[Character Study #1] Fire Investigator, Florian Brand

I find Fin a pretty fascinating study in his own right and the more I read about him, the more I realized his personality is quite multifaceted. There’s also a lot more going on with him than I think a lot of people realize.

But before I get properly started, a disclaimer: All of this is my own opinion and speculation. If you disagree with me then that’s okay. This article is an amalgamation of a bunch of posts I wrote on Tumblr but I tried my best to organize this to the best of my ability with some edits here and there. Please enjoy!

(Note: I sometimes will call Florian “Fin” instead as I learned he is nicknamed that in some parts of the IDV community and I like it.)

Design Process

_{From IDV’s Official Design Notes on Fire Investigator. These were the initial sketches for Florian.}

Let’s start with his design notes. So the Fin we see today actually went through a number of phases before the developers settled on the design we see today. Initially, they wanted to really emphasize the concept of “duality” with Fin, represented by the colors and the scar across his face in the first design concepts for him.

Yet, they felt the first sketch felt a bit too dark and repressed the sunny and brighter side of his character. This is when they decided that the main focus of Fin’s character should be his sunny side “with the more extreme side needing to be more subtle in its representation.”

Which for some reason was represented by the button on the strap of his canister. That button is supposed to represent his “missing” right eye. Why is that? That’s a discussion for another time.

Anyways, Fin is a more complex character than most people realize, I think. He always has a perpetual grin slapped across his face that makes him look equally bright and goofy. Yet, interestingly, he is described as having a “proactive attitude and apparent sense of responsibility” in his backstory.

Speaking of, I made the mistake of not properly introducing his origins to those unfamiliar. I will do my best to just summarize:

Fin grew up in England with his parents who were chemists specializing in combustion and experimental research. Their studies took them from Berlin and Jena (both German cities) to finally settling down in England. Thus, Fin could’ve been born in Germany and technically be German, but there’s been no confirmation of this yet. Florian showed an early interest in fire, so his parents, particularly his father who thought his work rather mundane still wanted to impress his son and thus, exposed the young Fin to his work.

Upon being asked what he was studying by Florian, his father, according to Florian’s 2025 birthday letter, decided that:

“…instead of explaining the equations, I showed him a few simple combustion demonstrations. I hoped the flame might speak for me where words could not.” 

And thus, history was born. Fin became quite fascinated by it, so much so that his father promised him that he would replace his bedtime fairy tales with stories about fire. Such as, how it shaped civilization, how it brought both enlightenment and destruction, etc.

Unfortunately, these happy times were cut short when a fire broke out from a failed combustion experiment one night at the Brand residence. It killed Fin’s parents who were said to protect him from the flames. The fire seemed to be rather devastating as Fin’s survival was taken to be a miracle in itself. There may be more to the cause of the fire then meets the eye as noted by the quote from the anniversary tales booklet:

Florian was hailed as a miracle for surviving a fire that razed his childhood home, but the truth was obscured by the flames. His life has become entwined with the tragedy, and now, obsessed with the flames, will he find himself in the fire?

But more on that later.

Afterwards, a young Fin would find himself taken to White Sand Street Orphanage where he would be showered with media attention and donors who would constantly lament about the tale of selfless love and praise the miracle of life.

Fin, for his part, played along with the stories and he received more sympathy and donations. Of course, he wasn’t unaffected by the fire that took away the lives of his parents. For nights and nights afterwards, he would have the same dreams of the fire where he’d helplessly watch his parents be devoured by the flames. I know it’s hard to believe considering Florian’s nature now, but there was a time when he felt adverse to fire and felt “tormented” by those dreams.

Yet, the constant donations, stories of selfless love, and compliments from adults distorted his perception of the fire of that fateful day. He no longer resisted the fire but grew to love it. And those terrible dreams instead lead Florian to seeing fire as “a source of comfort, guidance, and enlightenment.”

So when a fire broke out at the orphanage and Fin showed great courage rescuing as many children as he could including the staff, he was instantly hired by the fire department. He continued his great work as a fire investigator, issuing fire cause reports, quelling flames and rescuing those in need…despite the increase of fire incidences that started to spring up around him.

And obviously, Fin was the one who started the orphanage fire as indicated by this shot from his trailer. A couple of his deduction notes hint at this as well. It’s also heavily implied he is the cause behind the increase of fire outbreaks in his town as well.

And it is here where I think most of the general IDV community’s knowledge ends on Florian. He’s this arsonist dressed up as a fire fighter who starts fires for the thrill of it because apparently he believes “miracles” will come from all of that.

Well, surprisingly, there’s a little more than you’d think

Obviously, there are a few things I want to point out with his backstory. Firstly, Fin always seemed to have a warm and bright personality ever since childhood, but besides that, he was really inquisitive and dare I say, precocious for his age.

As described by his father in Fin’s 2025 birthday letter:

“Florian is a remarkably perceptive child, full of bright curiosity that only the very young possess. He will crouch quietly before a garden bed for hours, simply to watch a sunflower bloom and slowly turn its face toward the sun. When Anita (Fin’s mother) asked him if he’d like to pick one as a keepsake, he leaned in gently, inhaled its scent, and said, ‘This way, it will always be with me—in my breath and my memory.‘”

Indeed, what a thing for a child to do and say. But it’s really funny looking back at that part of his letter and seeing how Florian actually becomes a sunflower in Alice’s eyes in the COA IX trailer. 

_{Florian, Edgar, and Richard have been transformed into a sunflower, a moon, and a bird respectively through Alice’s eyes.}

And speaking of Alice, I wonder if Fin and Alice have crossed paths before? Fin was taken to the same orphanage that Alice resided in after her own parents were murdered. The fire that broke out at the orphanage while Fin was there was on September 13th (according to his deduction notes) and interestingly, that date is the same day of “Memory’s” aka “Little Girl’s” birthday.

But I do hope you understand what I mean when I say this. It’s not entirely baseless conjecture I would like to think.

But speaking of conjecturing, this is the perfect time to kick off my next section which will be on pure speculations and thoughts I’ve had about Florian. Again, these are my own opinions and guesses so you can take this all with a grain of salt if you’d like. 

Speculations on Florian

_{Menu screen for COA IX’s Hideaway Roottop aka Rooftop Rendezvous. A daily check-in event that would give a little story with each check-in day for a total of 7 daily stories between the COA IX survivors. From left to right: Richard, Florian, Alice, Edgar, and Evelyn.}

Some 2 A.M. Thoughts on Florian Brand

This section is seriously just going to be a ramble based on actual thoughts I had about Fin when I was up at 2 in the morning for no reason. These thoughts were sparked from the COA Rooftop Rendezvous daily chats between the COA survivors. As a lore enthusiast with 2 of her mains in it, Alice and Florian, I was eating well. 

Anyways, this ramble of a post that I wrote on Tumblr started from this singular thought: One thing I noticed about Florian is that he doesn’t seem to like to talk about himself unless he is really pressed.

This is most evident in the Halloween story and I think he only does it because the protagonist is grown on him a lot plus they just won’t leave Fin alone about it (lol). 

But it made me wonder why he didn’t like talking about himself. I think it possibly has something to do with his parents’ deaths and his Hero Complex. Now, this is all speculative and I could be dead wrong but indulge me here. 

Despite apparently wanting to play the flashy hero, Fin is reluctant to answer any questions about himself like what he does outside of work along with anything personal about himself. 

At first, I thought perhaps he didn’t want to answer because y’know, he can’t very well say he commits arson as a hobby (lol). But it’s kinda odd he doesn’t just say he studies combustion science or enjoys a good novel or two (one of his interests is reading actually).

So I wondered despite wanting to appear as a hero to those around him, why does he still have this barrier or wall that seems to be impassable when connecting to him on a personal level? And then I thought, perhaps because he doesn’t think very highly of himself. 

Now, I don’t know if it’s outright self-esteem issues and even if it was, I suspect it goes deeper than that. As I mentioned before, his parents shaped Florian into the person he is today—both alive and dead.

If say, Florian truly is the one who accidentally started that fire that killed his parents, would he not carry that guilt with him for the rest of his life? Florian was haunted by their deaths and had nightmares of their demise night after night at the orphanage when he first got there.

That is, until he began to listen to the words of the adults around him that his parents’ dying was an act of their love for him and a testament to the miracle of his survival. Thus, I can only imagine that perhaps after carrying such guilt over their deaths that he’d possibly believe they’d resent him. He was only a child after all and having witnessed the dire consequences of his actions, Florian may have become deeply entrenched in the despair of such a thought.

But of course, he shouldn’t have been. Yet, he probably was until he began to believe it was a miracle that those flames showed that his parents did indeed love him if he was still around today. And now, he strives to create miracles in each fire he not only puts out, but starts. 

Florian becoming an arsonist may have also been because he may want to recreate the circumstances around his parents’ deaths. He couldn’t save them but in exchange, he could learn about the fire he had once been afraid of and use it to rescue those in need.

He would not only feel a bit more whole as a person but prove that he can indeed save people no matter how terrible the fire is, or how dangerous it is—he can create miracles by the simple act of being someone’s savior even if he couldn’t be that for his parents.

But this just leads me back to Florian not thinking highly of himself at a deeper level and thus needing to feel some form of validation. What I’ve talked about so far, I believe motivates Fin more on a subconscious level.

Perhaps he himself is not fully aware or accepting of the fact that it’s more than just appearing as a hero to people. Granted, if he didn’t start the fire at his household that indirectly killed his parents, then my point is kind of moot, isn’t it? Then again, he still may feel some guilt for not being able to help his parents regardless if he started it or not.

Still, perhaps another reason he wants to be seen as a hero is due to what he says in the COA daily rendezvous “People always need something to believe in.”

Interestingly, his father says something similar in Florian’s first birthday letter.

Both Florian and his father share the belief that people need something to believe in but who to believe is different amongst the two as Fin more than likely doesn’t believe in a higher power. COA IX parallels this as it is clear Merchant Fin may have believed for a bit given how far he is in his transformation. And yet, his transformation stalled. I could be wrong though.

But this belief that people can live only by believing in something higher than them is an important part of Fin’s character. I have mentioned in a post of mine on Tumblr that Fin’s father introduced theology to him at a young age, so that Florian would be accepting of religion, most likely Christianity, and have a belief in God or at least a higher being. This was probably further deepened when he ended up in a Catholic orphanage surrounded by nuns and a priest or two. 

Yet, we all know what happens—he sets fire to that same orphanage years later. Why? Because of the drugs they were giving the children and perhaps other violations and abuses he uncovered cause Fin seems like a little detective himself (he ain’t called Fire INVESTIGATOR for nothing). His belief in a higher power was possibly crushed. And again, this is paralleled in the Halloween story.

So, if there is no higher being to believe in then why should he not try to be that for other people? 

I feel it’s also alluded to in his COA B-tier where he diligently did his job, thinking he was doing the right thing until curiosity got the better of him and he ended up exploring secrets he shouldn’t have. This resulted in Florian beginning to harbor doubts about the reality he had once accepted by default.

While I don’t believe Florian has an outright God Complex, he certainly not only wants to be seen as capable and reliable in the eyes of others but he also wants to possibly provide them hope that even ordinary people like him are capable of miracles to believe in.

Subconsciously added the word “capable” there because Fin’s father also expresses wanting to appear capable to Florian despite feeling rather mundane in his work. He also allows his actions to speak louder than words which I feel Florian showing his more heroic side is a reflection of that too. He dislikes appearing vulnerable and helpless to those around him.

But going back to believing, or really, not believing in a higher power…Florian witnessed the ones who were supposed to provide such hope and belonged to a religion that was supposed to provide miracles fail him and those around him and thus wished to take up the mantle.

And while he does want to keep some distance from others as he also possibly doesn’t want that illusion of being a hero to shatter amongst other things, Florian is also quite lonely himself.

^{From Florian’s “Caged Fire” Design Notes.}

Despite having one of his dislikes listed as “pointless socializing” it is at odds, almost paradoxically so with one of his interests which is “social activities.”

…what?

See, this is explained by COA IX. Out of the survivors in this COA, Florian was the vaguest when it came to his backstory and even motivations for being part of the group. He also seemed too eager in wanting to help the others. A number of people were speculating he was a traitor or some sort of double agent in the group.

But at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s as complicated as all of that. I think Florian was just 100% happy to have found companions he can feel a more personal connection to. 

Obviously, he wants to appear just as heroic and capable in their eyes, but he also wants to share in the good times and sincere warmth that can only be shared amongst close companions. He craves having a family to indulge in again and does what he can to keep everyone well and safe because he doesn’t want to lose it all again, not when he isn’t as weak and small as he was before as a child. 

Loneliness: A Small Interlude

_{One of the memory fragments from in-game lore of COA IX. This one describes the supercomputer Alice has dubbed, “sir.”}

In the context of COA, for instance, the last lore part we got in-game cemented Florian’s loneliness and eagerness for a companion similar to him.

Imagine you’ve been stuck in this world of sterilized peace built upon the lies of some sick form of salvation and you and only you can see the “true paradise,” how would that feel? While that sounds a bit abstract, it’s also relatable if you break it down and ground it in our own reality because many people that we live alongside with are truly in a world of their own, facing demons and problems we can’t imagine or understand if we tried. It’s such a lonely existence and I’m not sure how some of us bear it.

Hence why I love this bit from the memory fragments. It is in relation to “sir” but can stand for any of us. Actually, I’ve noticed some parallels between “sir” aka Joseph and Florian but I’m not going to get into that now since that’s not the point of this post.

In his showcase, Florian is shown taking this follower’s talisman (mainly out of self-defense) and when he tries to calm the follower, it doesn’t seem to work. The official description provides us more detail:

This poor bean has been a lonely merchant this whole time seeking a companion who can share his world but fails each time.

_{This shot of the Holy City is what it truly looks like through Alice’s eyes after her amulet breaks in the COA IX Trailer.}

According to Alice’s notes, this is possibly how Fin saw the world. At least in part. I only say that because it’s possible his incense helped him see what the others saw since no one was ever suspicious of Fin even those close to him.

But yes, going back to what happens to Alice, I think that’s why Florian studied Alice closely at first when she started to recover because he was worried that she’d have a similar reaction to the follower in his showcase but when she didn’t and she even seemed to see the changes in her environment, he perks up instantly, excitement washing over him because he finally found someone who can share the world that he saw.

It’s presented a little differently in the trailer (for example, he had already removed his talisman which is in his hand) but the moment of initial excitement as he perks up is still the same.

His little note on the same page where it describes him finding a companion to share his secret also conveys his eagerness I feel. He takes off his talisman when he sees her response to the world as if to say “You’re not alone in seeing this, and I’m not alone anymore either.”

Florian’s been rather suspicious this whole time in the COA story with some thinking he’s a traitor or a spy or working for the Deity as I said before but it just seems a part of him was just really wary to drag anyone into the world he sees because of incidences like the follower in his showcase. Many would just not be able to handle the world that he sees.

Even with Alice, it was technically by chance since it was never in the plans that her talisman would break. Despite his eagerness to have others see the world he sees, Fin wouldn’t risk causing harm to anyone.

It’s just unfortunate that right after he finds someone to share the world with him, it ends up being restarted by the Deity, Joseph. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like they die, but who knows what exactly happened to them after becoming childish drawings in the eyes of Alice. Maybe COA X will give us answers.

Anyways, moving onto the next section.

Seriously, What is Florian?

This part was a separate post written thanks to a question delivered in my inbox on Tumblr about Melly, Alice, and Norton possibly surviving the manor game along with the huge ritual fire incident that occurred at the time. See, I went back to get an image from one of the lore videos, one titled, “Identity V | Time of Reunion: See you, Orphy.” It’s only a little over a minute and sorta serves as a short epilogue to the first main story event, “Time of Reunion.” The video isn’t even on the official English IDV channel properly so if you haven’t seen it (due to being a newer gen like me) then I don’t blame you.

But what bothered me about the newspaper clipping is the image of Oletus burning because I had seen it before. And then I remembered…

_{From Florian’s Character Story Trailer.}

It looks more or less the same, right? I mean, NetEase and Joker Studio could’ve gotten lazy and just reused the asset in Florian’s trailer (which came out 3 years after Time of Reunion) but…I feel like even the small details serve a purpose. I mean, look at Amanda’s Trailer.

But the issue here is that the image of the manor ablaze is from after the “final” manor game which is obvious when you watch the video. It’s even more puzzling when you remember the fact that the media and authorities never were able to scope out the manor in such a way when the games were taking place until that fire happened. It was even said the manor staff were cooperative when the proper authorities went to investigate.

But Florian has an invitation in his hand which could also be evidence of the fact that the manor games do continue after the manor game with Alice and the others which coincides with what Detective Orpheus finds out in Time of Reunion when he finds a somewhat recently written diary. But it’s still stupidly complex when you take into account the other image of Oletus he has right next to the burning manor.

This one has more clearer origins as it is from the Ashes of Memory concept video where we were first teased with Alice as the protagonist of the next main story installment. It’s also found in-game as well, in our little book. But this image of the manor is from a newspaper announcing that the manor is for sale. Here is the full description…

So, Florian has two images from the manor which are tied to two different protagonists and main story installments. Besides telling us that Fin has done his research into the manor before leaving to go there, it also tells us that he is evidentially some time traveller cause why does he have the one of the manor on fire??

Granted, I know the manor has been set on fire before like in the game with Annie, Ganji, Aesop, and Victor, but it still wouldn’t make too much sense for that particular image of the manor burning to be from there because when you think about how the manor has evaded attention from the media and authorities (e.g. police, firefighters), it doesn’t add up and as far as I can tell, there’s no lore stating the fire got the attention of any outsider…somehow.

Though, again thanks to the question I got, I reread the incident that takes place doing the “final” manor game and it even states how “Until an accident happened, about 10 years ago, the mystery of this manor was finally lifted.” The accident being the fire that swept through the Darkwoods. Naturally we know that is finally when the police, firefighters, first responders, what have you show up to investigate the manor, take care of the survivors, and learn a bit about what was happening there.

Now, you may be thinking one of two things: Florian was there and either: set the fire or was an investigator himself.

Is either plausible? Well, now that Florian’s 2nd birthday letter has dropped. It does apparently mention in passing “a strange fire at a remote manor” and given that we know that Oletus is in a remote part of Scotland and that the fire itself was “strange” because of the ritualistic nature of it, I think it’s safe to say Florian and the reporter were discussing Oletus Manor.

_{From Florian’s second birthday letter. The conversation about a new chemical compound, and improved gas lamps are also interesting topics to note.}

If it is indeed the fire that cleared away the mystery of Oletus Manor, then Florian is more or less confirmed to have a connection to it, but exactly how is still the question.

Mind you, the entry of “Oletus Manor” on IDV wiki states the fire was NOT deliberate arson which y’know, Florian is known for…to us at least. Despite apparently being the cause of a lot of fires around town, Fin has never truly been suspected by anyone else…I mean, we SEE him start a fire at the orphanage and somehow he wasn’t caught?

Granted, his lore is still little and perhaps he is eventually suspected hence it could be a reason to go to the manor, but you guys understand what I’m trying to say here, right? Plus, Fin is smart. Behind that derpy goofy smile on his face, he is quite intelligent and what’s worse than a brilliant minded arsonist who looks like a hero in the public’s eyes? Who would dare suspect that?

As for him investigating the fire himself…well, he does have the burning manor from the news clipping…and this boy is attracted to fire like a moth…(oh…see what I did there?) Also if you look at the other side of his news clipping wall, you will see Florian also looked into the Arms Factory fire, which he DIDN’T set. That was Leo, Emma’s father, who deliberately committed arson and tried to kill himself in the fire in order for Emma to collect the insurance money to live a better life. What a dad…

But going back to Florian’s small closet, below the image of the Arms Factory fire, I saw an interesting word scribbled beneath the news clipping. It looks like the word, “resurrection” to me, but I’m not sure if it’s me reaching or if it truly says that. And if it does, what does that mean in regards to Florian? Only time will tell.

Florian might be dying…(Speculation)

_{COA IX Florian standing in front of his incense-filled airbag.}

Bear with me on this section, please. So I was thinking back on the description of Fin’s airbags…

And they’re made of asbestos which naturally today we know is a highly carcinogenic and toxic substance. Yet, back in Florian’s day, they didn’t know this and so it was used to make fireproof fabrics and objects that resisted fire.

But that explains why Fin uses asbestos for his airbags and probably explains why it’s his tool of choice. Not going to lie, when I heard the term “fire investigator” and learned he used AIRBAGS…I was like what???? Where’s his hose? The water to put the flames?

But that’s not the only reason I think he has death flags going on. The most egregious one is from “Ode to the Eternal Night,” the Halloween event from last year.

If you don’t recall or didn’t play the story, in short Florian has a fatal curse that will cause him to die if he leaves Samhain, the realm of the dead in this event. The only reason he still lives is due to the magic of his curse and Samhain’s magic battling out for his life force and creating some sort of weird balance that hangs him between life and death.

And then, let’s go back a year prior to this event, to the Autumn Harvest event where Florian is the “Puffed Goods Merchant” who gets into legal trouble because he accidentally killed two people with a fire he didn’t mean to start.

Now this one is kinda special in that Florian doesn’t technically die nor has a curse of death lingering over him but the fact it’s Aesop here that tries to get his hands on Florian still says a lot.

If you didn’t know, Aesop in this event is technically a researcher stationed in a greenhouse growing flowers and plants (including a pomegranate tree which you as “Little Girl” can help grow). BUT he has grown bored of delving into such endeavors and wants to expand on his research into life and death…

As you can see here, Aesop is growing a flower inside a coffin, this is shown at the beginning of the Harvest Fest trailer. But you can also see that later on, Aesop is now with a PERSON inside that coffin at the end of the trailer. Like, my guy…what are we doing here?

Well, he partially explains it after he is restrained by the townsfolk:

This is further expanded upon in his design notes:

“When he saw the living losing their loved ones and experiencing the separation between life and death, he decided to use ‘Greenhouse,’ involved in the new realm of barter and the resurrection of the dead…”

So it appears he wanted to use Florian as a bartering tool to bring back the dead (maybe Philipe’s sister who died in the fire maybe?).

Now that I think about it, the fire in this event was due to Florian having a lack of experience in working the popcorn machine for the first time. It resulted in two people’s deaths. Putting aside one is Phillip’s sister, who we know now was more than likely killed by Amanda and the Cat Cult, those two folks could be analogous to Fin’s own parents as I’ve mentioned before that a young Florian may have been the one to accidentally cause the fire that killed his parents. Sad if true.

Anyways, long story short, yeah…Fin would’ve been in danger of dying as well if Aesop had gotten his hands on him.

And finally, there’s the latest COA IX story. COA IX is technically the first COA since COA V where we see no one die at the end of the trailer. And while no one supposedly dies, we know in the Holy City of COA IX that there is another form of “death.”

I find it slightly disturbing that the last phase is called “Terminal” as it really feels like the end of life. I mean, we always hear about terminal illness/cancer, etc. so I guess since we’re reading about a physical transition/transformation, I can’t help but think of terminal in such a way.

We also know that out of the whole COA IX group that Florian is the closest to reaching the terminal stage.

From his design notes, we know this. Despite the fact that Evelyn looks the most “winged” of the group, they confirm it’s Florian who keeps himself wrapped up in bandages and gauze to hide this fact. I’ve wondered why but perhaps knowing Florian…he probably doesn’t wish to draw attention to himself in that way.

As I’ve said before, Fin doesn’t seem to like talking about himself especially when it would cause concern over himself from others (see the Halloween event). He would much rather be in the position of doing the caring than being cared for.

But yeah, that’s all I got. I don’t know if this has any basis but if so, I always knew having a fave outside of Orpheus and Alice (I still remain optimistic cause ain’t no way they’ll kill her off that easily) would result in facing their deaths since the majority of the IDV cast is dead or have their own death flags of doom.

But Florian possibly dying is pretty bittersweet. Not outright sad because it seems in each storyline where he faces death, he always retains that cheerful smile and seems less concerned about his own condition and more so interested in helping others with their own problems. Wow…sounds relatable actually.

Guess we’ll know with time and more lore drops. Until then, this will remain speculation for now.

Conclusion

_{From COA IX’s Behind the Scenes aka Funny Moments video. Florian accidentally concocted a love incense causing the crowd to go after him.}

And that, ladies and gentleman, was my attempt of an analysis on Fire Investigator. It was certainly a long one but I would have it no other way. I wanted to go more in depth about what he’s like in story events and his “missing” eye and a more self-indulgent observation on him and Alice (again, I main the both of them) in regards to miracles and curses BUT I felt that was all better off for another post or two.

Best to stop here for my sanity but if you actually got this far, thank you! I don’t think Fin is as popular as a lot of other characters and thus he remains rather neglected on the lore front.

Anyways, thank you for reading and ciao for now!