#but it's irritating to see people headcannoning characters based on personal experience

[hellothepixel]

Marginalized Person: "Hey this character is just like me, maybe they're x-coded?"

Other person of same marginalization: "What's with all these people who are not x claiming this person is x?? They have no idea what they're talking about."

Marginalized Person: "Oh I guess I'm wrong then."

[sophiathebanished]

Keys is bipolar: a headcannon

I’m not a therapist or a psychiatrist! I’m just a random person with bipolar disorder that has a big fat crush on Keys. This is just based on what I’ve seen in the movie Free Guy and my personal experience with bipolar disorder. If you don’t see him as bipolar I’m totally okay with that! Just be kind about it lol

Bipolar disorder consists of these symptoms/episodes/moods etc:

Elevated energy, elevated mood, depressive episodes, hyperactivity, addiction, anxiety, irritability, impulsivity, racing thoughts and pressured speech.

Here are moments from the movie Free Guy that inspired my headcannon…

Keys may suffer from depression

It’s clear he has a low self esteem. Many characters have told him multiple times he’s a genius and he always dismisses it immediately. It’s like he feels sad and empty.

When Keys and Mouser were arguing about bringing up Guy to Antwan, Mouser asks Keys why is he stuck working customer complaints. Again, mentioning that Keys is a genius. Keys explains to him rather briefly about college debt and crushed dreams. Keys tells Mouser that he wouldn’t think Mouser would want to hear about it. If Mouser didn’t want to listen to Keys’ “sad and boring” story, why did he ask him in the first place?

When Guy drinks coffee he says something like “Jesus finally told my dad he’s good enough”

Is Keys his dad? Technically, yeah lol

Keys doesn’t think he’s good enough, like he’s not worthy. Sounds just like depression to me.

Keys might be experiencing anxiety

He’s constantly worrying about getting fired. He’s worried about Millie. It is clear he is under a lot of stress. Hey may suffer from insomnia, since he has at least a couple cups of coffee at work and a Mountain Dew when he gets home.

He gets irritable with Millie breaking into his home. He gets irritable by yelling at Millie when she interrupts him. He gets irritable with Antwan ignoring his suggestions and ideas. He shows irritability to Mouser by giving him the side-eye.

Keys appears to feel elevated both in mood and energy

Keys gets so excited talking to Millie about discovering that Guy and other NPCs are artificially intelligent. He goes on and on about how the other NPCs have lives and make independent choices of their own. He is euphoric and hyperactive.

He is very energetic, even if he has little sleep and relies on caffeine to function. It’s like he’s restless and takes on a lot of responsibilities like working hard to keep his job and to also help Millie with her case. That amount of activity can lead to less sleep, especially with feeling restless.

Addiction to caffeine

It is common for people with bipolar disorder to experience addiction, especially with alcohol and drugs. We don’t see Keys with alcohol or drugs. However, caffeine is technically a drug and he could be addicted to it since he depends on coffee and Mountain Dew. I have also noticed a Red Bull can at his desk and a Five Hour Energy drink in the background.

Not all addictions involve drugs or alcohol. What gets Keys up in the morning? Code. He’s probably addicted to coding. Keys said something like “Words can fail you and let you down, but code is as cool as shit” Try replacing the word “code” with any form of addiction.

Keys does things that may be seen as impulsive

Keys takes a lot of risks throughout the movie.

He sells his and Millie’s work to Antwan without really considering the consequences of his actions.

Keys risks losing his job many times by interfering with Antwan’s plans in Free City. He’s hiding in the bathroom, hiding behind a pillar and using his laptop and phone while being escorted by security.

Keys boldly confronts Antwan with the truth, giving him the finger and helping Guy and Millie by risking his job that he was so worried about losing.

Keys takes a risk walking towards Millie across a busy street at night without looking for cars.

Racing thoughts and pressured speech

He is a genius with lots of ideas and is constantly overthinking. He talks really loud and fast when explaining to Millie about how their code for A.I. is in Free City and that it worked. He goes on and on in detail really quickly about what he discovered. It looks like Millie may have a hard time keeping up with his fast talking. He is talking fast because he is trying to keep up with his racing thoughts. He gets louder and faster and then Millie interrupts him. Keys feels very irritable at that moment and yells at her saying “What are you talking about?!”

It is clear he has racing thoughts and constant ideas flowing in his mind throughout the film.

He feels pressured to explain himself in front of Antwan about how Antwan stole his and Millie’s work and how Antwan should be thanking them. Once again Keys gets irritable and shouts.

A lot of these symptoms intertwine and go hand in hand. They often get confused for other disorders because people with bipolar tend to hide their feelings since they feel so intensely. People with bipolar often feel ashamed and embarrassed because feelings get so intense that other people tell them they need to stop or at least tone it down. It’s really hard to control especially under a lot of stress and feeling overwhelmed.

Even if Keys is not bipolar, he is definitely a stressed cinnamon roll that we must protect. I just identify with Keys as bipolar because he has extreme feelings and behaviors while under a lot of stress.

I feel like bipolar disorder is very misunderstood and people are quick to judge. I just want more representation of this disorder so people can at least try to be supportive rather than hurtful.

Thank you for taking the time for reading this long post!