Deerington Application

[obeir]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: KD6-3.7
Canon: Blade Runner 2049
Canon Point: After Lt. Joshi visits him at in his apartment.

In-Game Tattoo Placement: On the underside of one eye.
Current Health/Status: Alive. Still a bit beat up from his encounter with Sapper. Minor injuries.
Age: Chronologically only a couple years old, physically and cognitively an adult.
Species: Replicant. That's the in-universe term for an android; they can be used interchangeably. Specifically, he's a biorobotic android.
(ETA: Of particular note is that because the term "replicant" is for all intents and purposes a brand name for Wallace Corporation androids, for K it serves as a reminder that he's a commodity, a manufactured product, a slave. The generic term "android" carries fewer negative connotations in his mind, and as such, K prefers "android" when referring to himself or being referred to. This is intentional and something characters are free to pick up on.
TL;DR: K calls himself an android now, not a replicant.)

Content Warnings: The Blade Runner universe involves themes of enslavement and fantasy racism. Replicants are literally created to be slave labour and designed for the vocations deemed too dangerous or unfit for humans, including but not limited to sex work.

History: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the novel which was the inspiration for Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. Here's a full timeline, and K's personal history. Note that while aspects of Blade Runner have been featured in the Alien franchise and vice versa (because of Ridley Scott), they mainly constitute easter eggs. The two timelines don't line up perfectly, so they may or may not actually take place within the same universe; either way I'm not going to detail the entire history/timeline of the Alien universe since it has no bearing on K or his history.

Personality: Outwardly K appears stoic and unemotive, behaving almost robotically, if you will. He isn't especially reactive in general and is able to maintain a sense of equanimity and single-minded focus even during tense situations, acting decisively. A prime example of this is shown in canon: when his aircraft is in the process of crashing, he doesn't panic or give into fear, but calmly prepares the aircraft and himself for the impact. This demeanour is arguably as much the result of his programming as it is his personality. In his case, they may be one and the same.

The societally accepted treatment of replicants is characterised by violence, degradation, depersonalisation, and enslavement, treatment which even K's human co-workers within the Los Angeles Police Department subject him to. So constant is this abuse that despite having only been alive for a few months, K has already grown inured to it and endures it without complaint, while the stranglehold of his programming strictly inhibits retaliation. He accepts it as simply being what life is for a replicant and knows that trying to buck the status quo can and often does lead to even more severe consequences. Humans despise him for being a replicant, while other replicants ostracise him for being a blade runner — a specialised officer tasked with hunting down rogue replicants — the duty for which he was designed. In this world he's an outcast even amongst outcasts, with his worth being wholly measured by how he can be used and what can be taken from him.

His sole source of companionship is provided by his holographic companion AI, Joi, whom he's shown to be emotionally attached to; she's the only individual he ever expresses his feelings to or confides in. Though they're unable to physically interact, he enjoys many of the trappings of a typical romantic relationship with her, while being aware of the fact she's bound by her programming and isn't capable of having genuine feelings for him. But, then, he isn't sure he's even capable of genuine emotions himself, and as he tells her: she's real to him. That's enough. Joi's appearance and voice are customisable to suit the preferences of her user, but as one of the advertisements for her model reveals, K's Joi remains in her default state, indicating his lack of preferences. It's a small detail, but very telling. K is just as much a product and commodity as she is, likewise limited by the constraints of his programming. But in spite of everything, he approaches Joi as a real person and encourages her to consider her own preferences and desires and motivations rather than existing to be a reflection of his; he attempts to provide her with a type of freedom that he's unlikely to ever have himself.

While his devotion to Joi is by choice, his inherent loyalty and absolute obedience to his superior officer and owner within the LAPD, Lieutenant Joshi, are the result of his programming. He's incapable of lying to her for the same reason. They share a cordially professional relationship and at times she seems almost fond of him, to the point where on at least one occasion she subtly propositions him. Though she'd be fully within her rights simply ordering him to accept her advances, she doesn't, and accepts his answer when he rebuffs her — but with an attitude that suggests she isn't pleased about her property rejecting her. It's noteworthy as being one of the few (possibly only) times K's been allowed anything approaching a choice in his interactions with humans.

His concept of morality and what constitutes "right" and "wrong" is somewhat rudimentary due to his being an android designed for obedience. It just doesn't occur to him to question why he's ordered to do what he does, because he's been designed that way; his own wants and feelings are irrelevant. But he doesn't relish the duty he's forced to carry out, that of hunting down and killing his own kind — though he doesn't actually consider these earlier models his own kind, a distinction that only really exists to enable him to fulfill his duties without incurring cognitive dissonance or mental instability. The act of killing other replicants isn't even referred to by that term, but by the more palatable "retirement", coined by humans. Because they aren't viewed or legally recognised as people, they're merely tools made to serve humanity and meant to be disposed of at their discretion. Displaying any indication that they may be developing free will is a virtually guaranteed death sentence and K himself regularly undergoes mandatory testing to ensure he's operating as intended. This is all such a fundamental doctrine of the world K's from that he doesn't believe he's a person, either, and it influences his limited spiritual beliefs — that only humans are capable of possessing souls ("to be born is to have a soul, I guess"), not replicants.

His greatest insecurity is without a doubt the fact he's an artificially created being with false memory implants that leave him uncertain whether even his emotional responses are real, or if they're just a product of his programming like everything else about him. He's only recently been discovering his own preferences: he helps himself to an alcoholic drink after a rough day at work (despite alcohol having no effect on replicants), appreciates old jazz music, and likes reading, especially to Joi; Pale Fire is his favourite book. He enjoys dancing, poetry, things that seem incongruous with what he was designed to be, to do — and thus potentially dangerous. And yet his ability to even have preferences is significant to him, making him feel a little more like an actual person, even if only within the privacy of his own mind.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping: Pretty much what you'd expect an android programmed for law enforcement and investigation to be good at. He's proficient in multiple forms of armed and unarmed combat, has keen observational skills, strong deductive reasoning, high intelligence, and perfect recall. He can interface with other technology. He's very self-sufficient by design and has a broad general knowledge courtesy of his programming. Replicant intelligence is said to be equal to that of the scientists who created them — he learns at a greatly accelerated rate (moreover, he enjoys learning) and is shown to understand every spoken/written language he encounters, so was presumably programmed to already know quite a few. Unsurprising, given the broad linguistic landscape of the version of Los Angeles he's from.

As a Nexus-9 android optimised for combat and law enforcement, this means many of his physical abilities are essentially at a superhuman level. His strength, reflexes, agility, endurance, resilience, combat expertise, marksmanship, and eyesight are all enhanced. He's also capable of seeing in the dark unassisted.

He heals faster and with fewer complications than a human would. He can withstand considerably more damage than a human (such as being impaled by rebar then beaten almost to death by another Nexus-9 and being on his feet again within days), and any scarring eventually heals completely. He's immune to illness and disease and won't develop infections. He can survive much harsher conditions than the average human, such as the fallout from a dirty bomb and deep space without protective gear, without suffering ill effects. But he can still die from enough direct damage or blood loss. Replicants are biorobotic androids – not human, but not fully robotic either.

He's subject to the laws of robotics as they exist in his canon, meaning he can't intentionally harm humans except in cases where his orders supersede the preservation of human life. But his obedience functions a bit differently from what's stated by the laws — he will only feel fully compelled to obey orders issued by those he recognises as his superior officers/handlers/owners. He isn't able to directly disobey them, though he can get "creative" in how he carries out their orders when needed.

I'm not sure most of his abilities will require much if any warping, according to what I've read on the power warping page. He doesn't age and is only functionally immortal — he can be killed, as canon shows. His immunities, durability, and healing capacity will be warped accordingly so he's more susceptible to monster attacks and the environment, though.

Inventory: -His clothes, including his shoulder holster
-An optic scanner used for identifying replicants (which I believe is also K's Knowledge Integration Assistant unit)
-A pocket-sized emanator (containing his holographic companion AI, Joi, if possible; I think she isn't really appable as her own character, but Deerington's warping can make it so her emanator doesn't function reliably or at all if necessary)
-His copy of Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
-His blaster (blasters are basically just high powered handguns, nothing game breaking)
-His spinner (it's a flying car, though I'm fine saying Deerington's warped its flight capability if flying isn't allowed)

Writing Samples: Fighting Krampus with Clint on the TDM, and at a party in a previous game.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Moz
Player Age: 18+
Player Contact: weaintashes, PM this account, discord by request (or just check the userlist of the game discord server)

Other Characters In Game: n/a
In-Game Tag If Accepted: KD6-3.7: Moz
Permissions for Character: Here.
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: I'd rather not have to deal with anyone informing K he's fictional, but I can roll with most other fourth-walling. I'm fine with characters being canon familiar with Blade Runner through it existing as fiction in their own universes.
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: Honestly anything that leads to found family dynamics. I like situations that challenge a character's sense of self and morality. Facing hard decisions that they wouldn't normally have to make. Questioning what's real. A creeping sense of dread or wrongness. On the whole I enjoy the more subtle, atmospheric, and psychological aspects of horror far more than body horror. Fighting monsters can be very fun, though. And jumpscares are just a cheap, lame excuse for good horror.
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: Animal abuse, child abuse, suicide, non-consensual sexual violence.
Additional Information:

I'm in an EU timezone, but sometimes keep odd/late hours. Also Blade Runner 2049 is a beautiful movie and I highly recommend watching it if you haven't already. :>