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WHAT EVEN ARE ANDROIDS ACTUALLY
For personal ref but also general ref; some of this is headcanon/extrapolation. WIP as I try to get together extra canon materials that might have more info.
NOTE: The primary in-universe driving purpose in all design elements of YoRHa androids was creating something as close to the human image as possible; this would reinforce the emphasis of their role as specialty weapons created directly by humanity, to fight for humanity. As a result, features of their appearance and function that would generally be superfluous or impractical for military robots become justified by the fact that "it makes them mimic humans better". Is this a good justification? Well, that depends on who you ask ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Outward Physical Differences: Not many. Most androids, especially YoRHa models, seem intentionally designed to be aesthetically pleasing by human standards. Skin texture feels normal, though it's not actual skin. They automatically simulate breathing, blinking, and fidgeting. They emit warmth, but are slightly cooler to the touch than humans (~80-85F), though extended high-intensity physical activity (ie: combat) can also quickly lead to an unnaturally high core temperature that needs to be mitigated by some kind of heat sink. They're much heavier than humans of equal size due to a metal-based skeleton and metal components.
Inner Works: All internals are mechanical, but their bodies do contain a flowing red substance alarmingly similar to human blood that probably serves some kind of decently important function. While there's no "conventional" organs, whatever circulates the blood does have a pulse-rate (though the rate and rhythm is different from that of a human heartbeat), and in general a lot of essential components seem to be stored in the torso, making injuries there very critical. Limb loss Sucks and is generally Bad but you could go on without an arm or leg for a fair while before the rest of you gives out; in the event of completely severed parts, automatic seals kick in at certain joints in attempts to prevent indiscriminate blood-loss. You could even jam a lost arm right back on--even if it isn't an exact match--though it's uh...not recommended practice.
Strength/Durability/Stamina: It all varies by model, but even wimpy nerd Scanners probably pack a fair amount more strength than the average human of the same size. Most androids are currently military-grade and have metal-based components, so they're typically very durable as well, better able to withstand long falls/hard impacts. Stamina is vastly superior but not unlimited; an android could sprint full-tilt for an hour without getting very breathless, but sprinting all day long would still be a little tiring and warrant at least a few minutes of sitting down.
Sensory: They can feel and react to physical stimulus, and can experience pleasure and pain, though different models have different sensitivities and/or tolerances. They're wired to experience a form of positive feedback from engaging in combat, similar to human adrenaline. They can perceive temperatures, and find excessive cold unpleasant, though they've probably got a higher tolerance for extreme temps than humans in general.
Eating???: Yes. They can even taste things. But eating is completely nonessential and basically falls under the "humans do it so we're putting it in but yeah it's super useless" category of android design nonsense. Androids do need to intake water on a fairly consistent basis, though, since their systems are mostly water-powered, so they'll drink a bottle every couple days. Androids can also ingest alcoholic substances and get drunk from sufficient quantities, though it probably needs to be pretty fucking strong??? In this vein there's certain substances that can absolutely kill an android when ingested too. Like mackerel fish. Though they're delicious...
Crying: Yes. It's very sad :(
Sleep/Standby: They can technically go multiple 24-hour cycles without rest, but it's recommended to take downtime for at least a few hours on a semi-frequent basis, so that maintenance checks can be run & memory processing can be organized and optimized & systems are recharged, etc. Androids generally lie down on beds during these occasions bc it's comfy.
Healing: Very little healing factor of any kind without certain plug-in chips; if any mending happens at all it's probably for very minor surface-level abrasions over a long period of time thanks to nanomachines or what have you. Bigger repairs or replacement of bad internal parts must be delivered in some external fashion. Capable models like Scanners can self-hack in the event of viruses and other software issues, however.
NFCS/FFCS Capabilities: "Near-Field Combat System" = usage of blades, pole-arms, or combat bracers. "Far-Field Combat System" = ranged projectiles, usually energy-based. YoRHa combat models are primarily equipped only with NFCS capabilities, unless they're specialized for ranged warfare. But all pods are geared with capacity for exceptional FFCS capabilities, which usually evens things out.
Plug-in Chips: DONT REMOVE THE OS CHIP
Self-Destruct: All YoRHa models are outfitted with an internal self-destruct switch that can be triggered at will in emergencies. It is mandatory by order of Command that this switch is enabled at all times. Activating self-destruct triggers a powerful localized explosion derived from the energy within an android's body; it's extremely painful for the android, and will cripple the majority of internal systems, but it's not actually immediately fatal. (It may as well be, though, since you'll be pretty fucked for awhile afterwards--)
Black Box: Similar to black boxes in technology irl; each android has one, and they generally keep record of a unit's status. They emit a signal unique to each android which can be tracked; the strength of this signal varies by the android's vitals, however, and when an android dies their black box signal goes offline. This is also where personality data is stored. Can be extracted by the android it's contained in at will, and can be used in tandem with a second black box to create a large detonation if the permissions are enabled. YoRHa black boxes in particular are comprised of a unique material.
ID: YoRHa units generally refer to themselves by their abbreviated model ID, consisting of a number and a letter; number indicates personality template, letter indicates model function class (ie: 9S = personality template Number 9 + Scanner type). This particular name structure is specific to YoRHa; among older non-YoRHa models it's more common for androids to take up more normal(ish) monikers of their own choosing (ie Anemone, White, Jackass). It's possible for multiple androids of the same number and letter type to be rolled out, and having lots of your identical unit produced can even be seen as a point of pride. Identical units are generally kept apart and deployed at different times, however, to minimize on-field confusion.
Gender Ratio: While male models are common among older android lines, all YoRHa android models are female except Scanners. Why? A trial squadron consisting entirely of male YoRHa prototypes fell apart so Spectacularly Badly that afterwards almost all types of male models were discontinued in favor of the more stable and successful female templates. Since Scanners aren't supposed to be equipped for combat, are often isolated, and take up support and intel roles, they've been useful and manageable enough to remain viable male models.
Death: Unsustainable damage to a unit's body will lead to "death", or the permanent shutdown of that unit. Unless there is immediate data recovery or body repairs, the personality data housed by the deactivated body becomes irretrievable. Especially valuable YoRHa units have the privilege of preserving personality data via the storage banks of their orbital Bunker, though; as long as frequent personality data backups are performed, the destruction of the unit body simply leads to an identical new body being manufactured, at which point the fallen unit is reuploaded in the Bunker. Typically the most recent backup is the one uploaded to the new body, enabling memory retention upon the unit's revival. But there can be special cases where backup points are selectively chosen from further in the past, promoting memory omission that can essentially qualify as a 'reset'.
What's Up With The Gothic Fashion: the founder of YoRHa was really into goth aesthetic i guess??? who knows
NOTE: The primary in-universe driving purpose in all design elements of YoRHa androids was creating something as close to the human image as possible; this would reinforce the emphasis of their role as specialty weapons created directly by humanity, to fight for humanity. As a result, features of their appearance and function that would generally be superfluous or impractical for military robots become justified by the fact that "it makes them mimic humans better". Is this a good justification? Well, that depends on who you ask ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Outward Physical Differences: Not many. Most androids, especially YoRHa models, seem intentionally designed to be aesthetically pleasing by human standards. Skin texture feels normal, though it's not actual skin. They automatically simulate breathing, blinking, and fidgeting. They emit warmth, but are slightly cooler to the touch than humans (~80-85F), though extended high-intensity physical activity (ie: combat) can also quickly lead to an unnaturally high core temperature that needs to be mitigated by some kind of heat sink. They're much heavier than humans of equal size due to a metal-based skeleton and metal components.
Inner Works: All internals are mechanical, but their bodies do contain a flowing red substance alarmingly similar to human blood that probably serves some kind of decently important function. While there's no "conventional" organs, whatever circulates the blood does have a pulse-rate (though the rate and rhythm is different from that of a human heartbeat), and in general a lot of essential components seem to be stored in the torso, making injuries there very critical. Limb loss Sucks and is generally Bad but you could go on without an arm or leg for a fair while before the rest of you gives out; in the event of completely severed parts, automatic seals kick in at certain joints in attempts to prevent indiscriminate blood-loss. You could even jam a lost arm right back on--even if it isn't an exact match--though it's uh...not recommended practice.
Strength/Durability/Stamina: It all varies by model, but even wimpy nerd Scanners probably pack a fair amount more strength than the average human of the same size. Most androids are currently military-grade and have metal-based components, so they're typically very durable as well, better able to withstand long falls/hard impacts. Stamina is vastly superior but not unlimited; an android could sprint full-tilt for an hour without getting very breathless, but sprinting all day long would still be a little tiring and warrant at least a few minutes of sitting down.
Sensory: They can feel and react to physical stimulus, and can experience pleasure and pain, though different models have different sensitivities and/or tolerances. They're wired to experience a form of positive feedback from engaging in combat, similar to human adrenaline. They can perceive temperatures, and find excessive cold unpleasant, though they've probably got a higher tolerance for extreme temps than humans in general.
Eating???: Yes. They can even taste things. But eating is completely nonessential and basically falls under the "humans do it so we're putting it in but yeah it's super useless" category of android design nonsense. Androids do need to intake water on a fairly consistent basis, though, since their systems are mostly water-powered, so they'll drink a bottle every couple days. Androids can also ingest alcoholic substances and get drunk from sufficient quantities, though it probably needs to be pretty fucking strong??? In this vein there's certain substances that can absolutely kill an android when ingested too. Like mackerel fish. Though they're delicious...
Crying: Yes. It's very sad :(
Sleep/Standby: They can technically go multiple 24-hour cycles without rest, but it's recommended to take downtime for at least a few hours on a semi-frequent basis, so that maintenance checks can be run & memory processing can be organized and optimized & systems are recharged, etc. Androids generally lie down on beds during these occasions bc it's comfy.
Healing: Very little healing factor of any kind without certain plug-in chips; if any mending happens at all it's probably for very minor surface-level abrasions over a long period of time thanks to nanomachines or what have you. Bigger repairs or replacement of bad internal parts must be delivered in some external fashion. Capable models like Scanners can self-hack in the event of viruses and other software issues, however.
NFCS/FFCS Capabilities: "Near-Field Combat System" = usage of blades, pole-arms, or combat bracers. "Far-Field Combat System" = ranged projectiles, usually energy-based. YoRHa combat models are primarily equipped only with NFCS capabilities, unless they're specialized for ranged warfare. But all pods are geared with capacity for exceptional FFCS capabilities, which usually evens things out.
Plug-in Chips: DONT REMOVE THE OS CHIP
Self-Destruct: All YoRHa models are outfitted with an internal self-destruct switch that can be triggered at will in emergencies. It is mandatory by order of Command that this switch is enabled at all times. Activating self-destruct triggers a powerful localized explosion derived from the energy within an android's body; it's extremely painful for the android, and will cripple the majority of internal systems, but it's not actually immediately fatal. (It may as well be, though, since you'll be pretty fucked for awhile afterwards--)
Black Box: Similar to black boxes in technology irl; each android has one, and they generally keep record of a unit's status. They emit a signal unique to each android which can be tracked; the strength of this signal varies by the android's vitals, however, and when an android dies their black box signal goes offline. This is also where personality data is stored. Can be extracted by the android it's contained in at will, and can be used in tandem with a second black box to create a large detonation if the permissions are enabled. YoRHa black boxes in particular are comprised of a unique material.
ID: YoRHa units generally refer to themselves by their abbreviated model ID, consisting of a number and a letter; number indicates personality template, letter indicates model function class (ie: 9S = personality template Number 9 + Scanner type). This particular name structure is specific to YoRHa; among older non-YoRHa models it's more common for androids to take up more normal(ish) monikers of their own choosing (ie Anemone, White, Jackass). It's possible for multiple androids of the same number and letter type to be rolled out, and having lots of your identical unit produced can even be seen as a point of pride. Identical units are generally kept apart and deployed at different times, however, to minimize on-field confusion.
Gender Ratio: While male models are common among older android lines, all YoRHa android models are female except Scanners. Why? A trial squadron consisting entirely of male YoRHa prototypes fell apart so Spectacularly Badly that afterwards almost all types of male models were discontinued in favor of the more stable and successful female templates. Since Scanners aren't supposed to be equipped for combat, are often isolated, and take up support and intel roles, they've been useful and manageable enough to remain viable male models.
Death: Unsustainable damage to a unit's body will lead to "death", or the permanent shutdown of that unit. Unless there is immediate data recovery or body repairs, the personality data housed by the deactivated body becomes irretrievable. Especially valuable YoRHa units have the privilege of preserving personality data via the storage banks of their orbital Bunker, though; as long as frequent personality data backups are performed, the destruction of the unit body simply leads to an identical new body being manufactured, at which point the fallen unit is reuploaded in the Bunker. Typically the most recent backup is the one uploaded to the new body, enabling memory retention upon the unit's revival. But there can be special cases where backup points are selectively chosen from further in the past, promoting memory omission that can essentially qualify as a 'reset'.
What's Up With The Gothic Fashion: the founder of YoRHa was really into goth aesthetic i guess??? who knows
more misc notes but spoilery
Anyway as of posting this I've only been able to read a translation of the Memory Cage light novel and its sequel so far, otherwise it's just osmosed knowledge of the rest of the side materials rn. Which I need to remedy asap!! But for now let's try sorting out some stuff...
WORLDBUILD MISCELLANY
- The Earth no longer rotates, though it used to. I'm not entirely clear on the cause of this, but it's probably one of the many side-effects of the machine-android war possibly??? Either way, it seems the Bunker is positioned over the daytime side of the Earth, and that's where 9S has always been deployed. The dark side of the Earth consists of the Americas and all surrounding regions there, and is apparently called the Night Kingdom. 9S has never seen the sun rise or set. He's never seen a night sky as observed from Earth's surface, either.
- Humanity goes extinct in the year 4198. Aliens first attack Earth in 5012. YoRHa is approved as a proposal for an optimally specialized android morale & anti-machine force in 11932. Combat against the aliens and their machines (mostly their machines by the end tbh) has been ongoing for....over six thousand years.........
- This also means that YoRHa was actually founded by androids. It's implied it was a single individual that really masterminded the idea and got it rolling?? Afaik there's still no info out there on who it actually was though. TELL US WHO HAD SUCH A FETISH FOR GOTHIC GEAR ALREADY YOKO TARO...WHO WAS IT!! GIVE US A NAME, I JUST WANNA TALK
- What does "YoRHa" even stand for, is it a mashup of some kind of phrase? An acronym?? Literally nonsense letters slapped together and capitalized to create a cool-looking name??? We Just Don't Know
- The male YoRHa prototype squad was called M002, and it was formed and implemented about a month or so after 9S was first rolled out. 9S wasn't part of M002 himself, though a Healer-type model with a Number 9 personality template was? So that's a neat fun fact I guess. Rip 9H.... 9S was around just in time to hear all about M002 falling apart in the most disastrous way possible like three months after being formed, and he was privy to the additional three-month fucking mess that followed in real-time. Very awkward first year of being alive! Scanners became the only male models in YoRHa after this....
9S'S MEMORY NONSENSE haha wow this sure is depressing:
- How many times has he even died via execution actually: iirc the exact number's unknown but all signs point to it being A Lot. Likely in the double-digits. Probably over a dozen times? Maybe even over two dozen times?? It's pretty possible
- This also means that he's technically lost A HELLA AMOUNT OF TIME since rolling out though, like...every reset probably puts him back at least a month memory-wise, if not multiple? He's technically been alive for almost three years but in reality the amount of personal development he's actually been allowed to retain probably only amounts to like, a single years' worth at most :( Any amount of time spent with 2B is erased alongside whatever classified shit he's dug up this time. But there's no way he wouldn't notice losing upwards of multiple months at a time between uploads?? Maybe staggered deployments are a thing in YoRHa sometimes though, there's apparently multiple 9S units in rotation but they're not out and about at the same time. Still kinda suspect though...I bet he'd start to wonder about it sometimes anyway....
- 9S originally quietly programmed himself into becoming combat capable after starting to suspect 2B at one point, wanting to give himself at least a fighting chance to get to the bottom of things. He no longer remembers this reasoning, exactly. But he's been allowed to keep the combat capabilities even after multiple subsequent resets, apparently...ig the Commander decided it does make him even more useful?? Or maybe she just figured he'd program himself again at some point anyway (which, fair, he definitely would have), so may as well roll with it. Pre-ending B, 9S still knows that he programmed himself with the ability, but the reason's probably a little vaguer in his head, if he ever stops to think about it? If anything that would have been yet another thing to start setting off his suspicions, gj
- It should technically be impossible for him to remember anything he's lost in resets, it's a memory overhaul alongside getting uploaded to an entirely new body each time. And yet he always inevitably draws the same conclusions as before at alarmingly fast rates, and he actually does seem to partially retain past experiences in some way?? Looks at that buried bitter resentment of 2B, laughs hollowly....SOME POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS: 1) The memory overhauls are in fact slightly imperfect, or maybe it's just been so many goddamn times that the effectiveness has actually started diluting a bit. 2) He really is Just That Good at putting things together, and tends to suspect 2B like literally a few days into partnering with her in any given iteration. Tbh option 2 does seem pretty supported...according to side materials 2B is kind of garbage at hiding her feelings and tells. 9S is also literally designed to be very good at spotting details, cataloging them, and extrapolating from them. When you're made to figure things out you're gonna...figure things out.....
- There was a stretch of time in which it was deemed most convenient for 2B to kill him in a handful of assorted old temples scattered across the desert region. When the time came there'd be a convenient side mission to go investigate these weird human ruins and report back with findings; catching 9S off-guard while preoccupied with examining all the Neat Shit, it would ideally be a surprising but quick death of minimal suffering. Sometimes it'd go smoothly, sometimes it wouldn't. He'd always complain about getting sand in his boots during the trek. These days 9S has a very low-key knee-jerk distaste for desert terrain. Exploring temple-like environments also puts him a bit on edge more often than not.
- So in the second run of the game as 9S there's various points where the game suddenly cuts to weird clips of? Machine network records?? Summaries of some kind??? That are vague and flickery but clearly being narrated by 9S in a detached fashion. WHAT EVEN ARE THEY THOUGH... He doesn't seem to have any reaction to these actually occurring at the time except in two instances after the Adam Fiasco: once right after breaking into YoRHa classified databases
yET AGAIN, and once right after helping 2B defeat the Goliath machine in the abandoned factory, both within hours of each other. At these times he's justifiably super fucking weirded out; it seems like it's happening in his head? WHAT ABOUT THOSE OTHER TIMES BEFOREHAND THOUGH....I'm thinking maybe he is privy to these, but they probably occur to him at points during route C and beyond perhaps? It seems to be a side-effect of being dunked into the machine network and then still having that residue somewhere in his data even after the Adam debacle. Though most of the cutscenes are placed before said debacle because the context works better there?? Idefk...does the light novel of the game mention these at any point, it probably does...I NEED TO READ IT- Well there's two different kinds of weird flashback things in the second playthrough though, both partially cinematic cutscenes and paper cutout cutscenes with the 9S narration. The above note refers to the paper cutouts. Wrt the cinematic ones: 9S probably did get some kind of feed of Simone's flashbacks/narration during the boss fight with her since he was hacking her at the time and also seemed pretty troubled by her reactions after she was destroyed. I don't think he received any of the Forest Kingdom flashbacks wrt the history of the King and such, though. Or he got them as, again, residue snippets from the machine network much later....
- More (not) fun facts: iirc the very first YoRHa prototype to house a Number 9 personality was actually the one responsible for placing a backdoor in the security of the Bunker's servers, after evidently discovering the truth of YoRHa. This means that Number 9 has effectively been unearthing YoRHa secrets and splitting through YoRHa security for countless years across multiple different iterations and models.....what a legacy. No wonder 9S keeps compromising everything so much, all the time?? It's in his rhetorical android blood ok
WEAPON SET
{small sword}
A black blade used by warriors of the East.
A black oriental sword. Its no-frills design gives it an aura of serious weaponry.
CRUEL BLOOD OATH
{large sword}
A black katana kept by warrior monks of the East.
This warrior's sword has been stained jet black with the blood of years of conflict.
CRUEL ARROGANCE
{spear}
A black spear used by warrior monks of the East.
Its pitch-black spearhead gleams with the ruthlessness of a warrior who never knew mercy.
CRUEL LAMENT
{combat bracers}
Weapons made of black armor from the East.
Samurai gauntlets worn by a commander infamous for cruelty, blackened with the blood of his foes.