I am someone here with other people.

So 1172 (Implied to be Kissy) is having psychological problems that are keeping her from doing what the scientists wanted her to.

They accurately list her anxiety and effectively establish how to psychologically treat her.

Before I say anything else, let's just clarify: They are still using her as a child laborer, and that is inexcusable. They are only being kind to her because she's more "useful" like this. I'm not trying to excuse or soften them. But just remember this...insightful report.

But where does Harley's life as Experiment 1354 factor into this? Well, we've talked about how yes, Harley had problems with his coworkers. He could be hard to work with, they bullied him, but people always excuse them with "well he was hard to work with, they clearly didn't understand him and weren't obligated to." But...what did Harley's weekly check ups look like? All experiments had weekly check ups, I'm assuming they did at least. Why would Harley be the exception? They could literally see in his mind. Think of Harley's red maze thoughts. They're cryptic, disoriented, almost unusable. This is the mind of a man who has been shattered over and over and over again. Not of a scheming mastermind.

There's a fanfic by Solani called "Shutdown" which touches on this very idea, Harley ultimately becomes too psychologically broken to continue giving info.

Even if Harley doesn't become totally unreachable, they need him to think right? He's a brain in a jar, right, and they need his knowledge, his intellect? Well how much intellectual output can they easily pull out if he's totally shattered mentally? How much can they get from him if THIS is the kind of thoughts he's having?

So, they don't have to become best friends with him now, but he's HELPLESS and they LITERALLY see WHY he's been acting this way. His anxiety, his paranoia, his delusions, thoughts like "I am merciful" and "I can only be right". They see inside his head, they see ALL of that and are (presumably) giving him weekly check ups like the other experiments.

If they are not at least a little bit weakened by the fact he is literally severely delusional, grandiose and emotionally stunted, the fact that he functions better if they treat him better couldn't escape them.

And yet...we saw how the experiments went down in quality Did they go through his psychological issues meticulously the way they did with Kissy? They couldn't have missed his emotional dysregulation.

Yarnaby's weekly check up, Carmine, despite being a disgustingly pretentious little slime, at least noted his psychology, 1424 they were attempting to contact them, despite their physical and mental disabilities.

Remember all those failed experiments in the secondary labs.

From a purely practical perspective, even if Playtime Co was a NIGHTMARE for ALL experiments, I would AT LEAST expect them to consider Harley MIGHT be a more useful "asset" to them if they at least cater to his psychological needs.

Worst case scenario Harley was the meanest possible boss available to them.

Then he becomes Experiment 1354. They have direct access into his brain. They do weekly check ups and note his psychology. And he's helpless. They can literally see how rooted his grandiosity is in there, they see exactly the impact of their cruelty and he can't fight back at all.

What did those weekly check ups look like? We saw in Chapter 4 in the secondary labs that post-Harley experiments had a major drop in quality (which could be because indeed Harley was so affected by what happened that it made it difficult for him to think straight and give good results.

But Leith and Eddie, in Pierre/Ritterman August 1995, don't seem to care.

Eddie Ritterman: "He can't be the people's champion if he's one of us. Up his pay. His title. New parking spot. Give him a new car too. Let everyone think he sold his soul." Leith Pierre: "And if it doesn't work?" Eddie Ritterman: "You worry too much. Try focusing on the bigger picture: Our friends in Tokyo are coming up to speed. At this rate, this factory won't even be our main focus in a few short years."

They didn't even need to put his brain in a jar to look at his head. Letter to Leith #1:

Harley Sawyer: "During our latest attempt at neural mapping, we were able to successfully record and reconstruct brief subjective moments from our subject's short-term memory." Of course you don't owe someone friendship, but that would take the fun out of hurting them back, wouldn't it? For me? Psychologically?

Every week, they would have to see the direct consequences of their cruelty. Every week they would learn a bit more about the man they hated and why he acted the way they did.

But, I think they did understand some of the why. They did destroy a note mocking his sensory disorder in a file labeled "Sawyer Evidance" if they really thought it was just harmless ribbing I'm sure they wouldn't have.

And yet still they were unrepentant, planning a party. Not even in did they ease up to improve their output.

Because that's what I wanted to hear someone say.

Since the release of chapter 4, one of my questions is how Harley Sawyer "got used to" being Experiment 1354, because, like, it's Harley Sawyer. The fact is that so far we haven't had any information on how Sawyer adapted, like the example of Mommy Long Legs:

And the fact that you said Sawyer is the cruelest boss fits very well, considering part 1 of Chloe's letter in chapter 5:

“The head of THEM is a guy named Harley Sawyer. You guys would hate him. He’s the type to let others break their backs lifting hay and then congratulate himself on the good work he did.”

This psychology thing also works very well; they would clearly know all of Sawyer's insecurities and mock him. (You said in this reblog of this post that Pierre used Sawyer's insecurity regarding his past with Elliot.) I don't doubt that at some point, Sawyer had an anxiety attack, a breakdown, or even tried to escape, not because he thought he would succeed, but out of sheer desperation, but he was caught.

Mas eis a parte que mais me interessa: e se, em meio a esse desespero, o Protótipo começasse a se comunicar com Sawyer?

Think about it, the Prototype has ALWAYS been great at manipulating things. Let's take Preston as an example. How we known, Preston always treated the Prototype (and the toys) very well, so the Prototype convinced him to release the toys during Hour of Joy, but look what happened: A massacre.

It's very likely that at the moment Sawyer was being treated, the Prototype saw an opportunity, so he manipulated Harley into staying by his side and participating in the Hour of Joy, then he told the Doctor to get the Omni-Hand from the Director.

Isn't it kind of weird how Sawyer spoke to the Director on that VHS tape of chapter 4? It's very obvious that it was a command from the Prototype.

[Sim, exagerei um pouco nessa parte ao adicionar o protótipo, mas ele complementa essa questão]

But this is really heavy, and the worst part is that they threw a party, yes, A PARTY. This makes me think that nobody ever cared about Sawyer inside Playtime and that he was just a tool or a pawn.

And then over there is Harley who probably can't resist preening infront of the new scientists, who don't know what he actually does for the company or what work he does) and then when they inveitably ask what he's so smug about he's like "Big important things I can't tell you :)" and they think he's just a paperpusher or doesn't actually do anything important. Hence Chloe believing Harley didn't do actual work for the company. (There's a lot showing Harley isn't lazy and I may write about all the times Harley's workaholism has been referenced, because I know Harley is egotistical to the umpteenth degree, but he's not lazy LOL like she implies)

Anyway, at any rate Sawyer could be a bit annoying and strange, which aren't horrible traits (though Harley has done his fair share of horrible things) but in a toxic workplace, annoying+strange is a radioactive combo. Seeing Sawyer's actual interactions and reports I don't see the horrifically toxic boss (whereas Leith oozes his bully status in every other tape he's in) I do see a short-tempered and strict man, but not a 100% awful guy all the time. The Prototype could have recruited Harley for HOJ, yes! He definitely knows what he's talking about when speaking to the Director (called the Warden in my language) I think Harley definitely anticipated more control over the factory with the omni hand then he got at the hands of the Prototype.

"This psychology thing also works very well; they would clearly know all of Sawyer's insecurities and mock him. (You said in this reblog of this post that Pierre used Sawyer's insecurity regarding his past with Elliot.) I don't doubt that at some point, Sawyer had an anxiety attack, a breakdown, or even tried to escape, not because he thought he would succeed, but out of sheer desperation, but he was caught."

Yeah, they probably pulled out his YGP rejection letter because he repeatedly talks about not letting "them" see and just before the ARG reaches the letter there's one thought that's just, "No". Leith and Bruno White were actively collaborating together to keep Harley calm up until the experimentation (as shown here) It's especially bad since Harley's stubbornness and rigid thinking indicate he probably even had some kind of ego disorder Pierre also exploited.

And yes the party thing was inexcusable! Always glad to find when someone agrees with that. Every time someone says that the party was just because Harley was "THAT awful to work with" I wilt inside. Do you see people celebrating a difficult boss's mutilation and permanent immobilization after a year of bullying them? That's just overkill. And they're still joking about "keeping him away" a year after they jarred him like it's middle school and Harley has The Cheese Touch.

I keep wondering about what that party was like, and it always is a really uncomfortable thought so I don't like resting on it Harley hasn't been their boss for a year. They mutilated him and have been bullying him nonstop to the point of giving him PTSD (as implied in the Red Maze, but in the emails he definitely seemed to have some trauma with Dr. Bruno White.)

And they still joke about "keeping him away" and writing "yay" after they destroyed him?

Also notice the other two things I circled, this was how nasty the other scientists could be. They have different handwriting. Neither of these people are Harley yet still send nasty threats to their coworkers over petty things. Harley has only gotten angry over things like an actual rule violation, a sensory meltdown. Like, I don't think we've ever even seen Harley say anything as off the wall as this to his coworkers.

But tl;dr: Prototype recruiting Harley to work in HOJ is a solid idea and thanks for this theory! And Anthony's "party" is just so terrible and cruel, Anthony made the red smoke that they poisoned children with daily, he's not coming at Sawyer from any morally higher place.

Thanks for this reply :)

And yeah, I think it's possible the writers wanted to lean into the "Karma" aspect, having Harley wake up without any context of what was going on, but realistically they would need something. It wouldn't make up for that he's now an immobilized brain, but the fact they did look into the experiment's psychology and how to help them if only to do their tasks better...

I wouldn't say Mommy and Kissy had a good deal. But in Harley's context, well, knowing they were specifically cruel because Harley was difficult because of his psychological traits, and knowing they bullied him even after they would get an extensive understanding of those traits...

Well when you literally have a "blueprint" about why your "annoying+weird" coworker is so "weird" and "annoying", what excuse do you have left for bullying them?

[Primeiramente, peço desculpas por algumas partes do texto estarem em português brasileiro; é que no dia em que republicuei isso eu não estava me sentindo muito bem, minha saúde mental não estava no seu melhor, então quando fui responder, usei um tradutor de inglês. Isso deve ter causado algum problema, mas estou melhor agora.]

Okay, you revealed something important and it's actually true, Harley isn't the "cruelest boss" (in quotes), after all we never saw him mistreat anyone before becoming an experiment, as you mentioned in the case of Pierre mistreating Sharon. Sawyer was only cold and resentful towards his colleagues, but one thing is clear, this guy is a workaholic. (after all, he wanted to please his bosses, as you mentioned in other posts, you said that Sawyer created the BBI to please Pierre)

But the fact that they exploited Sawyer's insecurity regarding his past is quite serious (I say this from personal experience; I've had people exploit my insecurity about loud noises, something that bothers me a lot). Imagine being in an environment with people who talk about your insecurity regarding something that happened to you, about a program you participated in in the past where you had a "friendship" with your teacher, but your teacher (the figure you admired most) expelled you for your "lack of empathy," and then these same people discover your letter. Explain to me how Harley endured being Experiment 1354?

I have no doubt that Sawyer had an anxiety attack, a breakdown (or even as I mentioned in my reblog) and ran away out of desperation. He knew that running away wasn't a smart response, but desperation took over . After all, we've seen other experiments having breakdowns in desperate moments (like we saw in Huggy's memories in chapter 5, when he killed Lewis, or even Mommy attacking Daddy Long Legs).

And talking about all this reminds me of that scene in episode 8 of TADC where, when it shows the characters' insecurities and gets to Jax's part, it reminds me a bit of Harley's situation:

But what I like most about this fact is that in the midst of this despair, the Prototype can enter the picture, and that's where the best part comes in: him convincing Harley to join him. As I saw in some posts recently (and in this Solani fic), the employees who helped with the Hour of Joy were all desperate, and what did the Prototype do? He convinced them to help with the Hour of Joy. So, in the midst of Sawyer's despair, the Prototype saw an opportunity, the two talked and reached a "middle ground," and boom! The Prototype convinced Sawyer.

However, one detail: this party that Anthony wrote about, and the comments, make me feel a horrible disgust for the Playtime employees. Like, now that I know the significance of it, when I look at it, I think, "Holy shit, Playtime was a toxic work environment" (it's no coincidence that I agree with what Kid said to Rich on the VHS tape of chapter 4, that Playtime wasn't a place for Rich).

hehe look @dragon-fly34

since he has a mop in another concept art I'm now imagining him as Cinderella - or Chumerella I guess

So 1172 (Implied to be Kissy) is having psychological problems that are keeping her from doing what the scientists wanted her to.

They accurately list her anxiety and effectively establish how to psychologically treat her.

Before I say anything else, let's just clarify: They are still using her as a child laborer, and that is inexcusable. They are only being kind to her because she's more "useful" like this. I'm not trying to excuse or soften them. But just remember this...insightful report.

But where does Harley's life as Experiment 1354 factor into this? Well, we've talked about how yes, Harley had problems with his coworkers. He could be hard to work with, they bullied him, but people always excuse them with "well he was hard to work with, they clearly didn't understand him and weren't obligated to." But...what did Harley's weekly check ups look like? All experiments had weekly check ups, I'm assuming they did at least. Why would Harley be the exception? They could literally see in his mind. Think of Harley's red maze thoughts. They're cryptic, disoriented, almost unusable. This is the mind of a man who has been shattered over and over and over again. Not of a scheming mastermind.

There's a fanfic by Solani called "Shutdown" which touches on this very idea, Harley ultimately becomes too psychologically broken to continue giving info.

Even if Harley doesn't become totally unreachable, they need him to think right? He's a brain in a jar, right, and they need his knowledge, his intellect? Well how much intellectual output can they easily pull out if he's totally shattered mentally? How much can they get from him if THIS is the kind of thoughts he's having?

So, they don't have to become best friends with him now, but he's HELPLESS and they LITERALLY see WHY he's been acting this way. His anxiety, his paranoia, his delusions, thoughts like "I am merciful" and "I can only be right". They see inside his head, they see ALL of that and are (presumably) giving him weekly check ups like the other experiments.

If they are not at least a little bit weakened by the fact he is literally severely delusional, grandiose and emotionally stunted, the fact that he functions better if they treat him better couldn't escape them.

And yet...we saw how the experiments went down in quality Did they go through his psychological issues meticulously the way they did with Kissy? They couldn't have missed his emotional dysregulation.

Yarnaby's weekly check up, Carmine, despite being a disgustingly pretentious little slime, at least noted his psychology, 1424 they were attempting to contact them, despite their physical and mental disabilities.

Remember all those failed experiments in the secondary labs.

From a purely practical perspective, even if Playtime Co was a NIGHTMARE for ALL experiments, I would AT LEAST expect them to consider Harley MIGHT be a more useful "asset" to them if they at least cater to his psychological needs.

Worst case scenario Harley was the meanest possible boss available to them.

Then he becomes Experiment 1354. They have direct access into his brain. They do weekly check ups and note his psychology. And he's helpless. They can literally see how rooted his grandiosity is in there, they see exactly the impact of their cruelty and he can't fight back at all.

What did those weekly check ups look like? We saw in Chapter 4 in the secondary labs that post-Harley experiments had a major drop in quality (which could be because indeed Harley was so affected by what happened that it made it difficult for him to think straight and give good results.

But Leith and Eddie, in Pierre/Ritterman August 1995, don't seem to care.

Eddie Ritterman: "He can't be the people's champion if he's one of us. Up his pay. His title. New parking spot. Give him a new car too. Let everyone think he sold his soul." Leith Pierre: "And if it doesn't work?" Eddie Ritterman: "You worry too much. Try focusing on the bigger picture: Our friends in Tokyo are coming up to speed. At this rate, this factory won't even be our main focus in a few short years."

They didn't even need to put his brain in a jar to look at his head. Letter to Leith #1:

Harley Sawyer: "During our latest attempt at neural mapping, we were able to successfully record and reconstruct brief subjective moments from our subject's short-term memory." Of course you don't owe someone friendship, but that would take the fun out of hurting them back, wouldn't it? For me? Psychologically?

Every week, they would have to see the direct consequences of their cruelty. Every week they would learn a bit more about the man they hated and why he acted the way they did.

But, I think they did understand some of the why. They did destroy a note mocking his sensory disorder in a file labeled "Sawyer Evidance" if they really thought it was just harmless ribbing I'm sure they wouldn't have.

And yet still they were unrepentant, planning a party. Not even in did they ease up to improve their output.

Because that's what I wanted to hear someone say.

Since the release of chapter 4, one of my questions is how Harley Sawyer "got used to" being Experiment 1354, because, like, it's Harley Sawyer. The fact is that so far we haven't had any information on how Sawyer adapted, like the example of Mommy Long Legs:

And the fact that you said Sawyer is the cruelest boss fits very well, considering part 1 of Chloe's letter in chapter 5:

“The head of THEM is a guy named Harley Sawyer. You guys would hate him. He’s the type to let others break their backs lifting hay and then congratulate himself on the good work he did.”

This psychology thing also works very well; they would clearly know all of Sawyer's insecurities and mock him. (You said in this reblog of this post that Pierre used Sawyer's insecurity regarding his past with Elliot.) I don't doubt that at some point, Sawyer had an anxiety attack, a breakdown, or even tried to escape, not because he thought he would succeed, but out of sheer desperation, but he was caught.

Mas eis a parte que mais me interessa: e se, em meio a esse desespero, o Protótipo começasse a se comunicar com Sawyer?

Think about it, the Prototype has ALWAYS been great at manipulating things. Let's take Preston as an example. How we known, Preston always treated the Prototype (and the toys) very well, so the Prototype convinced him to release the toys during Hour of Joy, but look what happened: A massacre.

It's very likely that at the moment Sawyer was being treated, the Prototype saw an opportunity, so he manipulated Harley into staying by his side and participating in the Hour of Joy, then he told the Doctor to get the Omni-Hand from the Director.

Isn't it kind of weird how Sawyer spoke to the Director on that VHS tape of chapter 4? It's very obvious that it was a command from the Prototype.

[Sim, exagerei um pouco nessa parte ao adicionar o protótipo, mas ele complementa essa questão]

But this is really heavy, and the worst part is that they threw a party, yes, A PARTY. This makes me think that nobody ever cared about Sawyer inside Playtime and that he was just a tool or a pawn.

₊˚⊹ ㅤa collection of character analysis/headcanon questions to learn more about your character and your partners'! writing/headcanon prompts requested by anonymous. feel free to edit these as you see fit.

Grungy kids