dream my beloved :’(

at this point i’m looking at c!dream with the same pity and irritation and annoyance i had when looking at c!dream being confronted with claims of tyranny back in the early days when he really hadn’t done anything, and i know they’re scarcely the same person anymore (or it should drive home the point that they are, that any person can fall, that anyone can get drawn in and choked out, that when a person is told who they are enough times with no way out, they eventually become it), but some part of me still hopes, and that sucks.

[isaacdian]

hope you don't mind me asking, do you have any Isaac and Miria headcanons? i'd love to read some from you. you appear to have a good grasp on the characters, and great love for them. :)

aw thank you so much for the ask, sure thing!

some of these will probably get into theory territory as well, because i’ve had the novels sitting in my mind for years now, and there are a few details i’d like to mention (beware of baccano light novel spoilers, just in case).

this could get a bit long, so you can read it below the cut:

i’ll write my headcanons/thoughts in no particular order. more people might have come to similar conclusions, but i don’t think i’ve seen any posts or had any discussions with anyone regarding these (at least in depth), so!

- i like to think that miria and isaac ran away from their then (seemingly) unhappy lives after they got to interact with each other for quite a while, and not spontaneously upon meeting for the first time.

there isn’t much evidence to back this up beyond some characters commenting that they “were probably runaways” or that “maybe they eloped”, so they might have escaped together on the spot, since we already know they can be very impulsive. however, i get this feeling that their bond took some time to develop, and i’d love to see some of their interactions as isaac dian —and— miria harvent before they ever became isaac & miria, if that makes sense.

i doubt they met too long before their string of robberies, though? this is such a weirdly specific and probably meaningless thing to pinpoint, but in 1935 miria asks isaac if he’s ever been to the circus, and he responds that he does remember animals, but he doesn’t remember if that was the circus or the zoo. this hardly means anything, but their circumstances overall don’t really make me think that they’ve known each other since they were too young.

- whatever optimism and general exhilaration regarding life isaac has is innate. on the other hand, miria has mostly acquired her own sense of hopefulness over time, with isaac’s help.

miria is a 100% confirmed literal ray of sunshine and this indisputable. it just hasn’t/doesn’t always come to her as effortlessly as it may seem. bloody to fair isaac and miria magic show color page.png

this is somewhat related to the next one (and also the last point i’ll mention at the end of this post):

- when isaac gets arrested and he and miria get separated in 1934, they’re both having an equally hard time dealing with this.

okay this one is like. obvious ksjksk. but i wanted to talk about how they deal with this situation, because at first glance it looks like miria got the shortest end of the stick here. and in a way, that might be true! i’ve already mentioned that miria herself has been shown thinking about how much isaac helped her to be happy, and narita has been deliberately vague regarding the nature of their silliness, on top of hinting at the possibility of their shenanigans being a kind of mechanism to escape the harsh realities of life from the rolling bootlegs (very first novel), if i recall correctly.

(btw:

i recall that somewhere in the 1935 arc, graham starts talking with the usual “let me tell you a sad, sad story” prelude. however, isaac and miria are upset by this, and they tell him that he shouldn’t tell sad stories, because if you do it, your happiness will run away. meanwhile, this part in cloudy to rainy living rent free in my head:

i have to laugh..........)

that being said, i couldn’t help but feel like isaac was having an equally bad time, even if he displayed it in a different and not so blatant way. while i was rereading the novels after i got to buy the official english release, i felt very strongly that something was definitely wrong about their separation, which, again, is obvious to us readers and to the characters who know isaac & miria. but it extends beyond that. there was this general feeling of knowing that whoever came across an unaccompanied isaac would magically feel like there was something missing. i don’t know how else to explain this. he’s still full of energy and optimism and he’s fueled by his desire to reunite with miria, but every time he’s shown hesitating or doesn’t reach a satisfying conclusion while thinking about a frivolous topic, it hits you like “oh... right” (firo didn’t help much on that last front, either, so miria and isaac must have had to discuss what exactly happens to fellas who don’t believe in fairies after their reunion... lol)

in short, he needs miria just as much as she needs him. this is something i’ve seen other people mention as well: isaac might be the “force” factor in their relationship, but that force won’t amount to much without miria’s “direction”, and viceversa. the lift each other up, and they keep each other grounded, too.

i’m also remembering isaac and sham’s conversation and just. there’s a self-esteem/confidence factor in there. Fun Game of Spot the Difference

and this is getting ridiculously long, so i’ll spare you from having to read my dumb thots about isaac’s (possibly real) fear of miria not liking him, as the narrator implies, which i subconsciously ended up linking to that one impossibly crack ending in the ds game, where you pick the option of him not knowing frankenstein’s monster’s real name, so miria leaves him after realizing how “cheap and uncool” he is LMAO

- isaac’s father might have been an academic of some sort, as well as a stern man who disapproved of his son’s flighty and childish tendencies.

???????? besides miria’s implied tragic backstory, the most we know about both of their pasts is that isaac comes from a wealthy family with whom he seems to have a bad relationship with, so even though i’ve tried to work out other details (his parents’ provenance for instance?) i can’t really elaborate on this. even if isaac’s knowledge on the topic is pretty scrambled (to put it nicely lol), he knows a lot about “the orient” as he puts it, and the “dian” surname is pretty unique so who knows!👀 i’ve only mentioned his father because isaac, too, has only mentioned his "old man” twice so far in the novels, if i’m not mistaken. in my opinion, it also speaks volumes how flustered isaac got when molsa apologized to him, because it was the first time someone older than him has done this. and this is pretty arbitrary, but if isaac started robbing and getting into trouble before he and miria even met and/or before he got kicked out/ran away from home, that whole deal about “being used to dealing with policemen” (in the unofficial translation i read back in the day it was something along the lines of “this isn’t my first time being interrogated by the police”) in 1934 would make sense, i guess, considering that miria didn’t realize what was going on at the moment even though she’s a fairly perceptive person.

anyways it’s too bad we don’t know that much about miria on this front, also!! i get the vague feeling that she might have also come from a wealthy family (probably not a good environment, though), since in 1935 it’s mentioned that the closest they’ve ever gotten to working/having a job was when they were digging for gold, apparently. that’s why i can’t really think of anything too specific regarding miria’s past and upbringing... i have a feeling that she might have felt alone, trapped and/or overwhelmed. let’s just hope that when she said her bruises would heal up fine with ice in 1935 it had nothing to do with this “i should have died” business :(((

- even though isaac and miria love their friends and would do anything for them, they aren’t particularly attached to anyone (or any place) besides each other.

this is more of an observation than a headcanon, but i find it really interesting: they would definitely do anything for their friends, and they do enjoy life very intensely, but that’s precisely why they don’t seem to be fixed in one singular spot? basically, i feel like they’re the personification of “home is where the heart is” taken to the extreme. they could go anywhere and do anything as long as they have each other, and they will never make any attempts to actively do things that make it easier to label their relationship, such as getting married, which is heavily implied by firo (i think) in 2002 bullet garden (i think!!). that’s also part of the reason why i’m sure they’d never find themselves commiting to things like taking care of a pet, or a child; it’s more like they instantly “adopt” everyone they run into, as if they’ve always been friends, even if they won’t meet again for months, years, or ever again. anyway, isaac and miria are extremely good and they are literally going to be happy together forever and ever! they don’t need to prove that.

that doesn’t mean they’re not sentimental, though! i like to think that they keep some meaningful objects that remind them of fond memories of their friends. and this is hardly canon because it shows up in the anime And in a background at that, but shoutout to the rocking toy horse in their california mine lol.

- miria knew about her own immortality (as well as isaac’s) before the 2000s.

THIS IS PROBABLY MY SPICIEST TAKE and i tried to back it up in the next point of this list. i still keep thinking i’m reading too much, into this but

i can’t stop thinking about the implications, folks

which brings us to:

- miria is smarter than isaac is and actually has a fairly good idea of when he’s making stuff up, but is happy to let him take the lead.

i won’t deny that isaac and miria dedicate a huge chunk of their day to doing moronic stuff, and they are pretty dumb, but i feel like people don’t give them enough credit for how perceptive they are. even though that’s true of the two of them, i feel like this mostly applies to miria.

among other things, we’ve learned that she knows ronny isn’t human and has supernatural powers (wow), which is why she comes to him for help after isaac’s arrest. she’s very good at paying attention to small details, such as the kind of programs ennis watches on tv, or chané’s feelings, when the two talk in 1934. miria also “really knows her way around japanese” and has been shown to --apparently?-- multiply large numbers in her head in 1935... while isaac was talking about how good of an idea it would be to use the martingale betting system. not to mention how isaac stated he “doesn’t know how to count money” earlier in this arc. my god ksdjgjks. i want to know what’s up with this, if anything.

so, yeah! there’s probably more stuff that i could mention, but i am exhausted lol. thank you for your patience anon, i have no idea how long this has been sitting in my inbox. always happy to get baccano questions <3 i apologize for any typos/errors and the like.

bonus headcanon: miria grabs ennis with one hand and chané with her other hand and they go out with their arms linked and excited and they learn more about having fun, as friends do. no printer just fax

[franeridart]

Did you know @boku-no-headcanons made cannons for your bakushimanari art?

Nope, this is the first I heard of it! But as long as they’re not reposting my stuff they can do whatever, I’m happy my stuff can inspire them! 

Anon said: saw u in youtube rewind congrats

.................. are you sure this ask was meant for me?

Anon said:I tried to message you, I found some accounts using your art if you're interested in knowing who they are :/ 

Anon said:@sweetheart_kirishima on instagram posted your art without credit.

Unless it’s tumblr, which has a form I can fill specifically for reposts to have the thing taken down, I can’t actually do anything even if you guys tell me. It’s... frustrating, cause you’d think by this point such popular social media sites/apps would have some way for preventing art thefts, but they got no report option that can be used for art unless I’m the copyright owner - does that apply to fanarts when the characters aren’t mine and I wasn’t authorized by the original author to make them? Probably not. So I can’t do anything for it, not even ask the reposter to be kind and take my art down, cause as I’ve already said I’m not on any of those platforms

So I thank you both a lot for having thought about letting me know, but it’s... sort of useless. If you could ask the reposter on my behalf though I’d be incredibly grateful!

Anon said: your kiribaku childhood friends au give me life tHANK YOU

YOU’RE WELCOME THANK YOU FOR LIKING IT!!!

Anon said: Kiri kind of reminds me of Dave with his hair like that! (They would look great together now i think about it haha) I love you and your art, I hope you enjoy creating it as much as i like to look at it :) xx

Thank you!!!!! And yeah, the mohawk is still a mohawk after all isn’t it haha Dav’s is less tidy tho, cause he’s a s l o b (not really)

Anon said:yknow how people have hunkspirations to get fit? your art is my hunkspiration to draw

That’s so nice!!! holy smokes!!!!! I hope your arting is going great, anon!!!

Anon said:the new chapter has me crying over bakukami omfg these lo s e RS I'm so glad they're friends

WHAT A MOOD THO

Anon said:HELLO, YES, I'D LIKE MY HEART BACK PLEASE BECAUSE YOU JUST WRECKED IT WITH YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AU. Kiri is so pretty in it, like oh wow, and Bakugou's brilliant and I LOVE IT. (Also 'manly shit' and 'Katsu,' just slay me now so this happiness never fades).

Ahhhhhh I’m happy you liked it!!!!!!!! And yah Kiri calling Bakugou Katsu is a weakness of mine, did you know that? Maybe you noticed since I always have him do that haha it’s cause it’s written with the kanji for victory! Isn’t that a manly nickname? I like to think Kiri would like it for that haha

Anon said: I love how often (from reading the tags on your art) it's like "oops my hand slipped and now you get some krbk instead of something else" lol

It does happen incredibly often! By now they’re so comfortable to draw for me that I end up drawing them without even realizing haha that’s what happens when you spend a year and a half drawing always the same two kids lol

Anon said:Ah Fran I love your glasses Bakugou so much! Ever since Kami added those shades to his hero costume it has me convinced he'd be so ridiculously cute in glasses too! I hope you enjoy that adorable mental image :)

You mean Kami? He sure would! Kiri would too! Sero also!!! MINA TOO!!!!! Actually we have canon Mina with glasses I think

yup, what a beauty haha

Anon said:Your kiribaku childhood AU killed me! I just wanted to ask: in your opinion if Kiri&Baku met in middle school do you think they’d be friends? Baku has a habit of rejecting anyone who’s “weaker” than him &seeing how kiri was do you think they’d be friends? Or Baku not noticing kiri until he’s his equal?Or maybe having a crush on the cute black haired kid but never doing anything about it? Baku Rejecting kiri if he tried to confess to him?Sorry this is long but I just love your perception of them!

Whether they’d like each other/get along would depends on at which point and in which way they’d meet, I guess! Middle school was a complicated period for both of them, so it really depends - a few examples of how it could go are

they meet cause they frequent the same middle school - that implies they meet during the first year, when Bakugou was still full on bully/cocky asshole. Kirishima probably wouldn’t like him much because of it, would try to fight him. Bakugou might find him annoying/get pissed at how he thinks himself good enough to fight him. Definitely wouldn’t get along at first, might change their minds as they get to know each other or just keep on having a shitty relationship forever. I find more beliavable the first, since they do have really compatible personalities, but Bakugou was really convinced of his position as above everyone else back then and Kirishima would have never let him act like he was better than him without putting up a fight, so maybe not. Might actually fuck up their relationship in highschool too, really

they frequent different middle school, but happen to see each other outside of school before the sludge incident - if they were to meet cause Kirishima got in the middle of Bakugou bullying Deku, not much would change from option one. But if they were to meet for unrelated reasons, they could get along - Kirishima might think Bakugou manly, Bakugou might appreciate Kirishima’s guts (as long as Kiri doesn’t try to fight him). At first the relationship would definitely be unbalanced, because Kirishima would have no way of proving to Bakugou he’s at his same level since he wouldn’t be, but with time this might change. I can see Kirishima throwing himself at random bullies and Bakugou sighing and sometimes waiting for Kirishima to get his ass beat so maybe he’ll learn while other times lazily strolling up till he’s standing next to Kirishima to scare the bullies away. Bakugou’s... Bakugouness might do something to Kirishima’s self-esteem and could have him have his breakdown sooner, but by that point Bakugou might like him enough to do something about it. Or not. He’s still a cocky and self-centered ass at this point, after all. Kirishima’s presence might help with his bullying habit. Or not. Again, still an egoistical and egocentrical fucker at that point. Worse comes to worst, their relationship starts becoming more equal after the sludge incident/kiri seeing gigantomachia

they frequent different middle schools, but meet outside of school after the sludge incident but before kiri sees gigantomachia - this is probably my favorite one as far as them meeting in middle school goes. Bakugou at this point is questioning if he’s actually as strong as he always assumed he was, starting to feel like he needs to prove his worth to the world and himself, while Kirishima is still convinced he’s plain and weak, too scared to actually voice his dreams, but still tries to do his best and help those in need in front of him. If they were to meet at this point, Bakugou might actually find something to admire in Kirishima, find strength in him even - with the down-to-earth optimism and practical positivity, aware of reality but working to fix what he can, not letting circumstances and defeats bring him down. It might help Bakugou put into perspective the sludge incident, instead of just dwelling on it till it became a bomb ready to explode. Kiri would find Bakugou manly and cool, just like in canon, and they’d be able to build a relationship on equal grounds - Kirishima might even open up to him about how he wishes to try for UA, but he’s nearly sure he’s gonna fail. Bakugou might tell him that as he is right now he’s gonna fail for sure. He might also tell him that a quirk is like a muscle, and muscles get stronger if you train them, so just fucking stop wasting time and train yourself till your quirk is worth something, for fuck sake. By the time the event of Kiri’s backstory roll around, Bakugou might actually be there to hold Kirishima up and not let him go through it by himself. I dunno about crushes, but I do love this scenario and the relationship they’d end up having because of it

they frequent different schools, meet after Kirishima’s meeting with gigantomachia - there wouldn’t be many differences compared to the canon version of their meeting, I think. Bakugou might be a little more subdued, maybe, but generally it’d be the same.

these are just real general cathegories, depending on how the meeting unfolds anything might happen so really, who knows - there’s too many possibilities to be sure of anything, really haha

Anon said:fran ur art its so cute ty for posting it!!! also i just wanna say i think your art has improved so much since i started to follow you!! the first drawings of yours i saw were your old aokaga and i think really youve improved a lot!! (not that you were bad at first but your style has evolved?? idk a good word for it but its not meant as a Bad thing)

Lmao no anon, don’t worry, I was really, really bad back then. It was like, super terrible. I’m glad you think I’ve improved though!!!! This sort of asks mean a whole damn lot to me, make it worth keeping on drawing haha thank you!!

Anon said:i gotta admit, after checking out sero's quirk i can only think: pranks. esp with the double-sided tape trick

Have you ever seen this comic holy fuck hahaha

Anon said:i read that fic by newamsterdam a while back and can't stop thinking about it!!!!

Best fic I’m following at the moment honestly!!!

Anon said:Hi I love your art! It's absolutely amazing and your comics are SO cute!! I hope you have a wonderful day!~

THANK YOU!!!! I hope you’ll have a super wonderful day too!!!!

Anon said:your kirbaku/bakushima is just so nice and lovely??? and your art style is great adorable??? gdfljwblk thenks for mi life

You’re SO SWEET!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *holds*

Anon said:The line work in your drawings lately is looking even smoother and more refined than before! :)

.....................I actually feel like I’m getting super effin sloppy so??? I guess hearing this feels good???? Like oh I’m not actually as much of a mess as I thought haha thank you for the compliment!!!! :D

Anon said:Do you think Bakugou would ever say babe or other sweet nicknames?

Yah I think so. Like, not all nicknames, like “honey” probably never or “sweetheart” highly umprobable, but babe or gorgeous/handsome/beautiful or love, I can see him using those! Mostly cause Mitsuki’s personality was obviously based on Bakugou and she calls Masaru “dear”, so I think Bakugou does have the... predisposition for it, let’s say it like that haha he might more whisper them/keep them private, but I do think he’d use them~

Anon said:You're so good at emitting moods/vibes through your art?? Like, every single time you just... Idk what kind of magic you... I love you??? You turn me to putty Fran.

sob this is such a nice ask oh my god, thank you so much!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Everytime I see your art on my dash it makes me smile, there's something inherently cheerful about your art style. Love it

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! That’s the best think I could have ever been told about my style, I’m super glad you see it like this!!!! 

Anon said:omg you don't understand how much i love your art !!! i mean i check you blog everyday to see if you posted something and when you do i'm always so happy, it put me in a good mood everytime i don't know how you do it but i love it !!!! also the way you draw smiles is so cute :D

THANK YOU LOTS OH MY GOD!!!!!! AHHH!!!! making people smile is the best thing ever!!! I’m!!!!!!!!!! happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D now I’m smiling hahaha

Anon said:how does... is... clothing folds?!?!

B o y anon I’m terribly sorry but........... the horrible secret is that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing when I draw clothes’ folds. Like, at all. All I keep in mind while going at it is that gravity is a thing and clothes are affected by it too, and that’s about it ;;; I’m incredibly sorry, but I’m pretty sure someone that actually knows what they’re doing would look at my stuff and see a lot of mistakes, so maybe it’s best if I don’t give tips about this to anyone, least I spread more misinformation than anything else orz I’m sure there’s good tutorials for it around, tho!!

Anon said:Will we ever see more comics of the poly au with bokuto, kuroo and terushima? I binged those comics and LOVED it

Probably not, sorry orz posting for hq lately is... making me sad, in the long run, so hq comics might not come around for a long time, from me. Too much time I should spend on them. Dunno about simple art tho, it’s a maybe for that! And thank you for liking the series!!!!

Anon said:As soon as I saw u added the kekkai sensen art sticker to redbubble I bought it omg bless 💕

THANK YOU SO MUCH HOLY HECK!!!!

Anon said:any chance we could expect more of kirishima's shy senpai? absolutely no pressure! i'm honestly just curious since you seemed fond of him a while back. :)

And I still am! I’ll for sure draw more of him soon enough, don’t worry!

Anon said:I'm sooo sad :'( I wanted to buy a mobile case from you but it's just for iPhone.... I love you art so much *-*

There’s for both iPhones and Samsung, actually! But if you have another brand then it’s no good ;;; sorry ;;;;;;;;;;;;